Having in our paper for July, glanced at two of those modes in which the Spirit of God works in the soul to produce a sense of need, namely, by convicting the conscience of guilt; and by pressing upon the spirit the just dread of danger; it remains for us to consider a third method which is by giving the heart to feel the utter vanity and unsatisfactoriness of all that this poor world can offer, in the way of pleasure or enjoyment.
This is, by no means, uncommon. We may frequently meet with very matured Christians who will tell you that they were brought to Christ, not so much by a sense of guilt, or a dread of danger, as by an intense longing after a certain indefinable something—a painful void in the heart—a sense of weariness, loneliness, and desolation. They felt a blank which nothing in this world could fill. They were heart-sick and disappointed. No doubt, they felt and acknowledged the broad truth that they were sinners; and, moreover, when they looked in the direction of the future they felt that there was, and could be, nothing for them but eternal misery and torment. But then the great prominent feature of the divine work in them was not so much conviction of sin or a fear of punishment, as a feeling of utter desolation and dissatisfaction. They found themselves in that condition of soul in which the study of the book of Ecclesiastes afforded a melancholy gratification. They had tried the world, in every shape and form, and, like the royal Preacher, had found it to be “ vanity and vexation of spirit.”
Now, we must be prepared for tins variety in the ways of the Spirit of God. We are not to suppose that He will confine Himself, in His blessed operations, to any one particular type. Sometimes He produces, in the soul, the most overwhelming sense of guilt, so that the heart is crashed to the earth, and nothing is felt, seen, or thought of, but the vileness, the heinousness, and the blackness of sin. The dark catalog of sins rises like a great mountain before the vision of the soul, and well nigh sinks it into despair. The soul refuses to he comforted. Shame and confusion, sackcloth and ashes, are felt to be the only suited portion of the guilty one.
At other times, God sees fit to bring before the soul the terrors of hell, and the awful reality of spending an eternity in that region of unutterable gloom and misery. The dark shadow of the future is made to fall upon the brightest scenes of the present; and the thought of the wrath to come so presses upon the heart, that nothing seems to yield the smallest relief or comfort. All is deep, deep gloom and horror.
And, finally, as we have said, in other cases, the divine Worker is pleased to awaken the soul to the painful discovery and consciousness that it is not within the compass of earth to furnish a satisfying portion for an immortal spirit; that all under the sun wears the stamp of death upon it; that human life is but a vapor that speedily vanishes away; that if a man were to live a thousand years twice told—were he to possess the wealth of the universe—could he concentrate in his Ολνη person all the honors and all the dignities which this world could bestow—were he at the very highest pinnacle of power—were he renowned, throughout the wide wide world, for genius, for intellect, and for moral worth; in a word, had he all that earth could yield or mortal man possess, the heart would still want something, there would still be a painful void, there would still be the cry, “ Oh! for an object.”
Thus varied are the operations of the Spirit of God in the souls of men. No doubt, there may be a sense of guilt, a fear of danger, and a painful consciousness of the emptiness and vanity of all earthly possesses and enjoyments, altogether apart from any divine work in the soul; but we are now occupied only with this latter; and we feel the deep importance of being able to discern and appreciate the work of God’s Spirit in the human heart, as also of seeking to help it on. We greatly dread anything like human interference with the progress of the kingdom of God in the soul. There is danger on all sides. There is danger of casting a damp on young converts; and there is danger of mistaking the mere workings of nature for the action of the Spirit of God. Nor is this all. We are frequently in danger of running directly counter to the object which the Lord has in view in His dealings with the soul. We may, for example, be actually seeking to extract the arrow which He is sending home to the very center of the soul: we may be seeking to cover up a wound which He would have probed to the very bottom.
All these things demand the utmost vigilance and care on the part of those who take an interest in souls. We are, all of us, liable to make the most serious mistakes, either in the way of discouraging and repulsing souls that ought rather to be fostered and cheered; or, on the other hand, of recognizing and accrediting as of God what is merely the fruit of religious nature working. In short, it is a serious thing to put our hands to the work of God, in any way; and He alone can give the needed wisdom and grace in each case as it arises. And He will, blessed be His name, give abundantly to all who simply wait on Him. “ He giveth more grace.” Precious word! There is absolutely no limit to it. It shines, as an exhaustless motto, on our Father’s treasury door, assuring us of the most ample supply “ for exigence of every hour.”
Let us not, therefore, be discouraged by the magnitude and seriousness? of the work, or the danger attending it. God is sufficient. The work is His; and if He deigns, in His marvelous grace, to use us—as He surely does—as His co-workers, He will liberally furnish us with all that is needed for each case as it arises. But we must wait on Him—wait patiently—wait humbly—wait trustfully. We must seek to lay self aside, with its bustling self-importance and excitement. We must seek, through grace, to get rid of that spirit which would be continually thrusting forward that wretched “I, I, I.” In a word, nature must be kept in the shade, and Christ alone exalted. Then, assuredly, the Spirit of God will use us in the glorious work which He is carrying on in souls. He will give us the needed skill and ability for each specific case; and lead us, in adoring wonder, along that path in which He is moving, and in which, too, He is displaying the precious mysteries of His new creation.
Nothing can be more wonderful, nothing more intensely interesting, than to mark the progress of the work of God in the soul. One of our own poets has given expression to this when he says
“ This is my joy that ne’er can fail,
To see my Savior’s arm prevail,
To mark the steps of grace:
Now new born souls convinced of sin,
His blood revealed to them within,
Extol the Lamb in every place.”
But, we may rest assured, hi order to discern and appreciate—to say nothing of co-operating in—this most precious and sacred work, there must be the anointed eye, the circumcised heart, the unshod foot, the clean hands. The Spirit of God is very sensitive, very easily grieved, quenched, and hindered. He does not like to have a noise made about His work. We have, more than once, seen the work of the Holy Ghost interrupted altogether by reason of the unhallowed excitement of those who were engaged in it.
It is well to remember this. If it be true—and it is true—that unbelief hinders the commencing of the Spirit’s work; it is equally true that undue interference hinders its progress. The slightest impress of the human finger is apt to soil the mysterious and beautiful work of God. True it is—blessedly true—that the Lord will use us, if we really look to Him, in humility of mind and self-emptiness. Indeed, we constantly find that, in carrying on His work, He allows us to do just as much as we can do; while He Himself—adored be His holy Name!—only does what we cannot. This is strikingly illustrated in the scene at the tomb of Lazarus, in John 11 There the Lord commands those around Him to “ take away the stone;” just because it was something they could do. But it is He who cries, “ Lazarus, come forth;” because this was something which only He could do. Then again, He says, “ Loose him, and let him go;” thus allowing them to co-operate so far as they were able.
Now, it strikes us that we have, in all this, a sample of the Lord’s gracious way with His servants. In every little thing in which He can use them He does. But oh! let us be careful not to meddle with His work. Let it be ours to gaze and worship, to mark the marvelous unfoldings of that new creation in which “ all things are of God.” His work shall endure throughout all generations. All that which bears the stamp of His hand shall abide forever. Hence, therefore, it is our wisdom, as well as our blessing, just to mark His hand and follow where He leads.
(To be continued, if the Lord will.)
Carry on Thy new creation -
Faithful, holy, may we be,
Joyful in Thy full salvation,
More and more conformed to Thee.
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Then to worship and adore Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise