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of tI|C
Ptttii^rstty of Toronto
The Estate of the Late
Effie M.K. Glass
I,
K
EVERY AGE LIBRARY
THE TONGUE OF FIRE
By WILLIAM ARTHUR, M,A.
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THE TONGUE
OF FIRE
BY
WILLIAM ARTHUR
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LONDON
CHARLES H. KELLY
/ftiV
'ttlf;
Br
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109543
PREFACE.
The following pages are the fruit of meditations
entered upon with the desire to lessen the distance
painfully felt to exist between my own life and
ministry'' and those of the primitive Christians.
This fact may, in some measure, account for the
plan of the work. Many topics which would have
been fully discussed in a treatise on the work of
the Holy Spirit, or on the character and usages
of the primitive Christians, are passed by, or
very slightly touched : while some others have
greater prominence than would have been given
to them in such a work.
As to the mode of conceiving of events and
characteristics, nothing has been adopted without
deliberation. In several cases I should have felt
interest in discussing other modes of conceiving
them ; but this would have diverted me from the
direct practical aim with which I set out.
vi PREFACE,
The work has been interrupted by travel and
sickness ; and, at one time, seemed likely to be
cut short by death. Spared to complete it,
though feeling how far it falls short even of my
own ideal, I humbly trust that it may not be
useless.
Kensington, April 2/\th, 1856.
PREFACE TO THE EIGHTEENTH
EDITION.
The last two years have been eventful ones in
the Churches of Christ. Both in America and in
the United Kingdom, the Lord has been pleased
to pour out His Spirit, in such a manner as
sensibly to affect the public mind. Such a
change has been made by these visitations, that
much contained in this volume appears more fitted
to the present moment than to that in which it
was written. When it appeared three years and
a half ago, many things in it would have been
regarded as extravagant by some who to-day would
PREFACE. vii
gladly declare that they have beheld such things
with their own eyes. Not a few share with us
the firm hope that we shall witness greater things
than have yet come to pass. The great Revival
of the nineteenth century has fairly begun, but
only begun : the world lieth in the wicked one,
the bulk of the nominal Church is still cold and
powerless ; and among the most favoured popula-
tions lively Christians are the minority.
This new and cheap Edition is issued with the
fervent prayer that some of the servants of God,
labouring for the general revival and spread of
true religion, may find in it an humble auxiliary.
NOTTING Hill, December ist, 1859.
PREFACE TO THE AUTHOR'S UNIFORM
EDITION.
In the years which have elapsed since last I wrote
a Preface to this Volume, I have been many times
constrained to thank God by tidings which have
reached me, showing that it had pleased Him to
viii PREFACE.
make it useful, now in one way, now in another.
Those tidings have come sometimes from quarters
in our own country, not only unexpected, but to
me surprising, and sometimes from other countries,
in forms that have deeply touched me. Perhaps
in no form have they been more gratifying than
when they took that of translations into tongues
which I could not myself read, whether those of
races to whom books were new, or those of races
whose literature was older than our own.
One of the most important openings to further
usefulness I have taken to be the adoption of
the book in America by the great Sunday School
Association of that country, and its consequent
place on the Chatauqua list of studies ; a place
which will facilitate its access to the vast body
of Sunday Teachers on that Continent. May it to
them, and through them to scholars and Churches,
be made a blessing when I am gone !
The latest, and not the least affecting incident
to which I shall refer, occurred when, very lately,
my old friend, Mr. John Napier, of Manchester,
called my attention to certain letters just published
PREFACE, ix
in their Annual Report, by the Committee of the
City Missions in that City. They were letters
addressed to one of their Missionaries by General
Gordon, in two of which he made mention of
The Tongue of Fire^ and in one said that it should
be often read.
The present Edition has been revised, and some
re-arrangements made in the division of chapters.
Also an Outline of Contents supplied to facilitate
reference.
Cannes, May nth, 1885.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE PEOMISB OF A BAPTISM OF FIEE.
I. — THE WOBD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
II. — THE LIFE OP THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OP GOD
ANOTHEB TO COME, YET NOT ANOTHEK
"BECEIVE ye the HOLY GHOST "
THE " GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM " .
"allpowbbis given TO me" .
THE HOMAGE OF BABTH AND OF HEAYSK
Page
1
8
4
6
6
9
10
CHAPTER II.
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT.
I. — THE HOUB AFTEE THE BETUBN FBOM OLIVET .... 12
A NEW EBA IN THE INTEBCOUESE OP MAN WITH HEAVEN 13
PBAYING IN THE NAME OP CHBI8T 14
SYMBOLS OP THE ATONEMENT . 16
THE FULL VIEW OP ITS EEALITY ...... 18
THE JOY OP THAT FIBST HOUB ...... 19
II.— THE TEN DAYS OP WAITING 21
TWO SCENES BEFORE EVEBY EYE 21
THOUGH HE TABBY, YET WILL THEY WAIT FOB HIM . . 22
A PULL WEEK PBOM THE ASCENSION 24
WILL THEIB FAITH PAIL ? ^ . 26
TEN DAYS GONE 28
xu CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE III.
THE FULFILMENT OF THE PEOMISE.
i. — pentecost — fifty days apteb the passover
this time op note was come ....
"all with one accord in one place "
II. — the sound EBOM heaven and the CELESTIAL riRB
THE PEAL OS" PEAISE TO GOD ....
THE MODE OF THIS BAPTISM
Page
31
81
32
34
35
86
III. — CHRISTIANITY — A TONGUE OF FIRE 37
THE EMBLEMS OF THE OLD DISPENSATION AND OP THE NEW 37
THE SYMBOL OF THE CHURCH'S POWER — A LIVING TONGUE 39
CHAPTER IV.
SPIEITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIEB.
I.—" FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST " 41
EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF THE EXPRESSION ... 41
THE OFFICE OF THE COMFORTER ...... 44
A PRIVILEGE COMMON TO BELIEVERS 46
" FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD " . ... 48
THE DOUBLE OVERFLOW OF THE GRACE OF GOD ... 60
II. — THE HUMAN SPIRIT RESTORED TO ITS ORIGINAL AND HIGHEST
FELLOWSHIP 52
THE UPWARD ASPIRATIONS OF THE SOUL .... 52
THE MANIFESTATION OF THE PRESENCE OP GOD * . . 64
CONSCIOUSNESS OP THE PRESENCE — SPIRITUAL DISCERN-
MENT 66
III. — THE NATURE OF MAN QUICKENED BY AN IMPARTATION OF THE
DIVINE NATURE . . ..... 67
LIVING TEMPLES IN WHICH GOD REJOICES .... 67
NOT IN THE FLESH, YET IN THE BODY 59
''CREATED ANEW IN CHRIST JESUS" ..... 61
CONTENTS.
xui
IV. — EXAMPLES OP god's MORAL '* WOBKMANSHIP " . , •
PETEE IN DENliL, AND IN WITNESS-BE ABING
O ! FOB MEN INSTINCT WITH THE SPIRIT, AND A TONGUE OF
FIRE . . . . '
RETURN, O I POWER OP THE PENTECOST . t t t
Page
62
68
64
66
CHAPTEE V.
.-^MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE.
I. — THE MOST AMAZING MIRACLE OF ALL 67
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL MIRACLES 68
A NEW MIRACLE IN MIND 69
THE SCENE IN THE STREETS OP JERUSALEM , , , 70
THE NEW MESSAGE A DIVINE TEACHING , , , . 72
II. — THE WORD OF GOD TO ALL NATIONS 78
THE VOICE OF GOD 74
THE GOSPEL, A "SPEECH OP GOD" 76
THE GIFT OF TONGUES 75
THE HIGHER GIFT OF PROPHESYING 76
A MESSAGE PROM THE FATHER TO ALL MEN , , , 79
m. — ^ALL DISCIPLES SET UPON SPIRITUAL SERVICES ... 79
THEIR POWER A DIVINE GIFT 80
THE LEAST DISCIPLE GREATER THAN THE BAPTIST . . 81
ALL SPOKE WITH A SUPER-HUMAN UTTERANCE ... 83
NO PRIESTHOOD IN THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL . • 84
A DEPARTURE FROM PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY ... 86
CHAPTEE VI.
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRB.
I.— THE GIFT OF PROPHECY — PREACHING . . . , , 88
THE EFFECTS OF PETER's NEW UTTERANCE ... 88
THE TONGUE OF FIRE BURNS ITS WAY .... 90
PROPHESYING IN THE NEW TESTAMENT SENSE . . • 92
TWO OFFICES OF THE GIFT OP PROPHECY ... 94
OPERATION AND POWER OP THE SPIRIT — " UNCTION " 96
MV
CONTENTS.
11. — OHBISTIA.NITY AND HER TONGUE OF riBE
WISDOM AND POWEB OF SPEECH — "UTTERANCE"
THE GREAT WEAPON OF THE CHURCH
ALIKE AMONG PRIMITIVE AND MODERN CHRISTIANS
WHITEFIELD AND WESLEY
THE SPHERE OF TRUE CHRISTIAN POWER .
THE 1»UE FORCE OF ALL CHRISTIAN AGENCY .
Page
97
98
99
100
102
103
104
CHAPTER VII.
EFFECTS UPON THE WOELD OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE.
I. — THE SPIRIT FULFILLING HIS GREAT OFFICE .... 106
PETER'S SINGLE ADVANTAGE AND MANY DISADVANTAGES . 107
THE UNITED EFFECT OF THE MIRACULOUS AND MINIS-
TERIAL GIFT 109
THE SEAT OF HUMAN CHARACTER — " NATURE " . . . 110
II. — THE CREATOR OF NATURE ALONE ABLE TO RESTORE FALLEN
MAN HI
MAN HOT THE CREATURE OF CIRCUMSTANCES . . . Ill
HUMAN NATURE RESPONSIBLE FOR SOCIAL EVILS . . 113
man's nature PLAINLY UNNATURAL 114
OUR ONLY INVINCIBLE ENEMY 115
III. — THREE THOUSAND SINNERS CONVERTED INTO SAINTS , . 116
FIRST WONDERS OF THE PHENOMENON .... 116
PERSISTENCE OF THE NEW AND GLORIOUS LIFE . . 118
SALVATION IS COME TO THE RACE OF ADAM . . . 119
rV. — RENEWING OF BAD HEARTS IN THE IMAGE OF GOD . . 119
A MORAL MIRACLE 119
THE HIGHEST MANIFESTATION OF A POWER ABOVE NATURE 121
THE "^EVERLASTING SIGN, WHIGH SHALL NOT BE CUT OFF " 121
V. — THE CASE OF THE CONVERTS AT PENTECOST . . . 128
A PLEDGE OF THE DELIVERANCE OF MAN FROM SIN . . 124
THE SUDDENNESS AND SHARPNESS OF THEIR CONVICTION. 126
THE PERMANENCE OF THE RESULT 127
CONTENTS. XT
Pagt
VI. — THE APPLICATION OP CHBI8TIANITY TO SOCIAIi EVILS . . 129
THE ONLY WAY TO THE EFPECTUAL EEGENEBATION OP
SOCIETY 129
INDIFFEBENCE TO POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, UNPAITHPUL-
NESS TO CHEISTIAN MOEALS 131
SOCIAL WEONGS TO BE WABBED AGAINST .... 132
VII. — PBAYEB AND PREACHING 133
THE GIFT OF BEING "APT TO TEACH " .... 133
PBAYEE8 IN FBEQUENT AND FAMILIAB FELLOWSHIP . 134
SIMPLE, UNPBEMEDITATED, UNITED 135
THE PENTECOSTAL CHUBCH POWERFUL IN PREACHING AND
UIGHTY IN PRAYER 136
VIII. — FELLOWSHIP AND BROTHERHOOD 137
''BREAKING OP BBEAD " AND "FELLOWSHIP" . . . 137
THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH REDOLENT OP FAMILY FEELING . 139
A GLOW OF FAMILY HEARTINESS RUNS THROUGH THE NEW
TESTAMENT 140
MEANS OF GRACE FOR FELLOWSHIP ESSENTIAL TO A CHURCH
OP CHRIST 141
THE PRACTICAL AND HOME TEACHING OF FREE-HEAETED
FELLOWSHIP . 143
THE SOCIAL ELEMENT OF RELIGION OVERLOOKED IN SOME
PROTESTANT CHURCHES 144
BUNYAN'S idea of FELLOW PILGRIMS . , , . 146
THE NEW TESTAMENT IDEA OF A CHURCH , , . 148
CHAPTER VIII.
PEEMANENT BENEFITS EESULTING TO THE CHUECH.
I. — THE PRESENCE AND OPERATION OP THE SPIEIT . . . 160
THE VISIBLE FLAME AND THE GIFT OF TONGUES , . 150
THE VITAL ELEMENT OF CHRISTIANITY .... 163
TRUE AND FALSE VIEWS OP THE SPIRIT'S PRESENCE . 156
rn CONTENTS.
Page
II. — COMMUNION OP GOD WITH MAN 157
OUB MIND NOT CUT OFF FROM THE FATHER OP MIND . 157
EXPRESSION AND PERCEPTION GIFTS OF GOD . . . 160
THE Way of THE SPIRIT A MYSTERY AND NO MORE . . 162
THE GOOD THINGS REVEALED BY THE SPIRIT . . . 163
III. — THE TRUTH IN DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT . . .166
MERE TRUTH INCAPABLE OF RENEWING POWER . . 166
DANGER OF DIVERTING FAITH FROM THE POWER TO THE
INSTRUMENT 167
TRUTH MIGHTY IN PURE NATURES, ERROR IN DEPRAVED
ONES 168
THE SPIRIT THE POWER UNTO SALVATION .... 169
IV. — PROGRESS OF DIVINE LIFE AND GRACE AMONG MEN . . 170
THE ALMIGHTY " LEAVING " HIS UNIVERSE . . . 171
AN IDEA UNWORTHY OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE . . . 172
CHRIST'S UNIVERSAL PRESENCE 173
HIS GLORIOUS POWER THE MEASURE OP EXPECTATION . 175
v. — COMFORTS AND PRIVILEGES OF BELIEVERS .... 177
THE SAME NOW AS WITH THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS . 177
PARDON ATTESTED TO THE FORGIVEN SINNER . . . 179
THE HEIR OP GOD REJOICING IN FORGIVENESS . . . 181
HAPPINESS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF RELIGION . . . 183
THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT THE ORIGINAL GROUND OF
CONSCIOUS SALVATION * . 187
THE RELATION OF THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT TO THE
WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT 190
UNSOPHISTICATED CHRISTIANITY . . . • . 192
THE ANCIENT LOVE AND GRACE OUR HERITAGE * . 195
VI. — THE TRUE MINISTERS OF CHRIST 198
THE MINISTRY NOW ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS AT FIRST 198
THE spirit's constraining CALL AND QUALIFYING GIFT 201
THE church's seal AND RECOGNITION .... 204
OLD TESTAIHENT PROPHET AND CHRISTIAN ** PASTOB AND
teacher" 207
CONTENTS, xvii
Page
THI SPIBIT'S highest OFFICE ALIKE IN PROPHET AND
PBEACHEB 210
THE POWER OP GOD WITH HIS PREACHING ATTESTS THE
TRULY COMMISSIONED 211
THE TRAINING VARIED ACCORDING TO CIRCUMSTANCES . 212
SUBSTITUTES FOR THE ACTIVE POWER OP THE HOLY SPIRIT 214
THE EVIL DONE BY EXALTING THESE SUBSTITUTES . . 217
CONSISTENT CHRISTIANITY REMEMBERS THE TEN DAYS OP
WAITING 219
UNCORRUPTED CHRISTIANITY ACTS ON THE PRINCIPLE OF
" I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST " . . . . 222
VII. — MINISTERS ROBED WITH POWER PROM ON HIGH . . . 227
ALL POWER INDESCRIBABLE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME
APPRECIABLE 228
THE HIGHEST IDEAL OF A CHRISTIAN SERVICE . . . 230
INTELLECTUALISM AS THE SUBSTITUTE FOB POWER . . 233
FACTITIOUS AND REAL POWER 237
NO STYLE OR TALENT EFFECTUAL IN ITSELF . . . 241
EVERY FORM OP TALENT EFFECTUAL WHEN ACCOMPANIED
BY SPIRITUAL POWER 243
~-^ TEU! WORD OF LIFE THE SOLE CONDUCTOR OF THE DIVINE
FIRE 246
MEN IMBUED WITH DIVINE POWER 248
THE SAME TYPES OF MEN DESTITUTE OP THE POWER . 250
ALL EFFECTS OF MINISTERIAL POWER PRECIOUS . . 253
THE POWER OF BRINGING MEN TO DECISION . . . 254
SPIRITUAL POWER IN THE MINISTER FELT BY EVERY
HEARER 258
PITIABLE STATE OF MINISTERS DESTITUTE OF THE POWER 260
A MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR POWER, NOT SUCCESS . 264
"we are AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST" .... 267
VIII. — THE CONVERTING INFLUENCE OP THE HOLY SPIRIT , . 268
THE ONE PRACTICAL END OP CHRISTIANITY . . . 268
THE STANDING EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIANITY . . . 279
SAVING FROM SIN THE GREAT ATTRACTION . . , 282
xviii CONTENTS.
Page
THE PRINCrPAIi LEYEB FOB RAISING THE STANDARD OP
UORALS 283
THE ONLY MEANS WHEREBY CHEISTIANITY RAISES TIP
AGENTS FOR HEB OWN PBOPAGATION .... 285
SUDDEN CONVEBSIONS MANIFESTLY DIVINE . . . 287
NUMEROUS CONVERSIONS A STRIKING PROOF OF THE AGENCY
OF GOD ... ..... 289
IX. — ^ALL-BUB STANTIAL GIFTS ABIDE 292
CHAPTEE IX.
PEACTICAL LESSONS.
I. — THE SOURCE OP POWER , . 294
THE PRESENCE OF THE LIVING SPIRIT IN ALL CHURCH
ARRANGEMENTS 294
THE TEN days' Sn^ENCE IN THE PORE-PBONT OF CHRISTIAN
HISTORY 296
^OD'S HOLY FIRE THE WANT ABOVE ALL WANTS IN THIS
AGE 297
II. — THE WAY TO OBTAIN POWER 298
THE LESSON OF THE TEN DAYS 299
PRAYER, PRAYER, ALL PRAYER 300
TRUST, STRAIGHTFORWARD, CHILD-LIKE TRUST . . , 302
BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST .... 803
THE DOOR OF THE LIPS GUARDED 306
A STRICT REGARD TO HEALTH AND TEMPERANCE , . 306
NO " AIMING AT LITERARY EFFECT " 308
TRUSTING FOR UTTERANCE TO HELP PROM ABOVE . . 310
" THIS IS NOT SACRED ELOQUENCE, IT IS RELIGIOUS POWER" 312
THE WONDER OP THEIR AGE, THE SERAPHIM OF EARTH . 314
THE ANSWER TO ALL UNBELIEF 316
III.— THE SCALE ON WHICH OUR EXPECTATIONS OP SUCCESS SHOULD
BE FRAMED 318
OUR AGE AND SPIRITUAL MOVEMENTS .... 318
PRE-EMINENTLY THE AGE OF OPPORTUNITY , . . 320
CONTENTS.
XIX
REMARKABLE FOR AGENCY ....
ALSO AN AOE OF PROGRESS ....
WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE ....
SUCCESS OP PREACHERS IN THE LAST CENTURY
OUR OPPORTUNITIES AND HELPS
ACCUMULATIVE POWER OP CHRISTIAN PROGRESS
IV. — THE CONVERSION OP THE WHOLE WORLD POSSIBLE
THE GOSPEL "GOOD NEWS " FOR EVERY CREATURE
RELATION OF HOPE TO LABOUR
RELATION OP HOPE TO PRAYER
THE FREE AGENCY OP MAN
THE UNSHARED PROVINCE OP GOD
V. — LET US UP AND BE DOING
SAVING OURSELVES AND OTHERS
CREEDS, CATECHISMS, AND CONFESSIONS
~y> MINISTERS AND THE " TONGUE OP FIRE '
Page
321
323
325
326
329
331
333
334
335
337
339
341
343
845
846
347
^
THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
CHAPTER I.
THE PROMISE OF A BAPTISM OF FIRE.
I. — The Word of John the Baptist.
When John the Baptist was going round Judea,
shaking the hearts of the people with a call to repent,
they said, " Surely this must be the Messiah for
whom we have waited so long." "No/' said the
strong-spoken man, " I am not the Christ : i but One
mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I
am not worthy to unloose : He shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost and with fire." 2
This last expression might have conveyed some
idea of material burning to any people but Jews ; but
in their minds it would awaken other thoughts. It
would recall the scene when their Father Abraham
asked Him who promised that he should inherit the
'John i. 20. » Luke iii. 16.
THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
land wherein he was a stranger, " Lord, whereby shall
I know that I shall inherit it?" The answer came
thus : he was standing under the open sky at night,
watching by cloven sacrifices, when, ''behold a
smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed
between those pieces " of the victims. i It would
recall the fire which Moses saw in the bush, which
shone, and awed, and hallowed even the wilderness,
but did not consume ; the fire which came in the day
of Israel's deliverance, as a light on their way, and
continued with them throughout the desert journey ;
the fire which descended on the Tabernacle in the day
when it was reared up, and abode upon it continually ;
which shone in the Shekinah ; which touched the lips
of Isaiah ; which flamed in the visions of Ezekiel ;
and which was yet again promised to Zion, not only
in her public, but in her family shrines, when " the
Lord will create upon every dwellmg-place of Mount
Zion, and upon all her assemblies, a cloud and
smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by
night."
In the promise of a baptism of fire they would at
once recognise the approach of new manifestations of
the power and presence of God ; for that was ever the
purport of this appearance in " the days of the right
hand of the Most High."
I Gen. XV. 17
THE PROMISE OF A BAPTISM OF FIRE. 3
II. — The Life of the Only-begotten Son of God.
Among the multitude who flocked to John came
one strange Man, whom he did not altogether know ;
yet he knew that He was full of grace and wisdom,
and in favour with God and man. He felt that him-
self rather needed to be baptized of one so pure, than
to baptize Him ; but he waived his feeling, and
fulfilled his ministry. As they returned from the
water side, the heavens opened : a bodily shape, as of
a dove, came down and rested on the stranger. At
the same time a voice from the excellent glory said,
" This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased : hear ye Him."
John said, " I knew Him not : but He that sent me
to baptize with water, the same said unto me. Upon
whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and
remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth
with the Holy Ghost." Therefore, when he saw Him
walking, he pointed his own disciples to Him, and
said, that this was He. They heard the word, and
pondered. The next day, again, John, seeing Him at
a distance, said, " Behold the Lamb of God ! " Now,
two of his followers went after the stranger, to seek
at His hand the baptism which John could not give, —
the baptism of fire. They were joined by others.
For months, for years, they companied with Him.
They saw His life : a life as of the Only-begotten Son
THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
of God. They heard His words : such words as
" never man spake." They saw Hii works : signs,
and wonders, and great miracles, before all the
people. Yet they received not the baptism of fire !
He began to speak frequently of His departure
Another to fi"©"^ them ; but His mode of describing it
come, yet was Strange. He was to leave them, and
no notier. y^^. ^^^ ^^ forsake them ; to go away,
and yet to be with them; to go, and yet to
come to them. They were to be deprived of Him,
their Head, yet orphans they should not be.
Another was to come, yet not another ; a Comforter
from the Father, from Himself; whom, not as in His
case, the world could neither know nor see, but whom
they should know, though they could not see.^ His
own presence with them was a privilege which no
tongue could worthily tell. Blessed were their eyes
for what they saw, and their ears for what they
heard. Better still than even this was to be the
presence of the Holy Ghost, who would follow Him
as He had followed John.
" I tell you the truth," He said, when about to
utter what was hard to believe : " I tell you the
truth ; It is expedient for you that I go away." How
could it be expedient .^ Would they not be losers to
an extent which no man could reckon ? The light of
I John xiv. 17.
THE PROMISE OF A BAPTISM OF FIRE. 5
His countenance, the blessing of His words, the
purity of His presence, the influence of His example,
all to be removed ; and this expedient for them !
" It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go
not away, the Comforter will not come unto you."
Well, but would they not be better with Himself than
with the Comforter ? No ; just the contrary. They
would be better with the Comforter ; He would lead
them into all truth ; whereas now they were con-
stantly misapplying the plain words of Christ. He
would bring all things to their remembrance ; whereas
now they often forgot in a day or two the most
remarkable teaching, or the most amazing miracles.
He would take the things of Christ, the things of the
Father, and reveal them unto them ; whereas now
they constantly misapprehended His relation to the
Father, and that of the Father to Him, misappre-
hended His person, His mission, and His kingdom.
Again, He would convince the world of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment to come; and this
not as one teacher limited by a local personality, but
as a Spirit diffused abroad throughout the earth.
And He would abide with them for ever, not for
''a little while." Whatever, therefore, Christ's
personal presence and teaching had been to them,
the presence of the Spirit would be more.
Having thus pre-occupied their minds with the
hope of a greater joy than even that of His own
THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
countenance, the Master laid down His life.
Stunned, dispersed, and desolate, they felt them-
selves orphans indeed. Their Master ignominiously
executed, and neither the word of John nor His own
word fulfilled : no Comforter, no baptism of fire !
*' Receive Soon He re-appeared, and, as they were
ye the met together for the first time since His
oy ost. (jgjLth, once more stood in the midst of
them. He breathed upon them, and said, " Receive
ye the Holy Ghost." With that word, doubtless,
both peace and power were given ; yet it was not the
baptism of fire. During forty days He conversed
with them on the things pertaining to the kingdom of
God ; assigning to them the work of proclaiming and
establishing that kingdom to the ends of the earth.
One injunction, however. He laid upon them, which
seemed to defer the effect of others. They were to
go into all the world, yet not at once, or uncon-
ditionally. " Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem till ye
be endued with power from on high." Apparently
more ready to interpret " power " as referring to the
hopes of their nation than to the kingdom of grace
they asked, " Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore
again the kingdom to Israel }" ^
The •* Gospel ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ nothing of a kingdom for
of the Israel, or in Israel. His speech had been
Kingdom:^ on a higher theme, and of a wider field :
X Acts i. 6.
THE PROMISE OF A BAPTISM OF FIRE.
namely, " that repentance and remission of sins should
be preached in His name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things."
Such, in various forms, are the words we find Him
uttering concerning His kingdom during these forty
days. When, therefore, they asked if He would at
this time restore again the kingdom to Israel, He
shortly turned aside their curiosity. What were
the Father's designs as to Israel nationally, what
the times when they might again be a kingdom,
were points not for them. They had better work,
and nearer at hand. '* It is not for you to know the
times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in
His own power." i " But," He continued, passing at
once from curious questions about the future of
Israel, and unfulfilled prophecy, to His own grand
kingdom, " But ye shall receive power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you." What power .<* of
Princes, or Magistrates } Nay, quite another power,
for an unearthly work : " 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."
In these words He traces the circles in which
Christian sympathy and activity should ever run —
first Jerusalem, their chief city ; next Judea, their
native land ; then Samaria, a neighbouring country,
1 Acts i. 7.
THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
inhabited by a race nationally detested by their
countrymen ; and finally, the " uttermost parts of the
earth." They were neither to seek distant spheres
first, nor to confine themselves always at home ; but
to carry the Gospel into all the world, as each country
could be reached. This was what He had before
placed in their view, the filling of all the earth with the
news of grace, news that repentance and pardon were
opened to men by the power of His atonement. We
have no hint that He ever spake, during the forty days,
of other kingdom, royalty, or reign. Not to rule over
cities ; not to speculate on the designs of the Father
and the destinies of the Jews ; but to go into the
whole world, and tell every creature the story of
Christ, was to be their princely work. To found a
kingdom, not over men's persons, but " within " their
souls ; a kingdom not of provinces, but of " righteous-
ness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost , " a
kingdom to be spread, not by the arms of a second
Joshua, but by the " witness " of the human voice ; a
kingdom, the power of which would not lie in force
or policy, or signs observed in heaven, but in a
spiritual power imparted by the Holy Ghost, and
operating in superhuman utterance of heavenly truth;
this was their embassy. For this were they to be
endued with power from on high. But when was
this power, so long spoken of, to come 1 Would
John's word ever be fulfilled ? The Master has not
THE PROMISE OF A BAPTISM OF FIRE. 9
forgotten it. "John truly baptized with water, but
ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many
days hence." At length the promise is brought to a
point, and its fulfilment near.
Already had He proclaimed Himself King, and
marked out the ministers and army, the weapon, the
" All Power extent, the badge of citizenship, the statute
is given law, the royal glory, and the duration of
to Me. j^jg kingdom. With His disciples around
Him, standing on a mountain top, heaven above and
earth below. He thus proclaimed His kingdom : " All
power is given to Me in heaven and in earth : " here
was the King. " Go : " here were the ministers and
army — an embassy of peace. " Teach : " here the
weapon — the Word of God. " All nations : " here the
extent. " Baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : " here the
badge of citizenship. '* Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you : " here the
statute law. " And, lo, I am with you:" here the
royal presence and glory of the kingdom. " Always,
unto the end of the world : " here its duration, i Now
again He is rising a hill, conversing with those who had
heard this proclamation, as to their part in the estab-
lishment of the kingdom. He has clearly promised
that, before many days, the long looked-for baptism
I Matt, xxviii. 19, 20.
10 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
of fire will come. That implies, that before many-
days He will depart ; for He ever said that He must
first ascend. He has answered, or rather rebuked,
their curious inquiry as to Israel ; has turned their
thoughts again to the descent of the Spirit ; and is
just telling them that, endued with this new power,
they shall bear witness to His glory, not only at home,
but abroad. "To the uttermost part of the earth,"
is the last word on His lips^ — a startling word for His
peasant auditors, accustomed to limit their range of
thought within the Holy Land. But He had already
said that all power was given to Him " in heaven and
in earth." Did not the faith of some disciple reel un-
der the weight of these words ?
" In Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria,
and to THE UTTERMOST PART OF THE EARTH ! '*
The Homage ^his word is on His lips; they are
of Earth and steadily watching Him: He lifts His
of Heaven, hands. He pronounces His blessing ; and
in the act,2 lo. His body, which they know " has flesh
and bones " like their own, begins to rise ! No wing,
no hand, no chariot of fire ! Upward it moves by its
own power ; and in that single action commands the
homage of earth ; for our globe has no law so universal
and irreversible as that whereby it binds down all
ponderous bodies to its surface. Here this law gives
I Acts i. 8. 8 Luke xxiv. 50.
THE PROMISE OF A BAPTISM OF FIRE. 11
way, and thereby the whole mass of the globe yields
to the power of Christ. The placid movement of that
body, up from the surface of earth into the heights of
the sky, is an open act of sovereignty over the highest
physical law ; whereby Christ " manifested forth His
glory," as Lord and Maker of all physical laws. His
proclamation of kingship is thus acknowledged by-
earth with its highest homage. Now the heaven adds
its homage, stoops in luminous cloud, and robes Him
for His enthronement. The everlasting doors lift up
their heads. The King of Glory enters in. The
First-begotten from the dead, the Prince of the Kings
of the earth, sits down with the Father on His
throne ; and from Him receives the word, " Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever ; a sceptre of
righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom ! " And
again, "Let all the angels of God worship Him."
Within the veil they worship the Lamb ; and down
they speed to His followers, and tell them that they
need not gaze. As they have seen Him go, so shall
they see Him come, even in the clouds, to judge that
world, of which and of its Princes He is King,
Thus triply is His kingship owned. Earth permits
Him to rise, heaven bows, the angels add their testi-
mony. All things own Him. Unbelief is now impos-
sible. Doubt vanishes away. His word shall not pass
unfulfilled. The baptism of fire is at hand.
12 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
CHAPTER II.
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT.
I. — The Hour after the Return from Olivet.
It is on Thursday, probably in the evening, that the
disciples return to Jerusalem. Their Master is no
more at their head — indeed, no more on earth ; and
as yet His great promise is unfulfilled. But the scene
of the ascension is in their eye ; the voice of angels
in their ear. Jesus is King of Kings, and Lord of
Lords. The Comforter is coming " not many days
hence." Not with doubting or weeping do they enter
the city, but with " great joy ; " the joy of a triumph
already sealed, and of hope foreseeing triumphs to
come. Most probably that joy carries their first steps
to the temple.i Oft had they entered it with Him,
but never so triumphantly as now. There they are,
not mourning the absence of their Master, but
" praising and blessing God." Thence they go to " an
upper room." We know not in what street, or on
what site ; but there " abode " a few men whose names
X Luke xxiv. 53.
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT. 18
were not then great, but whose names will never more
pass away from the memory of mankind. With them
abode also a few women, who had loved their Lord ;
and for the last time " Mary the mother of Jesus " is
named as one of the little company. Men and
women now began to pray, and they " continued with
one accord in prayer and supplication," for the baptism
of fire.
Did they expect to receive it that very night }
This we know not ; but we do know that then opened
A New Era in ^ "^^ ^^^ ^" ^^ intercourse of man
the Intercourse of with heaven. As they began to pray,
Man with Heaven, j^^^ ^j^^y ^^^^^ f^j^j ^H ^j^^jj. concep-
tions of the Majesty on high changed ! It no longer
spread before and beyond the soul's eyesight, as an
unvaried infinity of glory incomprehensible. The
glory was brighter, the incomprehensibility remained ;
but the infinity had now received a centre. Every
beam of the glory converged toward the person of
" God manifest in the flesh," now " received up into
heaven : " the glory not dissolving the person in its
own tide, the person not dimming the glory by any
shade, though appearing through it as the sun's body
through the light. Perhaps, indeed, the change was
such to their view as would have struck the eye of an
ordinary observer of nature, had one lived on our
planet, at the time when the sun was first set in the
firmament. The light which before had been a wide
14 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
and level mystery, now had to his eye a law, a centre,
and a spring. The indistinct view of a material form
amid the seemingly spiritual glory, gave the feeling
that some body akin to our own globe lay at the
centre of illumination. This body was not the
cause of the light, not even of the same nature, but
around the body the ''exceeding weight of glory"
seemed to hang.
Oh, to feel as felt that heart which first discerned
human nature, in the person of Him who had been
Praying in *' ^^ marred," " set down on the right hand
the Name of the Majesty on high!" The glory of
of Christ. |.j^g Father encompassing a human form,
and beaming from a human brow ! *' If ye loved Me,
ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the
Father : for My Father is greater than I," — was the
word of Jesus. Now that they had seen Him pass
within the veil ; seen the ushering angels attend His
entrance, and heard the music of their voices ; they
would not feel as if He had forsaken them, but as
they had often felt when the High Priest passed from
their view into the holiest, bearing the blood of the
atonement, to stand before the PRESENCE. " He is
out of sight, but there before the Lord." The first
thought would be one of joy for Him. Peter ! how
did thy breast heave when first thou didst behold, by
faith clear as sight, that countenance which had
looked round upon thee from the bar, now looking
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT. 15
down upon thee from the high and lofty throne!
Mary Magdalene, who wast bent under the seven-fold
power of the devil when first that face beamed on
thee, who didst fall at His feet when, just arisen from
the dead, He first appeared to thee ! what was the
flow of thy tears, what was the odour of thy joy, when
the full truth burst on thy view, that He had " over-
come, and was set down with the Father on His
throne ! " And thou, John ! what felt thy bosom
when He on whose bosom thine own head had leaned,
appeared to thy mind no more with such as thee ; but,
as " in the begining, with God ? " And thou, too,
Mary the blessed, through whose soul the sword had
gone ! how did thy " soul magnify the Lord ! " how
did thy " spirit rejoice in God thy Saviour," when thy
meek eye saw the infinite accomplishment of Gabriel's
word. He shall be Great !
Mingling with this first joy for the Master's exalta-
tion, and presently rising to the surface and over-
spreading all their emotions, would be the feeling,
" He has entered for us within the veil ! He bears
our names upon His heart for a memorial before the
Lord ! He maketh intercession for us ! " — Tush !
which of the twelve is it that starts up as if a spirit
had entered him, and, pointing upward, says to the
Brethren ? — " Let us ask the Father in His NAME !
He said to us, ' Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father
in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto ye have
16 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
asked nothing in My name : ask, and ye shall receive,
that your joy may be full.' " i
The angels had often sung together when the
prayer of repenting sinners was heard on high. Now,
for the first time, they hear prayers from human lips
rising to the Throne authorised and accredited by the
NAME of the Only-begotten of the Father. That
name has just been set " above every name ; " and as
it echoes through the host above, with the solemn joy
of a hundred believing voices, ** things in heaven '*
bow. Be man ever so unworthy, " worthy is the
Lamb ; " and His name covers with justice every
request to which it is set by His authority. What
must have been that moment for the saints in
Paradise, who had seen the Saviour afar off, but
never known the joy of praying directly in His
name 1 Father Abraham had *' rejoiced to see His
day ; and he saw it and was glad." What would be
his gladness now, that earth and heaven were re-
joicing in His name ! David, to whom He was at
once Lord and Son — what would be " the things '*
which in that wonderful moment his tongue would
speak " touching the King ? "
From the hour that sin entered into the world, the
Symbols J"^^ ^"^ ^^^ never given man audience on
of the terms fit only for the innocent. An upright
Atonement, inferior may approach Majesty, not with-
z John xvi. 23, 24.
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT, 17
out reverence, but without shame or atonement.
The admission of a criminal on the same footing
would be wrong. Right in our governments is the
imperfect reflection of a perfect right. Had the
favour of the Almighty crossed the line which divides
innocence from guilt, and smiled upon the latter, that
smile would have been a scathing flash, wherein all
morals would have blackened. Sinful man had not
been hopelessly banished from the presence of God ;
but he had ever been taught to come displaying a
sign of wrath, of death, which is the wages of sin ;
thus declaring to the universe that he appealed, not
to a justice which had never been ofl"ended, but to a
justice which had been satisfied.
The altar had been the Patriarch's place of prayer.
The temple; where was the perpetual offering, had
been the centre to w^hich every praying Israelite
turned. To approach the Eternal Godhead as if no
evil had been done, and no stroke merited, was never
yet the privilege of a creature who had done wrong.
It was wonderful, yea, mysterious, that such could be
allowed to approach at all ; but the Lord would ever
justify His permission, by demanding clear and
express reference to that propitiation, which He has
set forth to declare His own righteousness, in that
marvellous act of lifting the guilty into the mansions
of the good.
How great the transition from these symbols of
18 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
the Atonement to the full view of its reality !
The Full During the FORTY DAYS Jesus had opened
View of its their understanding, pointed out to them
Reality. ^^ Scriptures which bore upon His death,
and showed its connexion with remission of sins
for mankind. They now looked no more to
temple or to altar. They had before them the true
sacrifice completed. He had " purged their sins,"
and, in the same body wherein He had done so, was
standing before the Father.
He had given them authority to use His name.
With that name their petitions carried the assent of
all the rational and moral creation. The eternal
Father, in holding communion with beings who had
done wrong, exposed no sinless being to doubts as
to whether right and wrong were equal. He had
" made peace through " Christ's " blood," had thus
" reconciled all things to Himself" — to Himself in
the new and mysterious proceeding of government,
whereby the doers of wrong were spared the effects
of wrong-doing. " For it pleased the Father that in
Him should all fulness dwell ; and, having made
peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to
reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say,
whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." i
So that creatures " in heaven," all whose joy
1 Col. i. 19, 20.
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT. 19
depended on their never doing wrong, had no murmur
to raise, and no temptation to undergo, when they saw
creatures "on earth," who had followed ways which
would make any world sorrowful, received into the
arms of Eternal Mercy. The guilty He reconciled
by forgiving their sin and recovering their hearts ;
and the innocent He reconciled to see offenders
exalted, by " setting forth " so conspicuously that all
angels desired to look into it, " a propitiation," which
fully "declared His righteousness," His strict care of
right; which magnified law, magnified holiness,
magnified obedience, and, in the act of saving the
guilty, magnified beyond all previous conception the
heinousness of guilt. What sense of the distinction
between right and wrong could have been maintained
among innocent creatures had they seen transgressors
raised to favour and honour without atonement ?
O the joy of that first hour of praying in the name
The Joy ^^ Christ! Was not Martha there.? As
of that she met the Master on that mournful day
irst Hour, ^j^gj^ Lazarus lay in the tomb, though
despairing, she said, " But I know, that even now,
whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it
Thee." If such was her confidence then, what would
be her confidence now — He asking for her, and she
asking in His name ! How the souls of the disciples,
following Him above the sky, would soar, with a new
wing, a new eye, and a new song ! What simple and
20 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
glowing collects would they be which were uttered
then ! What words of joy and supplication would he
pour forth who first bethought him of putting the
Lord in remembrance of His own promises ! What
short and burning petitions would go up from the lips
which first quoted, " Whatsoever ye shall ask the
Father in My name, He shall give it you ! " How
would he plead who first remembered, " Ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you ! " How would
tones of desire and triumph mingle in the first
repetition of " All things whatsoever ye ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive ! " None of their prayers
are recorded. We have ancient collects, and beautiful
they are ; but none of these most ancient are pre-
served. The Spirit has not seen it good to hand
down the strong and tender collects of these ten, or
of the following days. Then, surely, it is unlawful to
impose good forms of prayer upon all men because
ancient saints wrote them.
He who will never use a form in public prayer,
casts away the wisdom of the past. He who will
use only forms, casts away the hope of utterance
to be given by the Spirit at present, and even
shuts up the future in the stiff hand of the past.
Whatever Church forbids a Christian congregation,
no matter what may be their fears, troubles, joys, or
special and pressing need, ever to send up prayer
to God except in words framed by other men in
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT. 21
Other ages, uses an authority which was never dele-
gated. To object to all forms is narrowness. To
doom a Christian temple to be a place wherein a
simple and impromptu cry may never arise to
heaven, is superstition.
Does any one of the hundred and twenty, even
in paradise, up to this moment forget the hour of
prayer that Thursday night, after they had returned
from Olivet?
II. — The Ten Days of Waiting.
The Friday morning dawns. It was on Friday the
Two Scenes Lord had died. Would He not send His
before promised substitute to-day? O how His
Every Eye. ^^oss would all day long stand before the
eye of every disciple ! Now came back all His
words about the death " which He should accom-
plish;" from the night when He told Nicodemus
that, as the serpent had been lifted up, so must He,
up to the right in which He said, " The hour is
come " — words dark at the time, but pointed to-day
as the steel of arrows. What had been mystery was
mystery no longer. Now the only mystery was,
" What manner of love ! " Was it on that day that
John's fiery heart — the heart which had rebuked the
man who followed not them, which wished to burn
the inhospitable villagers, and to be, with his brother,
head of all — was it then this heart fully embraced the
22 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
meaning of the agony witnessed by him so close at
hand, as compared with the others, and written upon
it for ever ? Was it then it first saw all the import of
the words, " God so loved the world, that He gave
His Only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting life ? "
and that the " son of thunder " was transformed into
the child of charity ?
Never before had the thought of man alternated
between two such scenes as those which divided the
eye of every soul in that praying company — a cross,
a drooping head, hands bleeding, feet bleeding,
heaven black, thieves on either side, gibes below ;
and a preternatural sorrow on the soul of the sufferer,
which cast over the whole an infinite dreadfulness.
On this the eye looks one moment, and weeps. Then
a throne, high and lifted up ; the glory of the Lord ;
angels bowing ; angels singing ; saints with palm,
and harp, and voice acclaiming ; and in the centre of
all might, majesty, and dominion, the crucified body,
living, but with its wounds, " as slain." On this the
same eye looks, and weeps again. Oh for the feelings
of that day !
Yet the Friday wears away, and no " baptism of
_, , ,^ fire ! " The Saturday sets in ; its hours
Though He -^ . ^
tarry, yet will are filled up as before, with prayer ; but
they wait no answer. And now dawns the first
for Htm, ^^y ^^ ^j^^ week, the day whereon He
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT. 23
rose, the first Lord's day He had passed on His
throne of glory. How did they spend that day ?
Surely they would fully expect that the blessing they
sought would be delayed no longer. He said, " Not
many days : " this was the fourth day ; it must come
to-day ! But the evening steals on, and all their
prayers might have risen into a heaven that could
not hear. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday pass.
Their faith does not fail ; still in the temple " praising
and blessing God," or in the upper room in " prayer
and supplication," they continue of one accord.
Though He tarry, yet will they wait for Him.
This is waiting. Some speak of waiting for
salvation as if it meant making ourselves at ease,
and dismissing both effort and anxiety. Who so
waits for any person or any event ? When waiting,
your mind is set on a certain point ; you can give
yourself to nothing else. You are looking forward,
and preparing ; every moment of delay increases the
sensitiveness of your mind as to that one thing. A
servant waiting for his master, a wife waiting for the
footstep of her husband, a mother waiting for her
expected boy, a merchant waiting for his richly-laden
ship, a sailor waiting for the sight of land, a monarch
waiting for tidings of the battle — all these are cases
wherein the mind is set on one object, and cannot
easily give attention to another.
"To-morrow will be Thursday, a full week from
24 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
the Ascension : that will be the day, the term of the
A full Week pi*oniise will not extend further. To-
from the morrow the Comforter will come ; to-
Ascension. morrow we shall be baptized with fire,
and fitted to do the works our Master did, 'yea,
greater works than these.' " So they would probably
settle it in their mind. The Thursday finds them, as
before, " of one accord in one place ; " no Thomas
absent through unbelief How the scene of that day
week would return to their view ! How they would
over and over again in mind repeat the walk from
Jerusalem to Olivet ; each recalling what he said to
the Master, and what the Master said to him ; each
thinking he had got such a look as he never got
before, and as he should not forget so long as he
lived ! How they would repeat the last words ! " Ye
shall receive poiver, after that the Holy Ghost is come
upon you." In the repetition new faith would kindle.
" Yes, we shall ; let us wait on ; we shall ' be endued
with power from on high.' " Then another would
repeat, " And ye shall be witnesses to Me in Jeru-
salem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the
uttermost parts of the earth." This was vast
language for them, whose thoughts were wont to
move only in the sphere of Palestine. Probably they
did not so much weigh the import of the terms as
look at the main promise. They should be endued
with the power of the Holy Ghost — that power which
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT, 25
had made Psalmists and Prophets ; had rendered the
words of Elijah stronger than the decrees of Ahab,
the words of Elisha stronger than the armies of
Syria, the words of Isaiah as coals from the altar, and
the words of Daniel mightier than the spirit of a king
and " a thousand of his captains." Baptized with the
same Spirit, they were to proclaim what these fore-
told, but never saw : the Child born, the Son given,
the Prince cut off for sin (but not His own), the Lamb
on whom were laid the iniquities of all. All this
they had seen fulfilled in the person of their glorious
Lord. All this they had heard explained by His
own lips, before and after His death. They were to
go and prove to others, as He had proved to them,
that " thus it was written, and thus it behoved Christ
to suffer, and to rise again the third day ; and that
repentance and remission of sins should be preached
in His name among all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem."
Here again they encountered the intimation that
their message was for all, and their testimony to be
borne to the uttermost parts of the earth. Yet still
it seems that not the sphere, but the purport, of their
commission now occupied their mind. They were to
go, and as He had preached, so would they, far and
wide, in cities and villages. In what tones would
they tell the people that, as He used to say to those
who came to Him, '* Be of good cheer, thy sins be
26 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
forgiven thee," so would He now say, from heaven, to
all who now lifted an eye to Him !
But the days wear on, and no blessing. Is not the
delay long? " Not many days ! " Does the promise
Will their hold good ? They must have felt disap-
Faithfaii? pointed as the evening fell, and no sign
of an answer to their oft-repeated prayer. Now is
the hour of trial. Will their faith fail ? Will some
begin to forsake the meetings which bring not the
baptism they seek } Will some stay at home, or
" go a fishing," saying that they will wait the Lord's
time, and not be unwarrantably anxious about what,
after all, does not depend on them, but on the Lord ?
Will no one say — '* We have done our duty, and
must leave results. We cannot command the fulfil-
ment of the promise. We have asked for it, asked
sincerely, fervently, repeatedly : we can do no
more t "
Or, what is equally probable, will they begin to
find out that the cause why they remain unblessed
and yet " orphans," lies in the unfaithfulness of their
companions? Happily, the spirit of faith and love
abides upon them. John does not turn upon Peter,
and say, " It is your fault ; for you denied the
Master." Philip does not turn to John, and say, " It
is your fault ; for you and James wanted to lord it
over us all." Andrew does not turn to Thomas, and
say, "It is your fault ; for you would not believe,
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT. 27
even when we had declared it to you." The Seventy
do not say, " It is the fault of the Twelve ; for,
after the Lord had lifted them above us all, one
of them sold Him, another denied Him, and a third
disbelieved." The Marys do not say, " It is the fault
of the whole company, a cold and unfaithful com-
pany, professing to love the Master to His face, but
the moment He fell into the hands of His enemies,
ye all forsook Him and fled!"
Well did they know that they had been slow of
heart ; been unworthy of such a Teacher ; had
often grieved Him, made Him ask, " How long shall
I be with you ? " John would never forget the
rebuke, " Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are
of." Peter would never forget, the third time,
" Lovest thou Me } " Philip would never forget,
" Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast
thou not known Me, Philip ? " And surely Thomas
would never forget, " Be not faithless, but believing."
Yet they knew He had not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. His own lips
had said, *' He that is v/hole hath no need of a
physician, but he that is sick." Had He not taken
to His bosom the very head whose heats of ambition
and of vindictiveness He had rebuked ? Had He
not said to Peter, " Feed My lambs ? " Had He not
said to Thomas, '* Reach hither thy hand ? " His
promise was not made because they were a Church
28 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
without Spot or wrinkle, but because they were
feeble, and, deprived of His own presence, would be
orphans indeed, did no other power cover them.
He knew every fault with which any of them could
charge the others ; yet the promise had passed His
lips, and the fire would fall even on them, unworthy
as they were. Happy for them that none fancied
he could fix upon others the cause of their un-
answered prayers !
The Thursday is gone ; eight days ! The Friday
and the Saturday follow it, marked by the same
Ten days persistency in union, in praise, in prayer, and
gone. by the same absence of encouragement.
Ten days gone ! the promise, " Not many days," is
all but broken.
Peter was always warm and earnest. A thought
of his had hardly time to become a thought before
it turned into either word or action. When once
his mind had embraced the glorious idea of standing
up before the world, a witness for his ascended
Master, it would seem as if the whole plan was to
be carried out in a day. One cannot help imagining
how he bore the restraint of the TEN DAYS — the days
of prayer, of belief, of waiting — in which they were
not permitted to begin their work.
" Strange ! " we almost hear him say, " Strange !
The Lord has died that repentance and remission of
sins should be preached in His name among all
THE WAITING FOR THE FULFILMENT. 29
nations. He has finished the work, risen from the
dead, and led captivity captive. The heavens have
received Him. The angels proclaim Him. Us He
took from our homes ; how He taught, and trained,
and practised us ; all, as we now see, for this work of
proclaiming His love and the pardon it brings to all
mankind ! Here we are, unfitted for every other
calling. His commission is to us as a Prophet's
call, as a King's anointing. He said, ' Go into all
the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.'
We want to go. Men stand in need : they are
dying daily ; dying in unbelief Why does He not
permit us to go ? Why is the first command so long
suspended by the other ? * Tarry ye in the city of
Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on
high.' We have tarried ten days. Why does our
Master delay.? The world needs the sound of His
Gospel ; we are waiting to bear it forth. He is
exalted at God's right hand, and all pov/er is given
unto Him in heaven and in earth ; yet does He
look down upon the world sleeping a sleep unto
death, and upon us waiting to blow the trumpet !
