Mi|Ht«4«tttttHHHatB«iMi»«t$H»i»KHi!lws«f?JTi;ta!}rt!mi{ tihvaxy of Che trheolo^icd ^eminarjp PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY PRESENTED BY Rufus H. LeFevre C|)e J^olp Spirit in tfft Detoout JLitt %^t a>et)otional ^txitsi The Christian's Power . . . F. P. Rosselot Bible Study and Devotion . H, A. Thompson Prayer, a Means of Spiritual Growth . N. E. Cornetet Selections from Madame Guyon's Work on Devotioa D. D. Loiuery Love As a Motive M. B. Sfayd Sorrow; Its Worth, Its Cure . J. A. Haiukins Bible Doctrine of Devotion . E. S. Boivman Christ Our Devotional Example . W. J. Zuck The Holy Spirit in the Devout Life . . I. L. Kephart Conduct; Its Relation to the Devotional Life J. T. Spongier Each i6mo. Cloth Fifty Cents ^EXniUti 15mSten Publics ing ^^w^t W. R. Funk. Aitnt DAYTON. OHIO •^' MAY 11 l^'^'"^ .;- in tjje Bebout Eife I. L. KEPHART, D.D, Editor the Rtligiout Ttletcope I UNITED BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE W. R. Funk, ulctnt DAYTON, OHIO copyright, 190U, by United Brethren Pxiblishing Hotise Paj/ton Ohio Conttnt0 Content0 Phkfack I The Holy Spirit Definkd 1 He Is a Person 2 He Is a Power 3 The Holy Spirit Is a Comforter, Guide, Sane* tifier, and Intercessor II The Devout Life Defined 1 The Devout Life a Life of Faith 2 The Devout Life a Life of Prayer 3 The Devout Life a Life Energized by the Power of the Holy Spirit 4 The Devout Life a Life of Service 6 The Devout Life Is a Growing Life 6 The Devout Christian Looks to Christ, Not to Self 7 The Devout Life a Blessed, That Is, a Happy Life III The Holy Spirit in the Devout Life— How Secured 1 Complete Submission to the Divine Will 2 Intense Desire to Possess Him as An Ener- gizing, Working Force 3 Earnest, Persistent Asking for Him 4 Willingness and Desire to Use Him 5 M67 €onttnt0 IV Thk Holy Spirit in the Devout Life— What Hk Doks— His Uhakactekistics 1 He Renders the Devout Life Sinless 2 He Endues the Devout Soul With Holy Love 3 He Reveals to the Devout Soul the Spiritual Import of the Scriptures 4 He Is a Guide for the Devout Life 5 He Is the Devout Life's Equipment for Service 6 He Is the Capital With Which the Devout Life Does Business for God 7 The Devout Life Recognizes This Earth-Life as a Preparation for the Life to Come 8 The Holy Spirit Renders the Devout Life Triumphant V Conclusion preface It has been said that books owe their existence either to inspirations or con- ditions. This one may be due to a lit- tle of both. Leading men of our de- nomination were long since inspired with the idea that our Publishing House could and should provide the Church with helpful religious reading- matter; and the belief on the part of some that the present conditions are such as to demand that a series of de- votional books, helpful to the spiritual life of the Church, should be produced and offered to our people, led to an ef- fort to supply that demand. Under these circumstances the au- thor was requested to treat the subject set forth in the title of thi« book. For this, and the result of his effort as set forth in these pages, he has no apology to offer. Praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he gave himself for a short time to the effort, desiring to pre- sent as clearly, as plainly, and as fully as the prescribed limits of the volume ^^tetact would permit, such a treatment of the subject as would be most helpful and instructive to the ordinary reader. If his effort shall prove helpful to the spiritual life and religious activity of only a few of those who may peruse its pages, he will be amply compen- sated. The Authoe. THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE DEVOUT LIFE I Ct)e ^ol]? Spirit DefineD The existence of the Holy Spirit is one of the fundamental doctrines of orthodox Christianity. He is distinct- ly recognized upwards of two hundred times in the New Testament Scriptures, to say nothing of the more than sev- enty times in which direct reference is made to him in the Old. In many of these instances he is spoken of as the most important power or actor. It is by him, according to the Scriptures, that the Almighty executes his pur- poses in the material world (Genesis 1:2), communicates with human souls (Genesis 6:8; Luke 1:15), and car- ries on the great work of establishing the kinjrdom of righteousness on earth. 1. The Eoh/ Sjnrit is a person. %it I&olg fepitit in t6e SDetJout JLitt This is clearly taught in the Scrip- tures: (a) He is spoken of as a per- son. (See John 15:26; 16:7.) (h) The personal characteristics of knowl- edge, feeling, and will are attributed to him. (See I. Corinthians 2:10; Ro- mans 8:27; 15:30; Ephesians 4:30.) (c) He is represented in the Scriptures as performing personal acts. (See Genesis 6:3; Romans 8 : 16 ; Revela- tion 2:7; 4: 5.) (d) None other than a person could meet the conditions of the office ascribed to him in John 14: 16, 17. (e) Only a person can be "vexed" and "lied to." ( See Isaiah 63 : 10; Acts 5:3; Ephesians 4:30.) 2. The Holy Spirit is a power. He does things. Power is of two kinds, physical, or material, and spiritual. The Holy Spirit is a spiritual power — a power that produces moral effects. He is a voluntary being, capable of act- ing, and producing moral effects through the exercise of his will, able to transmit his power to other free agents, and through them effect his 10 ^^e l ^olg Spirit SPttiiuH holy, beneficent purposes. (See Micah 3:8; Zechariah 4:6; Luke 4:14; 24: 49; Acts 1:8; Epliesians 3:16; Colos- sians 1: 11.) 3. The Holy Spirit is a comforter, guide, sanctifier, and intercessor. All these functions are ascribed to him in the Scriptures. ( See John 14 : 16 ; 15 : 26 ; 16 : 7, 13 ; Acts 2:4; Romans 8 : 16, 26; I. Corinthians 2:10; II. Thessa- lonians 2 : 13 ; I. Peter 1 : 2 ; I. John 5 : 6; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3: 6, 13, 22.) The above passages clearly set forth the personality and offices of the Holy Spirit. In the face of these, no one can justly lay claim to being a believer of all the plain declarations of the sacred Scriptures who, at the same time, de- nies the doctrine of the personality of the Holy Spirit. He who is spoken of in the passages cited is more than "an influence" exerted by another. He does things. He instructs; he re- proves; he comforts; he guides; he cleanses; he intercedes; he justifies; he 11 C6e ^olj^ feptcit in t&t 2Detiout JLitt communicates assurance, wisdom, cour- age, and power. As a person, Israel "vexed" him (Isaiah 63:10), Ananias lied to him ( Acts 5:3), our divine Lord warns all men against committing the unpardon- able sin of blaspheming against him ( Mark 3 : 29) , and the Apostle Paul in- vokes upon the brethren at Corinth ^^the communion of the Holy Ghost/' in connection with "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God," the Father. (IL Corinthians 13:14.) Now, "communion" is possible to man only with a person, and it is a blessing invoked in this apostolic benediction — "the communion of the Holy Ghost." It was under the inspiration of this conception of the Spirit's personality that Toplady wrote and sang : "Blessed Comforter, come down, And live and move in me ; Make my ev'ry deed thine own. In all things led by thee ; Bid my sin and fear depart. And within, oh ! deign to dwell ; Faithful witness, in my heart Thy perfect light reveal." 32 %ie 9D(bout ILitt SDetined II Cbe Detiout Hitz DefineD The devout life is a life character- ized by earnest religious feeling and the faithful performance of religious duties. It is a life devoted to the serv- ice of God, — that is, imbued with an honest desire to "fear God and keep his commandments," — a life that is sin- cerely pious, actively and unselfishly useful. It is a Christlike life, inspired by the Christ spirit, intent on doing good. It is not a hermit life or the life of a recluse ; but a life which, while not partaking of the selfishness and sinful- ness of this world, puts itself practi- cally in contact with the business and social currents of life that it may take hold of, lift up, ennoble, and save hu- manity. Its models are the life and spirit of the Man of Galilee. The devout life is not a perpetual 13 %it l&olp ^pitit in tit SDebout JLitt poring over good books ; nor is it mere- ly a life of prayer, of praise, or a life devoted to the observance of holy or- dinances. All these are necessary to the devout life. In fact, there can be no devout, religious life without them. But the devout life is a life that is mainly and chiefly given to the glorify- ing of God through Christ amid the duties and trials of the world; the di- recting of our course amid adverse winds and currents of temptation by the sunlight of duty and the compass of divine truth; the bearing up man- fully, wisely, courageously for the honor of Christ our great Leader and Redeemer in the conflict incident to the life of probation here below. To do all this is to be religiously devout and to live the devout Christian life. 1. The devout life is a life of faith. Its possessor is a believer. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Komans 4:3). This life is imparted through faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. "He 14 <5t5e SDebDUt JLitt SDetinrd that believeth on me hath everlasting life" (John 6:47). (See also John 3:15, 16; Galatians 2:20; I. John 5: 4.) Saving faith is believing with the heart; that is, with the affections, rather than with the intellect. It is exercising a loving, affectionate confi- dence in God as he is revealed in Jesus Christ. ( See Romans 10 : 9, 10. ) The devout Christian is possessed of a sturdy confidence in God. The very essence of saving faith is abiding con- fidence, loving, prevailing trust in Jesus Christ as the Savior of all them that believe. (See I. Timothv 4:10; 6:17.) The devout life is a life lived for the express purpose of making this world better, as well as for the express pur- pose of attaining to a far better life in the world to come. The Holy Spirit, through the sinner's belief in Jesus Christ as the truth of God, has so re- stored the life of the devout soul to the oricfinal intimacy which man enjoyed with God before the fall of our first 15 %^t H^olp fbpitit in rte SDebout JLitt parents, that he can now lovingly com- mune with, and exercise confidence in him as his most loving, almighty Friend. ^'And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent'' (John 17:3). The devout believer sees God with the eye of faith, in the words and life and love of Jesus Christ. Through this source, his mind illumined by the Holy Spirit, he has come into possession of a personal knowledge of God as his Father in heaven, and of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, as his Savior and Redeemer ; and this per- sonal knowledge of them furnishes a sure foundation for a rich, rare, assur- ing confidence w^hich serves as "an anchor of the soul both sure and stead- fast." This is the kind of faith that James Russell Lowell had in mind when he wrote, "The only kind of faith that wears well and holds its color in all weathers is that which is woven of con- 16 ^it SDtbont JLitz SDttim^ viction and set with the sharp mordant of experience.'' It is also what Charles Kingsley had in mind when he penned the following, ''We shall be made truly wise if we be made content; content, too, not only with what we can under- stand, but content with w^hat we do not understand — the habit of mind which theologians call, and rightly, faith in God." 2. The devout life is a life of prayer. Prayer is a prominent characteristic of all Bible worthies. