VII
THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit, as coming down to fill the place of the ascended Redeemer, has rightly been called "The Vicar of Jesus Christ." To him the entire administration of the church has been committed until the Lord shall return in glory. His oversight extends to the slightest detail in the ordering of G.o.d"s house, holding all in subjection to the will of the Head, and directing all in harmony with the divine plan.
How clearly this comes out in that pa.s.sage in the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians. As in striking a series of concentric circles there is always one fixed center holding each circ.u.mference in defined relation to itself, so here we see all the "diversities of administrations" determined by the one Administrator, the Holy Ghost.
"Varieties of gifts, but _the same Spirit_"; "diversities of working, but _the same G.o.d_"; different words "according to _the same Spirit_"; "gifts of faith _in the same Spirit_"; "gifts of healing _in the one Spirit_"; miracles, prophecies, tongues, interpretations, "but all these worketh the _one and the same Spirit_, dividing to each one severally as he will." Whether the authority of this one ruling {130} sovereign Holy Ghost be recognized or ignored determines whether the church shall be an anarchy or a unity, a synagogue of lawless ones or the temple of the living G.o.d.
Would one desire to find the clue to the great apostasy whose dark eclipse now covers two-thirds of nominal Christendom, here it is--the rule and authority of the Holy Spirit ignored in the church; the servants of the house a.s.suming mastery and encroaching more and more on the prerogatives of the Head, till at last one man sets himself up as the administrator of the church, and daringly usurps the name of "The Vicar of Christ." When the Spirit of the Lord, speaking by Paul, would picture the mystery of lawlessness and the culmination of apostasy, he gives us a description which none should misunderstand: "So that he, as G.o.d, sitteth in the temple of G.o.d, shewing himself that he is G.o.d" (2 Thess. 2: 4). What is the temple of G.o.d? The church without a question: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of G.o.d, and that the Spirit of G.o.d dwelleth in you?" (1 Cor. 3: 16). Whose prerogative is it to sit there? The Holy Ghost"s, its ruler and administrator, and his alone.
When Christ, our Paraclete with the Father, entered upon his ministry on high, we are told more than a score of times that he "sat down at the right hand of G.o.d." Henceforth heaven is his official seat, until he returns in power and great glory. {131} When he sent down another Paraclete to abide with us for the age, he took his seat in the church, the temple of G.o.d, there to rule and to administer till the Lord returns. There is but one "Holy See" upon earth: that is, the seat of the Holy One in the church, which only the Spirit of G.o.d can occupy without the most daring blasphemy. It becomes all true believers to look well to that picture of one "sitting in the temple of G.o.d," and to read the lesson which it teaches. We may have no temptation toward the papacy, which thrusts a man into the seat of the Holy Ghost,[1] or toward clerisy which obtrudes an order of ecclesiastics--archbishops, cardinals, and archdeacons into that sacred place; but let us remember that a democracy may be guilty of the same sin as a hierarchy, in settling solemn issues by a "show of hands," instead of prayerfully waiting for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in subst.i.tuting the voice of a {132} majority for the voice of the Spirit. Of course, in speaking thus we concede that the Holy Spirit makes known his will in the voice of believers, as also in the voice of Scripture. Only there must be such prayerful sanctifying of the one and such prayerful search of the other, that in reaching decisions in the church there may be the same declaration as in the first Christian council: "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us" (Acts 15: 28).
In some very profound teaching in 2 Cor. 3 we seem to have a hint as to how we hear the voice of the Lord in guiding the affairs of the church.
There, the administration (_diachonia_) of the Spirit is distinctly spoken of in contrast with the administration of the law. Its deliverances are written "not with ink, not in tables of stone, but in the tables that are the hearts of flesh, with the Spirit of the living G.o.d" (R. V.). There must be a sensitive heart wherein this handwriting may be inscribed; an unhindering will through which he may act. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty," it is written in the same pa.s.sage; liberty for G.o.d to speak and act as he will through us, which begets loyalty; not liberty for us to act as we will, which begets lawlessness.
