The gift of the Holy Ghost

Front matter

WORKS BY REV. E. DAVIES,

Evangelist.

CHOICE HYMNS

Preface

We are living in the nineteenth century of the Christian era ; and, in the blaze of the dispensation of the Holy Ghost, Christians, of every name, are alive to the importance of the highest experience in the Christian life. And how to attain that experience, is the great inquiry of the public Christian mind.

The following pages contain the substance of a number of sermons that I have preached on this glorious topic. I have been requested, from time to time, to publish these thoughts, and some have gone so far as to subscribe for the book before I could get it ready for the press.

I have designed to make the whole subject so plain to your mind, and so desirable to your heart, that you will not rest till you receive " the 'promise of the Father" so that the reading of this book shall make a new era in your Christian experience. The operations of the blessed Holy Ghost are as silent and mysterious as the workings of the

PKEFACE.

forces of nature, and are but little understood by the gainsaying world ; and many of the true followers of Jesus hardly realize the fullness of the blessings of the gospel of Christ which this dispensation affords. And, alas ! many doubt the possibility thereof. Since this is a subject of experience, I have appended the testimonies of a number of God's dear children.

Read with care. Apply the subject as you go on, and be sure to realize, in your own experience, "the

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GlIOST."

Then go and scatter the holy fire, and help to save this wicked world from the power of Sin and Satan. "A Christian is like a coal of fire; he must set others on fire or go out himself."

E. DAVIES.

Reading, Mass., 1874.

Chapter I. The Gift Of The Holy Ghost

PAGB

I. The Divinity of the Holy Ghost. — 1. The Holy Ghost is God. (a.) Because of the Names He bears. He is called God. (6.) The Attributes of God are ascribed to the Holy Ghost. Omnipresence. Eternity. Omniscience, (c.) Because the "Works of God are ascribed to the Spirit. 2. The Personality of the Holy Ghost, (a.) He is spoken of as a Person in the Scriptures. (6.) Personal Acts are ascribed to Him. ... 11

Chapter II. Brief History Of The Three Dispen- Sations

I. The Patriarchal, or the Dispensation of God the Father. II. The Mosaic Dispensation, or the Dispensation of Christ. — Types. Symbols. Sacrifices. Christ came. The Promise of the Father. The Last Words of Christ. III. The Dispensation of the Holy Ghost. — 1. What preceded the Pentecost. 2. (a.) The Feast of the Pentecost. (5.) The Prophecy of Joel, (c.) Tarrying at Jerusalem. 3. Pentecost, (a.) Sound from Heaven. (6.) Rushing mighty

Wind, (c.) Cloven Tongues 15

CONTENTS.

Chapter III. The Results Of The Fiery Baptism

Upon the Personal Character of the Disciples.— Holy Heart. Holy Life. Holy Boldness. Spirit of Sacrifice. Holy Enthusiasm. Examples. Spirit of Meekness. Spirit of Wisdom. A Loving, Living Faith. "Wonderfully Social. Exceedingly Benevolent. The Crowning Gift the Power to Savingly Impress Men, and lead them to Christ. President Finney's Experience 29

CHAPTER 1Y.

THE HOLY GHOST RULING IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

Scripture Quotations. Work of Evangelists. Further Quotations. The Holy Ghost in Early Church History and Discipline 43

CHAPTER Y.

THE HOLY GHOST IN THE CHURCH OF THE PRESENT DAY.

I. The Privilege of all True Christians. — 1. Prophecy. 2. Promises. 3. Rivers of Living Water. II. How may we receive this Baptism ? — 1. Believe in the Holy Ghost. 2. Entire Consecration. 3. Be ready to do or suffer the Divine Will. 4. Wait in Faith. 5. Expect it now. The Baptism is no Form of Miraculous Power. III. The Baptism of John and Jesus contrasted. — 1. One is Water, the other is Fire. 2. The

CONTEXTS.

one is as real as the other. 3. Emblem and Cleansing. 4. Candidates. 5. It is the Gift of a Moment, not a Growth. 6. The Fiery Baptism may be repeated. . . 51

CHAPTER VI.

TESTIMONIES ON THIS BAPTISM.

My own Experience. Rev. James Caughey. Bishop Hamline. Rev. D. Steele, D. D 59

CHAPTER VII.

TESTIMONIES CONTINUED.