Is not His instructions, His commission, enough }
We are ordained, after much teaching — may we not
go? No; we must abide by His word : 'Tarry, until
ye be endued with power from on high.' "
The final proof given by Peter that he was waiting
indeed, making all preparations for the event, was in
80 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
calling upon his brethren to fill up the number of the
Apostles. One had fallen. His place was vacant,
and another was to take his "bishopric." Peter
concluded that they were to fill up this vacancy, and
called upon the company to select two men. No
one objected that it remained to be seen whether
they should be endued with power or not. All
acted as feeling the certainty that the Holy Spirit
was about to come, the apostolic commission about
to be fulfilled to the ends of the earth.
THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISE. 31
CHAPTER III.
THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISE.
I. — Pentecost — Fifty Days after the Passover.
There was a day when death had struck a woful
stroke, and raised a nation's wail. "There was a
This Time ^^^^^ ^^^ ^" ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ Egypt : for there
of Note was not a house where there was not one
was come, ^^^d." That same day the Lord, by the
sprinkling of a pure lamb's blood, averted death
from the doors of Israel, and then led them away
from yoke and taskmaster, toward the goodly land.
Fifty days afterward they reached the Mount of God,
where He manifested Himself in the thunder of His
power, with flame and trumpet, and a VOICE, whereat
all the tribes did tremble. Then was the new dis-
pensation formally inaugurated, with the voice and
the flame ; its covenant sealed by the sprinkling of
blood, and its privileges opened to the sprinkled by
the vision of glory, when the Elders " saw the God
of Israel : and there was under His feet as it were a
32 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the
body of heaven in His clearness." i
This time of note was come ; the fifty days were
elapsed from the time when the Lamb was slain and
captivity broken. Forty days had He been with
them after His resurrection ; the rest He had passed
within the veil. And was it not possible that in
saying " Not many days," He pointed them forward
to the day which commemorated the opening of the
new dispensation of God to Israel by the hand of His
servant Moses ? Was it not probable that the
glorious dispensation of His Son would be opened
at this time 1 Unbelief would long ago have ceased
to expect ; but faith would probably renew its antici-
pations, and look to this day. 2
On the morning of the resurrection, some — the
women — were early at the tomb ; but the others were
^' All with sauntering into the country, or here and
One Accord there, with nothing to wait for, as they
in One Place: thought; yet partly expecting some-
thing to come to their ears. Even late in the day,
when they did meet to hear what some had seen and
heard, Thomas was away. Now, however, after ten
days have elapsed, their patience is not exhausted.
They do expect, and therefore will not cease to wait.
1 Exod. xxiv. 10.
2 Among the many writers on the temporal relation between the
Pentecost and the Passover, no one is fuller or clearer than Kuinoel.
THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISE. 33
They have no attention for anything else. The
kingdom of God is at hand. Did He not say, " Not
many days ? " Ten are gone ; and the conclusion is,
not that of servants too idle to wait : " Our Lord
delayeth His coming ; we may as well sit still. He
will come in His own good time." That is not
waiting : it is idling. They said, in their believing
hearts, " Ten days are gone ; therefore, the day of
our Lord draweth nigh. This is the day of Pente-
cost ; and as the fire appeared on Sinai, in the
presence of our fathers, when God made His covenant
by Moses, it may be that to-day He will seal His
covenant, by the hand of the Prophet whom Moses
foresaw, baptizing us with fire, according to the word
wherein He hath made His servants to hope."
No Thomas is absent now ! Not one heart has
failed ! " They are all in one place." No discord or
doubt have they permitted to arise — " they are all
with one accord in one place." Nor are they slow or
late. We are not told at what hour they met, but it
must have been very early ; for after they had
received the baptism, and filled all Jerusalem with
the noise of their new powers, Peter reminded the
multitude who came together that it was only
the third hour of the day — nine o'clock in the
morning.
34 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
II. — The Sound from Heaven and the Celestial Fire.
Early, then, on the second Lord's day after the
Ascension, is the entire company met, with one heart,
to renew their oft-repeated prayer. We cannot go to
the house where was that upper room ; nor to the
site where it stood. These points are left unnoticed,
after the mode of Christianity, which is in nothing a
religion of circumstances, in everything a religion of
principles. We know not how long they had that
morning urged their prayer, nor whose voice was
then crying to Him who had promised, nor what
word of the Master he was pleading, nor what feel-
ings of closer expectation and more vivid faith were
warming the breasts of the disciples. But " suddenly
there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing
mighty wind." Not, mark you, a wind ; no gale
sweeping over the city struck the sides of the house
and rustled round it. But " from heaven," directly
downwards, fell " a sound," without shape, or step, or
movement to account for it — a sound as if a mighty
wind were rushing, not along the ground, but straight
from on high, like showers in a dead calm. Yet.no
wind stirred. As to motion, the air of the room was
still as death ; as to sound, it was awful as a
hurricane.
Mysterious sound, whence comest thou ? Is it the
Lord again breathing upon them, but this time from
THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISE. 35
His throne ? Is it the wind of Ezekiel preparing to
blow? Shaken by this supernatural sign, we may
see each head bow low. Then, timidly turning up-
wards, John sees Peter's head crowned with fire ;
Peter sees James crowned with fire ; James sees
Nathanael crowned with fire ; Nathanael sees Mary
crowned with fire ; and round and round the fire sits
" on each of them." The Lord has been mindful of
His promise. The word of the Lord is tried. John
was a faithful witness. Jesus was a faithful Re-
deemer. He is now glorified ; for the Holy Ghost
is given. Jesus " being by the right hand of God
exalted, and having received of the Father the
promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth
this."
The instant effect of the descent of the Spirit on
the first Gentile converts in the house of Cornelius
The Peal ^as, that they began to " magnify God." i
of Praise The effect would be the same in this first
to God. ^>a,se. That bosom has yet to learn what is
the feeling of moral sublimity, which never has been
suddenly heaved with an emotion of uncontrollable
adoration to God and the Lamb — an emotion which,
though no voice told whence it came, by its move-
ment in the depths of the soul, further down than
ordinary feelings reach, did indicate somehow that
I See Baunigarten.
36 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
the touch of the Creator was traceable in it. They
only who have felt such unearthly joy need attempt
to conceive the outburst of that burning moment.
Body, soul, and spirit, glowing with one celestial fire,
would blend, and pour out their powers in a rapturous
" Glory be to God ! " or " Blessed be the Lord God !"
Modern believers — not those who never unite in
simple and fervent supplications at the throne of
grace, but those who meet and urge with long-
repeated entreaty their requests to God — can recall
times which help them to imagine what must have
been the peal of praise that burst from the hearts of
the hundred and twenty when the baptism fell upon
their souls ; times when they and their friends have
felt as if the place where they met was filled with the
glory of the Lord,
One word as to the mode of this baptism. In this
case we have the one perfectly clear account contained
The Mode of ^^ Scripture of the mode wherein the
this baptizing element was applied to the
Baptism. person of the baptized. The element
here is fire ; the mode is shedding down — " hath shed
forth this." " It sat upon each of them." Did bap-
tism mean immersion, they would have been plunged
into the fire, not the fire shed upon them. The only
other case in which the mode of contact between
the baptizing element and the baptized persons is
indicated, is this : "And were all baptized to Moses
THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISE. 37
in the cloud and in the sea." They were not dipped
in the cloud, but the cloud descended upon them ;
they were not plunged in the sea, but the sea
sprinkled them as they passed. The Spirit signified
by the water is never once promised under the idea of
dipping. Such an expression as, " I will immerse you
in My Spirit," " I will plunge you in My Spirit," or, " I
will dip you in clean water," is unknown to the Scrip-
ture. But, " I will pour out My Spirit upon you,"
" I will sprinkle clean water upon you," is language
and thought familiar to all readers of the Bible. The
word " dip," or " dipped," does not often occur in the
New Testament ; but when it does, the original is
never " baptize," or " baptized." i
III. — Christianity — A Tongue of Fire.
The fire is not a shapeless flame. It is not Abram's
lamp, nor the pillar of the desert, nor the coal of
Isaiah, nor the infolding flame of Ezekiel. It is a
tongue ; yea, cloven tongues. On each
The Emblerns i r n
of the oidDis- t>row grows a sheet of flame, parted lato
pemation and many tongues. Here was the symbol of
0f the New. ^^ ^^^ dispensation. Christianity was
to be a Tongue of Fire. It was a symbol of their
" power/' the power whereby the new kingdom was to
J It is always jSaTTTO) never j3a7rrt^a/.
38 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
be built up ; the power for which they had so long to
tarry, and so eagerly to pray, when all other things
were prepared ; for which the whole arrangement of
the world's conversion was commanded to stand still.
The appearance of this one symbol was the signal
that former ones had waxed old, and were ready to
vanish away. Altar and cherubim, sacrifice and
incense, ephod and breastplate, Urim and Thummim,
— their work was done. Even of the most sacred
emblem of all, that which was the "pattern of things
in the heavens," the Ark itself, it had been foretold,
" They shall say no more. The Ark of the Covenant
of the Lord ; neither shall it come to mind ; neither
shall they remember it ; neither shall they visit it ;
neither shall it be magnified any more." Of the
temple itself the Master had said, that not one stone
shall be left upon another.
All the emblems of the old dispensation were for
ever superseded. In their room the Lord had
appointed only two ; and they chosen with a singular
aptness at once to suggest ideas, and to avoid image
representation : — the water, wherein the mind could
see a symbol of the cleansing Spirit, but the eye no
attempted likeness : the bread and wine, wherein the
body and the blood are forcibly brought to mind, but
no personal similitude is set before the eye. These two
only were the unartistic emblems which Christ had
ordained for His Church. His was to be a religion
THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISE, 39
of the understanding and the heart ; wholly resting
on the convictions and the principles, building nothing
on sense, and permitting nothing to fancy.
In strict keeping with this spiritual stamp of Chris-
tianity, was the symbol which, once for all, announced
^, ^ , , to the Church the advent of her conquer-
ihe Symbol '■
of the Church's i^g ppwcr, — the power by which she was
Power— a to Stand before Kings, to confound syna-
tvtng ongue. g^g^^g^ ^q silence councils, to still mobs,
to confront the learned, to illuminate the senseless,
and to inflame the cold, — the power by which, begin-
ning at Jerusalem, where the name of Jesus was a
byeword, she was to proclaim His glory through all
Judea, throughout Samaria, and throughout the utter-
most parts of the earth. The symbol is a TONGUE,
the only instrument of the grandest war ever waged :
a tongue — man's speech to his fellow man ; a message
in human words to human faculties, from the under-
standing to the understanding, from the heart to the
heart. A tongue of fire — a man's voice, God's truth ;
man's speech, the Holy Spirit's inspiration ; a human
organ, a superhuman power ! Not one tongue, but
cloven tongues ; as the speech of men is various, here
we see the Creator taking to Himself the language of
every man's mother ; so that in the very words
wherein he heard her say, " I love thee," he might
also hear the Father of all say, " I love thee."
How does that fire-symbol, shining on the brow
40 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
of the primitive Church, rebuke that system which
would force all men to worship God in one tongue,
and that not a tongue of fire, but a dead tongue,
wherein no man now on earth can hear his mother's
tones ! Cloven tongues sat on each of them ; so that
each had not only the fire-impulse to go and tell aloud
the message of reconciliation, but also the fire-token
that all mankind, of whatever nation, kindred, people,
or tongue, were heirs alike of the Gospel salvation,
and of the word whereby that salvation is proclaimed.
Blessed be the hour when that TONGUE OF FiRE
descended from the Giver of speech into a cold world !
Had it never come, my mother might have led me,
when a child, to see slaughter for worship, and I
should have taught my little ones that stones were
gods. " Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who only doeth wondrous things ! And blessed be
His glorious name for ever ; and let the whole earth
be filled with His glory ! Amen and Amen ! "
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 41
' CHAPTER IV.
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE.
I.— "Filled with the Holy Ghostr
The first effect which followed this baptism of fire is
thus described : " They were all filled with the Holy
Ghost." This expression is so closely joined with the
record of the miracle, that we easily suppose that it is
itself intended to express miraculous inspiration ; but
this is not its constant, nor even its most frequent, use
in the New Testament. It is sometimes employed to
describe an inspiration antecedent to a miraculous
manifestation, and sometimes one antecedent to a
Examples of P^i^ely moral manifestation. Examples
the Use of the of the latter occur in several cases of
Expression, a speaking the word of God with bold-
ness," when the circumstances were such that human
nature unassisted would have shrunk from the
danger.
John the Baptist wrought no miracle : yet of him it
was said that he should be " filled with the Holy
Ghost from his mother's womb." Here the expression
42 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
denotes some inward and spiritual operation, which
may take place in the silence of an infant's heart, and
show its fruit in the quiet ways of childhood. Had
he been filled with the Holy Ghost immediately
before commencing to preach, we should have con-
nected the former with the latter, as an official, rather
than as an inward and moral, qualification. When
men were required to fill the office of Deacons — not to
work miracles, not to speak with tongues, but to pro-
mote the brotherhood and good feeling of the Church,
by a better regulation of its daily relief to the poor —
the qualification demanded was, that they should be
" men full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom/* Again,
Barnabas **was a good man, and full of the Holy
Ghost, and of faith." This is said of him, not
as accounting for any miracles or tongues, but in
relation to the fact that, when he had seen the con-
verts at Antioch, " he was glad, and exhorted them
all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto
the Lord." Again, when the Apostles were first
called to bear witness for Christ before the Rulers,
" Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them,"
etc. Here we have no working of miracles, no speak-
ing of foreign tongues ; but we find the man who,
when left to his own strength, denies his Master, now
filled with a moral power which makes him bold to
confess that Master's name, before the Rulers of his
people, and with a wisdom to speak according at
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE, 43
once to the oracles of God, and the exigency of the
moment.
After this first persecution was reported to the
disciples generally, they, moved and distressed,
appealed to the Lord in prayer, crying, "And now.
Lord, behold their threatenings ; and grant unto Thy
servants, that with all boldness they may speak Thy
word." The answer to this prayer is recorded in
terms more striking than in any other case, except
that of Pentecost : " And when they had prayed, the
place was shaken where they were assembled together ;
and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost^ and they
spake the word of God with boldness." Here, being
" filled with the Holy Ghost " was not followed by
any miraculous effects whatever, but was an inspira-
tion, the result of which is special moral strength, —
strength to confront danger and shame, — strength to
declare all the Gospel, though, in so doing, they
perilled every interest dear to them.
Our Lord had promised to His disciples miraculous
light and power by the Spirit ; but it was not as a
miracle-working power that He had
The
Office chiefly foretold His coming. It was as a
of the spiritual power, a comforter, a guide unto
Comforter. ^jj ^^.^^j^^ ^ rcvealcr of the things of God,
a remembrancer of the words of Christ ; one who
would convince the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment ; one who would embolden the
44 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
Lord's servants to bear witness before the most
terrible adversaries, and would guide their lips to wise
and convincing speech. Had it been His design that
they should expect the Holy Spirit chiefly as a
miraculous power, the leading promises would have
had this aspect.
When He first clearly proclaims that the Comforter
should come, as a substitute for His own presence, He
marks the classes who shall know Him, and those who
shall not. The distinction between them lies, not in
apostleship or ministry, not in gifts or powers, but in
being of the world, and " not of the world." " 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." ' Not, ** For
He will work miracles by you." That was not pro-
mised to all. Not, " He will prophesy by you."
That He did not promise to all. But He did promise
to all who are *' not of the world," that He should
dwell with them and be in them. Nor is this promise
confined to the apostolic age, or to the times imme-
diately succeeding. " That He may abide with you
for ever," gives an interest in the personal influences
of the Comforter to the disciples of all ages, as well as
to those of the first days.
This promised substitute for the personal presence
I John xiv. 17.
\
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 45
of Christ, was one whom the world should not see, —
who was to be invisible to the natural eye, undiscerni-
ble by the natural mind ; yet known and discerned
by believers, though not seen ; known, not by outward
sign, but by inward consciousness. Our Lord's ex-
pression is to be strictly noted : " The world seeth
Him not, neither knoweth Him ; but ye knoiv Him :"
not, " Ye see and know Him." In one respect the
disciples and the world were to be alike : neither
should see Him. Yet the disciples should ''know"
Him ; for " He dwelleth with you, and shall be in
you." Their knowledge of Him was to come, not by
sense, but by consciousness. Was this " being in
them " to be an ordinary grace of believers, or to be
coupled only with office or supernatural endowments ?
The want of it is made by St. Paul conclusive against
the claim of any man to be considered even a member
of Christ : " Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
His." This passage, however, like many others, ex-
presses only a participation of the Spirit in some
degree, without indicating what that degree might be ;
leaving it open to doubt, were there no other passages
bearing upon the point, whether some might not be
blessed with the indwelling of the Spirit, who yet were
to be debarred from the fuller privilege expressed in
the strong words, " filled with the Holy Ghost."
49 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
The Apostles themselves had doubtless received the
Spirit in some measure before the day of Pentecost ;
for our Lord had breathed upon them
Privilege immediately after His resurrection, and
common said, " Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Yet
'^ in the time which intervened between then
Believers.
and Pentecost, whatever might have been
the advancement of their spiritual condition beyond
what it was before, it rested far behind that which
immediately followed upon the baptism of fire. It
was only then that they were "filled with the Holy
Ghost." We find, however, that even the expression,
" be filled," is applied broadly to ordinary believers ;
and that, too, not merely as describing the actual
enjoyments of some individuals, but as a precept
applicable to all : " Be not drunken with wine, wherein
is excess, but be filled with the Spirit!* Whatever is
meant by being " filled with the Holy Ghost " is, by
these plain words, laid upon us as our duty. Looking
at it in the aspect of a duty, and thinking of the moral
height which the expression indicates above our ordi-
nary life, we shrink. Can such an obligation lie upon
us } Is it not commanding the purblind to gaze upon
the sun ? And yet, whatever is the duty of man must
be the will of God. In this view, then, the command-
ment seems to carry even a stronger encouragement
than the promise, — seems, in fact, to sum up many
promises in one conclusive appeal, saying, " All
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 47
things are now ready. The Lord has provided ; the
fountain is open ; the pure river of the water of life,
clear as crystal, is proceeding out of the throne of God
and of the Lamb ; you are called to its banks, and
with you it rests to drink and be filled with the
Spirit."
He who has not received the Holy Ghost has not
yet entered into the real Christian life, does not know
the " peace which passeth understanding," has in no
sense " Christ in him the hope of glory." He is still
" in the flesh," in his natural and carnal state ; for the
Spirit of God does not dwell in him. The difference
between receiving the Spirit, and being filled with the
Spirit, is a difference not of kind, but of degree. In
the one case, the light of heaven has reached the dark
chamber, disturbing night, but leaving some obscurity
and some deep shadows. In the other, that light has
filled the whole chamber, and made every corner
bright. This state of the soul, — being "filled with
the Holy Ghost," — is the normal antecedent of true
prophetic or miraculous power, but may exist without
it : without it, in individuals who are never endowed
with the gift either of prophecy or of miracles ; with-
out it, in individuals who have such powers, but in
whom they are not in action, as in John the Baptist,
before his ministry commenced.
Eyesight is the necessary basis of what is called a
painter's or a poet's eye ; the sense of hearing, the
48 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
necessary basis of what is called a musical ear ; yet
eyesight may exist where there is no poet's or
painter s eye, and hearing where there is no musical
ear. So may the human soul be "filled with the
Holy Ghost," having every faculty illuminated, and
every affection purified, without any miraculous gift.
On the other hand, the miraculous power does not
necessarily imply the spiritual fulness ; for Paul puts
the supposition of speaking with tongues, prophesy-
ing, removing mountains, and yet lacking charity,
that love which must be shed abroad in every heart
that is full of the Holy Ghost.
" Filled with the Holy Ghost ! " Thrice blessed
word ! thanks be to God that ever the tongues of
'' Filled with "^^^ ^^'^^ taught it! It declares not
all the Fulness Only that the Lord has returned to His
of God:' temple in the human soul, but that
He has filled the house with His glory ; pervaded
every chamber, every court, by His manifested pre-
sence.
" That ye might be filled with all the fulness of
God," is a prayer at which we falter. Is it not too
much to ask } Is it not a sublime flight after the
impossible ? Let us remember it is not, " That ye
might contain all the fulness of God." That would
be more impossible than that your chamber should
contain all the light of the sun. But it can be filled
with the light of the sun — so filled that not a particle
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 49
of unillumined air shall remain within it. When,
therefore, the hand of the Apostle leads you up
toward the countenance of your Father ; when you
approach to see the light which outshines all lights,
" the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus," put
away all thought of containing what the heavens
cannot contain, but, humbly opening thy heart, say,
" Infinite light, fill this little chamber ! "
Reason says, " It may be ; " Scripture says, " It
may be ; " but a shrinking of the heart says, " It
cannot be ; we can never ' be filled with all the
fulness of God.' " When Paul had uttered that
prayer, perhaps this same shrinking of heart had
almost come over him : how does he meet it ?
Glancing down at his wonderful petition, and up at
his Almighty King, he breaks out, " Now unto Him
that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that
worketh in us ; unto Him be glory in the Church by
Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen." Yea, Amen, ten thousand thousand times.
The words of this doxology had been holy and
blessed in any connexion ; but they are doubly
blessed, closely following, as they do, the prayer,
" That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."
Nor should we forget that the power which Paul here
adores is not some abstract and unmoved power of
Deity, but " the power which worketh in us" What
4
50 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
is this power? The Holy Ghost — "might by His
Spirit in the inner man."
What a labour of expression do we find in
2 Cor. ix. 8, when Paul wants to convey his own
The Double ^^^^ °^ ^^ power of grace, as practically
Overflow of the enabling men to do the will of God !
Grace of God. « ^^^^ q^^ j^ ^I^j^ ^^ ^^^j^^ ^jj ^^^^^
abound toward you ; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good
work." Here we have '* abound " twice, and " all "
four times, in one short sentence.' " Abound "
means not only to fill, but to overflow. The double
overflow, first of grace from God to us, then of the
same grace from us to " every good work," is a
glorious comment on our Lord's word, " 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 believe on Him
should receive : for the Holy Ghost was not yet
given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified."
The believer's heart, in itself incapable of holy living,
as a marble cistern of yielding a constant stream, is
placed, like the cistern, in communication with an in-
visible source ; the source constantly overflows into
the cistern, and it again overflows. Happy the heart
I In the Greek ttqc occurs five times, the last being Trav epyov
ayaOov, rendered ^^ every good work."
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 51
thus filled, thus overflowing with the Holy Spirit !
Where is the fountain of these living waters, that we
may bring our hearts thither ? "He showed me a
pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." ' There
is the fount, there the stream ; the Spirit proceeding
from the Father and the Son. To the throne of
grace ! to the mercy-seat ! and you are at the
fountain of all life. Never seek a scant supply at that
source. " Be filled with the Spirit " sounds in your
ears ; and, if you believe, not only will a well
" spring up within " you, but rivers shall flow out
from you.
The Spirit, as replenishing the believer with actual
virtues and practical holiness, is ever kept before our
eye in the apostolic writings. " That ye might walk
worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in
every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of
God ; strengthened with all might, according to His
glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering
with joy fulness."
Putting these various expressions together, what a
view do they give of the riches of grace! — "all
sufficiency," " in all things," " always," " abound to
every good work," "fruitful in every good work,"
" strengthened with all might," " according to His
« Rev, xxii. i.
52 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
glorious power," "according to the power which
worketh in us," " filled with all the fulness of God."
Eternal Spirit, proceeding from the father and the
Son, answer and disperse all our unbelief by filling
our hearts with Thyself !
II. — The Human Spirit restored to its Original and
Highest Fellowship.
The expression, " filled with the Holy Ghost,"
places before us the human spirit restored to its
The Upward Original and highest fellowship. In many
Aspirations respects that spirit is alone in this world.
oftuSou . j^ finds here nothing that is its own equal.
Everything upon which it can look is its inferior in
both nature and powers. Earth and sky, beasts and
birds, are the instruments of its comfort, or the
subjects of its thoughts ; but never can share in its
cares or affections. The fields never say, " We enjoy
thy presence," nor the stars, "We return thine ad-
miration." The lower animals can take no part in
its deep movements of hope and fear ; can shed no
light on its problems of justice, pardon, and the world
to come. In the spirit of its fellow-man alone can it
find an equal ; and communion with this, though it
often solaces, often both wounds and defiles. Yet it
is the nature of man to seek an object kindred to
himself, but superior. Probably this is necessary to
all natures which are at the same time rational and
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 53
finite. But where can man find a being kindred to
himself, and yet superior to him ? Below the sky he
is head, yet upward his instincts turn — upward toward
some one brighter or greater than himself.
What can answer to those upward aspirations of
the soul ? Its Creator. After years spent in search
of happiness, the human spirit penitently returns
toward its God, and, trusting in the atonement of His
Son, finds forgiveness for the past. Then does the
great Comforter, the Witness of the Father's love, the
Spirit of adoption, give the manifestation of the
Divine favour which David delighted to call " the
light of Thy countenance." This manifestation may
be gentle, or it may be rapturous ; but in any case it
is comforting. When gentlest, it touches chords of
satisfaction more delicate than were ever reached by
the most subtle joy of intellect ; when most rapturous,
it carries with it an assent of the whole judgment such
as no previous enjoyment, however tranquil, com-
manded. The thirst of the soul has no deeper seat
than is now reached. Wisdom has no remonstrance,
expectation no disappointment, fear no warning. It
may be in a profound calm, it may be in an unspeak-
able joy ; but it is with core-deep consciousness that
the soul feels it has now touched, yea, tasted, its
supreme good, and that, for time or for eternity, it
needs no more than to abide in this blessedness, and
improve this fellowship. The gloomy chamber of
54 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
which we spoke a little while ago was entered by the
sunbeams noiselessly and impalpably ; no hand could
feel, no ear could hear them as they came ; nothing
but an eye within that chamber could discern the
great change. It remains the same chamber, with the
same contents ; yet every thing is changed, even to
the very air. So it is with the soul of man when
the Lord saith, "My Father will love him, and
We will come unto him, and make Our abode
with him." This is not only the presence of God
with the spirit of man, but a special and a manifested
presence.
How can that be special which is universal .^ God
is not far from every one of us ; every man who moves
upon the earth moves in Him. How
The Manifes- ,
tationofthe ^^^ can He be specially present with
Presence of one man more than with another ?
° ' Strictly speaking, perhaps it is more a
question of manifestation than of presence. Electric
agency may be present everywhere ; but it rarely
makes itself visible in a flash. Heat may be
present everywhere; but is not everywhere mani-
fested by fire. Jude said, " Lord, how is it that
Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto
the world ? " God is with all, but is unseen by
any eye, and, alas ! undiscerned by many a spirit.
He does not withdraw His presence from any part of
His universe, or His care from any of His creatures ;
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 55
but, as a human frame may be moving amid the light
of the sun, and see no light, so may a soul be moving
in that universe which is fuller of God than the atmos-
phere at noontide is of sunbeams, and yet discern no
God.
All objects require a suitable faculty, or they are
unperceived : sound exists not to the eye ; light exists
not to the ear ; flavour exists not to the touch. It is
of no avail that an object is, unless our nature has the
special faculty whereby we can descry its presence.
A strong magnetic power may be acting on the com-
pass, whereon the steersman concentrates his atten-
tion ; but eye, ear, hand, smell, taste, give no report
of its presence to the mind ; and he first learns that it
was there, by the crash of the ship on a coast which
he thought was far away.
Our Lord said, in reply to Jude, " If any man love
Me, he will keep My word ; and My Father will love
him, and We will come unto him, and make Our
abode with him." This is more than mere presence.
Presence may be unfelt, and therefore forgotten ; may
be with displeasure, and therefore joyless. But this is
presence tnanifested, — " We will come to him ; "
gracious, — the coming is from " love ; " habitual and
involving friendship, — both of these ideas lie in,
" Make Our abode with him."
Two men are walking upon the same plain, and
each turns his face towards the sky. The light of the
5« THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
sun is shining upon both, but one sees no sun, while
the other sees, not only light, but the face
Consciousness • o ^
of the Presence of the sun, and his eye is overpowered
—Spiritual ^vith its glory. What makes the difference
tscernmen . j^^^-^yggj^ ^.J^g ^^^q p j^q^ ^^^^^ ^^^ jg jj^
darkness, and the other in light ; not that one is near
the sun, and the other far away ; not that one has an
eye differently constituted from the other ; but simply
that there is a thin cloud between heaven and the
one, and no cloud between it and the other. The
latter can not only trace evidence that there is a sun,
and that he is up, but has the presence of that sun
before his face, and his glory filling his eye. So two
men stand in relation to the universal and all-present
God. One believes, infers, intellectually knows, that
He is ; ay, that He is present ; yet he discerns Him
not ; it is a matter of inference, not of consciousness ;
and though believing that God is, and that He is
present, he sins. Another spiritually discerns, feels
His presence ; and he learns to " stand in awe, and
sin not."
Suppose the case of a cripple who had spent his
life in a room where the sun was never seen. He has
heard of its existence, he believes in it, and, indeed,
has seen enough of its light to give him high ideas of
its glory. Wishing to see the sun, he is taken out at
night into the streets of an illuminated city. At first
he is delighted, dazzled ; but, after he has had time to
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 57
reflect, he finds darkness spread amid the lights, and
he asks, " Is this the sun ? " He is taken out under
the starry sky, and is enraptured ; but on reflection
finds that night covers the earth, and again asks, " Is
this the sun ? " He is carried out some bright day at
noontide, and no sooner does his eye open on the sky
than all question is at an end. There is but one sun.
His eye is content : it has seen its highest object, and
feels that there is nothing brighter. So with the
soul : it enjoys all lights ; yet, amid those of art and
nature, is still inquiring for something greater. But
when it is led by the reconciling Christ into the pre-
sence of the Father, and He lifts up upon it the light
of His countenance, all thought of any thing greater
disappears. As there is but one sun, so there is but
one God. The soul which once discerns and knows
Him, feels that greater or brighter there is none, and
that the only possibility of ever beholding more glory
is by drawing nearer.
III. — The Nature of Man quickened by an Impartation
of the Divine Nature.
The operation of the Holy Spirit implies a quicken-
Living ^"S of the nature of man by an imparta-
Tcmpies in tion of thcDivine nature, and every increase
which God of jt implies a fuller communion of the
rejoices.
Eternal Father with His adopted child.
When the soul of man is '* filled with the Holy Ghost,"
58 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
then has God that wherein He does rejoice, " a
temple, not made with hands," not reared by human
art, of unconscious and insensible material ; a temple
created by His own word, and living by His own
breath. In that living temple He displays somewhat
of His glory. In the Shekinah of the sanctuary He
could manifest majesty only. In this living temple
He can manifest truth, purity, tenderness, forgiveness,
justice, — the whole round of such attributes as His
children below the sky are capable of comprehending.
Thus inhabited, not only is the soul of man
unutterably blessed, but his body reaches dignity,
the thought of which might make even flesh sing.
" Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which
is in you, which ye have of God : and ye are not your
own." Not your own, for purchase has been made :
" Ye are bought with a price ; " not your own, for
possession has been taken : " Know ye not that ye
are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you f"^ A holy man, whose presence
breathes an unworldly air around him, whose name is
identified with a constancy of godly actions, is
a visible monument and remembrancer of God. Each
member of his body is as a temple vessel. By it holy
works are done, and the will of the Spirit on moral
points is expressed by material instruments. His
I Cor. iii. i6, etc.
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 69
" mortal body " is quickened by the Spirit " that
dwelleth in him." He not only " lives in the Spirit/'
but " walks in the Spirit," — his visible acts, as well as
his hidden emotions, being " after the Spirit." The
natural man has disappeared from his life and actions.
Another creature lives. Thoughts, purposes, works,
which his nature never prompted, which, when
prompted by revelation, his nature could not attain
to, now abound, as sweet grapes on a good vine.
This precept is embodied in his life : " Neither yield
ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness
unto sin ; but yield yourselves unto God as those that
are alive from the dead, and your members as instru-
ments of righteousness unto God." ^
In this the power of the Holy Ghost is practically
manifested, by a reversal of the relations of the human
spirit and the flesh. To persons yet in the body, the
Apostle says', " Ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Not in the Spirit, if SO be the Spirit of God dwell in
Flesh, yet in you." Not in the flesh, yet in the body !
t e y\ -pj^g unconverted man has a spirit, but it is
carnalized ; the play of its powers, — the studies of the
intellect, the flights of the imagination, the impulses
of the heart, are dictated by motives which all range
below the sky, and halt on this side of the tomb.
The spirit is the servant of the flesh ; and man differs
I Rom. vi. 13.
60 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
from perishing animals chiefly in this, that for carnal
purposes and delights he commands the service of a
spiritual agent, — his own soul.
The Holy Spirit, as man's regenerator, reverses this
state of things. He quickens the spirit, and through
it quickens the frame, so that instead of spiritual
powers being carnalized, a mortal body is spiritua-
lized ; instead of soul and spirit being subjected by
the flesh, flesh and blood become instruments of the
Spirit. Limbs move on works of heavenly origin and
intent. Thus a direct connexion is established
between the will of the Supreme Spirit and the
material organs of man. A purpose originates in the
mind of God ; by His Spirit it is silently and swiftly
transmitted to the spirit of His child ; and by this to
the " mortal body." Then, as an iron wire, on the
shore of the Crimea, expresses the will of our Queen
in London, so do the earthly members of a mortal
express, in the outward and physical world, the
purpose of the Holy One. This is redemption
achieved : this is adoption in its issues : this is the
new life : this is human nature restored, man walking
in the light ; " God dwelling in him, and he in God."
Then is his life a light, and a light so pure, that it
gives those on whom it shines, not the idea of " good
nature," but of something heavenly. They see his
good works, and ^'glorify his Father which is in
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 61
heaven : " not extol his character ; but feel that
^^ Created anew ^e IS raised above his own character,
in Christ and is " God^s workmanship, created anew
Jesus. jj^ Christ Jesus unto good works."
A piece of iron is dark and cold ; imbued with a
certain degree of heat, it becomes almost burning,
without any change of appearance ; imbued with a
still greater degree, its very appearance changes to
that of solid fire, and it sets fire to whatever it touches.
A piece of water without heat is solid and brittle ;
gently warmed, it flows ; further heated, it mounts to
the sky. An organ filled with the ordinary degree of
air which exists everywhere is dumb ; the touch of
the player can elicit but a clicking of the keys.
Throw in not other air, but an unsteady current of
the same air, and sweet, but imperfect and uncertain,
notes immediately respond to the player's touch ;
increase the current to a full supply, and every pipe
swells with music. Such is the soul without the
Holy Ghost ; and such are the changes which pass
upon it when it receives the Holy Ghost, and when it
is " filled with the Holy Ghost." In the latter state
only is it fully imbued with the Divine nature, bearing
in all its manifestations some plain resemblance to its
God, conveying to all on whom it acts some impression
of Him, mounting heavenward in all its movements,
and harmoniously pouring forth, from all its faculties,
the praises of the Lord.
62 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
IV. — Examples of God's Moral " Workmanships
The moral change wrought in the disciples by the
new baptism of the Spirit, is strikingly displayed
in the case of one man. A difficult service was
to be performed in Jerusalem that day. Had it
been desired to find a man in London who would
go down to Whitehall a few weeks after Charles
was beheaded, and, addressing Cromwell's soldiers,
would endeavour to persuade them that he whom
they had executed was not only a King, and a good
one, but a Prophet of God, and that, therefore, they
had been guilty of more than regicide — of sacrilege ;
although England had brave men then, it may be
questioned whether anyone could have been found to
bear such a message to that audience.
The service which had once to be performed in
Jerusalem was similar to this. It was needful that
someone should stand up under the shadow of the
temple, and, braving Chief Priests and mobs alike,
assert that He whom they had shamefully executed
seven weeks before was Israel's long-looked for
Messiah ; that they had been guilty of a sin which had
no name ; had raised their hands against " God mani-
fest in the flesh ; " had, in words strange to human
ears, ^^ killed the Prince of Life." Who was thus to
confront the rage of the mob and the malice of the
priests ? We see a man rising, filled with a holy fire,
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 63
SO that he totally forgets his danger, and seems not
even conscious that he is doing a heroic act. He
casts back upon the . mockers their charge, and pro-
ceeds to open and to press home his tremendous
accusation, as if he were a king upon a throne, and
each man before him a lonely and defenceless culprit.
Who is this man } Have we not seen him before ?
Is it possible that it can be Peter ? We know him of
old ; he has a good deal of zeal, but
Peter tn ^
Denial and little Steadiness ; he means well, and,
in Witness when matters are smooth, can serve well ;
earing. ^^^ when difficulties and adversaries rise
before him, his moral courage fails. How short a
time is it ago since we saw him tried ! He had been
resolving that, oome what might, he would stand by
his Master to the last. Others might flinch, he would
stand. Soon the Master was in the hands of enemies.
Yet His case was by no means lost. The Governor
was on His side ; many of the people were secretly
for Him ; nothing could be proved against Him ;
and, above all, He who had saved others could save
Himself Yet, as Peter saw scowling faces, his
courage failed. A servant-maid looked into his eye,
and his eye fell. She said she thought he belonged
to Jesus of Nazareth : his heart sank, and he said
" No." Then another looked in his face, and repeated
the same suspicion. Now, of course, he was more
cowardly, and repeated his '* No." A third looked
6i THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
upon him, and insisted that he belonged to the
accused Prophet. Now his poor heart was all flutter-
ing, and, to make it plain that he had nothing
to do with Jesus of Nazareth, he began to curse and
swear.
Is it within the same breast where this pale and
tremulous heart quaked that we see glowing a brave
heart, which dreads neither the power of the autho-
rities nor the violence of the populace; which faces
every prejudice and every vice of Jerusalem, every
bitter Pharisee, and every street brawler, as if they
were no more than straying and troublesome sheep }
Is the Peter of Pilate's hall the Peter of Pentecost,
with the same natural powers, the same natural force
of character, the same training, and the same resolu-
tions ? If so, what a difference is made in a man by
the one addition of being filled with the Holy
Ghost !
O for high examples of God's moral " workman-
ship " ! O for men instinct with the Spirit ; the
for Men countenance glowing as a transparency
instinct with ^ith a lamp behind it: the eye shining
the spirit;... . , ^ ,. t , ,
and a Tongue With a purer, truer light than any that
of Fire / genius or good nature ever shed ; limbs
agile for any act of prayer, of praise, of zeal, for any
errand of compassion ! and a tongue of fire ! O for
men on whom the silent verdict of the observer would
be, " He is a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost ! "
SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 65
Never, perhaps, did earthly eyes see more frequently
than we see in our day men with ordinary Christian
excellencies — men in private life whose walk is
blameless — men in the ministry who are admirable,
worthy, and useful. But are not men " FULL OF THE
Holy Ghost " a rare and minished race ? Are
those whose entire spirit bespeaks a walk of prayer,
such as we should ascribe to Enoch or to John ;
whose words fall with a demonstration of the Spirit,
and a power such as we conceive attended Paul or
ApoUos ; who make on believers the impression of
being immediate and mighty instruments of God, and
on unbelievers the impression of being dangerous to
come near, lest they should convert them — are such
men often met with ?
Do not even the good frequently speak as if we
were not to look for such burning and shining lights ?
Return, o ^^ ^^ ^^ mwsX be content in our educated
Power of the and intelligent age with a style of holiness
Pentecost'. j^Qj-g jgygj ^nd Icss Startling. Do not
many make up their minds never more to see men
such as their fathers saw ; men at whose prayer a
wondrous power of God was ever ready to fall,
whether upon two or three kneeling in a cabin, and
wondering how the unlearned could find such wisdom,
or on the great multitude, wondering how the learned
could find such simplicity.? Never more see such
men ! The Lord forbid ! Return, O Power of the
5
96 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Pentecost, return to Thy people ! Shed down Thy
flame on many heads ! To us, as to our fathers, and
to those of the old time before them, give fulness of
grace ! Without Thee we can do nothing ; but, filled
with the Holy Ghost, the excellency of the power
will be of Thee, O God ! and not of us.
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 67
CHAPTER V.
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE.
I. — The Most Amazing of all Miracles.
"They began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance." It is not said, " with
unknown tongues." In fact, the expression, " unknown
tongues," was never used by an inspired writer. In
the Epistle to the Corinthians, it is found in the
English version ; but the word " unknown " is in
italics, showing that it is not taken from the original.
Speaking unknown tongues was never heard of in
the apostolic days. That miracle first occurred in
London some years ago. On the day of Pentecost
no man pretended to speak unknown tongues ; but,,
just as if we in London suddenly began to speak
German, French, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, and
other foreign languages, so it was with them. Not
one tongue was spoken that day but a man was found
in the streets of Jerusalem to turn round, and cry,
" This is my own tongue, wherein I was born ! " The
miracle lay in the power of speaking the tongues of
6$ THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
adjacent nations, from which individuals were in
Jerusalem at that very time. This is not only-
miraculous, but a miracle in a very amazing form ;
perhaps, as to its form, the most amazing of all
miracles.
Matter is a great and pregnant thing. To us its
properties are not only wonderful, but exceedingly
Ph steal "mysterious. When we see it flourishing
and Mental while we fade, towering in hills, or careering
Miracles, j^ waves, or Spread out in the firmament,
we almost feel as if it were greater than we. Yet are
we ever proving that, in spite of appearances, matter
is less than mind. Mind searches out matter, wields
it, moulds it, makes it the servant of its will. Mind
then, being the superior, it follows that a work wrought
in mind is greater than one wrought in matter.
Miracles in seas, mountains, the firmament, or the
human body, display a power which rules the frame
of nature and the frame of man. Yet, as the sphere
of these is matter, the whole order may be called the
PHYSICAL MIRACLE, — works above nature, wrought
upon physical agents in attestation of the revelation
of God. But beyond this lies a higher miracle, of
which the sphere is mind ; and which, therefore, we
may call the MENTAL MIRACLE, — works above nature
wrought in mind in attestation of the revelation of
God. Of this order two forms had been witnessed
previously, — inspiration and prophecy ; but now a
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 69
new miracle in mind was to challenge the belief of
all Jerusalem.
This miracle, as to its moral impression, differed
totally from all physical miracles ; even from that
A New complex and most peculiar miracle, the
Miracle in raising of the dead, wherein we see a
• power which matter and spirit, animal life
and mental illumination, equally obey. That miracle
stands alone ; yet the chief impression which it makes,
and certainly the impression which all purely physical
miracles make, is that of power. They suggest also,
indeed, the idea of wisdom, else the power would not
go so unerringly to its end ; and of goodness, else
power so irresistible would move, not to bless, but to
destroy ; yet the leading impression produced is
undoubtedly that of power. In such miracles we
recognise chiefly " the high hand, and the stretched-
out arm."
In inspiration, we see the mind of man enabled to
sit down among the morning mists of things, and to
write a book which will stand while the world stands.
In prophecy, we see the mind enabled to look through
a thousand years, and describe what lies beyond so
plainly, that, when it is unfolded to ordinary sight, it
shall at once be recognised. Both these miracles
bring us, not so much into the presence of a Ruler,
as into the presence of a Spirit.
In beholding a sea dried, or a wilderness strewn
70 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
with food, we feel ourselves near the Lord of nature
and the Stay of life. So here we feel ourselves near
the Fount of all mind, whose own knowledge depends
neither on material phenomena, nor on the lapse of
time ; whose mode of acting on the human mind is
not by laws analogous to those whereby the latter
acts on material organs, or on its kindred minds
through them. As, however, we watch the miracle of
tongues, a strange solemnity falls upon us : we feel as
if we had left the region where mind slowly and
dimly learns through sense, had crossed some invisible
line into the land of spirits, and were standing
before the Original Mind. What knowledge of mind
so minute, as that which scans every sign whereby
every mind expresses its ideas ? What power over
mind so unsearchable, as that which can fill it in an
instant with new signs for all its ideas, — signs never
before present to it, yet answering exactly to those
which others had been trained from childhood to
use }
A number of Galilean peasants issue from an upper
room into the streets of Jerusalem. A strange fire is
^, ^ in every eye, a strange light on every
The Scene
in the Streets countenance. Each one looks joyful and
of benignant, as if he was carrying in his
jerusa e?}t. bj-e^g^ ^)^q balm for the world's sore.
Each has plainly a world to say, and wants listeners.
Probably their steps turn towards the temple, which
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE, 71
during the ten days had divided their presence with
the upper room. One meets with an Arab, and
addresses him ; another goes up to a Roman, and in
a moment they are deeply engaged ; a third sees a
Persian, a fourth an African from Cyrene ; and, as
they go along, each one attaches himself to some
foreigner. He tells a strange tale, strange in its
substance, equally strange in its eloquence ; a new
and unaccountable eloquence, wonderful, not for grace,
expression, or sweet sound, but for power.
One hearer in Latin, another in Coptic, another in
Persian, another in Greek, exclaims first at the
wonder of the story, and then at the wonder of the
narrator : " Art not thou a Galilean } whence then
hast thou this fluency in Latin } '* He answers, that
he has received it to-day by gift from God. A smile
curls on the lip of the Roman, and he turns round to
a neighbouring group. There an Egyptian has just
been putting the same question, and received the
same answer. Yonder is an excited little knot, where
a Parthian declares that the tongue in which a man
has told him of the death, resurrection, and ascension
of Jesus, is his mother tongue. People from Jerusalem
are mocking, and saying, " The men are full of new
wine ; " but the strangers, on speaking one to another,
find that they have all been hearing precisely the
same things in their " own tongues."
Those faces of different complexions, on comparing
72 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
their opinions, darkle with awe. They find that in all
TheNewMes- ^^^^ diversity of tongues the same tidings
sage a Divine are repeated, and thus see the unity of
Teaching. matter in the variety of language ; they
find that the men who speak are unschooled peasants
yet are all gifted with the same unheard-of power ;
and thus see in the variety of speakers the unity of
inspiration. The tongues are the tongues of all man-
kind ; but the impulse is one, and the message one !
From what centre do all these languages issue ?
The same instinct which leads back the thought
from speech to a mind, leads it back from this
universal speech till it stands awe-struck in the
presence of the Central Intellect, of the Spirit which
" formeth the spirit of man within him," of the
Supreme Mind, to which all mind is common ground, —
of the Father of Thought !
It would be impossible to conceive any form of
credential so well framed to certify that a doctrine
was the immediate use of the mind of God. The
bare thought of such a miracle as that of tongues, had
it only been a thought, would have made in itself an
era in the history of man's intellect ; and it may be
fairly questioned whether such a thought could have
originated in any thing else than in the fact. The
leading feature of the new religion was to be a Divine
teaching upon things invisible and spiritual, — on
points of which the unaided powers of man could give
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 73
no conclusive solution. For such a teaching no attes-
tation could be so apposite as one that accredited it
as a message from the Spirit which " searcheth all
things." The universal call to a man was worthily
issued into the world by a sign which showed that it
came directly from the only wise God, who gives
understanding, and holds the keys of thought. The
command of all languages, by one consentaneous
impulse, proclaimed the new message to be the Word
OF God.
II. — The Word of God to all Nations.
The great question for humanity is, Hath God
spoken } Are we poor wanderers, each left here to
his own light, and Heaven looking down in eternal
silence on all our straying and perplexity } Hath the
Parent Spirit, whence these spirits of ours come, sur-
rounded them with His infinite presence at every
step of their stumbling and perilous journey, and
never once, from the day of Adam to our day, signi-
fied that He saw, and heard, and felt ? Has He
dealt with the soul of man, as with " the spirit of a
beast" that could never bless Him, and never break
His law ? Are all words the words of erring man,
and all lights those doubtful or deceptive lights, fol-
lowing which so many have miserably perished } Is
all doctrine the guesses of thinkers, or the juggling of
Priests ? Has God never, never spoken }
74 the tongue of fire,
*' God spake all these words, and said ! "
On the Pentecost of Israel, from out of the fire on
7^/ie Voice Sinai, came " a mighty voice," which,
of God. sweeping down from the distant peak as
if from a throne at hand, filled the ears of three
millions of people, or more, as if they had been
a little group. Ten times THE VOICE sounded
mysteriously over all that awed and quivering host,
till human nature, smitten to the core, cried out, " We
die, we die." The VOICE had uttered only gentle and
wholesome laws, laws binding man to God, and man
to man, laying sure paths to peace and blessedness ;
but human nature was already guilty under these
laws, and the VOICE awoke only the response, " Let
not God speak with us, lest we die." i
Thus, in the old time, a whole nation could be
appealed to, that all words were not uncertain, nor all
questions open : " Ye came near and stood under the
mountain : and the mountain burned with fire unto
the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick
darkness. And the Lord spake unto you out of the
midst of the fire : ye heard the voice of the words, but
saw no similitude ; only ye heard a voice. And He
declared unto you His covenant which He commanded
you to perform, even ten commandments ; and He
wrote them upon two tables of stone."
I Exod. XX. 19,
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 75
As in the Pentecost of Israel, so in the Pentecost of
Christianity, the Lord once more speaks " out of the
The Gospel a "^^<^st of the fire." Novv, however, the
" speech of accompanying tokens are not physical,
^^^* but mental : employing many human
minds and human tongues as His instruments, yet
manifesting the unity of that impulse whereby they
are all moved. He makes not merely the people of
one nation, but the representatives of all nations, feel
that God hath spoken. Yes, tell it wherever there
are ears to hear, tell it to the ends of the earth, God
hath spoken; man has not been forgotten ; guesses are
not all our light ; there is a Gospel, a " speech of
God ; " questions affecting salvation are settled ; and
our way to holy living and happy dying is traced by
the Hand which rules both worlds.
With regard to the gift of tongues, some curious
questions have been raised, especially by the learned.
The Gift of One is as to whether the miracle was
Tongues. really in the speaker, and not in the
hearer ; so that although all that was spoken was in
one language, the ordinary language of the disciples,
yet the hearers of different nations each heard in his
own tongue. For this opinion, as for all opinions,
it is possible to cite some considerable names. But
had it been as here supposed, the symbol of the
miracle would not have been cloven tongues, but
manifold ears. The double declaration of the
76 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
narrative perfectly corresponds with the symbol.
As regards the speakers, it says that they *' spake
with other tongues ; " as regards the hearers, that
they " heard every man in his own tongue/'
When St. Paul finds fault with the use of the gift
of tongues in Corinth, he does not blame the hearers
for lacking an ear that would interpret their own
tongue into foreign ones, but blames the speakers for
speaking " with the tongue words not easy to be un-
derstood " by the unlearned ; and the only reason he
ever assigns why the auditors could not understand is,
that they were unlearned ; clearly showing that a
foreign language was employed, which education
might have enabled them to understand, but for the
understanding of which miraculous power does not
seem ever to have been given. If the supposition of
the miracle in hearing, instead of in speech, has been
resorted to with a view to simplify the miracle, it
defeats its own object ; for, to sustain that supposition,
the miraculous influence must have been exerted on a
number of persons, as much greater than in the other
case, as the hearers were more numerous than the
speakers. At the same time, the nature of the mira-
culous operation would be in every respect equally
extraordinary.
