The holy spirit in the covenant

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE COVENANT
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE COVENANT
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1907. DELIVERED
BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT NEW PARK STREET CHAPEL, SOUTHWARK,
ON A LORD’S-DAY MORNING IN 1856.
“And I will put My Spirit within you.” Ezekiel36:27.
THE Holy Spirit is the third Personin the covenant. We have considered
“Godin the Covenant” and “Christin the Covenant” [See Sermons #93 and
103, Volume 2—GOD IN THE COVENANT and CHRIST IN THE
COVENANT—Read/downloadthe entire sermon, free of charge, at
http://www.spurgeongems.org.]and now, this morning, we have to consider
the Holy Spirit in the covenant. For, remember, it is necessarythat the Triune
God should work out the salvationof the Lord’s people if they are to be saved
at all. And it was absolutely requisite that when the covenant was made, all
that was necessaryshould be put into it and, among the rest, the Holy Spirit,
without whom all things done even by the Father and by Jesus Christ would
be ineffectual, for He is needed as much as the Saviorof men, or the Father of
spirits. In this age, when the Holy Spirit is too much forgotten, and but little
honor is accordedto His sacredPerson, Ifeel that there is a deep
responsibility upon me to endeavorto magnify His greatand holy name. I
almost tremble, this morning, in entering on so profound a subject, for which
I feel myself so insufficient. But, nevertheless, relying on the aid, the guidance
and the witness of the Holy Spirit, Himself, I venture upon an exposition of

this text, “I will put My Spirit within you.” The Holy Spirit is given, in the
covenant, to all the children of God and receivedby eachin due course. And
yet upon our Lord Jesus Christdid the Spirit first descendand alighted upon
Him as our covenantHead, “like the precious ointment upon the head that
ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard; that went down to the skirts of
his garments.” The Fatherhas given the Holy Spirit without measure unto His
Son—and from Him, in measure, though still in abundance, do all “the
brethren who dwell togetherin unity” (or union with Christ) partake of the
Spirit. This holy anointing flows down from Jesus, the anointed One, to every
part of His mystical body, to every individual member of His Church. The
Lord’s declarationconcerning Christ was, “I have put My Spirit upon HIM.”
And He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon ME, because He has anointed
Me to preachthe gospelto the poor; He has sent Me to heal the
brokenhearted.” The Spirit was first poured upon Christ and from Him
descends to all those who are in union with His adorable person. Let us bless
the name of Christ if we are united to Him—and let us look up to our
covenantHead, expecting that from Him will flow down the heavenly unction
which shall anoint our souls! My text is one of the unconditional promises of
Scripture. There are many conditional promises in the Word of God given to
certain characters,althougheven these promises are in some sense
unconditional, since the very condition of the promise is by some other
promise securedas a gift—but this one has no condition whatever. It does not
say, “I will put My Spirit within them if they ask for Him.” It says plainly,
without any reservationor stipulation, “I will put My Spirit within them.”
The reasonis obvious. Until the Spirit is put within us we cannot feelour need
of the Savior, neither canwe ask for or seek Him and, therefore, it is
necessarythat there should be an absolutelyunconditional promise made to
all the electchildren of God—that they should have given to them the waiting
grace, the desiring grace, the seeking grace, the believing grace which shall
make them pant and hunger and thirst after Jesus!To everyone who is like
Christ—“chosenof God and precious”—to everyredeemed soul, however
sunken in sin, howeverlost and ruined by the fall, howevermuch he may hate
God and despise his Redeemer, this promise still holds good, “I will put My
Spirit within you” and, in due course, every one of them shall have that Spirit

2 The Holy Spirit in the CovenantSermon #3048
2 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 53
who shall quicken them from the dead, lead them to seek pardon, induce them
to trust in Christ and adopt them into the living family of God! The promise
is also concerning an internal blessing to be bestowed—“Iwill put My Spirit
within you.” Remember, we have the Spirit of God in His written Word and
with every faithful minister of the gospelthe Spirit is likewise vouchsafedto us
in the ordinances of Christ’s Church. God is perpetually giving the Spirit to
us by these means. But it is in vain for us to hear of the Spirit, to talk of Him,
or to believe in Him unless we have a realization of His powerwithin us! Here,
therefore, is the promise of such an internal blessing—“Iwill put My Spirit
within you.” We come now to consider this promise in all its
comprehensiveness.Maythe Holy Spirit Himself assistus in so doing! We
shall take the various works of the Holy Spirit, one by one, and shall
remember that in all the works whichHe performs, the Spirit is put in the
covenantto be possessedby every believer. I. In the first place we are told by
Christ, “IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT QUICKENS.” Until He is pleasedto
breathe upon the soul, it is dead to any spiritual life. It is not until the Spirit,
like some heavenly wind, breathes upon the dry bones and puts life into them,
that they canever live. You may take a corpse and dress it in all the garments
of external decency. You may washit with the water of morality—yes, you
may bedeck it with the crown of professionand put upon its brow a tiara of
beauty. You may paint its cheeks until you make it like life itself. But
remember, unless the Spirit is there, corruption will, before long, seize on the
body. So, beloved, it is the Spirit who is the Quickener—youwould have been
as “dead in trespassesandsins” now as everyou were if it had not been for
the Holy Spirit who made you alive! You were lying, not simply “castout in
the open field,” but worse than that— you were the very prey of mortality!
Corruption was your father, the worm was your mother and your sister—you
were noxious in the nostrils of the Almighty. It was thus that the Saviorbeheld
you in all your loathsomeness andsaid to you, “Live.” In that moment you
were “begottenagainunto a lively hope by the resurrectionof Jesus Christ
from the dead.” Life enteredinto you at His bidding—then it was that the
Spirit quickened you! The words of Jesus, so He told His disciples, “Theyare

Spirit, and they are life.” You were made alive entirely through the might of
the quickening Spirit— “The Spirit, like some heavenly wind Blows on the
sons of flesh— Creates a new—a heavenly mind And forms the man afresh.”
If, then, you feel at any time death working in you, as doubtless you will,
withering the bloom of your piety, chilling the fervor of your devotions and
quenching the ardor of your faith, remember that He who first quickened you
must keepyou alive. The Spirit of God is the sap that flowed into your poor,
dry branch because you were grafted into Christ. And as by that sap you were
first made greenwith life, so it is by that sap, alone, you can ever bring forth
fruit unto God. By the Spirit you drew your first breath when you cried out
for mercy—and from the same Spirit you must draw the breath to praise that
mercy in hymns and anthems of joy! Having begun in the Spirit, you must be
made perfect in the Spirit. “The flesh profits nothing.” The works of the law
will not help you. The thoughts and devices of your own hearts are of no avail.
You would be cut off from Christ, you would be more depraved than you were
before your conversion, you would be more corrupt than you were previous to
your being regenerated—“twicedead, plucked up by the roots”—ifGodthe
Holy Spirit were to withdraw from you! You must live in His life, trust in His
powerto sustainyou and seek ofHim fresh supplies when the tide of your
spiritual life is running low. II. WE NEED THE HOLY SPIRIT AS AN
ASSISTANT SPIRIT IN ALL THE DUTIES WE HAVE TO PERFORM.
The most common Christian duty is that of prayer, for the meanestchild of
God must be a praying child. Remember, then, that it is written, “The Spirit
also helps our infirmities, for we know not what to pray for as we ought.” The
Spirit of Godis in the covenant as the Great Aid to us in all our petitions to
the throne of grace. Child of God, you know not what to pray—rely, then, on
the Spirit as the Inspirer of prayer who will tell you how to pray! Sometimes
you know not how to express what you desire—rely upon the Spirit, then, as
the One who can touch your lips with the “live coalfrom off the altar,”
whereby
Sermon #3048 The Holy Spirit in the Covenant 3
Volume 53 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. 3

you shall be able to pour out your fervent wishes before the throne of God.
Sometimes even when you have life and powerwithin you, you cannot express
your inward emotions—thenrely upon that Spirit to interpret your feelings,
for He “makes intercessionforus with groans which cannotbe uttered.”
When, like Jacob, you are wrestling with the Angel and are nearly thrown
down, ask the Holy Spirit to nerve your arms. The Holy Spirit is the chariot
wheelof prayer. Prayermay be the chariot, the desire may draw it forth, but
the Spirit is the very wheelwhereby it moves. He propels the desire and causes
the chariotto roll swiftly on and to bear to heaven the supplication of the
saints when the desire of the heart is “according to the will of God.” Another
duty to which some of the children of God are called is that of preaching. And
here, too, we must have the Holy Spirit to enable us. Those whom God calls to
preach the gospelare assistedwith might from on high. He has said, “Lo, I am
with you always, evenunto the end of the world.” It is a solemnthing to enter
upon the work of the ministry. I will just make an observationhere for in this
place there are young men who are striving to enter into the ministry before
they scarcelyknow the alphabet of the gospel. Theysetthemselves up as
preachers of God’s Word when the first thing they ought to do is to join the
infant class in a schooland learn to read properly. I know there are some to
whom God has given the desire to seek the glory of His name and the welfare
of souls and who humbly wait till He has opened the way. God bless them and
speedthem! But—would you believe it?—a young man was baptized and
receivedinto the Church one Sunday—and he positively went off to a College
on the Monday or Tuesdayto ask if they would receive him! I askedhim
whether he had ever preachedbefore, or addressedhalf-adozenSunday
scholars. He said, “No.” Butwhat surprised me most was that he said he was
calledto the work before he was converted! It was a callfrom the devil, I
verily believe—not a callfrom God in the leastdegree!Take heedthat you
touch not God’s Ark with unholy fingers! You may all preachif you can, but
take care that you do not set yourselves up in the ministry without having a
solemn convictionthat the Spirit from on high has set you apart—for if you
do, the blood of souls will be found on your skirts! Too many have rushed into
the Holy Place uncalledof God who, if they could have rushed out of it on
their dying beds would have had eternalcause for gratitude! But they ran
presumptuously, then preachedunsent and, therefore, unblessed! And when

