And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me

And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.’- Yek. 11 b.

DAVID has sought a great blessing, a very gracious *J gift, from God: that he may walk always before His countenance, and in the light of it. He has asked that his whole life on earth and his whole being may be sanctified and illumined by the consciousness that in everything he is carrying out his life, as in the immediate presence of God, under His eye, and in His favor. He has desired that his whole life on earth might be spent in converse with His God in heaven. Glorious life, which grace is prepared to bestow.

And yet there is something that is still higher and more glorious. That I may walk on earth in intercourse with God in heaven is indeed wonderful grace; but that the Most High should come down from His heaven to dwell in my heart and consecrate it to be His temple — this surely is the full glory of what grace has destined for us. And this it is that David now craves in the prayer: Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.’ He yearns for the conscious indwelling of the Holy Ghost.

Some may possibly imagine that this petition is not here in the proper place. Nothing is ever wrought in us, save by the Spirit: even the first conviction of sin and the desire to pray for grace must come from Him. Must prayer for the Spirit, then, not precede all else? The answer to this question may be given in these considerations. The working of the Holy Spirit in a sinner who has been roused to desire salvation is indeed indispensable, but it is hidden and unconscious. Such a one does not know that the anxiety arising from the conviction of sin and the earnest entreaties for mercy, of which he does not know in the least degree whether they shall be heard or not, are all the results of the Spirit’s operations. On the other hand, when, at a later period, he does actually arrive at faith, he has the promise that he shall know the Spirit; that He shall not only wTork in him, but shall so dwell and establish His presence in him that he shall both know and feel it. This, for example, is the promise held out to those who were awakened on the day of Pentecost, who had already, at the outset, experienced the operation of the Spirit: 6 Repent ye, and ye shall (thereafter) receive the gift of the Holy Ghost’ (Acts ii. 38); just as the Lord Jesus Himself said to His disciples after they had experienced the first workings of the Spirit: ‘If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments; and 1 will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter’ (John xiv. 15, 16). Thus the prayer of David here is not a petition for the first operations of the Spirit with a view to conversion. Such prayer is necessary and according to the will of Grod, and innst be offered up. But the petition here looks to that indwelling of the Spirit of God which is the privilege of the believer. He dwells in them, to teach them (John xvi. 13, 11). to seal them and give them the assurance of son ship (Rom. viii. 15, 16), to sanctify and prepare them for heaven (‘Rom. viii. 11).

It is this lesson, accordingly, that is taught the believer in this petition, namely, to expect not only a clean heart, a steadfast spirit, and the light of God’s face, but also the indwelling of God’s Spirit in the heart. Every believer may have, and ought to experience, this blessing. Without this he does not live according to the will of God.

The prayer of David makes this clear: 1 Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.5 He speaks as one who has already received the Holy Spirit; his petition is that the Spirit may not be taken from him. He feels that, although his former great sin had been forgiven him. he yet always runs the risk of grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit, so that he shall then have to remain without the blessed experience of His work. He knows that, however truly the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace who bears up the sinner with great compassion, He is still also the Holy Spirit who is sure to be driven away by the love of sin. fie knows that through worldly-mindedness and worldly anxiety, through lack of thoughtfulness and reverent attention to His workings, injury is done to the Spirit, and He is grieved, with the result that He withdraws His presence from us. The same consequence flows from unfaithfulness in the use of the means of grace, such as the word and prayer, with which His operations are bound up. It is under the sense of this great danger that David prays: ‘Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.’

This petition is a part of the prayer for grace; for it is wholly due to the grace of God if the Holy Spirit is not taken away from believers. As often as injury is done to Him, He is dishonored and has reason to withdraw, so that, were He not really the Spirit of grace, He would certainly leave us. David hoped and entreated from the grace of God that the Spirit of God might not withdraw from him, even wThen he might have deserved the loss.

The lessons for the believer are especially these two.

First of all, that the Holy Spirit will dwell in him. He who desires to be led in the way of grace by the hand of David must now know that if he would see preserved and confirmed the blessings on which his heart is set, namely, forgiveness, renewal, restoration to the favor of God; if he would truly be all that grace would make him — then he must keep himself largely occupied with the promise of the Spirit, and

HA YE MERCY XJTOlt ME.

must hold his desires firmly fixed upon it. Let him search in the word of God for all the promises concerning the operation of the Spirit. Let him know certainly this gift is held out to him. Let him yield himself unreservedly to the Lord, to experience this glorious grace. Let him seek to live daily in the fellowship of the Spirit: he shall experience that this is the highest blessing that is to be found on earth.

In the second place, this blessing must be a distinct element in the prayer for grace. The soul that is desirous of salvation must feel that he is unworthy of this blessing, and forfeits it at every turn. He must every day observe that it is a favor that God does not take away His Spirit. He must feel that according to the measure of the earnestness of his desire and prayer and faith shall his growing establishment in this blessing take place, and his communion with the Spirit become more conscious and effectual. And according to this measure also shall the preceding blessings, of which this is the seal and the crown, be more richly and gloriously communicated to him; while, on the other hand, the neglect of this prayer shall have as its consequence, not only the loss of this blessing, but also the obscuration of the other blessings that may have previously been enjoyed. Let it therefore be with all possible emphasis of entreaty that we say: ‘Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.’