The Higher Another question is as to whether the
Gift of speakers understood what they said in the
Prophesying, foreign languages. The doubt as to this
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 11
is not raised upon the narrative of the Pentecost,
but on certain expressions used by St. Paul in
writing to the Corinthians. There he says, " Let
him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that
he may interpret ; " and again, " If one speak in
an unknown tongue, let one interpret" Hence it
would appear that some could speak with tongues,
who could not render into their own language that
which they had spoken. This, however, is not clear ;
for he also says, " Greater is he that prophesieth than
he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret,
that the Church may receive edification.^^ Here he
supposes, that the person who possesses the gift of
tongues, does also possess the power of interpreting
into the common language, that which he has uttered
in a miraculous way.
But, even granting that some were unable to
interpret, so as to edify the Churchy that which they
had themselves spoken, it would appear that this did
not at all arise from their not understanding what
they had said, but from their being destitute of the
gift of prophecy, whereby only they could edify
believers. As to any doubt whether the person
speaking really understood his own utterances, it is
completely removed by the text, i Cor. xiv. 14-19:
** For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit
prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is
it then } I will pray with the spirit, and I
78 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
will pray with the understanding also : I will
sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the
understanding also. Else when thou shalt bless with
the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the
unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing
he understandeth not what thou sayest ? For thou
verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye
all : yet in the Church I had rather speak five words
with my understanding, that by my voice I might
teach others also, than ten thousand words in an
unknown tongue." Here, publicly praising " with the
understanding " is taken to be, so praising that a
common man may understand ; and publicly preach-
ing " with the understanding " is taken to be, so to
speak as to " teach others also." To praise and to
preach in public without these, is to act without
understanding. The words, " He understandeth not
what thou sayest," though " thou verily givest thanks
well," settle the whole matter. They take it for
granted, — as, indeed, the Apostle does all through, —
that the speaker clearly understands himself; but the
fault is, that he uses speech which was never given for
the sake of intercourse with God, but for that of
intercourse with man, in a way that defeats its own
object. Speech is man's revelation of his own spirit to
his fellow men ; and when nothing is revealed, it
becomes a mockery. Feelings and thoughts are the
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 79
language which God listens to : man hearkens in the
air, God in the soul within. To speak to Him we
need no sounds: sounds are for human ears, and
useful only when the ear can recognise the meaning.
The fact that some who could not prophesy could yet
speak with tongues, is apparent in several parts of
Scripture, and is a singular proof at once of the
generality and the diversity of gifts. The lower gift,
that of tongues, was more generally diffused than the
higher, that of prophecy.
The miracle indicated not only the origin of the
new doctrine, but also its SPHERE. It
A Message
from the ^^^ ^ message from the Father of men to
Father to all meii. National diversities, instead of
ai Men. being a barrier before which it stood still,
were opportunities to display its universal adaption.
Each various tongue was made an additional witness
that it had come for " every people under heaven."
Our Lord's last words, " the uttermost parts of the
earth," had here a strange and multiplying echo. A
force was set in motion which claimed all humanity as
its field ; a voice was lifted up which called upon
every nation to join its audience.
III. — All Disciples set upon Spiritual Services.
Again, this manifestation met and answered all
doubts which might have arisen, as to the power of
our Lord to gift His servants with language and
80 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
utterance needful for their coming contest with the
Their Power ^'^^1^ world. He had told them that,
a Divine when brought before Rulers and Kings
GifL fQj. Y{\<s, name's sake, it would be given to
them what they should say : " For it is not ye that
speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh
in you." i He had evidently referred to such Divine
aid in speech when He told them that they should
receive power after that the Holy Ghost was come
upon them, and that they should be His witnesses^
even "to the uttermost parts of the earth." Moses
had feared to plead before Pharaoh, from a dread that
utterance equal to the gravity of the mission could
not be given to him. Jeremiah had feared on a
similar ground.
Nothing is more natural than that one who feels
himself charged with a sublime truth, on the proper
delivery of which infinite interests depend, should
distrust his ability to frame suitable language. It is
very probable that such thoughts had troubled the
disciples in the contemplation of the great work
which lay before them. If so, what an answer did
they receive in the miracle of tongues ! He who
enabled their lips to pour forth the testimony in
words they had never spoken, and never heard,
could surely give them every measure of propriety,
1 Matt. X. 20.
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 81
of clearness, of copiousness, of power, whereof human
speech was capable. All questions as to how fluent
diction could be imparted to the unready, and force
to the feeble, how the slow could be made impressive,
and the tame eloquent, were here answered. The
old promise, '* I will be with thy mouth," received an
unlooked-for commentary. The effects which the
Spirit of the Lord could produce upon the human
tongue were shown to be illimitable by any natural
impediment. The ground of confidence as to their
success in preaching was conspicuously changed from
talent, learning, office, or credentials, to the working
of the Holy Ghost. Their power ceased to be a
question of natural ability, and became one of Divine
gift. The measure of the former might be greater or
less, without materially affecting the fruit of their
work ; but this would exactly correspond with the
degree of the latter.
Andrew had heard the Baptist preach, had seen
how his words ploughed up the rude feelings of the
^, , soldier, and at the same time commanded
Thi Least
Disciple the Subtle conscience of the scribe. He
Greater than had heard the Lord Himself when every
the Baptist. ji.ia.i- j t»
^ word struck the ear as a wonder. Pro-
bably he had always thought it impossible that such
sword-edged sentences should ever come from his
lips, or from those of " his own brother Simon." He
might conceive that he should be able to repeat the
6
82 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
substance of the lessons which the Lord had taught
them, and that, when he stood before Councillors and
Magistrates, he should be enabled to assign a reason
for his hope. Perhaps he would think it possible
that, when filled with that new Comforter, who had
been so often promised to them, he could address a
multitude with feeling. But, as to words like fire,
melting and burning the spirits of men — words like
hammers, breaking in pieces the hearts of stone —
words that should rush on the congregation with a
force too overwhelming to be called eloquence —
should win a conquest too rapid and too complete to
be called persuasion — should make the speaker not
only a prodigy, but a power — his hearers not only an
orator's audience, but a Master's disciples — as to such
words as these, how was it possible that they should
ever proceed from him or Simon ? So might he
naturally reason ; but when he finds himself fluently
telling a man from the shores of Cyrene the whole
story of the birth, and death, and resurrection, and
ascension, in a tongue which he had never heard
before ; when the African assures him that it was the
tongue of his native town, then, had you asked him,
" Is it now possible that you or Simon should speak
with a voice mightier than the voice of a Prophet, or
that the least of your company should be greater than
the thunder-tongued Baptist?" he had answered,
" With God nothing is impossible."
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 83
"And it sat upon each of them. And they were
all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
All St k ^^^^ other tongues, as the Spirit gave
with a them utterance." The tongue of fire
Super-human rested upon each disciple, and all spoke
with a super-human utterance. Not the
Twelve only, the Lord's chosen Apostles ; not the
Seventy only, His commissioned Evangelists ; but
also the ordinary believers, and even the women.
The baptism of the Spirit fell upon all, and spiritual
gifts were imparted to all — not equally ; for the
expression, " As the Spirit gave them utterance,"
seems to indicate a diversity of gifts, which accords
with other passages in the New Testament. It is
not probable that each one could speak every
language, for St. Paul says of himself that he " spake
with tongues more than they all," clearly implying
a limit in that gift, and a different limit in different
persons. And it is certain that all had not the gift
of " prophesying " suited to address such congrega-
tions as that soon about to meet, or even publicly to
teach in ordinary assemblies. As in His later
operations, so now, the blessed Spirit would doubtless
show " diversities of operations," giving to " one the
word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge,
to another prophecy," etc. But the cloven tongues
sat upon each of them, and, by the joint effect of
spiritual life imparted and of spiritual gifts bestowed,
84 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
all were instantly set upon spiritual services ; all led to
become active witnesses for Christ and for His cross.
The fire did not fall on the Twelve to be by them
communicated to the Seventy, and by them again to
the ordinary flock. It came as directly on the head
of the disciple whose name we never heard, as on
that of the beloved and honoured John. It did not
confound John the Apostle in the promiscuous mass,
or place his office at the disposal of the multitude ;
but confirmed it, and fitted him by new gifts to adorn
and make full proof of his ministry. But it did not,
on the other hand, leave the ordinary believers as
mere spectators, to see the spiritual work of the Lord
committed wholly to the selected ministry ; their
part being passively to receive spiritual influences
and illumination, from those who had direct access
to Him with whom is the supply of the Spirit.
This original blessing meets beforehand the error,
which was likely to spring up, from looking on the
,^ „ . , , true religion in the lierht in which all
No Priesthood ° °
in the false ones are ever regarded, — as a
Ministry of mystery to be confined to an initiated
ospe . ^^^^ ^^ whose offices the multitude must
depend for acceptance with the invisible Power.
Here was a religion that did single out and lift up
some above their fellows, investing them with a high
and solemn ministry ; but from their ministry it
swept away all seeming of priesthood.
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 85
The usual idea of priesthood is that of a power
standing between man and God, through which alone
we may draw near, and find mercy at His hands.
But so far from any such characteristic belonging to
the ministry of the Gospel, it is distinguished as being
an office, the special labour of which is to point each
man direct to God, and to assure him that between
him and the throne of grace there is no power, visible
or invisible, and no mediator but that One to whom
alike Apostle, Evangelist, and the humblest penitent
must look. True, all were not Apostles, all were
not Evangelists, all were not Prophets ; but, in the
only sense in which any were Priests, all were Priests.
The one altar of the cross, the one sacrifice of the
Lamb, the one High Priest within the veil, were
alone to be named in any light of peace-making with
God. To all, the privilege of offering up the sacrifices
of praise and of prayer, of living bodies and of worldly
goods, was equally open. No man was made a
depository or store-house wherein spiritual favours
should be laid up for the use of those who might
purchase or implore them at his hands. He was
most honoured who could most successfully turn the
trust of men away from all other advocates, and fix
it upon the Son of God alone.
" They all began to speak." This shows that the
testimony of Christ was not borne by the Ministry
86 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
alone ; that this chief work of the Church was not
. r^ ^ , confined to official hands. The multitude
A Departure
from of believers were not mere adherents,
Primitive but Hving, Speaking, burning agents in
Christianity. ,, . ^ r .1 • t
the great movement for the universal
diffusion of God's message. Many feel as if religion,
on the part of the Ministry, was to be a matter of
bold and public testimony ; but on that of ordinary
Christians, a heart-secret between themselves and
God. Let such sit down in sight of that first
Christian scene ; let them behold every countenance
lighted up with the common joy, and hear every
tongue speak under the common impulse, and then
ask Bartimeus, or Mary, if the private disciple has
not just as much cause to be a witness that Jesus
lives, and that Jesus saves, as either James or John ?
Let them ask if it is like their religion that one
lonely Minister shall, on the Lord's Day, bear witness
before a thousand Christians, who decorously hear
his testimony as worthy of acceptance by all, and
then go away, and never repeat the strain in any
human ear ?
Looking on the universal movement of that
Pentecostal day, who could think that the new
religion was ever to come down to this ? that speaking
of its joys, its hopes, its pardon, its mercy for the
wide world, was to be considered a professional work,
for set solemnities alone, and not to be a daily joy
MIRACULOUS EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE, 87
and heart's-ease to ever-growing multitudes of happy,
simple men ? Cheerless is the work of that Christian
Minister, who, at set times, raises his testimony in
the ears of a people, all of whom make a practice of
hiding it in their hearts. Blessed in his office is he
who knows that, while he in his own sphere proclaims
the glad tidings, hundreds around him are ready,
each one in his sphere, to make them their boast and
their song. Spiritual office and spiritual gifts vary
greatly in degree, honour, and authority, and he who
has the less ought to reverence him who has the
greater, remembering who it is that dispenses them ;
but the greater should never attempt to extinguish
the less, and to reduce the exercise of spiritual gifts
within the limits of the public and ordained Ministry.
To do so is to depart from primitive Christianity.
88 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
CHAPTER VI.
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE,
I. — The Gift of Prophecy — Preaching,
In immediate connexion with the gift of tongues,
was a gift less startling as a phenomenon, but more
The Effects influential as an instrument for the
of Peter's New recovery of mankind. Peter was soon
Utterance, ^^jj^^ ^^^^ publicly to deliver the Lord's
great message. Then, undoubtedly, he spoke, not in
any foreign tongue, but in his native dialect. He
had often spoken before, yet nothing remarkable is
recorded of his preaching, or its effects. He is now
the same man, with the same natural intellect, and
the same natural powers of speech ; and yet a new
utterance is given to him, the effects of which are
instantly apparent.
Never was such an audience assembled as that
before which this poor fisherman appeared : Jews,
with all the prejudices of their race — inhabitants of
Jerusalem, with the recollection of the part they had
recently taken in the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth,
met in the city of their solemnities, jealous for the
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE, 89
honour of their temple and law : men of different
nations, rapidly and earnestly speaking in their
different tongues ; one in Hebrew, mocking and
saying, *' These men are full of new wine ; " another
inquiring in Latin ; another disputing in Greek ;
another wondering in Arabic ; and an endless Babel
besides expressing every variety of surprise, doubt,
and curiosity. Amid such a scene the fisherman
stands up ; his voice strikes across the hum which
prevails all down the street. He has no tongue of
silver ; for they say, " He is an unlearned and
ignorant man." The rudeness of his Galilean speech
still remains with him ; yet, though " unlearned and
ignorant " in their sense, — as to polite learning, — in
a higher sense he was a scribe well instructed. As
respected the word of God, he had been for three
years under the constant tuition of the Prophet of
Nazareth, hearing from His lips instruction in the
law, in the Prophets, and in all the " deep things of
God." On whatever other points, therefore, the
learned of Jerusalem might have found Peter at
fault, in the sacred writings he was more thoroughly
furnished than they ; for though Christ took His
Apostles from among the poor, He left us no
example for those who have not well learned the
Bible, to attempt to teach it.
Yet Peter had no tongue of silver, no tongue of
honey, no soothing, flattering speech, to allay the
90 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
prejudices, and to captivate the passions of the
The Tongue of multitude. Nor had he a tongue of
Fire Burns thunder ; HO Outbursts of native elo-
its Way. quence distinguished his discourse. In-
deed, some, if they had heard that discourse from
ordinary lips, would not have hesitated to pronounce
it dry, — some of a class, too numerous, who do not
like preachers who put them to the trouble of think-
ing, but enjoy only those who regale their fancy, or
move their feelings, without requiring any labour of
thought. Peter's sermon is no more than quoting
passages from the Word of God, and reasoning upon
them ; yet, as in this strain he proceeds, the tongue of
fire by degrees burns its way to the feelings of the
multitude. The murmur gradually subsides ; the
mob becomes a congregation ; the voice of the fisher-
man sweeps from end to end of that multitude,
unbroken by a single sound ; and, as the words rush
on, they act like a stream of fire. Now, one coating
of prejudice which covered the feelings is burned, and
starts aside : now, another and another : now, the fire
touches the inmost covering of prejudice, which lay
close upon the heart, and it too starts aside. Now, it
touches the quick, and burns the very soul of the
man ! Presently, you might think that in that throng
there was but one mind, that of the Preacher, which
had multiplied itself, had possessed itself of thousands
of hearts, and thousands of frames, and was pouring
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 91
its own thoughts through them all. At length, shame,
and tears, and sobs overspread that whole assembly.
Here, a head bows ; there, starts a groan ; yonder,
rises a deep sigh ; here, tears are falling ; and some
stern old Jew, who will neither bow nor weep, trembles
with the effort to keep himself still. At length, from
the depth of the crowd, the voice of the preacher is
crossed by a cry, as if one was " mourning for his only
son ; " and it is answered by a cry, as if one was in
"bitterness for his first-born." At this cry the whole
multitude is carried away, and, forgetful of everything
but the overwhelming feeling of the moment, they
exclaim, " Men and brethren, what must we do ? "
No part of the proceedings of the day strikes us
with a deeper or more lasting impression than the
amazing change in Peter, which is here manifest. We
are continually prone to consider the power of a
Minister as a natural power, simply intellectual. Here
was a man who, in all probability, had passed the
period of life when eloquence is most forcible, without
having distinguished himself by any such power. He
comes forward with a most unwelcome message, to
address an unfavourable audience, himself unskilled
in the arts of oratory ; and yet, such is the power of
utterance given to him, that he produces an effect, the
like of which had never been known before in the
history of mankind. Never has it been recorded in
any other instance, that three thousand men were in
92 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
an hour persuaded by one of their own nation, of
obscure origin and uninfluential position, to forego the
prejudices of their youth, the favour of their people,
and the religion of their fathers. " I will be with thy
mouth," is more strikingly fulfilled here, in those ex-
traordinary effects of the speaking of an ordinary
man, than in any other form in which the power of
God could be displayed, through the instrumentality
of a human tongue. There is no part of the whole
series of events which has a more direct bearing upon
the permanent work of the Christian Church.
This is the first example of prophesying in the
New-Testament sense ; not the limited sense of fore-
„ . tellingr but the more comprehensive sense
Prophesying °' *■
in the New- of delivering a message from God, under
Testament the impulse of the Spirit of God, and by
His aid. In this the speaker has the
double advantage of ascertained truth to declare, —
truth which his own understanding has received,
which he can enforce by citing the Word of God, —
and of aid direct from the Spirit in uttering it. This
gift is conspicuously placed by St. Paul above that of
tongues : " Greater is he that prophesieth than he
that speaketh with tongues." The gift of tongues
was " for a sign to them that believe not ; " and even
to them only under certain circumstances, when they
were addressed in a tongue which they understood, and
that by one of whom they had proof, or what
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 93
amounted to strong probability, that he had not
learned it in a natural mode. For the union of these
two requisites nothing was so favourable as the meet-
ing of a number of foreigners in one city, and hearing
natives of the country speak all their different lan-
guages. A foreigner appearing in a city, and pro-
fessing to speak its language by miracle, would lie
under the suspicion of having learned it before he
came ; and persons speaking foreign tongues in the
presence of their own unlearned countrymen, would
seem to utter gibberish. This Paul puts strongly to
the Corinthians : " If the whole Church be come
together into one place, and all speak with tongues,
and there come in those that are unlearned^ or un-
believers, will they not say that ye are mad ? "
If a number of persons in Corinth had a gift in
Hebrew, or in Latin, and their fellow-townsmen, who
knew only Greek, came and heard a rush of unmean-
ing sounds, and were told that it was a miracle, it
might be, but it was no miracle to them. If they saw
an African peasant speaking fluently in Greek, then,
indeed, they would be startled ; and if once asstired
by any means that he had not learned it, they would
recognise a miracle.
But the effect of persons resident in a place using
the gift of tongues could only be to satisfy the learned
of a miracle. For the unlearned it would be simply
bewildering. Suppose that, in the city of Oxford, the
94 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
stonemasons, joiners, and shoemakers heard a few of
their own number uttering something in Latin, they
would only be impressed with a belief that they had
gone mad, or were amusing themselves with gibberish.
But did the learned men of the University find these
groups discoursing on the doctrines of the Gospel in
the ancient language of ancient Rome, which it had
been the study and the labour of their lives to acquire
perfectly, they would be overwhelmed with a sense of
the prodigy. All through the fourteenth chapter of
the First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul admits
that upon the learned the gift of tongues would make
an impression ; but that the unlearned, if believers,
would be unedified, and, if unbelievers, would be led
to mock.
To the higher gift of prophecy he assigns two
Two Offices of offices which that of tongues could never
the Gift of fulfil One is the edifying of believers ;
Prophecy. ^^^ ^^ ^.j^jg score he much urges the Co-
rinthians to seek for that gift. The other is its effect
upon the unlearned unbeliever. " If all prophesy, and
there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned,
he is convinced of all, he is judged of all : and thus
are the secrets of his heart made manifest ; and so
falling down on his face he will worship God, and
report that God is in you of a truth." Here is a man
who knows no language but one, and who has no
faith in the Divine mission of the Christians ; yet he
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE, »5
enters an assembly where men are speaking in his
own tongue : that tongue as to its words is famihar to
him from his childhood ; but its words now convey-
new ideas, and those ideas are accompanied by a
strange pov/er which pierces, lays open, and searches
his heart. He seems as if God had found him out,
and told another man all about him, his hidden sins,
his bosom pollutions, and covered deeds which had
been even forgotten, but which now are brought
strangely to his view again. An unaccountable
impression of God's presence, of a message, a warning,
a call from God, sinks down into his soul. He feels,
as he never felt before, " God is in this place ; " and,
falling down upon his face, forgetful of appearances,
and heedless of consequences, perilling his temporal
peace, and exposing himself to every manner of
remark, he worships in bitterness of penitence an
offended, but a forgiving, God, and goes forth to tell
those with whom he comes in contact, that the people
whose words had searched his heart and made
manifest its secrets must have God in the midst of
them. This was the gift of prophecy, as that term
is generally employed in the New Testament. It
differs from prophecy in the ordinary sense in this,
that the gift conveys no "revelation," either as to
truth hitherto unrevealed, or as to future events. It
differs from the gift of tongues in this, that the
intellect and organs act according to natural laws,
96 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
though under a supernatural influence. It is that gift
through which the whole of man's nature works in
co-operation with the Holy Spirit, the intellect
illuminated with Divine light, the moral powers
quickened by Divine feeling, and the physical organs
speaking with Divine power. This is placed by the
Apostle as the highest gift, — the one wherein man
stands closest in communion with God as His
intelligent instrument for His most hallowed work, —
the work of calling prodigal sons back to His arms,
and of training feeble children into strength and
steadfastness. This gift was that which had the most
direct utility, was capable of the most universal
application, and was destined to be permanent ;
equally needful for the converting of sinners and the
edifying of the Church ; and therefore to be ever kept
in view by the Church as a special subject of prayer :
for, let this cease, and Christianity dwindles into a
natural agency for social improvement, blessed with
superhuman doctrines, but destitute of a superhuman
power.
If the preaching of the Gospel is to exercise a great
, power over mankind, it must be either by
Operation and ^
Power of the enlisting extraordinary men, or by the
spirit— endowing of ordinary men with extra-
** Unction "
ordinary power. It does often happen
that men whose eloquence would affect and sway,
whatever might have been their theme, give all their
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 97
talents to the Gospel ; yet in such cases it always proves
that the religious impression, produced upon mankind,
is never regulated by the brilliancy or natural force of
the eloquence, but always by the extent to which the
preacher is imbued with that indescribable something
commonly called ** unction," or the operation and
power of the Spirit. On the other hand, it often
happens that a man in whose natural gifts nothing
extraordinary can be discovered, produces moral
effects which, for depth at the moment, and for
permanency, are totally disproportioned to his natural
powers. In hearing such a man, and afterwards
discovering the effects of his preaching, people often
ask, " What is there in Mr. to account for such
effects.? We hear many who are abler, profounder,
better theologians, more eloquent, more persuasive ;
yet this man's preaching brings people to repentance
and to God." They cannot discover the source of his
power ; and it is precisely this fact which intimates
that it is spiritual.
II. — Christianity and Her Tongue of Fire,
On the day of Pentecost Christianity faced the
world, a new religion, and a poor one, without a
history, without a priesthood, without a college,
without a people, and without a patron. She had
only her two sacraments and her tongue of fire.
The latter was her sole instrument of aggression.
7
98 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
All that was ancient and venerable rose up before
her in solid opposition. No passions of the mob,
no theories of the learned, no interests of the politic
favoured her ; nor did she flatter or conciliate any-
one of them. With her tongue of fire she assailed
every existing system, and every evil habit ; and by
that tongue of fire she burned her way through
innumerable forms of opposition. In asking what
was her power, we can find no other answer than this
one, " The tongue of fire."
With regard to one of her Deacons, Stephen, it is
said that his enemies could not resist the wisdom and
Wisdom ^^ power with which he spoke. It was
and Power of not every disciple who had the gift of
Speech— prophecy like him, to pour out in clear
" Utterance.'''' , . , . , . ,
and copious utterance the testimony which
could command the attention of national councils,
and confound the sophisms of a college of disputers ;
but, each in his own sphere and style, the Christians
of that happy day were distinguished among their
fellow-men by a strange power of declaring the deep
things of God. Many of them would go, like
Andrew, who went first to " his own brother Simon,"
and tell their kinsmen of Jesus, and forgiveness, and
the resurrection of the dead, and the world to come,
in strains which, by some unaccountable power, fixed
the attention and entered the heart. Others of them
would go, as did the brothers to Nathanael, telling
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 99
the neighbours and friends whom they met the great
things of redemption, so that prejudices, even the
strongest, were often melted in the fire of their
speech. True, always they did not succeed ; but
how marvellous their success was, notwithstanding !
Had Christians of the present day, in addressing
those whose conscience, creed, early impressions, all
favour every word they say, but that strange influence
which bore down the most rooted aversion, how rapid
and how glorious would be the spread of living
religion in the land !
This power of utterance is ordinarily referred to
throughout the New Testament as at once the gift of
The Great ^^^ ^^^ ^^ great weapon of the Church.
Weapon of We have already noticed how, when
the Church, opposition first threatened them, they went
in earnest prayer to God, and asked for power, that
they might speak His word with boldness. So when
any one of them, in critical circumstances, is enabled
specially to declare and magnify the truth, we are
told that he does so, " being filled with the Holy
Ghost ; " and Paul, who, though he was not present
on the day of Pentecost, received the tongue of fire
in a very remarkable degree, did not hold that gift
as being constitutional, like natural talents and
aptitude of speech. Among the subjects with regard
to which he entreats the prayers of his Christian
brethren, he specially mentions "utterance." "Praying
100 THE TONGUE OF FIKE.
always with all prayer and supplication in the
Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance
and supplication for all saints ; and for me, that
utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my
mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the
Gospel." Again and again have we brought before
us the fact that this utterance is the direct gift of
of God ; nor are we without traces of the same fact
in earlier times than those of Christianity. In the
cases of Mary and Elizabeth, we hear them, under
the influence of the Divine Spirit, uttering great and
glorious things. In the cases of Jeremiah and Isaiah,
we find the Lord making Himself their strength in
regard to the message wherewith He charged them ;
and in the case of Moses, the gift of speech was
especially promised to him, but his faith failed, and
consequently another had to exercise that power
which, had he believed, he himself would have fully
possessed.
In all the history of the primitive Christians, we
fJnd traces of the effect produced upon others by the
testimony they bore, even when bearing
Alike among j j > c»
Primitive and it under the constraint of public persecu-
Modern Won, and in the face of impending danger.
Without a press, without a literature,
without any of our modern means of influencing
masses of men ; cast solely on the one instrument
of the tongue, and in that destitute of the wisdom of
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 101
the Greek, and of the skill of the scribe ; seldom
favoured with the opportunity of repeatedly addressing
numerous assemblies of the same individuals; destitute
of prestige, contemptible in numbers, rustic in manners,
and thwarted by circumstances ; strong only in the
one peculiar attribute, — the unseen fire which filled
them ; on they went, and on, turning the hearts of
their enemies, and advancing the praise of the Lord.
Religion has never, in any period, sustained itself
except by the instrumentality of the tongue of fire.
Only where some men, more or less imbued with
this primitive power, have spoken the words of the
Lord, not with "the words which man's wisdom
teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth," have
sinners been converted, and saints prompted to a
saintlier life. In many periods of the history of the
Church, as this gift has waned, every natural advantage
has come to replace it : — more learning, more system,
more calmness, more profoundness of reflection, every-
thing, in fact, which, according to the ordinary rules of
human thought, would insure to the Christian Church
a greater command over the intellect of mankind,
and give to her arguments in favour of a holy
life a more potent efficacy. Yet it has ever proved
that the gain of all this, when accompanied with an
abatement of the " fire," has left the Church less
efficient ; and her elaborate and weighty lessons have
transformed few into saints, though her simple tongue
102 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
of fire had continually reared up its monuments of
wonder. This has been not less the case in modern
times than in ancient.
If the amazing revival which characterised the last
century, be viewed merely as a natural progress of
Whitefield "^^fital influences, no analysis can find
and elements of power greater than have
Wesley. often existed in a corrupting and falling
Church, or than are found at many periods when no
blessed effects are produced. Men equally learned,
eloquent, orthodox, instructive, may be found in
many ages of Christianity. It is utterly impossible
to assign a natural reason why Whitefield should
have been the means of converting so many more
sinners than other men. Without one trace of logic,
philosophy, or anything worthy to be called systematic
theology, his sermons, viewed intellectually, take an
humble place among humble efforts. Turning again
to his friend, W"esley, we find calmness, clearness,
logic, theology, discussion, definition, point, appeal,
but none of that prodigious and unaccountable power
which the human intellect would naturally connect
with movements so amazing as those which took
place under his word. Neither the logic of the one,
nor the declamation of the other, furnishes us with
the secret of his success. There is enough to account
for men being affected, excited, or convinced ; but
that does not account for their living holy lives ever
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 103
after. Thousands of pulpit orators have swayed their
audience, as a wind sways standing corn ; but, in the
result, those who were most affected, differed nothing
from their former selves. An effect of eloquence is
sufficient to account for a vast amount of feeling at
the moment ; but to trace to this a moral power, by
which a man, for his life long, overcomes his besetting
sins, and adorns his name with Christian virtues, is to
make sport of human nature.
Why should these men have done what many
equally learned and able, as divines and orators,
_, ^. never did ? There must have been an
The Sphere
of True element of power in them which criticism
Christian cannot discover. What was that power ?
It must be judged of by its sphere and
its effects. Where did it act ? and what did it
produce ? Every power has its own sphere. The
strongest arm will never convince the understanding,
the most forcible reasoning will never lift a weight,
the brightest sunbeam will never pierce a plate of
iron, nor the most powerful magnet move a pane of
glass. The soul of man has separate regions, and
that which merely convinces the intellect may leave
the emotions untouched, that which merely operates
on the emotions may leave the understanding
unsatisfied, and that which affects both may yet
leave the moral powers uninspired. The crowning
power of the messenger of God is power over the
104 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
moral man ; power which, whether it approaches the
soul through the avenue of the intellect or of the
affection, does reach into the soul. The sphere of
true Christian power is the heart, — the moral man ;
and the result of its action is not to be surely
distinguished from that of mere eloquence by-
instantaneous emotion, but by subsequent moral
fruit. Power which cleanses the heart, and produces
holy living, is the power of the Holy Ghost. It may
be through the logic of Wesley, the declamation of
Whitefield, or the simple common-sense of a plain
servant woman or labouring man ; but whenever this
power is in action, it strikes deeper into human nature
than any mere reasoning or pathos. Possibly it does
not so soon bring a t;ear to the eye, or throw the
judgment into a posture of acquiescence ; but it raises
in the breast thoughts of God, eternity, sin, death,
heaven, and hell ; raises them, not as mere ideas,
opinions, or articles of faith, but as the images and
echoes of real things.
We may find in many parts of the country, where
much has been done to dispel darkness and diffuse
^, ^ true reliy^ion, that some of the first
The True °
Force of All triumphs of grace were entirely due to
Christian the wonderful effects produced by the
gency. pj-jy^te and fire-side talking of some
humble Christians, who had themselves gone to the
throne of grace, and waited there until they received
MINISTERIAL EFFECTS OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE, 105
the baptism of fire. In proportion as the power of
this one instrument is overlooked, and other means
are trusted in to supply its place, does the true force
of Christian agency decline ; and it may without
hesitation be said, that when men holding the Chris-
tian ministry, habitually and constantly manifest
their distrust in the power of the Holy Ghost to give
them utterance, they publicly abjure the true theory
of Christian preaching. It is, according to the
authority of its Author, delivering a message from
God, — a message through man, it is true ; but delivered,
not with the excellency of man's speech, not under
the guidance of mans natural wisdom; a message,
the effect of which does not rest upon the artistic
arrangement, choice, and order of words, but upon the
extent to which its utterance is pervaded by the Holy
Ghost.
106 THE TONGUE OF FJRE.
CHAPTER VII.
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF THE BAPTISM OF FIRE.
I. — The Spirit fulfilling His Great Office,
When the promise of the Spirit was given, our Lord
expressly intimated that His influence should not be
confined to the Church, but that He should " convince
the v^orld of sin, and of righteousness, and of judg-
ment.'* It was only thus that the Church could be
extended beyond the number of the original disciples.
Through the gifts bestowed upon Peter, the Spirit
moved to the fulfilment of His great office in the
hearts of worldly men. Both the miraculous and the
ministerial gifts were made subservient to this end.
The former was a wonder which raised curiosity and
then amazement, which brought together a mul-
titude, first excited, finally awed. This, how-
ever, was all it did. Had the events of the
day ended with the mere effect of the miracle,
perhaps no Jew would have become a Chris-
tian, and certainly no sinner would have become a
saint. The miracle prepared an audience for the
preacher ; but it did not convert, and did not even
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 107
instruct, them : no one there knew the doctrine of the
incarnation, and its glorious concomitants, when Peter
stood up to preach. All that the gift of tongues did
was to produce an impression that these men were
messengers of God. And even this it did not produce
on all ; for some mocked ; probably people of the
place, on whom the effect of the foreign tongues was
lost.
The entire advantage which Peter, as a preacher of
Christianity, derived from the evidences of his religion,
„ , ^. , when he stood up on the day of Pente-
Peter s Single *■ "'
Advantage cost, amounted to this : a large number
ami Many Dis- of men were congregated in a state of
advantages. -, •. .• r \. c ^l •
* much agitation, fresh from the impression
of a prodigy before unimagined, and with a strong
suspicion that the preacher and his coadjutors were
probably teachers from God. His advantage, as
compared with a modern preacher, lay in the freshness
of this feeling, — in the opened state of the mind just
after an indisputable marvel had forced a passage
through all the prejudices. His disadvantages lay in
the comparative ignorance of his hearers, in their dis-
belief of most of the points wherewith he wished to
impress them, in the amount of religious and national
prejudice which fortified this disbelief, in the array of
temporal interests which stood up against his appeal,
in the discredit attached to his position, the obscurity
of his person, and the rustic stamp of his speech.
103 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Putting his single advantage on the one side, and
his many disadvantages on the other, we naturally
raise the question, Had he more advantage from the
miracle of tongues, than the modern preacher has
from the Christian evidences generally ? It would be
hard to exaggerate the value of that freshness of
impression under which he found his hearers ; yet,
taking the whole course of human nature, the miracle,
whether in the hand of Moses, the Prophets, or the
Lord Himself, — however mighty as an instrument of
impression, as a credential of a Divine mission, — never
proved an instrument of moral regeneration to the
people.
From the Pentecostal and other miracles, from the
whole array of the Christian evidences, the modern
preacher derives the advantage of an audience who
believe that the doctrines he propounds are truly the
Word of God. Within their conscience he has far
more on his side than Peter had in the consciences of
his auditory. Peter had the advantage of a fresh and
excited feeling; the modern preacher has that of
standing closer home upon the conscience. The
latter often thinks how much might be effected had
he only some such supernatural sign as arrested the
multitude on the day of Pentecost : what would Peter
have thought of his prospects, if, instead of such an
audience as he had, one had been offered to him
where all believed that his Master was the Son of
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 109
God, and that there was " no other name given under
heaven among men whereby we must be saved ? "
The effect of the miracle was a general impression
in favour of the Divine origin of the message. At
this point the ministerial gift came into operation.
By an ability clearly to state and argue the truth,
Peter was enabled to put the understanding of his
hearers into possession of the great revelation, that
God had sent His Son to redeem them. By a sacred
pathos, he was enabled to engage their sympathies in
favour of each truth, as he presented it. Clear and
feeling utterance of the Gospel was his ministerial
gift : understanding and impression were its effects.
The united effect of the miraculous and ministerial
gift amounted to, — favourable attention, understanding
of the truth, and inclination to embrace
The United .
Effect of the **• ^"t had no power beyond the
Miraculous testimony of the miracle, and the appeal
and Minis- ^f ^j^^ sermou, touched the souls of the
tertal Gift.
auditors, what single individual would
have embraced truth so dangerous to his respecta-
bility and comfort, however convinced that it was
of heavenly origin, and fraught with eternal advan-
tages ? The inclination towards such a step raised
by Peter's warmth, would have been counteracted by
many and potent inclinations of interest and of
nature. Nothing is more common than for the
human mind to turn its back upon a truth, firmly
110 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
believed to be from God, deeply felt to carry eternal
hopes, but demanding the sacrifice of present gratifica-
tions, or of the friendship of the world. Mere convic-
tion never carries a point of practical moral conduct.
Deeper than the judgment, deeper than the feelings,
lies the seat of human character, in that which is the
mystery of all beings and all things,
of Human in what we call their *' nature," without
Character— knowing where it lies, what it is, or how
* * Nature "
it wields its power. All we know is, that
it does exert a power over external circumstances,
bending them all in its own direction, or breaking its
instruments against what it cannot bend. The nature
of an acorn turns dews, airs, soils, and sunbeams to
oak ; and though circumstances may destroy its
power, they cannot divert it while it survives. It
defies man, beast, earth, and sky, to make it produce
elm. Cultivation may affect its quality, and training
its form ; but whether it shall produce oak, ash, or
elm, is a matter into which no force from without
can enter, a matter not of circumstances, but purely
of nature. To turn nature belongs to the Power
which originally fixed nature.
In man feelings and intellect are related to NATURE,
as in a plant tissues and juices : they derive their
character from nature, and manifest its bent ; but are
not nature, though the means by which it acts on
the external world, and is reacted upon by it. Nature
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. Ill
does not decide the comparative excellence of
character in the different members of the same
species : one oak may be much stronger than
another, one rose much sweeter ; one man much
wiser, or more generous. The nature of man is
essentially moral ; and when intellect shoots up to
eminence, it depends on the moral nature whether it
is a blessing or a curse to the species, a joy or a
trouble to the individual. According to the moral
nature, are the intellectual powers directed; and in
man often wastefully, often hurtfully, — as to the great
majority, in ways far below their capability. Just as
in all other objects, so in man, his nature eludes our
analysis, lies out of sight, and defies our direct
influence. We approach it through the intellect, or
the feelings ; but always with uncertainty, never
knowing what unseen power may counterwork our
most careful endeavours.
II. — The Creator of Nature alone Able to Restore
Fallen Man.
It is the nature of fallen man to prefer present
pleasure to the prospect of eternal happiness, the
, favour of the world to the favour of the
Man not the
Creature Almighty ; to love himself, and forget
ofCircum- his Creator. In adults this nature is
stances. fortified by its own developments ; by
habits and connexions which all tend in its own
112 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
direction. When a man's nature in boyhood pro-
duced fruits of vice and trouble, when his advancing
years have steadily answered the impulse of the same
nature, and his present associations are all based
upon an alienation from heavenly ties ; to bring him
into immediate and permanent conformity to a
Divine ideal of life, requires the ultimate Power of
the universe, the Power which rules NATURE, and
through nature circumstances. Set before all the
wise and good of the world one man of thirty years,
or upwards, whose life has been wicked or worldly ;
and tell them by a word, a warning, or an appeal,
infallibly to change him then and there to a pure
man, or to a pious man ; and they will each be
ready to exclaim, "Am I God, that I should do
this?"
To say that man is the creature of circumstances,
is as much as to say that he is destitute of a nature ;
for, where a nature is, there is a power, a power of
which circumstances are often the mere effect, but
are never the masters. Let all the circumstances
under heaven conspire against the force of nature, as
embodied in a seed of thorn, and they can never
defeat it : all the gardeners, manures, heats, and
waterings possible, would fail to make it produce fir.
Heap upon it every advantage which art and creation
can give, and it will steadily turn all to thorn, hope-
lessly incapable of rising above its nature.
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE, 113
Change your treatment, and endeavour to debase
it, and the same superiority of nature to circum-
stances continues to manifest itself. You may starve
it to death, you may stunt or blight it, but by no
adversity will it degenerate to brier ; thorn in spite
of all allurements upward, thorn in spite of repulses
downward ; as it can never rise above, so it can
never sink below, its nature. Circumstances are the
creatures of natures, not natures of circumstances.
Human nature is said by many to be good ; if
so, where have social evils come from } For human
Human "^^"^^ ^^ the Only moral nature in that
Nature Re- corrupting thing called *' society." Every
sponsible for g^ji example set before the child of to-
Social Evils. , . , ^ . «. , _ ,
day is the fruit of human nature. It has
been planted on every possible field — among the
snows that never melt ; in temperate regions, and
under the line ; in crowded cities, in lonely forests ;
in ancient seats of civilization, in new colonies ; and
in all those fields it has, without once failing, brought
forth a crop of sins and troubles. This is absolute
and inexpungable proof that human nature, in the
aggregate, is a seed which produces sins and
troubles.
But a proof lies nearer the breast of each man.
When you meant to do wrong, and had made up
your mind upon it, did any instinct within you tell
you that you were unable, and must seek supernatural
8
1U THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
help to carry out your intention ? Never. You felt
that to go forward was not only easy, but almost
irresistible ; was, in fact, yielding to nature.
When you had made up your mind to overcome
wrong inclinations, and, to do right, and only right,
did not an instinct as unfailing as that whereby an
infant searches for the breast of a mother, teach you
to seek help, inward help, help against yourself.? A
decision to do wrong finds you strong in your own
strength ; a decision to conquer wrong, and do right,
sends you to your knees, or makes you cry, " God
help me ! " If that be so, you need consult no man's
books as to what side your nature is inclined to.
Man is the only being coming within our know-
ledge who has a nature that is plainly unnatural.
Man's Nature ^^^^ language is not paradoxical for the
Plainly sake of paradox, but for the sake of
Unnatural, strictly describing a mournful fact. Is a
nature natural which can be changed without de-
stroying the identity ? That of man can be changed,
and not only leave his identity perfect, but restore
the course of a higher, and evidently an older, nature
than the one which had previously reigned. Is a
nature natural which urges toward courses which
blight and ruin } Human nature, when least affected
by culture, in the loneliest and loveliest islands of
unfrequented seas, urges to courses of headlong ruin
and destruction. In the highest seats of civilization,
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 115
it urges men to neglect the God of all, though they
believe that to Him they are indebted for being,
reason, and joy, and on Him are dependent for their
continuance ; urges them to neglect objects which
they believe to be truly noble and of eternal utility,
for pleasures which they cannot help despising, and
for gains which they know are neither honourable nor
lasting. In proof of this, more than enough is said
by the simple words, London, Paris, Rome. Yet,
while their nature is thus over-riding their true
dignity, true happiness, and true interest, a voice
within, as if of a friend who has survived from better
days, is ever protesting against this monstrous
condition of things, and averring that this nature
is not nature.
There is not a beast of the field but may trust
his nature and follow it, certain that it will lead him
Our Only ^^ ^^ h^^X. of which he is capable. But as
Invincible for US, our Only invincible enemy is our
Enemy, mature : were it sound, we could hold cir-
cumstances as lightly as Samson's withs ; but it is
evermore betraying us. Often, when we honestly
meant to be good and noble, our miserable nature, at
the first favourable juncture of circumstances, be-
trayed us again, and we found ourselves falling by
our own hands, and bitterly felt that we were our
own enemies. Heal us at the heart, and then let the
world come on ! we are ready for the conflict. Make
116 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
US sound within, and we shall stand in the evil day.
We can defy circumstances, and resist the devil, if
only our own breast become not a hold of traitors ;
if inclinations, silent, subtle, and strong as nature, do
not arise to beguile us into captivity to evil.
You tell us to withstand these inclinations, not to
yield to our impulses, but to subject them to reason ;
that IS, not to follow nature, which is inward and
impulsive, but to be guided by external indexes
which Observation notes. Reason interprets, and Will
may apply to the control of nature. That, in fact, is
saying, " Do not live by your nature, but resist your
nature." What a world of appalling truth comes in
with that one admonition ! My nature not a nature
to live by ! Self-regard putting me on the watch
against nature ! A nature, and that the highest
nature in this terrestrial system, self-injurious ! This
is not Thy handiwork, O Eternal Parent, Author of
order, beauty, and love ; Creator of natures, each of
which is in unison with itself, and in harmony with
all Thy other creatures ! What has happened since
man first left Thy hand ?
III. — Three Thousand Sinners Converted into Saints.
It was strange to see three thousand men,
First Wonders ^^^^'^ *^"^ hearing of a new and untried
of the religion, accept it as their faith, and
Phenomenon, pubjjcly enrol themselves as its disciples.
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 117
It was especially strange, since the men at whose
hands they, with docility, took the sacramental
pledge of their conversion, were men without repute,
whom they had themselves previously despised. But
it is not till after some weeks have elapsed that
the highest wonder of this phenomenon breaks
upon us.
Human nature is liable to unaccountable illusions,
and multitudes to ungovernable impulses. It may be
that in a week or two we shall find those thousands
of a thousand different views, as to what they had
heard from Peter on the day of Pentecost, and as to
the pardon and grace which he had professed to
declare to them. But, as day by day we watch that
throng, moral marvels come continually into view.
What was so rare in human nature is now ordinary, a
holy man. Persons who were as commonplace in
character as can be conceived, now live before us,
saints. The vile have become noble, the churl self-
denying, the bitter gentle, the sensual wonderfully
pure. A community drawn from Jews of the ordinary
standard, from persons of every variety of character
and of sinfulness, is a community so pure, so far
beyond what human eyes ever have seen before, that
it seems as a commencement of heaven upon earth.
Raised suddenly into saintship, they steadily main-
tain their moral elevation ; first astonishing and
captivating those who look on, and then withstanding
118 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
all the opposition which prejudice and power can
bring to crush them.
Day after day, month after month, year after year,
this new and glorious life goes on. These men, lifted
Persistence of "P ^^^"^ ^^ ordinary level of sinners,
the New and continue '^ Steadfast in the Apostles'
Glorious Life, fellowship, and in breaking of bread and
prayers," " filled with the Holy Ghost," rich in faith
overflowing with inward consolation ; not seeing their
glorified Redeemer with the eye, but more than seeing
with the heart, — feeling, embracing Him, they " rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Their close
prospect is immortality, their citizenship is in heaven,
their wealth lies where change can never reduce it,
nor moth corrupt, nor thief steal. Happy upon earth,
and inheritors of heaven, it is nought to them that all
mankind frown upon them ; they know that they
" are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickness."
Their saintliness spreads its fame to the ends of the
earth, — a fame that has never died until our day ; and
even upon our homes and our hearts are now
descending the mild and holy influences of the first
community called into existence by the tongue of
fire.
Three thousand men permanently raised from
death in sin to a life of holiness ! Three thousand
sinners converted into saints ! Three thousand new-
made saints enabled day by day to walk in the fear
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 119
of God, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost !
Three thousand of our brethren, weak, sinful by
nature, open to the temptings of Satan even as we
are, maintaining a life in the body which almost
surpasses belief, so is it marked with goodness and
with purity !
This, of all the spectacles of Pentecost, is the one
that speaks in deepest tones to the heart. On those
Salvation is ^hree thousand we gaze; and our souls
come to the break out with adoration. Glory, honour,
Race of Adam, salvation ! — for now the word " salvation "
may be boldly uttered by human lips — salvation is
come, is come to the race of Adam ! Here we see it,
not in word, not in promise, but in practical demon-
stration ; in human beings redeemed ; in our nature
recovered from sin, and that not in a solitary convert,
not in one ardent youth, or in one exhausted world-
ling, but in hundreds and thousands of men with
ordinary hearts, and wants, and employments, to
whom human life has become a fellowship with God,
and a straight road to eternal joy.
IV. — Renewing of Bad Hearts in the Image of God.
We have already said that we may speak of a
physical miracle and of a mental miracle ; and to this
A Moral we may add a moral miracle. Mind, we
Miracle, have said, is greater than matter, and
120 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
therefore a work wrought in mind is greater than one
wrought in matter ; it bespeaks not merely a power,
but a spirit. Just as intellect sways matter, so does
that for which it is hard to find a name, — the moral
nature, the self and substance of a man, the HEART —
sway the intellect. We shall use the word " heart,"
not to signify the emotional nature, represented in
Scripture by the " bowels," but the moral nature ;
that is, so far as man is concerned, NATURE. The
heart commands the man. Give me a heart, and you
give me a man ; it carries both a mind and a body
with it. Heart is the greatest thing below the sky ;
the nearest to the government above, that which
sways intellect, and sways all things human. A work,
then, wrought upon heart, is the highest order of
operation to which human nature can afford a sphere.
Christianity professes to be a system for that which
has never been otherwise professed, — the renewing of
bad h earts in the image of the God of heaven . ^o
this all its powers are directed ; and until this is done,
Christianity is but a theory. All previous to this is
but as a verbal explanation of principles by a physical
philosopher, lacking his ocular demonstration. .J^
problem of our nature is how to make thebad^JflOd ;
that is, how to cliange nature, which, by natural
power, is absolutely impossible.
In the physical miracle, we see the God of nature
accrediting revelation ; in the mental miracle, we see
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 121
the God of mind accrediting revelation. In both these
77 H' h t "^^^''^ ^^ counter-worked, and a power
Manifestation above nature manifested. It is a grand
of a Power ^nd memorable thing to see the sea dried
above Nature. ^ ^11 • 1 -n • . »
up, or to see the human mmd illuminated
with the lights of prophecy or the gift of tongues ;
but the highest manifestation of a power above nature,
of a power acting against and contrary to nature,
is, when the bad suddenly becomes good ; the impure,
pure ; when a clean thing is brought out of an
unclean ; when the earthly becomes heavenly ; the
sensual, spiritual ; the devilish, like God ; when the
Ethiopian changes his skin, and the leopard his spots ;
when instead of the thorn comes up the fir-tree, and
instead of the brier comes up the myrtle-tree. Here
is the Ruler, not of the physical universe, overruling
physical nature, or of the mental universe, overruling
mental nature, but the Ruler of the moral universe,
overruling moral nature, in attestation of the Gospel
of His own grace.
This, though not in the technical language of
theology a miracle, is so in common sense. Is it
The^'Everiast- "^^"^^ •'* Is it reducible to natural law .?
ing Sign, True, it is what is to be ordinarily
which shall not expected in Christianity: but expected
be cut off:' , , r . r ,
as what i as a fruit of natural agency }
or of supernatural power accompanying that agency,
and attesting it as from God } Has any system of
122 THE TONGUE OF FJRE.
religion ever embodied such a conception as an
evidence that God was in it, and working through it,
which would admit of constant application, and, at
the same time, would strike deeper into the human
soul than any other imaginable demonstration ?
This is the singular glory of the Gospel. The
recovery of nature from her fearful fall, the creatmg
anew of man in the image of God, the presenting the
fir instead of the thorn, the myrtle instead of the
brier, is the " EVERLASTING SIGN, WHICH SHALL NOT
BE CUT OFF."
Other modes whereby the Lord attests and seals
His messengers, whereby His operation accredits His
word, have had their occasional and their glorious
field ; but this sign is equally adapted to all time,
claims as its sphere all humanity, and addresses not
the judgment merely, but the conscience of man,
proclaiming to him the presence in the earth of a
Power that heals human nature, and restores the like
of himself to the image of God.
