in the new as in the old creation. While, therefore, preaching, Baptism, and laying on of hands, are His appointed means, for His appointed ends, He can set them aside, and give the blessing without them, just as He has continually done without His appointed means and ordinances in nature. God is the only Being, who is a law unto Himself. His is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. His are the times and the seasons. His are the ways and means. His are the ultimate ends! Observe, in this instance, in order to force double conviction upon His Apostle, He set him aside, and even without Baptism, while the words of the gospel are on his lips, the new creation gift of the Spirit's Baptism falls upon them all. They have now received the like gift (as St. Peter says in chap. xi.) as Apostles did at the first, even the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. What was Peter then? What any Apostle-that he should withstand God; when the time and season has come, for the making known and effecting his will? But let every disobedient gainsayer against God, in His holy ordinance of Baptism, observe here and lay it to heart; That though these Gentiles were thus extraordinarily endowed with the Holy Ghost, yet ST. PETER STILL COMMANDS THEM TO BE BAPTIŽED.

66

66

We are further told, that the Jews who accompanied St. Peter on this mission, were astonished, "because, that on the Gentiles also, was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God."-Acts x. 45, 46. They were not left in uncertainty; for the Holy Ghost, the inward gift bestowed, manifested His presence, by putting forth His power and enabling them to speak with tongues, and magnify God. This was the outward sign of that Baptism of the Spirit of which they had now become partakers. Here clearly (as I suppose on the day of Pentecost) they did not speak to Peter, or to the men around them in the house (whether Jew or Gentile) with tongues, BUT TO GOD. They spake with other tongues to God, in sounds or strains unknown to them; and then followed, most probably, words or songs in the Spirit, in their own vernacular tongue; in which they consciously, intelligibly, and with their understandings, "magnified God!' What a glorious gift must this have been! What uplifting of spirit soul, and heart, to God, must it have given! Ah! how little do we know of the riches of our heavenly birth-right. The brute knows his proper enjoyments, but we do not. Ah! and unlike the brute, we neither possess nor desire them.

London: Printed by G. BARCLAY, Castle St. Leicester Sq.

THE

CRY IN THE DESERT;

OR,

EARNEST WORDS OF WARNING ADDRESSED TO A SLUMBERING CHURCH, TO KNOW THE DAY OF HER VISITATION, AND TO PREPARE TO MEET HER GOD.

A MONTHLY TRACT.

IV.

THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AS FIRST GIVEN AND DISTRIBUTED.

Resuming, where we left off in the last tract,―The_last recorded instance of the impartation of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, is that mentioned in Acts xix., 1—7. Observe the peculiar circumstances of this case. Apollos, an eloquent Alexandrian Jew, learned and mighty in the Holy Scriptures, visits the city of Ephesus in Asia. He is a well-instructed ferventspirited man, who knows just so much of God's way and purpose as was revealed by the ministry, doctrines, and practices of St. John the Baptist; and what he knows, he boldly speaks and teaches in the Jewish synagogue.

Apollos, at this time, had no mission from Christ or His Church; but availed himself of the common privileges of a Jew-to testify in the synagogue. Apollos, though fervent learned, and eloquent, unlike many fervent, learned, and eloquent Christian teachers in these days, gladly submits to be instructed more perfectly in the way of God, even by a private Jewish Christian and his wife. No sooner has Apollos received this new and more perfect instruction, than he

has to leave Ephesus, and goes into Greece; leaving behind him, it appears, twelve men; who, having been converted by his preaching, were baptized into John's Baptism. While Apollos is at Corinth, St. Paul visits Ephesus; where he finds these disciples who had been converted and brought to repentance by the teaching and ministry of Apollos. "He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? This is the first enquiry of St. Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles, as it was the peculiar object of the mission of St. Peter and St. John to the converted and baptized Samaritans; and it will be the first and most natural enquiry of Apostles in all times and places, wherever and whenever they are fulfilling truly Apostolic functions. A restored Apostleship will even now ask the like question. They will ask it of all and every portion of Christendom; they will ask it in Rome, Greece, and England, from those who are professing to believe in, and have been baptized into Christ; just as St. Paul did at Ephesus of those who believed in Christ, and had only been baptized with the Baptism of St. John. Ah! and on the answer to such an enquiry, in this the day of Christendom's visitation, will depend her power to retain what she has,her capability of being restored and brought back again to that rich inheritance of glory and power which she has lost through sin (and out of which she is now a mere bond slave to the power and policy of the world and the flesh), or of going forward and progressing onwards to that glorious future, which is the prize of her high calling of God in Christ Jesus!! Had the men in Ephesus, when Paul made this enquiry, been satisfied and full; then even that which they had, could not long have been held and retained by them. Had they said as men do now,—we have been converted by this man, he is an excellent, warm-hearted, and earnest-minded teacher of the way of God,—we have been brought to mourn over our sins, and have been baptized for their remission and forgiveness, we believe Jesus is the Christ and the Lamb of God,-Apollos has taught and done all this, and God has blessed his labours: blessed be God for Apollos! What need is there for more? What need for Paul? What need for answering such a question as he puts to us about receiving the Holy Ghost, in addition to the rich blessings we have received? Had such been their state and such their reply, then what they had received would have been found useless,-nay, worse than useless; for they might have taken that little measure of grace they had received, and used it to fight against God in his Apostle; yea, and to have blasphemed and despised that Holy Spirit of grace with

