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THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION
THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION

Addresses by Scottish Evangelical Leaders

delivered in Glasgow in 1840

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THE BANNER OF TRUTH

 THE BANNER OF TRUTH TRUST
3 Murrayfield Road, Edinburgh EH12 6EL
PO Box 621, Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013, USA
*

First published 1540

First Banner of Truth edition 1954
ISBN 0 85151 435 9
*

Printed and bound

in Great Britain at
The Camelot Press Ltd, Southampton

‘|heology Libra

SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
AT CLAREMONT
California
 CONTENTS

Publisher’s Preface . vil

Preface, . 1x

I. The Nature of a Religious Revival—State of Religion

requiring it—Effects which it is calculated to produce
in the Church and on the World—Vindication from
Misapprehension and Prejudice. By the Rev. JoHn
Bonar of Larbert.

II. The Work of Christ in connection with the Revival

of Religion—His Atonement, Righteousness, and In-
tercession. By the Rev. JonatHan R. ANDERSON of
Kirkfield. 33

Ill. The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Revival of Re-

ligion. By the Rev. A. Moopy Stuart of St. Luke’s,
Edinburgh. 2a)

IV. The Sovereignty of God as connected with a Revi-

val of Religion. By the Rev. Dr. Wiiuis of Renfield
Church. 85

V. The Word of God—Preaching—Character of Preach-

ing fitted to produce a Revival—Subordinate means of
making known the Gospel—Parochial Visitation—Sab-
bath Schools, &c. By the Rev. R. S. Canpuisu of
Edinburgh. — 111

VI. Prayer—Private—Family—Social—Public—Its Spi-

rit, Character, and Objects, as connected with the Re-
vival of Religion—Prayer for Ministers—For Believers
and Unbelievers, &c. By the Rev. ALEx. CUMMING
of Dunbarney. 132
vi CONTENTS.

VII. The Godly Life of Believers—Christians the Light

of the World—Discipline of the church, &c. By the
Rev. WitiiaM Arnot of St. Peter’s. ; : 160

VIII. Encouragements from the Promises and Prophecies

of Scripture. By the Rev. Joun G. Lorrmer of St.
David's. : , : : : 185

IX. Encouragements from the History of the Church un-

der the Old and under the New Testament Dispensa-
tion. By the Rev. James Munro of Rutherglen. 258

X. Symptoms and Fruits of a Revival of Religion. By

the Rev. CHarces J. Brown of Edinburgh. 314

XI. Mode of Conducting a Revival, so as to improve the

Gracious Visitations of the Spirit of God—Errors and
Evils to be guarded against. By the Rev. William
Burns of Kilsyth. : : : ool

XII. Hindrances to the Revival of Religion—Hindrances

in Christians—Hindrances in the World. By the Rev.
Patrick FarrBairn of Bridgeton. : ; 362

XIII. The Necessity of the Revival of Religion in the

present circumstances of the Church—Encouragements
especially applicable to the present time. By the Rev.
Joun M‘Naucuran of Paisley. : : 382

XIV. Practical Addresses and Counsels pointing out the

immediate Duty of Christians and others in connection
with the Revival of Réligion, and the Advantages of
Expecting, Seeking, and Labouring for it. By the Rev.
Dr. Parerson of St. Andrew’s. , : : 405

Biographical Notes. : 445

 PUBLISHER’S PREFACE

It is a characteristic of Christian history that times of

revival in the church are only occasional and periodic, and
that the cause of their occurrence cannot be explained in
terms of any religious or social factors. In a sense, the
arrival of such times is always mysterious and surprising.
When the revivals are not a present reality there is ever a
tendency to forget what they truly are. This is unquestion-
ably one reason why the foremost writing on this subject
has occurred in times when the outpouring of the Spirit
has been seen and known. It was such a period in Scotland
in the late 1830’s and the early 1840’s, when this book
was first published, being made up of addresses given in
1840 in Glasgow by fourteen evangelical ministers. Most
of them were distinguished leaders in the church and five
were authors whose writings remain in popular use today.
A summary of the lives of them all will be found on page
445,
The present publishers are not aware of any other
volume which covers the nature and implications of
revival as well as they are handled in this reprint. When
Moses came down from the mount his face shone.
Something of that same light is to be seen in these pages.
While the church cannot bring revivals to birth, it
remains true that God uses means to prepare the way. One
of these means is the calling of renewed attention to the
record of His own mighty works. These addresses, when
first delivered, were intended to deepen faith and to
promote prayer. They are republished now with that same
intention in view.
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 PREFACE.

THE very term, “‘ Revival of Religion,” we are per-

fectly aware, causes some persons to recoil with a
species of instinctive antipathy, as if it inevitably
brought before their minds nothing but images of
wild and extravagant fanaticism. In such a state of
mental antipathy it is manifestly impossible that they
can be benefited by the perusal of writings on a sub-
ject the mere designation of which arouses at once
within them such a formidable array of hostile and
stubborn prejudices. Yet this is equally unnecessary
and unfair,—it is unjust at once to the subject and
to themselves. It would be surely more becoming
to suspend their judgment till they had attempted to
obtain somewhat of a more clear and accurate con-
ception of the matter, discarding prejudice and lis-
tening to reason. It would be well that they would
ask themselves what the phrase really means, whe-
ther in itself, or in its common application, before
allowing a mere name to startle them from their pro-
priety. The phrase may not be very happily chosen ;
but the true question is, what meaning 1s it intended
toconvey? Unquestionably it seems to imply, by the
very terms, the awakening into more active and living
energy those religious feelings, habits, and principles,
which previously existed, but which had sunk into
comparative dormancy. But this is not all its mean-
ing. It is employed also to indicate the conversion
of sinners, who were previously in a state of irreli-
gion altogether. The word revival is not certainly
applicable, in its strict etymological import, to the
conversion of a sinner; and so far its technical use,
so to speak, has a tendency to mislead, or at least to
x PREFACE.

leave unexpressed a portion of what is meant. When

a single sinner is brought under the power of Divine
grace, and conversion, or a saving change, takes place
in him, which may be known to no person except his
immediate relations, and the clergyman whose minis-
trations he attends, this can of course attract no at-
tention, and if it did, would not be called a revival.
If; on the other hand, one who had formerly been so
converted, but had relapsed into a careless state, and
in a great measure resumed his worldly habits, should
be awakened out of this dangerous situation of the
soul, quickened and renewed in the spirit of his mind,
neither would this be called a revival, although it
actually was so, in the strict meaning of the term.
But, if manyof either or both of such cases should
occur, In one vicinity, and about the same time, so as
to become evident to public observation, this would
be termed a revival, in the common acceptation of
that phrase. When, therefore, men use or hear the
term, a revival of religign, it ought to be understood
to mean,—an unusual manifestation of the power of
the grace of God in convincing and converting careless
sinners, and in quickening and increasing the faith and
prety of believers.
It will at once be seen that a revival, thus defined,
may be viewed in two distinctly different aspects, as
manifested in these two different. classes of people ;
while its own essential character is one and the same
in both. It.s the life-giving, light-imparting, quick-
ening,.regenerating; and sanctifying energy of the
Holy Spirit, converting the hardened sinner, and re-
claiming the backsliding or dormant Christian. No
one who deserves the name of a Christian will deny
that these are the operations peculiarly ascribed in
the Scriptures to the agency of the Holy Spirit, and
that. it is the duty of all to pray for, and the privilege
of all to expect them in answer. to earnest believing
prayer,—nay, that there cannot be Christianity without
them, and that they have taken place, and are taking
place in innumerable individual instances. Why then
should one who admits so much shrink back appalled
from the occurrence of that in many contemporaneous
 PREFACE. xi
instances, which he hails and believes with joy when
individually experienced? Besides, when we turn to
the Bible itself, we read of some very memorable in-
stances of even thousands converted simultaneously,
which surely is :sufficient warrant for us to believe
that such events are perfectly consistent with the
economy of salvation. And;:notonly so, but even the
most guarded and cautious interpretation of the lan-
guage of prophecy leads us to expect a still more glo-
rious effusion of the Holy Spirit in ‘‘the latter days ;”
so that all Scripture gives the most direct and autho-
ritative countenance to revivals of religion, understood
as above defined, according to their true scriptural
import.
‘But many of these so-styled revivals are either
altogether unreal, or are so mingled with errors, and
lead to such abuses, that it-is very dangerous to give
them any countenance ;’ this is the language very
often used by those who would rather discourage than
openly oppose them. No person, who knows what he
is doing, can wish to encourage a fatal delusion. No
person who wishes to see sinners converted, and be-
lievers quickened, can possibly wish any thing to take
lace which could only tend to harden the sinner, and
lull the backslider into irreclaimable security. But
‘‘what is the chaff to the wheat?’ Why discourage a
real revival, lest you should encourage a counterfeit ?
Why not rather study the subject thoroughly, by the
teaching of God’s Word, and the recorded experience
of God’s servants, till you are able to distinguish be-
tween the real: and the counterfeit, and then act ac-
cording to your better knowledge in promoting the
true and checking the delusive? This certainly ought
to bethe procedure adopted by all wise and honest men,
in a matter of such vital importance to the interests
of religion. Nor can any truly candid and intelligent
man long permit. his mind to be biassed by such a
fallacious and sophistical mode of reasoning as that
which. would condemn the use of any thing because it
is liable to abuse. Every thing isso; but chiefly, if
not solely, because man is a fallen and depraved
being, prone to pervert and abuse, to his own ruin,
xi PREFACE.

the most precious gift of God. So that, in fact, this

sophistical argument employed against revivals
amounts to this absurdity,—that man should not
seek a revival, just because he needs it. It cannot
be necessary to waste time in further refutation of a
fallacy which refutes itself.
In most cases men can readily separate the abuses
from the uses of any thing, and thereby arrive at
somewhat of a true estimate of its real value; but the
subject of revivals is generally thought to be so mys-
terlous, that no such discriminating process can be
followed, and therefore no such estimate obtained.
This, too, is a fallacious notion. A revival, rightly
understood, is essentially the same as conversion in
one of its aspects, and recalling the backslider in an-
other,—and these are in their essence of necessity
identical. Be the vital principle in man what it may,
restoration from disease or lethargy can be nothing
else but the same vital principle awakened into re-
newed healthful energy. And as conversion is the
work of the Holy Spirit, calling the soul from the
death of sin into the life of holiness, so reclaiming the
lapsed converts can be nothing else but a repetition
of the same vivifying call, raising the soul from its
dangerous lethargy, and evoking anew the holy ener-
gies of regenerated life. There is, therefore, in reality
exactly the same mysteriousness in a revival which
there 1s in conversion. Each is the work of the Holy
Spirit, convincing, converting, and sanctifying the
soul of man, according to His own infinite wisdom
and almighty power, and in.a manner inscrutable to
human reason. When we have reached this point of
the investigation, we are compelled to stop, to bend
reverently, and to adore the wonder-working and un-
searchable God. But whatsoever either in a conver-
sion or arevival is comparatively adventitious,—what-
soever may be viewed as merely adjunctive, tending
naturally either to retard, bias, or promote the effects,
—whatsoever belongs essentially to human nature,
and may be explained or reasoned upon according to
the known laws of mental phenomena,—these fall
legitimately within the province of inquiry, and may,
 PREFACE. Xill

without profanity, be made the subject of animadver-

sion, if done with becoming gravity and seriousness
of spirit.
Admitting then, conversion and revival to be essen-
tially the same as regards the Divine Agent, the effect
intended, and the final result, the first and the chief
distinction between them consists in a revival being
the manifestation, to an unusual degree, of power and
extent, of the converting energy of the Holy Spirit.
When this takes place in any district, it is not strange
that men should feel their souls overawed, as in the
more than usually manifested presence of the Lord
God Almighty—not strange that the conscience-
stricken sinner should crouch in trembling terror, as
in the near view of his omniscient Judge—not strange
if the cold and -worldly formalist, who had been per-
mitting the deadening lethargy of sin to lull him mto
a fatal repose, should start appalled, as if he heard a
voice saying to him, ‘‘ Awake, O sleeper, and call upon
thy God’’—not strange if, in each and all of these cases,
the minds of men should be shaken by a sudden and a
strong excitement, impelling them to much which
could not have been caused by a single unobserved
conversion. A considerable degree of excitement in
such circumstances is perfectly inevitable ; and yet it
must be evident, that it is not essential either to the
conversion of a sinner, or to the re-awakening of a
dormant believer, but has its source chiefly, if not
entirely, in the sympathetic principle of human na-
ture, which is so powerful in producing, increasing,
and extending emotions of every kind. The existence
of excitement, therefore, is no proof whatever of the
genuineness of conversion, or of a revival; and re-
mains fairly within the province of human reason to
enquire into its cause, to ascertain its nature, and to
guide, modify, or check its progress, without in the
very slightest degree presuming to intermeddle with
the sacred and mysterious work of the Holy Spirit.
At the same time the existence of excitement fur-
nishes no just ground of distrusting the reality of
conversion ; for it is scarcely possible to imagine so
great a change effeeted within the soul as that termed
X1V PREFACE.

in Scripture being “‘ born anew,” “ called from death

to life,” “from darkness into marvellous light,” with-
out producing in the person by whom it is experienced
a thrill of new, strange, and rapturous emotion
throughout his entire frame, such as no words can
ever adequately describe. The only thing, therefore,
to be determined is, whether the emotion, or excite-
ment, be that arising from so great a change, or that
produced by witnessing the emotion of others—whe-
ther it be the excitement of conversion, or of mere
sympathy ; and when that has been as accurately as-
certained as possible, it is our duty either reverently
to own the Spirit’s work, or prudently to guide and
control what is, as yet, merely human in its origin
and operations.
We said, what is, as yet, merely human ; because
we have no wish to conceal or undervalue the influ-
ence of sympathy, not only in deepening a good im-
pression, but even in tending to produce it. It is
well known, that to assume the attitude, the gestures,
and the general aspect of any passion or emotion,
merely in semblance, has a great tendency to produce,
and often does produce, the reality, And, as God
influences and moves the mind of man according to
its nature, it is at least possible that He may employ
the sympathetic principle te awaken, mollify, and
prepare the mind for the great and real change of
conversion. This we would regard as the wse of sym-
pathy, and the excitement which it causes. But the
utmost effect of sympathy, and the highest degree of ex-
citement which it could produce, is not conversion, and
could never of itself effect or even approach conversion.
That is a divine work, which the Holy Spirit can alone
accomplish. It is, therefore, erroneous and dangerous
in the extreme, to mistake mere sympathetic excite-
ment, assuming the semblance, and even giving rise
to some of the results of conversion, for conversion
itself. That is the abuse of religious sympathy. And
as religious sympathy, and the excitement which it
produces, necessarily accompany a revival, and yet
are adventitious adjuncts, belonging essentially to
human nature, and explicable by its laws, we regard
them as entirely within the province of human rea-
 PREFACE. XV

son, to be approved or disapproved, regulated or

checked, according to the dictates of a sound judg-
ment, guided by the word of God and the light of
experience.
In this point all men, and peculiarly young men,
are prone toerr. Because a genuine revival generally
produces, and almost necessarily must produce, some,
or even considerable excitement, they rashly conclude
that it is essential to a revival, and therefore they
too often attempt to produce the revival, by taking
every possible means likely to produce excitement.
Into this error they would not be so liable to fall, if
they would more closely investigate the matter, both
in Its own nature, to ascertain what is truly essential
and what merely adventitious, and according to what
is recorded of it in the Bible, where they will find no
warrant for making mechanical arrangements cal-
culated to awaken sympathetic excitement in the
mind, with the view of producing conversion. Un-
doubtedly it is possible to awaken a very high degree
of excitement, which sympathy will speedily heighten
and extend incalculably, by a well-concerted ar-
rangement, and by the use of fervid declamation, on
topics of a peculiarly arousing character; and it 1s
possible that religious impressions may be made then,
which it may please God to ripen into genuine con-
version ; but it is only what ought to be expected, if
an attempt founded upon a principle so defective, and
conducted on a scheme so erroneous, should be pro-
ductive of many glaring abuses, calculated to grieve
the Christian and delight the scofter, and should rarely
be honoured as instrumental in promoting the inter-
ests of pure and undefiled religion. Yet all such
abuses prove nothing, except that those by whom they
were planned and executed were grievously ignorant
of the true nature and essential principles of a genuine
revival. It ought to be distinctly understood and
constantly held in remembrance, that excitement is
not of the essence of conversion, and therefore not of
the essence of a revival, these being essentially iden-
tical; that excitement may be the consequence of
conversion, but cannot be the cause; that it cannot
xv PREFACE.