To us there is something exceedingly suggestive in the teaching of the Lord"s post-ascension gospel, the Revelation, on this point. The epistles to the {133} seven churches we hold, with many of the best commentators, to be a prophetic setting forth of the successive stages of the church"s history--its declines and its recoveries, its failures and its repentances, from ascension to advent. And because the bride of Christ is perpetually betrayed into listening to false teachers and surrendering to the guidance of evil counsellors, the Lord is constantly admonishing her to heed the voice of her true Teacher and Guide, the Holy Ghost. How forcibly this admonition is introduced into the great Apocalyptic drama! As in the opening of the successive seals, representing the judgments of G.o.d upon apostate Christendom, the cry is repeated, "Come"! "Come"! "Come"! "Come"! (Rev. 6)--as though the church under chastis.e.m.e.nt would repeatedly relearn the advent prayer which her Lord put into her mouth in the beginning: "Even so, come, Lord Jesus," so at each stage of the church"s backsliding a voice is heard from heaven saying: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." It is the admonition "of him that hath the seven spirits of G.o.d," seven times addressed to his church throughout her earthly history, calling her to return from her false guides and misleading teachers, and to listen to the voice of her true Counsellor.
From this general statement of the administration of the Holy Spirit let us now descend to the {134} particular acts and offices in which this authority is exercised.
1. _The Holy Spirit in the ministry and government of the church_. In speaking to the elders of Ephesus Paul says: "Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock in the which the Holy Ghost hath made you bishops, to feed the church of G.o.d" (Acts 20: 28, R. V.). Clearly in the beginning bishops or pastors were given by the Spirit of G.o.d, not by the suffrages of the people. The office and its inc.u.mbent were alike by direct divine appointment. We find this distinctly set forth in the Epistle to the Ephesians: "When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. . . And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4: 8-12, R. V.). The ascent of the Lord and the descent of the Spirit are here exhibited in their necessary relation. In the one event Christ took his seat in heaven as "Head over all things to his church"; in the other the Holy Ghost came down to begin the work of "building up the body of Christ." Of course it is the Head who directs the construction of the body, as being "fitly framed together it groweth into a holy temple in the Lord"; and it is the Holy Ghost who superintends this construction since "we are {135} builded together for an habitation of G.o.d in the Spirit." Therefore all the offices through which this work is to be carried on were appointed by Christ and inst.i.tuted through the Spirit whom he sent down. Suppose now that men invent offices which are not named in the inspired list, and set up in the church an order of popes and cardinals, archbishops and archdeacons? Is it not a presumption, the worst fruit of which is not alone that it introduces confusion into the body of Christ, but that it begets insubordination to the rule of the Holy Ghost? But suppose, on the other hand, that we sacredly maintain those offices of the ministry which have been established for permanent continuance in the church, and yet take it upon us to fill these according to our own preference and will; is this any less an affront to the Spirit?
Doubtless the mistakes of G.o.d"s servants, as given in Scripture are as truly designed for our instruction and admonition as their obedient examples. We think we do not err in finding such a recorded warning in the opening chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. A vacancy had occurred in the apostolate. Standing up in the upper room, amidst the hundred and twenty, Peter boldly affirmed that this vacancy must be filled, and of the men who had companied with them during the Lord"s earthly ministry, "one must be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." But the {136} disciples had hitherto had no voice in choosing apostles. The Lord had done this of his own sovereign will: "Have I not chosen you twelve?" Now he had gone away into heaven, and his Administrator had not yet arrived to enter upon his office-work.
Surely if the divine order was to be, that having "ascended on high" he was "to give some apostles," it were better to await the coming of the Paraclete with his gifts. Not only so, but we are persuaded that, with Christ departed and the Holy Spirit not yet come, a valid election of an apostle were impossible. But in spite of this, a nomination was made; prayer was offered in which the Lord was asked to indicate which of the candidates he had chosen; and then a vote having been taken, Matthias was declared elected. Is there any indication that this choice was ever ratified by the Lord? On the contrary, Matthias pa.s.ses into obscurity from this time, his name never again being mentioned.
Some two years subsequent, the Lord calls Saul of Tarsus; he is sealed with his Spirit, and certified by such evident credentials of the Divine appointment that he boldly signs himself "Paul, an apostle, _not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and G.o.d the Father_" (Gal.
1: 1).