Each sinner transformed into a saint is a new token
of a redeeming power among men. That token
declares to observers, not that there is a King in
heaven, not that there is a " Father of lights," bijj^
that there is a Saviour. And this is the testimony
'MMVMHMMNnHMMdIWMPWMMMli
which the world especially needs. There are few
things in religion which men doubt more than
whether it is possible for them, as individuals, to
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 123
escape from their sins. No declaration of that
possibility goes so far to convince them, as seeing
those whom they have known as weak as themselves, ;
as addicted to evil as themselves, suddenly changed,
and enabled all their life long to walk " as seeing |
Him who is invisible." This at once says to them, J
** There is One who has power on earth to save from|
sin ;'* and when they know that their neighbourf
ascribes all to the cross of Christ, they feel that in|
that cross must lie an efficacy by which, if ever they 1
are to find salvation, that salvation must come. I
The regeneration of a sinner is an evidence of '
power m the highest sphere , — moral nature ; with
the highest prerogative, — to change nature; and
operating to the highest result, — not to create origi-
nally, which is great ; tmt 1^ c re^^ ^i^ ^^ ane w. which is
greater : for, when nature has once become evil, how
infinite the glory of the act whereby again it takes its
place in the eye of the universe, " very good 1 " The
creation of saints out of sinners is the demonstration
whereby the divinity of the Gospel is most shortly
and most convincingly displayed. Of all the
Christian evidences, it alone proves that our religion
does save from sin.
lariiMi r ii( M'l Mill iiie&>
X i wu'im liii ft t n r tit^fatmm^tttmmirr.'mmr
V. — The Case of the Converts of Pentecost.
Again we look back to those three thousand, and
in the sight we glory. Our nature is not hopelessly
124 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
lost. Redemption is wrous^ht out.
A Pledge of ,
^/^^ Humanity may be sanctified. Com-
Deliverance munities of men may be reared who
of Men shall dwell in peace and love, and
from Sin. . _ ,
earth may become a mirror of heaven.
Never, below the skies, — never, until the tragic
history of Adam's sons is ended, can we escape the
death which sin has brought upon us, and its cor-
relative woes. But sin itself has found a conqueror ;
not sin in the abstract, not sin in some philosophical
impersonation, not sin in the great prince of the
powers of darkness ; but sin in human hearts, sin in
my nature, sin girt round with flesh of my flesh, and
bone of my bone, flowing in veins like mine, and
appealed to by temptations of the mind, and of the
body, just such as my own. Sin, in living man, has
been conquered, its Conqueror reigns, His redeeming
power is nigh ; and in those converts at Jerusalem
I see a pledge of my own deliverance, and can shout,
" I, too, shall be made free from the law of sin and
death."
We see a pledge of the deliverance, not only of
individuals, but of multitudes ; not only of families,
but of thousands and tens of thousands. It has
been too much the fashion for Christians to look
upon pure and elevated religion as applicable only
to a few. At a time when Christianity and holiness
became different things, and true religion was looked
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 125
Upon as something not for life, but for a condition
secluded from life, amounting, for practical purposes,
to a burial before the time ; a style of thinking crept
in, which has never disappeared to this day. In the
Church of Rome we still find it maintained, that deep
holiness finds its best place away from human life,
in retreat and celibacy. Among Protestants this
error is rejected, yet practical religion is looked upon
as something not to be expected to gain thousands
at a time, and to renew communities by its sacred
power, but rather to be a select blessing for a few,
scattered here and there, and everywhere little
discerned.
Look back to Pentecost. See Christianity at her
first step raising up her army by thousands. She
seeks not the wilderness ; she seeks not the few ;
she affects not little, dispersed, and hidden groups.
In the sight of Jerusalem, in the sight of the world,
she starts as the religion of the multitude ; the
religion of fathers and mothers, of traders, land-
owners, widows, persons of all classes, and of all
occupations. She takes in her hand, at the very
first moment, an earnest of every nation, and kindred,
and people, and tongue, of every grade and age, as
if to expand for ever the expectations of her dis-
ciples, and impress us with the joyful faith that her
practical redemption was for the multitudes of men.
In the case of the converts of Pentecost^ we are
126 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
struck first with the suddenness of their conviction,
then with the sharpness of it, and then with the
permanence of the result.
When the humble fisherman began to preach,
many who had witnessed the miracle were mocking ;
none had become saints ; perhaps not a
The Sudden- . , , , . , . i , •
ness and "^^^ ^^ ^"^ crowd believed m the media-
Sharpness of tion of Christ, or in any other of the
thetr great doctrines of the Gospel. They
Conviction.
were adverse, — not to say doggedly and
systematically enemies. His words were strangely
edged : a sword went through the very souls of these
men, — a sword which told to the consciousness, that
He who wielded it was the Unseen and the Almighty.
As if the whole of life was recalled, as if eternity
had pressed itself with all its weight into one moment,
processes of thought that would have required long,
long meditation, and yet longer description, flashed
and re-flashed across the soul ; and the man found
himself a sinner in the midst of his own sins, accused
by the past, menaced by the future, overwhelmed,
confounded, discovered, and unable to wrestle against
the thought, " What must I do to be saved ? "
The sharpness of this conviction is equally amazing
with its suddenness. Why could not the men control
themselves ? Why not go to their homes and think .?
Why not take time to deliberate ? Why not avoid
exposure to the public eye } Why, but because,
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 127
wounded to the very quick, they forgot all other
considerations, and wanted to be healed ? They saw,
they felt themselves fallen into the hands of God ;
and, for the moment, the eye, the voice, the opinion
of man, was shut out from their thoughts.
If a man really saw an angel, or one ** risen from
the dead," we should expect that all consideration of
bystanders would forsake him in the awe of the
moment. And so, if in an instant a supernatural
power opens the unseen world to the soul, with its
one eternal Light, its heaven and its hell, although
the view of these must be imperfect and confused,
yet if it is a view^ a sudden view, it must shoot fear,
wonder, awe, through and through the soul, till man
and man's opinion are as little thought of, as fashion
by a woman fallen into a steamer's foaming wake.
We find those who were affected by these sudden
impressions, going on and on, month
Permanence after month. Sustaining in the ordinary
of the walks of life the profession of saints,
walking worthy, not only of themselves,
not only of their teachers, but even of the Lord,
leading such a life that " He that sanctifieth, and
they which are sanctified, are all of one : for which
cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren."
This steadfastness in purity and piety, "in the
Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread, and in prayers," in liberality such as no
128 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
community had ever practised, in " gladness and
singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour
with all the people ; " shows that the fountains of life
had been sweetened, the depths of the soul reached ;
that, in a word, nature had been touched, changed,
renewed.
The permanence of the change shows that it is one
of nature ; its suddenness, that it is effected by super-
natural means. Indeed, natural means can never
change a nature, though they may greatly modify its
manifestations. When we want to produce any
moral impression on human nature that shall be
permanent, we trust to slow and lengthened training.
To turn a man from his ways, to turn him against his
own interest, to lead him to place all he holds dear in
continual jeopardy, purely for the sake of goodness
here and happiness hereafter, is what, in any natural
scheme, we must attempt by beginning early and by
labouring long. But if we are to depend not on
natural processes, but on the power of God, then time
ceases to be a matter of account ; the Infinite One
declares His presence by accomplishing in a moment
that upon which we had gladly spent a life. What-
ever reasons may be advanced in favour of gradual
awakenings rather than sudden ones, this at least
stands on the other side, that the sudden conversion
conveys to all bystanders a much more striking
impression of a power above that of man. What is
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM 01 FIRE. 129
gradual may be readily ascribed, by the ignorant or
the unbelieving, to the natural results of human
processes. They may say, " The wonder would be
if, with so much teaching, so many homilies, directed
to the one end of bringing man to consideration for
his soul, he was not gradually brought to it." But
when, by some single, and perhaps simple, message,
the work of conversion is done in an instant, it looks
like the raising of the dead. As to bystanding
sinners, it first stirs their wonder, then moves their
conscience ; and if they see such cases multiplied, the
feeling falls upon them, — " It is the mighty power of
God ! "
Christianity was established by the creation of
Christians.
VI. — The Application of Christianity to Social Evils,
In the words, " Continued steadfast in the Apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread,
The Oni Way ^"^ ^"^ prayers," we see the effect of the
to the Effectual regeneration of individuals on the cha-
Regeneration racter of a community. From a number
of Society. r i ^ . , ,
of good men at once arose a united and
fraternal society. Statesmen and philanthropists,
occupied with the idea of forming happy nations, fre-
quently look to good institutions as the means of
doing so ; but find that when institutions are more
9
180 TH^ TONGUE OF FIRE,
than a certain distance in advance of the people, in-
stead of being a blessing, they become a snare and a
confusion. The reason of this is obvious : good
"institutions to a certain extent pre-suppose a good
people. Where the degree of goodness existing in
the people does not, in some measure, correspond
with that pre-supposed in the institutions, the latter
can never be sustained. As the organ, embodiment,
and conservators of individual goodness, the value of
good institutions is incalculable ; and he is one of
man's greatest benefactors, who makes any improve-
ment in the joinings and bearings of the social
machine ; but as a means of regeneration, political
institutions are impotent. Good institutions given to
a depraved and unprincipled people, end in bringing
that which is good into disrepute. In fact, it would
be more correct to say, that institutions which are
good for a people of good principles, are bad for a
people destitute of principle. The only way to the
effectual regeneration of society is the regeneration of
individuals : make the tree good, and the fruit will
be good ; make good men, and you will easily
found and sustain good institutions. Here is the fault
of statesmen, — they forget the heart of the individual.
On the other hand, have not those who see and feel
the importance of first seeking the regeneration of
individuals, too often insufficiently studied the appli-
cation of Christianity to social evils } When the
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 131
result of Christian teaching long addressed to a
Indifference to people has raised the tone of conscience,
Politicalinsti' when a large number of persons em-
Mthfuln^^'to body^"g *^u^ Christianity in their own
Christian Hves are diffused among all ranks, a
Morals. foundation is laid for social advancement ;
but it does not follow that, by spontaneous develop-
ment, the principles implanted in the minds of the
people make to themselves the most fitting and
Christian embodiment. Fearful social evils may co-
exist with a state of society wherein many are holy,
and all have a large amount of Christian light. The
most disgusting slave-system, base usages fostering
intemperance, alienation of class from class in feeling
and interest, systematic frauds in commerce, neglect
of workmen by masters, neglect of children by their
own parents, whole classes living by sin, usages
checking marriage and encouraging licentiousness,
human dwellings which make the idea of home odious
and the existence of modesty impossible, are but
specimens of the evils which may be left age after
age, cursing a people among whom Christianity is
the recognised standard of society. To be indifferent
to these things is as unfaithful to Christian morals on
the one hand, as hoping to remedy them, without
spreading practical holiness among individuals, is
astray from truth on the other.
The most dangerous perversion of the Gospel,
132 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
viewed as affecting individuals, is, when it is looked
. upon as a salvation for the soul after it
Wrongs to leaves the body, but no salvation from
be Warred sin while here. The most dangerous
gams . perversion of it, viewed as affecting the
community, is, when it is looked upon as a means of
forming a holy community in the world to come, but
never in this. Nothing short of the general renewal
of society ought to satisfy any soldier of Christ ; and
all who aim at that triumph should draw much inspi-
ration from the King's own words : " All power is
given unto Me in heaven and in earth." Much as
Satan glories in his power over an individual, how
much greater must be his glorying over a nation
embodying, in its laws and usages, disobedience to
God, wrong to man, and contamination to morals !
To destroy all national holds of evil, to root sin out
of institutions, to hold up to view the Gospel ideal of
a righteous nation, to confront all unwholesome public
usages with mild, genial, and ardent advocacy of what
is purer, is one of the first duties of those whose posi-
tion or mode of thought gives them an influence on
general questions. In so doing they are at once
glorifying the Redeemer, — by displaying the benignity
of His influence over human society, — and removing
hindrances to individual conversion, some of which
act by direct incentive to vice, others by upholding a
state of things, the acknowledged basis of which is, —
" Forget God."
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 133
Satan might be content to let Christianity turn
over the sub-soil, if he is in perpetuity to sow the
surface with thorns and briers ; but the Gospel is
come to renew the face of the earth. Among the
wheat, the tares, barely distinguishable from it, may
be permitted to grow to the last : but the field is to
be wheat, not tares ; wheat, not briers ; a fair, fenced,
ploughed, sowed, and fruitful field, albeit weeds,
resembling the crop, be interspersed.
VII. — Prayer and Preaching.
The same words, " The Apostles' doctrine and fel-
lowship, and breaking of bread, and prayers," indicate
The Gift of *^^ various exercises of religion, in which
Being ''Apt to all Churches and individual Christians
Teach.-" ought to " Continue steadfast." It was
not a "preaching Church," or a "praying Church,"
the one in opposition to the other : they had both
" doctrine," teaching, and " prayers." The idea of
separating these two, or of setting the one up above
the other, is foreign to the religion of the New Testa-
ment. They are no Ministers sent of God, who have
not the gift of being " apt to teach." They may be
good and useful men ; but the proof that any one
never was designed by the Head of all for a certain
position, is, that He never qualified him for it. All
the authorities in the universe cannot make him an
ambassador for Christ, to whom Christ Himself has
184 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
given no power to beseech men to be reconciled to
God, no power to warn every man, and teach every
man, that he may present every man perfect. The
pretence of a Christianity without Ministers, served
by a priesthood who can manipulate, read prayers
that others wrote, organize solemnities, and keep
times and seasons, but who cannot " rightly divide the
word of truth ; " cannot " preach the Gospel with
demonstration of the Spirit, and with power ; " cannot
do anything but what the most senseless, or the most
wicked, of men could do, if drilled to it ; is one of
those marvels of imposition before which we are at
once abashed and indignant, — indignant that, with
the New Testament still living, men dare palm this
upon us for Christianity ; and abashed, that human
nature is ready to accept such a travesty.
On the other hand, the gift of teaching was not
exercised to the exclusion, or even to the repression,
Pra ers in ^^ ^^^^ ^^ prayer. The disciples did not
Frequent and come together Only when someone was
Familiar prepared with a deep and weighty dis-
Fellowship. , _ ....
course on pomts of essential doctrme.
Prayer was one of their habitual exercises ; not
merely hearkening to the solitary prayer of one gifted
preacher in the great congregation, before or after his
sermon ; but prayers in frequent and familiar fellow-
ship, prayers prompted then and there, without book,
and without study ; prayers of private disciples who
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 135
had no higher gift, but who could pour out their
requests to God ; prayers by men with provincial
speech, and all the marks of being " unlearned and
ignorant," but also with clear signs that the Spirit
was helping their infirmities, and teaching them what
they should pray for as they ought.
Suppose that Peter had some day stood up and
said, " Brethren, all things must be done in order.
The use of vulgar tones and uneducated language is
unseemly. Henceforth none shall pray in our assem-
blies but those who can do so without exposing us to
the ridicule of the respectable. Indeed, to secure
propriety, we have prepared proper forms, and all our
future praying shall be from these Litanies and
Collects written here, the language of which is the
most beautiful of human compositions, and may,
indeed, be called faultless."
Would not this have altered the history of the
primitive Church } Were not prayers, simple, un-
Simpie, premeditated, united ; prayers of the
Unpremediiated, wcll-taught Apostle ; prayers of the
United. accomplished scholar ; prayers of the
rough but fervent peasant ; prayers of the new but
zealous convert ; prayers which importuned and
wrestled with an instant and irrepressible urgency —
were they not an essential part of that religion which
holy fire had kindled, and which daily supplications
alone could fan t
186 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Surely no Church can be entitled to call herself a
praying Church because, by a trained priesthood, she
often reads old and admirable forms of prayer.
Against such forms, suitably mingled with the public
services of the Church, we mean to say no word ; we
use, admire, and enjoy them ; but, with the Acts of
the Apostles open, it is impossible to repress astonish-
ment that any man should imagine that frequent and
formal reading of the best forms ever written, un-
mixed even by one outburst of spontaneous supplica-
tion from minister or people, has any pretence to be
looked on as the interceding grace, the gift of
supplication bestowed upon the primitive Church.
That in such modes holy and prayerful hearts may
and do pour themselves out to God, we not only con-
cede, but would maintain against all who questioned
it. That such prayers are in many ways preferable
to the one set prayer of one dry man — long, stiff, and
meagre — wherewith congregations are often visited,
is too plain to need acknowledgment.
But gifts of prayer are part of the work and pre-
rogative of the Holy Ghost ; are of the very essence
The Pentecostal of a Church ; and to deliberately shut
Church Powerful ^^ ^^^^ against them, or so to frame
^^Imd^Mi^hfy ecclesiastical arrangements that they
in Prayer. are practically buried except when
possessed by the Minister, the well-educated, or the
influential, is a plain departure from apostolic
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE, 137
Christianity. In no form is the tongue of fire
more impressive, more calculated to convince men
that a power above nature is working, than when
poor men, who could no more preach than they could
fly, and could not suitably frame a paragraph on any
secular topic, lift up a reverent voice, amid a few
fellow-Christians, and in strains of earnest trust,
perhaps of glorious emotion, and even of sublime
conception as to things Divine, plead in prayer with
their Redeemer. The Pentecostal Christianity was
not framed on the ideal of an accomplished circle,
but on that of a Church, a Church including learned
and unlearned, the refined and the rustic, the
honoured Evangelist, Prophet, or Apostle, and the
humble member without public gifts ; but all re-
joicing as members of one brotherhood, and each, in
fitting time and mode, taking his share according to
his gifts in the active work of mutual edification.
A Church, to be apostolic, must have ministers
powerful in preaching, and members mighty in
prayer.
VIII. — Fellowship and Brotherhood.
They continued steadfast " in breaking of bread ; "
hence it is plain that it was not a purely spiritual
''Breaking of system of worship, too spiritual to stoop
Bread'' and to our Lord's Ordained symbols, or by
'' Feiioxvship:' ^j^g breaking of bread to show forth
His death.
138 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Besides breaking of bread, and doctrine, and
prayers, " fellowship " is distinctly named. It was
then not a Church where the " teaching " of the
minister was taken for his fellowship with the people,
and their " breaking of bread " for their fellowship
one with another ; but where, in addition to public
teaching, sacraments, and prayers, was another
beauty of primitive Christianity, " fellowship." Fel-
lowship is family life, forming a circle, smaller or
larger, to the members of which, joys, sorrows, in-
terests, and undertakings are of common concern
and matter of common conversation. Between the
life of man as an individual and as a member of a
great community, lies a vast region of affections,
which can be filled up only by family relations. In
public, an individual does not indulge his affections :
the greater the multitude, the more is the heart in
privacy. The citizen who stands honourably with
the public, and yet has no wife, child, or friend to
partake of his life, is lonely : his place in the town
council or the national legislature may be filled, and
all the relations therein involved well sustained to
him by others ; but he lives without fellowship : if he
does so from bereavement, men compassionate him ;
if from choice, they turn cold at the thought of him.
It would have been strange, had a Church meant
for man, in all his aspects, individual, domestic,
national, left the space between the individual and the
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 1S9
public unoccupied ; so that Christian life must have
been divided into secret and solitary intercourse with
God, and public solemnities, wherein each was a
stranger to each ; no family life, no circles of inter-
woven hearts, no unbosoming of joys, sorrows, and
cares, no communication " one to another " as to the
soul's health or progress. Had such a cardinal
omission been traceable in Christianity, it might
have raised many a question as to how the tenderest
elements of our nature — the social ones — had been
disregarded in forming a bond designed to unite all
men in one loving brotherhood.
But the spiritual life of the primitive Church is
redolent of family feeling. You have not there the
r^, « . •.• solemn and solitary man, who has thinsfs
The Primitive ^ •' ' °
Church passing between himself and his Creator,
Redolent of of which he never breathes a word,
Family Feeling, though he will take his place in public
assemblies, where his own heart is as effectually con-
cealed as if he were in a desert ; who regards any
approach towards fellowship of spirit as an inroad on
privacy ; any inquiry for his soul's health as a
stranger's intermeddling; any opening of hearts as
weakness ; who can live his religious life alone, and
loves to do so, except when he comes into public ;
who wants no friends, fellow-helpers, or inner circle
of companions; and, indeed, who loftily doubts
whether sociality in religious life is a very good thing.
140 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
That man who can find fellow-citizens among the
children of God, but not family friends, may be a very
good Christian, but not of the primitive stamp.
What a glow of family heartiness runs through the
New Testament ! Instead of stiff souls always
A Glow of either dressed for the public eye, or shut
Family Heart i' up in solitudc J you have brothers,
ness runs sisters, friends, lovers, who cling to each
through the * * * °
Nezv Testa- Other by mutual attraction, and between
ment, whom the common talk often runs on
their conversion, their conflicts, and their glorious
foretaste of eternal joy. In writing to them, the
Apostles are manifestly addressing persons to whom
one great event has occurred, the surpassing interest
of which keeps it in continual remembrance. Once
they were foolish, dark, wicked ; carried away by
evil passions, without God, and without hope. But a
wonderful change has passed upon them, — a deli-
verance from the power of darkness, and a translation
into the kingdom of God's dear Son ; a change as if
from being aliens to being of the household of God ;
as from darkness to light, as from life to death. To
this great salvation, accomplished for and in them, the
allusions made by their apostolic teachers are so
free, incidental, and frequent, as clearly to show that
it was a theme of unreserved and joyful thanksgiving
and wonder in their communications with one another.
The dignity of the apostolic office does not prevent
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 141
frank and touching allusions to personal conversion
and to previous character, nor yet to present attain-
ments ; and, on the other hand, even the babe in
Christ is one whose happy experience is matter of
open congratulation : " I write unto you, little
children, because your sins are forgiven you, for His
name's sake."
The incidental proofs of the spirit which animated
the first Christians, as to fellowship with one another,
would be perfectly conclusive if they stood
Means of Grace i i_ . • *. i. r
f F II h'-A ^^o"^j ^^^ some important passages of
Essential to a the apostolic letters are plainly meant to
Church of preserve this spirit for ever in the Church.
" Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom ; teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." i Here
is an injunction, not to the Ministry, but to ordinary
Christians, to be well acquainted with the word of
God, with a view to the edification of one another, by
teaching and admonition ; but teaching and admoni-
tion which, so far from having the regularity of
preaching, may even be, and ought frequently to be,
in " psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs." Such
counsel could never be given, had a system been
adopted wherein every word of teaching or admonition
1 Col. iii. 1 6.
142 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
must fall from the lips of the Minister. Throughout
the New Testament the system of the Church is
assumed to be such as to call forth the gift of every
member, no matter of what order it might be ; and
the active co-operation of each one is enjoined to
promote the edification of all. " From whom [Christ]
the whole body fitly joined together and compacted
by that which every joint supplieth, according to the
effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh
increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in
love." I Here ** every joint" is to supply somewhat,
*' every part " to perform its " effectual working ; " and
by this means the body is to increase, " edifying
itself" in love. No system can be made to accord
with this passage, any more than with the general
spirit of the New Testament, wherein the pulpit is the
sole provision for instruction, admonition, and exhor-
tation ; the great bulk of the members of the Church
being merely recipients, each living a stranger to the
spiritual concerns of the others, and no " effectual
working" of every joint and every part for mutual
strengthening being looked for. It is not enough
that arrangements to promote mutual edification be
permitted, at the discretion of individual Pastors or
officers : means of grace, wherein fellow-Christians
shall on set purpose have *' fellowship " one with
I Eph. iv. i6.
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE, 143 •
another, " speak often one to another, and exhort one
another, confess their faults one to another," and " pray
one for another," shall "teach and admonish one
another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,"
are not dispensable appendages, but of the essence of
a Church of Christ.
Some make light of any " teaching " which could
be gained by the mutual exercise of the gifts of
The Practical private members of the Church — not
and Home always either educated or wise — and
Teaching of
Free-hearted ^hmk that Only wcll-prepared addresses
Fellowship, from the pulpit are instructive. The
regular ministry of the word is undoubtedly the prime
source of teaching, and on its vigour and clearness the
life of all auxiliary agency will ever depend ; but
those who would reject the practical and home teach-
ing of free-hearted "fellowship," little consider that
to persons of simple mind or slow heart — that is, to
the majority of mankind — the great problems, " What
must I do to be saved ? What is believing ?
Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit glory ?
Am I or am I not deceiving myself? How can I
overcome this temptation, the sorest that ever beset
a man ? How can I grow in grace ? " and such like,
have often more light shed upon them by the plain
statement of an individual as to how Divine Mercy
solved them in his own case, than by any general
explanation. In practical religion, as in all things
14 i THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
practical, instruction is miserably incomplete, even
though correct so far as it goes, if it does not bring
before the student or inquirer actual examples of
the processes he hears described. A minister sur-
rounded by bands of lively members, who with glad
and single heart say as the Psalmist, "Come and
hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what
He hath done for my soul," has at hand "living
epistles" which he may send any inquirer to read,
has practical demonstrations of his pulpit doctrines,
by which he may at once convince and enlighten the
doubter. One who seeks no such auxiliaries, who
permits or encourages the frigid habit of walking
each one with a sealed bosom, rests all his hopes of
success on the words of his own lips, and that
without scriptural sanction.
Some defend a plain departure from scriptural
religion by openly questioning the utility of Christian
The Social fellowship. One writer of note is so
Ekmentof bold as to say that the spiritual ex-
etgton perience of believers is " better never
Overlooked in ^
some Protestant spoken about." Though this sentiment
Churches. js completely alien to the spirit of both
Old and New Testament piety, it is the natural
fruit of the constitution of too many of our Protestant
Churches. In them the social element of religion
has been wofully overlooked. Provision is made for
doctrine, for prayers, for breaking of bread ; but
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 145
none for fellowship. A Christian may be a member
of a Church, and yet walk all his way alone, no
one knowing or caring to know of his conflicts or
his joys. If he is tempted, he may stand ; if over-
come, he may get restored ; if happy, he may hide
his peace among his secrets, and ask no one to rejoice
with him ; if he had lost his pearl and has found it
again, he may be silent, for his neighbours are not
wont to be called together to take share in another's
cares and joys. There is something fearfully chilling
in a state of things of which this is too fair a
description. Religion is a life to be lived in fellow-
ship ; a conflict to be sustained, not singly, but in
bands ; a redemption, of which we are to impart the
joy ; a hope, an anticipation, of which the comforts
are to be gladly told to those who " fear the Lord."
We once heard a contrite inquirer after spiritual
comfort say, '* It is ten years since I was received a
member of such a Church, and during all that time
no one has ever said a word to me about my soul."
And this is the case with tens of thousands who are
members of Churches which provide only for public
instruction and ordinances, not for the social fellow-
ship of saints. It is a mournful example of the effect
of overlooking any one of the essential features of
vital Christianity, and a fair comment on the ungenial
notion that religious experience had better never be
spoken about.
lo
146 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
How would the Psalms be altered, could we re-
construct them on the principle that all about the
state of the soul, its joys, sorrows, temptations,
wanderings, and deliverances, had better be kept in
prudent reserve from the knowledge of our brethren !
How would the apostolic letters lose in dignity,
tenderness, and power, as well as in instruction, could
this frigid law of isolation once stiffen them !
If we turn from Religion in her own person, as
viewed in holy writ, to look at a reflection of her in
Bunyan's ^"^ °^ ^^ ^^^sX. mirrors, the *' Pilgrim's
Idea of Fellow Progress," how would Bunyan have
Pilgrims, handled pilgrims who would stiffly or
prudently close up their bosom ? A Christian, a
Faithful, a Hopeful, who had nothing to say " one to
another," as they travelled on, respecting the begin-
ning of God's work in their heart, their escapes,
solaces, temptations, and slips ; a Christiana, a Mercy,
a Great-Heart, an Honest, a Ready- to-Halt, who would
interchange no experience ; holy damsels and genial
Gaiuses who would have no questions to ask on such
matters, — would be a set of people whom Bunyan
would not know, and whom, we suspect, he would
castigate with good will. Indeed, he has given such
some cutting stripes, as it is, in the person of Mr.
Talkative, who, though fluent on doctrines and such
points, was very reserved on experimental religion.
Faithful, wishing to know how he was to bring him
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 147
to a point, said to Christian, " What would you have
me to do ? "
" Why, go to him, and enter into some serious
discourse on the power of religion ; and ask him
plainly, when he has approved of it (for that he will),
whether this thing be set up in his heart, house, or
conversation ? ^
Faithful, having described how a work of grace
"discovers itself when it is in the heart of a man,"
puts the plain question, " Do you experience this first
part of the description of it ? "
Talkative at first began to blush, but, recovering
himself, thus replied : " You come now to experience,
to conscience, and God ; and to appeal to Him for
justification of what is spoken. This kind of discourse
I did not expect ; nor am I disposed to give an
answer to such questions : because I count not my-
self bound thereto, unless you take upon you to be a
catechizer ; and though you should do so, yet I may
refuse to make you my judge." How many pro-
fessedly religious men, who think themselves very
different people from Mr. Talkative, and in many
respects are so, would, nevertheless, feel much as he
did, if any Faithful came as abruptly close home, on
the question of personal experience !
Banish from the " Pilgrim's Progress " the social
element, the fellowship of hearts, the free recital of
the Lord's dealings with each pilgrim, and you would
148 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
cool its interest down to a point which, doubtless,
would be decorous in the eyes of some, but would
never touch the many.
" But is not what you call ' fellowship,' the meeting
of lay members of the Church for prayer, praise, and
y,, ^ recital of experience, liable to be abused ? "
Testament Most certainly ; and that in several ways.
Ideal of a B^t is not preaching the Gospel liable to
be abused, so as to be merely the means of
displaying a man's talent, or of diffusing error } And
baptism, so as to be put instead of the " renewing of
the Holy Ghost ? " And the Lord's Supper, so as to
be put instead of holy living ? When we want to
learn what is Christian, we never ask what is incapable
of being abused ; for we should find no answer : but
what accords with the word of God ?
And it does accord with the word of God, spirit and
letter, that " they who fear the Lord " should " speak
often one to another ; " that the forgiven and happy
sinner should have companions around him, before
whom he may celebrate the mercies of his Redeemer ;
that the weak should not droop unknown, nor those
whose love is waxing cold be left to grow cold un-
warned. A Church wherein, from the Minister in the
pulpit down, every man in his own order, " according
to the grace that is given to " him, is called to exercise
his gift, and every member to lend his " effectual
working " towards the general life and strength ;
EFFECTS ON THE WORLD OF BAPTISM OF FIRE. 149
wherein hearts are open, and fellowship is free ; can
alone answer to the New-Testament ideal of a Church.
How much of the failure of the various Protestant
Churches to maintain religion at a high point of
vitality for any great length of time consecutively, or
to diffuse it generally among the nations which have
come under their spiritual care, is to be ascribed to
their neglect of the social element of spiritual piety,
we do not profess to determine. But let those
Churches which, as to this point, have been taught to
seek after primitive spirit and usage, faithfully and
immovably guard the inestimable treasure which
has been committed to them.
160 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
CHAPTER VIII.
PERMANENT BENEFITS RESULTING TO THE CHURCH.
I. — The Presence and Operation of the Spirit.
Among the permanent benefits resulting from Pente-
cost, we cannot include the visible flame. Of it we
. ... never again find any mention in the
Flame and the course of the apostoHcal history ; it
Gift of appears to stand related to the Christian
ongms. dispensation as the fires of Sinai did to
the Mosaic, — the solemn token of supernatural power
upon its inaugural day.
Neither are we warranted in looking upon the " gift
of tongues " as one of the permanent privileges of the
Church. Only twice, throughout the Acts of the
Apostles, do we find any record that it accompanied
the first introduction of Christianity to a place ; and
both these instances are very peculiar. The first was
in the house of Cornelius, when Peter, preaching to
his Italian auditory, felt some misgiving whether he
might not by possibility be doing wrong, should he
include them within the fold of the Church j but he
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 151
saw a great change pass upon the men before him, and
heard them begin to speak with other tongues, and
thus saw that, as to themselves at the first, so to the
Gentiles the Lord had now given a Pentecost. The
other case is that wherein the disciples at Ephesus,
who had been instructed in the baptism of John, but
had not so much as " heard whether there was any
Holy Ghost," received the word at the hands of Paul,
and began to speak with other tongues. These two
cases excepted, we never read of this miraculous gift
immediately attending conversions effected under the
preaching of the apostles. It would not be just, from
this circumstance, to infer that these were the only
cases in which the gift was bestowed ; but we may at
least infer that it was not an invariable acccompani-
ment of the first appearance of Christianity, even in
the apostolic days.
Considerable question, as to whether it was
designed to be a permanent gift of the Church, is
raised by St. Paul's discourse on this particular gift*
in his letter to the Corinthians. It has been
already remarked that he there shows it to be desti-
tute of any power of edification for the Church, and
therefore not to be a gift likely to continue, where all
were convinced of the truth of Christianity. " Tongues
are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them
that believe not." The only specific use assigned to
the miracle is, that it is a sign to them who believe not.
152 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
In any community, then, in which the whole popu-
lation had become believers, this sign ceased to be
called for.
It seems to be frequently taken for granted that
the chief value of the gift of tongues was to enable
the possessors of it to preach the Gospel to the
natives of countries whose language they did not
otherwise understand. But this is nevej set forward
in the Acts of the Apostles as a reason for the gift.
. A solitary stranger, possessing the gift of tongues, and
passing into a country, the language of which was to
him otherwise unknown, would have a great advan-
tage in that gift ; but, as has been already noted, not
the advantage of thereby impressing the people of the
country with a sense of the miracle, — for they would
probably believe that he had been taught their
tongue, — but of ability at once to proceed with his
work and mission. It is, however, to be remarked,
that we never find this advantage quoted as one of
the results of the gift. Except in the case wherein
the gift of tongues was used as a sign to the disciples
that the Gentiles were admitted into the dispensation
and community of the Spirit, the gift was no sign
" to those who believe." Its one use was as " a sign "
to unbelievers, and even to them not in ordinary
circumstances ; for then prophecy, and not tongues,
\vas the profitable gift. Not adapted to edify the
Church, or to bring ignorant unbelievers to repentance,
PERMANENT- BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 153
and fitted only to be a sign under exceptional
circumstances, this gift does not seem clearly designed
to be either universal or perpetual.
We are not called upon to say, that it will never be
restored to the Church ; for that is never said in the
word of God ; nor should we ridicule or talk dis-
respectfully of the faith of any Christian who
devoutly expects its restoration. All we say is, that
we have not scriptural ground to claim it as one of
the permanent gifts of the Spirit ; and we may add
that, if it ever return to the Church, it will be, not a
mystification, but a miracle, a real speaking with
*' other tongues," not a speaking in some unheard of,
unknown tongue.
Having premised thus far, we come to the serious
question, whether the Christian Church derives any
Th V't I advantage whatever from the dispen-
Ehmentof sation of the Spirit, beyond that of
ChrisHanity. looking back to a glorious period of
miracle and power at her origin, — a period which she
may not regard as the dawn of a long and brighten-
ing day, but as a wonderful time of mysteries and
portents, which were to have no permanent place in
the Church. It may seem strange thus plainly to put
the question, whether Christianity really has any
benefits permanently resulting from Pentecost ; but it
is necessary to do so, in order honestly to meet, not
so much well-digested and formally expressed
154 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Opinions, as a habit of feeling often prevailing among
professed branches and members of the Christian
Church.
Nothing is more common than to find the whole
system of Christianity, as an organization for recover-
ing mankind from their sinful condition, spoken of,
treated, and trusted in, as if it had been clearly
ascertained that it was neither more nor less than a
deposit of Divine doctrine cast upon the earth, for-
saken by the Divine Power, and left to make such
way among men as it might by the inherent force of
truth, and the permission of auspicious circumstances.
Cases are stated in which it is taken for granted that
Christianity can make no way, simply because
natural difficulties exist, such as natural agency
cannot in reason be expected to overcome. Any
thing like a consistent counting upon a superior
power acting with the truth, and making it triumph
over difficulties, such as on natural grounds are
unconquerable, is jauntily dealt with, as pertaining to
those whose religion is not entitled to the veneration
which Christianity has, by the lapse of ages, gained
from mankind.
In everything, practice is in danger if theory be
falsified ; and after the right theory has been
abandoned, the maintenance of right practice is
always precarious, and never long continued. If it
be the true theory of Christianity that the living
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 155
power of the Holy Ghost, additional to pastoral
agency, additional to Scriptural truth, additional to
every doctrine and every ordinance, — a power by
which the truth is applied and the agent quickened
for his work, is not to be expected as continually
resident and active in the Church, that theory
ought to be clearly stated, and formally recognised on
the part of all Christians. If it be not the true theory,
we should take care that it do not colour any of our
habits of thought.
A religion without the Holy Ghost, though it had
all the ordinances and all the doctrines of the New
Testamenty would certainly not be Christianity. In it
the presence and power of the Spirit are ever taken to
be the vital element. Our world without its atmos-
phere, though the same globe, with the same physical
characteristics, would be another world ; and, if
inhabited at all, must be inhabited by a race governed
by laws altogether dissimilar to those under which
human life is sustained. The change from the Church
of the New Testament to a Church without the Holy
Ghost, would certainly not be less in its kind than this.
All who seriously treat of Christianity must recog-
nise the presence of the Spirit, as an integral part
True of its system and power : but if this
and False presence is to be in some occult and
lews oj inconceivable manner resident in an
the Spirit s
Presence. abstract Church ; not in the hearts of
166 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
individual believers, not in the living temple of
animated bodies and sanctified souls, but in a holy-
Church made up of unholy members, in a sacred
Ministry made up of secular persons, in holy houses
where worldly multitudes gather, and in holy books
which ungodly Ecclesiastics handle ; — if this is to
be the presence of the Spirit, then the debate as
to whether it is to be expected in perpetuity or
not, need excite little interest.
If His presence is to entitle men to promulgate
new doctrines contradictory to those already re-
vealed in His own word, and even to withhold
that word from the mass of their fellow-men, on the
plea of denying them a deceptive guide and sub-
stituting an infallible one, then would His presence
become a self-contradiction and a danger. In none
of these lights have we the slightest reason given in
the word of God to expect the presence of the Spirit.
We hear not of Him there as dwelling elsewhere than
in the bodies of believers, or ever yielding to future
ages the right to depart from the ancient ways and
the clear revelation of the Son of God.
Neither do we find the promise of His presence so
given that all action and effort on the part of
Christians is to be made at every moment dependent
on each person's own impression of the Spirit's
movement within him.
But while, on the one hand, we do not expect the
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 157
permanent presence of the Spirit with the Church in
the Romish sense, or in the sense maintained by
estimable Christians of the Society of Friends, we
must, on the other hand, maintain, as we have said,
that without His presence and operation in the hearts
of believers, and in Christian agents, we cannot have
the Christian religion. We do not expect visible
signs or miraculous gifts : for these were not the
substantial blessing and grace imparted at Pentecost ;
but were to them only heralds and ushers. The real
grace and blessing lay in what we have called the
spiritual influence of the Holy Ghost, acting on the
believer's heart ; His ministerial influence, acting on
the Church ; His converting influence, acting on
the world. These, we contend, are necessary to the
identity of the Christian religion, and were bestowed
for all ages, and will to the end of the world be shed
on those who perseveringly " wait " for the baptism of
fire.
II. — Communion of God with Man.
Whence arises a persuasion which we seldom find
formally stated, but constantly trace in the words of
Our Mind not thoughtful men, — that our mind is cut off
cut off from ^^^^ communion with the Father Mind,
the Father of
Mind. and, though able to draw knowledge
from physical objects, and from the minds of men, is
without any access to the Source of spirit, or any
168 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
recognisable lights from Him? On what inch of
ground in all the realm of reason can we rest the
notion, that the Spirit of God does not communicate
actively and directly with the spirit of man ? Is it
that we are so completely outcasts, that, though with-
out doubt capable of being acted upon by the Divine
Being for Divine intents, He will not touch subjects
so mean ? This would be the death-knell of intellect
and morals ; for, if thus cut off from the Source of
light, our souls must be lost in the dark at last. The
sense of sin gives to the conscience a feeling of
banishment ; the only answer to which lies in
redemption. It is vain to answer it by mere reason ;
for reason offers no footing for the feeling, except on
ground which revelation first discovers, and then
bridges over by the Cross.
Is it that our mental perceptions are all derived
through physical organs, and that, none such existing
as channels between God and the soul, no communi-
cation can take place ? Few would be so bold as to
say this ; many are bold enough to assume it. What !
no communication but through physical organs ?
They never explain communication, but only increase
the mystery. Physical organs, it is true, are only
acted upon from without, by physical objects ; and
all our sensations come through such organs. But
they never have sensations. The organ receives an
impulse from the light, the air, or other outward
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 159
object, and transmits that impulse to the brain,
producing a vibration there ; but what a gulf between
a vibration in a brain and a sensation of a soul, or an
idea of heaven, or an emotion of joy.
It seems no mystery that two men should be able
to communicate, but a great one that they should be
able to do so through an iron wire, when they are a
thousand miles apart. One makes a secret fire carry
a thought from his mind through a wire towards the
mind of the other ; a sensation is given, and both an
idea and an emotion follow ; but the wire feels none
of them. The impulse passes along it ; and the mind
interprets that impulse, and turns it into the image of
a dying father, a new-born babe, a ruined fortune, or
a Sovereign saying, " Well done ! " All the sen-
sation, perception, emotion, lie within the mind, none
of them in the wire. It is just so with organs ; they
transmit impulses, but they know nothing, feel
nothing, and explain nothing. The power of com-
munication is a mental power. Spirit knows, and
gives knowledge. The wonder is not that a mind can
impart its ideas to a mind such as itself, but that,
being shut up in a silent chamber whence branch out
wires incapable of one thought or feeling, it can pour
along these a vivid and changeful fire which conveys
its feelings to another.
"No man," says Paul, touching on these things,
" knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man
160 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
which is in him.'* To you all minds are invisible.
Expression '^^"^' *^^ ^^"^ ^^ X^"^ neighbour
and Perception is in all respects the fellow of your own ;
Gifts of God. yet yQu cannot tell what is within it. It
may be forming plans for your ruin or for your good ;
but this is beyond your eye, or ear, or heart's divining.
Every man dwells iji the invisible, and often rejoices
to look out upon a race, no one of which can look in
upon him. Yet oftener does he rejoice to pour
himself into others, and multiply his own feelings in
the spirits around him. When the invisible "spirit
of man " wills to make known " the things of the
man," it has easy, though mysterious, means at
command.
A man is seated in his chamber, and deep things
are passing in his mind. His mother sees that he
is thinking ; but ask her to tell his thoughts, and she
is at a loss. His wife looks into his eye, and knows
that he is feeling ; but ask her what is the spring and
course of his emotion, and she is in the dark. His
little daughter sees something lofty on her father's
brow, but what it is she knows not. Presently a
thousand people are before him, and " the spirit of
the man " is opening itself. A stream of thought is
pouring from it, thought which ranges from the most
familiar objects at hand, to those which are hidden in
the bosom of eternity. Yet all these thoughts,
mingled with suitable emotion, pass straight from his
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 161
unseen soul into the souls of the thousand people.
How is this accomplished ?
Between him and them is floating a something
which we call " sound." The keenest eye cannot see
it ; the most delicate touch, or smell, or taste, can
find no trace of it. As it is rushing upon the ear,
both eye and hand search in vain for it. Yet is it
carrying invisible thought, from a soul invisible, by
channels invisible, into the silent places of many
souls, where the thoughts it raises are invisible to the
nearest neighbour, till expressed in looks or words.
The mind of the speaker pours a succession of
impulses through hidden chords to his tongue and
lips : these strike the air, in which the stroke makes a
wave ; that strikes on the drum of the ear, which
causes a quivering of a nerve behind, that a quivering
of the brain ; and then the soul inside sees an image
of Stephen dying, or Paul falling on the high-road, or
Elijah ascending, or Jesus at the right hand of the
Father ! What connexion is there between a wave of
air, a quiver of the brain, and an idea of heaven or
hell, of sin or holiness ? That the connexion exists,
is plain ; but HOW ? Make it plain hoiv " the spirit
of man," which " knoweth the things of a man," can
reveal them within other spirits. All we can say is,
God has appointed a channel of communication,
given to the spirit means of EXPRESSION, and to its
fellows means of PERCEPTION.
II
162 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
With this fact before us, illustrated, not only in the
one form just cited, but in a thousand forms every
^ day, upon what pretext do we set up a
the Spirit cry of mystery as to the communication
a Mystery of the spirit of God with man ? Absurdity
can reach no limit outer than that of sup-
posing that the central intellect knows no avenue to
all intellect ; that is, is defective in means of expres-
sion. Despair can hurl humanity no lower than to
say that God, able to commune with it, enlighten,
renew, and impel it, yet distantly stands away. For, if
no communication exists, the reason lies in Him. To
say that the defect is not in His power of expression,
but in our power of perception, changes nothing :
if He cannot " reveal the things of God " to man,
with such powers of perception as man has, He cannot
adapt the expression of His own will to our state.
Many who shun the extreme of denying that God
does hold communion with human souls, yet cover
the truth with a soft but cold cloak, — a cloak of snow,
— by always speaking loudly of the mystery. What
is the way of the Spirit ? How can man recognise
the voice, the eye, the countenance of God ? How is
it possible to feel His anger or His favour. His
presence or His withdrawal? Is it not a mystery ?
Yes, it is a mystery ; but it is nothing more: A
mystery is the thing we are most accustomed to.
I know no one thing which I perfectly know. I know
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 163
ten thousand which are full of mysteries. The nail of
my finger is a mystery ; the fact is manifest, the mode
undiscoverable ; about my hand I can ask more
questions than all mankind can answer; wrist, arm,
shoulder, all have mysteries ; as I approach the heart,
the brain, what crowds of questions rise and are
checked by the known impossibility of an answer !
If " the way of the Spirit " were capable of perfect
explanation, the whole universe would be a riddle ;
for why should that which was so high be fully known,
and every common thing under our eye contain
mysteries ? The mystery involved in the Lord's
communicating with any of His creatures is far less
than that of our communicating one with another.
He is of infinite intelligence ; He planted the ear ; He
gave man speech : for Him therefore to communicate
with any spirit existing, must be easier than for the
sun to shine.
" 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."
Things The Apostle does not say this of heaven :
Revealed by he is not even alluding to it ; for it is " the
the spirit, glory that is to be revealed ; " whereas he
says of the " good things " here in view, " God hath
revealed them unto us by His Spirit." These good
things, then, are not teachings, for of them, eye, ear,
and mind take cognizance ; nor heaven, for it is not
164 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
yet revealed ; but those blessings which are " pre-
pared" for those who come at the Lord's call, —
pardon, adoption, and the favour of God. Antici-
pating the inquiry, " How can these things be ? How
can acts of mercy, which pass in the invisible world,
be revealed to us ? " the Apostle gives this simple
illustration : " What man knoweth the things of man,
save the spirit of man that is in him ? Even so the
things of God knoweth no man, save the Spirit." If
the things of God are beyond our eye, ear, or discern-
ment, so are those of a man : and if man can make
his mind known, how much more the All-wise !
" Now we have not received the spirit that is of the
world, but the Spirit that is of God, that we might
know the things that are freely given to us of God."
Adoption is an act seen by no man ; and were no
communication of it made to him in whose favour it
hath passed, he could never by his senses or reason
discover it. Though adopted, he would lie in the
spirit of bondage. But that we may not be ignorant
on this essential change in our relation to our heavenly
Father, not ignorant of the things which His grace
has bestowed. He has provided a Comforter, whose
benign work it is to solace our hearts, by letting us
" know " what the Lord hath done for us.
The belief that God does not commune with man
is no result of reason. Reason has no footing for it.
It is, indeed, hardly a belief; it is a feeling, followed
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 166
by a sort of half-seen mental conclusion. A boy,
conscious of deserving his father's anger, somehow
thinks he will not be received at home. Men,
conscious that they are aliens from God, recoil from
the thought that the very breast, wherein they have
caged things unclean, may be a shrine of His presence.
A feeling of moral improbability, of unfitness, leads
the mind to shrink from such a hope. Hope, indeed,
it does not seem at first : the boy forgets the hope-
fulness of standing by his father's side, in the dread of
coming under his eye ; forgets the joy of regaining
his favour, in the heat of enmity to his rule and
restraints.
A natural difficulty to the Creator's communion
with His rational creatures never existed. A moral
one did ; and never was problem so deep as, How
could the Holy One take the impure to His arms,
and yet continue the Holy One ? That problem has
been solved. The Holy meets the unholy over the
blood of atonement. There is death for evil-doing,
wrath against iniquity, — yet mercy for the repenting.
Sin is not encouraged, innocence is not confounded
with guilt ; and yet the fallen are lifted up. This
moral difficulty being met, and no natural one ever
having existed, did the Lord not commune with the
soul of man as with His own " offspring," the only
reason must be that He pleased to cut him off from
such fellowship. To affirm this would be to run into
166 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
down-right opposition to the whole scope of reve-
lation.
III. — The Truth in Demonstration of the Spirit,
Not a {^\N of those who, if formally expressing
their belief, would maintain that the Spirit is to abide
with the Church in all aa-es ; that the
Mere Truth . . . . .
Incapable of ^"^^ ^^ impossibility in His communing
Renewing with man IS absurd, and the cry of
Power. mystery unmeaning ; nevertheless, in
practice, shut out His agency from their own view,
and the view of those who may be under their
influence, by continually speaking of the truth, the
truth only, as the power to renew this sinful world.
Far be it from us to under-value holy truth, and,
above all, the truth which flows untainted from the
fount of inspiration ; but a truth, even when Divine,
is never more than a declaration of what is. It is
not the power which renews the human soul, but the
instrument of that power ; not the electric current,
but the conductor along which the current flows. It
is necessary, as necessary as the metal wire to the
telegraph ; but, alone, it is as inefficient as the wire
when the hidden power does not pervade it.
You may teach a man the holiest truths, and yet
leave him a wretched man. Many who learn in child-
hood that " God is love," live disregarding, and die
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 167
blaspheming, God. Thousands who are carefully
taught, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved," neglect so great salvation all their
days. Some of the most wicked and miserable beings
that walk the earth are men into whose conscience,
when yet youthful and unsophisticated, the truth was
carefully instilled. Did the mere truth suffice to
renew, there are towns, districts, ay, countries, where
all would be saints.
Unmindful of this, and not considering the danger
of diverting faith from the power to the instrument,
Danger of however beautiful and perfect the instru-
DivertingFaith ment may be, many good men, by a
to the culpable inadvertence, constantly speak
Instrument, as if the truth had an inherent ascen-
dancy over man, and would certainly prevail when
justly presented. We have heard this done till we
have been ready to ask, " Do they take men for
angels, that mere truth is to captivate them so
certainly .'' " ay, and even to ask, " Have they ever
heard whether there be any Holy Ghost ? "
On one occasion it was our lot to hear a Preacher
of name, preaching before a great Missionary Society,
from the text, " I am come to send fire upon earth."
Choosing to interpret the fire referred to in this
passage as the power which would purify and renew
the earth, he at once declared the truth to be that
power, and most consistently pursued his theme,
168 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
without ever glancing at anything but the in-
strument. Afterwards, hearing the merits of the
sermon discussed by some of the most eminent
Ministers of his own denomination, and finding no
allusion to its theology, we asked, " Did you not
remark any theological defect ? " No one remarked
any, till the Minister of some obscure country con-
gregation broke silence, for the first time, by saying,
" Yes ; there was not one word in it about the Holy
Spirit."
The belief that truth is mighty, and by reason of its
might must prevail, is equally fallacious in the
Truth Mighty abstract, as it is opposed to the facts of
in Pure human history, and to the word of God.
• n I ^7" We should take the maxim, that truth
tn Depraved '
Ones. must prevail, as perfectly sound, did you
only give us a community of angels on whom to try
the truth. With every intellect clear, and every heart
upright, doubtless truth would soon be discerned, and,
when discerned, cordially embraced. But truth, in
descending among us, does not come among friends.