with propriety be considered as even predisposing to

conversion in any higher sense than as instrumental
in removing that callous indifference of heart and
mind, which is one of the main preventives of any
serious and beneficial impression being made by the
ordinary means of religious instruction ; that the
closest relation it can hold is that of a concomitant,
in which it may naturally but not necessarily appear;
that, in short, excitement is of a secondary and non-
essential character, when viewed in connection either
with the conversion of an individual, or with that
more unusual and large manifestation of saving grace
called a revival, and cannot be regarded, received,
encouraged, and acted upon as primary and essential,
without giving rise to errors and disorders of multi-
tudinous form and character.
If a physician were so little acquainted with the
true nature of the human frame, and the diseases to
which it is liable, as constantly to mistake secondary
symptoms for primary maladies, and regulate his
treatment of patients accordingly, every intelligent
person would certainly regard him as an ignorant
empiric, and would place no confidence in his opin-
ions and directions. In like manner, the man who
so far mistakes the nature of conversion, or of revival,
its more extended and simultaneously developed form,
as to imagine excitement to be of its very essence,
and should accordingly, in his sincere desire to pro-
mote the best interests of mankind, and the extension
of the Redeemer’s kingdom, direct his whole efforts
to the production of an intense religious excitement,
he also might justly be regarded as one who, however
zealous, was still deplorably ignorant of the true na-
ture of conversion. And though God might, by His
sovereign power, over-rule, and in His great mercy,
and for His own name’s sake, forgive all that was
erroneous, and bless whatever was sound and right,
in the honest though ill-informed and erring zeal of
such a man, yet, as the wheat thus sown would bear
but a small proportion to the tares, so the result
would inevitably be a gleaning only of what was truly
good, with a large proportion of what was absolutely
 PREFACE, XVll

pernicious. It is because our American brethren

have so frequently mistaken what is at most only
concomitant, or merely adjunct or consequent, for
what is essential to conversion, that they have fallen
into such multifarious errors and abuses, in their
zealous attempts to ‘‘get up” and ‘‘conduct”’ revivals.
There is something offensive to the mind of a sin-
cere and humble Christian in the language commonly
used respecting revivals. When we hear of, or read
directions ‘‘ how to produce or promote a revival,”
and ‘how to conduct a revival,” we are apt to feel
as if there was of necessity something profane, if not
positively impious, in such language. It seems as if
man were presuming to attempt, by his own devices
and arrangements, to originate and guide the opera-
tions of the Holy Spirit, or entirely to supersede them.
And indeed the rash expressions employed by ardent
but injudicious friends of revivals, give too much
room for an idea so revolting. Yet there is no real
ground for such an idea, if the matter were viewed in
the light in which we have been endeavouring to pre-
sent it. If those who talk of the best methods of
‘‘ promoting or conducting a revival,’’ were to be asked
to explain their meaning in the simplest and most
direct terms, and were to do so, it would be found,
either that they were totally ignorant of its true and
essential nature, regarding it as nothing more than
excitement deepened and diffused by sympathy, which,
of course, they might succeed in producing and con-
ducting; or, that while they held conversion to be the
exclusive prerogative of the Holy Spirit, and totally
beyond the reach of man to originate or direct, they
were anxious to make the wisest and most energetic
use of all the means of grace within their reach, hop-
ing and most earnestly praying that the Holy Spirit
would bless such instrumentality, and render it
effectual in His own hand, in promoting the salvation
of perishing sinners. In this latter view, there is
nothing necessarily objectionable. No sane and in-
telligent Christian will deny, that even in the economy
of grace, the result is not to be expected without the
employment of the means. But the question arises,
XVIll FREFACE.

‘‘what means are to be employed?” and perhaps,

also, ‘‘how much value is to be ascribed to the use of
means?”
To the question, ‘what means are to be employ-
ed?” the direct answer is:—Those means which God
himself has enjoined, and the sincere and faithful use
of which he has promised to bless and render effectual.
In every point of essential importance, the only safe
directory isthe word of God. Never can it be very safe
to adopt any method not expressly commanded, or at
least indirectly and by fair inference sanctioned, in
the Holy Scriptures; while, to follow any measure
opposed to, or condemned by that standard, can be
productive of nothing but the most baneful consequen-
ces. Were this rule adopted, and rigidly adhered to,
it would at once put an end to very many of the ex-
travagant and offensive proceedings which have tended
to cast an injurious shade of suspicion over the very
name of revivals. We cannot afford space to follow
up this rule and show its application to a number of
questionable cases; and fortunately it is not necessary,
both because every attentive and prayerful reader of
the Bible may, without much risk of error, do it for
himself, and because there are several very valuable
and judicious treatises, written expressly for the pur-
pose of giving directions concerning the means to be
employed during periods of revival.
Of these it is impossible to name any that so power-
fully demand the. attention of the candid and thought-
ful reader, as the work on Religious Affections by
Jonathan Edwards,—that entitled A Narrative of the
Revival of Religion in New England, with Thoughts
on that Revival, by the same great Author; and
Sprague’s Lectures. on Revivals of Religion. At a
time like the present, when the attention of the public
is strongly directed to the subject of revivals of
religion, it is of unspeakable importance to be able to
refer to the writings of such a man as Edwards,
equally distinguished as a pre-eminent philosopher, a
profound divine, and a sincerely and practically pious
Christian. The statements and the reasonings of
such a man are alike suitable for the perusal of those
who oppose and those who advocate the cause of re-
 PREFACE. X1x

vivals of religion. The known integrity of his char-

acter places his statements beyond the reach of being
lightly rejected, as unworthy of serious attention; and
his celebrity as a mental philosopher makes it equally
impossible for any man who values his own repata-
tion, to dream of dismissing with a sneer, the clear
and strong arguments brought forward by such a man.
Those, therefore, who are opposed to revivals of re-
ligion, regarding the whole as merely a peculiar
phasis of enthusiasm, would do themselves but justice
and some credit, to say nothing at present of the sub-
ject, if they would carefully and solemnly peruse and
re-peruse the above-named works of this great and
good man, when they might find themselves con-
strained to admit, at the very least, that there was
more in the matter than had hitherto met the eyes of
their philosophy. On the other hand, those who ad-
rit the reality of revivals of religion, but are little
acquainted with their true nature, and consequently
feel themselves unable either to defend them in argu-
ment, or to ald in promoting them when they appear
to be in operation, or to distinguish between a reality
and a counterfeit, should lose no time in making them-
selves thoroughly acquainted with these inestimable
works. Instead, therefore, of attempting to exhibit
specific cases, with suitable rules and applications, we
refer every candid and anxious inquirer to these truly
philosophical and scriptural works, with the certainty
that they will there obtain the very information which
they need. For though a considerable period has
elapsed since these works were first produced, their
applicability to similar cases has not diminished. The
nature of man may indeed assume aspects at one
period somewhat different from those which it bore at
another, but its elements remain always the same;
and Time itself will grow old before the writings of
Jonathan Edwards become obsolete.
The Lectures on Revivals of Religion by Dr.
Sprague may also be consulted with great advantage
by those who are earnestly asking the question, ‘‘ what
means are to be employed?” This calm, judicious,
and well-timed work, written by a man of no little
ability and thoroughly conversant with the subject of
XX PREFACE.

which he treats, we regard as second to the corre-

sponding treatise of Edwards alone, and decidedly
superior to every other similar production which has
yet appeared. It is indeed a work of great value,
written in a clear and dispassionate, yet earnest and
impressive manner, based upon and pervaded through-
out by the principles and rules of the Bible; and
therefore peculiarly fitted to direct the enquirer to the
only safe rules of direction,—the sure oracles of the
living God. The letters appended to the volume are
also well deserving of perusal, though not all of equal
merit. In them we have the testimony of twenty
witnesses, ministers of six different denominations,
all unhesitatingly asserting the reality of religious
revivals, however they may be accompanied by or
mixed with matter of a more questionable character;
and the very censure which they express of some of
the measures that have been adopted by less judicious
men, not only tends rather to confirm than diminish
our confidence in their testimony, but also, at the
same time, furnishes some very striking exemplifica-
tions of the important truth, that the only means
which can be safely and effectually employed, either
as tending to produce or to promotea religious revival,
are those which God himself has enjoined, and the
sincere and faithful use of which he has promised to
bless and render effectual.
To the question, ‘‘ how much value is to be ascribed
to the use of means?” the answer is equally direct;
means are in themselves of no absolute value what-
ever. ‘‘ Neither is he that planteth any thing, neither
he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.”
Not the less, on that account, however, is it the
bounden duty of every man to make the most strenu-
ous use of every means placed within his power, and
commanded or sanctioned by the word of God. The
employment of the means which God has commanded,
and has promised to bless, appears at least to indicate
an obedient will and a trusting heart. Now, the very
essence of the fall consists in the rebelliousness of the
will, and in the evil heart of unbelief. To whatso-
ever extent, therefore, men employ the means ap-
pointed by God, with sincere obedience of the will,
 PREFACE. xxl

and simple and honest integrity of heart, they are to

that extent either already on the path that leads to
Zion, or at least with their faces thitherward,—they
are, so far as we can judge, faithfully using the ap-
pointed means, and humbly waiting for ‘the promise
of the Father.”’ Suchan attitude, even human reason
may see, is one naturally suitable for the reception of
the promised blessing,—not as an efficient cause, tend-
ing of itself to produce that blessing, but as an indis-
pensable condition, required by God, becoming in man,
to which the blessing has been graciously promised,
and which the Holy Spirit condescends to produce in
the soul cf man, with or without his consciousness, and
to employ in his conversion. The means have in them-
selves no positive virtue, no absolute value, no efficient
power; but the use of them is commanded by God,
and has therefore the appearance, may have the reality
of an act of obedience, if rendered with genuine in-
tegrity of will and heart, and not in the deceitful
spirit of self-righteousness; but the mighty working
of God’s Holy Spirit is alone the efficient cause of
conversion. This view, rightly understood and con-
stantly felt, would tend to rescue men from the folly
and the danger of attaching too much value to the use
of means, and even to the instrumentality of able,
earnest, and devoted men, whose efforts we are too
prone to over-estimate, sometimes even to idolize, till
God, even inrmercy, breaks or casts aside the instru-
ment, that he may rescue us from such a dangerous
delusion, and compel us to feel and own, that all our
well-springs are in him,—that no created thing pos-
sesses or can possess any inherent value,—and that
all virtue, all power, and all glory, belong to him alone
and for ever.
Keeping these explanatory observations in view,
and acting in their spirit, it would be comparatively
easy and harmless to discuss such questions as,
‘what is the best method of promoting or of con-
ducting a revival?’ For, thus understood, those
questions mean nothing more than, ‘ what is the best
method of commencing or of continuing the use of
the religious ordinances appointed by God?’ Such
a question, it is obvious, would involve nothing of a
Xxil PREFACE.

profanc or impious nature, and not only might be

but ought to be both asked and answered by every
man who wishes to be obedient to the laws of his
Creator, and to aid in promoting the kingdom of the
Redeemer. But it would have lost that aspect of
mystery which renders it so attractive in the eyes of
many; and which also is the main cause of those
abuses into which men are so prone to fall, when
attempting to promote, they know not well what, by
the use of any means which may, they know not how,
have that tendency. Instead of rashly devising all
amanner of ‘‘new measures,’ however extravagant,
aud vainly indulging all the phantasies of a heated
imagination, men ought steadily to direct their at-
tention ‘‘to the law and the testimony,’ and make
these, in all respects, their standard and their guide.
And for those who may not have the faculty of readily
apprehending what is the teaching of God, in the
Scriptures, with reference to such matters, we would
again, with great confidence, recommend the studious
perusal of the works already mentioned, namely,
Edwards on the Religious Affections, and Thoughts
on Revival, and Sprague’s Lectures.
Notwithstanding that we have taken some pains to
make our remarks as plain and intelligible as we could,
there may be some to whom they will convey no de-
finite meaning. We have endeavoured to point out
the precise and essential identity of conversion and
revival ; but no person who has not been himself the
subject of that great change—no unconverted man—
can possibly understand what is meant by conversion,
consequently he cannot understand what is meant by
a revival of religion. We make this remark, because
the arguments used by those who oppose revivals are
very generally either directed only against the abuses
which are found in the secondary or non-essential
adjuncts or concomitants of revivals, or are such as
would bear equally against conversion itself, and
which, therefore, awaken in our minds the grave and
mournful feeling, that those who employ them are
themselves still unconverted. This is a painful and
a melancholy conclusion ;—a conclusion, the applica-
tion of which to individual instances, we will not and
 PREFACE. Xxill

we dare not make,—for we remember that it is

written, ‘“‘judge not, that ye be not judged.’’ But
we would most earnestly entreat all the opponents of
revivals to look more narrowly into the matter,—to
ascertain, as far as possible, in what a revival, or con-
version, really consists,—and to prove their own selves,
lest it be found, in the great day of decision, that
the reason why they opposed and maligned the light
which shone in the midst of the uncomprehending
darkness, was because they were not themselves
children of the light, but of the darkness.
At thesame time we would no more attempt to explain
the precise nature of the mystery of conversion, than
we would attempt to explain the precise nature of the
mystery of creation. We do not, indeed, hold it to
be possible for a created being to comprehend and
explain either the one or the other. That we regard
as one of the prerogatives of the Creator himself.—
of Him who spoke the universe into being,—of Him
who can alone ‘‘create anew in righteousness and
true holiness.” Might we not say, that it is an
incommunicable attribute of Deity? Yet, as any
created being is known to be merely by its existence ;
so conversion, or the being created anew, can be
known to us by no other and no surer cr*’srion,—it is
known to be by the very fact of tts existence. Hence it
is manifest that none but those who themselves enjoy
that new and spiritual life can possibly know assuredly
whether it does or does not exist in others,—they can-
not, in fact, comprehend its existence at all, forspiritual
things are spiritually discerned, and not otherwise.
A man who has himself been converted may be de-
ceived in forming an opinion of the state of another;
for all the external aspects of conversion may be for
a time sympathetically superinduced, or stimulated;
but an unconverted man never can be an accurate
judge in the matter, for be wants the faculty, and
therefore all his arguments against its reality in others
can prove nothing, except that it does not exist in
himself. It is painful and pitiable, but not surprising,
that unconverted men should misrepresent and oppose
what they cannot understand or appreciate ; but their
opposition, and even their hostility should be mildly
XXIV PREFACE.

and compassionately borne, and every effort made to

induce them to lay aside their hostility, to abandon
their prejudices, and to come and see whether some
good thing may not come out of Nazareth,—if, per-
adventure, ‘‘ the light that lighteth every man’’ may
yet shine into their benighted minds, and call them
from death to life, and from their natural darkness
into God’s marvellous light.
So far as we have been able to explain our views,
and to communicate them to our readers, we would
fondly hope that the subject of revivals has been
presented in an aspect in which it is little exposed to
the assaults of its antagonists, and rescued from the
injudicious defences of erring friends. Viewed
aright, it is seen to be in its essence wholly beyond
the reach of man. All that human beings can do,
either in attempting to promote, or to retard it, can
exercise no influence upon any thing except what is
merely of secondary importance, and of concomitant
or sequent position and adventitious character. Yet,
in such matters, there is ample scope for the most
earnest and strenuous exertions on our part, and
ground enough for us to entertain feelings of very
deep responsibility, regarding the manner in which
we discharge the obligations resting upon us. Al-
though our strenuous use of the appointed means of
grace would never of itself produce conversion, yet
if men neglect and despise those means, they are
manifesting a spirit of determined rebellion against
God, and can have no reason to expect His mercy
and blessing so long as they retain that spirit. Still
more, if they endeavour to cast obstacles in the way
of those who are attempting to comply with the in-
junctions of the Scriptures, though God may, in
mercy, arrest and convert them, thereby rendering
them the more signal monuments of Almighty grace,
they have no right to look for any such forth-putting
of His mercy, but rather that He should cut them off
in His wrath, and make them terrible examples of His
judgments.
There is also most urgent necessity for the exercise
of the most sound religious prudence on the part of
those whe are friendly to the cause of revivals. It is
 PREFACE. Xxv
deeply incumbent on all such, to give their nights
and days to the study of the word of God, in the
spirit of humility, and teachableness, and prayer;
that they may be enabled to discriminate between
what is essential and what is secondary and adventi-
tious—between what is real and what is counterfeit—
between what belongs to conversion and what to
sympathetic excitement—between what is God’s and
what is man’s. Great and irreparable injury may be
done by those who intermeddle with matters so
sacred without due preparation. Sudden and terrible
was the doom of those who ministered strange fire at
God’s holy altar; and their doom should be a warning
to all men, not to introduce human schemes into
divine institutions.
Great faithfulness, as well as great tenderness,
should be exercised towards those who are, or appear
to be, converted in such times of unusual manifesta-
tion of divine grace, lest false hopes should be en-
couraged, spiritual pride awakened, or despair con-
firmed. Here, again, the standard is still the word
of God, by which to try every spirit. Much assist-
ance may also be obtained by comparing the cases
that come before religious instructors, with the re-
corded experience of matured Christians, who have
themselves been versant in similar scenes. And here
again we cannot help earnestly directing the attention
of our readers to the works already specified, as
beyond all comparison the most valuable of such
writings.
As we regard excitement as by no means essential
to, though extremely natural in, a revival, we would
also suggest the necessity of using all care to temper,
guide, and keep it in moderation. This is the more
necessary, inasmuch as the inexperienced and the
warm-hearted are peculiarly liable to regard the
excitement as itself the conversion—to be elated in
proportion as it prevails, and dejected as it abates.
Much of the excitement, as we have shown, is purely
human, arising from the principle of sympathy, and
likely to pass away when the circumstances which called
forth are removed or terminate. On it, therefore,
no dependence can be placed. But there may be also
XXVI1 PREFACT.