dying, they felt a greatercondemnation from the factthat they had takenon
themselves an office to which God had never appointed them! Beware of
doing that! But if God has calledyou, however little talent you may have, fear
not anyone’s frown or rebuke. If you have a solemn convictionin your souls
that God has really ordained you to the work of the ministry and if you have
obtained a sealto your commissionin the conversionof even one soul, let not
death or hell stop you—go straight on and never think you must have certain
endowments to make a successfulpreacher!The only endowment necessary
for success inthe ministry is the endowment of the Holy Spirit. When
preaching in the presence of a number of ministers last Friday, I told the
brothers, when one of them askedhow it was God had been pleasedto bless
me so much in this place, “There is not one of you whom God could not bless
ten times as much if you had ten times as much of the Spirit.” For it is not any
ability of the man—it is not any human qualification—it is simply the
influence of God’s Spirit that is necessary!And I have been delighted to find
myself abusedas ignorant, unlearned and void of eloquence—allwhichI
knew long before, but so much the better—for then all the glory belongs to
God! Let men saywhat they please, I will always confess to the truth of it. I
am a fool! “I have become a foolin glorying,” if you please. I will take any
opprobrious title that worldlings like to put upon me, but they cannot deny
the factthat God blesses my ministry, that harlots have been saved, that
drunks have been reclaimed, that some of the most abandoned characters
have been changedand that God has workedsuch a work in their midst as
they never saw before in their lives! Therefore, give all the glory to His holy
name! Castas much reproachas you like on me, you worldlings—the more
honor shall there be to God who works as He pleases, andwith what
instrument He chooses,irrespective ofman! Again, dearly-beloved, whatever
is your work, whateverGod has ordained you to do in this world, you are
equally certainto have the assistanceofthe Holy Spirit in it. If it is the
teaching of an infant class in the Sunday school, do not think you cannot have
the Holy Spirit! His succorshallbe granted as freely

to you as to the man who addresses a large assembly. Are you sitting down by
the side of some poor dying woman? Believe that the Holy Spirit will come to
you there as much as if you were administering the sacredelements of the
Lord’s Supper. Let your strength for the lowliestwork as much as for the
loftiest be sought from God! Spiritual plowman, sharpen your plowshare with
the Spirit! Spiritual sower, dip your seedin the Spirit so it shall germinate—
and ask the Spirit to give you grace to scatterit that it may fall into the right
furrows! Spiritual warrior, whet your swordwith the Spirit and ask the
Spirit, whose Word is a two-edgedsword, to strengthen your arm to wield it!
III. The next point we refer to shall be that THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GIVEN
TO THE CHILDREN OF GOD AS A SPIRIT OF REVELATION AND OF
INSTRUCTION. He brings us “out of darkness into marvelous light.” By
nature we are ignorant, extremely so, but the Holy Spirit teaches the family of
God and makes them wise. “You have an unction from the Holy One,” said
the apostle John, “and you know all things.” Student in the Schoolof Christ,
would you be wise? Ask not the theologianto expound to you his system of
divinity, but, sitting down meeklyat the feet of Jesus, ask thatHis Spirit may
instruct you. For I tell you, student, though you should read the Bible many a
year and continually turn overits pages, you would not learn anything of its
hidden mysteries without the Spirit. But perhaps, in a solitary moment of
your study, when suddenly enlightened by the Spirit, you may learn a truth of
God as swiftly as you see the lightning flash. Young people, are you laboring
to understand the doctrine of election? It is the Holy Spirit alone who can
revealit to your heart and make you comprehend it. Are you tugging and
toiling at the doctrine of Human Depravity? The Holy Spirit must revealto
you the depth of wickednessofthe human heart. Are you wanting to know the
secretof the life of the believer as he lives by the faith of the Sonof God and
the mysterious fellowship with the Lord he enjoys? It will always be a mystery
to you unless the Holy Spirit shall unfold it to your heart. Whenever you read
the Bible, cry to the Spirit, “Openmy eyes that I may behold wondrous things
out of Your law.” The Spirit gives eye-salve to the blind and if your eyes are
not now open, seek the eye-salve and so you shall see— yes, and see so clearly
that he who has only learnedin man’s school, shallask, “How knows this man
letters, having never learned?” Those who are taught of the Spirit often
surpass those who are taught of man. I have met with an entirely uninstructed

clod-hopper in the country who never went to schoolfor one hour in his life—
who yet knew more about the Holy Scriptures than many a clergymantrained
at the University! I have been told that it is a common practice for men in
Wales, while they are at work breaking stones on the road, to discuss difficult
points in theologywhich many a divine cannot master!How? Becausethey
humbly read the Scriptures, trusting only to the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
believing that He will lead them into all truth—and He is pleasedso to do. All
other instruction is very well. Solomonsays “that the soul be without
knowledge, it is not good.” We should all seek to know as much as can be
known, but let us remember that in the work of salvation realknowledge must
be obtained by the teaching of the Holy Spirit. And if we would learn in the
heart and not merely in the head, we must be taught entirely by the Holy
Spirit. What you learn from man, you canunlearn—but what you learn of the
Spirit is fixed indelibly in your heart and conscience—andnot even Satan
himself canstealit from you. Go, you ignorant ones, who often staggerat the
truths of Revelation—goand ask the Spirit, for He is the Guide of benighted
souls!Yes, and the Guide of His own enlightened people, too, for without His
aid, even when they have been “once enlightened, and have tasted of the
heavenly gift,” they would not understand all truths of God unless He led
them into it. IV. I desire further to mention that GOD WILL GIVE THE
SPIRIT TO US AS A SPIRIT OF APPLICATION. Thus it was that Jesus
said to His disciples, “He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and
shall show it unto you.” [See Sermons #465, Volume 8—THE HOLY SPIRIT
GLORIFYING CHRIST; #2213, Volume 37—‘HONEYIN THE MOUTH!’—
Mr. Spurgeon’s last sermon to the Members and Associates ofthe Pastors’
College EvangelicalAssociation, onApril 24th, 1891 and#2382, Volume 40—
THE SPIRIT’S CHIEF OFFICE——Read/downloadthe entire sermons, free
of charge, at http://www.spurgeongems.org.]To make the matter still more
plain, our Lord added, “All things that the Father has are Mine: therefore
said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” Let me remind
you how frequently Jesus impressedon

His disciples the fact that He spoke to them the words of His Father—“My
doctrine,” said He, “is not Mine, but His that sent Me.” And again, “The
words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwells
in Me, He does the works.” As Christ thus made known the will of God the
Father to His people, so the Holy Spirit makes knownto us the words of
Christ. I could almost affirm that Christ’s words would be of no use to us
unless they were applied to us by the Holy Spirit! Beloved, we need the
application to assure our hearts that they are our own, that they are intended
for us and that we have an interest in their blessedness!And we need the
unction of the Spirit to make them bedew our hearts and refresh our souls.
Did you ever have a promise applied to your heart? Do you understand what
is meant by application as the exclusive work of the Spirit? It is as Paul says
the gospelcame to the Thessalonians, “notin word only, but also in power,
and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance.” Sometimes itcomes all of a
sudden—your heart may have been the scene of a thousand distracting
thoughts, billow dashing againstbillow till the tempest rose beyond your
control. But soonsome text of Scripture, like a mighty fiat from the lips of
Jesus, has stilled your troubled breast and immediately there has been a great
calm—and you have wonderedfrom where it came. The sweetsentence has
rung like music in your ears. Like a wafermade of honey it has moistened
your tongue. Like a charm it has quelled your anxieties while it has dwelt
uppermost in your thoughts all day—reining in all your lawless passions and
restless strivings. Perhaps it has continued in your mind for weeks!Wherever
you went, whatever you did, you could not dislodge it nor did you wish to do
so, so sweet, so savorywas it to your soul. Have you not thought of such a text
as that as the best in the Bible, the most precious in all the Scriptures? That
was because it was so graciouslyapplied to you! Oh, how I love applied
promises!I may read a thousand promises as they stand recorded on the
pages of this SacredVolume and yet get nothing from them. My heart would
not burn within me for all the richness of the store—but one promise brought
home to my soul by the Spirit’s application has such marrow and fatness in it
that it would be food enoughfor forty days for many of the Lord’s Elijahs!
How sweetit is, in the times of deep affliction, to have this promise applied to

the heart—“Whenyou pass through the waters, I will be with you; and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the
fire, you shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon you”!
Perhaps you say, “Thatis all enthusiasm.” Of course it appears so to you, if,
as natural men you discernnot the things of the Spirit! But we are talking
about spiritual things to spiritual men and to them it is no mere enthusiasm—
it is often a matter of life or death. I have known numerous cases where
almost the only plank on which the poor troubled saint was able to float was
just one text of which, somehow or other, he had got so tight a graspthat
nothing could take it awayfrom him! Nor is it only His Word which needs to
be applied to us. “He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you,” may
be referred, likewise, to our Savior’s precious blood. We sometimes sing—
“There is a fountain filled with blood”— and we talk of bathing in it. Now
faith does not apply the blood to the soul—thatis the work of the Spirit. True,
I seek it by faith, but it is the Spirit who washes me in “the fountain
opened...forsin and for uncleanness.” It is the Spirit who receives ofthe things
of Christ and shows them to me. You would never have a drop of blood
sprinkled on your heart unless it was sprinkled by the hand of the Spirit. So,
too, the robe of Christ’s righteousness is entirely fitted on us by Him. We are
not invited to appropriate the obedience of Christ to ourselves—butthe Spirit
brings all to us which Christ has made for us. Ask, then, of the Spirit, that you
may have the Word applied, the blood applied, pardon applied and grace
applied— and you shall not ask in vain—for Jehovahhas said, “I will put My
Spirit within you.” V. But now we have to mark another very important
point. WE MUST RECEIVE THE SPIRIT AS A SANCTIFYING SPIRIT.
Perhaps this is one of the greatestworks ofthe Holy Spirit—sanctifying the
soul. It is a greatwork to purge the soul from sin. It is greaterthan if one
should washa leopard till all his spots were obliterated, or an Ethiopian till
his sable skin became white, for our sins are more than skin-deep—theyhave
entered