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, Elijah, Nehe- miah, and Daniel are especially distin- guished as men of prayer. They talked with God in their daily devotions ; they called upon God, and not in vain, for help, for guidance in the discharge of duty. Our divine Lord spent wiiole nights in communing with and praying to the Father. In the seventeenth chapter of .Tolm is recorded his wonder- ful, pathetic, sublime prayer offered up in behalf of his disciples; and the words of his agonizing petitions in the 2 17 ^8e l^ol? fepitit in tje SDebout Eite garden, and on the cross, have been handed down to us. Thus by his example, which, by the way, is the most forcible method of teaching, are the followers of Christ taught to pray. If he, the God-man, found it necessary to retire often to spend seasons communing with and pe- titioning the Father, to do whose will was the special purpose of his earthly mission in the flesh, how much more necessary is it for those who would be his followers and ambassadors to a sin- ful w^orld to be men and women of prayer? Thus the devout Christian correctly reasons ; and consequently he often resorts to some secret place for prayer, that he "may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." But not by example only has our di- vine Master taught us to pray. We have his positive command to that ef- fect, both as our duty and our privi- lege. ( Read Matthew 6 : 5-13 ; 7 : 7-12 ; John 14 : 13 ; 15 : 16.) Hence, both in imitation of his example and in obedi- 18 <3E|}e SDebout JLitt S)ttimh ence to his command his apostles and early disciples were all men and women of prayer; and to-day it is safe to say that a devout Christian life is absolute- ly impossible apart from the habit of daily prayer. That habit is an essen- tial characteristic of a devout Chris- tian life, for as the poet has well said, "Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, The Christian's native air." Just how much the church of Christ is shorn of her strength as a working force in the world to-day because of a lack of the habit of secret prayer on the part of the great bulk of its nom- inal membership, is not the question here; but that this lack is chiefly the secret of her inability to reach the masses, there can be no doubt. God will be inquired after through the chan- nel of devout prayer. For this he has established the throne of grace. (See Hebrews 4: 16.) He is a present help in every time of need to all who call upon him out of pure hearts fcrrjently. There are noble examples where, in 19 ^^t ^o\v Spirit in tiz jBD^bout ILitt these modern times, God has, in answer to earnest, persistent prayer, poured out his Spirit upon the people, sent down convicting and converting power, until scores were swept into the king- dom. Years ago, when the aged president of Hamilton College was told that he could live only half an hour longer, he said to his attendants, "Well, then, just help me out of my bed so that I can get down on my knees and spend my last half -hour on earth praying for the stu- dents of Hamilton College." His re- quest was granted, and there, on hia trembling knees, beside his bed, the de- vout old saint, with unusual fervor, poured out his soul in prayer, the bur- den of his petition being, "O God, save the students of Hamilton College," and ere the half-hour was up his voice quieted down, and his soul went home to God. But soon after his funeral, a great revival broke out in the college, and nearly all the students were hap- pily saved. 20 ^6e SDtbout JLitt SDctinrd Think you that aged president could or would have thus closed his mortal career on his knees had prayer not been a habit of his devout life? Think jou Hamilton College would have been revolutionized at that time as it was by a great, soul-searching revival, but for the life-closing prayer of its aged presi- dent? Such things are not accidental. They are effects, the causes of which are the ardent pleadings, in obedience to the command, "Ask, and ye shall re- ceive," of men of mighty faith in God. 3. The devout life is a life energized hy the poioer of the Holy Spirit. By nature man is spiritually and morally dead. ( Ephesians 2:1.) His spiritual vision is blinded "by the god of this world" (TI. Corinthians 4:4). There- for "he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). The light of the gospel of the Son of God is to him dark- ness. The beauty of a life of self-denial is to him a manifestation of weakness and idiocy. His moral ears are deaf. He cannot or will not hear or heed the 21 %^t l^olg fepitit in t&e SDetiout JLite call of the Holy Spirit. ( See Matthew 13:14, 15.) But the rnaa living the devout life has been born anew, born from above (John 3:3-7), and now he lives the life "that is by the faith of the Son of God," or rather, a.«^ Paul says, Christ lives in him. (Galatian^ 2 : 20.) Hence, the fact that the life of a sinful man has become devout is due to the work of the Holy Spirit u^ou h\^ he^rt, and is a marvelous mauifestatiou of the $rrace of God. (See Ephesians 2:5-8.) This transformation ha« made him "a new creature" in Christ Jesus (II. Cor- inthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15), ener- gized him with a new spiritual force, awakened in him new ideals of human life and duty, and set him apart for service in the field of opportunity and philanthropy. This transformation is truly marvel- ous. It is a new creation. It is the impartinc: of now life to a spiritually dead soul — "reirenerntiou." It is what our Lord had in mind when he said, "I am come that they might have life" 22 die SDebout JLitt SDetiiuH ( John 10 : 10 ) , and, "I give unto them eternal life" (John 10 : 28) . True, this is to-day, to the unregen- erate, as great a mystery as it was to Nicodemus. The "how" of the recrea- tion and transformation is as inexpli- cable to the spiritually blind now as it was when that candid ruler of the Jews exclaimed, "How can these things be?" Nevertheless the indisputable evidence that such transformations have been effected — the fruits of such new crea- tions — are as clear and apparent in the case of such men as Jerry McAuley, Francis Murphy, John B. Gough, and thousands upon thousands of others of lesser note, the whole current of whose lives has been radically changed as a result of their conversion to God through faith in Jesus Christ, as was the evidence of the effectual healing of the man who was born blind and of the Gadarean demoniac. Mysterious? Of course it is ; but reasonable men do not reject demonstrated truths because they are inexplicable. If they did, 23 %it ^t^lv &pitit m t^t SDebout JLitt farmers would not plant or sow, for who can explain how or why the life- germ in a grain of corn, on the grain's being placed in the ground, goes to AYork under the influence of warmth and moisture, and, selecting and ap- propriating material from the soil, the moisture, and the atmosphere, — mate- rial from the inorganic kingdom^ — lifts that material up intO' the organic king- dom, producing a cornstalk, and in due time perfects an ear of corn, each grain equipped with a living germ like to the one which, three months prior, set out to effect the mysterious transforma- tion. If a life-germ in a grain of corn can thus lift dead material up out of the inorganic kingdom and establish it in the organic, through a process in- explicable to science, why should the fact, so abundantly demonstrated in the lives of apostles, saints, martyrs, and good men and women of to-day, that the divine Redeemer, through the operations of the Holy Spirit, by im- parting spiritual life to a man's dead 24 ^^t i3DttJout Jiitt SDetineti moral nature, does actually raise him up and establish him in the higher realm of devout, godly service and eter- nal life, be rejected simply because the process is incomprehensible to the rea- son and judgment of those who are spiritually blind? Men do not reason thus in regard to the practical affairs of life. To the contrary, they recog- nize the facts, accept them as conclus- ive, and act accordingly. 4. TJie devout life is a life of serv- ice. Service was characteristic of the earth-life of Christ. He came in the flesh to do the will of the Father by serving humanity. He was a servant, a doer. (Philippians 2:8.) "He went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). He came to do the will of the Father. (John 4: 34; 6: 38.) Christ is, therefore, the model after which the devout Christian fashions his life. As Christ's will, while in the flesh, was to do the will of the Father, so the will of the devout Christian is to do the will of his Redeemer. 25 ^^t i^ol? fepirit in tje JD^bout Jiite The will of the Father and of the Son was, through the manifestation of (fod in Christ, not only to make an atonement for the sin of the world, but to take hold of human hearts in their low, carnal condition, win their con- fidence through serving them, and then lift them up into the higher realm of love to God and love to man by demon- strating to their comprehension and personal observation the beauty, the nobility, the joy of a life of unselfish service. And to do this effectually, without destroying personal manhood and free will, the God-man took upon himself the form of a lowly servant, that he might thereby combine exam- ple with precept, might, in the lan- guage of the trades, "show how it was done," and thus be to man the most perfect of all possible teachers. This is the only successful method of teach- ing, especially in morals. The artist does not simply tell his pupil how to mix his paints and apply them to the canvas; to the contrary, he takes hold 26 %^e SDebout JLitt SDetiiun with him, and actually performs in his presence all the work of grinding and mixing the variously tinted colors, and then with brush in hand skillfully aids in bringing out the portrait. It is only by thus working with his pupil, accom- panying precept with example, that he can succeed in developing out of the crude youth who has a passion to be- come "a prince of the brush" an artist w^orthy the name. In like manner the devout God-man, to convince fallen, selfish men of the great fact that generosity is far better than stinginess ; that sympathy for the distressed is infinitely superior to sor- did selfishness, and that it is possible to "love your enemies," — to convince sinners that God does actually love them, and that he is their true friend and not their enemy; to teach these great social, moral truths, the accept- ance of which is so essential to man's welfare for time and eternity, — ^to teach them effectually, Christ com- bined example