very considerable excitement caused by the mighty

change of passing from death to life—from old things
passing away, and all things becoming new. Should
it be of this character, its effects will be permanent,
but all of it which was due to the novelty of the work,
and of the sensations then first experienced within
the soul, will necessarily abate, and the mind subside
into a peaceful and calm serenity. This abatement,
however, may alarm the young convert, causing him
to think he 1s relapsing into his former deadness of
heart and searedness of conscience. Such an one
should be taught, that the natural progress of the
divine life in the soul is indicated by the very arrange-
ment of the words of the inspired Apostle, ‘‘joy and
peace in believing.” ‘‘Joy” is the first stage of
‘* believing ;” its matured result is ‘‘ peace.”’
This may be easily shown. When the mind has
been convinced of its utter sinfulness, of its lost con-
dition, both by nature and by its own wickedness—
when it has tried every fallacious resource, and found
no relief from its guilty terror—when something like
despair seems darkening down above and all around it,
can the prospect of deliverance be obtained without
exciting an eager thrill of hope, and a fervent desire
to secure the offered salvation? And when the Holy
Spirit frees the soul from the fetters of iniquity—when
ile takes of the things that are Christ’s and shows
them to the simner—when He unites him to the Re-
deemer, and enables him to address God as his
heavenly Father; who may express the unutterable
rapture that bursts upon the soul—the rush of new life
and new sensations that pervades the whole being—
the glow of conscious immortality that burns within
the heart, and shoots its living energy through every
fibre of the trembling frame! But this condition can-
not last; and it were not well that it should. When
the whoie inner man has experienced the transforming
efficacy of the gospel faith and promises,—when a new
direction of all the powers of the mind has obtained
the ascendancy so completely as to characterise the
general course of thought, word, and action; the soul
will then begin to entertain a rational happiness, a
calm delight, a peaceful piety, still more consistent
 PREFACE. Xxvii
with the spirit of the gospel, and of its meek and holy
Author, than was the troubled joy which poured its
impetuous torrent on the heart of the convert when
he was first called into new light and life. Let not,
then, the young, the excitable, and the imaginative,
either be exalted over-much on account of having en-
joyed such raptures,or expect them to continue orbe
frequently renewed with undiminished vividness. Let
them not pine and be depressed because such trans-
ports are no longer experienced and enjoyed. Let
them rather forget those things that are behind, and
press forward to those that are before; and let them
learn that ‘‘ peace’is the proofof a more advanced
stage in the Christian life than ‘‘joy;’’ nay, is the
Fruit of which joy is only the seed—is the end to which
the other is only the conducting means.
But it isnot expedient for us to prosecute this line
of discussion into the almost innumerable topics which
present themselves, equally deserving observation.
To do so would be to write a treatise on revivals, in-
steadof a few remarks, introductoryto a course of
lectures in which the whole subject is discussed fully
and with great ability. Still there is one topic to
which we must, however briefly, advert. The state
and aspect of the times, fraught with the elements of
peril and commotion, give a feeling of importance to
the subject of revivals of religion which it might
otherwise not have been thought to possess. The
reality of the importance indeed cannot be increased,
but men’s perception of it may; and the condition of
our country, and of the world, is such, that all men
anticipate a period near at hand, marked by mighty
events, and productive of changes of incalculable
potency for evil or for good. Never, probably, were
such mighty agencies at once in such a state of rest-
less and conflicting action. It seems as if some
universal convulsion were on the point of bursting
forth, to wrench and shake asunder the entire fabric
of society throughout the world, and to cast the shat-
tered fragments into the boiling vortex of confusion,
that they may be utterly broken to pieces, fused, and
blended together, preparatoryto the formation of a
completely new order of things out of the dissevered
XXVIN PREFACE.

and chaotic ruins. No principles or laws, civil or

political, seem to have any power to avert the dire con-
vulsion. All who think deeply on the subject are
alike persuaded, that none but an Almighty hand can
check the progress of the demoralising and dissociat-
ing principles which are at present working with such
fearful energy in the very heart of the community.
In the midst of these portentous omens, nothing could
re-assure and calm our minds but the cheering hope,
the heart-confirming belief, that God had not utterly
forsaken us. And nothing could have given us this
assurance of hope, but some unusual manifestation of
His gracious presence, such as He has been pleased to
grant by ‘‘reviving His work in the midst of the
years, and in wrath remembering mercy.”
By the Church of Scotland, especially, should this
glorious event, th's time of refreshing from the pre-
sence of the Lord, be hailed with the deepest gratitude
and holy love, as peculiarly a token for good. Sur-
rounded by fierce enemies, and half forsaken by cold
alienated friends, it seemed, indeed, to her a day of
gloom spread on the mountains. But God hath
visited her in the day of her depression. She has not
been permitted, under the fear of man, to rend with
her own hand, the Solemn Covenant, dyed in the blood
of her martyred sons, of other days. She has been
divinely enabled to maintain and re-assert the undi-
vided supremacy of Christ, her only Head and King
and Lord; and He has not forsaken her, nor will for-
sake, though days of darker gloom should lower over,
and storms of fiercer peril rage around her. The
shout of her King is again heard in the midst of her
holy places; and while her sons are still girt in their
defensive panoply, her daughters are beginning to
raise their grateful songs of deliverance.
Yet, let us join trembling with our gladness. The
storm has not spent—has not even, we apprehend, yet
mustered—all its might. The revival which God has
been pleased to grant to our earnest prayers, may be
intended to convey to us a two-fold message—both a
pledge of final victory, and a warning to prepare for
a sterner conflict. It may be, that the furnace into
which we are about to be cast, will be heated seven
 PREFACE. XX1X

times more than it was wont to be heated, and, there-

fore, has an unusual manifestation of the presence and
the power of our Saviour been vouchsafed, to prepare
us for and to preserve us during the fiery trial.
Therefore would we earnestly urge all, to receive with
open heart and willing mind, the message of the Lord
in all the fulness of its import—to take to them the
whole armour of God, and stand watchful and pre-
pared—to avail themselves of the spiritual nourish-
ment thus so timeously offered, as if they heard a
voice saying to them, as did the angel to Elijah,
‘* Hat, because the journey is too great for thee,” and
thus to go forward, ready alike for the vineyard or the
wilderness, fearing the Lord and void of all other fear.
Our readers will readily perceive, that the topic to
which we have last adverted has special reference to
the recent remarkable manifestation of divine grace
—the work of the Holy Spirit at Kilsyth. Most of
them will know also, that in consequence of the very
deep interest excited in the public mind respecting
the time of refreshing with which that favoured por-
tion of the Lord’s vineyard had been visited, it was
thought expedient that a course of lectures should be
delivered in Glasgow on the subject of Revivals of
Religion, for the purpose of communicating right
views and removing prejudices on that all-important
topic. The volume now produced in a collected form
is the result of that, determination; and when it is re-
membered with what deep interest crowded audiences
listened to these lectures, and how extensively they
have been circulated as they issued in a periodical
form from the press, it cannot be doubted that they
have been already instrumental in dispelling error,
and conveying truth to the minds of many. To the
thoughtful and enquiring reader the work will be
found one of great and varied interest and informa-
tion, embracing a wide range of religious views con-
nected with the subject of revivals, and presenting
these in all the pleasing diversities of style employed
by so many different authors. The lectures, indeed,
exhibit almost a system of theology specifically adapted
to a peculiar aspect of the community and state of
religion among professing Christians. And we can-
XXX PREFACE.

not well imagine any person perusing them with due

attention, without feeling himself often compelled to
put to his own soul such searching questions as these
—‘‘Am not [ also guilty in this matter?” ‘‘ Do not
Talsoneed in this respect a great revival?” ‘Have I
felt and acted on these points as I ought to have
done?” If thus our own hearts condemn us, what
shall we answer to Him who searcheth the heart, and
who alone can fully know its deceitfulness and des-
perate wickedness? Surely, surely each and .all,
ministers and private Christians alike, must feelit to be
their urgent and paramount duty to ‘‘ pray without
ceasing”’ if peradventure God will yet return and look
upon this vine which His own right hand planted, and
water it abundantly in this His dayof merciful and
gracious visitation.
It will not be expected, that the writer of these
preliminary remarks should presume to express any
opinion concerning the respective merits of these lec-
tures. Of that every reader will best judge for him-
self; and some will be disappointed. Many will,
doubtless, turn with warmest interest to that of. Mr.
Burns of Kilsyth, in consequence of his personal con-
nection with the remarkable. revival which was the
originating cause of these valuable productions. .To
those who cannot readily dissociate the idea of exces-
sive excitement from that of a revival of religion, the
perusal of the above named candid, calm, and judici-
ous lecture will, we trust, prove highly beneficial, and
may tend to relieve their mental vision from some of
their most blinding or distorting prejudices. But
enough. The main object of these introductory re-
marks was, to attempt to reduce the complex term
‘* Revival of religion,” to its simplest elements, that
all parties might understand as: clearly as possible
what it really was which they were either presuming
to assail, or preparing to defend. If that has been in
any tolerable measure accomplished, our present task
is done; and the reader will be somewhat the better
prepared to commence the perusal of the instructive,
convincing, and excellent series of lectures on the
Revival of Religion, to which he is thus introduced.
We MOH:
 ON THE

REVIVAL OF RELIGION.
LECTURE LI.
The Nature of a Religious Revival—State of Religion
requiring it— Effects which it is calculated to
produce in the Church and on the World — Vindi-
cation from Misapprehension and Prejudice.
BY THE REV. JOHN BONAR,
MINISTER OF LARBERT AND DUNIPACE.

** And I will make them, and the places round about my hill, a blessing ; and
I will cause the shower to come down in his season: there shall be showers
of blessing,’ —EZEKIEL, XXXiv, 26.

WE meet this evening in very peculiar circumstances.

For some years past there has been a growing impres-
sion on the minds of many of God’s people, that “ it
was time to seek the Lord, that he might rain righ-
teousness.” Some suitable means were adopted: the
attention of the church was earnestly called to the sub-
ject by public discourses; the records of what glorious
things the Lord had wrought amongst us, and which our
fathers had told us of, were recovered from neglect,
and sent through the length and breadth of the laud ;
the Lord’s people were stirred up to private, to family,
to united, and to public prayer for this special object;
and perhaps there was no christian family and no chris-
tian church in the land in which there was not constant
prayer made that the Lord would “visit and refresh his
heritage, which was weary.”
But, like Peter on the mount of Transfiguration, we
knew not well what we said; and when, by fearful
things in righteousness, the Lord answers our prayers,
2 ON THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION.

we are afraid at his tokens. The time prayed for has

begun to appear—the day longed for has broken—
the windows of heaven have rained at least on some
fleeces long spread in dryness; and many are surprised.
Like the disciples of old, when Jesus stood in the midst
of them, we know not that this is He, and are affrighted
as if we had seen a spirit. Like the church at Jerusa-
lem, when prayer was made without ceasing for the
imprisoned apostle, we cannot believe that the fetters of
iron are broken, that the prison doors are open, that the
great iron gate has been rolled back,and that the answer
to our prayers standeth at the door. Our eye, has
been so dimmed with decay, and worn out with the
false glare of deathly times, that now, when realities
burst upon us, they seem as if they were the shadows.
It is as when we first look on the face of the dead, so
different from all that we could ever have conceived it
to be before,—or rather it is as if we had been permitted
to look on the reality of the valley of vision while the
bones gathered one to another, and the sinews of
flesh crept upon them, and at length “the wind blew
where it listed, and we heard the sound thereof, but
knew not whence it came or whither it went,” but
saw the dead arise a living host, and stand up an ex-
ceeding great army of God. The veil has been sud-
denly withdrawn from the awful state of dead souls
—the quickening power of the Spirit has suddenly
passed over them ; the “ dew of those who dwelt in the
dust,” which so long slept on them cold and chill, has
become ‘‘the dew of herbs;” the Breath divine has
breathed on them; and while yet we looked on the cold
face of death, the motions of spiritual life have sprung
into being.
Standing thus betwixt the living and the dead—all
the settled though before veiled forms of death brought
out to the light of day—new life appearing all around
in youth, in age, and even in childhood—dust and ashes
heaving with multiplied forms of that new creation
which comes from and tends towards heaven—the cloud
overshadowing ourselves, and the big heavy drops of
rain giving tokens of a plentiful shower—we do feel
peculiar need of the prayers of all to uphold us, and of
 ON THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 3

the grace of God to enable us to speak as we ought to

dase and as may not retard but advance the work of
70d.
But even though, in answer to such prayers, those
who are tu minister in this service should be enabled
to speak in some measure as they ought to speak—we
must not expect the full sympathy of all those who
may take a deep interest in the subject. Like the land
of the literal Canaan,’ this promised land looks small
when viewed in the midst of the nations, and measured
by the distant look of the eye of man. He that would
know the glory of that land must dwell in the midst of
it, wander over its plains, rest on its green mountains,
and listen to its many waters. It is in this as in the
literal Zion. The casual and careless passer is disap-
pointed, and even astonished, and says, “ Is this the city
that men called the perfection of beauty—the
joy of the
whole earth?” But he who will even yet wait to tell
hertowers and mark her bulwarks—to look on the moun-
tains which are round about Jerusalem—to ascend the
side of Olivet and look on the city crowning the hill of
Zion, sees that the half has not been told him, and that
he cannot tell the half again.? So he that would know
€ Another thing that has struck me is the vast extent of this
land (Palestine). I expected to find it a small country, and that
we could go from one end of it to another in a very short time.
But such is the nature of this country, that it is both very small
and very large. If it were a plain, as you see it on the map, it
would be of small extent; but it is a land filled with mountains
from one end to another. There is the vast plain of Esdraelon
and the undulating plain of Jephtha, and the rose-covered plain
of Sharon, and the waste valley of Aijalon; still it is a land of
mountains. This makes the distance from place to place very
great. In going to Jerusalem we wended up among the hills of
Judah, and ascended a ravine for four hours. The finest rocks
were overhead, the greenest of wild trees—olives of great size and
beauty—wild flowers of delightful fragrance—singing Lirds making
sweet melody, and the voice of the turtle filling the air.—Jfanu-
script Letter of the Rev. Mr. M‘Cheyne.
2 Of all places Jerusalem is the chief in interest. At first you
do not perceive its peculiar felicity of situation, and are struck
only with its position amidst hil]s that shut it securely, making
it a fit type of God’s church. . . . . At the same time you
are ready to feel as if every thing about it was very diminutive.
But this entirely passes away in going from piace to place and
A ON THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION.

