The New York herald., 1874-09-07
FIFTH AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH.

FIFTH AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH.
Seal OF the Holy spirit-An Indirect Al
lusion to tho Beecher Case-The Wave
and the Lilies.
The Rev. Dr. Armitage yesterday preached the
sermon IN mis- church in Forty sixth street, near
Filth avenue. There was but very small con-
gregation present. the many empty pews showing
quite conclusvely that the greater portion OF the
Doctors flock had not yet returned from their
summer pasturings. The reverend gentleman
took for his text the thirtieth verse of the fourth
chapter OF the Episte to the Ephesians :-s.Grieve
not the Holy Spirit Of God whereby ye are sealed
unt the day OF redemption" He said that he had
hall made up his mind in the morning to preach
on another subject, but he had finally come to the
conclusion that quite enough had been said about
II elsewhere; SO he had finally abandoned the
idea. Then, referring TO mis- text, he remarked
that In his opinion 1t dealt with what he would call
question OF Chris tian privilege He knew of nothing
that was more precious or comforting in the whole
round OF Christian thought than this sealing of the
believer II was beautiful thing to follow the
pen oi the writer, and to see how the thought OF
The mind and the feeling OF the heart were laid
bare at the point OF the pen. SO we 1elt toward
the inspired or uninspired writer who picks up
with his pen the illusions OF his time. The apostle
DID TINS IN the use he made ofthe word "seal" The
word oOre allusion to an ancient custom, and he
applied 1t 10 the impression the WORK OF the Holy
Spirit makes on the heart. Seals held very i'm
portant pace in olden times They were sign
manuals and became
THE SIGNETs OF POWER.
The delivery OF the sgnet by the monarch to an
inferior transferred to HIM the power OF the royal
name, and whoever received 1t received the PRIV
lana nj nj hn "a
apostle, in using the term seal, made 1t lt like
ness TO the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart.
AS the seal impressed Itself upon the wax SO the
Holy Spirit imprinted Itself upon mans soul. 1t
was the signet Of the King immortal, this mpres-
SION given, conveying. as 1t were, the power and
the authority OF the Lord Jesus, making man
partaker in His power and glory and nature. In
the psalms David SAID, "My heart Is like wax"
This spirit had made his heart melt ike
1t susceptible to the power Of God mad torn the
adamant from out OF It, ana hiled 1t with the deli
cacy and tenderness OF the bosom OF a child all
melted, when confronted with the beauty Of the
divine nature, with its abundant benedctons.
Solomon said, "Set me as O seal upon thy hearth
solomon desired to be brought into intimate rela-
tlons with the Divinity, that he might wear 1t like
JEWEL ON HIS HEART
Sealed by the Holy Spirit TO the day OF redemption
by the seal must be OF corresponding impress
son-one the image OF the other. the shapeless
clay or WAX dsSuIleu u new lOTm uuueT lue seal
and it was tnus with man when sealed with the
Holy Spirit. 1t gave him new nature, new Inca
ments, new lines, new expression. 1t altered
his every faculty and point and imprinted new
ngure MS soul in its constitution in its rela-
tons and in its actions. The moment God sealed
a man with His spirit OF redemption He gave him
ins tead OF the spirit Of ignorance that OF KNOW
edge, instead OF the spirit OF sceptcsm that Of
latin instead Of hatred, love- 1t also this spirt
letters, forms and covenants, so did this spirit
ra.ny and authenticate Gods promise TO
setting his seal upon the Christian He had sworn
an oath, made covenant, wnich could not be
The word in Its ordinary sense meaning the pledge
or binding as, for instance, the earnest" money
IN transfer or property. 1t was not the entire
purchase money but 1t bound the bargain and
made the purchase just as valid as II all the money
had been paid in a lump. The earnest OF Gods
spirit was this, lie had placed His seal upon
an earnest OF dis love lor us-Hls promise OF SAL
vation. BY Hls-word he had secured to Us eternal
life. His spirit, sealed upon u.s. ratified Gods in.
tentons, and, thus sealed, the Christian possessed
to-day eternal life as surely as II he already stood
the other shore and ielt the crown OF glory
tion TO know that we had been transferred into
the elder brother and that
OUR INHERITANCE TO ETERNAL LIFE
was the same as His. 1t was also u recognition,
as the seals were used as marks Of Identification
Holy spirit to mark the CHRISTIAN as HIS own.
.'Him hath God the father sealed" That, indeed,
was a sweet revelation. Men may scout, demons
hate, but the CHRISTIAN with the seal OF the Holy
Spirit was known TO God and the world. Even
with His divine Son himself, when surrounded by
sconers, when the heavens were forbiduIng when
the earth rejected Him. ana everything was dark
without and agitation within, when His own heart
seemed at the point OF falling Him, 1t mattered
not. Tue seal OF the Spirit was on Him. He had
put upon Him the seal OF HIS miraculous
agency, OF sublime utterance, OF profound
doctrine, OF infinite purity, and II the world refused
to recognize nim God did not, and in the face OF
the world went out the recognitlon-"This is my
BELOVED SON. IN whom am we Sa
Christ and His servants sealed Christians. What
God the Father did IN sealing with His molly spirit
His divine son He does for US. Paul bore about
him the marks or the Lord Jesus, and go where ne
would the seal OF the Holy Spirit was upon him.
With that seal what had Christian 10 learf 1t
was like the blood OF the lamb the linteIs OF the
door wnen the angel OF the Passover slew the first
born IN every house that was not marked with tho
blood. BY 1t Gods angel knew
THE LORDS CHOSEN.
When God places MS seal on a man, men may
him before the world with vile mouthings, but
with that seal he would, in the end, come out
bright and beautiful. He would brush Oh the dust
from His servant and TIL the day OF redemption,
He would not iail to Identity hm, though the world
might scott and men reve. The godly man may
go under the waves ior time, but will never
sink entirely but arise to the surface stronger
and purer from the very combat he may have mad
with them. He remembered steamer passing
OF LILIES,
and seeing huge wave roll over them and bury
them out OF sight. BE feared they had been
crushed; but instead, alter the wave had rolled
beyond them, they raised their heads and seemed
to laugh and shine Ia the sunlight brighter than
20 wash the roadside dust of them and make them
whittier from the very tussle with the water The
speaker closed by eXhOrting his congregation
not TO eface the seal God had gwen them by bad
lives, nor to wear counterfeit seal, as the devil
was splendid counterleiter and could make the
bad seem good to nicety at times. The seal the
Christian mad vas Gods. II should be Kept
sacred.
ST. PAULS METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
DR.. Chapman the Mission Of the