We believe that the apostolic office has pa.s.sed away, the qualification therefor, that of having been a witness of the Lord"s resurrection, being now impossible. But the office of pastor, elder, bishop, or {137} teacher of the flock still remains. And the divine plan is that this office should be filled, just as in the beginning, by the appointment of the Holy Ghost. Nor can we doubt that if there is a prayerful waiting upon him for guidance, and a sanctified submission to his will when it is made known, he will now choose pastors and set them over their appointed flocks just as manifestly as he did in the beginning. Very beautiful is the picture in Revelation of the glorified Lord, moving among the candlesticks. There are "seven golden candlesticks" now, not one only as in the Jewish temple. The Church of G.o.d is manifold, not a unit.[2] He who "walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks" "holdeth the seven stars in his right hand."
These stars are "the angels of the seven churches"--their ministers or bishops as generally understood. The Lord holds them in his right hand. Does he not require us to ask of him alone for their bestowal?
Yes. "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest" (Luke 10: 2). There is no intimation in Scripture that we are to apply anywhere but to him for the ministry of his church. Does he not give {138} such ministry, and he alone?
Yes. "When he ascended on high . . . he gave some . . . pastors and teachers." And now, speaking to the church in Ephesus, the elders of which, chosen by the Holy Ghost, Paul had so affectionately exhorted, he is seen in the att.i.tude of Chief-shepherd and Bishop--giving pastors with his own hand; placing them with his own right hand, and warning the church that though they have tried and rejected false apostles, they have nevertheless left their "first love." Significant word! On this love our Lord conditioned the indwelling of the Father and of the Son through the Holy Spirit (John 14: 23). Losing this the peril becomes imminent that the candlestick may be removed out of its place; and so the warning is solemnly announced: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Without the Spirit the candlestick can shed forth no light, and loses its place of testimony.
Dead churches, whose witness has been silenced, whose place has been vacated, even though the lifeless form remains, have we not seen such?
And what is the safeguard against them, if not that found in the apostle"s warning: "Quench not the Spirit?" The voice of the Lord must be heard in his church, and to the Holy Ghost alone has been committed the prerogative of communicating that voice. Is there any likelihood that that voice will be heard when the king or prime minister of a civil {139} government holds the sole function of appointing the bishops, as in the case of State churches? Is there any certainty of it when an archbishop or bishop puts pastors over flocks by the action of his single will? We may congratulate ourselves that we are neither in a State church nor under an episcopal bishop; but there are methods of ignoring or repressing the voice of the Holy Ghost, which though simpler and far less apparent than those just indicated, are no less violent. The humble and G.o.dly membership of the little church may turn to some pastor, after much prayer and waiting on G.o.d for the Spirit"s guidance, and the signs of the divine choice may be clearly manifest; when some pulpit committee, or some conclave of "leading brethren,"
vetoes their action on the ground, perchance, that the candidate is not popular and will not draw. Alas! for the little flock so lorded over that the voice of the Holy Ghost cannot be heard.
And majorities are no more to be depended upon than minorities, if there is in both cases a neglect of patient and prolonged waiting upon the Lord to know his will. Of what value is a "show of hands" unless his are stretched out "who holdeth the seven stars in his right hand?"
Of what use is a _viva voce_ choice, except the living voice of Christ be heard speaking by his Spirit? One may object that we are holding up an ideal which is impossible to be realized. It is a difficult ideal we admit, as {140} the highest attainments are always difficult; but it is not an impossible one. It is easier to recite our prayers from a book than to read them from the tables of a prepared heart, where the finger of the Spirit has silently written them; but the more difficult way is the more acceptable way to him who seeks for worshipers who "worship in Spirit and in truth." It is easier to get "the sense of the meeting" in choosing a pastor than to learn "the mind of the Spirit" by patient tarrying and humble surrender to G.o.d; but the more laborious way will certainly prove the more profitable way. The failure to take this way is, we are persuaded, the cause of more decay and spiritual death in the churches than we have yet imagined. From the watch-tower where we write we can look out on half a score of churches on which "Ichabod" has been evidently written, and the glory of which has long since departed. They were founded in prayer and consecration, "to serve the living and true G.o.d, and to wait for his Son from heaven." Why has their light been extinguished, though the lampstand which once bore it still remains, adorned and beautified with all that the highest art and architecture can suggest? Their history is known to him who walks among the golden candlesticks. What violence may have been done, by headstrong self-will, to him who is called "the Spirit of counsel and might"? What rejection of the truth which he, "the Spirit {141} of truth," has appointed for the faith of G.o.d"s church till at last the word has been spoken: "Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye." Is it only Jewish worshipers to whom these words apply? Is it only a Jewish temple of which this sentence is true: "Behold your house is left unto you desolate"? The Spirit will not be entirely withdrawn from the body of Christ indeed, but there is the Church, and there are churches. A man may yet live and breathe when cell after cell has been closed by congestion till at last he only inhales and exhales with a little portion of one lung. Let him that readeth understand.