into our very nature! Should we be outwardly washedwhite this morning, we
would be black and polluted before tomorrow! And if all the spots were taken
awaytoday, they would grow againtomorrow, for we are black all through!
You may scrub the flesh, but it is black to the last—our sinfulness is a leprosy
that lies deep within. But the Holy Spirit sanctifies the soul. He enters the
heart, beginning the work of sanctificationby conversion. He keeps possession
of the heart and preserves sanctificationby perpetually pouring in fresh oil of
grace till at last He will perfectsanctificationby making us pure and spotless,
fit to dwell with the blest inhabitants of glory! The way the Spirit sanctifies is
this—first He reveals to the soulthe evil of sin and makes the soul hate it. He
shows it to be a deadly evil, full of poison—andwhen the soul begins to hate it,
the next thing the Spirit does is to show it that the blood of Christ takes allthe
guilt awayand, from that very fact, to lead it to hate sin even more than it did
when it first knew its blackness.The Spirit takes it to “the blood of sprinkling
that speaks betterthings than that of Abel.” And there He tolls the death-
knell of sin as He points to the blood of Christ and says, “He shed this for you,
that He might purchase you unto Himself to be one of His peculiar people,
zealous of goodworks.” Afterwards, the Holy Spirit may, at times, allow sin to
break out in the heart of the child of God that it may be more strongly
repressedby greaterwatchfulness in the future. And when the heir of heaven
indulges in sin, the Holy Spirit sends a sanctifying chastisementupon the soul
until the heart, being brokenwith grief by the blueness of the wound, evil is
cleansedawayand Conscience, feeling uneasy, sends the heart to Christ who
removes the chastisementand takes awaythe guilt! Again, remember
believer, all your holiness is the work of the Holy Spirit. You have not a grace
which the Spirit did not give you! You have not a solitary virtue which He did
not work in you. You have no goodnesswhichhas not been given to you by the
Spirit. Therefore, neverboast of your virtues or of your graces. Have you now
a sweettemper, whereas youonce were passionate? Boastnotof it—you will
be angry if the Spirit leaves you. Are you now pure, whereas you were once
unclean? Boastnot of your purity, the seedof which was brought from
heaven—it never grew within your heart by nature—it is God’s gift. Is
unbelief prevailing againstyou? Do your lusts, your evil passions and your
corrupt desires seemlikely to master you? Then I will not say, “Up, and at
‘em!” but I will say—Crymightily unto God that you may be filled with the

Holy Spirit—so shall you conquer at lastand become more than conqueror
over all your sins—seeing thatthe Lord has engagedto put His Spirit “within
you.” VI. When I have spokenoftwo more points, I shall conclude. THE
SPIRIT OF GOD IS PROMISED TO THE HEIRS OF HEAVEN AS A
DIRECTING SPIRIT to guide them in the path of providence. If you are
ever in a position in which you know not what road to take, remember that
your “strengthis to sit still,” and your wisdom is to wait for the directing
voice of the Spirit saying to you, “This is the way, walk you in it.” I trust I
have proved this myself and I am sure every child of God who has been placed
in difficulties must have felt, at times, the reality and blessedness ofthis
guidance. And have you never prayed to Him to direct you? If you have, did
you ever find that you went wrong afterwards? I do not mean the sort of
prayers that they presentwho ask counsel, but not of the Lord—“who walk to
go down into Egypt…to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh,”
and then ask Godto bless them in a way that He never sanctioned. No, you
must start fairly by renouncing every other trust. It is only thus that you can
make proof of His promise, “commit your way unto the Lord; trust also in
Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” Take with you, then, child of God, an
open confession. Say, “Lord, I desire, like a sheetof water, to be moved by the
breath of the Spirit. Here I lie, ‘passive in Your hands.’ Gladly would I know
no will but Yours. Show me Your will, O Lord! Teachme what to do and
what to refrain from doing.” To some of you this may seemall fanaticism.
You believe not that God the Holy Spirit ever guides men in the way they
should take. So you may suppose if you have never experiencedHis guidance.
We have heard that when one of our English travelers in Africa told the
inhabitants of the intense cold that sometimes prevailed in his country, by
which water became so hard that people could skate and walk upon it, the
king threatened to put him to death if he told anymore lies, for he had never
felt or seensuch things. And what one has never seenor felt is certainly fit
subject for doubt and contradiction. But with regard to the Lord’s people who
tell you that they are led by the Spirit, I advise you to give heed to their
sayings

and seek to make the trial for yourselves!It would be a goodthing if you were
just to go to God, as a child, in all your distresses.Rememberthat as a
Solicitorwhom you may safelyconsult, as a Guide whose directions you may
safelyfollow, as a friend on whose protectionyou may safely rely, the Holy
Spirit is personally present in the Church of Christ and with eachof the
disciples of Jesus!And there is no fee to pay but the fee of gratitude and
praise, because He has directed you so well! VII. Just once more—THE
HOLY SPIRIT WILL BE GIVEN TO GOD’S CHILDREN AS A
COMFORTING SPIRIT. This is peculiarly His office. Have you ever felt,
immediately before a greatand grievous trouble, you have had a most
unaccountable seasonof joy? You scarcelyknew why you were so happy or so
tranquil. You seemedto be floating upon a very Sea of Elysium—there was
not a breath of wind to ruffle your peacefulspirit, all was serene and calm.
You were not agitatedby the ordinary cares and anxieties of the world. Your
whole mind was absorbedin sacredmeditation. By-and-by, the trouble comes
and you say, “Now I understand it all. I could not, before, comprehend the
meaning of that grateful lull, that quiet happiness, but I see now that it was
designedto prepare me for these trying circumstances. IfI had been low and
dispirited when this trouble burst upon me, it would have broken my heart.
But now, thanks be to God, I can perceive through Jesus Christhow this ‘light
affliction, which is but for a moment,’ works forme, ‘a far more exceeding
and eternalweight of glory.’” But, mark you, I believe that it is worthwhile to
have the troubles in order to get the comfort of the Holy Spirit—it is
worthwhile to endure the storm in order to realize the joys! Sometimes my
heart has been shakenby disgrace, shame and contempt, for many a brother
minister, of whom I thought better things, has reviled me—and many a
Christian has turned on his heels awayfrom me because I had been
misrepresentedto him and he has hated me without a cause. Butit has so
happened that at that very time, if the whole Church had turned its back on
me and the whole world had hissed me, it would not have greatly moved me,
for some bright ray of spiritual sunshine lit up my heart and Jesus whispered
to me those sweetwords, “I am My beloved’s, and My beloved is Mine.” At
such times the consolationsofthe Spirit have been neither few nor small with

me! O Christian, if I were able, I would bring you yet further into the depths
of this glorious passagebut, as I cannot, I must leave it with you. It is full of
honey—only put it to your lips and getthe honey from it. “I will put My Spirit
within you.” In winding up, let me add a remark or two. Do you not see here
the absolute certainty of the salvationof every believer? Or rather, is it not
absolutely certainthat every member of the family of God’s Israel must be
saved? Forit is written, “I will put My Spirit within you.” Do you think that
when God puts His Spirit within men, they can possibly be damned? Can you
think God puts His Spirit into them and yet they perish and are lost? You may
think so if you please, Sir, but I will tell you what God thinks—“I will put My
Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes;and you shall keep
My judgments, and do them.” Sinners are far from God by wickedworks and
they will not come unto Him that they may have life. But when God says, “I
will put My Spirit within you,” He compels them to come to Him! What a
vain pretense it is to profess to honor God by a doctrine that makes salvation
depend on the will of man! If it were true, you might sayto God, “We thank
You, O Lord, for what You have done— You have given us a greatmany
things and we offer You Your wagesofpraise, which are justly due to Your
name, but we think we deserve more, for the deciding point was in our free
will.” beloved, do not any of you swerve from the free grace ofGod, for the
babblings about man’s free agencyare neither more nor less than lies, right
contrary to the truth of Christ and the teachings of the Spirit. How certain,
then, is the salvation of every electsoul! It does not depend on the will of
man—he is “made willing” in the day of God’s power. [See Sermon #74,
Volume 2—A WILLING PEOPLE AND AN IMMUTABLE LEADER. This
remarkable sermon was given by God to Mr. Spurgeonin his sleep, during the
night of Saturday, April 12, 1856, andpreachedby him the next morning!] He
shall be called at the settime and his heart shall be effectuallychanged, that
he may become a trophy of the Redeemer’s power. That he was unwilling
before is no hindrance, for God gives him the will, so that he is then of a
willing mind. Thus,
8 Tell someone today how much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 53

every heir of heaven must be saved because the Spirit is put within him and
thereby his disposition and affections are molded according to the will of God!
Once more, how useless is it for any persons to suppose that they canbe saved
without the Holy Spirit! Ah, dear friends, men sometimes go very near to
salvationwithout being saved—like the poor man who lay by the side of the
pool of Bethesda, always closeto the water, but never getting in. How many
changes in outward characterthere are which very much resemble conversion
but, not having the Spirit in them, they fail after all! Deathbedrepentances
are often lookedupon as very sincere, althoughtoo frequently, we fear, they
are but the first gnawing of the worm that never dies. I have read, this week,
an extraordinary anecdote, told by Dr. Campbell, of a womanwho, many
years ago, was condemnedto death for murdering her child and was hung in
the Grass MarketatEdinburgh. She very diligently improved the six weeks
allowedher by the Scottishlaw, previous to her execution, and the ministers
who were with her continually gave it as their opinion that she died in the sure
and certainhope of salvation. The appointed day came. She was hung, but it
being very rainy, and no awning having been prepared, those who had the
charge of her execution were in a greathurry to complete it and getunder
shelter—so she was cut down before the legaltime and, as the custom is, the
body was given up to her friends to be buried. A coffin was provided and she
was moved in it to EastLothian where her husband was going to bury her.
They stopped at a public-house on the road, to refreshthemselves, when, to
their greatsurprise and alarm, in rushed a boy and said he heard a noise in
the coffin! They went out and found that the woman was alive! The vital
powers had been suspended, but the life was not extinct and the jolting of the
cart had restoredher circulation. After a few hours she became quite well.
They moved their residence and went to another part of the country. But the
sad part of the tale is that the womanwas as bad a characterafterwards as
she everwas before and, if anything, worse. She lived as openly in sin and
despisedand hated religion even more than she had previously done. This is
a most remarkable case. I believe that you would see that the greatmajority of
those who profess to repent on their deathbeds, if they could rise againfrom
their graves, would live a life as profane and godless as ever. Relyon this—it
is nothing but the grace of the Spirit of God that makes sure work of your
souls. Unless He shall change you, you may be changed, but it will not be a

change that will endure! Unless He shall put His hand to the work, the work
will be marred, the pitcher spoiled on the wheel. Cry unto Him, therefore, that
He may give you the Holy Spirit, that you may have the evidence of a real
conversionand not a base counterfeit! Take heed, Sirs, take heed! Natural
fear, natural love, natural feelings are not conversion!Conversion, in the first
instance, and by all subsequent edification, must be the work of the Holy
Spirit and of Him alone! Neverrest comfortable, then, until you have the Holy
Spirit’s operations most surely effectedin your hearts!
Adapted from The C. H. SpurgeonCollection, Version1.0, Ages Software.
PLEASE PRAY THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL USE THIS SERMON TO
BRING MANY TO A SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST.
By the grace ofGod, for all 63 volumes of C. H. Spurgeon sermons in Modern
English, and 574 Spanish translations, visit: www.spurgeongems.org
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel36:27
Ezekiel36:26

