vil
thoughts come into his mind, flash into his heart, and been called to
fight them!

One old divine says, "You are not to blame for the birds that fly over
your head, but if you allow them to come down and make a nest in your
hair, then you are to blame. You are to blame if you don't fight them
off." And so with these evil thoughts that come flashing into our
minds; we have to fight them, we are not to harbor them; we are not to
entertain them. If I have evil thoughts come into my mind, and evil
desires, it is no sign that I have committed the unpardonable sin. If
I love these thoughts and harbor them, and think evil of God, and
think Jesus Christ a blasphemer, I am responsible for such gross
iniquity; but if I charge Him with being the prince of devils, then I
am committing the unpardonable sin.

THE FAITHFUL FRIEND.

Let us now consider the sin of "Grieving the Spirit." _Resisting_ the
Holy Ghost is one thing, _grieving_ Him is another. Stephen charged
the unbelieving Jews in the 7th chapter of Acts, "Ye do always resist
the Holy Ghost as your fathers did, so do ye." The world has always
been resisting the Spirit of God in all ages. That is the history of
the world. The world is to-day resisting the Holy Spirit.

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend." The Divine Spirit as a friend
reveals to this poor world its faults, and the world only hates Him
for it. He shows them the plague of their hearts. He convinces or
convicts them of sin, therefore they fight the Spirit of God. I
believe there is many a man resisting the Holy Ghost; I believe there
is many a man to-day fighting against the Spirit of God.

In the 4th chapter of Ephesians, in the 30th, 31st, and 32d verses, we
read:

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the
day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And
be ye kind, one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Now, mark you, that was written to the Church at Ephesus. "Grieve not
the Holy Spirit, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." I
believe today the Church all over Christendom is guilty of grieving
the Holy Spirit. There are a good many believers in different churches
wondering why the work of God is not revived.

THE CHURCH GRIEVES THE SPIRIT.

I think that if we search, we will find something in