“Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Before Thy departure. Lord Jesus, Thou
didst say to Thy sorrowing disciples: “I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you an-
other Comforter, that he 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” (St. John xiv. 16,17). Now Thou
dost declare to us that all who are baptized
shall receive this gift of the Holy Ghost.
The world cannot receive Him; but He
dwelleth with us, and shall be in us! This
promise Thou hast gloriously fulfilled to me.
I can call to mind that from my childhood,
as far back as my memory can reach, the
good Holy Spirit has been with me, and in
me. He has often earnestly warned me
against the evil, and sweetly allured me to
the good.
The unbaptized in the world may have
felt the workings of a natural conscience,
and heard it inwardly speaking to them
when the law of God has been violated; but
besides a natural conscience, Thou hast given
to me the Holy Ghost, not only to reprove
me when I transgressed Thy laws, but also
to urge me to accept the offers of Thy gospel.
Conscience can only threaten when we sin,
but cannot point and draw us to the remedy.
It can make us tremble before Mount Sinai,
but cannot make us melt, and weep before
the cross. This Thy Holy Spirit alone can
do; and He has done it for me, ever since
my childhood. Blessed be Thy name, Lord
Jesus, for my baptism, and the gift of the
Holy Ghost!
In the baptism of Thy beloved Son, my
Lord and Saviour, I behold a type of that
which was done to me when I was baptized.
Lo, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit
of God descended like a dove and rested on
Him. Then there came a voice from heaven,
saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased. Thou hast declared that
the same Holy Spirit shall be received by
them that are baptized for the remission of
sin. Though not direct from heaven, yet as
truly from Thy holy word comes a voice to
me, saying, “Ye are all children of God by
faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you
as have been baptized into Christ, have put
on Christ.”