with precept, by actual- 27 ^^t ^olp &mit in tU SD^bout JLitz ]y leading a life of self-denial in the Avorld, serving the poor, the suffering, and tlie outcast, associating with the low as well as with the high, and even praying for his crucifiers while dying on the cross. All this the devout Christian recog- nizes in the life of his divine Master; consequently the honest desire of his heart is to imitate him as closely as possible by living a life which, in the eyes of the worlds will most clearly re- produce the life of the meek, the loAvly, the loving Savior of mankind. Such a man loses sight of self and selfish in- terests. He lives not for self alone, but for others as well. He reproduces in his own daily walk, conversation, and acts of mercy, benevolence, and forbearance the unselfish life of his di- vine Lord. He is not content to go to heaven alone. He does not sing, "If I only get to heaven when I die," with special emphasis on the "I," but he zealously, devoutly endeavors, hi/ per- sonal conversation with Ms ncigJihorSy 28 ^^z SDebout JLitt 2Deftaed to lead them to the world's Redeemer. All this he does, or strives to do daily, gladly, because he is devoutly loyal to Christ ; and in this way the Christlike- ness of his life so shines, constantly and consistently, that others are there- by convinced of the reality of the re- ligion which he professes, and are led to glorify God by giving themselves to his service. The writer has known such devout Christians. An unlearned local min- ister of his personal acquaintance thus lived, fifty years ago in the mountains of Pennsylvania. His plain, simple gospel sermons, and much more his devout, kind, consistent life, were a benediction to the entire county, led hundreds to Christ, and the hallowed influence of his life has been handed down from generation to generation, and is still producing fruit to the glory of God in the salvation of souls and the blessing of all that vast section of country. 5. The devout life is a (/rowing life. 29 ^6^ l^olg S>pitit in tje SDebout JLitt CJrowth is a characteristic of life. In the vegetable kingdom, as soon as the plant or tree ceases to grow it begins to die. The physiologist and biologist declare that the same is true of animal life. In the organic kingdom there is no such thing as stagnation — standing still. In their physical structure all organic forms are going on to perfec- tion or maturity, or going backward into death and decomposition or into petrifaction. It is a fixed law of or- ganic being. The same is true of moral, spiritual life. To live spiritually is to grow — *^grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ'^ ( II. Peter 3 : 18) . It is to grow up into Christ. (Ephesians 4:15.) It is a going "on unto perfection" (Hebrews 6:1). The little tree, only a year old from the acorn is a perfect oak, as per- fect as possible for its age; but it will, if unmolested and surrounded by fa- vorable conditions, continue to grow a century or more. A well-born child 80 ^it SDtbout JLitt SDetiiuti of a day old is a perfect human being for its age, as perfect physically and as perfect intellectually as it is pos- sible for it to be at that stage of its life; but if blessed with health and favorable circumstances it may con- tinue to grow more than a score of years physically, and more than four- score years, aye through all eternity, intellectually and morally. As bearing correctly upon the dis- tinction between spiritual growth and moral perfection, the following by G. Campbell Morgan is pertinent : "The apostle (Philippians 3:12-14) uses the figure of a race to illustrate the Christian life, and what he says I think may be paraphrased in this way : ^I am not yet perfected, I am not yet crowned; that for which my Lord ap- prehended me was not this place of temptation and conflict, but the bright- ness of the joyful day when he will present me — whom he found so low down — to the very presence of God, faultless as he himself is faultless. 31 ^ie l^ol? fepitit in t^t SDzWtit ILiU That is the goal of mj running, and the crowning point to which I have not yet attained; but let us therefore, as many as be perfect, as many of us as are running the race, run it in the strength and energy of the Holy Spirit, with every weight and sin laid aside, and with the very joy and love of God possessing us.' We can be per- fect thus. It is the difference between the crown upon the brow and the pas- sionate attitude of life which has the crown in view, forgetting all that is be- hind, pressing toward it with full and complete purpose of life. "That condition of life is the condi- tion of health of spirit before God; it is the condition of perfection in the present moment, and it is a condition that ought to mark every child of God from the moment of conversion. "The blossom upon the tree is per- fect, beautifully perfect, but it is not perfected. It is not consummated; it is not mature. It needs the ministry of sun and shower and atmosphere to 32 %^t SDebout JLitt SDetiiuti ripen it into perfection. Not until the fires of autumn have acted on it, and it stands in all the glory of perfect fruit, will it be perfected." 6. The devout Cliristian looks to Christ, not to self. Many, ere they at- tain to this exalted stage in their re- ligious experience, are harassed with doubts and fears. They desire to be Christians, but they fear they are not. They hope they are loyal to Christ, but by looking to self, to the condition of their own hearts, they feel self-con- demned. They know that they want to be Christians, but do not have the solid peace of assurance that they are Chris- tians. All this unrest and uncertainty of soul is the result of looking to self for evidence, instead of looking to Christ for assurance. But when the candid, though fearful, restless soul stops ana- lyzing its own sensations and contem- plating its many missteps and short- comings, all this is changed. Then the fact is recognized that it is not the 3 33 Wbt l^olp fepitit in t&e SDebout JLitt well, the perfect, the strong, the sin- less that Jesus came to save; but the weak, the sick, the sinful, the helpless, the undone; and that while it is nec- essary that we honestly recognize all our depravity, weakness, and worth- lessness in order to our becoming deep- ly sensible of our need of Christ^s sal- vation, our consciousness of all this moral helplessness and worthlessness on our part makes it all the more cer- tain that Jesus does save us when we candidly confess and forsake our sins and put our trust in him. We are ex- actly the kind he came to save, the kind for whom he died and now inter- cedes. (See Matthew 9:12, 13.) He knows very well that we are not worthy to be saved and never can make ourselves worthv; but he is our Elder Brother, we are his brethren and sis- ters in the flesh, wounded by sin and greatly needing his help, and he is here to help us and all such as we are, on the one condition that we believe, obey, and trust him. ( See Mark 16 : 15, 16! ) 34 ^^t 2Debout JLitt SDetintD The candid soul desiring to be saved, and having gained this point in Chris- tian life, turns from self, ceases to ana- lyze its hopes and doubts and fears, casts all its care upon him, and thus rises into the higher joy of that blessed liberty wherewith Christ makes believ- ers free when they look to him, and to him alone, and give themselves to him for salvation and for service. The full height of this blessed, de- vout state may be attained at conver- sion, and in some instances doubtless it is ; but in by far the most cases it is reached through honest heart-search- ing and growth in grace. (See Ephe- sians 4:15; 11. Thessalonians 1:3; II. Peter 3:18.) 7. The devout life is a blessed life, that isy a happy life. In his sinful state man's intellect is benumbed and perverted by the predominance of sen- sual itv over reason. Hi« tastes, inclina- tions, and desires are all in the direc- tion of carnal, temporal pleasures and possessions. "He cannot see the king- 35 %bt l^olp ^pitit in tje SDebout JLitt dom of God/^ for its realities and joys are eternal. Consequently, one of the effective devices by which Satan suc- ceeds in deterring people, especially the young, from becoming Christians, is that of persuading them that to do so they will have to sacrifice much hap- piness, will have to forego all social en- joyment, betake themselves to an as- <^etic life, and spend their days in sighs .and tears, in doing penance, and suffer the putting aside of all real pleasure. The fact is the very reverse of all this. Keal enjoyment is to be had in the soul's harmonization with the Highest and the Best. God is the Highest, Jesus Christ is the Best. The devout life is a life harmonized with God through Jcxsus Christ. It is the human will surrendered to the divine will, the divine order of righteousness and holi- ness. The psalmist exclaimed, "I de- light to do thy will, O God." The spiritually blinded eyes having been opened, they see the beauty, the righteousness, the loveliness there is in 3G %tt SDebout JLitt 2D£timti the life that is subservient to and in cheerful accord with the divine order. The blessedness, the joy of such a life defies description, even more so than the beauty of the rose or the hues of the rainbow defy correct portrayal to a blind man. They have to be seen with intelligent eyes to realize and ap- preciate all their precious loveliness. So only he whose spiritual eyes have been opened by the divine touch, whose moral understanding has been enlight- ened by the Holy Spirit, can perceive or conceive the richness of the truth of God's Word, the beauty of a life con- secrated to the service of Jesus Christ, the joy to be realized in yielding a will- ing obedience to the King of kings, the ecstasy imparted to the soul when the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that our sins are forgiven and we are graciously adopted into the spiritual family of our Heavenly Fa- ther. It was a realization of this joy that caused the psalmist to exclaim: "O 37 %it !^ol^ Spirit in tit JDebout ILite taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed [happy] is the man that trust- eth in him/' ^'O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name to- gether I^' The central joy of this blessed life i^ Jesus Christ. He has been revealed to the believing soul through repentance and faith, as the sinner's Savior and Friend. The soul thus enlightened spiritually comprehends and appreci- ates (Ephesians 3:17-19) the setting given to Christ in the Scriptures — the highest ideal of existence divine and human, perfect God and perfect man, a gracious, sympathizing Father, a lov- ing, atoning Redeemer, an almighty Savior, an elder brother, a merciful and gracious high priest "who ever liv- eth to make intercession for us.'' This vivid, genuine, correct conception of Christ causes to well up in the soul a fountain of profoundest amazement, gratitude, and joy. It puts a new song in the mouth, even praises unto God. Hence the apostle Paul well said, "The 88 %^t SDetout JLitt SDefined kingdom of God is not meat and drink ; but righteousness and peace and joj in the Holy Ghosf' (Romans 14: 17). To such an enlightened soul Chrisfs words, "Come unto me, all ye that la- bor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," have a new, entrancing, wealth of significance and beauty. Contemplating them, a poet well ex- claims : " 'Come unto me,* O words divinely sweet ! My heart remembers what his lips repeat, And all day long they thrill my weary breast. And I am glad because of promised rest." Ah, it is this divine assurance of rest made real to the soul of the believer through faith in the Lord Jesus, and a knowledge of sins forgiven, that gives intensity of indescribable joy to the de- vout life. To all such Christianity is more than a philosopliy, profession, more than subscribing to a creed, and wor- ship more than an intellectual per- formance which has nothing to do with real life. It is the water of life to the 39 <2r6e !