Rev. J. B. Taylor. Dr. Levy. Mr. Carpenter. An aged Minister. Testimonies of Rev. A. B. Earle and Dr. T. C. Upham 82

Appendix

THE THREE DISPENSATIONS.

Fully expressed from " The Advocate of Christian Holiness." 94

Chapter I. The Gift Of The Holy Ghost

"WHO HATH ALSO GIVEN UNTO US HIS HOLY SPIRIT."

" Jesus, we on thy words depend,

Spoken by thee while present here ; The Father, in thy name, shall send The Holy Ghost the Comforter."

ELOVED READER — Will you lay aside the thoughts and cares of this busy world while I call your attention to a subject of infinite importance to you and others ? A subject that I trust, God will make a great blessing to you. As this treatise is upon The Gift of the Holy Ghost, it has seemed good to me to call your attention, —

I. To The Divinity of the Holy Ghost. We conclude that the Holy Ghost is God, —

1. Because he bears the names of God.

Ananias and Sapphira kept back part of the price of the land, and pretended to lay the whole at the apostles' feet ; and they were told that they did not lie to men, but to God, because they lied to the Holy Ghost. We read (2 Cor. 3 : 17), "Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. So the Spirit is the Lord, and the Lord is the Spirit."

2. The Holy Ghost is God, because the attributes of God are ascribed to him.

(1.) Omnipresence. — None but God can be everywhere. The Holy Ghost is everywhere ; therefore the Holy Ghost is God. " Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." Ps. 139 : 7-10.

(2.) Eternity. — None but God can be eternal. The Holy Ghost is the eternal Spirit ; therefore the Holy Ghost is God. Heb. 13 : 14. "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God." Here the Holy Ghost is called the eternal Spirit, therefore he is God.

(3.) Omniscience is ascribed to the Spirit. 1 Cor. 2: 10. "But God hath revealed them to us by his

THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE.

Spirit; for the Spirit senrcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." Now, that Spirit that could search the deep things of God, must be God; "for the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God ; " therefore the Spirit of God is God himself.

3. Because the works of God are ascribed to the Spirit.

The work of Creation. " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Job 33 : 4. " The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." None but God can create. The Holy Ghost created ; therefore the Holy Ghost is God.

II. I would show you that the Holy Ghost is the third person of the Adorable Trinity.

Some have taught that the Holy Ghost is another name for the Father. Or, it is a mere figure of speech for the influence of the Deity. The Arians denied the personality, and said, "The Holy Ghost was the exerted energy of God."

The Holy Ghost is a divine person, because he is spoken of as such in those scriptures that teach the personality of the other two persons of the Deity, and to him are ascribed the same acts, titles, authority, and worship, and in the same degree, as to the other persons of the Godhead. Isa. 48 : 16. " And now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me."

The disciples were to baptize " in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." There are three persons distinctly spoken of, with equal authority and power ; and this passage plainly teaches the personality of the Holy Ghost.

Again, the form of benediction teaches the same truth. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen." A distinct personality is taught here, and distinct blessings are implored of each person.

Now, let it be distinctly observed that the Scriptures plainly teach the Divinity and Personality of the Holy Ghost. He is the third person of the glorious Trinity, equal with the Father and the Son in power and glory. Therefore- we are to worship Him, and pray to Him, and trust in Him, as we do in the Father or the Son.

" Great is the mystery of Godliness," and great is the mystery of the Trinity. Still the doctrine is clearly revealed in the Word of God, and we must accept it in the name of the Lord.

" Baptized into Thy name, Mysterious One in Three, Our souls and bodies claim A sacrifice to Thee."

Chapter II. A Brief History Of Th.e Three Dispensations

OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY GHOST.

" Glory to God the Father be ; Glory to God the Son ; Glory to God the Holy Ghost ; Glory to God alone."

T hath pleased God to divide the course of time into three dispensations, according to the number of the persons in the Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The patriarchal, or the dispensation of God the Father, began at the creation of man upon earth, and ended at the giving of the law from Mount Sinai. In this dispensation but little was known of God the Son, and less of God the Holy Ghost. God manifested himself to the world in dreams, and visions, and voices. He walked in the Garden of Eden, and talked to Adam and Eve face to face. He spoke to Cain and Abel in respect to their sacrifices. He walked and talked with Enoch three hundred years. He instructed Noah to build the Ark, and shut the door thereof after Noah entered. He repeatedly spoke to Abram, and heard his personal pleadings for Sodom and Gomorrah. Jacob wrestled with Jehovah all night, and prevailed. God led the Israelites for forty years in the wilderness ; in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.