The human heart offers ground whereon it meets
error at an imnveasurable disadvantage. Passions,
habits, interests, ay, nature itself, lean to the side of
error ; and though the judgment may assent to the
truth, which, however, is not always the case, still
error may gain a conquest only the more notable
because of this impediment. Truth is mighty in pure
natures, error in depraved ones.
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH, 169
Those who compliment Truth upon her might have
need of much self-possession. What world do they
dwell in, that they can utter such flattery under the
gaze of her clear and sober eye ? What are these
nations yet neglecting commercial and political truth,
though all their interests invite them to embrace it ?
What these " enlightened " populations that have had
religious truth again and again held up in their view,
but have angrily rejected it, though to the entailing
upon themselves innumerable social disadvantages ?
Where is the town where truth always prevails, or the
village where error wins no victories ? Do they who
know human nature best, when they have a political
object to carry, trust most of all to the power of truth
over a constituency ? or would they not have far more
confidence in corruption and revelry ? The whole
history of man is a melancholy reproof to those who
mouth about the mightiness of truth. " But," they
say, " truth will prevail in the long run." Yes, blessed
be God, it will ; but not because of its own power
over human nature, but because the Spirit will be
poured out from on high, opening the blind eyes, and
unstopping the deaf ears.
The sacred writings, while ever leading
The Spirit
the Power "^ ^^ regard the truth as the one mstru-
unto ment of the sinner's conversion and the
Salvation, believer's sanctification, are very far from
proclaiming its power over human nature, merely be-
170 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
cause it is truth. On the contrary, they often show us
that this very fact will enlist the passions of mankind
against it, and awaken enmity instead of approbation.
We are ever pointed beyond the truth, to Him who is
the Source and Giver of truth ; and, though we had
Apostles to deliver the Gospel, are ever led not to
deem it enough that it should be " in word only, but
in demonstration of the Spirit and in power."
We well know that many who speak of the truth
as accomplishing all, do not mean the truth without
the Spirit to apply it ; but what is meant ought to
be said. Hold fast the truth as an instrument
divinely adapted and altogether necessary ; but, in
magnifying the instrument, never forget or pass by
the agent. The Spirit is the truth, in the preacher, in
the hearer ; the Spirit first, the Spirit last, ought to
be remembered, trusted in, exalted, and not set aside
for any more captivating name. There should never
be even the distant appearance of wishing to avoid
avowing a belief in the supernatural, or to reduce
Christianity to a system capable, at all points, of
metaphysical analysis. If no supernatural power is
expected to attend the Gospel, its promulgation is
both insincere and futile.
IV. — Progress of Divine Life and Grace among Men,
In their reluctance to acknowledge any super-
natural element in religion, many take refuge in the
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH, 171
The Almi<fhty ^^^^ ^^^^> 3-^^^ ^y wc are not to expect
''Leaving'' what the primitive Christians enjoyed.
His Universe, jf ^j^j^ means that we are not to expect
miracles, to it we have no possible objection. If it
means that we are to expect less grace, we can give
it no kind of credit. Nothing can be more contrary
to the whole spirit and genius of revealed religion,
than that the progress of years and events should be
coupled with a diminishing amount of Divine life
and grace among men. All things promise us pro-
gress, not retrogression. No principle of Christianity,
and no passage of the Christian Scriptures, warrants
the expectation that the system is to decline with
age, and to grow dim before its day ends. The mode
of thinking to which we now refer, seems to be closely
connected with the favourite idea of unbelief in the
world, — that of the Almighty " leaving," as men
express it, one and another province of His territories
to the care of secondary principles and powers.
Limited as the human mind is, the idea of com-
bining attention to the general and to the particular
always presents to it an extreme difficulty. In its
own experience, when taking a general view, it
necessarily overlooks particulars ; when minutely
attending to particulars, it necessarily overlooks
generals. Unconsciously transferring the idea of its
own limitation to the Supreme Power, it would ease
Him of the incomprehensible task of at once minutely
172 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
caring for every atom, and gloriously ruling the
universe. But in the presence of the universal, the
distinction between the particular and the general
fades away. Artificial lights either shine in one
particular apartment, leaving the street dim, or shine
upon the street generally, leaving each particular
apartment of the houses dim. But when the Universal
Light arises, He knows no distinction between general
illumination and particular. Every little casement
in the world is equally lighted as the broad valley of
the Ganges, and every solitary daisy as well shone
upon as if there was no other thing upon earth to
lighten.
" He leaves, He leaves, He creates and leaves,
leaves to the course of nature, leaves to general laws."
Such is the crude language we continually
An Idea
Unworthy hear from men who would transfer the
(^ Physical small ideas of human sense to the infinite
ctence. sphere of the Godhead. The idea of
the Omnipresent leaving, forsaking any part of
His own dominions, putting a limit to Himself,
creating, in fact, the most incomprehensible of all
incomprehensible things, a place where there was not
a Creator — the idea of His presence being an effort,
or His embrace and superintendence of nature being
a task, is unworthy even of the dignity of physical
science, much more of the sweep of human thoughts.
On the wings of the wind, — on the universal flow
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 173
of electric power, — on the swift sunbeams, filling up
with a finite infinity the whole expanse of the solar
system at once, — on the light of a fixed star present
with our eye, and at the same moment present through
space inconceivably immense at every point from our
eye to the star, and then away as far beyond, and
round and round again at all conceivable points of
the circumference on every side, — on these confessedly
finite objects our thought may rest, and rise step by
step, till it easily springs to the idea of a complete
and consistent Infinite, a presence literally every-
where, a power constant as eternity, an activity to
which inaction would be effort, an eye to which
attention is but nature, to which slumber would be
an interruption of repose.
Those who would exclude the Divine Being from
His own universe, have been often exclaimed against,
Christ's ^^^ justly ; but how much more may they
Universal be exclaimed against who would exclude
Presence. fjjj^ from His own Church, and from
communion with His children ? Had His power
been exhausted by the act of creating and estab-
lishing the Church, and then had He committed its
future course to the development of natural laws
and the inherent power of the truth, Himself retiring
from all action in the great battle whereupon He
had set His servants, we might reasonably look upon
Christianity as a religion which perhaps was better
174 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
than others, more serviceable to the social interests
of those who embrace it, and more genial in its
influence upon the destiny of mankind; but one in
the propagation of which no higher motives than these
could inspire us, no strength above that of nature
could fortify labourers. So far, however, from this
being the case, the express promise with regard to
the Spirit was, " He shall abide with you for ever ; "
and when about to leave the disciples, as to His
bodily presence, the Saviour said, " And, lo, I am
with you alway, even unto the end of the world." A
presence this, better than a bodily presence ; a presence
by His Spirit and His power, whereby the souls of
His children are made glad, and their hearts made
strong, not in some solitary village of Galilee for the
evening, but at the same hour all over the earth,
wherever two or three are gathered together in His
name. That presence will never be withdrawn whilst
there is a believer whose heart embraces the promise ;
and such believers will not fail whilst the world
stands. So far from anything in Scripture counten-
ancing the idea that Christians of all subsequent
ages were to be deprived of that Divine help which
constituted the strength and holiness of the primitive
disciples, we have no intimation that they were to be
even inferior in spiritual attainments. On the con-
trary, everything countenances the expectation that,
as generation succeeds generation, the influence of
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 175
holy faith and holy example will steadily tend to the
elevation of the standard.
As Christianity makes progress among a popula-
tion, every new household which becomes imbued
with it is an additional power towards
His Glorious
Power the elevating the standard of character in
Measure of that neighbourhood. It is impossible
xpectation. ^^ calculate the influence exerted, even
in a country like our own, where religion has yet so
much to do, upon those who are still ungodly. In
many points their consciences have been trained, by
force of example and precept, to a tenderness and
activity which Christian doctrine alone could give ;
and, as age after age rolls on, and the proportion
between saints and sinners becomes altered, the latter
diminishing, the former growing, the image of God
in man will be yet more and more brightly seen, if
not more conspicuously, in some rare and blessed
individuals, yet much more generally, as a common
ornament and glory of human nature. For a Christian
now to expect to be made as holy by the grace of
God as the saints of the New Testament, so far from
being presumption, is scarcely a worthy measure of
faith. It may be fairly said that, if we are not better
than those who went before us, we are not so good ;
for the very light of their example sheds upon us an
influence to which nothing corresponding was shed
upon them, and thereby gives us a clear advantage,
173 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
by which, with a similar measure of grace, we ought
to present a character more complete.
Were it once proved that our moral strength in
the present day was natural, then, indeed, might we
reasonably limit our expectations, but not to partial
attainments and incomplete holiness ; for on that
ground the reasonable limitation would be, not, " We
shall attain to much, though not as much as the early
Christians," but, " We shall attain to nothing." Our
Lord's word is not, " Without Me ye can do little!'
but, " Without Me ye can do nothing'^ If it, then, be
settled that in this age, as in the first, our strength is
not of nature, but of the Lord, the reasonable range
of our expectation, now as then, is to be measured
by His glorious power. The question no longer is,
Of what are we capable in ourselves, or by ourselves ?
but, What can He perform ? and to what extent can
He manifest forth His glory by making us monuments
of His power, or mirrors to display His image ?
That grace of His which was shed so plentifully on
the believers of the first days, is not an intermittent
radiance, like the flash of a human eye, but is steady
as the glory which streams from the face of the sun.
Waning or exhaustion it does not know ; and from
age to age, from generation to generation. His saints
will grow more and more mature, human life will
increasingly reflect the glory of the Lord, and display
His power to make weak mortals beset with tempta-
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 177
tion, meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in light.
V. — Comforts and Privileges of Believers.
Some who gladly admit that the Church, generally,
may advance in Christian virtues, yet hesitate to
believe that individual Christians in our
as with the ^^^ ^''^ *^ enjoy the same comforts of the
Primitive Spirit as were so conspicuous in the
Chrtstiajis. pi-jj-nitive Christians. Among these latter
nothing is more noticeable than filial confidence and
joy : their reconciliation to the Lord, their interest in
the death and intercession of Christ, their conscious-
ness of regeneration, of deliverance from sins once
reigning over them, their clear foretaste of heaven, and
their peace in the prospect of death, shine throughout
the New Testament, and all the early records of the
Church. This was the natural "fruit of the Spirit,"
the natural effect of such a Comforter dwelling in the
heart as the Redeemer had promised. Take this
characteristic away, and they would at once fall from
the level of " children of light," of " heirs of God and
joint heirs with Christ," down to that of the votaries
of other religions, among whom personal "joy in
God," and prospects of immortal bliss, are things
unknown.
As we said before, that a religion without the Holy
Spirit would not be Christianity, so we may say that
12
178 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
religionists without the Spirit in their hearts would
not be Christians. " Ye are in the Spirit, if so be that
the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if a^ty man have
not the Spirit of Christ, lie is none of His!' It requires
much of that cold daring which men may acquire as
to things spiritual, for any one who even respects,
though he should not study, the record of Christianity
at its source, to teach that it is not a common privilege
of believers to enjoy a sense of their salvation, and to
walk in the light of God's forgiving countenance. No
scrap of Holy writ even seems to favour this attempt
to sink modern Christians to a point almost infinitely
below that of ancient ones ; for who can measure the
distance between a soul which is singing, " We know
that we have passed from death unto life," and one
that is saying, " I cannot hope to know, till death
strikes me, whether or not I shall escape dying for
ever ? "
A change more serious can hardly be imagined in
the relations of the Lord to His people, than would
take place under the Christian dispensation, if, begin-
ning by enabling believers to say, " We have a building
of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens," He ended by leaving them in utter doubt
as to their future destiny; if, beginning by giving
them a sense of His favour, clear as day, unspeakably
joyful, he ended by leaving them to serve him
throughout life, without ever feeling conscious that
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 179
He smiled upon them; if, beginning by holding
communion with them, He ended by leaving them to
doubt whether He was even reconciled. It is trifling
at once with a man's common sense, and with his
most sacred hopes and fears, to tell him that he is
called with the same calling as the early believers, by
the voice of the same Redeemer, under the same
covenant of grace, and with the same promise of
adoption ; but that, while his brother, ages ago, had
"peace with God," and "joy unspeakable and full of
glory," knew himself to be a child and then an heir of
God, and daily felt that heaven was his home, he is to
proceed on his pilgrimage without any of these
comforts, and learn at the end whether or not his soul
is to perish. Who has given any man the right to
assert that such a change has taken place in the
relation of tlie adopting Father to His adopted
children, affirming Him to have grown, in our age, too
indifferent to soothe their hearts, and make them
partakers of the joy which He spreads among the
angels when He declares that " the lost is found ? "
The change which the supposition we are combating
would require in the office, or, at least, in the operation.
Pardon Aues. ""[ ^^^ ^P^'^^ Himself, under the very
ted to the dispensation of the Spirit, is sufficiently
Forgiven grave, One might imagine, to make the
least careful pause, ere he assumed that
180 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
it had taken place. The act wherein the everlasting
Father absolves a guilty being from his offences, and
recognises him before the angels, as an heir of His
glory, must ever be of deep importance in the govern-
ment of God. Of old time, when that great act took
place, heaven rejoiced ; but the deed did not remain
without effect upon earth. The KING had proclaimed
a pardon, and that proclamation must have effect.
The Comforter sped to the mourner's heart. " Where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." With
the presence of the Comforter, the captive found
" deliverance,'* and he that was bound, an " open-
ing of the prison ; " and, tasting the liberty of
the children of God, he sang, "O Lord, I will
praise Thee : though Thou wast angry with me.
Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst
me.
Are we, then, on the word of some men, without
one intimation of Scripture to support them, to believe
that the Spirit has so essentially changed His mode
of dealing with a forgiven sinner, that now the decree
of pardon promulged above, and hailed by angels,
receives no effect in the soul of him whom it absolves ?
that the Comforter abstains from comforting, leaving
the ransomed captive still to mourn his captivity,
without relieving him of his load or his chain t O
Dove of Peace, ancient Comforter of the pilgrims
who travelled this heavenward road before us ! they
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 181
say that Thy wing has grown weary with the lapse of
time !
How great a change would take place also in the
privileges of believers ! " We are of God," " born
The Heir ^^ ^°^'" ''^€\XS of God," « followCrS of
of God God, as dear children," " fellow citizens
Rejoicing in with the saints, and of the household of
orgiveness. ^^^ ^ „ „ ^^^^ darkncss, now light in the
Lord." Such was the sense of adoption enjoyed in
apostolic times. Of all the privileges wherewith the
soul of man ever has been blessed, or ever can be
blessed in this life, by far the most consoling and
elevating is the sense of adoption into the family of
God. No man can read the New Testament, and
deny that this was an ordinary characteristic of the
believers then living, or that it was a main element of
their strength, kindling in them a joy which made
them ready to face reproach, and emulate high
service. Where is the intimation that this privilege
was to be denied to Christians in succeeding ages ?
When Paul says, " But I obtained mercy, that in
me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-
suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter
believe on Him to life everlasting," does he give any
intimation that the believers of following ages, though
they should be believers just as he, and should obtain
" life everlasting " just as he, and should have his case
and his mercies before their eyes, as " a pattern "
182 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
whereby to measure their expectations from Jesus
Christ's " long-suffering," were yet to lose an essential
portion of the believer's joy ; namely, the power of
saying, " But I obtained mercy ? " Even the Psalmist,
under a dispensation lower than our own, could say,
"I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the
Lord, and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."
Does he hint that this is a privilege to which only few
can attain, and from which the children of God, in the
better days to come, shall be ordinarily debarred ?
" For this shall every one that is godly pray unto
Thee, in a time when Thou mayest be found," —
conveying a clear intimation, that, just as he, on con-
fession of his sins, found forgiveness, such forgiveness
as healed the grief of soul which he describes a
moment before, and enabled him to sing, as he here
does, " Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven," i
so would every godly disposed person find an accept-
able time, if he prayed to the same merciful Lord for
like forgiveness. No godly man, no one whose heart
was seeking after God, in the day of David, could
read this without feeling that the " blessedness " of
absolution was held out to him as his privilege.
Indeed, all through the Psalms it is taken for granted,
that the righteous man rejoices in his forgiving God.
And does the grace of our blessed Redeemer grow
I Psalm xxxii.
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 183
narrower as time advances? Does He gradually
withdraw the light of His countenance, till upon us of
the latter days complete darkness settles, and we are
doomed to grope our way through life's temptations
without the encouragement of one smile from Him,
and at the end to set a doubtful foot on the threshold
of eternity ?
The idea of any such deterioration in the privilege
of believers is totally groundless ; without one prop
in Scripture or in reason. It is a structure of ice,
formed in cold seasons, and melts away when brought
either in the sun-light of Scripture, or the warmth of
living Christian society. We could not easily believe
in any accession to our privileges, beyond those of our
brethren in early times, unless it were clearly taught
in the word of God ; but if, without Scripture proof,
we must believe either in an increase or in a diminu-
tion of them, we should choose the former, as far
more supported by the analogy of the Lord's dealings
with men.
" Peace " was the Saviour's legacy to His followers ;
peace to be imparted by the Comforter ; peace which
rr ..' the world cannot give, and which passeth
Happiness ° ' ^
an Essential Understanding. He leaves no hint that
Part of this legacy was to be recalled before
^ ^gion. ,^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ world." Indeed, in both
the Old Testament and the New, happiness is an
essential part of religion ; that kind of happiness
184 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
which is called, "joy in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ" The reigning of such joy in any human
bosom clearly pre-supposes that the individual is
satisfied of the reconciliation of God to him, notwith-
standing his sins. Wherever this is doubtful, distrust,
fear, and gloom must ever accompany the contem-
plation of the Most High ; and this gloom would settle
most densely on the most contrite spirit. Happiness
is to be a feature of religion to the last. That odious
caricature of Christianity, which offers to the view of
the world a man with all the doctrines of the Gospel
on his lips, but gloom on his brow, disquiet in his eye,
and sourness in his bearing, has done infinite injustice
to our benign religion, and infinite harm to those who
never knew its worth. Now, as in the days of
Solomon, ''her ways are ways of pleasantness, and
all her paths are peace." Now, as in the days of
David, she " puts gladness into the heart, more than
in the time that their corn and their wine increased."
Now, as in the days of Paul, she gives " joy and peace
in believing." Happiness is not a separable appen-
dage of true piety ; it is part of it, and an essential
part : " The joy of the Lord is your strength."
Some would regard happiness as if it were to religion
what a fine complexion is to the human countenance,
— a great addition to its beauties, if present ; but if
not, no feature is wanting. In the sacred writings,
from first to last, it is regarded as a feature, which we
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 185
cannot remove without both wounding and defacing.
The kingdom of God is not only " righteousness," but
" righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."
While that kingdom stands, this "joy in the Holy
Ghost " will be the privilege of the children of God ;
and let no man come between the humblest believer
of this our day, and the full light of his Redeemer's
countenance. Let none take it for granted that the
work of God in the soul of man has degenerated ;
that the merciful Father no more gladdens the
prodigal He accepts, by letting him know He loves
him ; that Jesus no longer says, " Be of good cheer,
thy sins be forgiven thee ; " or that when a penitent is
accepted as a son, the gracious Comforter does not
now, as in the old time, hasten on His dove-like
message to diffuse heavenly peace in another troubled
bosom.
The assertion sometimes confidently made, that
the witness of the Spirit to our adoption is given to
some believers, years after their conversion, as the
reward of special holiness, has not even a pretext of
scriptural footing. The witness of the Spirit, so far
from being the reward of sanctification, is one of its
chief springs ; for without love there is no holiness,
and we only love because wQfeel that God first loved
us. " Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the
Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba,
Father." Not because you are old and eminent
186 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
among the sons of God, but because you are sons :
it is not a good service reward, but a birth-right ;
not a crown of distinction, but a joy of adoption.
" In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the
word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation ; in whom
after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise." Here the order is, ** Ye heard,
believed, were sealed : '* no long period of doubt and
labour intervenes between the believing and the
sealing. The father of the prodigal does not keep
him for years, v/orking " as one of his hired servants,"
before he prints the fatherly kiss of reconciliation on
his cheek and on his heart.
The hackneyed objection, that it is presumption
for anyone to say that he is a child of God, takes
too much for granted. It never is presumption to
acknowledge what you are. Had David never been
taken from the sheepcote and made King, it would
have been presumption in him to say that he had ;
but, when it was the case, he was in gratitude bound
to own and to commemorate the mercy showed to
him. So, if a man has not been delivered from the
dominion of sin, and adopted into the family of God,
for him to say that such is the case is presumption ;
but if he has, then not to praise his Redeemer for it,
would be ingratitude. Saying that it is presumption
for anyone to call himself the child of God, takes it
for granted that no one is ; or else it is absurd.
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 187
Presumption has many forms ; and it is worth con-
sidering, whether a great and good Being would most
disapprove the presumption which expected too much
from His goodness, or the presumption which dared
positively to disbelieve His promise.
Many who readily admit that, to some extent at
least, the Church in all ages will enjoy the gifts and
The Witness g^^ces of the Holy Spirit; and who
ef the Spirit would not deny that the first believers
the Original ^^^^ favoured with direct manifestations
Ground of
Conscious of the favour of God, yet make a
Salvation. difficulty of believing that, when sinners
are forgiven in the present age, they are comforted
by the Spirit manifesting Himself in their hearts, and
crying, "Abba, Father." They do not deny that
even in our day, forgiven sinners are solaced with a
confidence that they are forgiven ; but they see
prudential reasons against admitting that this is
imparted by the direct witness of the Spirit, and
would arrive at it by a process which, however
unwittingly on their part, removes the ofiice of
sealing the adopted children of God from the Spirit
and gives it to the reason of man. They teach the
seeker of salvation that, instead of looking to the
Cross for mercy, till the Spirit, as the Comforter,
" reveals the Son of God in his heart ; " he is certainly
to look to the Cross, but not to expect that to bring
any such manifestation ; on the contrary, he is only
188 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
to learn what are the marks of a child of God, to
compare his life with them, and, if it and they agree,
his mind will arrive at the comfortable persuasion
that he is a child of God.
This is one instance of the common error of taking
part of a process for the whole. On the part of the
Christian, the comparison of the scriptural marks of
the regenerated with his own character, is not only-
good, but absolutely necessary; for, no matter what
may be his supposed comforts, joys, or revelations, if,
in his life, he is not led by the Spirit of God, he is
not a son of God. But because certain evidence is
essential as a corroboration, it does not follow that it
is the chief evidence of the fact, the first ground
of conviction. As a guard against delusion, a
strengthening of our confidence, and a constant
stimulus to press forward to the things which are
before, a sober judgment passed upon our own progress
in grace is scriptural, rational, and indispensable.
As the mode of binding up the broken heart of a
penitent, of imparting to him the first feeling of filial
confidence in the Lord, it is neither scriptural nor
rational. It never can be the original ground of
consciousness in any soul, that, through the abundance
of grace, I, even I, am an adopted child of God.
Yet this is the consciousness to be given, and that
not to the heart of one who is " whole," but of one
who is " sick ; " not of a man who thinks that he is
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 189
good, who is ready to interpret everything in his own
favour, and has no feeling that he is vile, or that the
Lord is angry with him ; but of one who now feels
what probably he believed all his life, that he is a
sinner, covered with dark and filthy spots, the dis-
pleasure of the Lord hanging over him for many
unholy deeds, and his poor soul both fitted for
destruction and exposed to it Until painfully sensible
of his need of Christ, no man flees to Him for refuge ;
and one in this state of feeling is soberly told, that
his burden is to be removed, and the sense of his
salvation to be originated, by his being satisfied of
the agreement of his own life with the fruits of the
Spirit, as stated in the word of God.
What are those fruits ? " Love, joy, peace," etc.,
or " righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost." No enumeration of the fruits of the Spirit
will be found which excludes peace and joy, much
less love; and from these graces, if, indeed, not from
the last named alone, spring the various fruits which
unitedly constitute "righteousness." The poor
penitent, then, is not to be first relieved of his load,
and given to feel that God loves him ; but, previous
to obtaining such Divine comfort, he is to become
satisfied that his love, joy, peace, and other graces,
are such as mark the children of God ; that is, while
yet feeling that the Lord is angry with him, he is to
love the Lord ; while yet feeling that his soul is
190 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
unsaved, he is to feel joy in the Holy Ghost. If it
be said that the feeling of the Lord's wrath and his
own danger is removed before the filial affections
appear, then a direct action of the Comforter, ante-
cedent to his satisfaction with his own graces, is
admitted ; and if that be denied, there is no alternative
but to conclude that, at the same time and in the
same heart, one can both feel that he is under God's
anger, and love God as a forgiving Father ; can feel
that he is in danger of hell, and enjoy spiritual peace.
If the sense of wrath and danger is removed before
the fruits of the Spirit appear, there is a direct witness
of the Spirit Himself; if not till after, the totally
incompatible states of mind just mentioned must
co-exist.
The relation of the fruit of the Spirit to the witness
of the Spirit is clearly indicated to us. John says,
" We love Him because He first loved
efthe FrlTof "S'" ^^^^ ^^^ f^"^*' " ^^ l^ve," is made
the spirit to Consequent on our sense of the fact^ "He
ihe Witness of ^^^^ Jq^^^^ US » -p^ g^y ^y^^^ ^e f^^st
know that God loves us, because we feel
that we love Him, is to make the fruit of the Spirit
the foundation of the witness of the Spirit ; a relation
totally repugnant to the principle announced in this
text, and pervading the New Testament, as, indeed,
also the Old. " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH, l&l
not all His benefits ; who forgiveth all thine iniquities."
The fact of forgiveness ascertained is the ground of
filial gratitude; not filial gratitude the ground from
which the fact of forgiveness is inferred.
Mental conclusions, as to spiritual truths, do not
govern the feelings. The marks of " a child of wrath "
are plainly laid down. Thousands know that they
bear them; and yet this produces no contrition or
distress, till the convincing Spirit pierces their hearts.
As it is with convincing, so would it be with com-
forting. A mental conclusion as to my own spiritual
attainments would never dispel a sense of guilt from
my conscience, or make my trembling heart " rejoice
in the Lord." Did an awakened sinner conclude a
hundred times that the marks in the Bible and the
traits in his character agreed, his wounded spirit
having no other balm, all this concluding would never
heal his sore. The same voice which spoke con-
demnation into his conscience, must speak justification ;
the same hand which broke his hard heart, must bind
it up.
The deeper the penitence of anyone, the slower
would he be to take comfort from any good in him-
self; therefore, on a theory which makes this the
foundation of comfort, the further would he be from
finding rest ; while, on the more evangelical view, the
very depth of his penitence would drive him the more
speedily to bring his burden to the Cross, when it
would fall off.
192 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
This allusion brings Bunyan and his Pilgrim once
more to our view. He does not set Christian to
undo his own burden by arguing, " I have fled from
the City of Destruction ; I have forsaken house and
friends, wife and children ; have resisted temptations
to return ; have knocked at the gate and entered in,
and am in the narrow path : " but, with all this done,
he brings him to " a place somewhat ascending,"
where stands a cross, and, "just as Christian came up
with the cross, his burden loosed from his shoulders,
and fell from off his back." He did not cast off the
burden by a process which could easily be explained ;
but, when he set his eye on the cross, it fell off of
itself : and " it was very surprising to him that the
sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden."
And so it is to others ; but, however surprising, do
thou, my penitent brother, heed no other direction
than that which points thine eye straight to the Cross ;
for pardon, for escape from hell, for rest, and hope,
and purity, look thither, thither, only thither. If thy
burden fall not at once, yet still look, look to the
Cross, and fall it will, far sooner, and far more surely,
than if thou attempt to untie it by thy arguments.
As Christian thus stood before the cross, wonder-
ing, the *' Three Shining Ones came to him ; the
first said, * Thy sins be forgiven thee ; '
Unsophisticated . ,^. ,,. r\- j
ChHstianity, ^he second stripped him of his rags, and
clothed him with change of raiment ;
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 193
the third, also, set a mark on his forehead, and
gave him a roll with a seal upon it, which he bid him
look on as he ran, and that he should give it in at the
celestial gate."
This is unsophisticated Christianity. A burdened
sinner, after discouragements and wanderings, comes,
at last, to the foot of the Cross. He looks, and is
healed ; his pardon, freely given, is tenderly mani-
fested to him. The Father, Son, and Spirit unite to
assure his heart, and give him present and abiding
peace. He receives an evidence of acceptance, where-
by he may always —
— — ** Read his title clear
To mamsions in the skies."
After this, the more he ** searches '* his own self, " and
proves " his own self, " whether he be in the faith,"
the better for his vigilance and progress. But no such
examining before would have unloosed his burden, or
given him the roll.
The theory of an inferential comforting of believers,
as a substitute for the scriptural mode of a " witness "
of the Spirit, is singularly helpless ; for, at every step,
it is obliged to lean upon that which it professes to
dispense with and replace. It rests all " quietness and
assurance," for penitent hearts, on the fruits of the
Spirit ; and the very chief of those fruits, " love," etc.,
pre-supposes the witness of the Spirit, by a necessity
13
194 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
as clear as that by which repentance pre-supposes His
convincing operation.
No ; the sealing and solacing of penitent believers
is not left to mere reasoning, especially with a
foundation so liable to be misapprehended as our own
attainments in grace. It is the work and office of that
'' other Comforter " whom our dying Lord promised ;
and let no man take it out of His hand ! He it is
who cries in the heart, " Abba, Father ! " He who
seals, He who bears witness, He who sheds abroad
the love of God, He who enables us to know the
things that are freely given to us of God. Any
attempt to escape the mystery involved in the Holy
Spirit revealing the mercy of God to a human soul,
only leads to contradictions and perplexities. To the
old question, ** How can these things be ^ " the one
sufficient answer is, " They are spiritually discerned."
What the Lord spiritually reveals, the soul can
spiritually discern ; and a Divine presence, or a
Divine communication, may be assumed always to
carry its own evidence with it, first to the conscious-
ness, and then, by its fruits, to the reason. *^ One
thing I know : whereas I was blind, now I see."
It is not to be wondered at, that many who are
sincere, and even earnest, pass the days of their
pilgrimage in gloom, having no roll in their bosom,
which they know can be presented " at the celestial
gate ; " no conscious title to enter into the city ; no
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 195
permanent " joy or peace in believing." Nothing is
more dangerous than to divert the eye from the one
object of faith. And if persons are not taught to
look, and look upon the Cross, until their sins are
blotted out, and the comforting Spirit Himself heals
their wounds, but to seek rest by noting their own
progress in the Christian graces, and are at the same
time left without any fellowship of saints, through
which they might learn by what steps of fear and
doubt, of despair, and hope, and faith, others, whose
whole spirit savours of the peace of God, obtained
that blessing ; is it not natural that they should walk
in dim moonlight, instead of walking in the sun ? Yet,
even amid those so dealt with, the Lord oftentimes
breaks up man's theories, by converting a sinner with
such manifestation of the Spirit, that it would be
equally impossible to persuade him that his peace first
came by contemplating his graces, and to keep him
from telling what the Lord had done for his soul.
The character of the Christian Church, as a whole,
must always be ruled by the character of individual
The Ancient Christians ; for the Church is but the
Love and Grace assembly and aggregate of individuals.
Our Heritage, jf^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^j^g ^^^^ advance, the in-
dividual Christian degenerate, the Church must
gradually degenerate also, her ministry be debilitated,
and her efforts upon the world be less fruitful. All
Christian character depends on the relations of the
196 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
soul with its Creator : if these be cold, instead of
being joyous ; if they be governed by the feeling of a
doubtful reconciliation, instead of that of a happy
sonship ; then, of necessity, the life is overcast with
the shadows of not improbable perdition, instead of
being sunned with cloudless hopes of glory ; and
service is rendered as to an austere Master, instead of
to a most forgiving and loving Father. Strike from
the language of the Christian the words, " Our fellow-
ship is with the Father and the Son," and at once we
have a race whose religion is not the religion of John,
whose heart-strength is not drawn from the same
sources as his.
Whether it be in comforts, in sensible communion
with the reconciled Deity, or in practical sanctification
of life, we contend that all Scripture holds out to us
disciples of this actual hour, poor and undeserving
though we be, the same sources and the same measure
of grace as were open to our brethren of former
times. There has been no recall of the Spirit, no
curtailing of the " abundant pardon," no abridging of
the privileges of the adopted. The promise of the
Holy Spirit was not only to the first converts ; but, as
Peter, addressing them, said, "to us, and to our
children^ and to all that are afar off^ even to as many
as the Lord our God shall call!' However distant
from that spot in Jerusalem, and however distant
from that moment of time, the call might sound, it
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 197
would carry with it the PROMISE ; even that promise,
the fulfilment of which made the early Church so holy
and so victorious. The flames, the tongues, the
outward signs, were not the saving grace of the
Spirit. That was " within you," in the soul of man,
and was shown in " new creatures/' That saving
grace of the Spirit, working in Christians now, con-
stitutes their identity with those of old. Without
this, in apostolic times, though one spoke with " the
tongues of angels and of men," and could " work all
miracles," he was not a true disciple. With this, in
our times, though one work no miracle, and speak not
with tongues, he is a true disciple ; for " as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God." Miraculous gifts were not of the essence, but
separable attendants, of a real Christian ; and all
that was then essential remains to us, unimpaired and
free as ever it was to them.
Father, Son, and Spirit ! pardon the unbelief which
has imagined that Thou didst repent of the exceeding
abundance of grace once given to Thy ransomed
Church ! Afflict us not, on account of it, by a real
withdrawal of Thy presence ! Manifest forth Thy
glory anew, by filling Thy children with joy and light,
that the world may see that Thine ancient love and
grace remain our heritage !
198 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
VI. — The True Ministers of Christ.
Next to the question, whether the privileges of the
modern Christian, as respects grace, are to be equal
with those of the primitive one, comes
llie Ministry . . . . i /-^i . .
NowEssentiaily ^^^ question, whether the Christian
the Same as ministry is now essentially the same
at First. institution as at first? If believers are
not now the same as formerly, it is impossible that
the same religion should be preserved in the world ;
and if the Ministers be not the same, it is highly
improbable that the ordinary members of the Church
will be so. Few would take the ground that our Lord
founded His ministry on an unstable basis, requiring
essential changes to render it capable of perpetuation
in any age or country to which Christianity might
extend : and all would admit the high probability
that the principles on which He established it were
those best adapted for its success under every future
change of circumstances.
When we look at the example of the New Testa-
ment, its spirit, usages, and principles, it is too manifest
to need more than assertion, that the anointing of the
Holy Spirit was the one thing essential in the Minister
of the Gospel. As we have before said that a religion
without the Holy Spirit would not be Christianity,
and that religionists without the Holy Spirit would
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 199
not be Christians, so we may strongly say that
teachers without the Holy Spirit would not be
Christian Ministers, according to the original sense
of that term, the only sense in which we find it
employed in the sacred writings. Every arrangement
respecting the training, or labours, of Christian
Ministers, which does not proceed upon the ground
that they are certainly to be men first regenerated,
then gifted for the ministry, and moved to it, by the
operation of the Holy Spirit, — an operation not to be
assumed without proof, but to be tested by its fruits,
— must be as faulty in theory, and as inefficent in
practice, as any arrangement for the employment of
firearms, which did not proceed on the ground that
explosion is the source of power. The bow was a
mighty weapon, and its combination of steel and
timber, of cord and arm, of the strength of the
vegetable, the mineral, the animal, entitled it to the
admiration and confidence of many a host ; and, as
all its forces were mechanical, no question ever needed
to be raised but one lying within the limits of
mechanical inquiry. But the moment you adopt
powder as your impeller, the elasticity of yew, or the
strength of muscle, are considerations out of place.
You have left mechanics, and cast yourself upon
chemistry ; and all your calculations must proceed on
the ground that you have but to provide an instru-
ment which will co-operate with an explosive agent.
200 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
The New Testament ministry rests not on mental,
emotional, or educational strength, but using each of
these as occasion may serve, finds its own power in a
spiritual influence ; and all reasoning applied to it,
without being founded on this fact, is reasoning on
the rifle upon principles belonging to the bow.
The miraculous gifts imparted to many in the early
Church are carefully ranked and marked by the hand
of the Apostle as inferior to those gifts which were
" for edification, and exhortation, and comfort."
" And God hath set some in the Church, first Apostles,
secondarily Prophets, thirdly Teachers, after that
miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments,
diversities of tongues." i Here miracle-working, heal-
ing, and speaking with divers tongues, are set as
inferior gifts to those whereby men are constituted
teachers or prophets. A similar design is observed in
Ephesians iv. 1 1 : " And he gave some, Apostles ; and
some, Prophets ; and some Evangelists ; and some.
Pastors and Teachers." Here we do not find any
miraculous gifts even 7nentioned as part of the insti-
tution of Christ " For the perfecting of the saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ : " to this — the true end of the
ministry — the effects produced by miraculous gifts
were only auxiliary. True, the Apostles, Prophets,
1 1 Cor. xii. 28.
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 201
and Evangelists, as, indeed, also the Pastors and
Teachers, possessed, and often exercised, miraculous
gifts; but it was not by these they effected the
" perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, or
the edifying of the body of Christ." The essential
point with regard to every one proposed for the sacred
office is, to ascertain whether or not he is " a man
sent of God."
As the gift of the Spirit Himself is represented as
consequent upon the ascension of our Lord, so, in the
passage in Ephesians to which we have
The Spirit s ^ °
Constraining J^^t alluded, the institution of the
Call and ministry also is represented as the result
Qualifying ^^ j^jg triumphant ascension. "He
Gift. ^
ascended up on high, He led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men;" and "//"<? gave
some, Apostles ; and some, Prophets," etc. These
were the gifts which He, from His throne of mediation,
bestowed on His Church, — men endued with power
by His Spirit, and also moved by the same Spirit to
spend their lives in the work of the ministry for the
edifying of the body of Christ. Whether we take the
Prophets under the old dispensation, or the Lord's
messengers under the new, we find that the distinctive
characteristics of a true Minister of God lay in a call
and a qualification. The qualification involved a gift,
a power, and a training. He who had a call from
God, a gift from God, and a power from God, and he
202 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
only, was ever Prophet, Evangelist, or Pastor and
Teacher, in any scriptural sense. The training varied
with the age, dispensation, and circumstances ; but no
trainining ever did, or ever can, make him a Minister
who has no call, no gifts, and no power sent upon his
soul by the anointing of the eternal Spirit.
The call pre-supposed grace, or the moral qualifica-
tion, and implied a gift, or what may be called the
mental qualification ; for, to call without imparting a
gift, would be leading an unarmed soldier into battle ;
and to call and gift an unregenerate man would be
to commission and arm a rebel : these two, therefore,
call and qualification, can never be looked upon as
separable. " The love of Christ constraineth us," is
the language in which the apostle expresses that
which is essential in the internal working of a call
from God to spend and to be spent for the salvation
of men ; and he who, thus constrained by the love of
Christ, finds himself possessed of a gift to speak to
edification, or exhortation, or comfort, has, in that
motion, and in that faculty, strong evidence that the
Lord is calling him into His vineyard. What he
feels is not a mere desire to enter the ministry as a
good and useful office, or to spend life in an honour-
able and happy vocation ; but is a constraining
movement of the love of Christ, as if issuing from
His heart into the heart of His servant, and working
there a strong impulse to cry out and labour for the
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 208
recovery of Adam's lost children to the favour of
their God, and the rest of heaven. But, however
strongly this desire may exist, if it be not accompanied
with a gift for public teaching, that alone proves that
the Lord has not designed the operation of His love
to constrain this particular individual to the public
labours of the ministry, but to other efforts for the
same end. Him whom God sends to any work, He
qualifies for that work.
A person feeling a true impulse to labour for
Christ, and misjudging his own gift, may conceive
himself to be called to the ministry when he is far
from being qualified for it ; and, on this point, the
onus of judgment cannot properly be laid upon him,
but must rest upon the Church. He, and he only,
can judge as to the inward motive of his soul, whether
or not his heart is moved by the Holy Ghost to
undertake this work ; and the fact that the respon-
sibility of declaring that he believes himself to be so
moved is thrown upon the candidate for the ministry
by most Churches, if not by all, is a public and solemn
testimony that the operation of the Holy Spirit in the
heart is recognised as continuing to be the one basis
of qualification for the ministry of the Gospel. Only
one's own self can tell what has passed between the
soul and its Saviour. No stranger intermeddleth with
the question whether the Spirit has, or has not, in
holy promptings moved one to consecrate his life to
204 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
the sole work of edifying and multiplying the flock
of Christ. If any come to offer his hand to the
Church for this high service, on his own soul it lies
to say whether or not he is led by an impulse from
on high, or by ordinary professional motives.
The Church, nevertheless, has her responsibility ;
and before she seals the credentials of any, she is
The Church's bound to take note whether the Lord
Seal and Himself has sealed them by the gifts of
Recognition, j^jg ^ioXy Spirit. As much as the
responsibility lies on the individual of making or not
making a solemn profession that he is inwardly
moved by the Holy Ghost, so does the responsibility lie
upon the Church to see that he has all the corrobora-
tive marks of such a call. Those marks are grace,
gifts, fruit. Does his whole life testify that he has
felt the repentance to which he is to call sinners,
exercised the faith to which he is to encourage
penitents, and experienced, in some degree, that
sanctification to which he is to lead on believers ?
If the evidence of this be not clear, the Church sins
a grievous sin in accrediting him to the world as one
qualified to " warn every man, and teach every man,
that he may present every man perfect." No circum-
stance of time, age, nation, or aught else, can authorize
any Church to dispense with the essential qualification
that he who is to be a Minister of God shall first be
a child of God. Any credentials given without full
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 205
proof of this are presumptuous and null. When our
Lord was about to restore to his beloved disciple,
Peter, the commission which his fall had seemed to
forfeit, He puts to him the question, " Lovest thou
Me ? " and thrice repeats it, searching him to the
soul ; and, on the ground that he does love Him,
intrusts him anew with the commission, " Feed My
sheep." No man whose true love to the Saviour is
doubtful, who cannot appeal to Him who knoweth
all things as witness that he does love Him, has that
qualification for a commission which is most indispen-
sable of all, — loyalty to the King.
" The same commit thou to faithful men." " Who
is that faithful and wise steward whom the Lord will
set over His house, to give to every man a portion
of meat in due season ? " In both of these passages,
as all through the word of God, the spiritual qualifica-
tion is set as a consideration antecedent to that of
gifts : first of all " faithful ; " but not merely " faithful :"
" The same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be
able to teach others also!' The steward is to be not
only " faithful," but " wise," able to distribute to
everyone in due season. He who is not apt to teach,
ought never to be commissioned as a teacher. The
gifts of the Spirit are various. " To one is given the
word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge,
to another prophecy." With regard to the servants
of the Lord Christ, according to the gift of each, so
206 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
let his sphere be. If " prophecy, let him prophesy
according to the proportion of faith ; or teaching, let
him wait on his teaching ; or he that exhorteth, on
exhortation."
When, therefore, anyone comes forward to offer
himself as a labourer in the vineyard of the Lord,
before he can be rightly assigned to any sphere, the
question as to his spiritual character must be favour-
ably decided, and then his sphere should be determined
by his gifts. Which of the various gifts of the Holy
Spirit have been conferred upon him } If none of
them, who dare say that he is to be a Minister of
God, and a teacher of the souls of men } Surely this
is not the Church of Christ, that is going to lay hands
upon a man, of whom no one knows whether he has
any gift whatever from God, — a man whose voice has
never been raised in exhortation, teaching, preaching,
or public prayer, who has given no more evidence of
gifts and fitness than a thousand others who make no
pretension to be fit, — going to set such a one over
hundreds of professed Christians as their teacher and
Pastor, as the leader of their devotions, and the only
instructor of their souls.
It is a manifest inversion of Christian order, when
the commission of the Church is taken to be the
authority to commence the exercise of spiritual gifts.
In the New Testament the Church's only warrant for
issuing her commission is the known possession of
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 207
such gifts; and this can only be proved by their
previous exercise. Her work was not to create gifts,
but from among the gifted brethren to select those
whom the Lord had, by His own will and act,
previously fitted for special offices. The ordination
of the Church to the ministry was not a Christian's
first authority to preach Christ ; for that, opportunity
and ability were authority enough ; but the special
eminence and usefulness of some among the company
of preachers was the Church's warrant for separating
them to the sole work of the ministry. If a com-
mission from the Church be held to supply the place
either of the Spirit's constraining call, or of His
qualifying gift. His office in perpetuating the ministry
is superseded. To do this effectually, it is not neces-
sary to blot from creeds the expressions of right
belief, but only to adopt in practice such regulations
as will enable men without grace, or without gifts, by
the use of ordinary professional preparations, to
obtain a commission, and stand up as accredited
stewards of the mysteries of God.
The operation of the Spirit in fitting the Minister
for the work of God is seen in the Old Testament, in
_ connexion, not with the priestly office,
Old Testament , , ' . r / »
Prophet and ^ut With that of the Prophet. The
Christian former was a typical and temporary
" "^^"^^T "« office, existing only as the precursor
Teacher. a ^ *
and type of the great High Priest, and
208 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
terminating at once and for ever when He whom it
foreshadowed had made His offering, and passed with-
in the veil. The work of the Priest was not to teach,
edify, warn, and forewarn, but to be the medium of
access to the presence of God on His mercy-seat. As
such, he has no earthly successor in Christianity : his
office, we repeat, ended for ever with the atonement
and ascension of our Lord. Then came a change of
the Priesthood, that of Levi giving place to that of
Melchisedec, which was vested, not in a succession of
mutable men, but all in the Unchanging One, whose
sacrifice should never need repetition, whose years
should never fail, and whose infinite tenderness should
feel every infirmity of every suppliant.
The office of the Prophet was to warn, to reprove,
to rebuke, to exhort, as well as to foreshow. That
office is not repeated in all its features in the Christian
"' Pastor and Teacher," but as to its essentials it is.
Foretelling is the one function wherein the two differ ;
and that was appropriately the gift of an age in
which revelation was incomplete, and all the hopes of
believers turned to a light yet unrisen. Indeed, it
may be worth considering whether the perpetuation
of the foretelling gift would not suppose an incomplete
revelation, and whether the closing of the canon of
revealed truth does not naturally carry with it the
termination of that wonderful gift by which from age
to age additions had been made to the previous stores
of truth.
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 209
When St. Paul urges upon us to desire, and, in-
deed, to follow after, the " spiritual gift '" of prophecy,
and holds out the inducement which should lead us
to covet it above all other gifts, he has not in his eye,
and does not present to ours, the honour or the profit
of foretelling. The only inducements he assigns are
these : " He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to
edification, and exhortation, and comfort." " I would
that ye spake with tongues, but rather that ye pro-
phesied : for greater is he that prophesieth than he that
speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the
Church may receive edifying But if all prophesy,
and there come in one that believeth not, or one
unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all :
and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest ;
and so falling down on his face, he will worship God,
and report that God is in you of a truth." Thus, in
the passages where the Apostle speaks most upon the
Christian gift of prophecy, he makes no allusion to
foretelling ; and in the Acts of the Apostles we read
that "Judas and Silas, being Prophets also them-
selves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and
confirmed them." We have no record anywhere of
Silas foretelling, nor is there here the least allusion
to the exercise of such a gift ; yet his exhortation and
that of Jude, with their confirming arguments or
appeals, are at once set down as the exercise of the
prophetic gift.
14
210 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
The highest office of the Spirit in the Prophet of
the old dispensation was to enable him to see and to
depict " the sufferings of Christ, and the
Htghff/''office g^^^y ^h^t should follow," as though they
Alike in were before his eye ; and the highest
Prophet and ^^^^ ^f ^j^g ^^^^ g jj.j^. j^^ q^^^^ Minister,
Preacher. . . . .
in our day, is to enable him to descry, by
an inner eye, the glories and the grace of a Lord
whom he has never seen ; and to descant upon them
as though his eye beheld Him, and his ear was ting-
ling with His voice. The same spiritual light which
made a future Redeemer present to Isaiah, is needful
to make a past Redeemer present to the Christian
Preacher. Without it, the one might have an
expectation, and the other might have a belief ; but
neither could burn and melt as in the presence of a
living, loving, redeeming Prince of Peace. The spirit
of prophecy illuminated the future to the one, and
illuminates the past to the other, — gave that which
was a promise the force of a thing done, and gives
that which is a record the force of a thing now doing.
The difference, within the soul of a man, between
merely cherishing an expectation or a belief, and
seeing, feeling, thrilling under the impression of a
present Friend and Deliverer, makes in his utterance
the difference between a tame declaration which
disturbs neither prejudice nor indifference, and an
overpowering force of speech that bears men's hearts
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 211
away. So far was the gift whereby the Spirit enabled
the servants of Christ to speak as the oracles of God
respecting the Master whom, though " not having
seen, they loved/* from being considered essentially
different from that wherewith He had endued the
ancient Prophets, that the same name is freely applied
to it, even when, as we have seen, the idea of fore-
telling is not included.
However decided might be the evidence, that an
individual was a child of God, and had a gift, another
The Pffwer of element IS ever kept in view as an attesta-
God with his tion that he is truly commissioned from
Preaching ^j^^ Father,— the power and anointing of
Attests the ' r &
Truly Com- the Holy One transfused throughout his
missioned. preaching, and giving it a moral effect
which ordinary speech, however wise, would never
carry. " Not in word only," however true and
scriptural that word might be, " but in power, and in
the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." "The
kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." " The
preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolish-
ness, but unto us who are saved it is the power of
God." " My speech and my preaching were not with
enticing words of man's wisdom, but with demon-
stration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God." Here we see the most highly gifted
of the Apostles clearly recognising the fact, that his
212 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
success as an ambassador to sinful men lay, not in the
perfectness of his intellectual perceptions, nor in the
mode in which he presented the truth to the
intellectual view of those whom he addressed, but in
a spiritual element of his preaching, as distinct from
its intellectual characteristics as they were from its
physical elocution, and as necessary, in addition
to the intellectual presentation of truth, as it was
in addition to a rush of words. Without clear
intellectual presentation of truth, any flow of words
would fail to convince or to enlighten. Without the
spiritual power, any exposition or argument would
fail to awaken or regenerate. The work of Paul was
nothing short of a commission to ^' turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and
an inheritance among them that are sanctified ;" and
this he knew could never be effected except by
"power and by the Holy Ghost," working in and
through whatever truth he might utter, as the bearer
of God's great message.
Without this call from God, this gift from God, and
this power from God, no one can be recognised as,
in the scriptural sense, an ambassador
The Training
Varied i'^ovci God. To dispense with any one
According to of these essentials in the qualification of
Circumstances. ^ Minister, is to introduce a radical
change into the institution of the ministry itself, and
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 213
to set it up on a basis for which there is no scriptural
precedent. These essentials being secured, the
training is varied according to circumstances. In
the case of the Apostles and the Seventy, after our
Lord had called them, under the promise that He
would make them fishers of men. He retained them
near His own person, continually instructing them in
the oracles of God, giving them the highest example
of teaching and of a holy life ; and this training He
continued for three years. After the call of St. Paul,
we find that three years elapsed before he came up
to Jerusalem, which time he had spent in Arabia and
Damascus, in what manner we are not informed, but
probably in study of the Holy Scriptures, leading
to a fuller acquaintance with the revelation of
God in Christ. It is certain, however, that he was
also exercising his gifts : for even in Damascus,
immediately after his conversion, he began to preach.