The Spirit is the breath of G.o.d in the body of his church. While that divine body survives and must, mult.i.tudes of churches have so shut out the Spirit from rule and authority and supremacy in the midst of them that the ascended Lord can only say to them: "Thou hast a name to live and art dead." In a word, so vital and indispensable is the ministry of the Spirit, that without it nothing else will avail. Some trust in creeds, and some in ordinances; some suppose that the church"s security lies in a sound theology, and others locate it in a primitive simplicity of government and worship; but it lies in none of these, desirable as they are. The body may be as to its organs perfect and entire, wanting nothing; but simply because the Spirit has been {142} withdrawn from it, it has pa.s.sed from a church into a corpse. As one has powerfully stated it: "When the Holy Spirit withdraws, . . . he sometimes allows the forms which he has created to remain. The oil is exhausted, but the lamp is still there; prayer is offered and the Bible read; church-going is not given up, and to a certain degree the service is enjoyed; in a word religious habits are preserved, and like the corpses found at Pompeii, which were in a perfect state of preservation and in the very position in which death had surprised them, but which were reduced to ashes by contact with the air, so the blast of trial, of temptation, or of final judgment will destroy these spiritual corpses."[3]
2. _The Holy Spirit in the Worship and Service of the Church_. Is there anything, from highest to lowest, which we are called to do in connection with the worship of G.o.d"s house, of which the Holy Spirit is not the appointed agent? Believers are the instruments indeed through which he acts; but they have no function apart from his inspiration and guidance, any more than the organ-pipe has without the wind, which breathing through it causes it to resound. To make this clear, we may consider the several parts of the service of the church as we are accustomed to partic.i.p.ate in it, and observe their relation to the divine Administrator.
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(1) Preaching is by general consent an important factor of the work of the ministry, both for the pastor and for the evangelist. In what consists its inspiration and authority? We "have preached the gospel unto you _with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven_" (1 Peter 1: 12), is Peter"s simple story of the apostolic method. And the words direct our thought to the Spirit not as instrumental but as inspiring. "_In the Holy Ghost_," the words mean literally. The true preacher does not simply use the Spirit; he is used by the Spirit. He speaks as one moving in the element and atmosphere of the Holy Ghost, and mastered by his divine power.
In this fact the sermon differs immeasurably from the speech, and the preacher from the orator. How distinctly Paul emphasizes this contrast in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 2: 4). The sole substance of his preaching he declares to be "Jesus Christ and him crucified," and the sole inspiration of his preaching, the Holy Ghost: "And my speech was not with enticing words of man"s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power." What did good Philip Henry mean by his resolve "to preach Christ crucified in a crucified style"? More perhaps than he thought or knew. "He shall testify of me," is Jesus" saying concerning the promised Paraclete. The Comforter bears witness to the Crucified. No other theme in the pulpit can be sure of commanding his co-operation. {144} Philosophy, poetry, art, literature, sociology, ethics, and history are attractive subjects to many minds, and they who handle such themes in the pulpit may set them forth with alluring words of human genius; but there is no certainty that the Holy Ghost will accompany their presentation with his divine attestation. The preaching of the Cross, in chastened simplicity of speech, has the demonstration of the Spirit pledged to it, as no secular, or moral, or even formal religious discourse has. And when Paul writes to the Thessalonians: "Our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also _in power and in the Holy Ghost_, and in much a.s.surance" (1 Thess. 1: 5), we need only to be reminded that "our gospel" meant but one thing to Paul, the setting forth of Jesus Christ crucified in the midst of the people, and we have found the secret of evangelical power. Ought it not therefore to be the supreme question with the preacher, what themes can a.s.suredly command the witness of the Holy Spirit, rather than what topics will enlist the attention of the people? Let us set the popular preacher and the apostolic preacher side by side, and consider whose reward we would choose, universal admiration or "G.o.d also bearing witness, both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles, and _gifts of the Holy Ghost_, according to his will" (Heb. 2: 4)--the sermon greeted with applause and the clapping of hands, or "_the word received with joy of {145} the Holy Ghost_" (1 Thess. 1: 6)?--admiration of the preacher possessing all who listen to the discourse, or "_the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word_"
(Acts 10: 44)? Language cannot express the vital moment of the question which we are here discussing. Our generation is rapidly losing its grip upon the supernatural; and as a consequence the pulpit is rapidly dropping to the level of the platform. And this decline is due, we believe, more than anything else, to an ignoring of the Holy Spirit as the supreme inspirer of preaching. We wish to see a great orator in the pulpit, forgetting that the least expounder of the word, when filled with the Holy Ghost, is greater than he. We want the gospel, forsooth; but in the strenuous demand that it be set forth according to the "spirit of the age" we ignore the supremacy of the "Spirit of G.o.d." And the method of discourse soon tells upon the matter. We cannot very long have the truth in the pulpit after we have lost "the Spirit of truth" therefrom. "When one possesses not the whole of life," says Vinet, "he possesses not the whole of truth."