^oIp fepitit in tbt SDtbout Jiitt tliirsty soul, actually, gladly following the perfect Leader and Deliverer, and doing homage to our supreme Elder Brother with a hearty w^armth of af- fection and devotion rendered "in spirit and in truth." 40 l^otD fercurfb III Cfte ^olp Spirit in tlje Detiout Life— ^oto ©ecureD We have seen that, according to the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is both a person and a power, or perhaps more correctly a person possessing special divine power. The divine attribute of supernatural power is possessed by him, coordinate with the Father and the Son. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples they received ^^power" (Acts 1:8). But being a per- son, and his having in this case to do with persons — men and women — who have been by their Creator crowned Avith that highest crowning bestowed upon created intelligences, namely, free ivilh he dare not, he will not, he cannot force his divine enduement of power upon them or coerce them into 41 ^Se l^ol? Spirit in tit SDebout JLiU accepting it. To do so would be to un- make man, to destroy his free will, to rob him of his manhood, to strip him of his moral agency, to reduce him to a mere machine, to degrade him to the level of the brute. Hence, the most the Holy Spirit can do toward taking pos- session of man's heart and bestowing upon him all the blessings of his di- vine enduement, is to make overtures, to offer himself upon the most easy and liberal conditions possible, and kindly, lovingly urge compliance with those conditions. The human heart is by nature in the condition of a walled city. The Holy Spirit comes and encamps without its gates. He does not assail the walls with battering rams, proposing to take it by force. If he were an enemy, bent on plunder and destruction, he would do so; but being a friend laden with choice gifts, he modestly waits outside the gates and pleads for admittance on the most reasonable, kindly conditions. If now the keeper of the gates, having 42 ^oto Secured considered the conditions, in the exer- cise of his reason, judgment, and free mil, voluntarily, gladly unbars the gates and welcomes him in, he enters the heart, takes up his abode there, and enriches it with a free bestowal of his divine enduement of spiritual power. What, then, are some of the conditions upon which the Holy Spirit is secured and retained in the devout life? 1. Complete submission to the di- vine iciU. This is an indispensable condition; nor is it unreasonable. It does not imply that the individual is to have no will of his own, but that he is to bring his will into accord with the divine will. He is to cease willing to do contrary to the will of God, and to begin to will to do tlie will of the Fa- ther in heaven, which is only requiring that he cease willing or desiring to do wrong and earnestly will and desire to do right. On the condition that he honestly, earnestly makes this surren- der with all that it implies, the Holy Spirit proposes to enter his soul and 43 ^6e ^olp fepftit in tit aebout ILiU dwell with him. Our Lord said (John 7:17, K. v.), ^^If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teach- ing." Obedient children surrender their will to the will of their parents, for their own good, because the parents are supposed to know^ what is best. The true soldier completely surrenders his will to the will of his commander, because the latter is supposed to have a more comprehensive knowledge of the situation. In this the soldier does not lose his personal identity or cease to have a will of his own ; but in loyalty to his country's cause and honor, he makes the will of his commander hig own will. Only in this way are army organization and effectiveness possi- ble ; and in proportion as the rank and file are composed of brave, intelligent men who, having wills of their own, loyally, enthusiastically will to do all they can to execute what their com- mander has, through them, willed to accomplish — in this proportion is an 44 ^0^ Secured army invincible. And right liere is ^^'here we find the secret of the superi- ority of the volunteer soldiers of our own country. They are intelligent, and intelligently will, in accord with the will of their commanders, to pre- serve untarnished the life, the honor, and the liberty of the American Union. Our divine Commander knows what is best for us. He wills for us all that is purest, noblest, best in this life, con- sistent with our personal salvation and eternal life at his right hand in heaven. It is his will that in this life we be sanctified (I. Thessalonians 4: 3), cleansed from the dominion of the degrading appetites and passions of the flesh, and set apart to the en- Bobling, happy service of an honest, upright life in Christ Jesus. (See II. Timothv 2:11, 21; Hebrews 10:10; 13:12, 21, 22.) Surely to yield a loyal, enthusiastic submission of the fallible, erring hu- man will to the will of one so infinitely wise, compassionate, faithful cannot 'atSe ^o\^ fepitit in tit SDebout Jiitt be an unreasonable requirement. It is only surrendering a hovel to gain a kingdom; it is only yielding a worth- less pebble to gain a pearl of great price; it is only parting with a perish- able treasure in exchange for "a crown of righteousness that fadeth not away." All this the ardent, longing soul recognizes, and its language is : "Holy Spirit, all divine, Dwell within this heart of mine ; Cast down every idol throne ; Reign supreme, and reign alone." 2. Intense desire to possess Him as an energizing, working force. Right here is w^here honest desire, the out- growth of love of truth and righteous- ness, is everything. Lack of desire re- pels. Love begets love. Admiration inspires admiration. Holy desire at- tracts the object that is intelligently sensible of its existence. On the other hand, the most ardent, pure-minded lover is repelled and dis- heartened when made sensible of the fact that his love is not reciprocated — 46 ^otQ Secured that it is recognized only with a cold- hearted indifference or a positive re- pulsion. In the very nature of things all this must be so. The Holy Spirit is an ardent wooer. The basis of his divine affection is most pure and un- selfish. At the same time he is vividly awake to and intelligently conscious of the attitude of every human heart toward him. He wooes, and waits to be invited in. (See Revelation 3:20.) Alas! how often is he repelled, and from how many hearts is he compelled to turn away and leave them in their guilt and sin to their everlasting un- doing, because they repelled him. How many such will one day take up the rhythmically expressed lament of the brilliant Lord Byron: "Through many a clime 't is mine to roam, With many a retrospection cursed, And all my solace is to know, Whate'er befalls, I 've known the worst, What is that worst? Nay, do not ask; In pity from the search forbear ; Smile on, nor venture to unmask My heart and view the hell that 's there." 47 ^6t l^olp &pitit in tit SDebout JLitz But the desire to be possessed of the Holy Spirit must not only be intense; it must be unselfish. He must be sought and longed for, not merely to alTord personal pleasure and adorn- ment, but as an essential equipment for service in soul-winning. The Holy Spirit has been sent into the world "to convict the world of sin, of righteous- ness, and of judgment^' (John 16:8, li. v.). But, as the Son, in order to enable the world through him to see the Father, had to take upon himself a body of flesh and blood, so the Holy Spirit, that he may get near to, inti- mately communicate with, and convict men and women, seeks to enter and dwell in the hearts of devout men and women. Of course, he can and often does make direct impressions upon hu- man hearts without the aid of others, — in the silent watches of the night, through afflictive dispensations of Providence, in times of bereavement, war, famine, and destructive epidem- ics, — and cause men to cry to God for 48 $otQ Secured help, but even in such cases, how wonderfully and effectively may his work be aided by the timely words and kindly ministrations of devout, Spirit- moved men and women. Saul of Tarsus was stricken down by the Spirit, spoken to by our Lord, thor- oughly convicted of sin, righteousness, and judgment, sent blind into Damas- cus, and continued three days in prayer; but it was only when the de- vout Ananias, directed hij the Lord^ sought him out and spoke to him that the scales fell from his eyes, he re- ceived sight, and was ready to go forth in willing obedience to the divine com- mission. How many may there not be to-day to whom the Spirit has spoken, whom he has convicted of sin, that might be safely led into a knowledge of sins for- given, and lives of joy and usefulness, were there only among their neighbors who profess to be Christians devout men and women who, in obedience to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, 4 49 ^it l^olp fepitit in tit SDebout JLitt would go and personally speak to them as Ananias spoke to Saul. Now this is what the Lord wants, — this personal work for the salvation of the unconverted, — and one of the spe- cial purposes for which the Holy Spirit is in the world and ready to enter de- vout hearts is to equip them for this kind of work; but to secure him he must be earnestly desired, that he may impart the willingness and the ability to do it gladly as unto the Lord. The Spirit convicts of sin, righteous- ness, and judgment, but it is when these convictions are reinforced by the Spirit-filled, devout lives of their neigh- bors whom the convicted ones know to be members of the church, and when this again is emphasized by kind w^ords, personally spoken to them on the subject of their soul's salvation, on the wickedness of the sin of unbelief and irreligion, on the righteousness of the divine order of things, and on the judgment which no one can escape, — then it is that the Spirit's wooings and 50 !