The Condescension of the Spirit
“T have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in under« standing, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, ta devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass.”
—EXOD. xxxi. 3-4.
tfioa HAT! for so base a purpose as that? To fill a man with the Spirit for the sake of devising cunning works, to inspire him with wisdom and with understanding and with all knowledge for no other end than that he may work in brass and iron — it seems a most lame and impotent conclusion. I could understand a man being inspired to teach, I could understand him being inspired to prophesy, I could understand him being inspired to live a life of unworldliness; but to fill him with the Spirit for the sake of life’s common round, to inspire him with a view to perform duties seemingly the most menial and the most undivine, is not this a degradation of the fountain of living waters? No; it is an elevation. The glory of every spirit is its power to manifest itself in the smallest things. When is the poet a perfect poet? It is when he can weave the spirit of beauty into everything, get sermons from stones and books from the running brooks. Even so is it with Thy Spirit, O my God. Its triumph is its lowest sphere — its shining before men. It is never so manifested as when it appears in its seeming opposite. The heavenly treasure never proves its omnipotence so strongly as when it lies in the earthen vessel; it is beauty revealed in deformity, it is peace subsisting in storm, it is strength perfected in weakness, it is life manifested in death.
Spirit of Christ, Spirit that hast incarnated Thyself in the brass and iron of this world, I come to Thee. Unto whom can I go but unto Thee to find that which I need? That which I need is not seclusion from the world; if it were, the spirit of the Brahman would suffice. It is power to work i the world, strength to serve in the duties of the common day, Therefore, Thou Spirit of the Incarnation, inspire me for the labours of the flesh. Quicken me for the toils of dusty lane and bustling mart. Nerve me for the troubles of the exchange, the counting-house, and the workshop. Fit me to bear the crosses and the losses that await the dealings between man and man. Help me to consecrate my gains to the service of love, to the lifting of to THE CONDESCENSION OF THE SPIRIT.
humanity, to the setting at liberty of those that are bound. So shall I make friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness, so shall I claim for Thee what the world has claimed for its own. The incarnation of Christ shall be completed when Thou hast filled the brass, the silver, and the gold.
Vv.