Ezekiel36
Ezekiel36:28
"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and
you will be carefulto observe My ordinances.
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Adam Clarke Commentary
And I will put my Spirit within you - To keepthe heart of flesh alive, the
feeling heart still sensible, the loving heart still happy. I will put my Spirit, the
greatprinciple of light, life, and love, within you, to actuate the new spirit, and
to influence the new affections and passions;that the animal spirit may not
become brutish, that the mental powers become not foolish. I will put my
Spirit within you, so that as the new spirit may influence the new heart, so will
My Spirit influence Your new spirit, that eachmay have a proper mover; and
then all will be pure, regular, and harmonious, when passionis influenced by
reason, and reasonby the Holy Ghost.
And the cause shall be evidenced by the effects;for I will cause you to walk in
my statutes - not only to believe and reverence my appointments relative to
what I command you to perform; but ye shall walk in them, your conduct
shall be regulated by them. "And ye shall keepmy judgments;" whatsoeverI
enjoin you to avoid. And ye shall do them - ye shall not only avoid every
appearance ofevil, but keepall my ordinances and commandments
unblamably.
Here is the salvationthat God promises to give to restoredIsrael; and here is
the salvationthat is the birthright of every Christian believer: the complete
destruction of all sin in the soul, and the complete renewalof the heart; no sin
having any place within, and no unrighteousness having any place without.
"But where are they that are thus saved?"
Ans. Wherever true Christians are to be found.
"But I know many true Christians that have not this salvation, but daily
mourn over their evil hearts?"

Ans. They may be sincere, but they are not true Christians; i.e., such as are
savedfrom their sins; the true Christians are those who are filled with the
nature and Spirit of Christ. But I will ask a question in my turn:
"Do those you mention think it a virtue to be always mourning over their
impurities?" Mostcertainly. Then it is a pity they were not better instructed.
It is right they should mourn while they feelan impure heart; but why do they
not apply to that blood which cleansesfrom all unrighteousness, and to that
Spirit which cleansesthe very thoughts of the heart by his inspiration? Many
employ that time in brooding and mourning over their impure hearts, which
should be spent in prayer and faith before God, that their impurities might be
washedaway. In what a state of nonage are many members of the Christian
Church!
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Ezekiel36:27". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/ezekiel-
36.html. 1832.
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The Biblical Illustrator
Ezekiel36:27
I will put My Spirit within you.
The gift of Pentecost
I. The agent in this change. GodHimself.

1. Nothing less than this will suffice. Outward morality not enough, does not
produce true obedience. Importance of motives.
2. Failure of all else to regenerate mankind.
II. The method of this change, as here predicted.
1. Change of heart. Heart of stone removed (Zachariah7:12); heart of flesh
given, receptive of holy influences: case ofLydia (Acts 16:14). The whole will
thus changed.
2. The Spirit bestowed. GodHimself dwelling in the heart (Psalms 68:18;John
14:17;John 16:13;1 Corinthians 3:16). The greatgift of Pentecost(Acts 2:4);
the Church’s birthday. Mark the wider diffusion, the increasedknowledge,
the higher tone, the advance in spiritual life since the day of Pentecost.
III. The result of this change. “Cause youto walk in My statutes,” etc. The
fruit of the Spirit is obedience (Galatians 5:22-23);no true obedience without
the Spirit (Romans 8:8-9); the goodtree alone brings forth goodfruit
(Matthew 7:17-20). This then supplies a practicaltest.
1. Are we exhibiting these fruits? If not, then we are not led by the Spirit, then
we are “none of Christ’s”;then the greatwork of the changedheart has not
takenplace.
2. Do we desire a better, higher life? If so, then remember the distinct promise
of text. Pentecostis a pledge (Acts 2:39). (A. G. Hellicar, M. A.)
The renovator
In many respects the new corresponds with the old creation, the Paradise
Regainedwith the Paradise Lost. Man is the subject of both; his goodand the
Divine glory are the ends of both; devils are the enemies, and angels are the
allies of both; the Father, Son, and Holy Ghostare the authors of both. The
Father decrees redemption; the Son procures it; the Holy Spirit applies it; and

for the latter purpose this promise is both given and fulfilled--“I will put My
Spirit within you.”
I. The Holy Spirit is the great agentin conversionand sanctification. Man
cannot be savedunless elected;nor electedwithout the Father. He cannot be
savedunless redeemed;nor redeemed without the Son. Not less true is it, that
he cannot be saved unless converted; nor converted without the Spirit. Do you
ask why? We may compare the change wrought in conversionto the removal
of what was old and shattered, and the supplying its place with new
machinery. But what is mere machinery? Justwhat a new heart were without
the Spirit of God. In addition to the machinery we must have a moving power.
Of what use were that which is to be moved without a force adequate to the
end in view? Without a mainspring inside the timepiece, howevercomplete
the number and perfect the workmanshipof its wheels, pinions, pivots, axles,
the hands would stand on its face, nor advance one step over the encircling
hours. So were it with the renewedsoul without the Spirit of God to set its
powers in motion, bring them into play, and impart to their movements a true
and heavenwardcharacter. Forthis purpose God fulfils the promise, I will
put My Spirit within you. To illustrate this truth, let me avail myself of the
clement which gives a name to the Spirit, and which our Saviour selects as its
appropriate emblem--“The wind bloweth where it listeth,” etc. Here is a noble
ship. Her masts are all in; and her canvas is spread out; yet no ripple runs by
her side, nor foam flashes from her bows, nor has she any motion, but what
she receives from the alternate swell and sinking of the wave. Her equipment
is complete. The forests have masted her; in many a broad yard of canvas a
hundred looms have given her wings. Her anchor has been weighedto the
rude sea chant; the needle trembles on her deck; with his eye on that friend,
unlike worldly friends, true in storm as in calm, the helmsman stands
impatient by the wheel. And when, as men bound to a distant shore, the crew
have said farewellto wives and children, why then lies she there over the self-
same ground, rising with the flowing, and falling with the ebbing tide? The
cause is plain. They want a wind to raise that drooping pennon, and fill these
empty sails. They look to heaven, and so they may; out of the skies their help
must come. Even so, though heavenborn, heaven called, heaven bound,

though endowedwith a new heart, and new mind, and new will, we stand in
the same need of celestialinfluences. The grace and Spirit of God are
indispensable. This Divine gift, however, neither circumscribes nor supersedes
our own exertions. These graciousinfluences descendnot to set us idle, any
more than the breeze blows to send the sailor to his hammock and rock him
over in the arms of sleep. The more full the gifts and Divine breathings of the
Spirit, the busier let us be; more diligent in the use of prayer, of sacraments,
of the Word, of all those ordinances through which the Spirit works, and
bears believers onward and homeward in their heavenly course.
II. God’s spirit is not only given to His people, but dwells in them. “I will put
My Spirit within you.” Whatever habitation the prince of darkness may have
within unconverted men; and howeveralso, holding for a time some footing,
even in God’s people he may suggestthose thoughts of blasphemy and desires
of sin, which come as unbidden as they are unwelcome, yet the saints of God
enjoy what may be calleda blessedpossession. Notthe angels, but the Spirit of
God dwells in them. Heaven has descendedinto their bosoms, and there they
have a little heaven below. God now in very truth not only dwells with man,
but in man. “I will put My Spirit within you.” He is enshrined within them: so
that, as the soul dwells in the body, God dwells in the soul. Speaking of the
man that loves Him, our Lord said, We will come unto Him. A condescension
and kindness unknown to those who boastthe friendship of kings, God
bestows the honour of daily visits on the lowliestand poorestChristian. He
comes at the time of prayer; He occupies the mercy seatat the stated hour of
worship; and into the closetwhere the goodman goes, He goes along with
him. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
The necessityofthe Spirit’s work
We lay down this proposition--that the work of the Holy Spirit is absolutely
necessaryto us if we would be saved.
1. This is very manifest if we remember what man is by nature. Holy
Scripture tells us that man by nature is dead in trespasses andsins. It does not
say that he is sick, that he is faint, that he has grown callous, and hardened,

and seared, but it says he is absolutely dead. When the body is dead it is
powerless;it is unable to do anything for itself; and when the soul of man is
dead, in a spiritual sense, it must be, if there is any meaning in the figure,
utterly and entirely powerless;and unable to do anything of itself or for itself.
The Spirit finds men as destitute of spiritual life as Ezekiel’s dry bones;He
brings bone to bone, and fits the skeletontogether, and then He comes from
the four winds and breathes into the slain, and they live, and stand upon their
feet, an exceeding greatarmy, and worship God. But apart from that, apart
from the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God, men’s souls must lie in the
valley of dry bones, dead, and dead forever. But Scripture does not only tell us
that man is dead in sin; it tells us something worse than this, namely, that he is
utterly and entirely averse to everything that is goodand right. “The carnal
mind is enmity againstGod; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither
indeed canbe” (Romans 8:7). Turn you all Scripture through, and you find
continually the will of man described as being contrary to the things of God.
They will not come unto Christ, that they may have life. Until the Spirit draw
them, come they neither will nor can. Hence, then, from the factthat man’s
nature is hostile to the Divine Spirit, that he hates grace, that he despises the
way in which grace is brought to him, that it is contrary to his own proud
nature to stoopto receive salvationby the deeds of another--hence it is
necessarythat the Spirit of God should operate to change the will, to correct
the bias of the heart, to set man in a right track, and then give him strength to
run in it.
2. Salvationmust be the work of the Spirit in us, because the means used in
salvationare of themselves inadequate for the accomplishmentof the work.
And what are the means of salvation? Why, first and foremoststands the
preaching of the Word of God. But what is there in preaching, by which souls
are saved, that looks as if it would be the means of saving souls? Under the
ministry dead souls are quickened, sinners are made to repent, the vilest of
sinners are made holy, men who came determined not to believe are
compelled to believe. Now, who does this? If you saythe ministry does it, then
I say farewellto your reason, becausethere is nothing in the successful
ministry which would tend thereunto. It must be that the Spirit workethin
man through the ministry, or else suchdeeds would never be accomplished.