In all that we have said we do not ignore the human element in preaching, nor undervalue good learning and sanctified mental training, as a furnishing for this high office. We only emphasize the extreme peril of making that supreme which G.o.d has made subordinate. As it is genius which raises the great {146} painter or poet far above the common man, so it is the Holy Spirit which lifts the preacher far above the man of genius. A gifted artist spoke wisely when one, thinking only of the implements of his profession, asked, "With what do you mix your paints?" "With brains, sir," he replied. The preacher who brought three thousand to believe on a crucified Christ, under a single sermon, antic.i.p.ated the question of those who, with an eye upon the mere human accessories of his sermon, might ask after the secret of his power; and he unfolds that secret in a single terse sentence: "With the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven."
(2) Prayer is a most vital element in the worship of G.o.d"s church.
"Lord, teach us how to pray, as John also taught his disciples." Jesus complied literally with this request of his followers. As John, under the law, could only give rules and rudiments, not yet having come to the dispensation of grace and of the Spirit, so did Jesus give a form of prayer, a lesson in the "technique of worship." But only when he reaches the eve of his pa.s.sion, when he announces the coming of the Comforter, does he lead his disciples into the heart and mystery of the great theme, teaching them to pray as John _could not_ have taught his disciples. "Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name," said Jesus, in his paschal discourse. But now that he was about to enter into his mediatorial office at G.o.d"s right {147} hand, and to send forth the Comforter into the midst of his disciples, this joyful privilege was to be accorded to him: "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father _in my name_ he will give it you"[4] (1 John 16: 23). The words are equivalent to "_in me_." The thought is not surely that of using the name of Jesus as a pa.s.sword or as a talisman, but of entering into his person and appropriating his will; so that when we pray, it shall be as though Jesus himself stood in G.o.d"s presence and made intercession. Nor is it "as though"--it is the literal fact. We become identified with Christ through the Spirit, now sent down, and his will is wrought within us by the Holy Ghost, so that to ask what we desire of him is to ask what he desires for us. We are inwilled by his will, because inspired by his Spirit, who lives and breathes within us. Therefore we may know that we are always heard, since we are in him who can boldly say to the Father: "I know that thou always hearest me." It is Christ"s mediatorship with the Father, and the Holy Ghost"s mediatorship with us, that gives us this high privilege of praying in the name of Jesus, as it is written: "For through him we both have access _in one Spirit_ unto the Father."
When therefore, under the fuller development of {148} doctrine as found in the epistles, we read of "praying always with all prayer and supplication _in the Spirit_" (Eph. 6: 18), and of "praying in the Holy Ghost" (Jude 20), it is simply an admonition to use our privilege of asking in the name of Jesus. For to be in the Spirit is to be in Christ, united to his person, identified with his will, invested with his righteousness, so that we are as he is before the Father.