which God invited them to be sealed, through His ministry. Ah! this is Christendom's last danger! The danger of saying to God, "We are rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." We, say the English Catholics, have the succession of Episcopacy-the lineal priesthood-and can trace our descent back in an unbroken line to Apostles: what need we? We, say the Roman Catholics, have the chair of St. Peter;-that centre of unity, that has braved the shocks and storms of ages, and will for ages yet unborn! With our infallible head, and with his trinity of powers, Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Spiritual; and with a priesthood and people held together in such glorious unity, what need we? We, say the Greek Catholics, have all the infallible decisions of all the true Ecumenical Holy Councils,—an independent Patriarch, and an overshadowing Emperor, who is to us what Apostles were of old ;we have and retain the faith and practice of the Church from the fourth century onwards, till the days of Papal usurpation and innovation: what need have we? And so of all the various sections and subsections that have broken loose and separated from the Roman, Greek, and Anglican schisms,-Lutheran, Calvinist, Presbyterian, Independent, Congregational, Baptist, Methodist, and Quaker,-all, all, are putting forth the plea of God's past mercy, and of their present attainments, as the reason and excuse for refusing to receive more. They glory in their spiritual poverty, which is their shame. They all feel and say, that they and their spiritual houses "are rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing" and they say so, and glory in so saying, because "they know not that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Therefore, it is to be feared that now in the end of the dispensation, when visited by God in his mercy, they will all, as separated independent systems, refuse that heavenly unction from the Holy One, which alone can enlighten and strengthen their eye to see, discern, and enter into the realities of the Heavenly Kingdom;-which alone can enrich and clothe them with the white and shining garments of resurrection glory and power;—and which alone can put them into full possession of that Gold tried in the fire," that perfect faith and knowledge of Him who is the Son of God and man. And Who, having been tried by, and having passed through the fire, by being himself baptized with the whole fulness of the Spirit, Has become the Baptizer of his Church with the Holy Ghost and fire; that through the same blessed Baptism, she may have an understanding, AND KNOW HIM THAT IS TRUE (truth), AND

66

66

ABIDE IN HIM THAT IS TRUE," even in God in Christ, by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost; out of Whom, and apart from and separated from Whom, all is a lie, a falsehood, an unreality, an idol.

The reply of these Ephesian Converts to the Apostle's enquiry, was characteristic of their imperfect faith, knowledge, and coudition. We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost;" or, as it is more correctly rendered from the original, "We have not so much as heard whether the Holy Ghost be yet given;" for, unquestionably, if they were baptized disciples of St. John the Baptist, they must have known the existence of, and heard of the promised future Baptism of the Spirit. The truth was, Apollos did not know, and had not therefore taught them-the facts and consequences of the day of Pentecost. They had heard of the Baptism of the Spirit, but were still imperfect in their religious faith, Christian knowledge, and spiritual condition.

66

"Unto what then were ye baptized? (enquires the Apostle) and they said, Unto John's Baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized "with the Baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ 66 Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." Observe here, how separate and distinct in the mind of St. Paul, is the Baptism of St. John, from Apostolic Christian Baptism. St. John's Baptism was only for Jews. It was the closing word and work of God, to prepare the Jew to be meet to receive the Heavenly King, and to stand ready to enter into His kingdom when set up. In closing the old, it prepared men for the new covenant of God in Christ. It did indeed proclaim forgiveness to the penitent remnant of the Jewish Nation. It put them in a right condition of mind and heart, as it regarded their duties and relations to God in the old covenant; that so they might be counted meet to partake in the additional and higher gifts and blessings of the new. It was not Christian Baptism; it neither had the same extended mission, claimed the same measure of faith, demanded the same vows, nor conveyed the same kind or degree of spiritual and heavenly grace.

Christian Baptism is not opposed to St. John's, but is in addition to,-above and beyond it. The one was a Divine ministry, sent to an apostate people under the old covenant, to prepare them for the new; the other gives and entails the grace which is promised and vouchsafed in the new. Even the Baptism ministered by our