You might as wellexpect to raise the dead by whispering in their ears, as hope
to save souls by preaching to them, if it were not for the agencyof the Spirit.
3. The absolute necessityof the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart may be
clearly seenfrom this fact, that all which has been done by God the Father,
and all that has been done by God the Son, must be ineffectualto us unless the
Spirit shall reveal these things to our souls. We believe, in the first place, that
God the Father elects His people; from before all worlds He choosesthem to
Himself; but let me ask you--what effectdoes the doctrine of electionhave
upon any man, until the Spirit of God enters into him? Until the Spirit opens
the eye to read, until the Spirit imparts the mystic secret, no heart canknow
its election. He, by His Divine workings, bears aninfallible witness with our
spirits that we are born of God; and then we are enabledto “readour title
clearto mansions in the skies.” Look, again, at the covenantof grace. We
know that there was a covenantmade with the Lord Jesus Christ, by His
Father, from before all worlds, and that in this covenantthe persons of all His
people were given to Him, and were secured; but of what use or of what avail
is the covenantto us until the Holy Spirit brings the blessings ofthe covenant
to us? Take, again, the redemption of Christ. We know that Christ did stand
in the room, place, and steadof all His people, and that all those who shall
appear in heaven will appear there as an actof justice as well as of grace,
seeing that Christ was punished in their room and stead, and that it would
have been unjust if God punished them, seeing that He had punished Christ
for them. We believe that Christ having paid all their debts, they have a right
to their freedom in Christ--that Christ having coveredthem with His
righteousness, theyare entitled to eternallife as much as if they had
themselves been perfectly holy. But of what avail is this to me, until the Spirit
takes ofthe things of Christ and shows them to me?
4. The experience of the true Christian is a reality; but it never can be known
and felt without the Spirit of God. Trouble comes, storms of trouble, and he
looks the tempest in the face, and says, “I know that all things work together
for my good.” His children die, the partner of his bosom is carried to the
grave;he says, “The Lord gave and the Lord hath takenaway, blessedbe the
name of the Lord.” His farm fails, his crop is blighted; his business prospects
are clouded. You see him approaching at last the dark valley of the shadow of

death, and you hear him cry, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me,
and Thou Thyself art with me.” Now, I ask you what makes this man calm in
the midst of all these varied trials, and personaltroubles, if it be not the Spirit
of God? But look at the Christian, too, in his joyous moments. He is rich. God
has given him all his heart’s desire on earth. Mark that man; he has plenty of
room for pleasures in this world, but he drinks out of a higher cistern. His
pleasure springs from things unseen; his happiest moments are when he can
shut all these good things out, and when he cancome to God as a poor guilty
sinner, and come to Christ and enter into fellowship with Him, and rise into
nearness ofaccessand confidence, and bold approachto the throne of the
heavenly grace. Now, whatis it that keeps a man who has all these mercies
from setting his heart upon the earth? What can do this? No mere moral
virtue. No doctrine of the stoic ever brought a man to such a pass as that. No,
it must be the work of the Spirit, and the work of the Spirit alone, that can
lead a man to live in heaven, while there is a temptation to him to live on
earth.
5. The acceptable acts of the Christian life cannotbe performed without the
Spirit; and hence, again, the necessityfor the Spirit of God. The first actof the
Christian’s life is repentance. Have you ever tried to repent? If so, if you tried
without the Spirit of God, you know that to urge a man to repent without the
promise of the Spirit to help him, is to urge him to do an impossibility. Faith is
the next act in the Divine life. Perhaps you think faith very easy;but if you are
ever brought to feel the burden of sin you would not find it quite so light a
labour. Then we have to cry for the help of the Spirit; and through Him we
can do all things, though without Him we cando nothing at all. In all the acts
of the Christian’s life, whether it be the actof consecrating one’s self to
Christ, or the act of daily prayer, or the act of constantsubmission, or
preaching the Gospel, or ministering to the necessitiesofthe poor, or
comforting the desponding, in all these the Christian finds his weaknessand
his powerlessness,unless he is clothed about with the Spirit of God. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
The promise of the Spirit

I. The blessing promised.
1. The gift of the Spirit. The Spirit of God is revealedto us.
2. That Spirit is to be put within us. The signs of the Spirit dwelling in us will
be--
II. The practicalinfluence this blessing is to produce. The Spirit will--
1. Impart the nature and disposition to serve God. This must be the new
nature, the new heart, the right spirit, the obedient mind.
2. Will give us ability to serve God We require strength, power, etc.
(Ephesians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 4:16).
3. Will enable us to advance in the service ofGod.
Application--
1. Let us seek largelythe influences of the Holy Spirit. It is obtained by
believing prayer.
2. Let us yield ourselves freelyto His Divine influence.
3. Let us be careful that we quench not and grieve not the Spirit of God. (J.
Burns, D. D.)
The covenantpromise of the Spirit
I. The commendation of the text, the tongues of men and of angels might fail.
To call it a golden sentence wouldbe much too commonplace:to liken it to a
pearl of great price would be too poor a comparison. “I will put My Spirit
within you.”
1. I would begin by saying that it is a gracious word. So greata boon as this
could never come to any man by merit. A man might so actas to deserve a

reward of a certain kind, in measure suited to his commendable action; but
the Holy Spirit can never be the wage ofhuman service:the idea verges upon
blasphemy.
2. Note, next, that it is a Divine word: “I will put My Spirit within you.” Who
but the Lord could speak afterthis fashion?
3. To me there is much charm in the further thought that this is an individual
and personalword. “I will put My Spirit within you” one by one. “A new
heart also will I give you.” Now, a new heart can only be given to one person.
Eachman needs a heart of his own, and eachman must have a new heart for
himself. “And a new spirit will I put within you.” Within eachone this must
be done. “And I will take awaythe stony heart out of your flesh, and I will
give you an heart of flesh”--these are all personal, individual operations of
grace.
4. This is a separating word. Those who have the Spirit are not of the world,
nor like the world; and they soonhave to come out from among the ungodly,
and to be separate;for difference of nature creates conflict.
5. It is a very uniting word. It separatesfrom the world, but it joins to God. By
the Spirit we have accessto the Father;by the Spirit we perceive our
adoption, and learn to cry, “Abba, Father”;by the Spirit we are made
partakers of the Divine nature, and have communion with the thrice holy
Lord.
6. It is a very condescending word--“I will put My Spirit within you.” The
Saviour has gone awayon purpose that the Comfortermight be given to dwell
in you, and He does dwell in you. Is it not so? If it be so, admire this
condescending God, and worship and praise His name. Sweetlysubmit to His
rule in all things. Grieve not the Spirit of God. Watch carefully that nothing
comes within you that may defile the temple of God. Let the faintest monition
of the Holy Spirit be law to you.
7. It is a very spiritual word. Our text has nothing to do with outward rites
and ceremonies;but goes much further and deeper. God puts His Spirit not
upon the surface of the man, but into the centre of his being. The promise

means--“I will put My Spirit in your bowels, in your hearts, in the very soulof
you.”
8. This word is a very effectualone. “I will put My Spirit within you, and
cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keepMy judgments and do
them.” The Spirit is operative--first upon the inner life, in causing you to love
the law of the Lord; and then it moves you openly to keepHis statutes
concerning Himself, and His judgments betweenyou and your fellow men.
II. The expositionof the text.
1. One of the first effects of the Spirit of God being put within us is
quickening. We are dead by nature to all heavenly and spiritual things; but
when the Spirit of God comes, then we begin to live. This life of the Spirit
Shows itself by causing the man to pray. The cry is the distinctive mark of the
living child. He begins to cry in broken accents, “Godbe merciful to me.”
Remember, dear friends, that as the Holy Spirit gives quickening at the first,
so He must revive and strengthen it. Wheneveryou become dull and faint, cry
for the Holy Spirit.
2. When the Holy Spirit enters, after quickening He gives enlightening. We
cannot make men see the truth, they are so blind; but when the Lord puts His
Spirit within them their eyes are opened. At first they may see rather hazily;
but still they do see. As the light increases, and the eye is strengthened, they
see more and more clearly.
3. The Spirit also works conviction. Convictionis more forcible than
illumination: it is the setting of a truth before the eye of the soul, so as to make
it powerful upon the conscience.
4. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit comes into us for purification. When the
Spirit comes, He infuses a new life, and that new life is a fountain of holiness.
5. Next, the Holy Ghostacts in the heart as the Spirit of preservation. Where
He dwells men do not go back unto perdition. He works in them a

watchfulness againsttemptation day by day. He works in them to wrestle
againstsin.
6. The Holy Spirit within us is for guidance to lead us into all truth. Truth is
like a vast grotto, and the Holy Spirit brings torches, and shows us all the
splendour of the roof; and since the passagesseemintricate, He knows the
way, and He leads us into the deep things of God. He is also our practical
Guide to heaven, helping and directing us on the upward journey.
7. Last of all, “I will put My Spirit within you,” that is, by way of consolation,
for His choice name is “The Comforter.” You that are under the burden of
sin; it is true no man can help you into peace, but the Holy Ghost can. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
The gift of inward moral power
It would be a very poor affair if all we had to say to man was:--“There is a
beautiful example, follow it!” Models are all very well, only, unfortunately,
there is nothing in a model to secure it being copied. You may have a most
exquisite piece of penmanship lithographed on the top of the page in a child’s
copy book, but what is the goodof that if the poor little hand is trembling
when it takes the pen, and if the pen has got no ink in it, or the child does not
want to learn? Copy books are all very well, but you want something more
than copy books. (A. Maclaren.)
And cause you to walk in My statutes.
The new life
Goodworks, though not always the believer’s attainment, will always be his
aim. Committing to his heart those tables which, in testimony of their
excellence andauthority, Moses committedto the tabernacle’s holiestshrine,
he will say, O how I love Thy law, O Lord; and he will ever pray that God
would fulfil to him this gracious promise, “I will cause them to walk,” etc.

I. It is a willing obedience. Manymovements take place in the universe
independent of any will but that of God. The sap ascends the tree, the planets
revolve round the sun, the moon waxes and wanes in her quarters, the stars
rise and set in the heavens, the tides flow and ebb upon the shore, and Nature
walks in God’s statutes, keeping His judgments, and doing them, moved to
obedience by no will but His. So soon, however, as, leaving inanimate creation,
we ascendinto the regions where intelligent mind and matter, or even blind
instinct and matter are united, we discovera beautiful and benevolentlaw, by
virtue of which their Makerat once secures the happiness and provides for
the welfare of His creatures. He so orders it that the will of His creatures is in
perfect harmony with their work;their inclinations with their interests. The
nature of the redeemed is so accommodatedto the state of redemption, their
wishes are so fitted to their wants, their hopes to their prospects, their
aspirations to their honours, and their will to their work, that they would be
less contentto return to polluted pleasures than the butterfly to be stripped of
its silken wings, and condemnedto pass its life amid the foul garbage of
former days. With such a will and nature as believers now possess, theirold
pleasures would be misery; their old haunts a hell. Ratherthan leave his
father’s table and bosomfor the arms of harlots and the husks of swine
troughs, would not the reclaimed prodigal embrace death itself, and seek a
refuge in the grave? Even so God’s people would rather not be at all, than be
what once they were. Hence, on the one hand, their unhappiness when
entangledin sin; hence, on the other hand, their enjoyment in God’s service;
hence David’s ardent longing for the place of ordinances;hence the beauty of
a Sabbath scene, and the sweetmusic of Sabbath bells, and the answerof their
hearts to the welcome sound, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go unto
the house of the Lord.
II. This is a progressive obedience.To “walk” implies progress in grace.
Walking is an art, and one not acquired either in a moment or a day; for the
powerto walk is not ours, in the same sense as the power to breathe. We are
born with the one power, but born without the other. Walking, indeed,
becomes so easyby use, that we are unconscious ofany effort; yet step into the
nursery, and you see that this art, acquired by labour, is the reward of

continuous, conquering perseverance. In fact, our erectattitude and
progressive motion, simple and easyas they seem, are achievedby means of
most delicate and dexterous balancing. The marble statue cannot stand erect
without foreign support: and you have no soonerraiseda dead man, and set
him upon his feet, than he falls at yours, a heap of loathsome mortality.
1. In this image God’s people find comfort and encouragement. Does the
infant who is learning to walk abandon the attempt, or yield to despair,
because its first efforts are feeble, and come far short of success?If not, why
then should we despond, because in attempting to walk in God’s ways we
often stumble, and not seldom fall?
2. This image stimulates to exertion, as well as comforts under failure. In
attempting to walk, the child falls; blood stains its brow, and tears fill its eye.
Does it lie there to weep? By no means. If not by speech, yet by signs that go to
a mother’s heart, it prays; for it can pray before it speaks, Looking through
these tears, and stretching out its little arms, the infant solicits, implores her
help. Norin vain. Teachers ofour children! here let us become their scholars,
and take a lessonfrom the nursery. Let the perseveranceofthe nursery be
imitated by the Church. Let our knees be as often employed in prayer, and
our powers and hours as much engagedin attempting a holy life, as those of
infancy in learning to walk. Oh, if we would give the same diligence to make
our calling and electionsure, the same diligence to work out our salvation, the
same diligence to grow in grace and in the knowledge ofour Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, I am certain that we should be holier; much holier than we are.
III. This willing and progressive obedienceis the sign and sealof salvation.
True religion consists notin passive, but active piety. We are to walk in God’s
statutes, to keepHis judgments, and to do them An active Christian life is
implied in the very terms of the text. Grant that we are thereby exposedto
hardships and temptations, from which a retiring piety might exempt us. Still,
a life of active service shall prove best for others, and in the end also for
ourselves. A candle setbeneath a bushel is, no doubt, safe from wind and
weather;but what goodpurpose does it serve? No light shineth for itself, and

no man liveth for himself. Besides,the very trials to which piety is exposedon
the stormy heights of duty, impart to it a robust and healthy character. The
strongesttrees grow not beneath the glass ofa conservatory, orin sheltered
and sunny nooks. The stoutesttimber stands on Norwegianrocks, where
tempests rage, and long, hard winters reign. And is it not also With the
Christian as with animal life? Exercise is the parent of health; and strength
the rewardof activity. A Christian man should feel like some strong, brave
swimmer, who has hundreds around him sinking, drowning, shrieking for
help. The difficulty is to make selection, onwhose unhappy head first to lay a
saving hand. Amid such scenesand calls, oh, it is lamentable to think how
much of our time has been frivolously, or worse than frivolously spent. Surely
the time past of our lives may suffice us to have wrought the will of the flesh;
to have enjoyed our own ease, made money, and gatheredaround us the
comforts of life. To nobler ends be its remaining sands devoted! Take Jesus
Christ for your copy. What is our Christianity but a name, a shadow, a
mockery, unless we resemble Him who, being incarnate God, was incarnate
goodness;and of whom, though He stoodalone in that judgment hall, without
one brave brother’s voice raised to speak for Him, there were hundreds and
thousands to bear witness that He went about doing good, and was the friend
both of sufferers and sinners. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
Incentives to Christian activity
I. One of the most powerful means to accomplishthe duty of the text is to
cultivate the love of Christ. They who would live like Jesus must look to Jesus.
The effectwhich should be produced by looking to Jesus we may learn by
turning our gaze on the sun. To eyes that have been bathed in his dazzling
beams, how do other objects appear? Why, all are changed. They have
become dim, if not dark and invisible. And were Jesus Christrevealedto us in
the full effulgence of His Saviour glory, all sinful, even all createdand dearly
loved objects, would appear to undergo some such, and a no less remarkable
change.

1. Love is the most powerful of all motives. It is as with a stone on the dry
ground, which we strain at, but cannot stir. Floodthe field where it lies; bury
the huge block beneath the rising water;and now when its holed is
submerged, bend to the work. Put your strength to it. Ah! it moves, rises from
its bed, rolls on before your arm. So, when under the heavenly influences of
grace the tide of love rises, and goes swelling overour duties and difficulties, a
child can do a man’s work, and a man can do a giant’s. Let love be present in
the heart, and out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Godordaineth
strength. Strength! How greatstrength? Deathpulls down the youngestand
the strongest;but love is strongerthan death. She welcomes sacrifices, and
glories in tribulation. Duty has no burden too heavy, nor death any terrors too
greatfor her.
2. Love is a motive to duty as pleasantas it is powerful. Love weaves chains
that are tougher than iron, and yet softerthan silk. She unites the strength of
a giant to the gentleness ofa little child; and with a powerof change all her
own, under her benign and omnipotent influence duties that were once
intolerable drudgeries become a pure delight. To the feetof love the ways of
God’s law are like a fresh and flowery sward, ways of pleasantnessand paths
of peace. Love changes bondage into liberty. Delighting in a law which is to
our carnalnature what his chain is to a savage dog, whathis task is to the
slave, and againstwhich our corrupt passions foamand fret like angry seas on
an iron the fact, that by our obedience to these statutes the verdict of the last
judgment shall be settled. We are saved by grace, but are tried by works. We
are to be judged by the deeds done in the body, whether they were goodor
bad. Every one of us, says Paul, shall give accountof himself to God. Oh! how
should these solemntruths hedge up our path to a close andholy walk in His
statutes!The day is coming when every unpardoned sin shall find out its
author. Without a pardon, Jesus shallhave no answerto us but the terrible
response ofJehu, What hast thou to do with peace? Peace!--Yes, being
justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ;
and the secretof that tranquillity lies in that which gave courage to a royal
favourite when arraigned before his country for a most flagrant crime. Men
wondered at his strange serenity, and how, amid circumstances trying to the
strongestnerves, he could bear himself so calmly. Long after hope had

expired in the breastof many anxious friends, and they lookedon him as a
doomed man, there he was, looking round serenelyon that terrible array. His
pulse beat calm, nor started suddenly, but went on with a stately march.
Peace,like innocence, satenthroned upon his placid brow. At length, amid the
silence of the hushed assembly, the verdict of guilty is pronounced. He rises.
Erectin attitude, in demeanour calm, he stands up not to receive a sentence,
which was already trembling on the judge’s lip, but to reveal the secretof this
strange peace and self-possession. He thrusts his hand into his bosom, and lays
on the table a pardon--a full free pardon for his crimes, sealedwith the royal
signet. Would to God we all were as well prepared for the hour of death and
the day of judgment! Then fare ye well earth, sun, moon, and stars; fare ye
well wife and children, brothers and sisters, sweetfriends, and all dear to us
here below. Welcome death, welcome judgment, welcome eternity; welcome
God and Christ, angels and saints made perfect, welcome--welcome heaven.
(T. Guthrie, D. D.)
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "Ezekiel36:27". The Biblical Illustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/ezekiel-36.html. 1905-
1909. New York.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
And I will put my Spirit within you,.... My Holy Spirit, as the Targum; the
Spirit of holiness;the author of internal sanctification, of the new heart and

spirit, and of the fleshy one before mentioned; and through whose grace and
strength the saints do what is after saidthey shall do:
and cause you to walk in my statutes:men are first made alive by the Spirit of
God, and have spiritual strength put into them, who of themselves cando
nothing; by means of which they are enabled to walk in all the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord, and to continue in the
observationof them; which walking in them supposes:
and ye shall keepmy judgments, and do them; being constrainedby the love
of God; influenced by the grace ofChrist; and strengthenedby the blessed
Spirit: and such persons observe and do them willingly and cheerfully; from a
principle of love; in faith, and to the glory of God; without any mercenary and
selfishviews; without trusting to, and depending upon, what is done for
salvation.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Ezekiel36:27". "The New John Gill Exposition
of the Entire Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/ezekiel-36.html. 1999.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
my spirit — (Ezekiel11:19; Jeremiah32:39). The partial reformation at the
return from Babylon (Ezra 10:6, etc.;Nehemiah8:1-9:38) was an earnestof
the full renewalhereafterunder Messiah.

Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Ezekiel36:27". "CommentaryCritical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/ezekiel-36.html. 1871-8.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and
ye shall keepmy judgments, and do them.
My spirit — The holy spirit of God, which is given to, and dwelleth in all true
believers.
And cause you — Sweetly, powerfully, yet without compulsion; for our spirits,
framed by God's spirit to a disposition suitable to his holiness, readily
concurs.
Ye shall keep — Be willing; and able to keepthe judgments, and to walk in
the statutes of God, which is, to live in all holiness.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian Classics EtherealLibrary Website.

Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Ezekiel36:27". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/ezekiel-36.html. 1765.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
Ezekiel36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes, and ye shall keepmy judgments, and do [them].
Ver. 27. And I will put my Spirit within you.] Qui mulcendo et molliendo.
Who, by melting and mollifying your hard hearts, shall bring you to a better
obedience.
And cause you to walk in my statutes.]Lex iubet, gratia iuvat. God
undertaketh for himself and his people too, viz., to work in them what he
requireth of them. Therefore it is an "everlasting covenant, orderedin all
things"; and the fruits of it are "sure mercies," "compassions thatfail not,"
&c. See on Ezekiel11:20.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Ezekiel36:27". JohnTrapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/ezekiel-
36.html. 1865-1868.
Sermon Bible Commentary

Ezekiel36:27
In considering the new life which the believer lives in obedience to the law of
God, I remark:
I. It is a willing obedience. Manymovements take place in the universe
independent of any will but that of God. The sap ascends the tree, the planets
revolve round the sun, the stars rise and set in the heavens, the tides flow and
ebb upon our shores, and nature walks in God's statutes, keeping His
judgments and doing them, moved to obedience by no will but His. So soon,
however, as, leaving inaminate matter below, we ascendinto those regions
where mind or even instinct and matter are united, we discovera beautiful
and benevolent law, by virtue of which God at once secures the happiness and
provides for the welfare of His creatures. He so orders it that their will is in
perfect harmony with their work;their inclinations with their interests; and
their instincts with the functions which they are calledon to perform. The
nature of the redeemed is so accommodatedto the state of redemption, their
wishes are so fitted to their wants, their hopes to their prospects, their
aspirations to their honours, and their will to their works, that they would be
less contentto return to polluted pleasures than the beautiful butterfly to be
stripped of its silkenwings, and condemned to pass its days amid the old foul
garbage, its former food.
II. This is a progressive obedience.To "walk" is expressive ofprogress in
grace. (1)In this image God's people find comfortand encouragement. (2)
This image stimulates to exertion, as well as comforts under failure.
III. This willing and progressive obedienceis the sign and sealof salvation.
The descentof the Spirit is still the evidence of sonship; its sign, however, is
not a dove perched upon the heads of God's people, but the dove nestled
within their hearts. By His Spirit God creates them "anew in Christ Jesus
unto goodworks;" and by these—by the fruits of a holy life, by the joys of a
Holy Ghost, by the advancing stagesofa holy progress, His Spirit witnesses
with their spirit that they are sons of God. A witness this as certain, and
therefore as satisfactory, as the voice of the skies, orthe verdict of final
judgment.

T. Guthrie, The Gospelin Ezekiel, p. 329.
I. The Holy Spirit is the great agentin conversionand sanctification. Man
cannot be savedunless elected, nor electedwithout the Father; nor saved
unless redeemed, nor redeemed without the Son; nor savedunless converted,
nor convertedwithout the Spirit. Our necessitiesare those of the cripple—of
that man who, for thirty years, sat uncured by Bethesda's pool, nor took his
anxious eyes off the wateras he waitedfor its first stir and ruffle. Many a time
the cripple had seenthe sudden spring, and heard the loud plunge, as some
neighbour flashedinto the water;and as the cured left the scene, many a time
had he followedthem with envious eyes. Even so, although seatedby the
fountain, where sins are lostand sinners washed, we need some one, so to
speak, to help us in. In the words of Paul we are "without strength," and it is
to help us to seek, to believe in, to love—in one word, to embrace the
Saviour—that God puts His Spirit within us. For this end He fulfils the
promise, "My grace shallbe sufficient for thee," and my strength made
perfect in weakness.
II. God's Spirit is not only given to His people, but dwells in them. Speaking of
the man that loves Him, our Lord said, "We will come unto him." This
promise is one which He fulfils in the daily communications of His word and
spirit. Earth has no lovers who meet so often as Jesus and His bride. The
lowliestand poorestChristian God honours with daily visits.
T. Guthrie, The Gospelin Ezekiel, p. 313.
References:Ezekiel36:30, Ezekiel36:31.—Spurgeon, MySermon Notes:
Ecclesiastesto Malachi, p. 291. Ezekiel36:32.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v.,
No. 233.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Nicoll, William R. "Commentary on Ezekiel36:27". "SermonBible
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sbc/ezekiel-
36.html.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Ezekiel36:27. And cause you to walk in my statutes— "Bypreventing you
with my grace, andinspiring you with a love for that which is good, which
shall enable you to surmount your propensity to that which is evil. I will aid
you with the succourof my grace, that you may thereby keepmy judgments
and do them."
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon Ezekiel36:27". Thomas CokeCommentary
on the Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/ezekiel-
36.html. 1801-1803.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
Put, elsewhere pour out; God will give freely and abundantly.
My spirit; the Holy Spirit of God, which is the immediate principal cause of
that change of an old heart into new, and of hard into soft. By the efficient
cause we may know the effect; and understand what a new heart is, and what
the new spirit is, when we know they are wrought in us by the Spirit of God,

which is given to and dwelleth in the saints, which makes them saints, and
then abideth with them.
Cause you; sweetly, powerfully, successfully, yet without compulsion; for our
spirit, framed by God’s Spirit to a disposition suitable to his holiness, readily
concurreth and co-worketh.
Keep my judgments; be willing and ready, able, and in your degree sufficient,
to keepthe judgments and to walk in the statutes of God, which is to live
holiness.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Ezekiel36:27". Matthew Poole'sEnglish
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/ezekiel-36.html. 1685.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
27. My Spirit — The “new spirit” which controls the “new heart” (Ezekiel
36:26;Ezekiel11:17-20)is itself controlledby the divine Spirit which dwells
within. Blessedwas the generationto which this new Gospelwas preached!
The most spiritual utterances of the Christian era are but expansions and
applications of this profound truth. (Compare John 3:5; Romans 8:1-9.)
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Ezekiel36:27". "Whedon's Commentary
on the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/ezekiel-
36.html. 1874-1909.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
God would, fourth, also put His Spirit within the Israelites and cause them to
obey His commands carefully (cf. Ezekiel11:19-20;Ezekiel18:31;Ezekiel
37:14;Ezekiel39:29; Jeremiah31:31;Joel2:28-29;Acts 2:17-18;Romans 7:7
to Romans 8:4; 2 Corinthians 3:6-18; Hebrews 8:6 to Hebrews 10:39). This is
a coming of the Holy Spirit on Israel in the future, not His coming on the
church at Pentecost.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon Ezekiel36:27". "ExpositoryNotes
of Dr. Thomas Constable".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/ezekiel-36.html. 2012.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Do them. Hence the efficacyof grace appears, (St. Augustine; Haydock) and
hereby some keepthe commandments. (Worthington) --- God assists our free-
will. (Theodoret)(Cornelius a Lapide) (Calmet)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentaryon Ezekiel36:27". "GeorgeHaydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/ezekiel-36.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
statutes . . . judgments. Reference to Pentateuch. See note on Deuteronomy
4:1. App-92.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Ezekiel36:27". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/ezekiel-36.html. 1909-
1922.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
And I will put my Spirit within you - (Ezekiel11:19; Jeremiah32:39). The
partial repentance and reformation at the return from Babylon (Ezra 10:6,
etc.;Nehemiah 8:1-18; Nehemiah9:1-38) was an earnestof the full renewal
hereafterunder Messiah.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Ezekiel36:27". "CommentaryCritical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/ezekiel-
36.html. 1871-8.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
I will
37:14;39:29; Proverbs 1:23; Isaiah 44:3,4;59:21;Joel2:28,29;Zechariah
12:10;Luke 11:13;Romans 8:9,14-16;1 Corinthians 3:16; Galatians
5:5,22,23;Ephesians 1:13,14;2 Thessalonians 2:13;Titus 3:3-6; 1 Peter
1:2,22;1 John 3:24
cause