In that fullest exposition of the doctrine of the Spirit, given in the eighth of Romans, we see clearly that the ministry of the Comforter consists in his effectuating in us that which Christ is accomplishing for us on the throne. Especially is this true of prayer. In the Epistle to the Hebrews we read: "Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near to G.o.d through him, _seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them_" (Heb. 7: 25, R. V.). In the Epistle to the Romans we read: "And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity; for we know not how to pray as we ought, but _the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us_ with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of G.o.d" (Rom. 8: 26, 27, R. V.). These pa.s.sages, read together, clearly show the Spirit doing the same thing _in_ us which Christ in heaven {149} is doing _for_ us. And, moreover, they reveal to us the method of the glorified Christ in helping those who know not what to pray for as they ought, teaching them, not by an outward form, but by an inward guidance. Indeed, the prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit is often so deep that it cannot be expressed in formal words, but reaches the ear of the Father only in unspeakable yearnings, in unuttered groanings. The keynote of all true intercession is the will of G.o.d. In the disciples" prayer, as taught them by the Master, this note is distinctly sounded: "Thy will be done on earth as in heaven." In the Saviour"s garden-prayer it is heard again, as with strong crying and tears the Son of G.o.d exclaims: "Not my will but thine be done"; and in the revelation of the doctrine of prayer through an inspired apostle we read: "If we ask anything according to his will he heareth us." It is the Spirit"s deepest work in the believer to attune his mind to this exalted key, as he "maketh intercession for the saints _according to the will of G.o.d_." There is a promise which all disciples love to quote for their a.s.surance in prayer: "If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 18: 19). The word translated "agree" is a very suggestive one. It is, _sympsonesosin_, from which our word "symphony"
comes. If two shall _accord_ {150} or _symphonize_ in what they ask, they have the promise of being heard. But, as in tuning an organ all the notes must be keyed to the standard pitch, else harmony were impossible, so in prayer. It is not enough that two disciples agree with each other; they must both accord with a Third--the righteous and holy Lord--before in the scriptural sense they can agree in intercession. There may be agreement which is in most sinful conflict with the divine will: "How is it that ye have agreed together [_synepsonethe_, the same word] to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?" asks Peter (Acts 5: 9). Here is mutual accord, but guilty discord with the Holy Ghost. On the contrary it is the Spirit"s ministry to attune our wills to the Divine; thus only can there be praying in the Holy Ghost.
We cannot therefore emphasize too strongly the administration of the Spirit in directing the worship of G.o.d"s house. The use of liturgical forms is a relapse into legalism, a consent to be taught to pray as "John taught his disciples." True, there may be extemporaneous forms as well as written forms, praying by rote as well as praying by the book. Against both habits we simply interpose the higher teaching of the Spirit, as belonging especially to this dispensation, in which the Father seeketh worshipers who "worship in Spirit and in truth." To pray rightly is the highest of all attainments. And it is so because the secret lies {151} between these two opposites; a spirit supremely active while supremely pa.s.sive, a heart prevailing with G.o.d because prevailed over by G.o.d. "O Lord," says a high saint, "my spirit was like a harp this morning, making melody before thee, since thou didst first tune the instrument by the Holy Spirit, and then didst choose the psalm of praise to be played thereon." Most solemn and suggestive words these have always seemed: "The Father seeketh such to worship him." Amid all the repet.i.tion of forms and the chanting of liturgies, how earnestly the Most High searches after the spiritual worshiper, with a heart inwardly retired before G.o.d, with a spirit so sensitive to the hidden motions of the Holy Ghost that when the lips speak they shall utter the effectual inwrought prayer that availeth much!
If any shall interpose the objection that what we are saying is too high to be practical, it may be well to confirm our position by the witness of experience. We are not speaking of pulpit prayers especially, in what we have said. The universal priesthood of believers, which the Scriptures so plainly teach, const.i.tutes the ground for common intercession, for "the praying one for another" which is the distinctive feature of the Spirit"s dispensation The prayer meeting, therefore, in which the whole body of believers partic.i.p.ate, probably comes nearer the pattern of primitive Christian {152} worship than any other service which we hold. To apply our principle here, then, what method is found most satisfactory? Shall the service be arranged beforehand, this one selected to pray, and that one to exhort; and during the progress of the worship, shall such a one be called up to lead the devotions, and such a one to follow? In a word, shall the service be mapped out in advance and manipulated according to the dictates of propriety and fitness as it goes on? One, after many years of experience, can bear emphatic testimony to the value of another way--that of magnifying the office of the Holy Spirit as the conductor of the service, and of so withholding the pressure of human hands in the a.s.sembly that the Spirit shall have the utmost freedom to move this one to pray and that one to witness, this one to sing and that one "to say amen at our giving of thanks," according to his own sovereign will.