^0to fetcuced warnings become effective in the sal- vation of sinners. It is not so much that this personal work is necessar^^ to convict men of sin, for of this they are already con- victed at the bar of their own con- science; it is not that it is needed to convict them of righteousness, for they all have a knowledge of a difference between right and wrong, and, with Frederick W. Robertson, are ever ready to exclaim, "It must be right to do right,'' and to reward right-doing; and equally ready are they to admit that, in the very nature of things, it must be wrong to do wrong, and that righteousness requires, and justly, too, that wrong-doing be punished ; nor yet is this personal work so much needed to convince men of judgment, for of its necessity and certainty they are con- vinced by the lashings of a guilty con- science. But this personal work is needed because only through men and women whose hearts the Holy Spirit has touched with love and sympathy 51 %iz !^0l^ fepirit in tit S>tbout JLitt for the lost, can he show forth the praises and glorj of him who, to save lost sinners, gave his life a ransom, and thus bring them into possession of a saving knowledge of the truth of the gospel. Through these personal chan- nels the Holy Spirit is pleased to work, to throw light upon the Word, to em- phasize the gospel fact that the judg- ment referred to is not the final, far- off judgment, but a present, every-day judgment, which is constantly pro- nouncing every soul a sinner before God, and is everlastingly declaring the great, righteous verdict that every un- regenerate man and woman is lost, that without repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ there is no salvation for the lost soul, and that "the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone : which is the second death'^ (Revelation 21: 8). 52 ^oto feecurrd The devout Christian desires the en- duement of the Holy Spirit to make him, to make her active and efficient in thus bringing these vital truths home to the hearts and consciences of the unsaved of their personal acquaint- ance; and the reason why there is not far more of this important work being done by professed Christians is to be found in the fact that so many are con- tent to live without this essential equipment for service; satisfied with merely having their names enrolled on the church record and perhaps attend- ing the quarterly communion ser-vice, virtually dragging along through life, ^^having a name to live,'' while in fact they are spiritually dead. Christ cursed the barren fig-tree be- cause he found on it nothing but leaves. He said, in the case of the man who did not improve his talent, "Take, therefore, the talent from him, . . . and cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness." What will he say in the case of the modern 53 ^^t l^ol^ Spirit in tit SDebout JLitt church-member who, in the midst of numerous opportunities, puts forth no personal effort for the salvation of his unsaved neighbors? After a while all those opportunities will be gone. What cause the negligent and indifferent will then have to lament, in the language of Whittier : "For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these, It might hare been !" 3. The Holy Spirit is secured in the devout life hy earnestly^ persistently asking. This truth is explicitly taught by our divine Lord. "Ask, and it shall be given you." "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him" (Luke 11:13). But he who would receive must ask earnestly, persistently. This is the teaching of the parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18 : 1-8. God knows our hearts; "he understandeth our thoughts afar off." Half-heartedness 54 ^0^ feecuud finds no favor with him. To ask him acceptably we must ask earnestly, in- tensely ; no other way would be honest, and the lack of honesty vitiates every- thing. Some labor under the false notion that they have asked and do desire, and are only waiting until God becomes willing or thinks it proper to grant their request. The fact is, God is ever willing "to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him," and is only wait- ing until they become really in earnest in their asking. The moment their heart, their affections, their desires as- sume this essential attitude of real ear- nestness, such as Jacob had come to when he exclaimed, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me," that moment will he send the Holy Spirit to take possession of the heart as the Com- forter and Guide of the devout asker'a life. The difference between a half- hearted asking and the asking that ilows out of a whole-souled intensity 55 ^Se l^olp fepttit in tit SDebout JLite and persistent earnestness is the differ- ence between complete, devout sur- render to the will of God, and that at- titude of soul which desires to have its own way, at least in part, and please God, too. This earnest, devout, com- plete surrender to the divine will is that of which it is easy to speak, and yet it is the one requirement from which most men shrink and which many fail to come up to. There are many things in the direction of an up- right life which they are ready to do — sign pledges, give money, serve as offi- cers in the church, — if only the Lord will permit them to hold back a part of their will, — if only he will let them play euchre, grind down the poor, ex- tort large dividends -unjustly, crush out competition, etc. In short, if he will only not require them to deny themselves and take up the cross and follow him, not only in right doing but in right thinking as well, they will agree to do anything in rea^son. Alas, it is because of this unwilling- 5G I^oto feitcurtd ness to surrender the will completely, to ask in a whole-souled, candid, honest way, that there is such a scarcity of workers in the churches to-day who are effectively '^endued with power from on high." 4. A willingness and desire to use Him, This is another condition on which the Holy Spirit comes into the deyout life and abides. Power unused is power squandered, and an act of in- gratitude toward the bestower of the power. It is the equivalent of that for which the talent was taken away. (Matthew 25:28.) The Holy Spirit is given on condition that he is obeyed and used. By using the power we have we gain more power. This truth is readily recognized in the matter of the growth and development of the bodily strength of children. The sci- ence of gymnastics is founded upon it. It is also recognized in relation to the development and strength of the men- tal powers. Vigorous thinking devel- opes the ability to plunge deeper into 57 ^^t ^olg fepitit in tit SDtbout JiiU all the mysteries of scientific thought. It is equally true in the case of receiv- ing and retaining the power of the Holy Spirit. Use him and he not only re- mains with you, but you become more and more capable of commanding and utilizing greater degrees of his power. He is in the world not to loiter and in- dulge in idleness. He is here on an im- portant mission, to accomplish a mighty conquest, even the casting out of the wicked one and subduing the world unto himself and the Son, that it may then be delivered up unto the Fa- ther, ^^that God may be all, and in air' (I. Corinthians 15:^28). But to realize this mighty achieve- ment the Holy Spirit must work through human hearts and utilize hu- man agencies. For this he seeks to en- ter and abide in the souls of men and women — not to be idle, not that he may simply impart ecstasy and cause them to shout and make a boast of their higli attainments in the divine life, a.s did -;the Pharisees of old, but that, having 58 ^ob Secured imparted to them spiritual energy and intense conviction, they may witness to the world for Jesus Christ, that they may be fruitful of good works, follow- ing in the footsteps of our Lord, who ^Svent about doing good," and by their commending and practicing all the Christian graces, through evil as well as through good report, he may, through them, their industry, their zeal in holy living and doing, "convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judge- ment." It is on these conditions, and such as these, that the Holy Spirit is secured and retained in the devout life, not merely by loud praying, loud singing, loud boasting of the "I am holier than thou" sort. "Make us, by fhy transforming grace. Dear Savior, daily more like tliee ! Thy fair example may we trace, To teach us what we ought to be !" Wbt ^olv fepitit in tit SDebout Hilt IV Cl)e ^olg Spirit in t&e Debout Life— (KBfiat ^e Does— l^is C{)aracteristics The personality of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit as a specific power or force, the devout life, and how the Holy Spirit in the devout life is se- cured and retained, have been consid- ered. We now pass to the considera- tion of some of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit as a working force w hen embodied in the heart of a devout human being — some of the specific things he does in and for that life, and some of the things he does by and through that life for humanity in gen- eral, and for the world as peopled by rational, intelligent, free moral agents. Let it be remembered that the Holy Spirit is in the world to reassert, em- phasize, and execute the will of the Fa- 60 tlier as revealed in Jesus Christ. ( See John 14 : 20 ; 15 : 26 ; 16 : 13-15. ) He is the administrator of the kingdom of Christ. He dwells in the devout life for tlie express purpose of revealing Christ and his will, and malting real the com- radeship of Christ. Hence it has been vrell said, and reiterated by many able, orthodox Christian teachers, that since the Day of Pentecost the world has been, and we are now living, in the dis- pensation of the Holy Spirit. This, then, is a positive, vital doctrine of our holy Christianity, and it cannot be too specifically emphasized ; and it is perti- nent here that some of his characteris- tics and modes of operating through the devout lives of those w^ho have ac- corded him a hearty, royal welcome into their hearts, be pointed out and briefly elaborated. 1. The Eohf Spirit in the devout life renders that life sinless. We are aware that right here we strike con- troverted ground ; that much time and disputation have been expended by one 61 %^t l^ol? fe>pitit m tit SDebout Ette class of theologians to prove that it is impossible for any man to live a single day without sinning, and in proof of their contention they quote I. John 1: 8, 9. Others have contended just as vigorously and logically to prove that, as John says, ^^he that committeth sin is of the devil," and "whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin" (I. John 3:8,9). It is not the purpose here to enter Into a lengthy examination of the argu- ments that apply in defense of either of the sides of this question. Both space and inclination forbid such a course ; nor would it be in keeping with the purpose of this little book. We are satisfied that right here there is within our choice a better, a more profitable course to pursue. The unprofitable dis- cussion referred to above has had its source almost entirely in a failure to give a rational interpretation to the terms ^^sin," "sinless," "perfect," and "holy." Extremists in contending that all 62 mW ^t Wot&—^i0 CSatactttififtiCjer Christians can live, and are under obli- gation to live holy livee, have invari- ably fallen into the mistake of so de- fining the term ^^holy" as to, in the lan- guage of the writer's sainted father, ^'make the way into heaven so narrow that they could not get in themselves.-^ And their extreme contentions and their ever being wont to unchristian all who could not indorse their extreme definitions of a holy life and profess to be in possession of it — their readiness to unchristian all such, no matter how consistent their outward lives might be with their profession, has often wrought division, strife, and much harm to classes and congregations^ And certainly it is not an error to set it down as a demonstrated fact that v>hatever works distraction, ill will, and spiritual decline in a society of professed Christians is not of Christ, but of the devil. (See I. Corinthians 3:3,) On the other hand, the extreme advo- cates of the contention that the best of C3 %it l^ol^ Spirit to tSe SD^bout Hitz Christians sin daily, greatly err in at- taching quite too comprehensive a def- inition to the word "sin." By doing this, and then contending that the best of men cannot help sinning daily, and then repeating the words of I. John 2 : 1, and I. John 1 : 9, they have made the mistake of promulgating a teaching which is taken by many whose names are on the church roll as an excuse for a wilful indulgence of the carnal appe- tites and passions of the flesh, even to the extent of neglecting the means of grace, patronizing the saloons, and en- couraging other dissipating social vices. That only is sin in the scriptural sense which renders a man guilty be- fore God. The Holy Spirit in the de- vout life cleanses (sanctifies) it from the love of all sin taken in that sense. So far as the guilt and the condemna- tion of the act of sin are concerned, there is a vast difference between com- mitting a sin nnlfidhf and committing a sin aecidentalh/ or ignorantly. 64 Hence the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in 10:26 (R. V.), says, "If we sin wilfully after that we have re- ceived the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrijS.ce for sins." "Sin is the transgression of the law" (I. John 3:4). Sin that renders its author guilty before God is wilfully willing, choosing to and actually com- mitting an act, speaking a word or cherishing a thought known at the time to be contrary to or forbidden by the law — that is, the Word of God. Sin that renders a man guilty before God is not merely a mistake, a misstep taken under the impression that it was harmless; it is doing, willingly and from choice, what we know is contrary to God's will and word. With this definition of actual sin be- fore us, then who will say that it is not possible for the devout soul whom the Holy Spirit has thoroughly cleansed from the love of sin to live without committing sin? The writer once served on a coroner's inquest 5 65 %it ^oly fepirit in tje 2Debout %itt where two brothers, being out in the mountains hunting deer, noticed in the distance something stirring in a laurel thicket ; thinking it was a deer, one of them quickly fired. Imagine their hor- ror when a third man, their otcn hrother, rushed out of the thicket, ran to them, exclaiming, "My God, boys, you 've shot me I" and fell down and died at their feet! Did the law hold them for murder? Surely not. Why not? they had killed a man, and the law says, "Thou shalt not kill." Ah, it W'as done by mistake! They had no thought of murder in their hearts. They did not will or wish or choose to kill their brother, but the very opposite. So the devout man wiiose heart is cleansed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit may, and doubtless often does, by mistake, do, think, and say things which are contrary to God's holy law, as seen by the Lord himself, but he never wills or wishes or chooses to do so. Will God condemn him for those mistakes and hold him guilty? Will 66 miat ^t 2Doe0— 1^10 C&acacUti0t(c0 he who ^'knoweth our frame" and "re- membereth that we are dust/' be more rigid and exacting in holding us to the very letter of the law than man is? He sent his Son into the world that be might, by his death, redeem us from the curse or condemnation of the law, "be- ing made a curse for us'' (See Gala- tians 3:13, 14.) Let it be remembered that it is the sinful thoughts, words, and acts in- dulged and executed tcUfully that ren- der us guilty before God. He judges righteous judgment, "he understand- eth our thoughts afar off," and "the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us" (Romans 8:26, R. V.). 2. The Eoly Spirit dwelling in the devout life endues the soul toith a holy love. Love is the core of the Christian system. It is to Christianity what the roots and trunk of a tree are to the branches; the great stem on which are festooned as ornaments all the other Christian graces. Christianity had its origin in the 67 ot0—m^ C&atacUrfetic0 stingy. What but the touch of divine love could so transform selfish human nature financially? The work done, iind still going on, in the directions above designated is the marvel of the ages, arid is God's memorial of the ef- fectiveness of divine love in transform- ing human nature. Charles Wesley well wrote : Love Divine ! how sweet thou art ! "When shall I find my willing heart All taken up with thee? 1 thirst, and faint, and die to prove The greatness of redeeming love. The love of Christ to me." Holy love becomes the devout souPs rightful possession. The Holy Spirit gives it to him as a result of his pos- sessing the soul, and its presence makes duty pleasure, self-denial a joy, and affliction only calmly, peacefully suffer- ing the will of the Father in heaven, cheered with the assurance that all things are working "together for good to them that love him." 3. The Boh) Spirit in tJie devout life reveals the spiritual import of the 71 M^^t ^olg feptcit in tit 2Dtbout %itt Scriptures. This is a part of his func- tion as "the Spirit of truth" (John li: 17). In the days of the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (11. Peter 1:21 and II. Timothy 3:16). The canon of Holy Scripture as written by them has been preserved and handed down to us ; but it is readily conceded by all devout men and women that after the Holy Spirit imparted to them a knowledge of sins forgiven and the assurance of their adoption into Christ's spiritual family, the Bible became a new book to them. Then it was that they were able to per- ceive in what had been before, as they thought, plain, simple statements, a depth of spiritual significance and a wealth of holy joy, imparting a beauty of which they had never dreamed, and w^hich admirably fitted their cases. The writer well remembers how before his conversion he was often puzzled to know why it was that his devout, godly father, who, although no scholar, was 72 distinguished for his knowledge of the Scriptures, and his ability to interpret them, could sit for hours and hours on rainy days and on Sundays, content- edly and intently poring over parts of the Bible that he felt sure he must have read and reread a hundred times or more. But after his own conversion the mystery soon became plain. Then k was that he, himself, became able to see in passages which, as a Sunday- school scholar, he had committed to memory, a new beauty and depth of meaning of which he had never dreamed. When our Lord said to his disciples, in speaking of the coming of the Com- forter, "He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you'^ (John 16: 15), he uttered a truth not only for those to whom he was speaking at the time, but for all devout Christians through all time to come. All this is in accord with the declaration of Paul (I. Cor- inthians 2:13), where he says in sub- stance that spiritual things can only be 73 %it !&0l^ fepirit in t^t SDebout Hitt discerned and revealed by the spirit of God. The things of the material world are perceived by the mind through the five physical senses, but for that man who opens his soul to the wooings of the Holy Spirit and invites him in and makes him welcome, the Spirit opens another avenue of perception, a sixth s^?nse as it were, through or by which he can spiritually discern spiritual things. This is the secret of the great aptness of men like D. L. Moody, Charles H. Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, and Doctor Torrey for ex- pounding, applying, and emphasizing the sacred Scriptures. They are in league with the Holy Spirit in that spe- cial work. They have devoutly sought and secured his assistance as their en- lightener in things pertaining to the establishing of the kingdom of right- eousness on earth. "Holy Ghost with light divine, Shine upon this heart of mine ; Chase the shades of night away, Turn the darkness into day." 74 dflljat ^e 2DOC0— ^i0 €iatatitti0tit0 4. The Holy Spirit is a guide for the devout life. This he is in an espe- cial sense. Every devout soul realizes his need of such an infallible guide. The printed Word is not enough. We have seen that the Spirit illumines the Word, and that is to the devout Chris- tian a great, a blessed favor. At the same time, he realizes his constant need of a prompter, a reminder of obli- gation, an admonisher in time of temp- tation and trouble. The psalmist (Psalm 73:24), realizing his need of a constant guide, said, "Thou shalt guide me with thy counseF'; and our Lord said ( John '^ 16: 13)', "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all truth." The Holy Spirit freely possessed, breathes upon and into its possessor the finer influences of the kingdom of Christ, strengthening him when tempted, as declared in Psalm 91 : 3, making his faith vital as in the case of Stephen (Acts 6:5), reanimating the words of the Scriptures when he reads ^ie ^olv fepirit in tfie SDcbout JLitt them (Ezekiel 37:8, 10), communicat- ing to him the divine life and truth of Christ (John 6:58), directing him in right ways (Psalm 32:8), and filling his soul with peace and joy (Romans 14:17). Thus it is that "the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities," as Paul declares in Romans 8 : 26. Of course, as to how the Holy Spirit affects the soul at all is a mystery. No change is made in the body, the nervous system, or the constitution of the soul — if that characterization is applicable to the invisible human spirit. An in- fluence from without, incomprehensi- ble, inexplicable, makes a deep, abid- ing impression, divorcing the spirit from the love of evil objects and de- sires, and drawing it toward God, pur- ity, truth, and righteousness ; just hoiv we cannot tell. And the fact that all this is done without conflicting in the least with the freedom of the human will renders it all the more mysterious and inexplicable. In the language of Holy Writ, "This is the Lord's doing; 76 it is marvelous in our ejes" — a mystery of the matchless grace that has pro- vided salvation for our fallen race and lovingly urges men and women to ac- cept it through faith in Jesus Christ. 