Page:The Paraclete.djvu/31

Rh of the Epistle to the Hebrews, that God of old times spoke to the fathers; whilst S. Peter declares that "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." So, when Ananias was rebuked by S. Peter for his falsehood, the Apostle declared that he had lied "to the Holy Ghost," and again, that he had "not lied unto men, but unto God."

(2) In the next place, we remark that Divine attributes and actions are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. Thus the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (ix. 14) speaks of Him as the "Eternal Spirit;" and in Genesis (i. 2) the work of creation is attributed to Him:" The Spirit of God moved upon the waters." So in Psalm xxxiii. 6, we read, "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath [Spirit] of His mouth." Here the work of creation is ascribed first to the Word of God, who is by S. John identified with the second Person in the Blessed Trinity, and secondly to the Spirit who proceeds from God and the Word. To the same effect we read in Psalm civ. 30; "When Thou lettest Thy breath [Spirit] go forth, they shall be made; and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth."