The Holy Spirit Glorifying Christ

I stumbled across this powerful piece by C.H. Spurgeon tonight and wanted to share it with you. Read it and be blessed.

"He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:14)

We always need the Spirit of God in our preaching; but I think we more especially require his divine direction and instruction when the subject is himself: for the Holy Spirit is so mysterious in his varied attributes and operations, that unless He himself shall reveal himself to us, and give us the words in which to speak of Him, we shall surely fail either to understand for ourselves, or to enlighten others. In his light we see light, but without him we grope like blind men in the dark.

Certain sins against the Holy Ghost continually exist in a degree in the Christian Church. Unholiness of life grieves the Holy Spirit. When Christian men walk not according to the gospel; when their conversation is not ordered according to the pattern of Christ, then the Holy Spirit who hath no fellowship with unholiness, with draweth himself in a measure from the Church. Discord, too, strife among brethren, forgetfulness of the new commandment, that we love one another, grieveth the sacred Dove: for as his nature is peaceable, as his office is to be the peace-giver, so he tarrieth not where there is the din and noise of contending parties. So, also, when he perceiveth his saints to be diseased with worldliness, when we prefer the treasures of Egypt to the reproach of Christ, and seek rather the things which are seen, which are temporal, than the things which are not seen, which are eternal, than again is the Holy Ghost quenched, and departeth from our midst. Above all, pride, and that murmuring, rebellion, unbelief, obstinacy, and self-seeking which pride leads to--all this grieveth the Holy Ghost, for he dwelleth with those who are "humble and of a contrite spirit;" and where there is the voice of murmuring, where one man seeketh to lift himself above another, and all to exalt themselves above their despised Lord, the Holy Ghost hideth himself and suffereth barrenness to take the place of plenty, and death to reign where once life triumphed. These are a few of the common and the constant infirmities of the Church, by which the Holy Ghost is much hindered in those marvelous manifestations which otherwise would be common and usual in the midst of our Israel.

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