5. The Holy Spirit is the devout lifers equipment for service. It is a great thing for a man to be lifted in thought and purpose up out of the low strata of the carnal life into that higher, nobler plane of existence where he is cognizant of the fact that the in- finite God invites, yearns for, and ac- tually needs his service — actually needs his assistance in the great work of establishing the kingdom of right- eousness in this world. But that this is the fact, is clearly taught by our divine Lord in Luke 10 : 2, where he says, "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few." Yet it is the province of the Spirit to not only im- Y^art to the believer a knowledge of his heirship with Jesus Christ, but to so enlighten him that he becomes con- scious of the fact that the Lord calls 77 ^fjt Iftolg Spirit in t&e 2Debout Hite him to service. Having been enlight- ened to this degree, the devout heart becomes impressed with a sense of its own weakness, its inability, and in- stinctively and through the teaching of the Scriptures turns to the Holy Spirit for the needed equipment. And right here the devout mind ad- verts to Christ's instruction to his dis- ciples, "Tarry ye in the city of Jeru- salem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49), and to the account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2 : 1-20) . That baptism was the disciples' special equipment for the spe- cial service required of them in their day. So the devout Christian to-day, not in the same manner, not in the same degree, but as truly in fact, re- ceives the Holy Spirit as his equipment for service, consistent with his work and his environment. The psalmist prayed, "Uphold me with thy free Spirit ; then will I teach transgressors thy ways" (Psalm 51: miat ^t 2 Dotg— ^tg^ €iatatttii0tit^ 12, 13). The devout Christian is an ambassador for Christ. Christ having been anointed with the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:38), "went about doing good." So the holy anointing equips the devout Christian to follow his Master in doing good. This anoint- ing may not be in the same degree, but it is certainly from the same source; and w^hatever it may be, it is certainly what all workers for Christ need and may secure, in degree proportionate to the work required of them. This equipment gives power for holy living — victory over the appetites and passions of the flesh. This is clearly taught by Paul in Galatians 5 : 16-26 ; there he says, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh," etc. How many living witnesses there are to-day who can gladly testify to the reality of the keeping power of the Holy Spirit in times of temptation. This equipment also arms its posses- sors with a holy, humble boldness, a willingness to testify of the converting 79 %it l^ol? &picit in t^t SDetJout JLiU and keeping grace of God and the abil- ity to preach the gospel in demonstra- tion of the Spirit. It virtually makes working and testifying for Christ easy —a joy and a delight. This accounts for the wonderful zeal of the pioneer preachers and Christians of three- quarters of a century ago, and less. The writer remembers how certain mountaineer Christians of fifty years ago would work hard on their rough clearings the six long working days of the week, and then on Sunday walk four miles and back, up and down great hills, to attend the weekly prayer-meet- ing; how his sainted father would work hard all week, and then on Sunday ride horseback ten to sixteen miles and preach, return home in the evening, and go to work again on Monday. This he did gladly for years and years, never receiving a dollar in payment for his preaching. Service for Christ is the gymnasium for developing the spiritual strength of his children. To secure the forgive- so ness of sin, only repentance and faith are required ; but to retain and develop the spiritual life of Christ in the soul, loyal, cheerful service is required. "Work out your salvation,^' is the di- vine injunction. Our Lord did not in- vite his disciples to lounge with him "on flowery beds of ease." To the con- trary, he demanded of them rigid self- denial, complete self-sacrifice, and he- roic, persistent toil. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me; for whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save iV' (Luke 9: 23, 24). It is our conviction that one of the great sins of professed Christians to- day is an unwillingness to do personal service for Christ — to witness for him, to sacrifice time in personally urging their unsaved neighbors to become Christians, to "go out in the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in.^^ Right here, doubtless, is the chief 8 81 %it ^olp ^pitit in tie SDibout %itz reason why, with all our church ma- chinery, the real progress of the com- ing of Christ's kingdom is so slow. Alas! what will the King say to all such when he sits upon the throne of his glory and before him are gathered all nations? ( Matthew 25 : 31-46. "When thou, O Lord, shalt stand disclosed In majesty severe, And sit in judgment on my soul, Oh, how shall I appear?" 6. The Holy Spirit is the capital with which the devout life does busi- ness for God, The trite proverb, "Busi- ness is business,'' is intended to apply only to secular affairs. Nevertheless there is such a thing as business in the moral, spiritual realm. Our Lord's re- ply to his mother, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" justifies this claim. To engage in and carry on secular business or an occupa- tion of any kind requires capital. The common laborer's health, his strength and industry are his capital. The mechanic's skill and his knowledge 82 miat ^e 2Dot0— 1^10 €iatatttti9itk0 of Lis trade are his capital. The pro- fessional man's ability and knowledge of his specialty are his capital. The money invested in his business and his ability to manage the same are the cap- ital of the manufacturer, the merchant, and tlie shipper. The same is true of the devout life engaged in doing busi- ness for the Lord. He must have a cer- tain amount of a special kind of capital to succeed ; and that capital is the in- dwelling of the Holy Spirit. One of the special functions of capi- tal, when properly handled by its pos- sessor, is to earn more capital. Hence the devout life, having the Holy Spirit as its capital, its coworker for God, finds the discharge of Christian duty a joy and a success. It becomes easy, natural for him to give of his means to aid in all church enterprises, to speak to men of their souPs salvation, to use his influence kindly, persistently for the advancement of the Redeemer's king- dom on earth. All this he finds to be not burdensome, and in it he is success- es ^6e ^olp fepitit in t^z S>zbont Jiitt f ul because his capital, the Holy Spirit, is working in and for him all the time, just in proportion as he is devoted, zealous, persistent, and painstaking in the work of the Lord. His capital re- lieves him of all fear of failure, of all dread of what men will think or say. He goes straight forward in the line of duty, without any thought of keeping up appearances or asking himself, <^What will men say?'' He knows that, being possessed of the Holy Spirit as his working capital, his influence and his life can but be in harmony with the divine will, and that is quite enough for him. The great trouble with the church to-day is that it is weighted down with so many members who profess to be en- gaged in carrying on business for the Lord but they have no capital. They are simply hanging on, and recounting experiences such as, "I was converted away back yonder ; I was baptized ; I was taken into the church ; I have been paying my quarterage/' but as to 84 miat ^e 2Dot0— l^igi €liatatttti^tit& growth in grace, having become strong to do telling work in the way of help- ing Christ to lift unsaved souls up out of the guilt and condemnation of sin is concerned, they know nothing about that. Why? Because they stopped with the above-named steps, (important ones, of course,) which simply lifted them up into the gracious favor of Christ, and have failed to grow in grace. The apostle says, ^'But grow in grace" — not into grace. His tliought is, having come into grace, the gracious favor of Jesus Christ through repent- ance and faith, and being now in grace, grow into strong, working men and women in Christ Jesus. Grow^ how? By using the grace, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the capital you have, as a w^ork- ing equipment for God. Do you not know that, so far as doing work is con- cerned, a man may just as well be with- out capital as to have capital and not use it? Capital not used is dead cap- ital. The Holy Spirit possessed or of- fered and not accepted and used, is of ^it l^ol^ ^vitit in tje SDtbout JLitt no value or advantage whatever to him who rejects or refuses to use him. And right here is the trouble with dead, formal church-members. They have failed to secure and use the Holy Spirit as capital to do work for God. The result is, they move along among the unconverted, exerting no influence for Christ. Their worldly associates do not knoAV that they are Christians. They live, talk, and act just as others do who make no profession of religion. Not so with the devout Christian. In him is the Holy Spirit as a working force. That force in him determines his character; his character determines his words, his acts, and his influence, and the result is, all who come within the range of his acquaintance know that he is a devout follower of the Lord Jesus. Suppose now, all whose names are enrolled on the records of all the churches were to be thus endued with capital for God and were to thus live and work ; how long think ye it would be until all Christendom would be 88 mW ^t gpoeg— ^ig C6atactetfetic0 aflame with the converting, saving po^ye^ of the Holy Spirit? 