Now, all this was in keeping with the infant state of the human mind. Man was not ready for any more spiritual manifestation of God, and so God wisely instructed the family of man according to his infinite wisdom, and so men became more fully prepared for further revelations of divine and spiritual things.

In the Mosaic dispensation, which commenced at the giving of the law on Sinai, or the dispensation of the Son of God, much is said about types, shadows, symbols, and sacrifices, and all these pointed the human mind to the blessed Jesus, who was the great antitype, the living substance, and the "Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world ; " and so man was taught to have faith in a Saviour that was to come, and he was saved by such faith, and was glad to have revealed to him this blessed plan of salvation. The Christ that was to come was the burden of the prophecies, the theme of the psalms, and the substance of the Levitical economy.

Before this dispensation closed, Christ came, "born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law." For thirty and three years he sojourned among us, and was a

THE BELIEVERS PRIVILEGE.

man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He taught his disciples that it was expedient for them that he go away, for "if I go not «iway, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I go away, I will send him unto you." " I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that lie may abide with you forever ; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

John had declared, " There standeth one among you the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. . . . The same is he that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."

After the death of the blessed Jesus, the disciples were gathered together in sadness, and for fear of the Jews, the doors were shut. Jesus came and stood in their midst, and saith unto them, " Peace be unto you," and when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side ; then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, "Peace be unto you : as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Keceive ye the Holy Ghost." John 20 : 19, 23. 2

Before Jesus ascended on hi^h, he gave commission to his disciples, " Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that belie veth not shall be damned."

But they were not prepared to go yet, for they were not anointed of the Holy One. Therefore Jesus, "being assembled with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the Promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water ; but ye shall be baptized tvith the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. When they, therefore, were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth."

And these were the last words he spoke to the disciples. " For when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up,, and a cloud received him out of their sight." And so the dispensation of Christ was coming to its close, and the expectations of the Church of Christ were directed to the descent of the Holy Ghost.

THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE.

Dispensation of the Holy Ghost.

I. Let us notice what preceded the Pentecostal Baptism.

1. The Jews observed the feast of the pentecost to commemorate the giving of the law from Mount Sinai. It was the second great feast of the Jews, and was observed on the fiftieth day from the second day of the feast of unleavened bread. It is called pentecost^ from the Greek word pentecoste — the fiftieth. "The fifty days formerly included the period of the grain harvest, commencing with the offering of the first slieaf of the barley harvest in the passover, and ending with that of the first two loaves that were made from the wheat harvest at this festival. The offering of these two loaves was the distinguishing rite of the day of pentecost. At pentecost (as at the passover) the people were reminded of their bondage in Egypt, and they were especially admonished of their obligation to keep the divine law." Now, it was proper that the Holy Ghost should descend on one of those feast days, when so many multitudes of people were assembled from all parts of the civilized world. " The Jewish feasts were the bells that called the people to worship."

As the giving of the law on Mount Sinai was the most glorious manifestation of physical grandeur, so the giving of the Holy Ghost was the most glorious display of spiritual grandeur. As the giving of the law was the ushering in of the dispensation of Chnst, so this mighty outpouring of the Spirit was the ushering in of the dispensation of the Holy Ghost. As at the giving of the law the masses were assembled around the mount of Sinai, so in the giving of the Spirit the masses were assembled around Mount Zion — the Church of the living God.

2. We observe this day had been foretold by the prophet Joel. "And it shall come to pass, in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy."

(1 = ) Observe that this promise belongs to all flesh. The Mosaic dispensation was confined to the Jewish nation and their proselytes, but this outpouring is for all flesh , or for all nations under the sun. Glorious day on which we are entered !

(2.) The Mosaic dispensation confined the priesthood to the house of Aaron, and the temple service to the males of the tribe of Levi. But this dispensation is for both sexes, for there is neither male nor female, but we are all one in Christ Jesus. We are "a royal priesthood, a chosen generation, an holy nation, a peculiar people."

(3.) The young men, being strong, should see visions ; they could bear the shock of a vision.

THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE.

"Your old men shall dream dreams." They are old, and require sleep in the daytime ; but they need not be discouraged, their very dreams shall be sanctified, and shall be acceptable to God. Blessed thought !

(4.) "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, . . . and upon my servants and upon my handmaidens will I pour out of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy." That is, upon those who are in a state of servitude as well as upon sons and daughters. Now to prophesy, in the New Testament sense,. is not so much to foretell future events, as it was to speak under the impulse of the Holy Ghost, to follow his teachings, and to communicate his messages ; and this shall be done, First, by their sons and their daughters, by those of both sexes, who belong to their own families ; not that all their sons and daughters would do this, but some of both. So that we may learn that God would have our daughters as well as our sons speak as the Holy Ghost shall lead them. Second. The servants and the handmaids of our families shall feel the same blessed fire, and speak under the same heavenly impulse. No sex, state, or condition shall be exempt. Glory to God !

God says "they shall prophesy." Who will stand up and say "they shall not"? Now, it is manifest that we are living in the last days, for God is fulfilling this promise, and the daughters and the handmaidens are going forth to declare God's message in a most public and decided manner ; and that body of men, lay or ministerial, that would stop this order of things, will find themselves fighting against God. They might as well try to stop the waves of the sea. They are not aware of the signs of the times in which they live. " The sons and the daughters shall prophesy." So let it be. Yea, so it shall be. The word prophecy is derived or translated from the Greek word propheteia ; its original import was that of predicting future events, but in the Old and New Testament it is used in the same import as preaching, and "denotes the faculty of illustrating and applying to present practical purposes the doctrines of prior revelations. Thus, in Neh. 6:7, it is said, " Thou hast appointed prophets to preach." And Paul calls any one a prophet who speaks to men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 1 Cor. 14 : 3. "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort."

Now, it is in this sense that our sons and daughters shall prophesy in the last days. As the Holy Ghost is poured upon them, they shall be so filled with the Spirit that they cannot hold their peace. In the days of Wesley, who could stop such women from preaching as Sarah Ryan and Mrs. John Fletcher? In our day, who will stop Mrs. Palmer, Mrs. Vancott, or Miss Smiley? It cannot be done. The Holy Ghost is poured out, and they shall prophesy, and multitudes shall follow them. Now, when Peter was called upon to preach that memorable sermon on the day of pentecost, he pointed to this wonderful prophecy, and said, " This is that which was spoken

THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE.

by the prophet Joel." This is the fulfilment of that prophecy.

3. The gift of the Holy Ghost was preceded by the protracted meeting of ten days in that upper room at Jerusalem. They were commanded to tarry at that city till they received " the promise of the Father." So they waited not in idle indifference, but in patient expectation. " They were all with one accord in one place." Some of them might have thought it was a great waste of time and money to keep a meeting so long ; and still they continued in prayer and expectation till the promise was bestowed.

II. Let us notice this wonderful outpouring of the Spirit at the pentecost.

1. " And suddenly there was a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind."

(1.) It came suddenly. After long waiting they were suddenly baptized. So it is now. God often keeps us waiting to try our faith and patience ; but if we are patient and believing, he will come and bless us suddenly.

(2.) It came as a sound from heaven. This was to arrest their attention, and strike upon the outward senses. It was a sound from heaven ; not a gust of wind that struck upon the sides of the house ; it was from heaven, it came down upon them, tf without shape, or step, or movement, to account for it — a sound as if a mighty wind was rushing, not along the ground, but straight from on high, like showers in a dead calm." This sound was heavenly in its origin and heavenly in its import.

(3.) It came as a rushing mighty wind, indicating that this Spirit would be mighty in its influence among men, and would sweep down barriers on every hand.

(4.) Here we have the Holy Spirit set forth under the emblem of wind. Jesus had said, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou nearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth." The Holy Ghost is to the soul of the Christian what the wind is to the body — an indispensable requisite to life. Shut up a thousand persons in one room, and make it perfectly air tight, and how soon they would breathe the life particles out of the air, and throw off those death particles that had come in contact with the blood, and given it its life-power and color (one person will inhale forty-eight thousand cubic inches of air in an hour, and in a day one million one hundred and fifty-two thousand cubic inches). Then they must begin to breathe this air over again ; but it is death to do so, and they begin to die, or they fall asleep, and faint, and are ready to perish. Now, let somebody open the windows and doors, and let God send the wind through that place, and in a moment the air begins to be purified, and the people begin to revive, and to look round at each other, and wonder what it was that ailed them before. They fell asleep, and could not help it.

