^ I was as silent as my friends ; after a little time we retired to our separate places of rest. About midnight I was awakened by a noise ; I started up and listened ; it appeared to me that I heard
^ Ea^ositor, 2nd Ser., iii. 321.
"7
ii8 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
voices and groans. In a moment I had issued from my tent — all was silent — but the next moment I again heard groans and voices ; they proceeded from the tilted cart where Peter and his wife lay ; I drew near, again there was a pause, and then I heard the voice of Peter, in an accent of extreme anguish, exclaim, " Pechod Ysprydd Glan — 0 pechod Ysprydd Glan ! " and then he uttered a deep groan. Anon, I heard the voice of Winifred, and never shall I forget the sweetness and gentleness of the tones of her voice in the stillness of that night. ... I felt I had no right to pry into their afflictions, and retired. Now " pechod Ysprydd Glan," interpreted, is the sin against the Holy Ghost.^
The Occasion of this Warning.
It was a time of spiritual decisions, when the thoughts of many hearts were being revealed. For nearly two years the Gospel had been proclaimed in the land, and for nearly a year Christ had been teaching in Galilee. All eyes were upon the new Prophet. His words were with authority. His deeds were of amazing power, though as yet no dazzling " sign from heaven " had appeared. Public opinion was divided. The multitudes were heard saying, " Can it be that this is the Son of David ? We fear not ! Why is no great deed done for the nation's deliverance ? This Messiah, if He be the Messiah, forgives sins and heals the sick, but that will not drive out Herod from Tiberias nor the Eomans from Jerusalem." Our Lord's own brothers, hearing the reports brought to them, made up their mind that He was deranged. On the other hand there were many, though but few compared with the great majority, who could already say with Nathanael and Peter : " Thou art the Son of God ; thou art the King of Israel." But in high ecclesiastical circles another theory was heard which had its part in shaping public sentiment : " He is a false prophet, possessed by Satan."
The immediate occasion of the discourse was the healing of a peculiarly afflicted demoniac. It was in the house at Capernaum, soon after Christ had returned from an extended
^ a Borrow Lavengro, cban. Ixziii.
ST. MARK 119
evangelistic tour, accompanied by the Twelve and many other disciples. A sad picture — this man brought before Him in the midst of the pressing crowd — dumb, blind, and possessed by an evil spirit ; a soul imprisoned in silence, shut away into hopeless darkness, reached by no ray of earth's light and beauty, and, what was still more terrible, subject to that mysterious " oppression of the devil " by which an evil presence from the unseen world was housed within him, and rendered his inner life a hideous and discordant anomaly. With what unutterable joy must this man have gone forth from the Saviour's presence, with unsealed lips, with eyes looking out upon the world, and in his right mind.
Every such miracle must of necessity have raised afresh the question of the hour, Who is this Son of Man ? Jesus must be accounted for. The scribes are ready with their theory — plausible, clear, and conveniently capable of being put into a nutshell. Jesus is Himself a demoniac, but differs from all other demoniacs in this respect, that it is no ordinary demon, but the prince of all the evil spirits, that has taken possession of Him ; hence His control over all inferior demons : " by the prince of the devils casteth he out the deyils."
•jl I was greatly perplexed about the second lesson I should read in the conducting of a Sabbath morning service. It seemed an utter impossibility to fix my mind upon any chapter. In this uncertain state I remained until the singing of the last verse of the hymn preceding the lesson. I prayed for direction. A voice said, "Eead what is before you." It was the twelfth chapter of St. Luke. At the tenth verse (similar to Mark iii. 28, 29) I paused, read again the verse, " Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him, but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven." Then I asked : " What is this sin against the Holy Ghost ? " I explained it as attributing the wo'r1cs~a"nd" "words of Christy 'Hi? i^llv^'snc^^ ^.iid power
to Satanic agency. Just then I turned to my right, and noticing a beauufiiri)duquet which some one had placed on my table, I took the bouquet in my hand, saying, " There are bad men in this district, but I do not think there is one so depraved as to say that the growth, the beauty, and the fragrance of these flowers are the work of the devil. In the lower sense that would be sinning against the Holy Ghost." Then I continued my reading.