7. The devout life, Spirit-filled, rec* agnizes this earth-life as a time of prep- aration for the life which is to come. Too many professed Christians live as if life in this world were the only thing to live for. Pleasure, the latest styles, social amusements, the theaters, with them must have the right of way. Not so with the devout Christian. With him, as the Apostle Peter exhorted, life here is the time to ^^give diligence, to make your calling and election sure,'' to aid his divine Master in establish- ing the kingdom of righteousness in this world. For him this life is the time for character-building, by render- ing faithful service in the holy cause of saving souls from death ; and the time of rest is to be in the glory world be- yond, where Christ has gone to prepare a place for all those to whom he can sav, "Come ye blessed of my Father," etc. ( See Matthew 25 : 34-40. ) To the devout Christian all the teach- 87 'Jtfit ^olv fepitit m tf)t SDtbout JLitt iugs of our divine Lord and the apos- tles concerning service, working out our salvation, being faithful unto death, cutting down the barren fig-tree, taking the talent away from him who failed to improve it, the going away in- to everlasting punishment, and turn- ing the wicked into hell, are solemn realities, and they, endued by the Holy Spirit, endeavor to behave accordingly. Glad of the opportunity to cooperate with Jesus, they work. Believing that the judgments of the Lord are true and certain, and "knowing the terror of the Lord," they lovingly do all they can to persuade men to flee from the wrath to come. (See II. Corinthians 5:11.) With the devout Christian it is not enough to have received the Holy Spirit; he cannot rest without using him. In fact, it is through using him in promoting and effecting the salva- tion of men that he retains him and be- comes more and more efficient in using the power he imparts. We have in Dwight L. Moody and Jerry McAuley 88 tvvo wonderful demonstrations of this truth. Plato well said, "A man who would be happy must not only have the good things, but he must also use them; there is no advantage in merely having them." This truth, aptly expressed by that eminent pagan philosopher, is a sterling reality to the devout Christian in regard to his being the fortunate pos- sessor of the Holy Spirit. The joy ac- companying a knowledge of his posses- sion would soon wane did he not use, to the glory of God, the power with which that possession equips him. And right here we have the secret of the de- plorable fact that many new converts soon lapse from their first love into a state of joylessness, doubt, uncertainty, and spiritual death. The only way for any one to retain the joys of conversion and grow in grace is to go to work for God and the church, and keep at it through evil report and good report, through the dark clouds as well as through the bright sunshine; and he 89 mt ^olg &picit in tjt apetiout JLitt who does this, guided by the Holy Spirit, will be growing in grace always, and will never lack the comforting peace and assurance of "a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward man'' (Acts 24: 16). PauPs was truly a devout life, a life wonderfully endowed with capital with which to do business for the Lord, and the largeness of his endowment and the superiority of his work both in quantity and quality, was due to the fact that he believed God (see Acts 27:25), and diligently and with great zeal and bold- ness, used the capital with which the Holy Spirit endowed him. 8. The Holy Spirit renders tJie de- vout life triumphant. The truth of this affirmation is abundantly demon- strated in the life, labors, and declara- tions of the Apostle Paul. Amid all his excessive toil, his privations, scourgings, imprisonments, and tears, he was ever triumphant in soul. Filled with the Holy Spirit, wholly given up to doing the v>ill of God, and glorify- 00 Wi^at l^t S>ot^—^i0 €iamtttti0tit& ing Jesus Christ, his was a devout life of unparalleled self-denial, and devo- tion to the welfare of humanity, and equally y>'ithout a parallel in its per- petual peace of soul (see Acts 20 : 24), and its final victory over the fear of death. In devotion to Christ he lived, in devotion to Christ he labored, and In triumph over death he died. For him there was no cloud so dark but he could see a silver lining, no calamity or peril so great as to deprive him of his courage or self -poise ( see Acts 27 : 33-36), no temptation so great but that God's grace was more than suffi- cient for him. For a graphic category of his experiences, his assurances, and his triumphs, the reader has but to turn to and read Romans 8 : 35-39 ; II. Cor- inthians 6:1-10; 11:23-28; 12:9, 10; II. Timothy 4 : 6-8. And after all, the secret of all his marvelous life is had in the fact that at his conversion he completely surrendered his own will to the will of the Lord Jesus (Acts 9:6; 26:19, 20), gladly accepted the Holy 91 ^t l^olg ^pitit in tfjt mttont mtt Spirit as his capital with which to do business for his Master, and then, dili- gently, persistently, made all possible use of that capital, night and day, through evil report as well as through good report. And while the great apostle is the most distinguished exam^Dle of a devout life triumphant, yet his is not an iso- lated case. From his day on, history's pages are abundantly dotted with the glorious triumphs of martyrs and saints, whose lives, possessed of, sur- rendered to, and directed by the Holy Spirit, were joyfully victorious. Nor are these examples of triumph confined to the times of the martyrs and saints. We have them strewn along among the records of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well, and even down to the present time. In our own sainted Otterbein we have a note- worthy example of a devout life glori- ously triumphant. As a model of godly devotion and Christian zeal, his life has no superior in modern 92 m^at ^t S)ot0—^i0 C^aractetfeticfli times. Note, therefore, his dying words: "Jesus, Jesus, I die, but thou livest, and soon I shall live with thee forever. I begin to feel an inexpress- ible sense of peace and joy divine. Lay my head upon my pillow and be still !^' What language more triumphant could escape the lips of one whose pil- grim feet have already entered the cold waters of the Jordan of death? "I saw a way-worn traveler, His steps were slow but firm, And he shouted as he journeyed, 'Deliverance will come ; Then palms of victory, crowns of glory, Palm.s of victory we shall bear.' " Madam Guyon, the celebrated pris- oner for Christ^s sake in the French Bastile, sat there for hours and hours writing and singing sweet songs of praise and joyous triumph, imagining herself a little bird caged up like a canary, that she miglit sing all the more sweetly the praises of her Re- deemer! At one time she wrote, "The very stones of my prison cell appear like rubies." Why? How? Because 03 ^8e !&ol^ fepitit in tbt SDebout JLitt the Holy Spirit in her devout life was her comforter and soul-cheering com- panion in that otherwise damp and gloomy cell. With him in her hearty that dungeon was to her "paradise re- gained." **0h, how happy are they Who their Saviour obey And have laid up their treasures above." 94 Conclusion V Conclusion It has been seen in the foregoing that the Holy Spirit is a person — the third person in the Godhead; that the devout life is the highest type of Chris- tian living in this world, that it is pos- sessed of the Holy Spirit, that it is at- tainable and important, and that it is a joyful life, a triumphant life of will- ing, cheerful service rendered to God and man, by which and through which men and women work out their per- sonal salvation, bless humanity, and glorify God. Such a life is of supreme importance to the individual, the home, the church, and the state. It frees the individual from the bondage of sin and death, makes him brave and cheerful to meet the obliofations of home, church, so- ciety, and state, and renders him happy 95 'CrSt l&ol? fepitit in tf^t SDebout Hitt and triumphant amid all the toils, mis- fortunes, and sorrows of life, and espe- cially so in the hour of death. It blesses the home. The husband and wife, happily devout in their re- ligious life, and guided by the Holy Spirit, are bound together by that same holy, sacred tie of affection and charity which binds Christ to his church. In such a home the united heads walk to- gether, reflecting in the presence of their children and neighbors the devout spirit of self-denial and willing service for the good of others characteristic of the spirit of Christ. The children grow^ up in a holy atmosphere, breathe it into their moral nature, and, impressed with the superior reality of the religion pro- fessed and lived by father and mother, in due time they themselves become de- vout Christians. Such a Spirit-filled life makes its possessor an ornament to the church. Others seeing the Christ-life reflected in the shining light of such a life, are by it led to Christ and saved. Society OS Conclusion is purified and ennobled by the presence of such a life, and the institutions of the state are rendered more safe, an- archy is silently but positively rebuked, and life and property made more secure by the sturdy, strenuous power it exerts for good. Multiply the number of such lives until they constitute the heads of nine-tenths of all the families, nine- tenths of all the church-members, nine- tenths of the citizens of our country, and nine-tenths of the population of the world, and you usher in the millennial glory and actually establish heaven on earth. Oh, glorious consummation ! All hearts controlled by love ; The kingdom of all kingdoms Brought down from heaven above. The Holy Spirit reigning In every human soul. Oh, happy consummation. Humanity made whole! 97 iortnnal S^mtB nf (Em MnnkB. Each designed to set forth in a plain and practical manner the cardinal doctrines as taught in the Word of God. THE LOVE OF GOD. By W. M. Bell, D.D. THE ATONEMENT. By Bishop E. B. Kep- hart, D.D., LL.D. HOLINESS. By Bishop J. S. Mills, D.D., Ph.D., LL.D. BAPTISM. By A. W. Drury, D.D. REGENERATION. By S. D. Faust, D.D. JUSTIFICATION. By Bishop G. M. Math- ews, D.D. THE DIVINITY OF OUR LORD. By G. A. Funkhouser, D.D. REPENTANCE. By L. Bookwalter, D.D. THE HOLY TRINITY. By J. P. Landis, D.D., Ph.D. THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. By Bishop N. Castle, D.D. Bound in substantial cloth, uniform style, 6^x4^ inches. Single volume, net, 35 d^ttta. Ten volumes at one time, pre- paid, ^3.50. Uniform in size with the Devotional Books. Ilntt^b Ir^tlyr^tt PubltBl|tng I^cub^, W. R. FUNK, Agent. DAYTON, OHIO. A NEW EDITION. GEHINO AND GIVING OR THE Stewardship of Wealth. By REV. W. M. WEEKLEY. D.D. Second edition with an introduction by Rev. J. F. Cowan, D.D., Associate Editor of the Christian Ejideavor World. WORDS OF APPRECIATION. It is reasonable and scriptural, and it puts the question upon Christian ground and keeps it there.— Washington Gladden. It is written in a clear, forcible style, and a wide circulation of it will give light and quicken- ing to many a conscience, and hasten the coming of the kingdom of GoCi.—Bithop J. S. Mills. Degant red cloth, 136 pages, 12mo, 75 cents. The same in paper, 15 cents, post-paid. Per dozen, prepaid, $1.50. This is the opportunity for the pastor and presiding elder to distribute these books at small cost. - Send in your orders. United Brethren Publishing House, W. R. FUNK. Agent. DAYTON. OHIO. Criminal Classes; CAUSES AND CURES. By D. R. MILLER. D.D. With an introduction by Hon, Charles Foster, Ex-Governor of Ohio. The book is interesting, instructive, and help- ful to professional men, statesmen, philanthropists, students of sociology and criminology, keepers of prisons, reformers, and all others interested in the race, and inclined to aid in lifting up the fallen. Cloth, 250 pages, 5^x 7^ inches. Handbook for Workers By M. R. DRURY, D.D. With an introduction by Geo. F. Pentecost, D.D. and Chapters of Pure Gold by C. H. Yatman, Evangelist. REVISED AND ENLARGED. Over 5,000 sold. A manual of Bible texts and readings for use in Christian work. Composed entirely of scripture selections, so arranged and indexed as to be of ready and practical use to Christian workers. Vest-pocket size, flexible leather. Nft, 25 (Hmta. W. R. FUNK, Agent. DAYTON. OHIO. DATE DUE ^»i<^^ CAYLORO rntNTCOINU.S.A.