the glory of “a field which the Lord hath blessed,” must

not only hear of it but see it—must not only see it with
the eye ofa casual gazer, but with the enlightened eye
of a believing partaker—not only visit it as a passer-by,
but must himself look on the high imaginations and
proud thoughts which the word, mighty through God,
has brought low, and himself worship amidst the temples
which are builded out of these ruins, habitations of
God by the Spirit.
Still something to induce to this—something to stir
us up to seek these realities amongst ourselves, and to
mourn their absence—may be produced by a full and
connected view of what the land contains. Wisely
and worthily therefore have those, who so often called
you to hear what each servant had of himself to say of
the Lord’s work, taken the map into their own hand,
and, according to the measure of grace given to them,
have laid out the land, and called each servant to
occupy the place assigned to him. O that we may be
enabled as faithful witnesses to bring such a good
report of the land—such grapes of Eschol—as may not
only make men pause and wonder and admire, “but
go up to the land, and, in the name of the Lord, to
possess it.”
This subject, like all other great andimportantsubjects,
has this disadvantage to deal with, that it consists of a
great variety of parts; and that they only can have a full
and comprehensive view of it who will patiently examine
these parts separately, and then allow them to return
as a whole in their full impression on the mind. That
part which we are now to enter on, “ The nature of a
religious revival, the state of religion requiring it, the
seeing each locality in its proper view. After we had been two
days in Jerusalem, we wondered every thing had not impressed us
more at the first. Taken in a mass, the objects appeared small,
and the hills round the city.and the beautiful situation seemed
only like some other remarkable spots. But, taken one by one,
eacti gave the impression of its peculiar excellence. As we went
round about mount Zion, the eminence of that hill soon struck
our view ; and as we went to the valley of Jehoshaphat and looked
up to Moriah, that hill seemed really worthy to be the site of
such a temple as Solomon’s.— Rev. Mr. Bonar, Home and Foreign
Missionary Record, p. 34.
 NATURE OF A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. i)

effects which it is fitted to produce in the church and

on the world, with the misapprehensions and prejudices
which lie against such a work,” is large and important,
and as it more or less enters into all the rest, it is the
more necessary distinctly to state what it chiefly con-
templates in virtue of which it has a separate and de-
fined place for itself.
In speaking therefore of the Nature of a Revival, we
will not now enter particularly into the origin and pro-
gress of revivals, nor yet into the symptoms or aspects
of revival times,! but simply seek to point out wherein
such a revival properly consists—what it is that con-
stitutes a time of refreshing as distinguished from
any other time, and so to ascertain the real nature of
thatwhich we seek to advance. In speaking of the
state of religion requiring it, our business will be not so
much to enter into the present state of the church, in
all its interesting details, as generally to consider the
state of religion requiring a revival.* In considering
the effects which a revival of religion is fitted to pro-
duce in the church and on the world, our object must be,
not to describe the symptoms and fruits of any particu-
lar revival, but the effects which such a dispensation of
grace is fitted to produce wherever it appears ;? and,
finally, in vindicating from misapprehension and pre-
judice, we will not deal with the objections which lie
against the details of the work of revival,* but those
only which lie against the whole thing in its great
leading features. The nature of a revival as thus
restricted, the state of religion requiring it, the effects
which it is calculated to produce in the church and on
the world, with a vindication from such general mis-
apprehensions and prejudice as lie against the whole
work—these then are the important subjects which lie
before us.
I. Then, as to the nature of a revival.
(1.) The very expression speaks of life—of life
possessed, or of life offered—but of life decaying,
or gone from where it once was, or not found where
it should be. The quickening to newness of life where
' Lecture x, 2 Lecture xiii. 3 Lecture xi.
4 Lectures xii and xiii.
6 NATURE OF A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL.

life has once been, and been in vigour, is there-

fore the first and most obvious meaning of a revival;
and that which ordinarily first marks its approach to
any place or church. It is a just and true saying
amongst the people of God, that a revival must begin
in their own souls; and although we are not to limit
the Holy One of Israel, yet beyond all question, ordi-
narily, as we have said, a revival first appears there.
When the church is made to hear the voice of the Lord,
“Strengthen the things that remain, which are ready
to die”—*“ Behold I come quickly; be zealous therefore
and repent ””—when she is led to mourn over her past
deadness, and turn again to the Lord her God—when a
new power and life is felt in secret, in family, and in
public prayer—when enlarged views of Divine truth
are opened up, and an enlarged experience of its reality
is possessed by them, then is there a revival begun.
‘““When thou art converted,” said the Lord to Peter,
“strengthen thou thy brethren.” There is then a second
conversion, which even an apostle may need—there is
a second revival, by which all things are made new,
even to the new creature. There is a newness of life
which, though it comes to life already in existence,
is “life from the dead ”—when the Lord’s people are
all prophets—when “he that is feeble among them shall
be as David, and the house of David as the angel of
the Lord before them.” Now when this is the case in
any church, then is a time of revival begun—a time of
revival very full of blessing in itself, and very full of
promise of larger blessings still. ‘This is the first
troubling of the waters which tells that the angel of
mercy is come down—the rising of the spring that will
reach to earth’s distant and desert places—the breaking
of the day whose onward course shall reach many a
habitation of darkness far removed from its first dawn.
(2.) Beyond the people of God, the living members
of the church, and as it were around them, and yet be-
twixt them and the more openly careless and contemp-
tuous, there is a cold and dreary region, not only of
decay, but of death—an outer ring of darkness, under
the cloud of which souls are passing in countless
numbers to eternity. The shadows of life indeed are
 NATURE OF A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 7

on it—the imitative aspect and acts of life are there—

the dry bones are gathered together, and clothed with
sinews and with flesh—but death reigns still—death all
the more hideous for these very acts and attitudes of
imitative life. “These are they who have a name to
live while they are dead—a profession of religion, but
not its living principles—a form of godliness, but not
the power of godliness—on whose dark and stiff eye-
balls the light shines, but the darkness comprehendeth
it not. Now when that light not only shines on the
darkness, but enters in and chases it away—when the
Breath divine breathes on these cold and dead ones,
and they become living souls; and when thus, those who
have long been satisfied with such an empty formal
profession, find its vanity, feel its sin, see its danger,
and seek the reality—then it is that the second great
feature of revival appears—the exchange of the form of
godliness for its living power—the coming of life where
life has never been, notwithstanding the long and fond
profession of it.
(3.) But beyond this dark and cheerless domain of
“living death” there is a still darker circle, outwardly
at least exhibiting more of that night of eternal death,
into the blackness of which it is ever delivering its awful
burden of lost souls—the world that lieth in the arms
of the wicked one—baptized it may be, but as unbap-
tized by the Spirit as the veriest heathen—calling them-
selves by the Holy name of God, but in works dis-
honouring and denying him. Alas! this kingdom of
acknowledged death is a wide-spread domain indeed.
It is not confined to the precincts of any valley. We
must ascend the highest mountain, traverse the widest
continent, and visit the remotest islands to know any
thing of the length and breadth of that dark empire
over which spiritual death reigns triumphant. But
when the light of life enters there also—when the
secure are shaken in their refuges of lies—when the con-
temptuous are brought to the despised ministers of
Jesus, saying, “What shall we do?”—when the careless
or profane come to the house of God and hear as for
eternity—when, in a word, “the wicked is turned from
his wickedness, and the unrighteous man from his
 8 NATURE OF A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL.

thoughts,” then the third great feature appears wh.ch

may serve to direct us as to the nature of revival in re-
ligion.
But not every instance, nor every number of instances
of such things, can be looked upon as a revival. Where-
ever the Gospel is faithfully preached—wherever there
are those who, after “they have heard the word of the
truth of the Gospel, have trusted. in it”—there, from day
to day and from time to time, individual souls are
quickened to newness of life, and sealed by new and
precious influences of the Holy Spirit unto the day of
redemption. It is only when such instances multiply
apace—when another and another of God’s people are so
quickened and refreshed—when the leaven springs and
seeks to leaven the whole lump—when the body of be-
lievers, being brought nigh to the living Head, are
brought nigh to each other in holy love—it is only
when some approach to this is vouchsafed to any place
or people that we can speak of the time as a time of
revival to them.
So also with respect to the conversion of sinners.
Blessed be God, his word does not return void at any
time, but does accomplish that whereunto it is sent.
Wherever the Gospel is preached, some humbled
penitents under the sanctified rod of God—some care-
less professors under the living power of the truth, are
from time to time led by the Spirit to “ask the way to
Zion, with their faces thitherward.” But it is only when
these are no longer single and solitary, but multiplied
and gathered—when many seek to enter and are able,
through Christ who strengtheneth them—when, if it be
not “daily,” itis yet “greatly” that there is added to the
church of such as shall be saved—it is only then that
the time, in reference to the unconverted, can be called
a time of revival.
Yes! in all times of the church, precious flowers are
brought out of the wilderness, and planted in the Lord’s
vineyard; but in times of refreshing some portion of
the wilderness itself blossoms as the rose. In all times
another and another is arrested by the arrow of con-
viction, and, separated like the “stricken deer,” sits
alone and is silent in deep concern for his soul; but in
 NATURE OF A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 9

time of refreshing the flock seek to the Shepherd as

gathered together by his hand. Always there are trees
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord; but in these
times they spring up quickly, graciously, spreadingly,
and humbly, as willows by the water courses. In the
worst times there are yet souls escaping from the storm
and tempest, and hiding in the cleft of the Rock of
ages; but in these times the words of the prophet are
fulfilled, “Who are these that fly as a cloud—as doves
to their windows?” So was it at Pentecost, when three
thousand received the word gladly, and were added to
the church. So was it at Samaria, when Philip preached
Christ unto them, many believed, ‘and there was great
joy in that city.” So was it when the glad tidings of the
Gospel reached each dark and distant land by its first
heralds. So wasit at the Reformation, when such glorious
accessions were made to the kingdom of Christ. So in our
own land—(one of the fairest daughters of the Reforma-
tion, alas! how marred in her visage now, )when a nation
was born ina day.’ And so in every subsequent re-
vival of the Lord’s work the same glorious truth has
been made to produce the same glorious results.
Viewed then with respect to the church, a time of
revival is a time of newness oflife. Viewed with respect
to the world, whether professing or openly careless, it is
a time of multiplied conversions. Multiplied conver-
sions is the great outstanding characteristic of a time of
revival. Multitudes, multitudes lying dead in the
valley of vision find that it becomes to them the valley
of decision: The windows of heaven are opened, and
© The Church of Scotland nath been singularamong the churches,
For, Ist. It is to be admired that,—whereas in other nations the
Lord thought it enough to convert a few in a city, village, or
family to himself, leaving the greater part in darkness, as it
was in France and Poland; or perchance the magistracy and
greater part of the people, as it was in Germany, the Low
Countries and in England,—in Scotland, the whole nation was
converted by lump: and within ten years after popery was dis-
charged in Scotland; there was not ten persons of quality to be
found in it who did not profess the true reformed religion, and so
it was among the commons in proportion. Lo! here a nation
born in one day—yea, moulded into one congregation, and sealed
as a fountain with a solemn oath and covenant.—Kirkton, p. 22,
10 NATURE OF A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL.

sudden plenty of Divine communications is poured

forth: While yet the dreariness of winter seemed al-
most unbroken, the winter is past and the summer is
come: Graces long languishing rise to newness of
life—fruits long lingering advance to sound and sudden
progress; souls long halting are brought to a blessed
and present decision: The kingdom of heaven comes,
“and every man presseth into it’—“the Son of Man
is lifted up,” and anew draws all men to him. “In those
days and in that time the children of Israel come—they
and the children of Judah éogether, going and weeping
as they go—and seek the Lord their God; they ask
the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward, saying,
Come and let usjoin ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual
covenant that shall not be forgotten.”
Such being the true nature of a Revival of Religion,
it will at once be seen how essentially and broadly it
stands distinguished from much that has often been
confounded with it. It is not only excitement, but ex-
citement which has to do with the soul and its prospects
for eternity. It is not only anxiety, but anxiety awak-
ened by the truth, and seeking its resolution in the
knowledge of that truth. It is not only a time when
many say they are converted, but when multitudes
show that they are converted. In a word, by the
purity of the doctrine taught, by the spirituality of
the effect produced in the soul, as well as by the gra-
cious results in the life and conversation, does a time of
true refreshing show itself; and by them is such a time
for ever distinguished from those seasons of excitement
which many have sought to confound them with. It
will be the more especial duty of him who discourses
of the means of a revival, to show how every revival
is by means of the truth. Meanwhile it is only neces-
sary simply to say, that the Spirit of God in such a
time, as certainly as in the calmest assembly or most
secret closet, works by “the truth as it is in Jesus ;’—
that all the effects which mark such a season, whether
of conversion or of quickening, are accomplished in the
soul by leading it to enlarged views of Divine truth;
and that in this respect, as in all others, such a revival
is distinguished from that mere excitement of the mind
 STATE OF RELIGION REQUIRING A REVIVAL. lI

which may be and has,been often brought to the high-

est pitch by the things which the natural man can re-
ceive—by the lying miracles of a supposed saint, by the
glories of a crusade, or by the follies of an enthusiast
In all such cases, the ignorance of the truth, the pre-
sence of actual error, or the sad and natural fruit of
such in the conduct and conversation, showed at once
that the work was not of God but of men; nay, not of
man alone, but of man as led captive by him who can
and will change himself into any similitude, even into
that of an angel of light, to deceive souls and keep them
from the truth.
II. Such being the nature of a revival, it will not be
difficult for us to appreciate the state of religion which
most requires it—which at once demonstrates it as most
needful, and yet declares it far away, unless it be brought
nigh by much prayer and the outpouring of the Spirit
in answer thereof. So long as the Church is weighed
down by a body of sin—so long as there is in all her
members a law in the flesh which warreth against the
law of the mind—so long as without ceasing there arises
from her the voice of distress, “Oh wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death |”
the enlightening, convincing, and converting influences
of the Spirit will be -required at each step of her pro-
gress through the wilderness. And so long as the world
remains a valley of the shadow of death, every where
times of revival will be required—every where needed
—every where to be sought.
But yet there ave times when a revival is more in-
stantly required, and should be more anxiously sought.
If, for instance, in any place or at any time, men who
had long heard the gospel, and it may be long enjoyed
special privileges, should become not only careless, but
confident in their carelessness; not only negligent of
the word of God, but contemptuous of it; not only
doubters or rejecters, but scoffers of God’s holy truth;
—if things present and temporal fill every avenue and
employ every power of their immortal mind, and this
be boasted of as true wisdom;—if every question re-
ceives a readier hearing than the question of their own
state towards God ;—if as often as it is pressed upon them
12 STATE OF RELIGION

it is adjourned and disposed of as if there was nothing

in the world which should cost a man less trouble, or
which he might more safely postpone to the future ;—
if with a retention of more of the forms of religion,
Divine truth has lost the hold it once had over men’s
minds, Divine ordinances have ceased to have even
the power which they once had among them, and they
walk in the midst of them, yea touch and taste and
handle them with the coldness of a second death, more
deep than heathenism itself: or finally, if this coldness
has stretched its night-shade over the Church herself,
and the things which remain are ready to die in her
very bosom—if she has become careless of purity of
doctrine and relaxed in purity of discipline—if she
seek to accommodate her teaching to the ever-shifting
spirit of the age, and her practice to the taste of a world
that knows not her Lord—If these and such like dis-
mal features mark the state of religion in any place or
time, then, beyond all question, at that time and in that
place there is a peculiar necessity for all who love the
Lord and the souls of men to seek a time of revival.
Where Satan holds his seat most firmly there is most
need for the power of Jehovah to be revealed. Where
darkness is most visible, there it is most desirable to
penetrate with the light of life. Where men have most
grieved the Spirit of God, most quenched his influences,
most striven against them, there is it most needful that
he should not depart lest all should utterly perish in
their own corruption.
And these I fear are the great leading features of
our own times to a very awful and alarming extent.
Infidelity — cold, careless, and inhuman as it is
God-denying—is boldly avowed by many. The Gos-
pel is openly classed by such with the bygone im-
postures of a departing age; all its power is looked
on as the deceit of men; and all its claims as only new
attempts to enthrall the human mind. And such infi-
delity is wide-spread as it is deadly: If its lurid lights
have been put out or concealed in the high places of
the earth, they have found their way in ten thousand
groveling and polluted channels to the dense and
crowded streets of the busy, the dark lanes of the poor,
 REQUIRING A REVIVAL. 13

and even the dismal dwellings of unprovided disease;

and there, triumphing in the miseries she inflicts and
the ruin she has wrought, she sits in mockery of her
victims, and hears with bitter scorn their fears and
cries, as, shivering and bereft of hope, they enter eter-
nity, now too near to be denied, and too terrible to be
trifled with.
Even where such things are repudiated, and men
cling to the forms of religion, the power is often denied
and often scorned too. The peculiar doctrines of
Christianity are set aside as doctrines not now to be
insisted on; her most essential truths are explained
away as unmeaning or unnecessary ; and no real credit
is given to her most distinct and reiterated statements
as to the eternal condition of man, and the connection
which God has established betwixt the rejection or re-
ception of the Gospel and that eternal condition.
Meanwhile multitudes everywhere are entirely taken
up with what they shall eat and what they shall drink: to
get gain, to get honour, to get advancement to them-
selves or their families, is the one thing needful for them.
The success of their party, or even the distant move-
ments of the nations of the earth, awaken a deeper inte-
rest in them from day to day, than the concerns of their
own soul or the interests of Christ’s kingdom in the
world. And hence in many families and in many dwel-
lings the Periodical of the day has banished the Bible
and Catechism from the breakfast table of the rich and
from the leisure hour of the poor.
And the Church of Christ—his professing and his
real people—has been deeply affected by the atmos-
phere with which she has been surrounded, and in
which she has too much lived and breathed. Her light
has become dim and unsteady ; her trumpet has given
an uncertain sound; her unity has become broken,
and her enemies have triumphed over her. We have
our Sabbaths, our ordinances, our sacraments ; but

