Yer. 8.-Tl,e wind and the Spirit. Things natural are the emblems of things spiritual. It is no accident that in this very verso the same word is used to desicrnate the wind that blows upon the surface of the earth, and the Spirit that breathes ove~ the souls of men. In many languages the breeze or the breath is the symbol of the unseen vital principle that distinguishes living beings from the material universe, and even of the higher and properly spiritual nature. Our Lord in this passage of his conversation with Nicodemus extends the symbolism from the principle to its agency, and illus- trates the working of the Spirit of God by a reference to the mysterious movement of the wind. The parallelism appears in- I. THE ORIGIN. Man is powerless to cause the wind to blow from one quarter or from another, for the wind is one of the great forces of nature, i.e. of the operation of God, the Maker and Lord of all. In like manner, the Spirit of truth and holiness is the Spirit of God. No man can claim credit for his influences; they belong to the super- human system which is independent of human wisdom or skill. If the Church of Christ is the creation of the Spirit (ubi Spiritus, ibi Ecdesia), it is not an institution of human origin and device, but an organism into which God himself has bre~thed the breath of life. II. THE CHARACTERISTICS. 1. The wind is invisible, and the same is the case with the Spirit of God, who is perceived by no one of the senses. Invisibility is no proof of the unreality of the breeze or the gale. The influence of the Spirit of God is upon human souls, and cannot be traced by the action of the senses; but that influence is as real as is that of any force, whether material or psychical. 2. 'l'he Spirit of God resembles the wind in the secret and inscrutable character of his operations. 'l'hat there are meteorological laws is not questioned ; but the forces that account for the wind are so many and so complicated, that they are even now only very partially understood. At all events, the variations of the atmosphere were altogether unknown to Nicodemus, and the argument was obviously effective for him. In like manner, the operations of God's Spirit are mysterious ; they take place in the recesses of the soul; their method is often incomprehensible by us. Yet there is nothing arbitrary or capricious in these operations; they are all the manifestations of Divine wisdom and goodness. The workin~ of the Holy Ghost are present where we, perhaps, should little have expected them. "'Not only can we not prescribe to God bow he should work; we cannot always tell how he has worked. He evidently has many direct channels by which his Spirit approaches tbe souls of men. III. THE RESULTS. If we cannot see the wind or trace its modes of action, we are at no loss to understand and appreciate its effects. We hear its sound, we feel its force, we perceive its presence by its works. The Spirit makes his efficacy apparent by his fruits. 1. How powerful is the Spirit of God I The wind, by its steady blowing, turns the sails of the mill, propels the ship across the ocean; by its vehemence, in the form of a hurricane or a whirlwind, destroys great works, uproots trees, unroofs houses. But what is this, as evidence of power, compared with the effects wrought by the Holy Spirii in human hearts-in human society? Here we see the mightiest works of the Supreme. 2. How various are the tokens of the Spirit's working I The wind may be Bore.as or Zephyr; may sink into a sigh or wax into a roar ; may pile the clouds in meases or drive the mists like sheep before it, or fling the hail abroad. And the Spirit of God' is the Spirit. of truth, of conviction, of holiD;es~: of consolatio';}, . The same Spirit distributes varied gifts to men "severally as be will. None can hm1t, none can even trace out, the diversity of spiritual operat~ons. ~- How beneficent i~ the Spirit of God in his working! The wind doe1 harm; yet its action, on the whole, 1s advantageous. But ea. m. 1-36.) THE GOSPEL .ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. H5
the Holy Ghost not only works gwd; he works nothing but good. He who is" born o( the Spirit" is born to a new, a holy, a Divine life. A spiritual dispensation is the occasion of hope to this humanity, imparts to it a prospect which otherwise the most sanguine would not venture to dream of. A ransomed humanity thus becomes a renewed humanity, and renewal is the pledge of glorification. From the four winds the breath comes and breathes upon the slain; e.nd the dead live, and" stand upon their feet, an exceeding great army."-T.