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those who were hardened and obdurate sinners. As the wind moves in
its force upon the lofty trees and brings them down, so the Holy Spirit
can work upon human hearts, and no finite man can circumscribe the
work of God.
The Spirit of God is manifested in different ways upon different
men. One under the movings of this power will tremble before the
Word of God. His convictions will be so deep that a hurricane and
tumult of feeling seem to rage in his heart, and his whole being is
prostrate under the convicting power of the truth. When the Lord
speaks forgiveness to the repenting soul, he is full of ardor, full of love
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to God, full of earnestness and energy, and the life-giving spirit which
he has received cannot be repressed. Christ is in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life. His feelings of love are as deep
and ardent as was his distress and agony. His soul is like the fountain
of the great deep, broken up, and he pours forth his thanksgiving
and praise, his gratitude and joy, until the heavenly harps are tuned
to notes of rejoicing. He has a story to tell, but not in any precise,
common, methodical way. He is a soul ransomed through the merits
of Jesus Christ, and his whole being is thrilled with the realization of
the salvation of God.
Others are brought to Christ in a more gentle way. “The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that
is born of the Spirit.” You cannot see the operating agency, but you
can see its effects. When Nicodemus said unto Jesus, “How can these
things be?” Jesus said to him, “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest
not these things?” A teacher in Israel, a man among wise men, a man
who supposed that he was able to comprehend the science of religion,
and yet stumbling at the doctrine of conversion! He was not willing to
admit truth, because he could not understand all that was connected
with the operation of the power of God, and yet he accepted the facts of
nature although he could not explain or even comprehend them. Like
others of all ages, he was looking to forms and precise ceremonies as
more essential to religion than the deep movements of the Spirit of
God.—
The Review and Herald, May 5, 1896
.
Conversion Leads On to Obedience—The conversion of the hu-
man soul is of no little consequence. It is the greatest miracle per-
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formed by divine power. Actual results are to be reached through a