‘ Fifty years ago it was common for the nailors of a village

well known to the author, to work with the Confession of Faith
stuck up on an iron stand in the midd'e of their block, and to
read and converse on chapter after chapter. The stand is still
there, but the Newspaper occupies the place of the Confession.
14 STATE OF RELIGION

how little are these Sabbaths, days of the Lord—these

ordinances, Divine ordinances—these means, means of
grace! We have no famine of the word of the Lord ;
and yet we have leanness of soul. We have no want
of profession; and yet we have the presence of spiri-
tual weakness or decay. The broad features of dis-
tinction by which the Church is called to be separated
from the world, have by many been frittered down to
meet the tastes and secure the pleasures of the world ;
and everywhere in their business, in their families,
in their pursuits, in their pleasures, in their honours,
the professed people of God have lamentably con-
formed to that world from which Christ came to redeem
them.
Even the living members of Christ’s church have too
much come to hover about the outside of the temple,
and not to enter into that which is within the veil. Thus
standing without, their mind does not take that deep
and firm grasp of the truth which would produce the
full experience of its power. They know neither the
depths of Satan whereby men are deceived, nor the
depths of Divine fulness out of which they may receive
grace to trample Satan under their feet. They do not put
on the whole armour
of God, and hence, inthe day of trial,
they are sorely worsted by the fiery darts of the evil
one. They are not strong in the Lord and in the power
of his might, and therefore they are weakened in their
way, and overcome of evil at almost every step. Every
where we have the proof, and in most places the con-
fession, that we “are consumed away with a perpetual
consumption ;” “ but no man stirreth himself up to take
hold of God.”
If ever, then, there was a nation, if ever there was
a church, if ever a state of the church, which required
a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, ours
is that time, ours that church; and perhaps never, since
the words of the holy psalmist breathed out for himself
and the people of God in his time, the desire of his
heart, has there been a time when it was more fit for
all who love the Lord to unite together in that earnest
prayer, “Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven and behold and visit this vine,
 REQUIRING A REVIVAL. 15

and the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted,

and the Branch that thou madest strong for thyself.”
“Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee
concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy
mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast
afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
Let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory
unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord
our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of
our hands upon us; yea the work of our hands establish
thou it.”
III. But the state of religion requiring a religious
revival, and the desirableness of such a time at the
present for ourselves, will be more fully manifest by
considering the effects which it is calculated to pro-
duce on the world and in the church: And these will
be best seen by considering separately, First, The
effects in the church, and, Secondly, The effects on
the world.
Ist. Here then I would observe first of all, that such
a revival of true religion meets the darkness and dead-
ness which comes over the Church in times of de-
cay. In such times the designs, desires, and doings
of the Church are apt to become to a lamentable extent
low set. Contented with things as they are, she
stretches not forward to the things that are before.
The Spirit seems gone; and even the things which re-
main are ready to die. But when a time of revival
comes, the Lord again says, “Let there be light:”
The Spirit of the Lord again moves on the face of the
waters, and the freshness and beauty of the new crea-
ture comes furth. The very page of nature seems more
full of God ;! the very words of Scripture seem written
with a new light and glory and fulness and meaning.*
*¢ All things abroad, the sun, moon, and stars, the heavens
and the earth, appear as it were with a cast of Divine glory and
sweetness upon them.”— Edwards’ Narrative, page 34.
2 Persons “after their conversion often speak of religious
things as seeming newtothem. . . . . that the Bible is
a new book; they find there new chapters, new psalms, new
histories, because they see them in a new light.” —Edwards’
Narrative, page 43.
16 STATE OF RELIGION

Not only are the means of grace earnestly resorted to,

but such Divine power attends them as neither earth nor
hell! can resist; and souls are led through all their doubts
to peace and joy in believing. The great doctrines of
salvation stand forth in bold relief as all in all: Man’s
need of Christ,—the power and willingness of Christ to
save,—the efficacy of his atonement, and the freeness of
the gospel offer, which men satisfied with themselves,
had ceased to feel the value of, are found to be that
which alone meets the necessities of perishing men:
The righteousness of Christ,—acceptance in the sight of
God, only for his righteousness imputed to us and
received by faith alone, which many of the professed
people of God had set aside as the dogma of a harsh,
metaphysical, and antiquated theology, is found to be
the saving health of the soul, its happiness, its holiness,
its joy : Conversion, regeneration, the work of God’s
Spirit, which the world had almost persuaded us to say
less about, are written anew, great and glorious realities
without which none can enter into the kingdom of
heaven: Peace with God, fellowship with the Father,
and communion with Christ, which men had almost
reasoned out of the chu:ch itself, are known and re-
joiced in as the life and light and liberty of souls.
One of those who have gone forth to seek the outcasts
of Israel in Israel’s own land, says of it, “this land is
an opened Bible.” And so it is: for every stream,
every mountain, every hill, and every valley, confirms
and illustrates the letter of G J’s word. But a “field
which the Lord hath blessed” with a time of refreshing
from his presence is still more gloriously an opened
Bible—not of the letter but of the Spirit.
The things which are written there are done here:
what we heard of by the hearing of the ear in the
word of truth, our eye sees accomplished in the souls
of men by the mighty power of God: Souls are con-
verted by the truth; peace zs found in the blood of
Christ; sins red as crimson are made white as snow;
souls dead in sin are quickened; and sinners long
alienated from and enemies to God are reconciled to
him and stamped with his image: Yes, every converted
soul is a living epistle of Christ—a 1iving epistle, writ-
 REQUIRING A REVIVAL. 17

ten not with ink and pen, but with the Spirit of the
living God. Every one added to the number of such
as shall be saved is a new page in that living epistle,
reflecting brightly the truth and certainty of the Word
which liveth and abideth for ever, —the grace and
glory of the Lord, whose word it is. And every re-
vival therefore, unfolding so many of these pages to be
known and read of all men, is more gloriously than any
thing else on earth can ever be “an opened Bible.” And
the Church, thus looking on the living word and the
living fruit of that life-giving word, cannot sit in dark-
ness, cannot rest in death. She is reproved and con-
founded for all her indifference. She is zealous and
repents, and hastens to do her first works. She wakes
up to hear the glad voice, “O house of Israel, come
and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”
2nd. A time of Revival meets the heartlessness and
hopelessness which comes over the church in times of
decay.
One great cause of this heartlessness is the want of
success, or rather the want of a right improvement of
such a sad state. Conversion has become so rare that
people have almost ceased to look for it—ministers to
seek it as that which must pass upon all—churches to
mourn over the want of it as a deadly symptom of their
state. We live on and on from Sabbath to Sabbath,
and meet and part from time to time, and no awakening
amongst dead souls—no conversion, and yet no deep
sense of the awfulness of such a state is felt. But
when a time of refreshing comes, it both shows the
importance of the thing and the possibility of it. When
another and another and another —and those from
amongst the most hopeless—are apprehended of the
truthand brought back, its glorious trophies; when many
feel that they dare no longer trifle with the concerns of
eternity, and can no longer go on even with the busi-
ness of time till these be settled on a sure foundation;
then the Church is awakened from her lethargy—minis-
ters are roused to feel the dark and destitute state of
every soul that has no interest in Christ, and all who
know the Lord are stirred up to seek the coming of
that kingdom amongst men which is righteousness and
 18 EFFECTS OF A REVIVAL

peace and joy. Then it is both seen and felt that God
can and will convert souls, and that in great numbers
atatime. This itself is of amazing importance, espe-
cially to ministers. It is success in their high calling ;
it is doing business in the great work given them to do;
it is fulfilling the ministry received in the great object
of it towards men ; it gives a business aspect to all that
before seemed so fruitless and so much in vain: and
thus it stirs up to newness of life and newness of ex-
ertion.
It would bea heartless thing for a merchant to stand
all day ready to dispose of his goods, and none to
come in even to ask the price of them. It would be still
more so if he offered without money and without price
the most precious and the most needed possessions, and
allin vain. But hath it not been thus with the servants
as with their Lord?! Have we not gone with the gra-
cious message, and stood and counseled men in vain
“to buy the eye-salve that they might see, the gold
tried in the fire that they might be rich, and the white
raiment which is the righteousness of the saints, that
they might be clothed”? Has not the answer to all
our importunity been a fulfilment of the Lord’s words,
“and straightway they all began to make excuse”? One
goes to his farm, another to his merchandise, and the
precious blessings of the gospel are every where despised
and rejected by those who are perishing for lack: of
them.—O it does require strong faith to exercise the
ministry in such times. Our faith failed, and we thought
our hope had perished from the Lord. Hence the heart-
lessness which had come so darkly over the work of the
ministry, the work of the eldership, and the work of
doing good to souls in general. But when in mercy
the Lord visits us, when he revives his work in the midst
of our days—when Christ is preached and Christ re-
ceived, and there is great joy even in the darkest streets
of our cities and distant dells of our land; then are our
feeble knees strengthened, and our weak hearts con-
firmed ; then is our mouth filled with laughter, and our
tongue with singing: Then say they among the hea-
then, “The Lord hath done great things for them;” and
' Rev. iii, 14—22.
 IN THE CHURCH. 19

then, in deepest humility and most fervent gratitude, do

we answer, “the Lord hath done great things for us,
whereof we are glad.”
3rd. A time of refreshing from the Lord meets the
divisions and distractions which are apt to spring up in
a time of decay.
Never for instance were brethren more unworthily or
unhappily divided than they have been of late. Nowhere
can they be more worthily or happily reconciled than in
the mountain of the Lord’s house, which He hath exalted
above all the mountains of their controversies and
made all nations to flow into it. It is gloriously im-
possible for those who are reconciled to God in Christ
Jesus to be permanently unreconciled to one another,
and a time of revival, bringing out all the great realities
in which they are at one, and sinking all the minor points
on which they are divided, has a blessed tendency to
unite their hearts, and so gradually to unite their hands
in the work of the Lord. O it is sweet to see how in
such a time the holy of all sects and denominations are
invincibly drawn together by the constraining influence
of the “love of the Spirit.” It is sweet to find that
the divided and separated body of Christ is yet one. It
is sweet to discover, beneath the rents at which the
world has so long mocked, cords of love still, which
bind them fast together by binding them all to one great
centre, and that centre Christ. It is sweet to find that
the name of Christ is yet powerful to calm the troubled
waves and hush the howling winds, to still the noise
of the waters and still the tumults of the people. Yes;
His name is as ointment poured forth, very precious,
and in a time of revival, the alabaster box is opened,
and fills the room with its savour. It is like the pre-
cious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the
beard, even Aaron’s beard, and went down to the skirts
of his garments. The oil of gladness descending from
the great High Priest in such times reaches to the
remotest of his people. Then does the Lord fulfill his
of
own word, “I will make with my people a covenant
peace; and I will make them, and the places round
about my hill, a blessing; and I will cause the shower
of
to come down in his season: there shall be showers
20 EFFECTS OF A REVIVAL

blessing.” Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly ; thy

kingdom come, thy will be done, that we all may be one,
and that thine own words may be fulfilled. “ Neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on me through their word: that they all may be
one, as thou Father art in me and I in thee, that they
also may be one in us; that the world may believe that
thou hast sent me.” !
Thus, meeting the deadness which is so apt to creep
over the church—meeting the heartlessness which so
much paralyses her exertions—meeting the distractions
and divisions which lay her so open to the scoff of the
world and consume away her strength—meeting and
removing these by the holy happy influences of the
truth as it is in Jesus—a time of revival advances the
church towards the accomplishment of that high and
holy vocation to which she is called as a witness for
God—as the light of the world. Hitherto she has
only shown what Christianity can hinder, and how it
arrests the tendency to evil in man: She has yet to
show what Christianity can do*—what it can produce
out of the fallen ruins of humanity ; and towards this
every Revival directly and distinctly tends. Separating
believers from the world—brightening in them the
image of God—advancing them towards the stature
of perfect men in Christ Jesus—it tends to raise hu-
man nature, in Him who is at once its partaker and
€ John, xvii, 21.
* “ Ordinary Christians are necessarily of a negative religion.
Their powers and their passions from their childhood have had a
different bent from their late assumed principles. They are di-
vided against themselves; and it is the amount of their victory
to have overcome their rebellious passions, and to have refrained
from evil. They are under two opposing forces, and if not actu-
ally kept at rest, yet their progress is slow. We can judge from
them of what Christianity hinders, but not of the triumphs which
it can ultimate!y effect, nor of the consolations in their abundance
which it can bestow. We would desire to see one like Paul
nearing the goal, whose race is almost won and whose victory is
nearly achieved, on whose brow the garland of victory and im-
mortality is aboat to descend, and on him our minds would rest
as a living and visible, and, while he remained on earth, a con-
tinued miracle, though not so named, because only a moral mi-
racle.—Douglas on Revival of Religion, page 34.
 ON THE WORLD. 21

redeemer, to a height of holiness and happiness as yet

only read of in those prophecies and promises of God
which tell us of the grace and glory afterward to be
revealed. O it is impossible to say how such effects
of true Christianity, no longer scattered over centuries
of barren profession, or shining as lights far removed
from each other as east is distant from the west, but
crowded and shining together like the stars of the milky
way in the dark sky of night, would influence the church
in general—It is impossible to say what newness of
life would pervade all her members; what light and
love, what joy and gladness, would pass from one to
another ; what treasures of wisdom and knowledge
which lie yet unexplored in the deep mines of God’s
word would be brought to light; what new and yet
undiscovered forms of grace and glory would reveal
themselves in God’s people, if He vouchsafed generally
or universally even such times of refreshing as have
come upon peculiar places, as earnests of good things
yet to be poured out upon all.
(2.) But if a time of refreshing be so calculated to
meet the worst aspects of the church, and so to remove
them, it is in this very way also calculated to meet the
most dangerous and alarming symptoms that mark and
mar the moral and spiritual state of the world.
The only book of Christian doctrine or of Christian
evidenccs, which most men can think of reading is the
lives of professed Christians. From these they judge
what it is to be a Christian, and what claims Christianity
hasupon them. Alas, this book has in times past been
indeed dark and deluding: many blots on the fairest
lines; many blanks in the most important passages.
Hence the mockery and triumph of the wicked—hence
the suspicion and murmurin-s of pretended friends.
But when ued sends a time of refreshing to the church
these blots are dried up, these blanks are filled, the lines
of truth become broad and clear,—he who rans may
read; and even he who hates is compelled to acknow-
ledge that there is more here than his cold philosophy
ever dreamed of, or the boasted powers of human na-
ture can either accomplish or account for. Let us look
into this for a moment and glance also at the effects
22 EFFECTS OF A REVIVAL

which a time of revival is fitted to produce upon the

world. }
And, Ist, It meets directly the atheistical spirit of the
world.
There is much atheism which admits the existence of
a God. There is even a boasting of a God which de-
nies the only living and true God. Buta time of revival
meets this deepest atheism, and sends it back astonished
and confounded to its native darkness. It repeats with
invincible power the voice which came from glorious
Sinai, “ Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one God.”
Over every meeting of awakened souls there is written
with the finger of the living God, in flaming letters,
‘“‘ The Lord is in this place and men knew it not; how
dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house
of God.” Arguments will often fail to convince: No
form of reason is so conclusive that a form of reason may
not be found to oppose it: But let the proud reasoner
who would deny the soul, and dispute God out of his
world—come into the midst of those who are dealing
directly with this God ; let him mingle with that deep,
solemn, and impressed company who now feel that the
favour of this God is life, and his wrath worse than
death; let him mingle with those who joy in God
through Jesus Christ, and he will know better than by
a thousand arguments that verily there is a God, yea,
that %t is no vain thing to draw near to him; and so
falling down, will confess that God is in the midst of his
people of a truth.
2nd. A Revival of true religion meets the infidelity
which lurks so deeply, and spreads with such deadly
power in a time of decay.
Nothing tends so much to produce and confirm such
infidelity as the inconsistent lives of professed Chris-
tians. These live so much as if they did not believe
the truth of the Christianity they profess, that those
who wish it to be untrue can, and do with the most un-
happy success, quote their lives as an answer to their
profession, and a denial of their principles. The best
way to meet such infidelity, therefore, is to show that
wherever Christianity is understood and felt, it is a
living and sanctifying principle. It does not do what
 ON THE WORLD. 93

it ought to do, says the careless unbeliever, even in

those who profess it; and goes away as if he had ad-
vanced an invincible argument against the truth of
Christianity ! There are many ways of answering
such a caviler; but without going farther, his cavil is
for ever put to shame when Christianity does accom-
plish what it professes—when it reaches the soul—
when it writes it with a holy love of God—when it calls
it to new joys and hopes in Christ; and when it raises
it above the gross and groveling pleasures where once it
sought and found its delight. No soul! as the rejector
of the Gospel would argue :—The best answer to this
is a company of fellow-creatures, deeply concerned for
the salvation of their immortal souls—feeling the body
and time to be nothing—the soul and eternity to be all.
No Christ !—The best answer to this is a multitude of
fellow-sinners seeking Christ: not able to rest till they
find him; and when they have found him, rejoicing in
him as the pearl of great price, for which they have
willingly sold all. No reality in things divine!—The
best answer to this is just a multitude of rational and
intelligent beings under the deep and lively impression
of divine things, feeling that these are realities—all else
dim, shadowy, and passing.
O if our churches and meetings were filled with such
worshippers, Infidelity would hide her head ashamed,
and would not dare to degrade rational, responsible,
and immortal man to the rank of the beasts that perish.
3. A Revival of Religion meets the carnal security
of the world in a way which nothing else can do.
That security, in virtue of which all earnest concern
and all anxious enquiry is adjourned from day to day,
like the infidelity out of which it so often arises, is not
founded on any reason, but upon the want of all reason.
It has no support but what it gathers from the multitudes
that will have it so—It is carried by the vote of the ma-
jority—and that vote prompted by the passions and ap-
petites, carrying the day over the reason and responsibility
of man. When, therefore, a stand is made for the truth on
principles of truth, alarm is spread amongst these secure
ones. Even one holy person, evidently worshipping God
in spirit and in truth, will send a conviction of the reality
Q4 EFFECTS OF A REVIVAL

