A Sermon for Whitsunday. the will of man; but the holy men of God spake as they Moreover, was not the Holy Ghost a mighty worker in the conception and the nativity of Christ our Saviour? St. Matthew saith, that the blessed virgin was found with child of the Holy Ghost, before Joseph and she came together (Matt. i. 18). And the angel Gabriel did expressly tell her, that it should so come to pass, saying, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee (Luke i. 35). A marvellous matter, that a woman should conceive and bear a child without the knowledge of man! But where the Holy Ghost worketh, there nothing is impossible; as may further also appear by the inward regeneration and sanctification of mankind. When Christ said to Nicodemus, Unless a man be born anew, of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, he was greatly amazed in his mind, and began to reason with Christ, demanding how a man might be born which was old? Can he enter, saith he, into his mother's womb again, and so be born anew (John iii. 3-5)? Behold a lively pattern of a fleshly and carnal man! He had little or no intelligence of the Holy Ghost, and therefore he goeth bluntly to work, and asketh how this thing were possible to be true: whereas otherwise if he had known the great power of the Holy Ghost in this behalf, that it is he which inwardly worketh the regeneration and new birth of mankind, he would never have marvelled at Christ's words, but would have rather taken occasion thereby to praise and glorify For as there are three several and sundry persons God. in the deity; so have they three several and sundry offices proper unto each of them. The Father to create, the Son to redeem, the Holy Ghost to sanctify and regenerate. Whereof the last, the more it is hid from our understanding, the more it ought to move all men to wonder at the For it is the Holy Ghost, and no other secret and mighty working of God's Holy Spirit, which is within us. thing, that doth quicken the minds of men, stirring up good and godly motions in their hearts, which are agreeable to the will and commandment of God, such as other[xxviii.] 141 wise of their own crooked and perverse nature they should never have. That which is born of the flesh, saith Christ, is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John iii. 6). As who should say, man of his own nature is fleshly and carnal, corrupt and naught, sinful and disobedient to God, without any spark of goodness in him, without any virtuous or godly motion, only given to evil thoughts and wicked deeds. As for the works of the Spirit, the fruits of faith, charitable and godly motions, if he have any at all in him, they proceed only of the Holy Ghost, who is the only worker of our sanctification, and maketh us new men in Christ Jesus. Did not God's Holy Spirit miraculously work in the child David, when of a poor shepherd he became a princely prophet (1 Sam. xvi. 11, 12)? Did not God's Holy Spirit miraculously work in Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom, when of a proud publican he became an humble and lowly evangelist (Matt. ix. 9)? And who can choose but marvel to consider, that Peter should become of a simple fisher a chief and mighty apostle? Paul, of a cruel and bloody persecutor, a faithful disciple of Christ, to teach the Gentiles [1 Tim. i. 12, 13]? Such is the power of the Holy Ghost to regenerate men, and as it were to bring them forth anew, so that they shall be nothing like the men that they were before. Neither doth he think it sufficient inwardly to work the spiritual and new birth of man, unless he do also dwell and abide in him. Know ye not, saith St. Paul, that ye are the temple of God, and that his Spirit dwelleth in you? Know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, which is within you (1 Cor. iii. 16; vi. 19)? Again he saith, You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. For why? The Spirit of God dwelleth in you (Rom.viii.9). To this agreeth the doctrine of St. John, writing on this wise, The anointing which ye have received (he meaneth the Holy Ghost) dwelleth in you (1 John ii. 27). And the doctrine of Peter saith the same, who hath these words, The Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you (1 Pet. iv. 14). O what comfort is this to the heart of a true Christian, to think that the Holy Ghost dwelleth within him! If God be with us, as the apostle saith, who can be against us (Rom. viii. 31)? O but how shall I know that the Holy Ghost is within me? some man perchance will say. Forsooth, as the tree is known by his fruit, so is also the Holy Ghost. The fruits of the Holy Ghost (according to the mind of St. Paul) are these, Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, temperance, &c. Contrariwise, the deeds of the flesh are these, Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, wantonness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, debate, emulation, wrath, contention, sedition, heresy, envy, murder, drunkenness, gluttony, and such like (Gal. v. 19-23). Here is now that glass, wherein thou must behold thyself, and discern whether thou have the Holy Ghost within thee, or the spirit of the flesh. If thou see that thy works be virtuous and good, consonant to the prescript rule of God's word, savouring and tasting not of the flesh, but of the Spirit; then assure thyself that thou art endued with the Holy Ghost: otherwise, in thinking well of thyself, thou dost nothing else but deceive thyself. The Holy Ghost doth always declare himself by his fruitful and gracious gifts, namely, by the word of wisdom; by the word of knowledge, which is the understanding of the Scriptures; by faith; in doing of miracles; by healing them that are diseased; by prophecy, which is the declaration of God's mysteries; by discerning of spirits; diversities of tongues; interpretation of tongues; and so forth (1 Cor. xii. 7-11). All which gifts, as they proceed from one Spirit, and are severally given to man according to the measurable distribution of the Holy Ghost; even so do they bring men, and not without good cause, into a wonderful admiration of God's divine power. Who will not marvel at that which is written in the Acts of the Apostles, to hear their bold confession before the council at Jerusalem; and to consider that they went away with joy and gladness, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer rebukes and checks for the name and faith of Christ Jesus (Acts v. 29, 41)? This was the mighty work of the Holy Ghost; who, because he giveth patience and joyfulness of heart in temptation and affliction, hath therefore worthily obtained this name in Holy Scripture, to be called a Comforter. Who will not also marvel to read the learned and heavenly sermons of Peter and the other disciples, considering that they were never brought up in school of learning, but called even from their nets, to supply rooms of apostles? This was likewise the mighty work of the Holy Ghost, who, because he doth instruct the hearts of the simple in the true knowledge of God and his holy word, is most justly termed by this name and title, to be the Spirit of truth (John xiv. 17). Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, telleth a strange story of a certain learned and subtile philosopher, who, being an extreme adversary to Christ and his doctrine, could by no kind of learning be converted to the faith, but was able to withstand all the arguments that could be brought against him, with little or no labour. At length there started up a poor simple man, of small wit and less knowledge, one that was reputed among the learned as an idiot; and he, on God's name, would needs take in hand to dispute with this proud philosopher. The bishops and other learned men standing by were marvellously abashed at the matter, thinking that by his doings they should be all confounded and put to open shame. He notwithstanding goeth on, and beginning in the name of the Lord Jesus, brought the philosopher to such point in the end, contrary to all men's expectation, that he could not choose but acknowledge the power of God in his words, and to give place to the truth. Was not this a miraculous work, that one silly soul, of no learning, should do that which many bishops of great knowledge and understanding were never able to bring to pass? So true is the saying of Bede, "Where the Holy Ghost doth instruct and teach, there is no delay at all in learning." Much more might here be spoken of the manifold gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost, most excellent and wonderful in our eyes; but to make a long discourse through all, the shortness of time will not serve. And seeing ye have heard the chiefest, ye may easily conceive and judge of the rest. * In the mean season, let us (as we are most bound) give hearty thanks to God the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ, for sending down this Comforter into the world; humbly beseeching him so to work in our hearts by the power of this Holy Spirit, that we, being regenerate and newly boru. again in all goodness, righteousness, sobriety, and truth, may in the end be made partakers of everlasting life in his heavenly kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen. W. M. Watts, Printer, Crown Court, Temple Bar. |