And then, what accompanied this sound was startling, as well as the sound itself. There were those “cloven tongues, like as of fire.” Little long pieces of flame were seen in the air of that chamber. There were about a hundred and twenty persons present there. And a hundred and twenty of these fiery tongues were seen. How strange it must have been to look on such a number of these marvellous appearances, and to see one of them come down and rest on the head of each person present! But, the Holy Spirit was come; and these things must have made it a startling coming. And then it was—an _abiding_ coming. When the Holy Spirit came down upon the Church of Christ, on the day of Pentecost, he did not come to remain for a little while, and then go back to heaven. No! but he came to _stay_. When Jesus spoke to the disciples about the coming of the Holy Ghost, he used these words: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may _abide with you forever_.” St. John xiv: 16. It was not for the help and comfort of the apostles and early Christians only that the Holy Spirit came. No; but it was for the help and comfort of all the people of Christ, down to the end of the world. The coming of the Spirit, which took place on the day of Pentecost was intended to be an abiding coming. He has never left the church from that day. But he may be present, without putting forth his power and making his presence felt. What we need to pray for is not that the Holy Spirit may _come_ into our churches; for he is there; but that he may make his power and presence felt. What we want above all things, in our hearts, in our homes, in our Sunday Schools, and in our churches, is to feel the power and presence of that Spirit, who came on the day of Pentecost, and whose coming was to be an abiding coming. And so, when we would show the manner of the Spirit’s coming to the early church, we may say that it was an _expected_ coming—a _sudden_ coming—a _startling_ coming—and an _abiding_ coming. And now, the only other thing to notice, is—_The—PURPOSE—of the Spirit’s coming._ And if we wish to understand clearly the meaning of this part of the subject, there are these two things for us to consider; viz., _what the Holy Spirit is; and what the Holy Spirit does_. And in order to understand satisfactorily what the Holy Spirit is—we must find out what the scriptures call him; and how the scriptures speak of him. Here are some of the titles given to the Holy Spirit in the scriptures, or the names by which he is called.