Here we speak not theoretically but experimentally. The fervor and spirituality and sweet naturalness of the latter method has been demonstrated beyond a peradventure, and that too, after an extended trial of both ways, the first in ignorance of a better way, with constant labor and worry and fret, and the last with inexpressible ease and comfort and spiritual refreshment. Honor the Holy Ghost as Master of a.s.semblies; study much the secret of surrender to him; cultivate a quick ear for hearing his inward voice and a ready tongue {153} for speaking his audible witness; be submissive to keep silence when he forbids as well as to speak when he commands, and we shall learn how much better is G.o.d"s way of conducting the worship of his house than man"s way.[5]
(3) The service of song in the house of the Lord is another element of worship whose relation to the Spirit needs to be strongly emphasized.
Spiritual singing has a divinely appointed place in the church of Christ. Church music, in the ordinary sense of that phrase, has no such place, but is a human invention which custom has, with many, unhappily elevated into an ordinance. We often quote the exhortation of the apostle: "Be filled with the Spirit," without marking the practical service with which this fullness stands immediately connected: "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord" (Eph. 5: 19). As immediately as prayer is connected with the Holy Ghost in this same epistle: "Praying at all seasons _in the Spirit_"; and our edification in the church: "Builded {154} together _in the Spirit_"
(Eph. 2: 22, R. V.); and our spiritual energizing: "Strengthened with power _through his Spirit_" (Eph. 3: 16, R. V.); and our approach to G.o.d, "Access _in one Spirit_ unto the Father" (2: 18, R. V.), so intimately is the worship of praise here connected with the Holy Ghost and made dependent on his power. Therefore it would seem too obvious to need arguing, that an unregenerate person is disqualified from ministering in the service of song in G.o.d"s house. Scripturally this seems incontestable; and as to the teaching of experience, we should hardly know how to name any custom which has brought a sorer blight upon the life of the church, or a heavier repression upon its spiritual energy, than the habit, now so general, of introducing unsanctified, unconverted, and even notoriously worldly persons into the choirs of the churches.
Now the teaching of the text just cited is decisive, not only against such performers in choirs, but against the choirs themselves, if by the latter term is meant certain ones employed to dispense music for the delectation of the congregation. For observe how distinctly the mutual and inter-congregational character of Christian singing is here pointed out: "Speaking _to one another_ in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." The one feature of the worship of the church, which distinguishes it radically and totally from that of the {155} temple, is that it is mutual. Under the law there were priests and Levites to minister and people to be ministered to; under the gospel there is a universal spiritual priesthood, in which all minister and all are ministered to. Every act of service belonging to the Christian church is so described. There must be prayer, and the exhortation is, "Pray _one for another_" (James 5: 16). There must be confession, and the injunction is: "Confess your sins _one to another_" (James 5: 16, R.
V.). There must be exhortation, and the command is: "Exhort one another" (Heb. 3: 13). There must be love, and we are enjoined to "love _one another_" (1 Peter 1: 22). There must be burden-bearing, and the exhortation is: "Bear ye _one another"s_ burdens" (Gal. 6: 2).
There must be comforting, and the command is: "Wherefore comfort _one another_" (1 Thess. 4: 18). So with the worship of song. Its reciprocal character is emphasized, not only in the pa.s.sage just quoted, but also in the Epistle to the Colossians: "Teaching and admonishing _one another_ in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs"
(Col. 3: 16). This is according to the clearly defined method of the Spirit in this dispensation. He establishes our fellowship with the Head of the church, and through him with one another. All blessing in the body is mutual, and the worship which is ordained to maintain and increase that blessing is likewise mutual.
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As now the Spirit is the inspirer and director of the worship of G.o.d"s church, he must have those who have been renewed and are indwelt by himself as the instruments through whom he acts; and by a teaching of Scripture too clear to be misunderstood all others are disqualified.
How distinctly is this shown even in the types and symbols of the old dispensation. The holy anointing enjoined in Exodus for Aaron and his sons, is confessedly a type of the unction of the Holy Ghost. And mark the rigid and sacred limitations in its use: "And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them that they may minister unto me in the priest"s office. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying: This shall be a holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generation. Upon man"s flesh it shall not be poured; neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it; it is holy, and shall be holy unto you; whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whoso putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people" (Exod. 30: 30-33).
Now, of these minute directions and prescribed transactions we may say confidently that "they happened unto them for ensamples and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world [ages] are come" (1 Cor. 10: 11). The three rigid prohibitions here named touch just the errors which are most characteristic of the present {157} generation. "_Upon man"s flesh it shall not be poured_"; honoring the natural man, and exalting human nature into that place which belongs only to the regenerate. This is the error of those who believe in the universal sonship of the race, and call the carnal man divine.