The training of ApoUos lay first in such light as he
received as a disciple of John's baptism, next in the
exercise of his gifts, and then in the further instruction
of Aquila and Priscilla. The training of Timothy
lay in the early teaching of a holy mother and grand-
mother, the ordinary means of grace, study of the
word of God, and then personal fellowship with the
Apostle Paul and his fellow-labourers on their
journeys and in their toils. Whatever special training
individuals may have been favoured with, that which
21 i THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
was essential in the training was common to all ;
namely, instruction in the Holy Scriptures, the
exercise of their gifts in religious assemblies either
of the Church or of the synagogue, and the gradual
development of those gifts, until fitness for the
ministry was clearly proved.
Whatever value general education may have held
in the eyes of our blessed Lord, or of the anointing
Spirit, it is plain that even the Apostles, in the height
and glory of their Pentecostal preaching, were not
gifted with any power which would cover the provincial
peculiarities of their speech, or enable them to con-
ciliate the refined by graceful enunciation. The
educated ears of the Scribes of Jerusalem at once
recognised, in the workers of miracles and the teachers
of an increasing Church, " unlearned and ignorant
men." But, as we before noticed, their want of
learning related only to matters of polite education,
not to the deep things of the word of God, the
doctrines, facts, and promises of which they were
commissioned to expound to the world. The general
education of Luke and Paul was gained with a view
to general purposes, and turned to the service of the
Church by the grace which converted them.
We now come to the simple question,
^''IhcTctJr ^^^ *^^ ^^^^' ^^^ S^^*' ^^^ power, and the
Power of the training of the Christian Minister to con-
Holy spirit, tinue to the end of time, as to essentials,
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 215
the same as in the apostolic age ? Are we to
expect identity, in these particulars, between the
ministry of our day, and that of the first century ; or,
dispensing with this, are we to be contented simply
with a lineal connexion ? To put out of sight the
scriptural precedents and essentials of ministerial
qualification, to give up the spiritual identity of the
ministry, and be satisfied with a lineal connexion, is a
lamentable abandonment of the Church's hope. If
she do not obtain for the sacred office a succession of
men able to teach, and endued with the Holy Ghost,
she cannot preserve to herself, or transmit to future
ages, the primitive and apostolic ministry. Though
all the appendages of the office be preserved, if the
spiritual essentials of the Minister be lost, the pith
and sap of the ancient tree are gone, though the bark
and foliage may survive. It is for the Church to see
that unequivocal signs of grace, and gifts, and fruitful-
ness, mark out every candidate for the sacred office as
one chosen of the Lord ; and not to accept instead of
these any substitute whatever, whether it be his own
profession, or some qualifications supposed to replace
the primitive ones.
Though no one formally professes that the Christian
ministry has become a totally different institution
from that which Christ founded, — different in the
qualification it requires, in the mode of induction, and
in the source and fruit of its efficacy, — yet all this is
216 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
assumed in the current writings and thoughts of many,
and the assumption is wrought into the framework
and usages of different Churches. For a call of God,
delivered by the voice of the Holy Ghost, in the
silence of a believing heart, and manifested by earnest
efforts to save souls and to promote holy works, a
formal commission from ecclesiastical authorities is
relied upon. Instead of a gift from God, — a gift of
sacred and impressive speech, a " tongue of fire," —
there is substituted a ritual ; instead of a power from
God, some substitute intellectualism, and others
propriety.
We are very far from decrying these things in their
right place. The commission is good and needful as
the Church's seal and recognition of the Lord's call,
but ridiculous and self-contradictory as a substitute
for it. Learning is invaluable when associated with
and adorning gifts from God, but lower than pitiable
when offered as a substitute for the power of opening
and enforcing the Divine oracles. Propriety, intellec-
tualism, and ritual, have their honourable place ; but
when, instead of the power which penetrates the soul,
we have only ceremony which fascinates the taste, or
talent which regales the intellect, then are we fallen
from the region of Divine to that of human things
brought down from " the power of God " to *' the
wisdom of man."
For this substitution different classes are to be
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 217
blamed : Church authorities, chiefly for covering the
want of a call and a gift from God by a
The Evil Done . . - , . i...^ i
h Exait'n commission from man ; and the multitude
these of professed Christians, chiefly for covet-
Suhstitutes. jj^g j^q^- gQ much Spiritual power, as
propriety or intellectualism. Did the former adhere
to the primitive idea of the ministry, they would no
more commission, as a Minister of God, a man who
had not given proof, first of sincere godliness, and
then of ministerial gifts, than would any naval board
accredit a man as a pilot who had studied navigation
and charts, but had never sailed the particular channel
on which he was to be entrusted with valuable lives ;
or than would any medical Board give a surgeon's
diploma to a man who had read and heard lectures,
but had never been in a hospital, or dealt with an
actual patient. To substitute education for the
ministerial gift (even when grace is possessed) is, in
fact, to set aside the question, Is this man called of
God ? And to substitute it for evidences of grace
(even when gifts are possessed) is equally to set that
question aside. True, it may be still retained in
words ; but if that is done, and yet, without proof of
both gifts and grace, a man be inducted into the
ministry upon the simple evidence of education, the
question is deliberately evaded, and the sin of falsify-
ing Christ's own institution is not mitigated by the
plea of forgetfulness, much less of ignorance ; but, with
218 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
both knowledge and memory of what it originally
was, another thing, differing from it in the first and
most essential qualities, is hailed by its name, and
invested with its functions.
To constitute a Christian, three things are necessary,
— faith, experience, and practice : to constitute a
Minister, four, — faith, experience, practice, and gifts.
Without experience, knowledge or belief can no more
qualify a man to teach heart repentance, and heart
faith, and heart holiness, than book knowledge, what-
ever might be its amount, would qualify a man to
train soldiers, if he had never himself passed through
the process of military discipline. Without gifts,
education and experience would be together as in-
sufficient a qualification, as if a soldier had ammunition
and discipline without weapons.
It is difficult to describe the evil done, when the
Church overlays the essential qualification and
training of the primitive ministry by exalting
substitutes for the active power of the Holy Spirit, and
when she further sets before all men a profession
with high prizes, the door to which will infallibly be
opened by a certain course of education, unless they
disgrace themselves, and thus allures them to make
sacred professions from secular motives. On each
individual who makes such professions without due
care, the guilt of voluntarily sinning must for ever lie ;
but how far has the Church been his tempter, when
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 219
she makes overtures to him irrespective of quali-
fications which are clearly laid down in the word of
God, as those which alone attest the Divnie sanction
and call ?
It may be asked whether we are to expect that in
all ages a sufficient number of men will be raised up,
bearing the primitive marks of a call
Consistent . .. - >-. t
Christianity ^^^m God, and of gifts from God ; and
Remembers the our reply would be Simply, Remember
Ten Days of ^jjg r^^^ DAYS. There we see men
whose commission had come from the
lips of the Lord Jesus, whose training had been under
His own eye, who have forsaken houses, and lands,
and all that could bind them to secular avocations,
who are ready to set forth upon the work of calling
and warning a world that is *' lying in the wicked
one ; " and yet day after day the inhibition lies upon
them, that they are to tarry until they are endued
with power from on high. As we look at that
spectacle, — sinners dying, time rolling on, the Master
looking down from His newly ascended throne on the
world which He has redeemed, seeing death bear
away its thousands while His servants keep silence, —
there is in that silence a tone which booms through
all the future, warning us that never, never, under the
dispensation of the Spirit, are men to set out upon
the embassy of Christ, be their qualifications or
credentials what they may, until first they have been
220 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
endued with power from on high, been baptized with
tongues of fire. Better let the Church wait ever so
long, — better let the ordinances of God's house be
without perfunctory actors, and all, feeling sore need,
be forced to cry with special urgency for fresh out-
pourings and baptisms of the Holy Ghost, to raise up
holy Ministers, than that, by any manner of factitious
supply, substitutes should be furnished, — substitutes
no more Ministers of God, than coals arranged in a
grate are a fire ; or than a golden candlestick with a
wax candle, which flame has never touched, is a light.
If it was the original design of the Lord to with-
draw from the Church the ministerial grace of the
Spirit, and to leave her to the care of Pastors, all
whose qualifications were natural, or gained by
natural acquisition, all whose authority was derived
from human commission, without any " manifestation
of the Spirit," either in gifts or moral power ; it was
clearly His purpose that His religion should essen-
tially change its character, after its establishment in
the world. This change also would be not in the
direction of improvement, but of degeneracy ; not by
progressive increase of communication with His
redeemed flock, but by progressive increase of
distance between it and Him ; not by bringing earthly
things nearer to heavenly, but by removing them
farther away. It would imply a design, on His part,
to reduce the Christian dispensation lower, as to
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH, 221
ministerial grace, than even the Jewish : for in it the
prophetic spirit was constantly giving manifestation
that there was a God in Israel ; not merely that
there was truth, order, priesthood, a Church, but a
God, a living Being, high, holy, and wise, who dwelt
amid the people, and actively moved, through His
servants, for the instruction, reproof, and holiness of
all ; — " rising up early, and sending " messenger after
messenger. It would, in fact, imply, that while the
dispensation of the Gospel was the most favoured as
to truth, it would be the least favoured as to tokens
of actual intercourse between the Saviour and His
people : for even the days of the Patriarchs were
lighted with frequent manifestations of God. It is
laid down as the principle of our dispensation, that
the manifestations of God are to be by the operation
and gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is, therefore, con-
sistent Christianity to expect no supernatural
manifestations but of this kind. But is it consistent
Christianity, or Christianity of any kind, not to
expect these at all ; not to count upon direct gifts
from above, upon such wonderful working of the
Spirit through the mind and tongue of messengers, as
would compel all to feel that their endowments were
not from nature only, but were indicative of Divine
power ?
If it be not alleged that the Lord did indeed mean
to withdraw ministerial grace, in every appreciable
222 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
and practical form; on what other ground can the
notion that the ministry is to be supplied by can-
didates, just as any other profession is supplied, be
rested ? that all that is necessary is, that fathers
should decide that their sons are to be Ministers, and
not soldiers or lawyers ; and should educate them ;
that then, after an examination in general knowledge
and theology, the candidate shall be invested with an
office which professes to be held by commission from
God ? On what other ground can one avoid the
conclusion, that the first movement toward placing
any one in the ministry should result from proof given
that the Holy Spirit had endued him with pastoral
dispositions and pastoral gifts ; and that every subse-
quent step in the same direction should be taken
carefully, after confirmatory evidences of the same ?
It is easy to say, that we must not expect such
clear cases to occur constantly ; and must follow
Uncorrupted some definite mode of preparation. Yes,
Christianity yye must foUow some definite mode ; but
J-'^Zf r defined on principles of faith, not of
Principle of ir tr
''iBeiieveinthe Unbelief '' We must not expect a con-
Holy Ghost.'' stant occurrence of clear cases." On
what principles must we not } On those of the New
Testament, or of modern writers } On those of the
Church in the apostolic age, or of subsequent and
degenerate ages ? On those of Christ's uncorrupted
Christianity, or those of fallen Churches ? On the
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 223
principle of " I BELIEVE IN THE Holy Ghost," or
on the principle of " I believe only in nature ? "
The definite mode of perpetuating the supply of
Ministers should rest on the sole foundation of the
Christian faith, rejecting every idea of distrust as
resolutely as a chemist would reject every idea of
inconstancy in the affinities of elements ; rejecting
every idea of substituting other action for that of the
Holy Spirit as decisively as a gunner would reject
the idea of aiding his explosion with mechanical
force. If we have not the Spirit to raise up agents,
we cannot preserve Christ's Church alive ; if we have
Him, we may fully trust Him to do all that is not
made to depend on our own fidelity. To doubt the
supply of summer heat, and to set ourselves to rear
harvests in hot-beds, would not be doing more
violence to the laws of the physical kingdom, than it
is to the laws of the spiritual kingdom to doubt the
supply of the Spirit whereby labourers fit for the
field are raised up, and to set ourselves to furnish
others.
Firm in faith, the Church ought to set at the very
entrance of the pathway toward the ministry, a gate,
which no family influence, no education could open ;
which none could pass but they whom a number of
serious and godly men — not Ministers alone, but also
laymen who had to hear, and feed, or starve, according
to the quality of the ministrations — would deliberately
224 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
conclude were worthy, at least, to be admitted to
probation for the work of the ministry. Such a gate
none could pass but one who was either in earnest, or
a studious and practised hypocrite.
Where the primitive training is maintained, all the
members of the Church exercise such gifts as the
Spirit has distributed to them, — prayer, and exhorta-
tion, and teaching, and mutual speaking one to
another, and admonishing one another. Among the
working believers of such a scriptural Church, a
suitable proportion will ever be raised up whose gifts
will fit them to lead in all offices. This is the real
training school for Christian agents ; a fruitful Church
is her own nursery. Meetings for fellowship of saints,
for free-hearted prayer, for exhortation, are the
legitimate means by which they whom the Lord is
fitting for His high ministry shall be led to the
development of their gifts. This training must be
held as indispensable, and of an essential importance
with which no other training has any pretence to
claim a comparison ; and then general education
must be held to have the same relation to the
Christian ministry as general education has to any
other profession ; and theological education the same
as special education has to the other professions.
Classics and mathematics, history and logic, are
of admirable use to a lawyer ; but if, qualified by
these, he is to attempt to conduct cases without
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 225
having been specially trained in pleading, alas for his
clients. They are of great use to a physician ; but if
by their light, and without study of diseases and
remedies, he undertake to heal, alas for the families
which put precious life in his trust. To a Minister
their value is quite as great as to either of the others ;
but study of theology is as indispensable to him, as
study of law or medicine to them ; and practical
experience of that repentance, faith, and holiness
which he is to enforce, is as necessary as practical
treatment of disease in addition to study; or as
practical acquaintance with a ship at sea is needful
for a mariner, in addition to the science of navigation.
Were we forced to choose between two men, one
of whom is an accomplished scholar without practical
godliness, the other a holy and gifted man without
refined scholarship ; to ask us the question, which
we should prefer for our Minister, is about as
respectful to our faith as Christians, as it would be
respectful to the common sense of a ship-owner,
soberly to ask whether he preferred, as a pilot for
his ships, a scholar from a nautical academy who had
never walked a deck, or a rough sailor who had often
sailed the very waters over which the precious freight
must be conveyed. Alas for those whose souls are
watched over by unconverted scholars. And even if
converted and gifted, the Minister of Christ should
not come to his office without having been practised
IS
226 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
in prayer, in exhortation, in preaching, in all the art
of healing souls, and that not in books only, not in
schools only, but also in the lively meetings and
labours of the Church.
We not only acknowledge, but gratefully believe
and record, that many of those who had been invested
with the ministry without sufficient test of their
fitness, have, in the event, become burning and shining
lights. But if this, on the one hand, deserves to be
continually remembered as a proof of God's tender
mercy to His Church, it is, on the other hand, not
less to be noted, that He has ordinarily allowed such
unauthorised appointments to be followed by their
natural consequences, until whole nations have come
under the curse of a ministry who either taught
another Gospel than that of the Apostles, or who,
perfunctorily exhibiting the shell of the truth, set the
example of denying its power ; and that even where
the Church had been reformed, although primitive
Christianity had not been generally revived. What
England was a century ago, — what many Protestant
Churches on the Continent are at this moment,
sufficiently shows that if guards are not placed at
the entrance to the ministry, such as will hinder the
admission of any but spiritually minded men, the
course of Providence is to allow the sin to work out
its own punishment.
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 227
VII. — Ministers Robed " with Power from on High!'
While ecclesiastical authorities may be justly
blamed for too readily substituting a Church com-
mission for the genuine call and gift of God, the
multitude of professed Christians are no less ready to
accept, instead of the genuine moral power which is
the true pre-eminence of the Christian Minister, a
substitute in either propriety or intellectualism. A
people whose idea of the ministry was formed by
inspirations from the New Testament, would look and
crave, with feelings amounting to hunger and thirst,
for men " endued with power," — the true power of the
Holy Ghost, awakening, converting, edifying power ;
power under which hearts would melt, lives would
change, old men would put off the evil ways of a life-
time, and youth put on the wisdom of grey hairs,
thoughtless revelry would give place to benevolent
associations, and the whole neighbourhood would begin
to breathe a purer, nobler spirit. Nothing could to
them compensate for the absence of this. Though
all proprieties gratified the taste, though the intellect
were charmed, yet would they pine and long for that
power which lies beyond the ken of the eye, the taste,
or the intellect ; but which the moral nature at once
feels and responds to, either by a stern moral resis-
tance, felt to be a resistance to the voice of the Spirit,
228 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
or by contrite acquiescence, felt to be the surrender
of the heart to the constraining love of the Redeemer.
" Ye shall be endued," said our Lord, " with power
from on high," — robed with power. This is the true
robing and vestment of the Minister of God, — an
invisible garment of power, which sits not upon his
shoulders, but upon his spirit, shading him over with
a moral dignity, as if he held office from the King of
kings, and conveying to every conscience before him
the instinctive perception that he comes commissioned
to deal with it on the things that effect its purity, and
its relations with Him who planted it in man.
All power is indescribable, but at the same time
appreciable. What it is, where it is, how it came,
where it goes, its measure, movement,
Indescribable mature, form, or essence, no human skill
but at the can discover. We may ask the sunbeam
same time which has such power to fly and to
illuminate, the lightning which has such
power to scathe, the dew-drop that has such power
to refresh, the magnet, the fire, the steam, the eye
that can see, the ear that can hear, the nerve that can
convey the messages of will, — we may ask all the
agents we see exerting power to render us an account
each of its own power, and all will be dumb. Not
the cannon-ball on its flight, or the lion in his triumph,
not the tempest or the sea, not even pestilence itself,
can tell us what is power. If we ask Death who has
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 229
put all things under his feet, even he has no reply ;
and after we have passed the question, " What is
power ? " round a mute universe, we must say, " God
has spoken once, yea, twice have I heard this, that
POWER BELONGETH UNTO GOD."
Yet power, in itself so hidden and indescribable, is
ever manifest by its effects. An effect demonstrates
the presence of a power. Where gunpowder explodes,
there must have been fire ; where water shoots up
through the atmosphere in steam, there must have
been heat ; where iron moves without mechanical
force, a magnet must be; and the absence of the
effect is conclusive evidence of the absence of the
power from which the effect would have followed.
The intellect at once recognises the presence of
intellectual power. The emotions, also, faithfully tell
whenever an emotional power is brought to bear upon
them ; and no less surely does the conscience of a
man feel when a moral power comes acting upon it.
In unconverted men a singular conflict goes on :
they share the admiration which every man feels for
moral power, — an admiration which none can help
feeling, even though he be so wedded to his sins, that
he is lashed into enmity when the action of such a
power makes him fear that, after all, he will be
converted into a saint ; yet this feeling is combated by
the natural aversion which men have for everything
that crosses their earthly inclinations, and tends to
230 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
lead their affections to holy things. On the one hand,
they feel that the man who preaches to them ought to
be able to disturb them in their evil ways, as by a
voice and a call from their Maker; and they are
drawn towards him who has this character. On the
other hand, they desire to continue longer in worldly
ways ; and it is comfortable to them, and welcome
when, instead of a trumpet peal which would break
their slumbers, they hear a pleasant song that will
help them to sleep on. With the great majority
these latter feelings prevail, and, according as their
own inclinations and training lead, they seek in the
public ordinances of God's house either what they
call an intellectual treat, or what they consider a well-
performed and creditable solemnity.
With one class, the highest ideal of a Christian
service seems to be, that nothing should pass that
could, by any possibility, offend the taste
The Highest . ' . . , • i i i
Ic/eai of a ^^ ^^7 "uman bemg who might look
Christian upon the whole scene as an assembly for
Service. some dignified purpose. As to the
pulpit, their great desire is, that the pulpit should
" behave itself ; " and in this country of ours many a
service may be found which is —
*' Faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly null."
That is, " faultless " in such eyes,—" faultless," if the
idea of a Christian service be not a scene of penitence.
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 231
fervent prayer, bursting adoration; a triumph of
spiritual power ; an assembly the atmosphere of
which breathes of living souls and the present Spirit
of God, of transgressors awakening, and penitents
finding mercy, and saints standing truly nigh to the
countenance of their Father ; but, instead of all this,
a number of well-dressed people decorously meeting,
and celebrating something that affects no one, and
coolly listening to something not formed to affect any
one, and, above all, not formed to offend any man,
except him who wants to feel his own soul, and see
the souls of his neighbours, moved to their depths as
by a call from above.
The sanctuary of God ought, undoubtedly, to be
the highest scene and model of propriety ; the pulpit
to be its foremost and most shining example. He
who, under any pretext, introduces trifling, oddity, or
coarseness there, strikes fearfully at a main support
of power, — true reverence. However offensive want
of propriety may be elsewhere, it is doubly so in the
house of God. But the united praying of Christians,
the delivering of a message from above, and the
mingling of thankful voices in praise to the Most
High, like all other peculiar actions, have a propriety
of their own ; and of all improprieties, none is more
thoroughly alien to them than that, be it what it may,
— whether stiff form or elaborate literature, — which
gives to the place a savour rather of the wisdom of
232 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
man than of the power of God. At a marriage
feast the solemnity proper to a funeral would be an
impropriety. In a company of friends the precision
of military movement would be improper. The noise
of instruments is propriety in a concert, the sound of
grinding in a mill, the clatter of shuttles in a factory,
the ring of hammers in a forge, the laughter of
children in a nursery.
And so the house of God has its own atmosphere :
whatever would extinguish the reverent utterance of
penitent or grateful emotion on the part of the simple
and the poor, of the newly awakened or newly
forgiven, — whatever would train all Christian feelings
to move there, in God's own house and in the
assembly of His people, as if under the cold eye of
a heathen world, is a more crying impropriety than
those departures from taste which not only might
flow, but must flow, from the utterance of feelings,
where any multitude, composed of all classes, is
deeply aflected. When the noble idea of Christian
propriety gives place to the paltry idea of properness,
— when intense reverence and love and joy, meeting
and stirring the breasts of a multitude, are distasted,
and men are set on having everything square, well
cut, and arranged beforehand, then we have little
right to expect the highest of all proprieties, — the
breaking of sinful hearts as if in pieces under the
hammer of God's word, and the cry of awakened
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 233
sinners, " What must we do to be saved ? " In fact,
many who call themselves Christians, and whose
claim we readily allow, would regard the utterance
of such a cry in the house of God as not less improper
than if raised in a theatre. The people may say,
" Amen," if it be just by rule ; may murmur response,
if just where good men, long since dead, marked,
" Respond here ; " but anything like the pentecostal
scene, — any general outburst of penitent emotion, —
would be intolerable ; and even to see a solitary man,
" unlearned and unbelieving," feeling himself judged
and condemned, and " falling down upon his face
and worshipping God," would be a disturbance of
propriety, forsooth, because it would make a fracture
in that icy properness wherein a long continuance of
cold has encased many a branch of Christ's Church.
Yet this scene is just as proper to the house of God,
as the crash of a falling tree is to the forest where
the woodman is clearing.
A class very different from those who worship
properness, set up intellectualism as the substitute
r , „ , ,. for power. We are far from wishinsf, in
Intellectualism *• ^
as the any way, to undervalue that great gift
Substitute for of God, mental vigour. Some measure
of this is always implied in the com-
mission to preach the Gospel ; and the more of sense,
pathos, imagination, of any real talent, a Minister may
possess, the more is he fitted to give effect to his
234 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
office. The talk in which some good people indulge
as to the great benefit of having weak instruments
in the ministry, is without a tittle of scriptural
foundation, the Scriptures being fairly applied to the
case.
It is true that, to the wise of this world, the Cross
in itself is " foolishness ; " but Christ never sent fools
to be its heralds. The institution of preaching, as
the means for regenerating mankind, is in itself
" foolishness ; " but none of the preachers sent of
God were simpletons. Though they were despised
by the great, and were of no account with the learned,
everyone of them was mighty through God to strike
home to the consciences of sinners, and to confound
gainsayers ; the evidence ot Divine power working
with them being all the more conspicuous by reason
of their natural or educational defects. Men who
have no gift to teach, warn, or exhort, ought to
betake themselves to whatever honest calling their
Maker has fitted them to fulfil, and not pule about
the Lord delighting to use foolish instruments, while
every day proves that He is in no way using thefHy
unless it be as an example to all not to assume an
office without having proved their fitness. The men
whom God sends may be without the accomplish-
ments of scholars, but never without sense and
utterance. They may be destitute of the talent which
would enable them to treat secular subjects with
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 285
oratorical or literary success, — to allure the fancy, or
exhilarate the emotions, to satisfy by logic, or
illuminate by exposition, but never, never without
power to act upon the conscience ; and this, in the
absence of other endowments, is often at once the
sceptre of a preacher's command, and the mysterious
seal of his commission.
He who speaks to us in the name of our God may
bring statement as lucid and nervous as that of Moses
or Matthew, wisdom as racy as that of Solomon,
pathos as overwhelming as that of Jeremiah or John,
argument as cogent as that of Paul, or imagination
as gorgeous as that of David or Isaiah ; any powers,
however lofty, may he bring, — any eloquence, how-
ever poetic, refined, or bold ; only let him make us
feel, as we always do under the hand of the Prophets
and the Apostles, that all his powers are put in
operation but to bring us nearer to our Redeemer.
Where the notion that the talent employed in
Christian preaching ought to lie within a limited and
humble range, without any high flights, any deep
soundings, any glowing language, any metaphorical
illustrations, or any masculine argument, can have
originated, one would be at a loss to learn, were the
Bible alone — Old Testament and New — the source
of our information. There we see the power of the
Holy Spirit, not allying itself with one order of mind,
or with one stamp of composition, tamed down to a
236 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
standard of properness, consecrated by the aesthetics
of some small and proper men, but using every faculty
that God ever gave to the human soul, — every faculty
of thought, illustration, and speech, — hallowing by
its fire all genius, all life, and all nature, touching
everything and illuminating everything ; so that there
is not one scene of domestic life, and not one object
of God's outer world, to which the tongue of Psalmist
or Prophet, or the Great Teacher Himself, has not
given a voice, and made it speak to us in sacred
poetry. From the grass beneath the mower's scythe,
or the lily that a child has plucked, — from the bride-
groom's beaming face, or the nursing mother's bosom,
— up to the lightning, the sun, and the stars, every-
thing is hallowed by a ray from the Bible, and is
hung round by its sacred associations.
We cannot but believe that this is the intentional
model, and that men of all orders, with talent of every
possible shade, are meant to be employed in God's
holy ministry ; and that, therefore, any narrower
view, founded either upon the ideal of some prominent
example in one class of preaching, on the taste of a
given age, or on any notion whatever of classic style
and propriety, is but an invention to cramp and
trammel that which must everlastingly be free, — the
utterance of men who come to speak to us of all
things infinite.
On the other hand, that which now-a-days is called
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 237
intellectualism does not appear so much to lie in the
Factitious and possession and exercise of superior
Real Power, powers, as in the art of casting common
things in elaborate moulds, and robing every familiar
truth, which, in a plain garb, all would recognise as
an old friend, in such array that those who do not
look closely may take it for a distinguished stranger.
It is true that thoughts which outgrow the ordinary
stature will naturally drape themselves nobly ; but
all haze, or extravagance, in the style of wise men,
will be in spite of themselves. They will ever use
their best endeavours, first to clear their ideas in
their own minds, and then to render them clear to
others. Often they will expend much labour in
reducing what gushed from their pregnant thoughts,
from its original splendour to something more simple
and perspicuous, something perhaps less calculated
to dazzle, but more calculated to enlighten.
Some intellects are among ordinary ones what a
hothouse is in a garden, — a special shrine which
receives the beams of heaven, through a medium of
crystal, into an atmosphere of high temperature,
within which bloom fruits and flowers that would not
grow in the ordinary ground ; fruits and flowers from
brighter lands, and wondrous in our eyes ; which,
however, though at first nursed there, may, in time,
be naturalised, and become familiar beauties in the
homesteads of thousands. It is manifestly the will
238 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
of Providence to create such intellects ; and even had
we not the Bible to throw light on His design, it
would certainly seem violently improbable that He
should create them only to fringe with flowers the
world's broad and downward way. Some men
always treat richness of style as if it were the result
of effort ; just as if deal, which always owes its colour
to art, were to say to mahogany, or maple, or rose-
wood, " What labour it must have been to produce
all these shadings." No labour whatever ; it is all
in the grain.
At the same time the intellectualism of our day is
something so entirely apart from the exercise of
power of mind, that it seems to us more like an
attempt to invent great intellects, than like an honest
endeavour to put out to the best account such intellect
as God has given. The use of factitious power is to
make common things loom up in misty grandeur,
and the use of real power is to make strong, new,
rare, or vast conceptions clear to the ordinary eye, or
to bring what appeared cold intellectual abstractions
home to the common heart. If viewed only as a
specimen of natural power, how wonderful the effect
of that one stroke by which the simplest man in
Christendom, from the time of our Lord down to this
day, has been enabled to see in the fair drapery of a
lily a pledge of providential care for his clothing, and
to hear, in the glee-chirp of a sparrow, a pledge of
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 239
the same care in feeding him and his children. What-
ever is used with a view to clear Divine truth to men's
conceptions, to enforce Divine law on the conscience,
or to commend Divine love to their hearts, that will
the Spirit work with and quicken ; but whatever is
used merely to excite surprise or admiration at the
powers of the speaker, must be forsaken by that sacred
Power which moves, never to glorify one man in the
eye of another, but to reveal the things of God to
His wandering creatures.
It is very probable that not a few deceive them-
selves by Burke's idea of sublimity, to the effect that
a clear idea is but another name for a little idea ; a
notion which he supports by quoting the vision of
Eliphaz, and ascribing the sense of the sublime which
that description at once conveys, to the haze and
mystery wherewith the subject is invested. But he
loses sight of the cardinal fact, that the mystery lies
not in the medium, but in the object. In language
clear as the light of heaven, that object is presented
to the mind ; and, gazing through that pure and
illuminated medium, we see what can be seen of the
object. That is only enough to tell us that it is
no ordinary thing, but some mysterious being, an
index of a whole world of invisible spirits : and this
it is which carries with it the idea of the awful and
the infinite, and, therefore, of the sublime. Had he
said that complete comprehension in our mind argued
240 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
a finite object, he would undoubtedly have been
correct; but, in order that our impression of the
infinity of an object may be deep, some token of
infinity must be clear.
Let those, then, who would wield a power over us
present to our minds objects so great, if they will,
that we can only catch a glimpse of some lower or
hinder part, but let that glimpse be such as to convey
to us an intimation of the whole as clearly as any
stray flash of morning light carries with it the whole
idea of sun and sky. Let their great thoughts be
robed in any language, however simple, or however
gorgeous, provided only that it be clear, that the
medium obscure not our view of the object to be seen,
and so confuse our sense either of its nature or
dimensions ; and provided also it be plain, that their
ruling idea is not a literary but a religious one,
not to " acquit themselves well," and please their
audience, but to produce instant and lasting religious
impressions. Let them bring before our souls the
heights, the depths, the lengths, the breadths of God's
revealed glories ; and, whether they be plain in style
as the homeliest peasant who passes our door, without
one poetic idea in his mind, or one poetic phrase in
his vocabulary, except those that his Bible has given
to him, — and many such plain men will ever be
employed in the most eminent and glorious works of
God, — or whether all their expressions have the glow
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH, 241
of superhuman fervour, or the lustre of superhuman
imagination, rivalling, in its wealth of imagery, in its
purple, its scarlet, its gold, its precious stones, its
frankincense, and its myrrh, the Prophets of old, they
will produce upon us healthy effects, will feed our
spirits with angels' food, or enamour our contempla-
tions with God's providence, His work of grace, or His
eternal mansions provided for those who love Him.
We repeat it, that it is not from any peculiar style,
whether it be extreme plainness, or high elaboration,
., _, - or what else, that we expect the ministry
No Style or ^ ^ ^
Talent to acquire a world-renewing power. Let
Effecttiai in the Style be ruled by every man's natural
^^■'' endowments ; but, whatever these be, let
them all be employed in the one direction of carrying
out an embassy from God to the souls of sinful men.
The greater the variety of talent and of style, the
more will the pulpit be like the Bible, — the more
effectually will its work be done ; but let no form of
talent be ever accepted instead of power. For we
must have power, — power which the godly will
welcome, as meet to minister grace to the hearers, —
power which the ungodly will fear, as certain to make
them uncomfortable in their sins, or else force them
to harden their hearts, as if they were refusing the
voice of God.
Take away from the Minister spiritual power, and,
though you give us the fairest deportment, the richest
i6
242 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
eloquence, the most subtle and fascinating speculation,
you leave us without any sense that we are hearkening
to a man of God. Did the multitudes of the Christian
Church only set a due estimate upon this, and rank
propriety and intellectualism in their proper place,
the idea that a man could pass creditably as a
Minister merely by carefully performing a ceremony,
or by weaving webs of curious and cunning language,
would be as far from men's minds as is now the idea
that one can obtain credit as a soldier without courage,
as a painter without skill of hand, or as a musician
without an instinct of tune.
The lowest effect (for less is no effect at all, or a
negative one) which a Christian Minister can produce,
is merely to please his audience ; next to that ranks
astonishing them : for both of these effects terminate
in himself; and when a certain amount of admiration
has been expended upon him, the whole harvest of his
labour is reaped, — a poor and scanty harvest, sufificing
only to pass over the present hour, but yielding no
seed for future sowing, no store for time to come.
The creature who covets and earns the reward of being
counted " an acceptable Preacher," — a miserable
praise, fit only for an impotent and soulless discourser,
— but shakes no sinner's heart, brings back to no
father's arms a prodigal son, cheers no mother's soul
by the conversion of her children, nor ever makes a
believer feel that his preaching has formed a new and
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 248
happy era in his spiritual life, may spin fine para-
graphs for the winding-sheet of souls that are dying
under his hands ; may perform over dead souls the
solemnities of " Christian burial ; " but when the body
dies too, and then when the trumpet sounds, and the
graves are opened, what reward will crown his
resurrection ?
As no variety of talent is effectual for the ends of
the ministry without spiritual power, so, when
Every Form of accompanied by that power, every form
Talent Effec- Qf talent is. The refined are ready to
tual when
Acco^npanied demand a certain chastened style, in
by spiriiuai which, above all things, there shall be no
Power. extravagance, either in composition or in
delivery. On the other hand, the poor are slow to
recognise power unless it be accompanied by strength
of voice and physical vehemence. Some will admit
of little value in what is only exhortational or
declamatory ; others, again, cannot imagine that close
argument, though it may enlighten, shall ever awaken
or convert : and thus most persons are in danger of
forming a narrow ideal circle, within which they would
have the Spirit to co-operate with the agency of man.
We are often told with great earnestness what
IS the best style for preaching ; but the fact is,
that what would be the very best style for one
man, would perhaps be the worst possible for another.
In the most fervid declamation, the deepest principles
2U THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
may be stated and pressed home ; in the calmest and
most logical reasoning, powerful motives may be
forced close upon the feelings ; in discussing some
general principle, precious portions of the text of
Scripture may be elucidated ; and in simple exposition,
general principles may be effectually set forth. Let
but the powers given to any man play with their full
force, aided by all the stores of Divine knowledge
which continuous acquisitions from its fountain and its
purest channels can obtain for him, and, the fire being
present, — the fire of the Spirit's power and influence,
— spiritual effects will result.
The discussion about style amounts very much to a
discussion whether the rifle, the carbine, the pistol, or
the cannon, is the best weapon. Each is best in its
place. The great point is, that every one shall use
the weapon best suited to him, that he charge it well,
and see that it is in a condition to strike fire. The
criticisms which we often hear amount to this : We
admit that such-an-one is a good exhortational
preacher, or a good doctrinal preacher, or a good
practical preacher, or a good expository preacher j but
because he has not the qualities of another, — qualities,
perhaps, the very opposite of his own, — we think
lightly of him. That is, we admit that the carbine is
a good carbine ; but because it is not a rifle, we
condemn it ; and because the rifle is not a cannon, we
condemn it.
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 245
Nothing can more directly tend to waste of power,
than the attempt to divert the mind from its natural
course of action into one for which it is unfitted.
Instead of resorting to this with the idea of forming
all after some pre-conceived model, it would be better
to teach all to recognise in the variety of individual
character another proof of the manifold wisdom of
God.
Sometimes it is remarkable how small an amount
of intellectual or literary power is combined with con-
siderable, or even commanding, spiritual power. A
man who by natural talent would impress an audience
less than most men, yet by the superior unction of the
Spirit may produce religious impressions, and raise
up religious fruit, such as wiser and greater men
might envy. Possessing this, his other defects are of
comparatively little importance. A general may have
many defects in his character, temper, and habits,
without losing command over his men ; but if his
defects be unsoldierly, — if, above all, he lacks courage,
then inevitably does his control over them decline.
So a statesman may have a thousand defects not
directly affecting statesmanship, and yet retain his
ascendancy over the mind of the nation ; but let him
show a lack of political sagacity, and at once his
ascendancy is gone. So if a Minister of the Gospel
be justly described as " dry ; " that is, if he give
godly and candid hearers the impression that he
246 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
habitually delivers Divine truths without any unction
which either moves his own soul, or those of others,
the fault is fatal. It is what cowardice is in a soldier,
folly in a statesman, or lameness in a runner. The
hold of such an one upon the conscience must hope-
lessly pass away. Rather let us have the man of
humblest talent, or of plainest education, who can
speak to us a word at which the soul within us thrills,
than one who possesses no such power, though he can
wTestle with every prejudice, or excite and fascinate
every faculty.
The power of which we speak being neither more
nor less than the co-operation of the Holy Spirit
The Word of with the preacher, that which is essential
Life, the Sole ^q j^g presence must lie, first, in the state
Conductor
of the Divine ^^ ^^ preacher s heart ; secondly, in the
Fire. staple of his discourse. There must be
a soul itself in communion with the Holy One, and
there must be rays of truth, — God's own truth
radiated from that soul to others, along which the
Spirit's secret influence may be communicated from
heart to heart. The preacher must first imbibe the
Divine fire, and then hold it in his heart, as a Leyden
jar will hold the invisible electricity ; and, this done,
he must have a conductor to communicate it to those
who are before him. Unless the truth of God be
uttered, and aimed in the right direction, aimed at
the auditory, at their conscience, whether through
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 247
the avenue of the imagination, the understanding,
or the emotions, even had he himself the power
of the Spirit, he could not convey it to others.
There is but one conductor, and that is the word
of Life.
Suppose that a person wishing to send a message
from London to Edinburgh by lightning, knows how
to construct an electric battery ; but when he comes
to consider how he will transmit the impulse through
hundreds of miles, he looks at an iron wire, and says,
" This is dull, senseless, cold, has no sympathy with
light ; it is unnatural, in fact, irrational, to imagine
that this dark thing can convey a lightning message
in a moment." From this he turns and looks at a
prism. It glows with the many-coloured sunbeam.
He might say, " This is sympathetic with light," and
in its flashing imagine that he saw proof that his
message would speed through it ; but when he puts
it to the experiment, it proves that the shining prism
will convey no touch of his silent fire, but that the
dull iron will transmit it to the farthest end of the
land. And so with God's holy truth alone. It is
adapted to carry into the soul of man the secret fire
which writes before the inner eye of the soul a message
from the unseen One in the skies. Other proposed
conductors may flash more in the showy light, but
they will not convey the invisible fire.
Again we repeat, that this fire may be combined
248 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
with any form of talent, and with any style of com-
Men Imbued position. Who has not seen a tranquil
with Divine man, whose tones seldom rose to passion,
Power. 2^jj^ never went beyond the severest
taste ; whose thought, demeanour, phrases, all
breathed a gentle and quiet spirit ; and yet, with the
placid flow of instruction or exposition, a heavenly
influence silently stole along, stole into the veins of
the heart, diffusing a sacred glow, a desire to be
holier, a sense of nearness to God, a refreshing of all
the good principles within you, a check and a restraint
on all the evil ? Again, you have seen a man who
begins by some calm argument, passes to another
point, closely reasoned, which again leads him to
another well-pointed stroke at some error or prejudice ;
no by-play of imagination, no home-thrust to your
heart, but one steady grapple with your intellect, —
a discourse which would be pronounced " dry," were
it not for a mysterious power which accompanies it,
not in the sentences, not in the syllogisms, not in the
action, not in the tones, but a spirit infused through
it all, that makes reasoning turn into a spiritual
power, and seems to put God's law into your mind,
and, at the same time, to write it upon your heart.
Again, you see a man who at once begins with
pictures, and from history, from nature, from the
Bible, from science, he strikes up before you a suc-
cession of bewitching or affecting scenes, playing with
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 249
your fancy all the while as a poet might play with it ;
and yet every picture carries some sacred impulse to
your soul, and leaves a moral lesson and moral
strength behind. Another man moves simply on in
a straightforward statement of some great doctrine,
opening out its various branches, defining, setting
guards upon his definition, shading from possible
misconception, setting up fine distinctions, and
seeming occupied principally with putting a truth
into a compact and portable shape in your mind ;
but somehow this one truth, which he thus explains
and defines, rouses within your breast the voices of
all other truths, and evokes an appeal from every
sacred thing you ever knew in favour of holy living.
Another assumes that you know all that need be
known ; and, seizing upon the truths that are within
you, upon your conscience with its light, upon your
fear, or hope, or love, on your instinct of self-preserva-
tion, or on some other of the deathless principles of
your nature, he pours upon you a succession of fervid
declamation, exhorting you to that which is right ;
giving nothing to enlarge your knowledge, nothing
to feed or even to exercise your reasoning powers,
nothing to enrich the stores of your fancy, or to
perfect your conceptions of truth : and yet his
declamation brings a holy power which commands
you more than the might of strong-minded men ;
and good resolutions and hopes that have often been
250 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
vanquished in days gone by, rise up again at the
voice of this simple man, and you follow him to the
feet of the Saviour.
Come, then, with what voice thou wilt come, thou
power-clad messenger of my Redeemer. Come
with thunder on thy tongue, or with a sweet " harp
of ten strings ; " come to us simple as a little
child, or wise as a scribe instructed of God ; but
oh ! let us only feel in thy message that fire which
lies not in sentences, nor in tones, but in a heart
itself inflamed from above, and pouring fire into our
hearts.
Just as we find all these types of men imbued with
Divine power, so do we find every one of them
y,, „ destitute of it. You have the gentle man.
Types of Men far away from anything extravagant,
Destitute of the never bringing upon himself one word of
blame, or giving to his auditory one
feeling of trouble ; but oh ! how drearily years and
years pass over him ! — precious years, yet no souls are
converted, no flocks grow larger ; the field where he
labours is never white unto the harvest, and it is
always sowing time with him ! Very probably he is
content with this, and will tell you that in his sphere,
though there is nothing extraordinary going forward,
things are encouraging. Placidly does he pass on,
although he knows well, and all who mark his course
know well, that for long, long years it would be hard
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 251
to say what spiritual life has flourished under his
hand. So, again, you nriay find the reasoner, clear,
cogent, and forcible, enlisting you on his side, perhaps
exciting you on his side, perhaps exciting you against
everything which opposes his system ; but no sinners
are turned into saints by his reasoning ; yet he reposes
well pleased upon the miserable result of having
argued his point ably, — an advocate who has shown
the jury that he is a master of law, but has lost his
client's life. And you may find the expositor, who
will open up paragraph after paragraph with rare
subtlety of analysis, while his auditory learn some-
thing of the word of God, and so far become more
prepared to be good Christians, if once converted ;
but with his exposition no converting power ever
comes : perhaps, indeed, he does not think that it is
his calling to convert sinners. You may also find the
man of imagination, who plays brilliantly upon the
various instruments of nature and of science. His
auditory are dazzled, perhaps enraptured ; but who
among them goes home to his closet to seek his
Saviour, or rises up in after life to bless the preacher ?
He was sent to fight, but he played off fireworks
before the enemy, and, instead of fleeing or falling,
they only said, " How grand ! " The declaimer you
may hear too, whose exhortations run apparently to
the one point of producing a practical result ; you
have vociferation, and the swell and throe of great
252 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
vehemence ; but it is like the hollow report of a
cannon without shot.
This absence of power is sometimes so clear that
the soul that has come to the house of God seeking
bread, painfully feels that it is getting but a stone ;
and never is that feeling so painful as when all that
ought to attend upon spiritual power is there, — the
truth, well understood and well stated, — all the linea-
ments and outward form that would lead us to expect
life, but, when we draw near, there is no breath in it.
Sometimes one may see that this soulless thing is not
a wax figure which never breathed, but a corpse
from which the life has gone. The truths, now uttered
with such impotence, once thrilled through men as
they fell from those lips ; the appeals which now
grate, like a chime of cracked bells, once carried
multitudes before them. In days gone by many rose
up to bless this man as a messenger of God : to-day
his words are as a tale twice told. Perhaps, conscious
of the loss of the real power, he endeavours to com-
pensate for it by a greater force of physical oratory,
spurring himself to impetuosity, or swelling to lofty
and solemn impressiveness ; but it is only as when a
ship in a calm makes her sails bulge by rolling ; they
flap and rustle, but there is no strength in them, as
when filled by the silent wind they bore the vessel
onward.
Every one of the effects flowing from the operation
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 253
of spiritual power in the ministry is indescribably
precious : and it must be grievous to
All Effects of ^ ' ^ , .
Ministerial God, as it is manifestly mjunous to
Power man, to underrate any kind of fruit.
Precious. q^^ professes to be so bent on attaining
progress in the spiritual life, that preaching which is
effectual only to the conversion of sinners, is to him
elementary and poor. Another is so exclusively
occupied with the dark condition of the unsaved, that
preaching which tends only to ripen the holiness of
those already converted, is to him beside the mark.
One specially looks for preaching which will tell upon
the young ; and another for what will content men of
years and experience. But every one ought to learn
that each variety of usefulness is far too estimable to
be lightly dealt with. He who is in any way used as
an instrument to benefit the souls of any of my
fellow-pilgrims here, ought to be cherished by my
heart as a precious friend of my own.
Where real spiritual power exists, it will not be
wholly confined to one class of effects. He who leads
on believers to brighter holiness, will surely lead
sinners to see somewhat of the sinfulness of their sins ;
and he who is the means of turning a sinner from the
error of his ways, is the means, in that very act, of
aiding the progress of all those around him : for each
one detached from the world and ranked on the side
of godliness, becomes a help to the general cause of
Christianity in the land.
264 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
In our own age and nation, we feel no hesitation in
saying, that the particular form of spiritual power for
The Power of ^^^^h we have most crying need, is that
Bringing Men whereby men who know the truth are
to Decision, brought to the point of deciding for God,
and setting out in earnest on the way to heaven. We
are in danger of labouring as if the ground still needed
to be sown ; while the fields are white unto the
harvest, and need but a reaper. We are in danger of
preaching as if the people were either all serving God,
or were all so far away from the possibility of being
converted soon, that they must be approached as from
a distance, and principles laid down and left to work
which may bring forth fruit after some long time ;
whereas the fact is, that everywhere the ground is
sown. We meet with comparatively few men in
whose minds there is not enough of truth to awaken
their conscience and point them towards the Cross,
were that truth only brought home to their hearts
with power. Men fitted as instruments to use what
the people believe and know, in order to bring them
to a decision for God, are those whom the interests of
our generation most loudly call for. Taught by
Christianity, but led captive by sin, men are going
downward by thousands and tens of thousands, — at
once in the light and in the dark, knowing their
Master's will, but doing it not, — downward to the
punishment of many stripes. He, then, who can
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 256
bring those multitudes to stop and think, to feel what
they believe, to act on what they feel, to cry, " Lord,
save me, I perish," he is most distinguished and
most blessed of all the servants whom the Master
honoureth.
To heal the leper, to open the eyes of the blind, to
make the lame walk, and the paralytic strong, were
great and blessed works ; but all these sufferers were
living men ; and great as was the work of healing
them, to raise the dead was greater far. Blessed are
ye among men, whom our Lord and Master honours
to help, or heal, or restore any of those souls which
are living, but not in perfect soundness ; but trebly
blessed art thou, my brother, whose joyful lot it is to
stretch thy soul over a soul that is dead, as Elisha
stretched himself over the dead son of the Shunammite,
and to raise it up breathing and calling upon God !
Oh for a thousand men imbued with converting power !
Better they than ten thousand times the number,
however gifted, however learned, however pleasing,
who are destitute of that crowning grace of the
messenger of God !
Our Lord said, "He that believeth on Me, the
works that I do shall he do also ; yea, and greater
works than these shall he do, because I go to My
Father." By " greater works," He could not mean
more wonderful miracles ; for the wonders wrought
by His own hands had reached the limits of possibility.
256 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Greater miracles than raising the dead, and making
the winds and the seas obey Him, were not to be
performed. Besides, the " greater works " to be done
are shown to have some special character from this,
that they are to exist in connexion with a new order
of things, " Because I go to My Father." We are at
no loss as to that which was specially dependent on
His ascension. It was the baptism of the Holy
Spirit. And we may therefore reasonably conclude,
that the " greater work " than all the other works
which could be done, was that work which He Him-
self from heaven announced to His servant Paul, as
the purpose of his mission, " To open their eyes, and
to turn them from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan unto God, that they may receive
forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them
which are sanctified by faith that is in Me." This
was the end of His own life and death, this was the
crown of His own glory : " Thou shalt call His name
Jesus ; for He shall save His people from their sins"
Only in men actually saved from their sins did His
soul, afflicted and smitten, foresee the fruit of its
travail, wherewith it should be satisfied. Only in
men actually saved from their sins while in the
flesh, while surrounded by temptation, could He
foresee the possibility of glorifying His Father upon
earth, by His own branches bearing much fruit, by
His own life, " The life of Christ, being manifest in
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 267
mortal bodies." Only by this could He see that
which He so dearly purchased, a holy Church formed
out of Adam's fallen sons. Only by this could His
own especial joy, the joy set before Him, the joy of
" bringing many sons to glory," ever be secured. To
this one result His whole work pointed ; upon this all
the interests of His kingdom turned.
No glory of the Eternal One is higher than this,
" Mighty to save ; " no name of Godhead more
adorable than that of " SAVIOUR ; " no place among
the servants of God can be so glorious as that of an
instrument of salvation. " He that winneth souls is
wise." " They that turn many to righteousness shall
shine as the stars for ever and ever." Under the
new dispensation, the Lord's messengers, abundantly
replenished with the Spirit, having the Cross for their
theme, and the baptism of fire for their impulse, were
to go forth as men with whom God would work,
accompanying His word with signs following it.
It was great to cast out devils from the body ; it is
greater to cast them out of souls and out of society.
It was great to heal the sick or to feed the poor ; it
is greater to heal the sources of disease and want, by
turning sinful hearts to purity. He around whom
are continually springing up new converts from sin
to holiness, — he, the sound of whose voice many bless
as having been to them the trump of God, who at the
great day will have for his crown of rejoicing tens,
12
258 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
or hundreds, or thousands, to whom many others
were " teachers," but only he a *' father," — he rises to
such joy and dignity that he may look back upon the
best and most honoured of God's ancient servants,
and feel that, in comparison with them, he has only
to be thankful for his own more blessed lot. He
need not envy Moses his rod, or David his harp, or
Elijah his mantle, or Solomon his wisdom ; for his
own crown and his own prize are the highest to
which man may aspire. How close the servant is
brought to the Master. The Master is Saviour, the
servant the instrument of saving.
