The Yale expositor., 1895-03-29

ook insults my common sense. cam
not understand 1t. Away with the i'm
congruityr' No one but the Holy
Ghost, who inspired the Scriptures. can
explain the Scriptures Fully realize
that, and you will be as enthusiastic a
lover Of the old Book as my venerable
friend who told me in Philadelphia last
week that he was reading the Bible
through the fifty-ninth time. and IL be-
came more attractive and thrilling
every tire he went through 1t. In the
saddle-bags that hung across my horses
back as / rode from Jerusalem down 10
the Dead sea, and up to Damascus,
had all the books about Palestine that
1 could carry; but many a man on his
knees in the privacy of his own room.
has had flashed upon him more vivid
appreciation of the Word of God than
many a man who has visited all the
scenes of Christ's birth. and Pauls elo-
quence, and Peters Imprisonment, and
Joshua's prowess, and Elijah's ascen-
sion. 1 do not depreciate any Of the
helps for Bible study, but / do say that
they all together come infinitely short
without direct communication from
the throne of God in response to prayer
full solicitation. We may find many
interesting things about the Bible with
out especial illumination, as how many
horses Solomon had in his stables, or
how long was Noahs ark, or who was
the only woman whose full name is given
In the Scriptures. or which is the middle
verse Of the Bible. and all that will do
you no more good than To be able to tell
how many bean poles there are in your
neighbours garden. The learned Earl
of Chatham heard the famous Mr. Ce-
ell preach about the Holy Ghost, and
said to a friend on the way home from
church, II could not understand 1t; and
do you suppose anybody understood
tt"' "Oh, yes" said his Christian
friend, there were uneducated women
and some little children present who
understood It," j warrant you that the
English soldier had under supernal in
huence read the Book. for after the
battle OF Inkermann was over he was
found dead with his hand glued to the
page OF the open Bible by his own blood,
and the words adhered to his hands as
they buried him: 81 am the Resurrec-
ton and the Life. he that believeth in
me- though dead yet shall he live"
As Human Reconstraetor.
Next consider the Holy Ghost as a
human reconstruction We must be
made over again. Christ and Nico-
demus talked about 1t. Theologians
call Ii Regeneration. / do not care what
you call ii. but we have to be recon-
structed by the Holy Ghost We be-
come new creatures, hating what we
once loved. and loving what We once
hated. II sin were a luxury, IL must be-
come new creatures. hating what we
associations. we must prefer good as
sociations In most cases 1t is such a
complete change that the world no.
tees the difference and begins to ask,
What has come over that mann Whom
has he been with? What has so affected
him? What has ransacked his entire
nature? What has turned him square
about?" Take two pictures of Paul:
one on the road to Damascus to kill the
disciples OF Christ; the other on the
road TO Ostia to die for Christ. Come
nearer home, and look at the man who
found his chief delight in low class of
club-rooms. hiccoughing around the
card-table, and then stumbling down
the front steps after midnight and stag
gering homeward; and that same man,
one week afterward, with his family
on the way to a prayer-meeting. What
has done 1t? 1t must be something ire
the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost comfort, think, gen.
orally comes in the shape of a soliloquy.
You find yourself saying to yourseh.
We'll, 1 ought not to go on this way
about my mothers death. She had suf-
fered enough. She had borne other peo-
pies burdens long enough. l am glad
that father and mother are together in
heaven, and they will be waiting to
greet us, and IL will be only little
while, anyhow, and God makes no mis-
takes" or you soliloquize, saying, 1t
is hard to lose my propert.-. / am sure
/ worked hard enough for IL. But God
Will take care of us. and as to the chill
dren, the money might have spoiled
them, and we find that those who have
turn out best, and II will all he well IL
this upsetting of our worldly resources
leads us to lay up treasures in heaven.
Or you sollloquize. saying. 1T was hard
to give up that boy when the Lord took
him. / expected great things OF him,
and oh. how we miss him out OF the
house, and there are SO many things
come across that make one think OF
him, and he was such splendid fellow;
but then what an escape he has made
from the temptations and sorrows
| which come to all who grow up. and IL
is grand thing TO have him safe from
all possible harm, and there are all
those Bible promises for parents who
| have lost children, AID we shall feel
! drawing heavenward that we covld not
have otherwise experienced" And after
you have said shat you get that relief
which comes from an outburst of tears
1 do not say to you, as some say, do
not cry. God pity people in trouble
who have the parched eye-ball, and the
| dry eye-lid. and can not shed tear.
! That makes maniacs. To Gods people
/ tears are the dews of the night dashed
with sunrise. 1 am so glad you can
weep. But you think these things you
say to yourself are only soliloquies.
No, no. They are the Comforter. who is
the Holy Ghost.
The Light of Heaven.
In 1857 the electric telegraph bore
strange messages. One OF them read.
my dear parents will rejoice to hear
that 1 have found peace with God"
Another read: Dear mother, the work
continues, and /, too, have been con-
verted." Another read: AT last, faith
I q