of these things over many a careless one, who yet anew

hides his concern, or forgets it amongst the multitudes.
But let another and another be added to this number of
witnesses for God ;—Let these things grow apace till a
time of revival appears;—Let a general and growing
concern pervade a once careless congregation, and the
whole ground of the careless man’s confidence is re-
moved; every new convert is a new alarm to him ;
neutrality becomes impossible, and he must either
harden himself more and more, or be found amongst
those who seek the Lord while yet he may be found.
Yes! a people awakened out of sleep, to look on the
great realities of eternity, anxiously passing from one
to another the question, “ What shall I do to be saved?”
—feeling the value of the soul—realizing the near-
ness of eternity—striving to enter the strait gate—re-
fusing to take comfort which is not based upon the
word of the living God, sealed with the blood of Christ
and applied by the Spirit—and ever and anon another
and another, as the light of the glorious truth shines in
on them, exchanging their mourning for joy—the
spirit of heaviness for the garment of praise: This, this
is the most solemn scene which this earth can witness;
that which most rescues man, and raises him from the
earthly things amidst which he is buried, and stamps
him a being made for God and eternity. The body is
annihilated; the soul is all; the Invisible is seen,
and seen to be Eternal; Spiritual things, before so
shadowy and distant, are felt to be real and near and
urgent: Earthly things, hitherto so important, sink
away into comparative littleness before these great
realities. It is as if the limits of earth and heaven were
partly broken—the veil of flesh partly removed ;—as
if earth and seas had fled, and men felt they were al-
ready standing before the throne of God, to hear the
behest which angels wait to obey. The very atmo-
sphere of such a place breathes a new life—the very
prayers—the very praises—the very sighs and tears of
such a people, all speak of the world men are neglect-
ing—of the souls men are ruining—of the Saviour
men are forgetting. A word will evoke from some
dark heart the concealed and forgotten sins of bygone
 ON THE WORLD. 95

years! The swell of a note of praise will break

a rocky heart* into tears of penitence and prayer;
and again, calm the heaving waves of an agitated
people as by the breath of God’s Spirit;’ the very
aspect of the people hearing as for eternity will arrest
and solemnise.* The simplest statement of the truth will
fall with the power of God upon the soul;° and he is
indeed a very hardened sinner—he may well tremble
for himself, who can pass through this sea with God's
host, and not be sprinkled with its baptizing waters—who
can come out of such a meeting of his fellow-creatures
and fellow-sinners, and not be led to say—Tell me, tell
me also, what must I do to be saved?
4, Such a time of revival meets the formality which
satisfies the world so well for a religion, inthe most ef-
fectual way.
When men are led to the inquiry what they shall do
to be saved, the first impression is to do something that
may save themselves. If in this state of mind they
‘ A thoughtful person, who was present at Kilsyth during the
public sermon in the tent, on the Monday of the communion at
Kilsyth last summer, said, “I felt as if, by one turn of expression,
the preacher had summoned the whole of my life in one particular
line of it before my mind and before my God. It was all at once
light all around it.”
2 Not only was this the case with some thoughtless and un-
impressed people, but true Christians were often deeply affecte:!
by the same thing. A minister, who was a hearer at Kilsyth oa
the occasion of the dispensation of the Sacrament alluded to in a
former note, said, ‘‘When the notes of the congregation began to
swell in a psalm of confession, I félt as if it would have hearted
me—as if I would give way altogether.”
3 In the midst of the greatest agitation at Kilsyth and other
places, the singing of an appropriate psalm had the most tran-
quilizing effect.
4 An intelligent person, who was present at Kilsyth on the
same occasion, not by any means likely to be carried away by
impressions, said, ‘‘I never saw so solemn a thing; people were
in such earnest, it was most awsome and impressive.”
5 One of those who, at an early stage of the work at Dundee
this summer, preached there, said —“ The wonderful thing is, not
only that people come—not only that labourers from a distance
come night after night, but that the simplest statement of the
truth in the simplest language seems to fall with power and be
listened to with the deepest interest.”
26 EFFECTS OF A REVIVAL ON THE WORLD.

take up with a form of godliness which will pacify their

fears, and yet let them keep their sins; they will often
settle down upon their lees in a very hopeless manner.
“I am not afraid, said one, so much for my children,
that they fall into open vice—that they should be-
come drunkards, thieves, or extortioners—as I am
afraid that they shall get into that formal state
which speaks about religion, professes it, is busy with
something connected with it, and is yet destitute of
it. If this should be their state, I would indeed fear
for their eternal salvation.” Yes! this is a delusion
which fast binds many souls, who, wrapped in the
garment of a decent profession, have yet upon them
the condemnation of the law, and within the leprosy of
sin. But a time of awakening is a blessed mean of
rescuing such from this snare of the devil. It discloses
at once the great gulph which there is between the
vanity of a formal profession and the reality of living
principle. It shows that there are depths in man’s
breast—fountains of great deeps, lying like waters in
the heart of the earth, which none can touch but God,
and which, when he breaks up, none can stay but
himself. It discovered leaks in the vessel plying her
perilous voyage to eternity, which the vain forms in
which most men trust can no more stop than paint
and gilding can stay the leak which is fast sinking
the shipwrecked vessel in the ocean. It discloses
diseases which nothing in the universe can heal but
the heaven-appointed remedy of the glorious gospel.
It awakens convictions which nothing can meet but
the revelation of God in the face of Christ Jesus.
And thus it is, that in such times the name of
Christ—his person—his work—so long named in vain,
comes to be so precious; the influences of the Spirit,
so long practically rejected, come to be so earnestly
sought; and the waters of life, so long flowing in vain
through the cased and hardened channels of the soul,
cold and clear and fruitless, come to be wells of water
springing up in them unto eternal life.
Such are the precious effects of a revival of religion
on the world. It meets the atheism, the infidelity, the
false security, and the formal profession which reign so
 VINDICATION OF A REVIVAL. 27

widely, and which in times of deadness in the church

are permitted to reign so undisturbed.
IV. One might expect, that any thing fraught with
such blessings would be hailed universally ;that churches
long praying for such a time would gladly mark the
first appearance of it; that ministers long mourning
their own and their people’s deadness would rejoice
in its approach; that people would every where seek
to lie open to its influences ; and that even magistrates,
taught by experience how ineffectual mere human law
is to bind the restless mind of man, would hail the ap-
pearance of a power which would teach every man to
livesoberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world,
by the energy of an inward principle. But alas! such
times of refreshing in any corner of the Lord’s vine-
yard have ever been the signal for many adversaries
to appear, 2nd some of them ofa kind little to be ex-
pected. Itis no new thing for the world to spit upon
Christ and revile him,—no new thing for unregenerate
and foolish men to blaspheme the work of the Spirit,
—no new thing even for the Lord to come to his pro-
fessed people, and they “know him not;” but it is very
sad that any that are indeed his should hide their faces
from him and from his work. Some reasons, doubtless,
the one and the other—the world, mere professors, and
such misjudging Christians—think they have, and the
strength of them will be found in the objections which
lie against a revival, which is the last thing we are to
consider at present.
1. And first, an objection is taken by some to the
very idea of the thing.
Revival, say they, supposes decay, and decay is wrong;
and therefore, if we understand the objection right, it
is a wrong state of things which needs a revival, and a
wrong view of religion to think that revivals are always
to be needed, or religion to be advanced to its final
triumph by a succession of them.
True, it is a wrong state of things that needs a revival,
but that state of things existing, surely a revival is not
in itself wrong. Nor is it quite so certain as these ob-
jectors think, that religion is not to be advanced in this
way, even to its tinal glory. Reproduction is the great
98 VINDICATION OF A REVIVAL.

law of all things on earth: Day dies into night to be

born again to day, and the lengthening day meets the
declining winter, and issues in the summer: wave
recoils on wave, but the tide advances to fill its ap-
pointed place. So it may be, that the truth is to advance
by “successive impulses,” each growing and accumulat-
ing till the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as
the waters cover the sea. To him that looks only to
the recoiling wave, there may seem nothing but decline,
but to him that looks to the advancing tide amid every
decline, there is the promise of future progress—a step
in advance taken, and at length every mountain shall
be covered, and the mountain of the Lord’s house alone
exalted above the mountains, and all nations shall flow
into it.
2. Others object to the things which ordinarily ac-
company a revival.
Ordinarily there is much excitement, great anxiety
to hear the word preached, deep impression under it,
and such affections of the bodily frame as such an
agitated mind will often occasion. Now those of whom
we speak think such movement of the feelings is highly
dangerous. They do not like excitement. They are
horrified at such excitement in religious things as would
utter itself in tears and cries. They have taken a sudden
dread of all protracted meetings, and dangers which we
could never convince them might come from the ball-
room or the theatre, however prolonged, now stare
them in the face as certain to come from a protract-
ed service in a church, or & protracted meeting for
prayer.
Now, dealing seriously with this objection, at once
we say, that every thing out of the way in which Christ’s
people have commonly rejoiced to walk is ordinarily
to be avoided—that all mere bodily excitement is to be
repressed, and that both counsel and authority are to
be used for this end. But it would surely be too much
to say that a physician would bind himself by all his
ordinary rules, and keep his ordinary times when dis-
ease and death demanded his presence night and day.
It is surely too much to expect that men coming together
upon the great business of eternitv, should be willing to
 VINDICATION OF A REVIVAL. 99

depart and that business still undone! These men

know not what they say, nor whereof they affirm, who
speak so easily. There are feelings,—there are concerns,
—there are anxieties of soul which will not brook de-
lay.—* At midnight the jailor called for a light, and
sprang in, and came trembling, and cried out, Sirs,
what must I do to be saved?’ Paul preached till mid-
night, and was refreshed in the spirit, and doubtless re-
freshed those who heard him.
But some will say, this says nothing to the agitation,
the alarm, and even bodily convulsions which some-
times accompany a revival. Why, the wonder is that
these should occur so seldom: When we think of eternity
—of all its interests bursting on the astonished soul—
bursting onit all unprovided, the wonder, I say, is that any
assembly can at any time hear and think of these things
without agitation. To complain that such agitation
leads to tears and outcries is to complain that we are
human beings. There may indeed be much of this and
no real revival; but that there is much of it is no proof
of the want of reality in the work, as smoke is no evi-
dence against the existence offire, but rather a presump-
tion of its presence. There may be revivals without
such, as Pentecost itself seems to have been—as Moulin
was—as every revival in its later stages has come to be;
but whether there be or be not such outward manifes-
tation of feeling, the work itself is to be judged by the
rules of God’s word, and not by the rules of man’s wis-
dom—by the effects which are actually produced, and
not by the manner in which these effects are produced,
of which we are such incompetent judges. It is too
much for the clay to assume to itself the judgment of
how it befits the potter to work. Ifthe careless are brought
to concern,—the wicked to repentance,—the profane
to holiness,—the unclean to purity ;—if the old man
with his deeds is put off, and the new man, which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness, is put
,
{ A young person who was lingering lately in a prayer meeting
which the anxieties of those present had protracted to a late
to
hour, being advised to go home, simply and affectingly said
urging her to leave, “How can I
the minister, who was rather
go home and have not found Christ yet 7
 30 VINDICATION OF A REVIVAL.

on, that is the work of the Spirit of God—the fruit of

the truth as it is in Jesus. The manner in which these
things may be wrought in us or in others may be de-
signed by God to try even his own people as to whether
they will know his hand, amid the imperfection wita
which every work of God is marred when it passes
through the hands of man.
3. Objection is often taken against the means and
instruments employed to begin or advance a revival.
If objection can be taken against the piety, life, or doc-
trines of such, there is great reason to pause, nay, to with-
hold all confidence; but if it is only against them as
young, as weak, or even as faulty, it is a very fond and
foolish thing to found objections on such grounds. As
Edwards long ago remarked, God is often pleased in
this work not only to employ instruments not as likely
as others in the sight of men, but to leave them also to
discover much of their natural weakness in the midst of
their spiritual grace. And so it will be, while the trea-
sure of the gospel is in such “earthen vessels,” and so
it is right it should be, that all may know “the power
and excellency to be of God.” Every thing is to be
done, by those who are employed in the work, to avoid
giving occasion of offence to those who seek occasion,
Every thing is to be done decently and in order, by
those honoured of God to be so useful. Very much do
they need to watch and pray “Jest Satan beguile them,”
and the Lord’s work be marred at their hands. And
very much do those also who receive their ministry
need to deal tenderly and prayerfully by them, lest their
light be withdrawn. ‘They have received this gift and
grace from God; but it is out of the question for them
to think, and as much so for us to expect, that they
shall have every other gift and grace. It is for them
meekly to exercise, and for us gratefully to receive
the gifts they have, giving thanks to Him who gives to
all severally as he wills.
Connected with this objection, it may be almost
needless to mention that most foolish of all objections,
namely, that this revival is the work of the ministers,
and got up by them for party purposes. The work cf
the ministers! I fear this objection imputes more powr
 VINDICATION OF A REVIVAL. 31

to the ministers than the objectors would like to suppose

them possessed of, and more praise than they well de-
serve. The work of the ministers! No: I fear that
many even of the ministers who seek grace to be faithful
are not fully up to the great occasion now opening up-
on us.—I fear that the Lord’s work may suffer damage
even at the hands of those who daily pray, “thy king-
dom come,” but who would not like to be so much put
out of their ordinary way as the anxieties and inquiries
and urgent earnestness of such a time of revival would
lead to.—I fear it is too plain to be denied that there
are ministers who do not want such times, and would
check them if they could. It has gladdened the hearts
of all God’s people, that your ministers received grace
from the Lord to rejoice in and help forward from the
beginning the Lord’s work, but elsewhere it has not
been so dealt with: and I would not for the whole world
have risked the words of contempt and opposition which
have fallen from some upon the subject, though it had
yet been only a peradventure as to the hand of the
Lord being in it. The Lord forgive—The Lord give
the grace of true repentance, and pour out upon us all
his Holy Spirit, that we may both know and advance his
work.
4, It is objected, that such revivals do little practical
good—soon pass away, and leave no trace behind.
Because the outward appearances pass away, men take
upon themselves to say, that all passes away ; but when
the outward and first appearances pass away, eternal
good remains. If, said one emphatically, while others
were speaking of how many would likely fall away ina
time of revival: “If but a few souls are sealed how glorious
is the result; yes, if but one be saved, how glorious in-
deed!” But such cannot be alone. The sealing of one
soul to the day of redemption is not only the stopping a
fountain of evil, whence flowed bitterness and death,
but the opening of the fountain of grace to many. A
handful of such corn on the top of the mountains shall
shake like Lebanon. The converted ones of Pente-
cost were the seed of the world. The converts of the
Kirk of Shotts were the Christian fathers of Clydesdale.
The awakened of Skye are vow the good seed of the
32 VINDICATION OF A REVIVAL.

deserts of America. And generations yet unborn shall

praise and magnify the Lord, for the work which He
hath wrought in our day, and which so many think so
lightly of.
And now, brethren, I must close. Removing such
objectors and such objections far away, return and con-
template the thing itself. The very name REVIVAL is
refreshing. Itspeaks of winter passing and spring return-
ing—of weariness and death brightening into life and
hope and health—of distant and desolate souls coming
to God—to God their chiefest joy. It is full of blessing
to your own souls, to your families, and to your neigh-
bours, “and to this dry and thirsty land.”
But not only is it full of blessing, but it is absolutely
necessary. The work of revival must begin, and must
goon. People speak of it as a thing which may or
may not be, which though they distantly wish they can
yet do without. Why, what do people mean? what isa
revival but multiplied conversions? what is a revival but
living Christianity? If we can do without conversion;
if we can do without Christ; if we can do without re-
generation; if our children can do without these, if our
friends and neighbours can do without these, then may
we do without a revival. But if conversion is neces-
sary; if regeneration is necessary ; if salvation is neces-
sary, then is a revival necessary. Ah! my friends, we
have not understood what it is for souls to perish: we
nave not understood what is the meaning of the souls
of our children perishing—of the souls ofour neighbours
perishing—of unconverted men and women and chil-
dren dying in their sins, else we could not cease to
pray and to labour, till the windows of heaven were
opened, and the Lord “ rained righteousness on the peo-
ple, and saving health on all our families.”
 33

LECTURE II.
The Work of Christ in connection with the Revival of
Religion—His Atonement, Righteousness, and Inter-
cession.

