CHAPTER III. INTERNAL INFLUENCES ON MAN'S HIGHER BEING. I. The Holy Spirit. II. Good angels. IV. Bad angels. AND he (the devil) brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.-Luke, iv. 9–12. But the principal virtue of our Saviour's example here-a virtue not confined to any particular dispensation or extraordinary service is to be found in the all-applicable truth we here distinctly trace in his words, viz., that we then incur the guilt of tempting God when we forsake the ordinary path of duty without obligation or necessity, and thus, without the word or providence of God inviting us, become involved in strange difficulties or imminent dangers. In this course, no support is to be calculated on from that Power without which we can do nothing; and if the risk is incurred from mistaken apprehensions of religion, or of trust in the Almighty, the delusion is only more deadly and more dangerous. The Christian desires of God not to lead him into temptation. He has no claim on the support of God and the ministry of His holy angels when he abandons the meek spirit of his daily prayer, and rushes into trials of his own creation. And here we may observe what cannot but be considered as a fraud of Satan in his citation of the psalm. It is not merely that he stops at the place where the Son of God is represented as trampling the young lion and the dragon under his feet-for this cessation, significant as it has been not untruly deemed, might still leave the integrity of the portion he does repeat unimpaired-but he leaves out from the midst of this a clause which, however in an ordinary citation it might be well allowed to be understood from the remaining words, is too relevant to the peculiar matter of his suggestion to have been thus innocently passed over here. The words of the psalm are, 'He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways,' i. e. in all the ways of obvious duty in which thy vocation finds thee. But these last words, so indicative of the spirit of the passage, are omitted by the devil, who well knew that these ways could never include the precipices of the temple, the regions of mid-air, or any devious paths of mere presumption. In vain would he attempt to find a passage of Scripture that promised protection in ways like these, or afforded to the servant of God any sanction or encouragement for pursuing them.-DR. MILL, Sermon on Spiritual Presumption, serm.v. p. 115. I. THE HOLY SPIRIT (rò vεuμa). Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the HOLY GHOST. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the HOLY GHOST.-Matt. i. 18-20. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the SPIRIT of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him.-Matt. iii. 16. For it is not ye that speak, but the SPIRIT of your Father which speaketh in you.-Matt. x. 20. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Verily, I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.—Mark, iii. 22-30. : And Jesus being full of the HOLY GHOST returned from Jordan, and was led by the SPIRIT into the wilderness.—Luke, iv. 1. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the SPIRIT, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.—John, iii. 5. Even the SPIRIT of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know. him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.—John, xiv. 17. Howbeit when he, the SPIRIT of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.—John, xvi. 13. Then Peter, filled with the HOLY GHOST, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.-Acts, iv. 8-12. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.—Rom. v. 1–5. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.—Rom. viii. 23–27. But as it is written, 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. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.-1 Cor. ii. 9-16. viii. 15–19, 29, 39; ix. 17, 31; x. 19, 38, 44, 45, 47 ; xi. 12, 15, 16, 24, 28; xiii. 2, 4, 9, 52; xv. 8, 28; 2, 3, 5, 6, 21; xx. 22, 23, 28; xxi. 4, xvi. 6, 7 ; xviii. 25; xix. 11 ; xxviii. 25. Rom. i. 4 ; |