When we speak of ministerial power, we are never
to be understood as implying that any amount of
power in the Minister will necessarily
Power in the subdue his hearers. What may be fully
Minister Felt by relied Upon as the result of power
Every Hearer, dwelling in the Minister, is that he will
make every hearer feel that a spiritual power is
grappling with him, and bringing him either to yield
to the voice that warns him, or to set up a conscious
resistance. " Almost thou persuadest me," is the
language of one who can scarcely prevent himself
from yielding to the force that is impelling him
towards Christ. Felix trembled, and said, " Go thy
way for this time ; when I have a convenient season,
I will call for thee." Here is a man consciously
under the impulse of a power which is urging him
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 259
to a result that he dreads ; and, to escape its influence,
he adopts the ordinary plan of "putting off for a
while." But the very awakening of this conscious
resistance, the setting-up of this struggle in the
breasts of men, is in itself a proof of power ; and - he
who can do this, although he will have his Agrippas
and his Felixes over whom to mourn, will undoubtedly
have numbers of others over whom to rejoice.
A farmer who all his lifetime has been sowing, but
never brought one shock of corn safe home ; a
gardener who has ever been pruning and training,
but never brought one basket of fruit away ; a
merchant who has been trading all his life, but never
concluded one year with clear profit ; a lawyer who
has had intrusted to him, for years and years, the
most important causes, and has never carried one ;
the doctor who has been consulted by thousands in
disease, and has never brought one patient back to
health ; the philosopher who has been propounding
principles all his life, and attempting experiments
every day, but has never once succeeded in a demon-
stration ; — all these would be abashed and humiliated
men. They would walk through the world with
their heads low, they would acknowledge themselves
to be abortions, they would not dare to look up
among those of their own professions ; and as for
others regarding them with respect, pity would be
all they could give. Yet, alas ! are there not cases
260 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
to be found wherein men whose calling it is to heal
souls, pass years and years, and seldom, if ever, can
any fruit of their labours be seen ? Yet they hold
up their heads, and have good reasons to give why
they are not useful ; and those reasons generally lie,
not in themselves, but somewhere else, — in the age,
the neighbourhood, the agitation, or the apathy, the
ignorance, or the over-education, the want of Gospel
light, or the commonness of Gospel light, or some
other reason why the majority of those who hear
them should continue unconverted, and why they
should look on in repose, without smiting upon their
breasts, and crying, day and night, to God to breathe
a power upon them whereby they might awaken
those that sleep. Probably they have wise things to
say about the undesirableness of being too anxious
about fruit, and about the advantage of the work
going on steadily and slowly, rather than seeking for
an excitement, and a rush of converts. But while
they are thus dozing, sinners are going to hell.
It is pitiable to see a Minister who has all his life,
when judged by the fruit of his labour, been destitute
Pitiable State °^ ^^^ power of the Spirit; but there is
of Ministers Something even more touching to see,
Destitute of the as, alas ! sometimes we do see, — one who
in his early days had truly a gift of God
in him, becoming weak, like other men, without
unction, and without fruit. The gift, not stirred up,
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 261
has passed away ; the power, not renewed and
renewed again by fresh supplies, has forsaken him.
Perhaps, desirous of more efficiency, he has heaped
up knowledge, — not too much knowledge, for none
can have too much ; but he has not maintained a due
proportion between his acquisitions of knowledge,
and his acquisition of spiritual power. He is like
one who would pour coals upon a feeble fire, with
the idea of making a great one, until the few live
coals were smothered under a black mass. Perhaps
another has gone just to the opposite extreme ; and,
fearing to damp his lively fire, has allowed it to flame
on, without constantly feeding it with truth, and
knowledge, and experience, and thought ; and his
fire has burned out. Perhaps another, beginning to
distrust his simple weapon, which had no adornments,
and could only strike right home, has got for himself
a jewelled sword with a golden blade, but finds that
the edge is turned by the least resistance. Perhaps
another, who used to thunder as a second Baptist,
and make the truths of the eternal law, of the
resurrection, of judgment, and of the world to come,
ring in the ears of slumbering souls with a super-
natural and awakening power, begins to desire some-
thing more alluring, less distressing to the sensitive,
more acceptable to the sedate, more " attractive," as
the phrase is ; and now you may find him an absurd
combination of strength and feebleness, — a gunner
262 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
working heavy guns, but with silver barrels, and
scented powder, and balls of frozen honey.
In the progress of a man's life it will often happen
that great variations appear in his usefulness ; but, if
he walk with God, maintain his integrity, and make
steady progress in knowledge and in faith, although
the form of his usefulness may change, it will never
change into uselessness. When the flush and glow
of youthful ardour disappear, they will be replaced,
not by vapidness or tameness, but by more of the
unction that elevates and hallows. There is a law of
mechanics, the moral counterpart of which we see in
such men, that what is lost in velocity is gained in
power. And yet such men, though they may be
blessed with great usefulness, if they see not con-
versions such as rejoiced their earlier days, will ever
look back with yearning and humiliation. Never
will they fail to honour, above all their brethren,
those whom God honours by making them the
instruments of many conversions, or to covet, with a
coveting more eager than they could feel for any
other distinction, or joy, or gift, the restoration to
them of the power to persuade sinners to be reconciled
to God.
A more pitiable thing cannot be than to see a man
who, himself destitute of ministerial power, not only
is unconscious how miserable a creature he is, but is
even ready to make light of the usefulness of others ;
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 263
and, in his ordinary conversation, to set down those
whom the Lord honours as the instruments of con-
verting sinners, below what he calls " intellectual "
men, fine soliloquizers, or curious speculators, who
deal out dainties from the pulpit, but do no work that
will live when they are dead. This style of depre-
ciating the useful and the earnest, painful in any one,
becomes appalling when it falls from the lips of a
man who at one stage of his own life was remarkably
useful, but who has lost his fire ; and who, instead of
mourning, and seeking to recover it, can even make
light of those who have retained theirs. " It is not
hard to convert servant-maids," and such depreciating
expressions may lightly drop from an unthinking lip,
but they will affect hearers, and will be remembered
in the great day ; and how differently will the two
men appear, — the one whose humble labour has been
the means of converting servant-maids, and the one
whose envy and whose wit were vented in making
light of the work.
O, let those of us whose history too plainly tells that
no extraordinary power of God has rested upon us ;
who can look back to years of labour, which, if not
absolutely barren, yet, in comparison with what others
have reaped, must be called years of barrenness, — let
us not fail to bless and to honour, in our own hearts, those
who have been in the meantime doing us good by the
news that has reached us, every now and then, of the
264 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
fruit of their labour. Above all, let us look back on
our years of barrenness with most tender and contrite
humiliation, crying earnestly to God to take away
our reproach from among men, and to give us many,
many children.
A Minister can never be responsible for success, but
he is responsible for power ; responsible, not only for
presenting the truth to the people, — in
Responsible for ^^^'^h many seem to think that their
Power, not responsibility terminates, — but re-
Success. sponsible also for this, that the truth he
presents be not dry, but accompanied with some
energy of the Spirit. If the Spirit be in the man,
shining upon his soul with the light of God, more or
less of holy fire will go with the word. A frame
having muscular strength, without nervous energy, — a
countenance with linear grace, without expression, — a
needle for the compass, without magnetism, are not
more defective than is the statement of religious truth
without the accompanying power of the Holy Spirit
This power was pre-supposed in the man's first
entrance on the ministry. He stands there by virtue
of his solemn declaration before God and men that he
felt it in his heart ; and he is bound to stir up the
gift of God within him, to keep his lamp trimmed, and
his light burning, and evermore to be replenishing
with holy oil.
This power has but one source, — the Spirit of God
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 265
in the soul of man. It is the one thing that cannot
be feigned. A hypocrite may possess the truth, may
clearly explain, powerfully urge, and passionately
apply it. He may feign tenderness, feign ardour,
feign all the passions, but he cannot feign the power
that searches the conscience, that makes men feel,
*' God is in you of a truth," that leads them in the
silence of their own closets to wet their couch with
their tears, and spend long nights in repenting before
God. You may as well attempt to feign life in a dead
eye, or music in a cracked voice, as to feign the power
of the Holy Spirit in a soul that does not habitually
wait at the throne of grace, until endued with power
from on high.
Those of us who are manifestly not endued with
great power, who cannot flatter ourselves that any one
looks upon us as blessed messengers of God, or in any
light higher than that of well meaning and useful men,
by whose ministry, perhaps, now and then, at rare
intervals, such a thing may be heard of as a sinner
being converted, and who yet feel disinclined to take
any blame to our own heart on account of our barren-
ness, can best judge how much time has been spent in
our closets, in deploring the state of the souls that are
perishing under our sight, in strong crying and tears
to God for their deliverance, in importuning and
imploring that we might be robed with power, and
made mighty to blow an awakening blast, and rescue
multitudes from the grasp of the devil.
266 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
We can, each one for himself, best tell whether or
not the results of our labours do very fairly correspond
with the depth, intensity, and continuity of our
secret search after the co-working fire of the Spirit.
If on a review it should appear clear to us that far,
far more might have been done in our private walk
with God towards having our own souls imbued with
the Spirit of Christ and of Christ's Apostles, then let
each of us conclude for himself, whether much more
might or might not have been done to '* save those
that hear him." And should the conclusion on our
mind be clear that more might have been done, much
more, — that it ought to have been done, — that we are
verily guilty by reason of supineness, of unbelief, of
feeble and ineffectual prayer, of duplicity in our aim,
or of any other defect in the keeping our own souls as
God's ambassadors, let our penitence be deep, our cry
for forgiveness pressing and earnest ; but not for one
moment let it take that form which strangely unnerves
and debilitates a man, namely, the state of mind in
which one takes pleasure in talking of his own feeble-
ness and un worthiness, or, at least, finds sufficient
relief in talking of it. Rather let us feel sure that the
God of grace and mercy will hearken to our voice, will
answer our prayer, will forgive our past unfaithfulness,
will draw near to us with new and gracious power, will
enable us to go forth as giants refreshed with new
wine, to bear away from the arms of the adversary, in
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 267
triumph and with shouting, many a lamb that is ready-
to be torn to pieces.
We cannot be content to look upon the Minister of
this actual hour as anything less, in the intention of
" We are our God and Saviour, than an instrument
Ambassadors " of the mighty power of God," — the
for Christ. power which is unto salvation. We do
not expect the gift of tongues or of miracles, because
these were not essential to the work of the ministry ;
but the active co-operation, the abiding unction of the
Holy Spirit is. If we were forced to believe either
that all the primitive manifestations of the Spirit were
now attainable, or that all had now passed away, we
would a thousand times rather look for the tongues
and the miracles, with the gift of prophesying, than
dismiss the hope of this last with that of the other
gifts. Better the excess of faith, a thousand times
better and more rational, than unbelief in any promise
that stands clearly for all generations. Better to
suppose that the Lord designed every sign and every
token of His presence to continue with His Church to
the last ; than suppose that they were all to be called
back, and that the Christians of the latter day were to
suffer a total privation of the Holy Spirit's ministerial
gifts.
We will covet, earnestly covet, the Lord's good gift
of prophesying ; and we will covert, also, the " mani-
festation of the Spirit to profit withal," not only in the
263 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Pastors of the Church, but in the members, giving to
one the word of wisdom, to another the word of
knowledge, to another the spirit of grace and of
supplications, that men with fire in their hearts may
go everywhere, and publicly or privately preach the
word, the Lord working with them, and confirming
the word by signs following. Let us look up and
hope to see, not one, or two, or three, not merely an
occasional and extraordinary man, shining in the
churches as with a light from on high ] but let us
soberly, and steadily, and in prayer, expect companies
of preachers, each differing from his brethren, yet all
of them manifesting in some form or another that an
anointing from the Holy One abides upon them,
teaches them in all things, and enables them to appear
before men, not only saying in words, but by their
commending fruits saying to the conscience, " Now
then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God
did beseech you by us : we pray you in Christ's stead,
be ye reconciled to God." One such man is better
than a thousand, and two of them will put ten
thousand to flight.
VIIL — The Converting Influence of the Holy Spirit,
Intimately connected with the question of minis-
terial power is another vital question, — whether or not
The OnePrac' ^^ Church is to retain the converting
tical End of influence of the Holy Spirit on anything
Christianity, \^q ^^ Original scale. Here, again, we
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 269
do not confine ourselves to combatting formally stated
opinions, but deal with vague, undefined, unexpressed,
or but half expressed, sentiments, not embodied in the
creed of any Church, but perceptible in the ordinary
tone equally of religious conversation, literature, and
preaching. Is it not a prevalent state of feeling, that
to look for a very large number of conversions at once
is extravagant ; that for any Minister to expect a
great many to be converted while he is delivering the
sermon then in hand, argues a mind scarcely balanced ;
that sudden conversions have much to be said against
them ; that we ought to be content if the work of God
proceed slowly, and to be elated if the good men of
any community bear some respectable proportion to
the numbers who forget God ?
It is manifest that the conversions effected by the
primitive Church were very numerous, compared with
her agencies and facilities ; varying greatly in different
times and places, but, in the main, going onward with
accumulative power. The difference between the
conversion of a Jew to the faith and holiness of the
Gospel, and the conversion of a nominal Christian to
the same faith and holiness, is a difference, not of
kind, but of degree ; and the degree is not so great
as might at first sight be supposed. The Jew believed
the oracles of God, and the truths therein contained,
as far as he knew them. So does the nominal
Christian. Both hold the truth in unrighteousness.
270 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
— the unrighteousness of frank rebellion, or of
Pharisaical self-righteousness. Both are brought to
learn God's love in redeeming man, to repent, to
believe on the crucified Messiah as their Saviour, and
to walk in fellowship with the Father and the Son.
The conversion of a Heathen involved much more
of intellectual enlightenment, and, on the whole,
presented a greater difficulty, and a greater change ;
but we do not find that the Apostles ever point out
any difference in the operation of the Spirit in the
conversion of a Jewish Scribe, and of a heathen
necromancer, of a Roman Centurion, and of a widow
in Jerusalem. The same mighty power convinced
them all of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment,
and brought them to a level by the wounds of a
smitten spirit : then — like those with various maladies,
who all came to Christ, and were all healed — came
barbarian and Scythian, bond and free, Jew and
Greek, learned and unlearned.
If we take the hundred and twenty disciples of
whom the Church consisted on the Day of Pentecost,
and then take the number of Christians before the
first century was ended, we see how ** mightily grew
the word of God, and prevailed." Then suppose, for
one moment, the possibility that, by the same spiritual
power, the Church had multiplied her converts in
equal ratio : few ages would have elapsed before the
whole earth would have been renewed in righteous-
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 271
ness. But the saint-making power abated ; and
crowds of Christians became little better, though still
better, than crowds of Heathen. Was this loss of
efficiency owing to the unfaithfulness of men, and,
therefore, capable of being recovered by a return to
the original means of importunate prayer and strong
faith ? or was it owing to a design of the Head of the
Church, and therefore irrecoverable ?
On a question so vital to the interests of mankind,
no mind ought to float on the prevailing current
without adopting a deliberate conviction. Was the
conversion of thousands in Jerusalem, of crowds in
Ephesus, in Samaria, Antioch, Corinth, Rome, and
elsewhere, a proof, once for all, of what God could do
towards the saving of this lost world, which He
designed never to repeat, and which His children
would be presumptuous in expecting to see again ?
Were those multitudes, so speedily gathered out of
the world, to represent, in future ages, only small
companies of true believers, to whom accessions were
to be very gradual, and who were never to gain the
overwhelming majority ? If so, then the Christian
dispensation was deliberately planned above to begin
in sunrise, but, instead of shining more and more to
the perfect day, speedily to pale into twilight ; and
then darken to a long, long night, in which stars
would thinly spangle a wide space of gloom.
Would not many who recoil from this conclusion
272 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
Stare at a man having a congregation of a thousand
people before him, any one of whom would feel
perplexed if you asked him, " Could you confidently
lay your hand on fifty persons in this congregation
who are living like heirs of heaven ? " — if he, simply
telling them their state, would go on to say, that they
might all that very morning become children of God,
and live for "the rest of tbeir time" a new and
blessed life ? Were it done with the official formality
which at once indicated that it was just a thing
proper to be believed, and even to be said now and
then, very probably it would excite no remark ; but
if it were done with the downright air of a man who
thoroughly meant what he said, and was then and
there looking for corresponding results, would not
many be startled ? But why ? If it be not true that
God has withdrawn from Christianity the converting
power of the Holy Ghost, why ? Either affirm your
principle, or abandon the habit of thought which you
have formed on the assumption of that principle. If
you see that there is death to the Church, or death
to souls, in the principle, why not see that there is
death, too, in assuming it, and acting upon it, as
clearly announced, without affirming it ?
Some who would be gratified to see an expectation
of one conversion, or of a few, would nevertheless be
disturbed by the manifest expectation of a great
number. Why should this be? If the Minister of
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 273
the Gospel is not now to go before a multitude with
a frank and earnest assurance that every one of them
who will only repent and believe may " receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost/' it must be because our dis-
pensation has been fearfully changed since its opening.
The first multitude who stood before a preacher of
Christianity can never be regarded as representing
itself alone. When the cry arose from it, " What
must we do } " it was not the men then present only
who inquired. It was you, and I, and every man
who ever comes to a preacher of the Gospel to hear
what he has to say on the great subject of our
salvation. The answer which Peter rendered to that
multitude was not to them alone, but to us and to
our children, to all, of every age and every nation, who
put the question which they put. That answer was,
" Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost!' He does
not promise them that they should be admitted as
members of the Church merely, accounted Christians
merely, or that after death they shall inherit eternal
happiness ; but, in plain strong words, he tells them
that they shall receive that blessing which constitutes
the substance of the Gospel : " Ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost;" and this, not ^^ some of
you," but " every one of you," with no condition what-
ever but that they " repent, and be baptized."
274 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Is it to be supposed that Peter would have altered
this reply, had you, and I, and our children been
there ? or that, had the image of future generations
risen to his eye as standing behind those he addressed
and represented by them, he would have qualified his
grand promise, and taken care to falter something
guarded, instead of plainly saying, " Ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost ? " Let those who fear to
regard this promise as equally applicable to us as to
them, only read the words with which he follows it
up : " For 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." On the next occasion
when he addresses a multitude, he holds this language :
" Unto you first, God, having raised up His Son Jesus,
sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of
you from his iniquities^ Here the converting grace
of Christ is without hesitation proclaimed to all who
stand before him.
It is to be remarked that what he here states to be
Christ's mode of blessing men lies in conversion itself,
in the " turning away " of a man " from his iniquities/*
Whatever the Gospel may do indirectly for the
enlightenment and elevation of a man, so long as he
continues the servant of sin, it has conferred upon
him no eternal advantage. " His servants ye are to
whom ye obey,'' is a word that must stand for ever.
He that is still doing the work of Satan is his servant.
FERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 276
and with him must take his reward. And it is also
notable that he speaks of Jesus having been sent to
bless them after He had been raised ; thus announcing
a mission of Christ subsequent to His resurrection,
yet having already taken place in those days. This
must be that presence of Christ which He promised
them when He was about to depart from them, saying,
in the very act of leaving them, " I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world.''
"With them," no longer in that body which
confined Him to the very spot in which the Twelve
were, but " with them " by the power of His Spirit,
which is represented in the Apocalypse as the *' eyes
of the Lamb." " And I beheld, and lo, in the midst
of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the
seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." i
Here we have the Lamb enthroned, yet "as slain,"
with the tokens of death and atonement upon Him ;
yet, again, "having seven horns," the signs of
universal kingship, "and seven eyes, which are the
seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth."
Majesty, mediation, and spiritual presence " through-
out all the earth," are here gloriously set before us ;
and the Lamb, though no longer bodily present with
I Rev. V. 6.
276 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
one group of disciples, is present with all, by His
Spirit, which is moving in the hearts of those who
serve Him, as if it were the glance of the Lord. He
ascended that He might be with us all and with us
always, just as a Prince, on the eve of the battle,
would retire from any one division of his army, and
go above them, that he might be present with all ; for
he would be present with every battalion that he had
under his sight. And as that Prince would dart his
own spirit by his eye into the breast of every follower,
so does our King dart His into the breast of all who
wait before His throne.
The one blessing, then, which the exalted Mediator
has to confer on this world is, in " turning men from
their iniquities," in converting sinners from the error
of their ways, in bringing those who are afar off from
God nigh to Him, and making those who are now
living in sin to be " heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ ; " restoring, in fact, the image of God upon
earth, manifesting the Divine ideal of humanity in
our " mortal bodies," rearing up communities who
shall be properly called, " the children of our Father
who is in heaven," — communities, whose ruling nature
shall not be that of fallen Adam, but who shall have
that mind in them which was also in Christ, being
made partakers of the Divine nature, and, in proof
thereof, loving those that hate them, blessing those
that curse them, praying for those that despitefully
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH, "111
use them and persecute them ; and thus, by returning
good feelings for bad feelings, good words for bad
words, good deeds for bad deeds, showing themselves
the children of their Father in heaven. The triumph
and glory of Christ lies in so renewing the face of the
earth, that this image of God shall be the prevalent
characteristic of humanity, that peace and good will
shall take hold of nations, righteousness and truth
flourish in the homes of all.
The accomplishment, to a considerable extent, of
this great purpose formed the singular glory of the
early Church. To a community in the city of Rome
it could be said, ** Ye were the servants of sin But
now, being made free from sin, and become servants
to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end
everlasting life." To another company in the city of
Corinth it could be said, after describing the various
classes of sinners who could not see the kingdom of
God, " 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." To
some in the city of Ephesus it could be said, " And
you hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses
and sins ; wherein in times past ye walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of
the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience : among whom also we all
had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our
278 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind ; and were by nature the children of wrath, even
as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His
great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace ye are saved ; ) and hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus : that in the ages to come He might
show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus." i To some in the
city of Colosse it could be said, " Giving thanks unto
the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light : who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." 2
To some in Thessalonica it could be said, " And ye
became followers of us, and of the Lord, having
received the word in much affliction, with joy of the
Holy Ghost : so that ye were ensamples to all that
believe in Macedonia and Achaia." 3 And when our
Lord looked down from heaven upon the Seven
Churches of Asia, even His eyes of flame, looking
upon the Church of Sardis itself, saw there were " some
names in Sardis which had not defiled their gar-
ments."
To suppose that this power to regenerate man, and
I Eph. ii. 1-7.
2 Col. i. 12, 13. 3 I Thess. i. 6, 7,
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 279
thereby to ameliorate human society, has been with-
drawn from the Church by the will and appointment
of her adorable Head, is to suppose, in fact, that the
one practical end of Christianity has been voluntarily
abandoned, — that end which lies in glorifying God
upon the earth, and in saving the souls of men. If
Christianity cannot renew men in the image of God,
she ceases to have any special distinction above
other religions, except the one of more wisdom
and more virtue. Her mission here was to over-
come Satan in the realm in which he had hitherto
triumphed, to re-establish the empire of God over
the hearts and lives of a race that had wandered
from Him, and to prepare out of the children of
that race heirs meet for a pure and an immortal
kingdom.
Not only would this practical end be abandoned,
but the standing evidence to Christianity would be
The Standing discontinued. The miracles and pro-
Evidenct of phecies of the past time are an evidence
Christianity. ^^ Christianity as a system of truth;
but if she be only a system of truth, and not also a
power unto salvation, she but adds to the guilt of
men here by increasing their light, and to their misery
hereafter by increasing their stripes. No miracles,
no prophecies, no accumulation of arguments under
heaven, can demonstrate to our neighbours at this
moment that Christianity is a power which can
280 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
actually make men superior to their own circumstances
and their own sins; which can take men of this
nineteenth century, men with sin in their blood, sin
in their bones, sin in their habits, sin in their down-
sitting and their uprising, sin against God, sin against
their neighbour, sin against themselves, sins of self-
interest and sins against self-interest, sins for happiness,
and sins that wreck happiness, — and out of these
men, still living in the very circumstances wherein
their past time has been spent, make "servants of
God, free from sin, having their fruit unto holiness,
and the end everlasting life."
The evidence of this, the only real and effective
evidence, is living men who have been regenerated,
and whose good works plainly declare them to be
of our Father who is in heaven. We, too, can say,
that " God has sent His Son Jesus to bless " our
neighbours, " in turning away every one of them from
his iniquities ; " but how unimpressive would be our
saying it, were there none to whom we could point
them, and add, " These are our epistles, known and
read of all men."
Peter, recurring again to the kingly state of the
Saviour, said, " Him hath God exalted with His right
hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give
repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And
we are His witnesses of these things ; and so is also
the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 281
obey Him." i Here is the double evidence, that of
Apostles, and that of the Spirit in living converts.
We of this day are also Christ's witnesses that He
is " exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance
and forgiveness of sins ; " but our witness must be
corroborated by those who, having received the Holy
Ghost, live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit.
Peter, in speaking of the witness which the Prophets
bore to Christ, sums it up thus : " To Him give all
the Prophets witness, that through His name who-
soever believeth in Him shall receive remission of
sins" When we bear this witness, we ought to
expect the same attestation of it which Peter saw in
his Gentile audience, and which he afterwards quoted
to prove that they also had received salvation as well
as the Jews ; namely, " God " put no difference
between us " (the first Jewish converts) " and them,
purifying their hearts by faith." Wherever men can
be pointed to, whose hearts have been purified by
faith, whose lives are a manifest example of salvation
from sin, there is the standing evidence that Christianity
is " the power of God unto salvation ; " and no other
description of evidence, as we before said, can prove
this. Is it supposable that Christ has withdrawn
from His Church, or diminished that power which
would show continually that He "saves His people
from their sins ?"
Acts V. 31, 32.
282 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
The converting power is also the Church's great
attraction. It is true that some would attract men
Saving from ^Y Ceremonies, or talent, or the charms
Sin the Great of architecture or music, — attract them
Attraction. ^^^ ^j^^y ^^^ convcrt them; whereas
the true order is, Convert, that you may attract. The
one is the order of the charlatan, who trusts to
factitious allurements for attracting the public, in the
hope that he may cure some ; the other, the order of
the true physician, who trusts to the fact of his curing
some as the means of attracting others. Whenever
the Church sends into a family one new convert
glowing with love and joy, she kindles a light which
will, in all probability, give light to all that are in
the house. Whenever she is the means of making
one shopman turn from his sins, and exhibit to his
comrades a picture of holy living, in all probability
she will soon have others from that shop at her altars.
Whenever she brings one factory-girl to sit, like
Mary, at the feet of Jesus, very probably in a little
while other Marys will be with her.
In every situation, new converts are the most
powerful attraction that ever acts on those who are
still in the world. There seems a peculiar spiritual
power connected with the first love, and an impres-
siveness in the words, of new converts, enforced by
the manifest change in them, which nothing else can
exert. That house of God which becomes noted in
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 283
a neighbourhood as a place in which many sinners
have been "transformed by the renewing of their
minds," will, by a certain instinct of our redeemed
humanity, soon become a centre of attraction, not
only to those who, with scarcely any light, are groping
after the truth, but even to many who are still hardily
going on in sin. The greatest fame of Christianity
is the fame of the cures she works, her greatest glory
the glory of the saints she trains, her own unshared
renown the renown of sinners renewed in the image
of God ; and wherever works of this kind are noised
abroad in any community, there will the Preacher
not want hearers, there will the sower not be without
a field.
The converting power is also the principal lever
which Christianity can use for raising the standard of
The Principal niorals in nations. Instruction is the
Lever for basis of all moral operation ; but in-
Raising the . . t i-i •
Standard of struction m morals, like mstruction m
Morals. science, is of little force unless backed
by experiment. Say all you can to men about the
duty of returning good for evil, they will scarcely
have a clear conception of it, until they see some
man deliberately benefiting one from whom he has
received deliberate injury. One tradesman converted,
and manfully taking ground among his companions
against trade tricks once used by himself, casts
greater shame upon their dishonesty than all the
28* THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
instructions they ever heard from pulpits ; or, rather,
gives an edge, a power, and an embodiment to them
all. One youth whom religion strengthens to walk
purely among dissipated companions sends lights and
stings into their consciences which mere instruction
could not give, because it shows them that purity is
not, as temptation says, unattainable. And so with
all the virtues ; it is but by embodying them in the
persons of men that they become thoroughly under-
stood in the public mind.
It is but too well known that there are nations of
the highest civilization, in which all that need be
said about truthfulness has been said for ages, till the
word " truth " is on the lips of every one ; yet it is
next to impossible to find one being who has any-
thing like a just conception of what manly, consistent,
continual truth-telling is.
Just in proportion as the number of converted men
is great or small, will be the amount of conscience in
the community generally. Viewed in this light, each
conversion facilitates future conversions. Each new
convert adds somewhat to the moral influence exist-
ing among men, and each additional thousand greatly
improves the public conscience, and weakens the ties
which bind men to sin. Where no one is godly,
moderately correct persons are almost ashamed of
their lack of badness ; where a tenth of the adults
are godly, even ordinary sinners are ashamed of their
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 285
lack of goodness ; and where a fifth, or a third, of the
adults are godly, the hindrances to the conversion of
the rest are as nothing, compared with those that
exist where the great masses are still living in their
sins.
The converting power is also the only means
whereby Christianity raises up agents for her own
propagation. That which is wanted in an
Means Where- ^gcnt, above all, is zeal,— zeal for God,
by Christianity burning desire to save sinners. This
Raises up ^eal is never a matter of mere convic-
OwnProta 'a- *^^"' ^^^ always a matter of nature. It
tim. is " Christ in you." It is " the love of
Christ constraining you." It is the
Divine nature, which delights to communicate, to
bestow, to purify, to save, breathed into the soul of
man, and impelling it in the same course wherein
Christ Himself moved. Agents with this nature we
can have only by successive outpourings of the Spirit
of God, by constant accessions of new converts.
When they who have been great sinners are
themselves converted to God, having been forgiven
much, they love much, and frequently become mighty
instruments of winning others to Christ. For the
high work of the ministry, either we must content
ourselves to make Ministers by a factitious process,
or we must look to see them springing up from amid
multitudes of new converts, who in youth turn to the
286 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
Lord, and devote themselves to do His will. When
conversions are not few, but many, — when " numbers
turn to the Lord," — when the inhabitants of one town
say to those of another, " Come, let us go speedily to
seek the Lord, and to pray before the Lord of hosts,"
— when there are many repenting, and many rejoicing,
saying, " We have redemption in His blood, even the
forgiveness of sins," — then will assuredly appear some
with plain marks that the spirit of the Prophets is in
them, and that they are called to spread, far and wide,
the glorious salvation of which they themselves
partake.
Nothing so re-animates the zeal of old Christians
as witnessing the joy and simplicity, the gratitude
and fervour, of those who have been lately born of
God. While the old disciple is to the young one an
example of moderation and strength, the young is to
the old an example of fervour ; the one shedding upon
the other a steadying influence, while he receives in
return a cheering and an impelling one.
It is also wonderful how much the occurrence of
conversions heightens the efficiency of men already
employed in the ministry, or in other departments of
the work of God. The preacher preaches with new
heart, the exhorter exhorts with revived feeling, he
that prays has double faith and fervour ; and the joy of
conquest breathes new vigour into all the Lord's host.
While the importance, and in fact the necessity, of
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 287
the converting power of the Spirit may be admitted
Sudd c ^^ ^^^ abstract, all its practical value may
versions Mani- be Set aside by cherishing dislike to the
ftstiy Divine, j^^^^ of sudden Conversions, or numerous
conversions. It is deemed sober to expect conversions
some time, but not so to expect them now ; and as
the " now " perpetuates itself on, and on, and on
through the lifetime of a generation, the time to look
for their conversion never comes, and the next
generation succeed to the same chill law of unbelief ;
each one living in the doomed " now " when the con-
verting power is not to be looked for without
fanaticism.
The preference so carefully and even ostentatiously
displayed by many good men for what are called
gradual conversions over sudden ones, may have
some foundation, — but not in Scripture. All the
conversions we find mentioned in the New Testament
are sudden. That of Lydia is the only one that is
ever cited as being gradual, and yet it took place
under one sermon. The expression, " The Lord
opened her heart," cannot imply, at the very most,
more than that the action upon her heart was a gentle
one ; the door was opened, not burst in ; but it did
not take three months to open it, — it was done in
a day. The sudden conversion is an operation mani-
festly Divine. It brings with it a token of something
supernatural ; and when the after life attests its
288 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
genuineness, there is in the very fact of its suddenness
a perpetual memento of " the mighty power of God.'*
The natural aversion of the heart to everything which
forces upon it the consciousness of a spiritual and
supernatural power moving in this present life, suffi-
ciently accounts for the tendency we all feel to prefer
some mode of operation which would appear less
supernatural than the sudden, not to say miracu-
lous, transformations from sin to godliness, which
form the common-place chronicles of the early
Church.
As to the question, whether those who are suddenly
converted are or are not as stable as those upon whom
the work is more gradual, few are in a good position
to judge ; for every one who is suddenly converted is
sure to have many eyes upon him, and if he draw
back, the notice of all these is excited ; whereas many
who gradually take up a religious profession gradually
drop it again, and scarcely any notice is taken. But,
be the question of stability settled as it may, it is
certain that the scriptural examples of conversion are
sudden, and equally certain that, if we are to look only
for gradual conversions, we must deliberately make up
our minds to see millions upon millions of our country-
men die impenitent, who, if sudden conversions are
multiplied, may yet be brought to God before the end
of their days. The jailor was found at the extremity
of sinfulness, just in the act of suicide ; yet that very
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 289
night salvation was preached to him, embraced by
him, and filled his heart with holy joy.
Some would not so much object to sudden conver-
sions, if many of them did not take place at a time.
But there is something unaccountable in
Numerous , /- i- • i i • i ^^^
Conversions a ^he feelmg With which even godly men
Striking Proof look upon any movement in which it
of the Agency -^Quld seem that a large number of
of God,
sinners have been simultaneously turned
to God. First, they can hardly believe that the work
is real. Then, if they must believe that it is real, they
begin to prophesy that it will not be lasting. Theri,
if they think that it has lasted, they still incline to
think that they had better not look for anything so
extraordinary among their own neighbours, but go on
steadily, as they say, gaining by degrees.
One simple objection to this theory of " going on
steadily " (that is, slowly) is, that it coolly consigns
whole generations to hell, and leaves us with the
dreadful feeling, that the best progress of the work of
God is a progress which leaves the great majority of
those now alive hopelessly in their sins. Another
objection to this " going on steadily " is, that it is not
Pentecostal ; it is not primitive ; it is not after the
example of " the mighty power of God." In the early
Church conversions were by the hundred and the
thousand ; the word spread, not with the moderation
dear to small and proper men, who are always afraid
19
200 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
of being charged with extravagance, but with the
sweep and power of a Divine movement, the agents in
which were borne onward as on the wings of the wind,
willing to be a laughing-stock to men, willing to hear
an outcry from the world which they were turning
upside down.
When conversions are very numerous, in proportion
to the human instruments, the agency of God is much
more strikingly manifested than when they are few.
Although the man who, by his own experience, knows
what it is to pass from darkness to light, will see an
evidence of the power of the Holy Ghost in any and
every true conversion ; those who have no such
experience, easily avoid concluding that a super-
natural power is in action, so long as they can trace
an imagined proportion between the agency and the
results. If a few people are turned from their sins by
many preachers, it seems no more than natural ; if a
few holy men are found in a multitude, it is only
another proof, they think, of the fact that there will
always be a certain number of good people among the
wicked. But if a large number of thoughtless youths,
or confirmed sinners, become devoted to God through
the instrumentality of some one preacher, and if this
extend to neighbourhood after neighbourhood, a feel-
ing falls upon spectators that it is not to be accounted
for by reasoning about proportion, but by the operation
of a superior power.
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 291
Let but the results of preaching as to the number
and suddenness of the conversions pass a certain
point, — let the number be thousands, and the time one
day, — and the idea of attributing this to the power of
some men would not enter the mind. Who ever,
on reading that three thousand Jews were converted
on the day of Pentecost, and lived holy lives after-
wards, thought of exclaiming, "What a preacher
Peter was ! " The magnitude of the effect at once
suggests a super-human cause. Had the result been
small, the man would have been glorified ; but when
it took such wide proportions, he was thrown into the
shade, and " the mighty power of God " alone occupies
the mind. When a flash of light falls on our path in
the street in the evening, we should at once think of
a lamp, because the surface illuminated in itself
indicates some such origin. But if we see a light fall
upon a hill, and sweep over successive hills until a
whole country-side is brightened, we think of the
sun.
Too many conversions now take place, too many
really converted men are to be found, to permit any
one to believe that the converting power of the Spirit
has been wholly withdrawn from the Church. His
presence in the midst of us is attested by many
witnesses ; but the practical question for us is. Is it
contrary to the design of God that true believers now
should multiply themselves as rapidly, in proportion,
292 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
as they did after the day of Pentecost ? If it be, then,
no matter what means may be used, that result cannot
be obtained ; but, if it be not, then we are bound to
hope that, the same means being used, — the same
prayer, faith, and zeal being put forth on the part of
the Church, — the same blessing of the Holy Spirit
will be vouchsafed.
IX. — All Substantial Gifts Abide.
On the whole question as to what permanent
benefits remain to the Church from the dispensation
of the Spirit, we contend that everything substantial
implied in the gift of the Holy Ghost remains
unimpaired. Whatever is necessary to the holiness
of the individual, to the spiritual life and ministering
gifts of the Church, or to the conversion of the world,
is as much the heritage of the people of God in the
latest days as in the first. We do not see that the
miraculous effects which followed the Pentecost are
promised to all ages and all people, and therefore we
do not look for them to re-appear ; but we feel satisfied
that he who does expect the gift of healing, and the
gift of tongues, or any other miraculous manifestation
of the Holy Spirit, in addition to those substantial
blessings of which these were, as we have said, the
ushers and the heralds, has ten times more spiritual
ground on which to base his expectation, than have
they for their unbelief who do not expect supernatural
PERMANENT BENEFITS TO THE CHURCH. 298
sanctifying strength for the believer, supernatural aid
in preaching, exhortation, and prayer, for Pastors
and gifted members, and supernatural converting
power upon the minds of those who are yet of the
world.
294 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
CHAPTER IX.
PRACTICAL LESSONS.
At one time we meant to dwell at considerable
length upon practical lessons connected with our
subject ; but this book is already larger than we
wished it to be, and we will therefore touch only three
topics. We may learn a lesson on THE SOURCE
OF POWER ; one on THE WAY TO OBTAIN POWER ;
and one on THE SCALE ON WHICH OUR EXPECTA-
TIONS OF SUCCESS SHOULD BE FRAMED.
I. — The Source of Power.
In the application of any instrument, no error can
be more fatal than one that affects the source of
power. To recur to an illustration
The Presence , ,. , . i
4 the Living before used, any reasonmg upon explo-
Spirit in All sive weapons which assumed elasticity to
Church ^g |.j^g source of power, must lead com-
m . pj^^gjy astray. If this is to be noted in
all things, it is especially to be noted in what affects
the regeneration of the world. In merely natural
processes, persons proposing to affect the sentiments
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 295
of mankind, must depend largely on their influence,
their wealth, and their facilities. Christians frequently
permit themselves to fall into a state of mind in
which the want of all or any of these is taken to be
fatal to their prospects of success, and the acquisition
of them to be the first step towards making any
impression. But wealth, influence, and facilities, how-
ever great, never yet secured results in the spiritual
conversion of men ; while the most notable triumphs
of Christianity have often been gained in the total
absence of them all.
Others, or the same men at different times, would
rather allow their hopes to rest on order, talent, or
truth. But neither are these the source of power.
Order is as necessary in Christianity as are bones,
ligaments, and skin in a man ; talent is as necessary
as brain, and truth as blood. But you may have all
these, and have a paralytic ; ay, may have them all,
and have but a corpse. You must have both the
breathing spirit and that indescribable something that
we call " power." Indeed, the order of the Christian
Church ought to be such, her outward framework so
constructed, that she shall not be as a building, which,
though it looks more cheerful when there is life within,
yet will stand when there is none ; but rather as a
body, which falls the moment the spirit forsakes it,
and tends to decomposition. No Church ought to be
otherwise constructed than in entire dependence on
2fi9 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
the presence of the living Spirit in all her ministerial
arrangements. Her frame ought to answer to no
definition that would suit an inorganic body ; but to
answer exactly to the celebrated definition of an
organic one ; namely, " that wherein every part is
mutually means and end." The pervading presence
of the Spirit should be assumed, so that, \{ it be
absent, the pains of death shall instantly take hold
upon her, and the cry be extorted, " Lord, save, or I
perish !"
We must again recall to mind that most wonderful
silence of ten days, — that long, long pause of the
commissioned Church in sight of the
The Ten Days
Silence in the penshing woHd. Never should the
Fore-front of solemnity of that silence pass from the
Christian His^ thoughts of any of God's people. It
stands in the very fore-front of our
history, — the Lord's most memorable and affecting
protest beforehand, — that no authority under heaven,
that no training, that no ordination could qualify men
to propagate the Gospel, without the baptism of the
Holy Ghost. Each successive day of those solemn
and silent ten, the perishing world might have knocked
at the door of the Church, and asked, ** What waitest
thou for, O bride of the ascended Bridegroom ? Why
dost thou not say, * Come ? ' Why leavest thou us to
slumber on uncalled, unwarned, unblessed, whilst
thou, with thy good tidings, art tarrying inactive
PRACTICAL LESSONS, 297
there ? What waitest thou for ? " and every moment
the answer would have been, " We are waiting to be
* endued with power from on high ; ' we are waiting to
be * baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire.* "
This is the one and the only source of our power.
Without this, our wealth, influence, facilities, are ships
^ „ rr 7 of war and ammunition without guns or
GocTs Holy °
Fire the Want men ; our Order, talent, truth, are men
above all Wants ^nd guns, without fire. We want in this
ge. ^^^ above all wants, fire, God's holy fire,
burning in the hearts of men, stirring their brains,
impelling their emotions, thrilling in their tongues,
glowing in their countenances, vibrating in their
actions, expanding their intellectual powers more than
can ever be done by the heats of genius, of argument,
or of party ; and fusing all their knowledge, logic,
and rhetoric into a burning stream. Every accessory,
every instrument of usefulness, the Church has now
in such a degree and of such excellence as was never
known in any other age ; and we want but a supreme
and glorious baptism of fire to exhibit to the world
such a spectacle as would raise ten thousand
hallelujahs to the glory of our King.
Let but this baptism descend, and thousands of us
who, up to this day, have been but commonplace or
weak Ministers, such as might easily pass from the
memory of mankind, would then become mighty
Men would wonder at us, as if we had been made
298 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
anew ; and we should wonder, not at ourselves, but at
the grace of God which could thus transform us.
Suppose we saw an army sitting down before a
granite fort, and they told us that they intended to
batter it down : we might ask them, " How ? " They
point to a cannon-ball ; well, but there is no power
in that ; it is heavy, but not more than half a
hundred, or perhaps a hundred, weight : if all the
men in the army hurled it against the fort, they
would make no impression. They say, " No ; but look
at the cannon." Well, there is no power in that. A
child may ride upon it, a bird may perch in its mouth ;
it is a machine, and nothing more. " But look at the
powder." Well, there is no power in that ; a child
may spill it, a sparrow may peck it. Yet this power-
less powder, and powerless ball, are put into the
powerless cannon ; — one spark of fire enters it ; — and
then, in the twinkling of an eye, that powder is a flash
of lightning, and that ball a thunderbolt, which smites
as if it had been sent from heaven So is it with our
Church machinery at this day : we have all the instru-
ments necessary for pulling down strongholds, and O
for the baptism of fire !
II. — The Way to Obtain Power,
As to the way in which this power may be obtained,
here we have only to recall the lesson of the Ten
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 299
Th L Days, — " They continued with one accord
ofthe in prayer and supplication." Prayer
Ten Days, earnest, prayer united, and prayer per-
severing, these are the conditions ; and, these being
fulfilled, we shall assuredly be " endued with power
from on high." We should never expect that the
power will fall upon us just because we happen once
to awake and ask for it. Nor have any community of
Christians a right to look for a great manifestation of
the Spirit, if they are not all ready to join in supplica-
tion, and, " with one accord," to wait and pray as if it
were the concern of each one. The murmurer who
always accounts for barrenness in the Church by the
faults of others, may be assured that his readiest way
to spiritual power, if that be his real object, lies in
uniting all, as one heart, to pray without ceasing.
Above all, we are not to expect it without persever-
ing prayer. Prayer which takes the fact that past
prayers have not yet been answered, as a reason for
languor, has already ceased to be the prayer of faith.
To the latter, the fact that prayers remain unanswered,
is only evidence that the moment of the answer is so
much nearer. From first to last, the lessons and
example of our Lord all tell us that prayer which can-
not persevere, and urge its plea importunately, and
renew, and renew itself again, and gather strength
from every past petition, is not the prayer that will
prevail.
300 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
When John in the Apocalypse saw the Lamb on
the throne, before that throne were the seven lamps of
p^^ ^^ fire burning, " which are the seven Spirits
Prayer, All of God Sent forth into all the earth ; " and
Prayer, j^ jg Q^ly by waiting before that throne of
grace that we become imbued with the holy fire ; but
he who waits there long and believingly, will imbibe
that fire, and come forth, from his communion with
God, bearing tokens of where he has been. For the
individual believer, and, above all, for every labourer
in the Lord's vineyard, the only way to gain spiritual
power is by secret waiting at the throne of God, for
the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Every moment spent
in real prayer is a moment spent in refreshing the fire
of God within the soul. We said before, that this fire
cannot be simulated ; nothing else will produce its
effects. No more can the means of obtaining ft be
feigned. Nothing but the Lord's own appointed
means, nothing but " waiting at the throne/' nothing
but keeping the heart under " the eyes of the Lamb,"
to be again, and again, and again penetrated by His
Spirit, can put the soul into that condition, in which it
is a meet instrument to impart the light and power of
God to other men.
When a lecturer on electricity wants to show an
example of a human body surcharged with his fire, he
places a person on a stool with glass legs. The glass
serves to isolate him from the earth, because it will
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 801
not conduct the fire, — the electric fluid : were it not
for this, however much might be poured into his
frame, it would be carried away by the earth ; but,
when thus isolated from it, he retains all that enters
him. You see no fire, you hear no fire ; but you are
told that it is pouring into him. Presently you are
challenged to the proof, — asked to come near, and
hold your hand close to his person : when you do so,
a spark of fire shoots out towards you. If thou, then,
wouldst have thy soul surcharged with the fire of God,
so that those who come nigh to thee shall feel some
mysterious influence proceeding out from thee, thou
must draw nigh to the source of that fire, to the throne
of God and of the Lamb, and shut thyself out from
the world, — that cold world, which so swiftly steals
our fire away. Enter into thy closet, and shut to thy
door, and there, isolated, " before the throne," await
the baptism ; then the fire shall fill thee, and when
thou comest forth, holy power will attend thee, and
thou shalt labour, not in thine own strength, but ''with
demonstration of the Spirit, and with power."
As this is the only way for an individual to obtain
spiritual power, so is it the only way for Churches.
Prayer, prayer, all prayer, — mighty, importunate,
repeated, united prayer; the rich and the poor, the
learned and the unlearned, the fathers and the
children, the Pastors and the people, the gifted and
the simple, all uniting to cry to God above, that He
302 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
would come and affect them as in the days of the right
hand of the Most High, and imbue them with the
Spirit of Christ, and warm them, and kindle them,
and make them as a flame of fire, and lay His right
hand mightily on the sinners that surround them, and
turn them in truth to Him. Such united and repeated
supplications will assuredly accomplish their end, and
*'the power of God" descending will make every
such company as a band of giants refreshed with new
wine.
If the source of our power, and the way to obtain
it, be so plain, how can it be that the '' tongue of fire "
^ ^ is so rare ? What are the hindrances f
Trusty
Straightfor- Is it because, as many would seem to
ward, Childlike think, nothing is so difficult to obtain as
the grace of the Holy Spirit ? We often
hear it said. All effort must be unsuccessful without
the blessing of God, without the accompanying power
of the Spirit ; and the tone used indicates that it is
therefore proper not to look for any great results, as if
the accompanying power of the Spirit was the only
thing not to be counted upon. The recognition of our
impotency without the Spirit, and of the absolute
necessity of His presence and His power, is as need-
ful as the recognition of the fact that, without sun-
shine and rain, all labour and all skill would fail to
preserve the human race for one season. But the
sunshine and the rain are precisely the things which
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 303
cost nothing, and on which we may constantly depend.
So it is with the baptism and the power of the Holy
Spirit. Freer than the air we breathe, freer than the
rich sunbeams, freer than any of God's other gifts,
because it is the one which has cost Him most, and
which blesses His children most, that gift is ever at
hand ; and when we have done what the Lord lays
upon us to do, it is dishonouring to Him to cherish a
secret feeling as if He, being good, not evil, was back-
ward to pour out His Spirit, and to do good to His
children.
This feeling of unbelief, wherever cherished, must,
on the principles of the Gospel, be fatal to all power.
He alone who magnifies the freeness, the fulness, and
the present efficacy of the Lord's grace, can by the
Holy Ghost accomplish wonders. Trust, firm trust,
straightforward, child-like trust, is the everlasting
condition of all co-operation with God. He will not
use. He will not bless, He will not inhabit the heart
that, at the moment when it offers Him a request,
says, " I doubt Thee."
In this age of faith in the natural, and disinclination
to the supernatural, we want especially to meet the
Because 1 whole world with this credo, " I believe in
Believe in the the Holy Ghost." I expect to see saints
Holy Ghost. ^^ lovely as any that are written of in
the Scriptures, — because I believe in the Holy Ghost.
I expect to see Preachers as powerful to set forth
804 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Christ evidently crucified before the eyes of men, as
powerful to pierce the conscience, to persuade, to
convince, to convert, as any that ever shook the
multitudes of Jerusalem, or Corinth, or Rome,—
because I believe in the Holy Ghost. I expect to
see Churches the members of which shall be severally
endued with spiritual gifts, and every one moving in
spiritual activity, animating and edifying one another,
commending themselves to the conscience of the world
by their good works, commending their Saviour to it
by a heart-engaging testimony, — because I believe in
the Holy Ghost. I expect to see villages where all
the respectable people are now opposed to religion, the
proprietor ungodly, the nominal Pastor worldly, all
that take a lead set against living Christianity, — to see
such villages summoned, disturbed, divided, and then
reunited, by the subduing of the whole population to
Christ, — because I believe in the Holy Ghost. I ex-
pect to see cities swept from end to end, their manners
elevated, their commerce purified, their politics
Christianized, their criminal population reformed,
their poor made to feel that they dwell amongst
brethren, — righteousness in the streets, peace in the
homes, an altar at every fireside, — because I believe in
the Holy Ghost. I expect the world to be overflowed
with the knowledge of God ; the day to come when
no man shall need to say to his neighbour, " Know
thou the Lord ; " but when all shall know Him,
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 806
" from the least unto the greatest ; " east and west,
north and south, uniting to praise the name of the one
God, and the one Mediator, — because I believe in the
Holy Ghost.
Unbelief and neglect of prayer generally go to-
gether as preventives of spiritual power. Let all of
us who are painfully conscious that the results just
indicated will never be attained by the instrumenta-
lity of men, in the condition in which we are, simply
ask ourselves, How long, how often, how importu-
nately have we waited at the throne of the Saviour for
the outpouring of the Spirit ? Let our closets answer.