BY THE REV. JONATHAN R. ANDERSON,

MINISTER OF KIRKFIELD PARISH, GLASGOW.

“* When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he
shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand.”—Isa1aH, liii, 10.

In the glory of God displayed in the first creation,

and the formation of man after the Divine image, were
laid the foundations of that high and sacred communion
between God and the creature to which is given the
name of Religion. But by man’s apostacy and breach
of covenant, this glorious foundation was overthrown.
For, in righteous displeasure, the Most High withdrew
from man the tokens of his favour and the communi-
cations of his love; and man was robbed of that purity
and excellence which fitted him for communion with
God. In this state of things, there can be among men no
such thing as truereligion. The light of nature, the voice
of reason, the power of conscience, are only the ruins
of former greatness: and while they remain to attest
the sinfulness of men, ana to establish against them a
charge of guilt, they never can restore the goodly fabric
which has been by sin destroyed. But He who is the
fountain of life and salvation, and who ever reigns in
absolute sovereignty, has been pleased to establish a
new foundation, on which he may enter into friendly
intercourse with the fallen children of men. He has
accordingly provided for a fresh manifestation of his
glory, suited to the fallen condition of men, and
their restoration to his forfeited favour and lost image,
whereby they may be fitted to kuow and serve and en-
34 THE WORK OF CHRIST.

joy him. The development of this marvellous scheme,

and the application of its provisions for the salvation of
sinners, are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, the
only Mediator between God and men. In this capacity,
and to give effect to the designs of Infinite Wisdom, he
came into the world; and, by his obedience unto death,
procured eternal redemption for all them that obey him.
He now lives and reigns a Priest upon his throne, to
carry forward to its actual consummation the work
which the Father hath given him to do. Now, in pro-
portion as the power of the exalted Redeemer is dis-
played, in the effusion of the Holy Ghost, and the con-
sequent conversion of sinners, and the edification of
saints, does the cause of true religiou prevail. But for
the mediation of Christ, there had been no religion now
amongst men: and hence every revival that takes place
must bear a very close and important relation to him
and to his work. For, in the words of the text, the Fa-
ther having made the “soulof Messiah an offering for sin,”
the Messiah, in every revival of religion, “ sees his seed,
prolongs his days, and the pleasure of the Lord prospers
in his hands.”
The subject of this evening’s lecture naturally divides
itself into two parts:—First, the work of Christ; and
Secondly, the connection of that work with a revival of
religion.
We have in the First place to consider the work of
Christ. But before we enter upon the direct considera-
tion of this point, it is needful to advert very briefly to
the person of Him by whom that work is performed.
In some cases a work derives all its value from its own
nature ; and therefore it is of no moment by whom it
has been produced. In the present instance, however,
while the work itself is most glorious, it derives its chief
value from the dignity of the person by whom it is ac-
complished.
The Lord Christ is in himself aDivine person, being
the Son of God, of the same substance with the Father,
and equal to him in power and glory. But according
to the arrangements of the eternal covenant, and for
carrying its designs into effect, He, in the fulness of
time, assumed human nature into personal union with
 THE WORK OF CHRIST 35
himself. “Without controversy great is the mystery
of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.”! In his
person as God-man he is possessed of all possible
perfections—divine and human. In his Divine nature
he is infinitely glorious; and in his human nature he is
adorned with every grace of which it is susceptible:
‘He is altogether lovely.” By appointment of the
Father he is constituted Mediator of the new covenant,
and has all its arrangements and promises committed
unto him that he may carry them into effect: “For
there is one God and one Mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus.’* In this capacity he
stands in a peculiarly close relation to the redeemed,
being their head in covenant; fulfilling all their obli-
gations, and securing and dispensing to them all saving
benefits. For such is the nature of the relation between
Christ and his people, that whatever is done by him as
Surety, is regarded as done by them: “He hath made
him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him.” *
In the work which we are about to consider, Christ
is especially to be viewed as acting in the capacity of a
Priest. For although we may not separate his pro-
phetic and kingly offices from this, nor from any part of
his mediatorial work, yet it is evident from the testimony
of Scripture and the nature of the case, that a greater
promitence is due to his priestly office. To this office
he is solemnly set apart by the oath of the Father:
“ The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, thou art a
Priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedek.” > For
it he is qualified by the unction of the Holy Ghost,
symbolically represented by the holy oil used under the
law: “ And there shall come forth a rod out of the
stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.”® To
this office and to the work connected with it, he cheer-
fully consecrated himself in his zeal for the Father’s
name, and his love for his chosen people: “ And for
their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be
sanctified by the truth.” 7
erin. tis i040 2 Ole, vy tO, 9 1 Lin, il, on” 2 Core ¥, oie
5 Psalm cx, 4. ® Isaiah, xi, 1,2. 7 John, xvii, 19.
 36 ATONEMENT OF CHRIST.

We may now look into the several parts of the

work that is performed by this glorious person.
And, first, let us advert to his atonement. 'To under-
stand this part of the work of Christ, it must be borne
in mind, that the people for whom he acted lay under
the penalty of the Divinelaw. For having, in the per-
son of their first parent and fcederal representative,
broken covenant with God, they werejustly condemned
to die the death, even to endure the-infinite wrath of
God. For such is the deeply malignant nature of sin
that it opposes itself to the Divine Majesty with the full
power of the subject in which it resides; and therefore
justice requires, that up to the full measure of the crea-
ture’s capacity for suffering it, he shall be visited with the
wrath of God: “The soul that sinneth it shall die.”!
“Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them.” 2
Now we hold it as a self-evident truth, founded upon
the absolute and immutable perfection of the Divine
nature, that sin must be visited with condign punish-
ment. To impugn this principle is to sweep away the
principal foundation on which rests the necessity of
atonement. And yet it may be argued, that just as in
human governments an offender may be pardoned
without the ends ofjustice being damaged ; so sin may
be allowed to pass with impunity, and the throne of God
remain glorious and sure. To make this supposed
case fairly parallel with that of the Divine government,
it must be maintained, that all offenders may be par-
doned, and yet justice hold its proper place, and exert
its due control over the subject. For it is for the par-
don of sia, not for any particular form of sin, without an
atonement, that the argument is proposed. If any ob-
jection be taken to this view, it may at once be obviated
by the consideration, that while, in relation to human
law, there is a vast difference between one crime and
another; in the view of the Divine law the distinc-
tion between one sin and another sinks into nothing as
compared with the enormity of any one—even the least
offence. The distance between the greatest and the least
guilty of lost souls may be measured ; but the distance
Ezek. xviii, 4. 2 Gal. iii, 10,
 ATONEMENT OF CHRIST. oF

between the least guilty and a sinless being is infinite.

And therefore if pardon is to be dispensed out of mere
compassion, one is as much the object of compassion as
another. Or if one is to be pardoned because he is less
guilty, all may be pardoned, because the difference be-
tween one and another is of little account. Now we
have only to put the case in this light to show, that even
human government could not be maintained if every
offence were pardoned, because it would be equivalent
to the dissolution of government altogether, and a per-
mission to every man to do what is right in his own
eyes. But, besides, it ought to be remembered that the
immediate design of human governments and of the
punishments which they inflict, is to promote the in-
terests of civil society. These may notat all be endan-
gered by the occasional extension of mercy to offenders.
But the grand design of the Divine government, that on
which all others are suspended, and to which they are
subordinated, is the glory of God. Now the whole tenor
of Scripture proves, that to secure this end in the par-
don of any one offence, atonement is indispensable.
“Without shedding of blood there is no remission.”
But next to the glory of the Divine name is the sal-
vation of sinners: And atonement is not less necessary
to accomplish this object. In support of this position
we appeal to all who, by the Spirit of God, have been
awakened to a true sense of the evil of sin and the glory
of the Divine character. To them it is no longer a
matter of idle speculation or of doubtful disputation, but
a question of life or death, whether sin may be par-
doned. And if so—in what way. They now see that
God is the only portion of their souls; but it is God
the enemy of sin and its righteous avenger. While
others are reckless what becomes of the Divine charac-
ter, provided only they obtain their own selfish pur-
poses, truly awakened souls feel that if God be not
glorified in the condemnation of sin they are undone for
ever. Letitnot be said thisis an argument which is per-
fectly nugatory, because it cannot be appreciated except
by those who are interested in the question; for if men
will clearly understand and rightly estimate the doctrines
of the word of God, they must come under the influence
23 ATONEMENT OF CHRIST.

of the principles which it lays down. And untill that is

the case we must decline their judgment as altogether
incompetent: “The natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness
unto him: neither can he know them, because they
are spiritually discerned.”
The remarks now made serve to illustrate the occa-
sion and necessity of atonement. But, after all, the
most simple and conclusive argument which can be ad-
duced on this point, is the fact, that atonement has been
made ; for it were a daring impeachment of his wisdom
to say, that God gave up his Son to the accursed death
of the cross, if such a sacrifice had not been absolutely
necessary to the salvation of sinners. We said that the
Lord Christ was duly called to the priestly office,—
“ For no man taketh this honour unto himself but he that
is called of God: as was Aaron. So-also Christ glori-
fied not himself to be made a high priest ;but He that
said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten
thee.” He was thus prepared to offer up the sacrifice
in which atonement was to be made. Now the sacrifice
was none other than himself. To say that it was the
human nature of Christ is not good theology, nor in
accordance with the language of Scripture. For the
human nature never professed any distinct personality
of its own; but from the first moment of its production
ever subsisted in union with the person of the Son of
God. We apprehend it is more correct to say, that the
sacrifice by which atonement was made was Christ in
his human nature: “ He bore our sins in his own body
on the tree”—“ When he had by himself purged our
sins "—“ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us.” We shall not dwell
on the immaculate purity and absolute perfection of the
sacrifice of Christ, having virtually spoken to that point
in the remarks that were made upon his person: Neither
shall we dwell on the sufferings which he endured in
the course of his eventful life, being “a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief,” but shall at once pass to
the last and crowning part of his sufferings, in which he
eminently offered up himself a sacrifice for sin. Let it
not be forgotten, that against God sin had been commit-
 RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. 39

ted; and that to him atonement was due. To the Father,

therefore, as in covenant sustaining the majesty and
exacting the claims of Godhead, the blessed Redeemer
drew near. In the midst of darkness most deep, ago-
nies most piercing, persecutions most cruel, and sorrows
unutterable, but with a heart full of love to God and
to his holy law, He received into his bosom that sword
of Divine justice which otherwise must have fallen on
the heads of his people, and consigned them to utter
and cternal perdition: “ God spared not his own Son,
but delivered him for us all”—“ Thou shalt make his
soul an offering for sin ””-—“ He offered himself to God,
an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour.”
We might here pause and meditate on this great
sight: The Son of the Highest “ wounded for his peo-
ple’s transgressions and bruised for their iniquities,’—
The Lord of glory covered with ignominy,—The Prince
of life brought to the dust of death,—The fountain of
blessedness made a curse! We might think of the un-
speakable glory of the priest, the incalculable worth of
the sacrifice, and thence draw our conclusion, most
cheering to every weary and heavy-laden sinner, that
justice is satisfied; that the wrath of God against sin is
poured out; and that “now no condemnation remains to
them that are in Christ Jesus.” But leaving these, and
many other interesting points, which time forbids us to
discuss, we proceed to consider,
2. In the Second place, the Righteousness of Christ.
We have seen that the breach of the Divine law in the
first covenant was the occasion of the atonement. We
must however bear in mind, that the act of transgres-
sion did not weaken, far less set aside the obligation of
mankind to be in nature, heart, and life, all which the
law required. It were indeed a strange doctrine, sub-
versive ofall law human and divine, to say, that a breach
of law releases from all obligation to fulfill it. The
fact so plainly brought out under a former head, that
the violation of the law exposes to punishment, proves
the equity of the obligation to perfect obedience. To
dispense with all obedience is to annul the law, and to
open a door to the most unbounded licentiousness. To
require less than perfect obedience is little better, and
49 RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST.

is to make a practical mockery of the law. But, say

some, man’s condition is altered; his powers are cor-
rupted ; his will is perverted; and his whole nature is
enslaved: And therefore a lower standard of obedience
must be fixed than when he was possessed of perfect
rectitude. But how, I ask, did man’s condition come
to be thusaltered? Was it not by his sin—a sin which
justly exposes him to punishment? Now, to punish him
for failing to discharge a lawful debt, and at the same
time to diminish the amount of the debt, is altogether
unjust. To reduce the demands of the law one jot or
tittle is so far to take away the ground of punishment:
“For where no law is, there is no transgression.” And
the amount of transgression depends on the amount of
obedience required by the law.
But another serious consequence will follow upon
the attempt to bring down the requirements of the law
of God to the level of man’s capacities in his fallen
state. The law, it is admitted, originally required per-
fect obedience. Now this demand was just. To say
otherwise is to impeach the rectitude of the Divine
Lawgiver. But on what did the justice of it rest? evi-
dently on the claim which God has upon his intelligent
creatures. He requires that they shall “love him with
all their heart and soul and strength and mind.” And
he is entitled to this, primarily, on account of the infi-
nite moral perfection of his nature. Let the law, how-
ever, be changed; it cannot be changed for the better;
for it was before perfectly just: it must therefore be
changed for the worse, and become unjust. And is it
to be gravely maintained, that the righteous Governor
of the world can enjoin upon his creatures a Jaw that is
unjust, and require that they shall love him with less
than all their heart and soul and strength? Let the
thought perish from our minds: and for the glory of
the Divine name, whatever may happen to us, let his law
be preserved in all its integrity and force. ‘“ The law is
holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”
With this resolution agrees the experience of every
true believer. He sees that in the government of God
there is no neutrality—that men must be either saints
or sinners, righteous or wicked, justified or condemned,
 RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. 41

in a state of favour or under the curse. The capital

error into which others fall arises from their ignorance
of God, their indifference to His glory, and their self-
ishly consulting some fancied safety of their own. By
this means they are led to dream of the possibility of
having a mere negative goodness; and a consequent
freedom from liability to punishment; at the very time
they are conscious they have no good claim to eternal
life. But those who are divinely taught, and spiritually
enlightened, are convinced there is no middle position
which they can occupy. And as they feel their need
of a sufficient atonement to satisfy for their breach of
the law, so they feel their need of a perfect righteous-
ness, to meet the claims of its precept. In these cir-
cumstances, the doctrine of Christ's imputed righteous-
ness is to them most precious: and, like the apostle,
“they count all things but loss that they may win
Christ, and be found in him, not having their own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is
of God by faith.” The essential dignity of the person
of Christ placed him above all law; and this lies at the
foundation of his righteousness, and indeed of his whole
work. For had he been a creature, no matter how
high in rank, and excellent in nature, and vast in
powers, he must have been obliged by that law, from
which no creature can plead exemption, to employ all
his powers in the service of the Creator: and when he
had done all, he should have done no more than it was
his duty to do. But Christ being a Divine person, and
superior therefore to all law, he was competent to do
for others what he needed not to do for himself. He
accordingly assumed the nature of men, whose debt he
was to pay. He placed himself under the law, accord-
ing to which that debt was exacted; and in a human
nature that was perfectly pure, and adorned with the
beauties of holiness: and throughout a life of difficulty
and trial, he fulfilled every demand which the law had
upon his people. He thus became “ the end of the law
for righteousness to every one that believeth.” “In
the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, pue
shall glory.”
42 INTERCESSION OF C&RIST.

