Think of the Holy Spirit as a person; having a will of his own; who
breatheth whither he listeth, and cannot be confined to any feelings
or rules of yours, or of any man's; but may meet you in the
Sacraments, or out of the Sacraments, even as he will; and has
methods of comforting and educating you, of which you will never
dream; one whose will is the same as the will of the Father and of
the Son, even a good will; just as his character is the same as the
character of the Father and of the Son: even love which works by
holiness; love which you can trust utterly, for yourself and for all
whom you love.
Think, I say, of God himself as he is; think of his name, by which he
has revealed himself, and thus you will--But who am I, to pretend to
tell you what you will learn by thinking rightly of Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost? How can I dare to say how much you will or will not
learn? How can I put bounds to God's teaching? to the workings of
him who has said, 'If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my
Father will love him; and we will come unto him, and make our abode
with him'? How can I tell you in a few words of one sermon all that
that means? How can I, or any man, know all that that means? Who is
one man, or all men, to exhaust the riches of the glory of God, or
the blessings which may come from thinking of God's glory? Let it be
enough for us to be sure that truly to know God is everlasting life;
and that the more we think of God by his own revealed name of Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, the more we shall enter, now and hereafter, into
eternal life, and into the peace which comes by the true knowledge of
him in whom we live, and move, and have our being.
Pages:
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75