" The eyes of the Lamb," that are looking through us
now, have noted. O ! is it any wonder that ofttimes
we have been powerless, and ofttimes have had but
'* a little strength ? "
Want of true faith and neglect of prayer are sure
to make place for faith in the instrument, instead of
in the power. When we are not living near the
throne, our minds become occupied with questions of
order, of talent, or of truth ; or, if we sink into yet a
lower state, with questions of facility, or influence, or
wealth. This Church reform will be followed by great
good ; the clear development of such or such a
doctrine would bring us revival ; more lustre or
strength of talent in the ministry would insure pro-
gress. We only wait the removal of such and such
hindrances to open this door; for the supply of
20
306 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
pecuniary means, and we shall see good done there ;
or for the accession to the Church of some person of
influence, and God's work will prosper yonder. Faith
is sadly wasted when bestowed on such things. Give
them their right value, — never underrate them, — place
them where God has placed them ; but the fact that
you trust in them shows that your heart is wrong.
Wait not for these, — for the power is not in them, —
but for the baptism of fire.
Among the hindrances which will prevent any one
from having the " tongue of fire," none acts more
7he Door of ^^i^ectly than any misuse of the " tongue "
the Lips itself If the door of the lips be not
Guarded. guarded, if uncharitable or idle speech
be indulged, if political or party discussion be per-
mitted to excite heats, if " foolish talking or jesting "
be a chosen method of display, it is not to be
supposed that the same tongue will be the medium
wherein the sacred fire of the Spirit will delight to
dwell. Who has ever worn at the same time the
reputation of a trifler and of a man powerful to search
consciences ?
A Strict Regard Another fatal hindrance is any kind of
to Health and sensual indulgence. Whatever gives the
Temperance, j^^^^ ascendancy to the body over the
spirit must gradually subdue, and ultimately extin-
guish, the fire in the heart This applies to all sloth,
to every luxurious habit, every artificial appetite, and
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 307
all the pleasures of the table. It is not a little remark-
able that while at the Day of Pentecost the people,
on seeing the excitement and animation of the
Christians, said, " They are filled with new wine ;" Paul
himself says to us, " Be not drunk with wine, wherein
is excess : but be filled with the Spirit." In both
these cases there is a suggestion, however indirect, yet
unquestionably a suggestion of some analogy between
the condition of being " drunk with wine " and that of
being " filled with the Spirit."
Nor do we need to seek far for the grounds of that
analogy. To men of the world wine is a resort when
they want something above their natural strength of
mind or body, and in it they seek three things, —
strength, cheering, and mental elevation. Under its
influence they will do more work than they could
otherwise, they will cast off their cares, and their
mental powers will reach a state which they themselves
call " inspiration." That worldly orators, even of the
highest reputation, often seek in wine such animation
of their powers as is necessary to great success, is
only too well known. The physical tendency to seek
elevation in such a source cannot be even slightly
yielded to, without fatally affecting the "tongue of fire."
Every Christian who wishes to retain the life of God
in his soul, must hold all the enjoyments of the table
under a strict law of regard to health and to temper-
ance. For strength, for cheering, and for mental
308 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
elevation, such as an extraordinary affliction or public
effort may demand, he must look alone to power from
on high, to the strength, and comfort, and inspiration
of the Holy Ghost. The bare idea of seeking any of
these in wine implies a heart already far fallen into
the bondage of the flesh. Even without going so far,
one may easily pass the bounds of moderation, and
drink, not for health, but for pleasure. If the man who
drinks to intoxication is miserable and pitiable, he
who has learned the bad secret of " how far he can
go," and who even acts upon it, although he may
never be drunk, is daily intemperate. In one aspect,
his social influence is the most dangerous of all ; for,
while one who totally abstains, and one who drinks
under a rigid rule of regard for health and modera-
tion, may each contend that they are setting the wisest
example that can be set, and while the drunkard may
truly say that his very excess is a warning to all about
him, he who habitually shows that he drinks as much
as is safe, is a lure and an enticement to push
indulgence as far as it can be done without wreck of
character.
Another fatal hindrance is what may be called,
" aiming at literary effect." When preaching, pray-
No ''Aiming ^"^' °^ ^"y other religious exercise of the
at Literary tougue, is ruled by the idea of com-
Effect: position, it loses the character of a Divine
gift. Under that idea, utterance especially is by the
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 809
aid of the Holy Spirit. With those who look at
Christian preaching as an exercise of natural talent,
we enter into no discussion. We speak only to those
who are seeking the " tongue of fire," who believe that
real Christian preaching is effected only by the help
of God. To them, and to ourselves, we say, that
nothing will more surely steal away the fire from our
sentences, than anxiety to deliver them just as they
were pre-composed, or to pre-compose them with
studious regard to literary grace. Study of style, of
words, of the force, forms, and laws of language, we of
course recommend. Efforts on the part of every one
to gain the best style of which his nature admits, —
the tersest, strongest, clearest, briefest, — we equally
recommend. Seeking, like Bunyan, for '* picked and
packed words," is the instinct of a teacher. Even
the study of the art of speaking, against which the
vulgar prejudice is so strong, we would, with Wesley
and Whitefield, encourage. Mouthing elocutionists
may have brought it into disrepute, but that is no
reason why hundreds of us should be maimed in health
before mid-life by public speaking, when we might
have done as much work, and done it better, without
the least injury, had we availed ourselves of the
science of those who have philosophically studied
and taught upon the voice.'
I It is often assumed that speaking is a natural exercise, and there-
fore needs no instruction. The word " speaking " covers a fallacy.
Conversation in a moderate tone, and at short intervals, is a natural
310 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
While, however, we contend that it is the duty of
all who take any part in teaching, to labour to the
uttermost for every qualification helpful to their work,
two things are to be for ever and guardedly shut out.
The one is, aiming at giving intellectual pleasure,
instead of producing religious impression ; the other,
being careful about words in the pulpit, so as to
interfere with dependence upon God for utterance. In
the study, attention to style ought to be with a view,
not to beauty, but to power. In the pulpit, all
thought of style is thought wasted, and even worse.
The gift of prophesying in its very ideal excludes
Trusting for ^^lyi^g ^^^ Utterance upon a manuscript
Utterance to OX Upon memory. It is the delivery of
Help from truth by the help of God. The feeling of
Above. .. . , T u
every man standmg up m the Lord s
name ought to be, " I am not here to acquit myself
well, nor to deliver a good discourse ; but after having
made my best efforts to study and to digest the truth,
I am here to say just what God may enable me to
exercise of the voice ; public speaking, in an elevated tone, and for an
hour together, is an artificial one. Except in very rare cases of persons
singularly favoured by nature, this artificial exercise is never performed
with the ease of the natural one ; and how often it impairs, and even
destroys, health is too notorious to need any mention. Such writers as
Mr. Cull, and Dr. Rush, show that under proper training public speak-
ing may become as easy and as healthy for persons of sound organs as
singing is ; and to the neglect of this we owe the loss, in their prime,
of many of the best and ablest preachers that ever lived.
PRACTICAL LESSONS, 311
say, to be enlarged or to be straitened, according as
He may be pleased to give me utterance or not."
With this feeling of the preacher all appearances
ought to correspond. It ought to be manifest that,
while he has done what in him lies to be thoroughly
furnished, he is trusting for utterance to help from
above, and not insuring it by natural means, — either
a manuscript or memory. We put these two together,
because we do not see that any distinction really
exists between them. The plea that the manuscript
is more honest than memoriter preaching, has some
force, but certainly not much ; for he that reads from
his memory is, to the feeling and instinct of his
hearers, as much reading as he who reads from his
manuscript. In neither case are the thoughts and feel-
ings gushing straight from the mind, and clothing
themselves as they come. The mind is taking up
words from paper or from memory, and doing its best
to animate them with feeling. Even intellectually,
the operation is essentially different from speaking,
and the difference is felt by all. For literary purposes,
for intellectual gratification, both have a decided
advantage over speaking ; but for the purpose of
pleading, entreating, winning, and creating a sense of
fellowship, for impelling and arousing, for doing good,
— speaking is the natural, that is the Creator's
instrument.
We never say, nor think of saying, that God will
312 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
not bless sermons read, either from the manuscript or
from the memory ; for we are sure that both these
modes are resorted to by holy and earnest servants of
His, who seek His blessing, and obtain it to the saving
of many souls. All we say of reading, either from the
manuscript or the memory, is, that it is not scriptural
preaching. It is not ministering after the mode of
Pentecostal Christianity ; it is a departure from
scriptural precedent, an adoption of a lower order of
public ministration, and a solemn declaration that
security of utterance gained by natural supports, is
preferred over a liability to be humiliated by trusting
to the help of the Lord. It has its clear advantages,
and its clear losses. It secures a gain of elegance, at
the cost of ease, — of finish, at the cost of freedom, — of
precision, at that of power, — and of literary pleasure,
at that of religious impressiveness.
A literary ideal of preaching is vicious. Half
educated people pride themselves on admiring what
they consider intellectual, or ♦' splendid."
** This is
Not Sacred ^^ "^^" °^ "^^^ mind, and real education,
Eloquence; it aiming at literary effect is as distasteful,
is Religious ^^ ^^ ^^^ hand, as are traces of care-
lessness, looseness, or vulgarity, on the
other. Men of great talent or refinement, when speak-
ing great truths, under holy inspiration, must be
eloquent, or pleasing. But an " intellectual treat " is
far from being the ideal of preaching. We have heard
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 818
efforts of this kind greatly praised, even by aged and
venerable Ministers, which, when we look back upon
them, after years have elapsed, we feel ought not to
have been called sermons at all. They were discourses
which showed how a certain subject could be treated ;
but which were never meant to do any work. An
acute and profound philosopher, looking upon the
pulpit from the Chair of the Historical Professor, treats
this point in the following remarkable words : —
" Compare, I pray you, Gentlemen, the sacred
eloquence of the sixth century with modern pulpit
eloquence, even in its most palmy days, in the
seventeenth century. I said just now, that in the
seventh and eighth centuries the character of literature
had been that it ceased to be a literature, — that it had
become in fact a power, that in writing and speaking
men concerned themselves only with positive and
immediate results, that they sought neither science
nor intellectual pleasure, and that on this account the
age had produced nothing but sermons or similar
works. This fact, which shows itself in literature in
general, is imprinted upon the sermons themselves.
Those of modern times have a character evidently
more literary than practical. The orator aspires
much more after beauty of language, after the
intellectual satisfaction of his auditory, than to act
upon the deeps of their souls, to produce real effects,
notable reforriis, efficacious conversions. Nothing of
314 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
this sort, — nothing of the literary character in the
sermons of which I have just been speaking to you ;
not one thought of expressing themselves nicely, of
combining images and ideas with art. The orator
goes to the point ; he wants to do a work ; he turns,
and turns again in the same circle ; he has no fear of
repetition, of familiarity, not even of vulgarity. He
speaks briefly, but recommences every morning. THIS
IS NOT SACRED ELOQUENCE; IT IS RELIGIOUS
POWER."i
Whenever we are tempted to think that fruitfulness
is only to be looked for in connection with superior
Th Wonders attainments, the image of Peter preaching
of Their Age, in Jerusalem, and of that vast multitude
the Seraphim \^ tears before him, should rise into our
^^ * view. With what reverence, not unmixed
with sorrow, do we often look back on Preachers of
days now gone, perhaps on some whom our own ears
have blessed when we heard them ; but more on those
of whose mighty voices we have caught faint echoes,
sounding in the bosoms of hoary men who heard them
in their youth, and have never ceased to hear them,
though their tongues have long been silent ! When
noting our own poor efforts ; when seeing how tamely
the precepts of Sinai, or the songs of Bethlehem have
fallen upon men from our lips ; seeing that, after our
I Guizot's Histoire de la Civilisation^ vol ii., p. 24. Sixth
Paris Edition.
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 815
closest thinking, we have seemed as those who beat
the air; that, after seeking converts, we have only-
gained credit ; that, when looking for multitudes to
be seized with the thought, " What must I do to be
saved ? " we have only sent them away to discuss our
faults or our merits, with perchance here and there a
heart touched and contrite ; — when years have thus
passed away, and no stronghold of sin brought down,
no province completely conquered from the Prince of
darkness, no great awakening to show that there was
a POWER and a GOD in the midst of the Church ; —
when we have seen all this, and much more alike
thereto, has not our disposition often been to open
a calculation as to our own abilities and the difficulties
before us, concluding, on the whole, that such as we
need not expect to do things which only the mighty
could do ? How could lips like ours move mankind ?
True, Apostles and Prophets moved them. True,
Whitfield and Wesley, and hundreds of their coadjutors,
near to our own days, and in our own country, moved
them. But then they were the wonders of their age,
the seraphim of earth. But what made them seraphim ?
They were once no mightier than others as to con-
verting souls. Unbaptized with fire, or but slightly
touched, their tongues might have charmed, fascinated,
set the world discussing their gifts and extolling their
abilities ; but they would never have shot fires into
the souls of men, burned by which the stolid would
316 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
roar, and the stoical melt, the sedate smite upon his
breast, and the corrupt cleanse himself *' from all
filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit." Perhaps with-
out the baptism of fire they would never have gained
even the airy fame of orators. Their very eloquence
may have come chiefly from the Spirit of God. At
all events, it was that fire which raised the orator into
the Apostle, and made their words sound as if Christ's
first messengers were risen from the dead.
The spectacle of Peter preaching at Jerusalem
answers ten thousand arguments of unbelief Who is
The Answer ^^^^ Galilean peasant, and who are that
to All group beside him ? They are men of
Unbelief. jjj^^ passions with ourselves. In nature,
in gifts, in early opportunities, they cannot be ranked
above the average of mankind. Even though they
have been favoured with the personal teaching and
society of Christ for three whole years, they had not,
up to this period, shown any extraordinary superiority
of character. They have not been even without faults ;
they have had their disputes among themselves, their
unbelief, their faint-heartedness, their strifes about the
things of the world, their " false brethren ; " yet are
they endued with a power of speech which passes all
previously conceived reach of eloquence.
Is it rational, when looking up to the Spirit
which wrought this in them, to doubt whether or not
it is within His power to baptize His servants now
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 317
living, with such a baptism as would change the
ordinary into the extraordinary, the feeble into the
mighty ? Whether it is easier for Him to say, " Speak
with many tongues," or to say, ** I will give thee a
mouth and wisdom which all thine adversaries shall
not be able to gainsay or to resist ? " The former
He has said, and common men at once received the
power ; the latter He has said, and the same common
men received the pov/er. The former power we do
not seek ; but all of us who have any heart for our
Master's service, any real intention to bear a part in
the battle for the rescue of mankind, do desire in our
very hearts, yea, long with mournful longing for a
tongue of fire to tell of the love of the Saviour, and
of the woe of sin, in such tones that the dead ear shall
tingle. Is He not able to give the gift now, as He
gave it then ? Is the distrust of His power, in this
respect, which we find so common ; this counting on
our own impotence as a life-long companion ; this
speaking of what we ought to expect, as if our power
must halt where our natural abilities halt ; this think-
ing it really humble to expect little or no fruit ; this
thinking it meek to be happy without fruit ; — is all
this a fit answer to the baptism, and a fit memorial
of the tongues of fire ? Do we not there see the
Spirit answering for ever all doubts as to what
ordinary men can be made, and proclaiming to all
who would bear a message from God, that if they will
S18 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
only wait until they are " endued with power from on
high," the effect which of all others will show the
working of that power within them will be this, — that
they shall be raised above themselves, and made to
speak with a mouth and wisdom which, all who know
them will know, were not within their natural endow-
ments or attainments ?
III. — The Scale on Which our Expectations of Success
Should be Framed.
Our Age and ^^ °"^ ^S^' invention by aid of natural
spiritual science often seems to leap almost within
Movements, ^he bounds of the supernatural. The
impossibilities of our fathers are disappearing, one
becoming a traffic and another a pastime. This has
produced a state of mind in which nothing seems
impossible to natural science. Concurrently with this
has arisen a tendency to bring spiritual progress and
action within natural bounds. We are proud of our
knowledge of the laws of the natural kingdom, and
impatient of any phenomena which cannot be judged
by them. Yet we do not object to judging the vege-
table kingdom by laws totally different from those
which we apply to the mineral, and the animal by
laws totally different from what we apply to the
vegetable, and the pervasive fluidsi by laws different
I Water, air, light, electricity, etc., which cannot be conveniently
classed under any of the three divisions, — vegetable, mineral, and
animal, — usually taken to comprise all natural objects.
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 819
from those we apply to any of those three kingdoms.
To shrink from the marvels of vegetable life because
they are unaccountable on chemical principles, or
from those of instinct because they are unfathomable
mysteries on botanical principles, or from those of
intellect because they are inexplicable by the laws of
natural history, or from the mysteries of light because
they cannot be metaphysically analysed and con-
ditioned, would not be more unreasonable than to
shrink from marvels in the spiritual kingdom, because
they cannot be judged by the laws of the natural.
The supernatural has its own laws, and there is a
supernatural.
Instead of seeking to keep down spiritual move-
ments to the level of natural explanation, in an age
when natural marvels reach almost to miracles, we
ought rather to be impelled to pray that they may
put on a more striking character of supernatural
manifestation. To-day more by far is necessary to
carry into the mind of the multitude a clear conviction,
** It is the hand of God," than was necessary in other
ages. When men saw few wonders from natural
science, they readily ascribed each wonder to Divine
agency ; but now that they are accustomed to see them
daily, moral wonders must swell beyond all pretext of
natural explanation, before they are felt to be from
God. Is our footing firm ? Do we stand, or do we
tremble ? Is Christianity to seat herself in the circle
320 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
of natural agency, or to arise from the dust, and prove
that there is a God in Israel ? Are we to shrink from
things extraordinary ? Are we to be afraid of any-
thing that would make sceptical or prayerless men
mock ? Are we to desire that the Spirit shall use us
and work in us just to such a degree as will never
bring a sneer upon us, — to pray, as a continental
writer represents some as meaningj " Give us of the
Holy Spirit ; but not too much ; lest the people
should say that we are full of new wine ? " ^
To Christianity this is pre-eminently the age of
opportunity. Never before did the world offer to her
Pre-eminently anything like the same open field as at
the Age of this moment. Even a single century
Opportunity. £j.qj^ ^.j^g present time, how much more
limited was her access to the minds of men ! Within
our own favoured country, a zealous preacher would
then have been driven away from many a sphere,
where now he would be hailed. On the Continent of
Europe, the whole of France has been opened to the
preaching of the word, though under some restraints.
In Belgium, Sardinia, and other fields, it may now be
said that the word of God is not bound. A century
ago the Chinese empire, the Mahommedan world, and
Africa, containing between them such a preponderat-
ing majority of the human race, were all closed against
I Pasteur Augustin Bost.
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 821
the Gospel of Christ. China is open at several points.
The whole empire of the Mogul is one field where
opportunity and protection invite the evangelist.
Turkey itself has been added to the spheres wherein
he may labour. Around the wild shores of Africa,
and far into her western, eastern, and southern interior,
outposts of Christianity have been established. Wide
realms beyond invite her onward. In the South Seas,
several regions which a hundred years ago had not
been made known by the voyages of Cook, are now
regularly occupied. Could the Churches of England
and America send forth to-morrow a hundred thou-
sand preachers of the Gospel, each one of them might
find a sphere, already opened by the strong hand of
Providence, where a century ago none of them could
have come without danger.
The age, if not so remarkable for agency as for
opportunity, is yet very remarkable in this respect.
Remarkable when Compared with any that has preceded
for Agency, jt. While, on the one hand, we may well
humble ourselves that, after so long a lapse of time,
Christian men are so few, and Christian operations so
feeble, yet, measuring our own day with that of the
generation that went before us, we may devoutly
magnify our God. Any one of the three great
divisions of Christians in England, — the Established
Church, the Methodists, or the Dissenters, — can this
day furnish a number of faithful Ministers teaching
21
322 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
the truth in the fear of God, and wishful to be the
instruments in saving souls, supported by a number
of spiritually-minded laymen ready for every good
work, such that, could they have been presented to
John Wesley as the entire force of godly men in the
country, would have made him feel as if the army for
the whole world's conquest was already raised.
Scotland alone could now produce a host of loyal
soldiers ready and able to wage the Redeemer's war,
such as in his day would have appeared to him almost
sufficient to conclude the conquest. Ireland, too,
would offer in this respect an amazing advance. In
France, where, at the conclusion of the great Peace,
scarcely any earnest preachers could be found, they
may now be counted by hundreds ; and in Germany,
notwithstanding all its mists and its blights, not a few
are growing up in vigour.
Whether for the direct labours of the pulpit, for
united movements of enlightenment, or the ministering
of gentle relief to the wants of human society, never,
never did the sun shine upon so much agency, so much
organization, so much liberty, so much earnest effort.
Could we indulge ourselves by forming our own world,
and only think of all good men, good societies, and
good works, on which the eye may rest, we might
rejoice with unbroken joy, proclaim the full advent of
the kingdom of God, and feel ourselves launched on a
benign and brotherly age. But alas ! alas ! the vast
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 828
world rolls on, a turbid and a freezing stream. When
we look first at our own little land, then at the
broad earth, we find, for one who fears God and
works righteousness, thousands who forget God and
work wickedness. Christian agency exists not, there-
fore, as some amiable theorists would seem to think,
chiefly for training those who are born Christians, or
made Christians in baptism, and who need nothing
more than Church ordinances, and an open heaven
when they die. It is an agency raised up to carry
out the great work of conversion which the Lord has
begun within the lands of Christendom, and then to
bear onward the banner until every nation under
heaven bows under it.
It is also an age of progress, as much as of opportu-
nity or of agency. What an advance has Christianity
Also an Age made, as to the impress upon our national
0/ Progress, manners, within the last century! On
our highest classes and on our lowest, on those who
love God and those who love Him not, she has imposed
many restraints. The vices which remain are every
day made more hideous to the public eye. How
different the amount of piety in officers and men
developed by the horrors of the late war, from what
was ever known in an English army before I How
different the spiritual condition of many of our rural
and manufacturing districts from what they were a
century ago ! What a change in the morals of the
324 IHE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Court, in the temperance of private entertainments !
How much more promising the aspect of Ireland !
How much more animated the religion of Scotland !
What an incalculable advance in America ! And
within that time the West Indies, Australia, New
Zealand, the Society Islands, the Sandwich Islands,
the Friendly Islands, the Navigator's Islands, a con-
siderable part of Feejee, and tracts of Southern and
Western Africa, may be written down as provinces
added to Christendom. Though in some of these
places much ungodliness remains, yet in most of them
a far more promising state of things exists than was
known in any country between the first days of
Christianity, and the last century.
In other countries beginnings have been made, and
first-fruits gathered ; as, for instance, in India, China,
and Northern Africa. At the same time, every system
of religion not calling itself Christian has decayed.
Mohammedism, Brahmanism, Budhism, and Paganism,
have lost territory, adherents, and power. Altogether,
it may be questioned whether even the progress of
the first century has not been equalled, as to positive
amount, by that of the last. But, when we look at
the agents, means, and facilities enjoyed during the
last century compared with the first, and at the
rapidity with which believers have multiplied them-
selves in both periods, we at once feel that, as to
propagating power in the face of adverse circum-
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 825
stances and small resources, there is no comparison
between them.
It is, on the one hand, as wrong and as dangerous
to overlook the success which God has given to His
What Remains word in the last age, or the unparalleled
to be Done, openings which promise to the Church
future conquest, as it is, on the other, to repose on our
present possessions as if the conquest was achieved.
What has been done is enough to excite our liveliest
gratitude; but if we dwell on it alone, we become
enervated and careless. What remains to be done is
enough to excite our deepest solicitude ; but if we look
at it alone, we become dispirited and powerless. Even
in England everything is stained ; our commerce
corrupt ; our politics earthy ; our social manners
chiefly formed after the will of "the god of this
world ; " our streets crying shame upon us ; our
hamlets, many of them, dark, ignorant, and immoral ;
our towns debauched and drunken.
Amid this much good exists, in which we do rejoice,
yea, and will rejoice; but oh! the evil, the evil is, day
by day, breaking thousands of hearts, ruining thou-
sands of characters, and destroying thousands of
souls ! Looking abroad beyond the one little sphere
of Britain and America, which we proud boasters of
the two nations are prone to look upon as being nearly
the whole world, — though we are not one-twentieth of
the human race, — how dreary and how lonely does
326 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
the soul of the Christian feel, as it floats in imagina-
tion, over the rest of the earth! That Europe, so
learned, so splendid, so brave, — what misery is by its
fire-sides ! what stains upon its conscience ! what
superstition, stoicism, or despair around its death beds !
And yonder bright old Asia, where the " tongue of
fire " first spoke, — how rare and how few are the
scenes of moral beauty which there meet the eye!
Instead of the family, the seraglio ; instead of religion,
superstition ; instead of peace, oppression ; instead of
enterprise, war; instead of morals, ceremonies; in-
stead of a God, idols ; instead of refinement and
growth, corruption and collapse ; here, there, thinly
sown and scarcely within sight one of the other, a
school, a book, a man of God, — one star in a sky of
darkness. And poor Africa ! what is to become of
the present generation of her sons ? Thinly around
her coasts, are beginnings of good things; but oh! the
blood and darkness, and woe, and base superstition,
and the miserable cruelties, under which the majority
of her youth are now trained, amid which her old men
are going down to the grave !
All this existed a century ago, but was not then
known as we know it now. The world is not yet
explored by the Church, much less
Success of '111 1 . t .
Preachers in occupicd ; but the exploration at least is
the Last carried so far, that we know its plagues
Century. ^^ ^^^ fathers knew them not ; and if
PRACTICAL LESSONS, Z27
our hearts were rightly affected, we should weep over
them as they never wept ; for, although the spread of
Christianity has greatly multiplied the number of
Christians, the increase of population has been such,
that more men are sinning and suffering now than
were a hundred years ago.
Taking the forces of the Church, comparing them
with the length and breadth of the world, and then
asking, " Are these ever to be the means of converting
all ? " we feel that only the promise of God could in-
spire such a hope. But that promise is so confirmed,
illustrated, and exalted by the success of the past
century, that when we look back to the few faithful
men in this country and in America, men in different
circumstances and of different views, who then began
in earnest to call the Churches to their work, and see
how far their labours and those of their spiritual sons
have advanced the kingdom of Christ beyond where
it stood then, we are led to say, " Suppose that all
the good men, now loving God and desiring His glory,
were but to be multiplied in equal ratio during the
next century, as those few have been during the last
century ; what an amazing stride would be made
towards the conversion of the whole world ! "
Is this too much to expect ? Are we to conclude,
that the force of the animating Spirit is spent, and
that an age of feebleness must succeed to one of
power ? To do so is fearfully to disbelieve at once
323 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
the goodness and the faithfulness of our God. Some
say that, because populations have become familiarized
with the truths of the Gospel, we are not to expect
the same converting effects as when those truths were
new. If this be so, we had better make way for a
generation of rationalists and formalists, to prepare
the ground again for spiritual cultivation ! Some say
that, because the age is so educated, intellectual,
scientific, and inquisitive, men are not so susceptible
of the influence of Christianity. Then shall we wait
for an age less enlightened and less educated ? Some
say that the age is so unduly active, forcing enterprise
and commerce to the point of absorbing every man,
till religion is pushed aside. Must we then wait for
a duller and more lethargic time ? Some say that the
Lord does not give us great success lest we should be
uplifted. Is it His way to promote humility by giving
small results to great agencies, or by giving great
results to small ones } And would not results after
the Pentecostal scale make any of our agencies seem
small } These are miserable withs wherewith to bind
the giant Church of God. Away with them every
one ! After going round all the reasons which one
hears ordinarily assigned for the greater direct success
of Preachers in the last century than now, our mind
finds rest only in that one reason, which carries a
world of rebuke and of humiliation to ourselves :
they produced greater effects, simply because of the
greater power of God within them.
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 329
Every ray of Gospel truth that exists in any man is
on our side. All intelligence, all intellectual activity,
Qj^^ all vigour of character, are more for us
Opportunities than their opposites would be. In fact,
and Helps. ^.j^^y ^^j.^ ^^^y much the fruit, the indirect
and secondary fruit, of the past triumphs of religion ;
for it is impossible that true godliness shall spread
among any people, without stimulating their intel-
lectual and social energies. It is hard to imagine a
satire on the Gospel more bitter than that it should
be powerful when new to men, and impotent when
familiar ; that it should be good for the half barbarous,
but not for those whom itself had refined ; capable of
captivating the inert, but incapable of commanding
the masculine and the energetic. We expect ages not
less instructed in Christian doctrine, but far more
instructed ; not intellectually duller, but more active ;
not darker as to science and literature, but incon-
ceivably brighter ; not slower as to invention, enter-
prise, and progress, but more vigorous by far. And
am I to turn to *' the glorious Gospel of the blessed
God," whereto I feel that I and mine, my kindred, my
country, the race from which I have sprung, the lands
in which I have travelled, are all indebted for their
purest and brightest things, — and say to it, " When
these bright ages come, thou shalt lag behind, perhaps
recollected as one of the infantine instructors of the
world, but distanced by the progress of man ? " Let
330 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
those who assign reasons for our want of fruitfulness
which fairly sow the seeds of rationalism, prepare to
render an account when the fruit of their sowing
comes to be reaped.
There is a natural tendency in any movement to
lose intensity as it gains surface. When godliness
becomes the habit of large numbers, it is not accord-
ing to the laws of human nature that it should retain,
in every individual, all the fervour which it must
maintain, in order to exist at all, when it is the
peculiarity of an extremely few. But if this fact is to
be recognised, it must be remembered that the dis-
advantage which it presents is easily overcome by the
power of grace ; and, indeed, a natural counterpoise to
this subsiding tendency in practical religion, is offered
in an equally natural accumulative tendency. That
decrease of distinction between the Church and the
world which is so often noticed, does not wholly arise
from the Church becoming less Christian, but partly
also from the world becoming less wicked. The
testimony of a large number of decided men, gradually
and silently imposes on the world a respect for
Christian principles ; till the world tacitly accepts
many of its moral laws and social standards at the
hands of the Church. Every concession of this kind
is an advantage to those Christians who mean to
conquer all ; while it is a seduction to those who
repose in the idea of converting a small section of the
people, leaving the rest to live in sin.
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 881
Put the ungodly in a minority, then vice becomes a
social as well as a spiritual blemish, and religion an
, ,. outward as well as an inward comfort.
Accumulative
Power As the multitude of Christians goes on
of Christian increasing, there is accumulative power
of example, accumulative power of teach-
ing, accumulative power of prayers, accumulative
power of Christian training in families, accumulative
power of purity in habits, all tending in the one
direction, — to bring the public sentiment under the
dominion of Christ Towns and villages exist in this
country where, within the memory of living men, very
few godly persons were to be found ; but now one-
tenth, one-seventh, and even one- fifth in some cases,
of their adult population, are professing to follow
Christ, and living more or less worthily of that profes-
sion. Can any man help feeling that the unconverted
people in such a town are much more likely to be
converted, than those living where the proportion of
the godly is not more than one in a hundred, or one
in a thousand ? Who would not feel — who would
not practically acknowledge the feeling — of the
accumulative power of Christian progress, if he had to
decide in which of two towns hi? unconverted son
should settle for life, — one with a believer to every
thousand of the population, or one with a believer to
every ten ? He would instantly say, " In the latter
place the prospects of my son's conversion are vastly
332 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
greater than in the other." What we should feel in
an individual case, we ought to feel on the great scale,
ought to gather strength and hope, not feebleness, from
past successes, and to become especially impatient of
the continuance of sinners in those fields, where
notable triumphs of grace have already been achieved.
What the Canaanites were to the Israelites of old, the
unconverted dwelling in our towns and villages are to
us at this day. They confuse and weaken us, they
allure, they ensnare us, they lead our children astray,
they rob us of the fruit of our schools, they damp the
zeal of our young converts, they entice families into
worldly practices, they tempt our tradesmen, they
infect our churches ; and never, until they are totally
extirpated, can peace and righteousness flourish in
our coasts. Impatient of their obstinacy everywhere,
we ought to be especially so where victories, won by
those who have preceded us, leave us comparatively
little to do : for the up-hill fight has been fought, the
vantage-ground gained, and now for the power to
complete the triumph ! The entire conversion of
England and America, within the next fifty years,
would not be so great a work for the Christians now
existing, as the progress made within the last hundred
years has been for the Christians then existing. Is it
rational to believe that God will less bless His servants
in this nineteenth century than in the one that is gone,
if they be equally faithful ? or that He will shower on
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 333
this generation of ours less marked benedictions than
He did on the one to whom we are indebted for so
much ?
IV. — The Conversion of the Whole World Possible.
The single consideration of past progress suffices to
prove that, on the ground of experience, we are not
warranted to conclude that the conversion of the whole
world is impossible. Much as may be argued from the
slowness of the past progress of Christianity, the last
century has so changed the aspect of affairs, as now
to cast the weight of the argument from experience
decisively into the scale of hope. Many, however,
will continue to look upon any consistent expectation
of the general conversion of men as illusory; the
objections of some resting on their views of the con-
stancy of human nature, certain, they think, hereafter,
as heretofore, to present great numbers of unconquer-
able opponents to holiness ; while others take higher
ground, and believe that the general conversion of our
race is contrary to the purpose of God.
When the question, " Is the conversion of the whole
world possible ? " is fairly put, the plain answer to it
is obviously this : " It is possible, unless it be contrary
to the will of God." If He has ordained that it is not
to be, an infinite obstacle opposes it ; if He has not
so ordained, the obstacles which oppose it are finite,
and therefore conquerable. Christians can overcome
all things but a decree of God.
384 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
Has He then given us any declaration that He
does not intend to renew the earth, as a whole, in
righteousness ? We do not mean to hold any contro-
versy with those who have deliberately adopted the
view that the Christian dispensation is a kind of in-
terlude between the Lord's lifetime upon earth, and a
future earthly reign, meanwhile bearing witness in
His name : a witness for the conversion of a few, and
the condemnation of the many. We leave them with
the praise of being perfectly consistent, in expecting
small results from the preaching of the Gospel ; and
with the responsibility of looking on that Gospel in a
light which warrants little faith.
We deal with those who regard the Gospel as bona
fide " good news " for every creature, — " good news"
^, ^ , , which those who heard it before me were
The Gospel
''Good News'' bound to tell to me, — "good news"
for Every which I am bound to tell to every
creature living, according to the extent of
my opportunities, — " good news " to the effect that
"the grace of God, which bringeth salvation to all
men, hath appeared," — news which could not be told
to me as good, if it left any doubt whether it was or
was not for me, — " good news " to every creature, " A
Gospel for thee."
We take the first two announcements by a preacher
under the Christian dispensation, to audiences of
sinners, as intended for our instruction and imitation :
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 836
"Repent, and be baptized EVERY ONE OF YOU, in
the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins ; "
" God having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to
bless you, in turning away EVERY ONE OF YOU from
his iniquities." Declarations less direct, personal, or
comprehensive than these, we have no manner of
authority to deliver. We are to " command all men
everywhere to repent," to call upon every one of them
to believe, to assure every one of them that Christ is
" sent to bless him in turning him away from his
iniquities."
Nor are we to make such proclamations under the
feeling that, although it is our duty to do it, there is
Relation ^^ intention on the part of God to second
of Hope our testimony and %\\^ it effect. Hope
to Labour. -^^ ^^ x^smW. sustained the Apostle in his
work, according to his own avowal ; for he says,
" Therefore we both labour and suffer reproach,
because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour
of all men, specially those that believe." This trust in
the God and Saviour of all was enough to animate any
man in labour and under reproach ; and such a trust
we should never cast away.
The question, whether or not the conversions of the
first ages ought to be looked back to by us, as a
standard at which to aim, is settled by one of the
passages already quoted. After joyfully describing
the conversion of the Church in Ephesus, where " the
33S THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
word of the Lord " so " mightily grew and prevailed/*
St. Paul says, that God has done this, " THAT IN THE
AGES TO COME He MIGHT SHOW THE EXCEEDING
RICHES OF His grace, in His kindness toward us
through Jesus Christ." We are living in what were,
then, " the ages to come." On us the light of those
" exceeding riches of grace " is shining, — shining for
our encouragement, — shining that we may believe
that in heathen cities, where great Dianas are adored,
we also shall see " the word of God mightily grow
and prevail," heathen rites abandoned, bad books
consumed, and the craft of idol-makers destroyed.
While this collective number of conversions is given
to us as an encouragement, the most remarkable of
all individual conversions is placed before us in the
same light. " Howbeit," says St. Paul, " for this cause
I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might
show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them
which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlast-
ing." Thus we are deliberately forewarned to take the
most singular conversion that ever occurred in the
early Church, not as a discouragement because of its
specialty, but as an intentional manifestation of the
wonderful grace of the Redeemer, by which every
sinner in all ages, who would fain " find mercy," may
encourage himself. The persecutor Paul, converted
and forgiven, is for a pattern to individual believers in
*' the ages to come." The great multitude of
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 837
"children of wrath" in Ephesus who were made to
" sit in heavenly places in Jesus Christ," are also to us,
of " the ages to come," a pattern of the " exceeding
riches of grace." Whether our faith be tried in
respect to the possibility of the conversion of an in-
dividual as unlikely as Saul, or of a number as great
as the Church of Ephesus, in either case we should
believe that the ancient grace is free and mighty this
day. Thus trusting in " God, who is the Saviour of
all men," we shall both cheerfully " labour and suffer
reproach."
The same relation which we have shown to exist
between hope and labour, is also pointed out to us, as
Relation existing between hope and prayer. "I
of Hope exhort therefore, that, first of all, suppli-
to Prayer, cations, prayers, intercessions, and giving
of thanks, be made for all men." Here no one doubts
that we afe literally commanded to pray for every
human being ; but if we did not carefully attend to
the context, we might run away with a vague idea
that we were only to pray as an expression of good-
will, and that for temporal and national blessings,
especially as allusion is made to " Kings, and all that
are in authority ; " — that, in fact, the " prayers and
supplications, and intercessions, and giving of thanks,
for all men," do not mean that we are to pray, suppli-
cate, and intercede, that all men may be saved and
come to the knowledge of the truth : for that would
22
THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
only be asking what God wills should never be, and
therefore what could not be acceptable to Him. But,
as if expressly to anticipate this unbelief, the Apostle
adds, " For this is good and acceptable in the sight of
God our Saviour ; who will have all men to be saved,
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For
there is one God, and one Mediator between God and
men, the Man Christ Jesus ; who gave Himself a
ransom for all, a testimony in due time."
Here our encouragement h\ prayer, supplication,
and intercession for all men, is grounded first on the
clear declaration that such prayer is " good and accept-
able in the sight of God our Saviour ; " — " our Saviour"
giving intensity to the expression, as if reminding us
that He who has saved us, must be one to whom it is
good and acceptable, that we should seek the salvation
of all. It is further grounded on the express declara-
tion of His will regarding others, that He " will have
them to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of
the truth." Here is not only the assurance that we are
right in praying that they may be saved, but right in
praying that the truth may be brought to all, and that
they may be saved through its instrumentality ; pray-
ing, in fact, for the universal diffusion of Christ's
Gospel, and the universal salvation of men in con-
sequence. It is further supported on the ground of
the unity of God, the unity of the Mediator between
God and men, and the unity of man as regarded by
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 880
His mediating atonement: "One God, and one Mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who
gave Himself a ransom for all, a testimony in due
time." '
We have, then, the clear example of the first
preachers, the express declaration that the early con-
versions were as a pattern for the ages to come, the
statement that trust in God as the Savour of all men
was the animating strength under apostolic toil and
shame, the command to pray for all, and the most
formally stated warrant for such prayers boldly to lay
hold upon the promises of God.
Many who will admit that the scriptural argument
points in this direction, yet, looking at human nature.
The Free ^^^ present condition of mankind, the
Agency proportion of Christian agency to popula-
of Man. \\(^xx^ and the past career of man, will, on
the whole, conclude that the conversion of the world
is not to be expected. They will also ask us how we
can reconcile such an expectation with the free agency
of man. We will no further answer them than by
recalling the fact that every additional conversion to
some extent, however slight, changes the condition of
society, and, in so doing, affects the motives which act
upon the unconverted, throwing a greater weight upon
the side of goodness. A few more decided advances
« We give the marginal reading, which is a literal translation ; the
other is, **to be testified indue time."
340 THE TONGUE OF FIRE,
on the part of the Church, in some countries of
Christendom, would cast a preponderating weight of
social motives on the side of godliness, leaving little
to be contended against but the natural depravity of
man's heart, which, even in the purest condition of
society, would be enough to demand the most zealous
care for the conversion of each human being.
This bears first on the general question of natural
motives, next on the particular one as to reconciling
faith, for the general regeneration of men, with their
free agency. We readily admit, that logically we can-
not reconcile them, and certainly we are not anxious
to attempt it. All the difficulties which meet us in
soberly expecting the conversion of the entire world,
equally meet us in soberly expecting the conversion
of an entire family. Every question of free agency,
motives, human nature, past experience, which enters
into the one, enters into the other, though on a smaller
scale. But it is only the scale that differs, the elements
are the same. Yet who that has felt the faith and
love of Christ within him, and has kindred dear to his
own heart, has not again and again pleaded that they
might all appear, "no wanderer lost, a family in
heaven ? " Who does not feel that to exercise faith
that such a prayer shall be answered, is good and
wise, and acceptable to God .•* In fact, all the difficulty
exists as to faith for the conversion of any one
individual.
PRACTICAL LESSONS, 841
The difference between preaching the Gospel with
a full expectation of doing no more than saving small
companies of saints from amidst multitudes of sinners,
on whose shipwreck no influence is to be exercised
beyond holding them a light to sink by, and of look-
ing upon every converted man as one rescued from a
common danger, who is immediately to join in rescuing
the rest, — is such, that in the one case, when a little
is accomplished, it is looked upon as what the Gospel
was sent to do ; while, in the other case, every little is
taken as but an earnest of the great, and the great as
an earnest of the universal. While we aim at few,
we shall win but few ; for, that our successes shall take
their proportions from our faith is the universal law
of the service of Christ.
Should we be wrong in our views, — should it be
contrary to the design of our Lord to convert all our
The Unshared ^^ce by the preaching of His word, and
Province of the outpouring of His Spirit, — should it
^^'^' be His purpose to leave the earth much
as it is until He concludes its mournful story in
thunder-claps of judgment, — should that consummation
be nigh, and the last trumpet be already beginning to
fill with the breath of the archangel, yet surely, if we,
under the illusion of our belief, are found panting,
praying, labouring, if by any means we might save
some, that blast might cause us a pang for the
multitudes whom it found unwarned ; but no pang
342 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
because we had been busy in warning, exhorting,
entreating ; no pang because we had done so in faith
that our Lord willed all men to come to the knowledge
of the truth.
Suppose, on the other hand, that there is even a
possibility of our being right, that the grace of God
which has appeared to us really is "good tidings" for
every creature ; that the truth so precious to our
nation and to our own souls is not decreed away from
any part of the human family by the great Saviour
above us ; that He does mean that literally every
creature should hear it from the lips of His servants,
that literally the whole earth should be filled with the
knowledge of the Lord, that literally " the ages to
come " should take the early conversions as the type
of their expectations, and should embrace all men in
their supplications and their labours, — should all this
be true, and we spend our strength in observing the
clouds, and the judgments, and the trumpets, telling
those who are calling the nations that they may call,
but they will accomplish little thereby, — as far as in
us lies, stealing the nerve from their arm and the fire
from their voice ; should we in the midst of this die,
and find " ages to come " yet advancing, then, perhaps,
we might feel, as if the Scripture had been neglected
by us, which says, " He that observeth the wind shall
not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not
reap." Futurity, judgments, and providential designs.
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 34S
lie within the unshared province of God ; and none
need make it his chief concern to settle or to ascertain
them. A world of sinning and suffering men, each
one of them my own brother, calls on me for work,
work, work. I may trust the future, and the time of
restoring Israel, to better hands than mine.
V. — Let us Up and be Doing,
In hope, or without hope, let us up and be doing.
Encouragements are on every hand, and so are
menaces. The enlightened, the true, the zealous, are
many ; the wicked and the slothful are fearfully more.
The number of the former has been growing by con-
versions, the number of the latter growing faster by the
natural increase of population. The appliances for
Christian propagation are vast ; the faith of many in
their efficacy feeble. The doctrines of Christianity are
known and prized by multitudes who never knew them
before ; but, on the other hand, there are few of the
Churches, in the very heart of which those doctrines
are not betrayed. One would rob us of the incarna-
tion of God, another of the Spirit of God, another of
an atonement, another of providence, another of prayer,
some of regenerating grace, some of ministerial unc-
tion, some of primitive fervour, some of a Lord's day ;
some would launch us on a sea of thought without an
inspired guide ; others on a moral universe without
punishment for wrong ; thus nearly every truth that
distinguishes the system of Christianity from earthly
344 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
inventions, is attacked by mining or by battery. We
are not sure but truth is sometimes spoken when
little good ensues ; we are sure that error is never
issued into the world without doing harm ; and there
are strong men now doing work over which, unless
others, made stronger by the might of God, undo it,
generations to come will have reason to weep. For
all who cannot bear to see the Cross betrayed, the
Holy Ghost grieved, the oracles of God degraded, the
work of the Spirit in the human soul reduced to a
process of motives and emotions, and every Divine tie
that connects us, as a redeemed race, with a redeem-
ing Father, skilfully cut asunder ; — for those who are
not prepared to see the Churches of England and
America pass through blights such as have befallen
the Churches of Switzerland, Germany, and other
Protestant regions of the Continent, this is a moment
when the air seems full of trumpet-notes, when every
step taken on doctrinal ground raises the echo of
warning. And, alas ! many who dogmatically repel
error, evaporate in intellectualism ; others decay, under
a silvered mildew of respectability ; and others, pro-
fessing to seek the old Christianity, content themselves
with garnishing the sepulchre in which the Middle
Ages buried her, instead of seeking that her first
preachers, in the persons of other men, but in the
"spirit and power" of Peters and Pauls, should be
raised up once more !
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 845
We will bless every labourer, for any service done
toward the maintenance and advance of the truth,
Saving ^"^^ every good word spoken, every sound
Ourselves and argument Uttered from the pulpit, every
Others. page of evangelical truth written, and
every rebuke administered in any way to those who
would falsify our faith ; but, let them be assured that
more than all other services, turning many away from
iniquity will counterwork and confound attempts to
reduce Christianity from a Divine to a human system.
This is the practical answer to difficulties and
objections. Let us only have multitudes of new-born
Christians, fervent in faith and hope, full of love and
of good works, and rationalists may account for the
phenomenon as they will ; but the common con-
science of mankind will feel that God is in it.
" Beholding the man which was healed standing with
them, they could say nothing against it."
The one reason for being zealous for Christian
doctrine which so far surpasses all others that beside
it they become as nothing, is that given by St. Paul
to Timothy : " Take heed unto thyself, and unto the
doctrine ; continue in them : for in doing this thou
shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee."
What a motive ! Saving, first, ourselves, — then, those
that hear us : the sublime can go no further ! Here
we have set before our hearts, soliciting us onward,
motives which we acknowledge have already moved
346 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
the very heart of the Godhead. To save ! as an in-
strument, it is true; but O, how infinitely glorious,
even as an instrument to save ! and that, not only
ourselves, but others ! While, on the one hand,
guarding "the doctrine" is the only means of retain-
ing saving power in the Church ; on the other, no
guard upon the doctrine will ever be effectual unless
we can raise up a succession of saved men.
Creeds, Catechisms, Confessions, are not to be
treated as is now the fashion in many quarters to
^ , ^ treat them : but, when kept in their
Creeds, Gate- ^
chisms, and P^oper place, as human and fallible, and
Confessions, strong only when they accord with God's
holy oracles, have a high utility. But the idea of
relying upon these for conserving the truth in any
Church, is as well-founded as would be the idea of
relying on a good military code for defending a nation.
An army of cowards would interpret any code down
to their own level, and Churches of unconverted men
will equally lower any confession of faith. For
rescuing souls, for rebuking blasphemy, for building
up God's holy Church, for glorifying the Saviour's
name on earth, for our own joy and crown of rejoicing,
for the bliss of covering a multitude of sins, for the
eternal delight of having saved a soul from death,
let us aim at one work, — bringing sinners from dark-
ness to light. Of all the records of praise which our
merciful Lord will give His servants, who would not
PRACTICAL LESSONS, 847
most covet that his record should be ? — " The law of
truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in
his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity,
AND DID TURN MANY AWAY FROM INIQUITY ! "
Ye that are lights and fathers in the ministry, whose
very name is a power, whose tone decides that of
. many young evangelists, whose standard
and the o^ faith and success regulates the practical
" Ton^e of expectations of many humble Christians,
Fire "
— O, show us the way to victory, lead us
to downright conquests over this cold and sinful
world ! What if, ere ye go hence, ye should leave to
your successors a glorious tradition of multitudes
broken under the power of the word, of notorious
sinners suddenly transformed into bright examples of
grace, of throngs of inquirers asking the way to heaven
with tears, of Churches once dying easily roused,
through your instrumentality, to apostolic zeal ? If
ye but leave behind you such traditions to be told,
and told again, to children, and to children's children,
your "tongue of fire" will be multiplying itself in
the homesteads of your people, when your voice has
long been silent, and the fruit of your labour will go
on propagating itself, until the trump of the archangel
sounds.
Ye who are but entering on the work of the ministry,
or are as yet young in its ranks, choose, among all
those who have gone before you, whose fame you
348 THE TONGUE OF FIRE.
would prefer. Take the host of those who have trifled
with the Cross, with inspiration, with the fall and the
redemption of man, with the work of the Spirit, or
any of the other vital doctrines of our religion ; and
if you find among them one man whose name, after
ages, is dear to a nation, sacred in the homesteads of
thousands to whose ancestors he was a blessing, — then
follow him. If you find among those who gave them-
selves to intellectual pleasures, and were above the
plain rough work of revivals and awakenings, one who
has left a memory which is to this day blessed, raising
up even now spiritual children to perpetuate his fruits
to other generations, — you may follow him. But
surely you would never think of following in the track
of those whose labours have been succeeded by a
blight, or whose names, if remembered at all, are
remembered, not as a blessing to the world, but simply
as an example of talent } Surely you would wish
rather to be one of those whom grandsires shall speak
of, to their grandchildren, as having been the means
of saving such a man, of kindling such a revival, of
introducing a new religious era into the history of such
a village, or of first carrying the Gospel to some
people, to whom Christ was a stranger? You will
find that all those upon whose memories the blessings
of living men rest, were those who most gave them-
selves to accomplish the salvation of sinners, who
glorified in the Cross, who trusted in the Holy Ghost,
PRACTICAL LESSONS. 849
and who, whether their tongue was that of a Boanerges,
or that of a Barnabas, ever took care, by solitary wait-
ing before the Redeemer's throne, to have it so imbued
with the Holy Ghost, that it was, at least, a " tongue
of fire."
We do not feel that we have said what we had to
say. In looking over this little book, we can hardly
believe that it is all that the feelings and thoughts with
which we began it have produced. But, such as it is,
let it go out to the world, to be rebuked where it errs,
to be unheeded where it is feeble, to be blessed where
it is true and strong.
And now, adorable Spirit, proceeding from the
Father and the Son, descend upon all the Churches,
renew the Pentecost in this our age, and baptize Thy
people generally — O, baptize them yet again with
tongues of fire ! Crown this nineteenth century with
a revival of " pure and undefiled religion " greater than
that of the last century, greater than that of the first,
greater than any " demonstration of the Spirit " ever
yet vouchsafed to men 1
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Arthur, William
The tongue of fire
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