TILL" BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE.

Just so it is, sometimes, with a whole region of 3ountry ; the people are in a moral stupor — sleepy, droivsy, drooping, dying, spiritually. The minister and people breathe the same moral atmosphere, and are alike in a state of moral drowsiness. Now, what shall be done? Are they to be left till they are dead, yea, twice dead? Is not this the case with many? I fear it is. Nothing but an outpouring of this heavenly Spirit will save th^m. Let them get together and begin to pray (I mean those of them that have any life in them) , and wait before God day and night, in the spirit of entire consecration, and by and by God will send the rushing mighty wind, and they shall begin spiritually to live, and be strong to toil for God. Then they will wonder why they did not have it before, and how they could ever have been content to have slept so long. There will be an infusion of new spiritual life, and all will feel its power.

2. There were the cloven tongues as of fire.

Here the Holy Spirit is set forth under the emblem of fire. "John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost ; " " and of fire," it was promised in another place. This was the fiery baptism.

(1.) It may be well to notice the mode — " It was shed forth ; " if it had been by immersion, they would have been plunged into fire.

(2.) The fire came not as shapeless as flame, but in the shape of cloven tongues. " It sat upon each of them." "On each brow glowed a sheet of flame parted into many tongues : " and by this baptism they were able to speak to the people in their own tongues, wherein they were born. This was, indeed, a mighty miracle, and may not be repeated.

We may remark that the gift of the Holy Ghost in our day has a mighty influence upon the powers of speech. How many timid women, by this baptism, are able to-day "to testify the gospel of the grace of God " !

(3.) Fire is a very proper emblem of the Spirit; for this holy fire is to the spiritual world what material fire is to the natural world. There are many precious metals, gold, silver, lead, iron, &c, that are of little use to the world till they are put into the fire. First. To melt them. They must be subdued, and nothing but fire will do this. Just so it is with wicked men. They must be subdued by the fire of the Holy Ghost. They may have many excellent qualities, but till they are melted by the Spirit's power they are of little good to the world, and, alas ! that so many are a great curse. Second. The fire is equally necessary to refine the precious metals, yea, all metals. They must be purified by fire. So it is with the corrupt nature of man. It must be purified by the fire of the Holy Ghost: notling else can do it. Education and refinement are good in their places, but they can never purify the moral nature. They may serve as a cloak to hide some of the hideous deformities of that nature, but they can not purify it.

THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE.

(4.) Fire has a mighty power of impulsion in the natural and in the spiritual worlds. By this power our gallant steamers ply the mighty main, and carry their huge burdens of men and merchandise to the different parts of the earth. By this power our machinery is carried on through its many and mighty parts, and all this facilitates the comforts of human life.

Thank God there is a mighty propelling power in the Holy Ghost, and by this all the enterprises to save the world are carried on. This fire impels the heart of the missionary to leave his home and dearest earthly friends, and to go anywhere to save bloodbought souls from hell. Would to God we had more of this power !

(5.) This fire has a wonderful inspiration in it. It inspires our prayers, and enables us to "lift up holy hands (and to pray in the Holy Ghost) without wrath or doubting." Yea, it is the source of all true devotion. Alas! how formal the service of many, yea, of all, without this inspiration.

We must now notice that the wind and the fire were but the emblems of the Holy Ghost, for we read, " They were all filled with the Holy Ghost." .This mighty baptism pervaded the whole soul. It illuminated the understanding, giving perfect peace to the conscience, perfect love to the heart, perfect submission to the will, and perfect purity to the imagination. They w~ere now the temples of the Holy Ghost, living shekinahs, in which the heavenly glory dwelt and shone. Their bodies were thus sanctified to God. Their various members thereof were placed under the control of the fully sanctified soul, and were thereby brought into sweet subjection to the will of God, and only used for his glory. This was a great victory, and is as much needed now as then. This was, indeed, full salvation, for they were filled with the Spirit ; every part and every power was pervaded by the Holy Ghost. Then they were all filled — the whole of the one hundred and twenty. How blessed it was to belong to a church where all its members were filled with the Holy Ghost ! No wonder they had power ! In too many of our churches it takes one half of the membership to keep the other half alive — and then many die on their hands, and have to be given up. Now, at that rate, when is the world to be converted ? Never ; no, never. But let all God's people be fully saved, and how soon they can save the world !