37:24;Jeremiah 31:33;Galatians 5:16; Colossians 2:6;Philippians 2:12,13;
Titus 2:11-14;Hebrews 13:21; 1 John 1:6,7; 2 John 1:6
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Three Elements Of Piety
Ezekiel36:26-28
W. Clarkson
The Israelites were "profaning the Name'of Jehovahin the lands through
which they were dispersed. But this could not be permitted to remain. For the
sake ofhis own Divine Name, the sacredness ofwhich was of such vital
moment to mankind (see previous homily), God would work a gracious
revolution (vers. 21-23). And what he would do is this:
1. He would work within their hearts an entire change ofthought and feeling,
removing their strong stubbornness and replacing it with a childlike
sensibility.
2. He would thus leadthem to live in purity and uprightness before the eyes of
those among whom they dwelt. Thus would he magnify his holy Name.
3. Then he would restore them to the old relation which they had forfeited by
their sin; they should be againhis people, and he would be their God, dwelling
among them and ruling over them in peace and righteousness. We have here
the three constantlyrecurring elements of true piety.
I. INWARD RENEWAL. (Ver. 26.)Consisting of:
1. Sensibility taking the place of indifference or stubborn rebelliousness.
Instead of the "stonyheart" is the "heart of flesh;" instead of an utter,

brutish disregardof Divine claims or a perverse and froward determination to
rejectthem, is the "new heart," the "new spirit" of openness ofmind,
willingness which ends in eagernessto learn of God, responsivenessoffeeling
when he speaks, tenderness ofconscienceunder the spokentruth of Christ.
2. Humility taking the place of pride or carelessunconcern;a sense ofpast sin
and of present unworthiness; the inward conviction that God has not been
remembered, reverenced, served, trusted, as he should have been, and that life
has been stainedwith many errors, faults, shortcomings, transgressions;a
spirit of true penitence and shame; a voice, not loud but deep, says within the
soul, "I have sinned."
3. Consecrationinsteadof selfishness. The heartturns awayfrom selfishness
and from worldliness toward God, toward the Divine Redeemer, whom it
receives gladlyand fully as the Savior of the soul, as the Sovereignofthe life.
II. OUTWARD RECTITUDE. "I will cause you to walk in my statutes," etc.
(ver. 27). The obedience whichsprings from mere dread of penalty is of very
small account;but that which proceeds from a loyal and a loving heart is
worth everything. The Divine Son, who was also a Servant, could say, "I
delight to do thy will;... thy Law is within my heart." And when the new spirit
or the new heart is within us, we can speak in the same strain. Our piety
passes,with perfect naturalness, from the reverent thought to the right word;
from the grateful feeling to the upright action, from the consecratedspirit to
the devotedand useful life. We obey God's word because we honor himself;
we keepthe commandments of Christ because we love our Lord (John 14:15,
21, 23). If the Spirit of Godbe in us we shall bring forth the fruits of the Spirit
(Galatians 5:22, 23). Of the commandments of Christ, to which, by his own
words or by those of his apostles, he has attachedthe greatestweight, as
indispensable to the Christian life and as the condition of his acceptance, we
must include purity, truthfulness, sobriety, honesty, reverence, love - the love
which forbears, which pities, which succors in time of need.
III. HEAVENLY INTERCOURSE,(Ver. 28.)While still inhabitants of earth,
our citizenship is to be in heaven (see Philippians 3:20). Godis to be our God,
and we are to be his people. All human and earthly relationships are to find

their highest and bestillustration in those which are "in the heavens," which
are spiritual and eternal. Communion betweenourselves and our Father in
heaven is to be common and constant - a daily, an hourly incident through all
our life and in all our circumstances and conditions. Far below and far above
all other things, we are to be the children and the heirs of God, we are to be
the servants of Jesus Christ, we are to bearwitness to his truth, we are to
promote the coming of his kingdom on the earth. - C.
I will put My Spirit within you.
Ezekiel36:27
The gift of Pentecost
A. G. Hellicar, M. A.
I. THE AGENT IN THIS CHANGE. God Himself.
1. Nothing less than this will suffice. Outward morality not enough, does not
produce true obedience. Importance of motives.
2. Failure of all else to regenerate mankind.
(1)Failure of nature (Genesis 6:5).
(2)Failure of the law (Galatians 3:21, 22; Romans 8:3).
(3)Failure of heathen systems (Acts 17:23-30;Romans 1:21, 22;1 Corinthians
1:21; 1 Corinthians 2:14).
II. THE METHOD OF THIS CHANGE, AS HERE PREDICTED.
1. Change of heart. Heart of stone removed (Zechariah 7:12); heart of flesh
given, receptive of holy influences: case ofLydia (Acts 16:14). The whole will
thus changed.
2. The Spirit bestowed. GodHimself dwelling in the heart (Psalm68:18; John
14:17;John 16:13;1 Corinthians 3:16). The greatgift of Pentecost(Acts 2:4);

the Church's birthday. Mark the wider diffusion, the increasedknowledge,
the higher tone, the advance in spiritual life since the day of Pentecost.
III. THE RESULT OF THIS CHANGE. "Cause youto walk in My statutes,"
etc. The fruit of the Spirit is obedience (Galatians 5:22, 23); no true obedience
without the Spirit (Romans 8:8, 9); the goodtree alone brings forth goodfruit
(Matthew 7:17-20). This then supplies a practicaltest.
1. Are we exhibiting these fruits? If not, then we are not led by the Spirit, then
we are "none of Christ's";then the greatwork of the changedheart has not
takenplace.
2. Do we desire a better, higher life? If so, then remember the distinct promise
of text. Pentecostis a pledge (Acts 2:39).
(A. G. Hellicar, M. A.)
The renovator
In many respects the new corresponds with the old creation, the Paradise
Regainedwith the Paradise Lost. Man is the subject of both; his goodand the
Divine glory are the ends of both; devils are the enemies, and angels are the
allies of both; the Father, Son, and Holy Ghostare the authors of both. The
Father decrees redemption; the Son procures it; the Holy Spirit applies it; and
for the latter purpose this promise is both given and fulfilled — "I will put My
Spirit within you."
I. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE GREAT AGENT IN CONVERSION AND
SANCTIFICATION. Mancannotbe saved unless elected;nor electedwithout
the Father. He cannot be saved unless redeemed; nor redeemed without the
Son. Not less true is it, that he cannotbe savedunless converted; nor
convertedwithout the Spirit. Do you ask why? We may compare the change
wrought in conversionto the removal of what was old and shattered, and the
supplying its place with new machinery. But what is mere machinery? Just
what a new heart were without the Spirit of God. In addition to the machinery
we must have a moving power. Of what use were that which is to be moved

without a force adequate to the end in view? Without a mainspring inside the
timepiece, howevercomplete the number and perfect the workmanship of its
wheels, pinions, pivots, axles, the hands would stand on its face, nor advance
one step overthe encircling hours. So were it with the renewedsoulwithout
the Spirit of God to set its powers in motion, bring them into play, and impart
to their movements a true and heavenwardcharacter. Forthis purpose God
fulfils the promise, I will put My Spirit within you. To illustrate this truth, let
me avail myself of the clement which gives a name to the Spirit, and which our
Saviour selects as its appropriate emblem — "The wind bloweth where it
listeth," etc. Here is a noble ship. Her masts are all in; and her canvas is
spread out; yet no ripple runs by her side, nor foam flashes from her bows,
nor has she any motion, but what she receives from the alternate swelland
sinking of the wave. Her equipment is complete. The forests have masted her;
in many a broad yard of canvas a hundred looms have given her wings. Her
anchor has been weighedto the rude sea chant; the needle trembles on her
deck;with his eye on that friend, unlike worldly friends, true in storm as in
calm, the helmsman stands impatient by the wheel. And when, as men bound
to a distant shore, the crew have said farewellto wives and children, why then
lies she there over the self-same ground, rising with the flowing, and falling
with the ebbing tide? The cause is plain. They want a wind to raise that
drooping pennon, and fill these empty sails. Theylook to heaven, and so they
may; out of the skies their help must come. Even so, though heaven born,
heaven called, heavenbound, though endowed with a new heart, and new
mind, and new will, we stand in the same need of celestialinfluences. The
grace and Spirit of Godare indispensable. This Divine gift, however, neither
circumscribes nor supersedes our own exertions. These graciousinfluences
descendnot to setus idle, any more than the breeze blows to send the sailorto
his hammock and rock him over in the arms of sleep. The more full the gifts
and Divine breathings of the Spirit, the busier let us be; more diligent in the
use of prayer, of sacraments, ofthe Word, of all those ordinances through
which the Spirit works, and bears believers onward and homeward in their
heavenly course.
II. GOD'S SPIRIT IS NOT ONLY GIVEN TO HIS PEOPLE, BUT DWELLS
IN THEM. "I will put My Spirit within you." Whateverhabitation the prince

of darkness may have within unconverted men; and howeveralso, holding for
a time some footing, even in God's people he may suggestthose thoughts of
blasphemy and desires ofsin, which come as unbidden as they are unwelcome,
yet the saints of God enjoy what may be calleda blessedpossession. Notthe
angels, but the Spirit of God dwells in them. Heaven has descendedinto their
bosoms, and there they have a little heaven below. God now in very truth not
only dwells with man, but in man. "I will put My Spirit within you." He is
enshrined within them: so that, as the soul dwells in the body, God dwells in
the soul. Speaking of the man that loves Him, our Lord said, We will come
unto Him. A condescensionand kindness unknown to those who boastthe
friendship of kings, God bestows the honour of daily visits on the lowliestand
poorestChristian. He comes at the time of prayer; He occupies the mercy seat
at the statedhour of worship; and into the closetwhere the goodman goes, He
goes along with him.
( T. Guthrie, D. D.)
The necessityofthe Spirit's work
We lay down this proposition — that the work of the Holy Spirit is absolutely
necessaryto us if we would be saved.
1. This is very manifest if we remember what man is by nature. Holy
Scripture tells us that man by nature is dead in trespasses andsins. It does not
say that he is sick, that he is faint, that he has grown callous, and hardened,
and seared, but it says he is absolutely dead. When the body is dead it is
powerless;it is unable to do anything for itself; and when the soul of man is
dead, in a spiritual sense, it must be, if there is any meaning in the figure,
utterly and entirely powerless;and unable to do anything of itself or for itself.
The Spirit finds men as destitute of spiritual life as Ezekiel's dry bones;He
brings bone to bone, and fits the skeletontogether, and then He comes from
the four winds and breathes into the slain, and they live, and stand upon their
feet, an exceeding greatarmy, and worship God. But apart from that, apart
from the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God, men's souls must lie in the
valley of dry bones, dead, and dead forever. But Scripture does not only tell us

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