"_Whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger._" This is the sin of those who thrust into the ministry and service of the church persons who have never by the new birth through the Spirit been brought into the family of G.o.d, into the household of faith. "_Whosoever compoundeth any like it._" This is the artificial imitation of the Spirit"s offices and ministration. Let the Christian reader pause and ponder well this last prohibition. In the story of the primitive church sample sins are given for our warning, as well as specimen graces for our emulation. One such sin, so subtle, so dangerous, and so constantly recurring in Christian history, having taken the name of its first author and being called "simony," has been handed down from generation to generation. "Because thou hast thought that the gift of G.o.d can be purchased with money" is the solemn indictment against one who had purposed to buy the power of the Holy Ghost. Many desire the gifts of the Spirit who little care for the Spirit himself. Divine music is greatly coveted. Why not, with our thousands of gold, buy this spiritual luxury? Bring the singing men and singing women from the {158} opera and from the concert hall; bid them compound a potion of sanctuary music, which shall entrance all ears and draw to the church those who could not be drawn thither by the plain attractions of the Cross. But what is the exhortation of Scripture? "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to G.o.d continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name" (Heb. 13: 15).
This kind of sacrifice costs--earnest prayer, deep communion, and the fullness of the Spirit; but no sum of gold, however large, is adequate for its purchase, nor can any musician"s art, however ingenious, imitate it. Is there no approach to the sin of simony in those churches which spend thousands yearly in artistic music? And is not this attempted purchase of the Holy Ghost closely linked with the other sin of robbing G.o.d, considering how this lavish expenditure on artificial worship is almost always accompanied with meagre giving for the carrying out of the Great Commission? Our conclusion is, that the service of song has been committed to the church, and to the church alone, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Some of her number may be appointed to lead this service, if they themselves are under the leadership of the Spirit. But the church cannot commit this divine ministry to unsanctified hireling minstrels, without affront to the Spirit of G.o.d and serious peril to her own communion with G.o.d.
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If again any object that we are setting up an exaggerated and impossible ideal, let the voice of experience be heard in evidence.
Let pastors be called to testify of the added blessing and fervor which have come to their sanctuaries when this ideal has been approximately realized. Let history repeat its story of song driven in times of apostasy into some narrow stall of the church, and into the hands of a few trained monopolists of worship; and then, in eras of revival, of the bursting of the barriers and the people of G.o.d seizing once more their defrauded heritage and breaking forth, a great mult.i.tude, into "hallelujahs of the heart." The annals of the Lollards, and of the Lutherans, and of the Wesleyans, and of the Salvationists bear harmonious witness on this point, and are deeply instructive.
3. _The Holy Spirit in the Missions of the Church_. In the Gospels which contain the story of Christ"s earthly life we have the record of the giving of the Great Commission: "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." In the Acts, which contains the story of the life of the Spirit, we have the promise of the coming of the Executor of that Commission: "But ye shall receive power when the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1: 8, R. V.). Nowhere is the hand {160} of the Spirit more distinctly seen than in the origination and superintendence of missions. The field is the world, the sower is the disciple, and the seed is the word. The world can only be made accessible through the Spirit--"When he is come he will convict the world of sin"; the sower is energized only through the Spirit--"Ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you"; and the seed is only made productive through the quickening of the Spirit--"He that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life" (Gal. 6: 8, R. V.). In the simple story of the primitive mission, as recorded in the thirteenth of Acts, we see how every step in the enterprise was originated and directed by the presiding Spirit. We observe this:
(1) In the selection of missionaries: "_The Holy Ghost_ said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them" (13: 2).
(2) In their thrusting forth into the field: "So they, being sent forth by the _Holy Ghost_, departed unto Seleucia" (13: 4).
(3) In empowering them to speak: "Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the _Holy Ghost_, said" (13: 9).
(4) In sustaining them in persecution: "And the disciples were filled with joy and with the _Holy Ghost_" (13: 52).
(5) In setting the Divine seal upon their {161} ministry among the Gentiles: "And G.o.d, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving _them the Holy Ghost_, even as he did unto us" (15: 8).
(6) In counseling in difficult questions of missionary policy: "It seemed good _to the Holy Ghost_ and to us" (15: 28).