The righteousness of Christ, be it remarked, is a

Surety righteousne:s; by which we mean, that it is
performed by him as the representative in covenant ofali
who believe in his name. It is therefore as truly theirs
now in the sight of God, and on their conversion in
actual possession, as though it had been wrought out
by themselves: “We are the righteousness of God in
him.” * The righteousness of Christ is a Divine right-
eousness. The person who wrought it out is a Divine
person. For, though the obedience was rendered and
could be rendered only in the human nature, yet it was
not the obedience of the human nature, but the obedi-
ence of God manifest in the flesh. ‘This is the name
by which he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness.”
‘Lhe righteousness of Christ is an everlasting righteous-
ness. The righteousness of Adam was most excellent
of its kind; but it was soon lost, and lost too beyond
the possibility of recovery; for we get nothing by our
connection with him but guilt, corruption, and death.
But the righteousness of Christ, as it is divinely excel-
lent, is also of endless duration; and therefore no con-
demnation can ever be passed upon those who appear
before God in it. “He brought in everlasting right-
eousness.” !
3. We now come to the last part of the work of
Christ which falls to be considered, namely his Zuterces-
ston; and, as before, we may advert first of all to the
occasion of it. Let it be steadily borne in mind, that
the great end of the work of Christ is the manifestation
of the Divine glory as a basis of true religion. Now it
seemed good to the wisdom of God, in his counsels of
peace, to ordain that the blessings secured by the blood
and righteousness of Christ should be obtained by his
intercession. By this mean is brought to view tlie all-
sufficiency of the glorious three-one God for the salva-
tion of sinners. ‘ Ask of me, and I shall give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of
the earth for thy possession.” We see another occa-
sion for the intercession of Christ, in the fact that
he is the grand model after which every believer is
fashioned. And it is the will of God, and accordant
‘ Daniel, ix, 24.
 INTERCESSION OF CHRIST. 43

with the relation in which they stand to him, that men

should ask the blessings of his love and salvation. The
Lord Christ, therefore, that he might be the first-born
among many brethren, asks the blessings promised in
covenant to him as Mediator: “ These words spake
Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father,
the hour is come, glorify thy Son,” &c.
But in the intercession of Christ we see also a very
gracious condescension to the weakness and helplessness
of sinners. For how were they to be assured that his
atonement and righteousness had been accepted, had he
not in his Mediatorial capacity ascended into heaven,
entered into the Divine presence, and continued to
maintain an acceptable ministry at the right hand of
God? But further, how were they to obtain the bless-
ings of the covenant, if there were not one to intercede
on their behalf? The brethren of Joseph knew there
was corn in Egypt—they were assured of Pharaoh’s
good disposition towards them; and yet the greatness
of the king, their being strangers from another country,
and their own humble condition, all rendered it most
desirable, if not absolutely necessary, that they should
have one to speak for them. In like manner, sinners may
know that there is an all-sufficiency in God to supply
their wants—they may be assured that He is graciously
disposed towards them; and yet his infinite majesty, and
their own meanness—their vileness as sinners, and their
insignificance as creatures, all call for an intercessor
who may go between the great God and his un-
worthy creatures. “The Lord,” accordingly, “raised
up Jesus from the dead, and gave him glory; that
our faith and hope might be in God.”
In further remarking on the intercession of Christ,
we may advert, Ist. To the place where it is carried
on. It is heaven, the place where the Divine glory is
peculiarly manifested; “For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands, (which are the figures
of the true,) but into heaven itself, now to appear in
the presence of God for us.” The Lord Christ, having
finished the work given him to do, by obeying the law
even unto death, was raised from the dead, and ascended
into heaven. By this wonderful event it was proclaimed
44 INTERCESSION OF CHRIST.

in the most impressive and satisfactory manner, that the

Justice of God was satisfied, that the law was magnified
and made honourable. He had drawn near to the fire
of Divine wrath, with the sins of the church laid upon
him, and all her legal obligations imputed unto him.
He had descended to the dust of death under the hand
of the Father, exacting from him what was due by sin-
ners; and therefore, to be released from the prison of
the grave, to appear again on the earth, and to rise to
the highest heavens, was an unequivocal and conclusive
testimony to the perfection of his work. “He was de-
livered for our offences, and raised again for our justi-
fication.”
But as he entered into heaven, in token of the com-
plete and acceptable nature of his work of obedience
unto death, so to maintain this evidence, he will con-
tinue there till the consummation of all things: “Whom
the heaven must receive untill the times of the restitu-
tion of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth
of all his holy prophets since the world began.” The
high priest, under the Levitical economy, having
made his solemn entry into the holy of holies, was
obliged to return; because, through the imperfection of
the sacrifices that were offered, they had to be repeated
year after year: “But Christ having come, a high
priest of good things to come—having by his one offer-
ing for ever perfected them that are sanctified,” and
having entered into the heavenly sanctuary, and sat
down on the right hand of God, will continue there till,
by the ministrations of the Spirit, his people are
gathered unto himself. The opinion is indeed very
prevalent, that Christ will appear at Jerusalem or some
where else on the commencement of the Millennium,
and reign with his saints in visible glory a thousand
years. But this opinion, while it receives no counte-
nance from the testimony of Scripture rightly under-
stood, wars against the very foundations of the Christian
faith. ‘he Lord Christ cannot, in his human nature,
be in more than one place at one time. In heaven, we
maintain, is the place where his intercession is con-
ducted ; and therefore to say that he leaves that holy
place, is to set aside his intercession, aud to obscure,
 INTERCESSION OF CHRIST. 45

yea, sweep away the evidence which the Divine Re-

deemer himself hath supplied of the completeness of his
righteousness: “Of righteousness, because I go to my
Father, and ye see me no more.” The evidence on
which the Comforter convinces men that Christ’s right-
eousness is sufficient for their justification is, that He
has gone to the Father. But the continued sufficiency
of this evidence depends on his continuing with the
Father; and therefore he tells his disciples that they
should see him no more; that is, till his righteousness
had been imputed to all his people, and he ‘‘come again
to receive them to himself, that where He is there they
may be also.”
2. We may next advert to tke ground of Christ’s
intercession; and this is his most perfect oblation, and
glorious righteousness. Hence the beloved disciple, in
a vision of the heavenly temple, “saw in the midst of
the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of
the elders, a Lamb, as it had been slain.” And our
Lord himself, addressing his Father, said, “I have
glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do; and now, O Father,
glorify me with thine ownself.”
3. We may notice, thirdly, the prevalence of Christ’s
intercession; and this is founded on the all-sufficiency
of Godhead. The Father is able to give whatsoever
Christ may ask; for, “with Him is the fountain of
life.’ It is founded on the faithfulness of the Father.
He hath promised in covenant to give to Christ
what he asks: “ Thou hast given him his heart’s desire;
and hast not withholden the request of his lips.” It is
founded, as we have before stated, on the completeness
of his work. ‘“ We have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation
fer our sins.”
4. The intercession of Christ is continual. The oc-
casion which calls for it is not peculiar to any age or
condition of the church, but is coextensive with its
duration in the present world. And hence the Scrip-
ture distinctly instructs us that Christ “ever liveth to
make intercession for his people.” But here too the
opinions of Millennarians are at variance with the doc-
46 INTERCESSION OF CHRIST.

trine of the word of God. They, indeed, believe that

the personal presence and reign of Christ will give a
mighty impulse to His cause—that it will hasten the
overthrow of his enemies, and serve to extend and
prosper his church. But how are such expectations to
be reconciled, 1 do not say with Scripture testimonies,
fairly interpreted, but with the very foundation of the
Christian scheme? The whole work of Christ on the
earth, or what is called his finished work, points to and
terminates in his glory within the veil, part of which
glory is his intercession. By that intercession is his
work made effectual unto the mission of the Spirit, and
his opération in gathering, building up, sanctifying, and
comforting the church. ‘The intercession of Christ is,
so to speak, the golden link which connects the work
of Christ for the church and the work of Christ in the
church. And the state in which it is carried forward
may be said to hold a middle place between the humi-
liation of his first advent and the glory of the second.
We have endeavoured to show that there is an insepar-
able connection between that state and the intercession
that is maintained by Christ im it; and therefore to
suppose, as Millennarians do, that he will leave the right
hand of God, is to suppose that his intercession ceases;
and if his intercession cease, the mission of the Com-
forter is suspended; and the church, instead of rising
in beauty and splendour and power, sinks at once into
the gloom and silence of spiritual death. How different
is the doctrine of the word of God! ‘When he had
by himself purged our sins, he for ever sat down on the
right hand of God—from thenceforth expecting till all
his enemies be made his footstool.”
In the holy of holies he is, and always will be, to ap-
pear on behalf of his people. Not like the Jewish high
priest, with their names graven on a breastplate of gold
and precious stones; but with their names, their cause,
their interests, on his heart of ineffable tenderness and
love. He will there make mention of them before his
Father ;plead their cause against all opposition; obtain
for them “mercy to pardon and grace to help in time
of need.” And now, looking back on the particulars of
his work consummated in his prevalent and continual
 WORK OF CHRIST. 47

intercession, we may say, ‘“ Who shall lay any thing to

the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth;
—who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
We now come to consider, in the Second place,
the connection which subsists between the work of
Christ, and the revival of religion. The foundation and
source of all religion is the one living and true God,
manifested in Christ Jesus—‘“ this is life eternal, to
know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent.” The truth of this proposition holds,
whether we look at the object which in religion is em-
braced ; the principles which are exercised; or the in-
fluence by which the whole is animated and controled.
In the world, indeed, there are gods many and lords
many; for men in their natural state fashion their idols
according to their own corrupt humour and selfish in-
terests. But these are “lying vanities—things which
cannot profit; they that make them are like unto them,
so is every one that trusteth inthem.” To the church
however, that is, to all who are the subjects of vital god-
liness, there is ouly one glorious object of worship;
une medium through which he is known and loved
and served; and one Spirit by whom the revelation of
God in Christ is made effectual to salvation: “ To us
there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things.
By whom we both have access by one Spirit unto the
Father.”
The same glorious Being, manifested through the
same wonderful medium, is the spring of the principles
that go to make up real religion. “He is the Father
of lights, from whom cometh down every good and
every perfect gift.” In themselves corrupt and fallen,
men have indeed a propension to seek after and depend
upon some superior; for absolute independence is as
alien from the feelings as it is incongruous to the na-
ture of creatures. But such is their blindness and de-
pravity, that they embrace every phantom which hap-
pens to fall in with the schemes and desires of the pre-
sent moment, and live in utter indifference to the glory,
48 WORK OF CHRIST

and opposition to the will of the living God; “there

is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh
after God.” But He, who is himself the object of all
religion, in the riches of his mercy, delivers men out of
this degenerate state ;renews them after his own image;
and thus prepares them for embracing himself as at
once their chief good, the object of their supreme vene-
ration, the beginning and the ending of all things.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which
he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ the
Saviour.”
The remarks now made serve to open to us some
leading views of the connection which subsists between
the work of Christ and a revival of religion. But to
enter a little into detail, it may be observed, 27 the Furst
place, that in every revival of religion there must be a
manifestation to the soul of the object of religion. Now
we have said, that this is the one living and true God,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He must be revealed in
his being and perfections. In this we see the primary
foundation of all religious worship, “he that cometh to
God must believe that He is.’ Now, in order that he
may be known, it is necessary that he manifest himself:
For, in his own nature “he dwelleth in light that is
unapproachable,” and therefore, “who by searching can
find out God?” Butit is in the person and work ofChrist,
and there only, that he reveals himself to sinners of
mankind. The heavens indeed declare his glory, the
firmament showeth his handywork, and on all his works
he hath leftthe traces of his eternal power and Godhead:
But that revelation is made to intelligent creatures,
simply considered as such: And, by reason of their
depravity, is in nowise suited to sinners, except to leave
them without excuse, and to shut them up to condem-
nation. The law of God also makes known his glory,
for being an expression of his will, and his will being
in harmony with his perfections, it is a transcript of his
character. But that revelation is adapted to those who
have not transgressed its precepts; and by them alone
can it be received and acknowledged. In the human
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 49

family, however, there is no mere man of this descrip-

tion—“ there is none righteous, no, not one.” And
hence, like their first’ parents, men, instead of being at-
tracted to the Creator, flee from his presence and hide
themselves among the vanities of the world. But in
the work of Christ, the glorious God makes himself
known. To set forth this precious truth in significant
types was one design of the tabernacle and temple of
old; for there the Lord said he would put his name.
“In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.”
To come therefore to any right knowledge of his being
and character, as the only object of religious homage;
it is indispensable that men turn to the work of Christ;
for “‘no man hath seen God at any time: the only-be-
gotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath
declared him.” And how doth he declare him? in his
prophetical office by his doctrine—“this then is the
message which we have heard of him, and declare unto
you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all:”
In his kingly office by his royal majesty and grace and
power—“ he that hath seen me, hath seen the Father:”
In his priestly office, the foundation of the other two,
and the centre of his whole work—“I have glorified
thee in the earth; I have finished the work which thou
gavest me to do.”
2. The true God must be revealed in his grace and
love to sinners. This now enters as an essential ele-
nent into the foundation of true religion. ‘He that
cometh to God, must believe*not only that he is, but
that he is the rewarder of tiem that diligently seek
him.” And this is necessary, because it is as the
God of salvation that sinners are required to worship
him. And it is in that view only they ever will be
brought to worship him. But it is in the work of
Christ, and in it only, that God has been pleased to re-
veal himself in this character. And hence he promised
to meet with his people Israel, and graciously to talk
with them from off the mercy-seat; a most expressive
symbol of Christ crucified. It was while Moses stood
in the cleft of the rock that Jehovah passed by and
proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and
gracious, long-suffering and slow to wrath, abundant in
 50 WORK OF CHRIST

mercy and goodness and truth.” .We may talk avout

the mercy of God as an essential attribute of his nature,
and flatter ourselves that he will not deal very hardly
with us for our sins. But as God hath nowhere mani-
fested his glory, as the God of saving sovereign mercy,
but in the cross of Christ ;so in vain do we expect ever
to see him in any other quarter. “Herein is the love
of God manifested, because God sent his ouly-begotten
Son into the world, that we might live through him.”
3. The true God must be revealed in his counsels
and will towards sinners of mankind. It belongs to
him not only to reveal the object of worship, but also
to prescribe the kind of worship which he will receive,
and the manner in which it is to be rendered. To deny
this is to plunge at once into all the darkness and ab-
surdity of will-worship; and to subject ourselves to the
inevitable doom of those who offer strange fire upon his
altar. But nowhere except in the work of Christ hath
God made known his will in this matter. To Adam,
indeed, in his state of innocence, the law was a sufficient
guide, because it was suited to an unfallen creature.
But the law has become weak through the flesh, or
corrupt nature of man; so that, let it demand what it
will, nothing that is acceptable to God is rendered.
The work of Christ, however, opens to our view the
rich provision of the second covenant, as exactly and
fuliy adapted to the condition of sinners. And thence
we learn what is the kind of worship which God will
accept, and how it is to be offered. The sum of what
might be advanced on this head is contained in the fol-
lowing words: “We are of the true circumcision, who
worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh.”
Now, brethren, how very important in this Jirst view
is the connection which obtains between the work of
Christ and a revival of religion. The first impulse to-
wards such an interesting event must come from God;
on the first movement that is made may we trace the
steps of his glorious majesty; “ for who hath first given
to him and it shall be recompensed to him again; for
of him are all things?” The silence of death prevailed
in Paradise after the fall of our first parents: and that
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 51
silence had continued untill now had it not been broken
by the gracious voice of Him who announced, that “the
Seed of the woman should bruise the head of the Ser-
pent.” The bondage and oppression of Israel in Egypt
had never been terminated, far less succeeded by the
refreshing season of the Exodus, if the God of Abra-
ham had not remembered his covenant, and graciously
visited his people. The heart-stirring and solemn
scene of Pentecost had never been witnessed at Jeru-
salem had not the Lord taken to him his great power,
bowed his heavens and come down, stirred up the apos-
tles and their brethren to pray; and, in answer to
prayer, poured forth that Spirit, by whom multitudes
were awakened from spiritual death. In vain do we
expect a revival of religion in our day and in our land,
unless the Lord shall be pleased to appear in his glory,
and make himself known to his own people for their
refreshment, and to sinners for their conversion. The
beginning of a revival is never seen till the voice from
the temple goes forth, “ Arise, shine, for thy light is
come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.”
I observe, in the Second place, that in any revival of
religion there must be subjects capable of apprehending
and acknowledging the object thus revealed. We re-
marked in the outset of the lecture, that religion con-
sists in the communion which a creature holds with the
Creator. Now to this communion it is necessary that
God be manifested: and this, we have endeavoured to
demonstrate, is done in the work of Christ. But not
less necessary is it that the object so manifested be
known and loved, otherwise there can be no communion.
To unfold this part of our subject, we remark,
1. The primary foundation of all personal religion is
laid in the foederal union of the soul with Christ. We
have already stated, that the original source of the
principles which constitute true religion is the Three-
one Jehovah, “ of whom and through whom and to
whom are all things, to whom be glory.” Now, in
communicating of his fulness to mankind, it hath pleased
him to deal with them in the way of covenant; and on
the principle that one should represent the many. He
accordingly entered into covenant with Adam, and thus
 2 WORK OF CHRIST

laid the foundation of natural religion. But that cove-

nant being violated, this foundation is removed; and
now to trust to natural religion ts to build upon a vol-
cano, which will one day burst with awful fury, and
ruvolve all within its range in eternal ruin. In his so-
vereign wisdom and love, however, God was pleased to
frame a new and better covenant; and constituted his
own Son, who in the fulness of time became man, the
representative of a people chosen in him to salvation:
and thus did he lay the foundation of the Christian re-
ligion, the only system which now deserves the sacred
name of religion. The Lord Christ, in his love for
sinners, and zeal for the glory of Godhead, cheerfully
accepted the appointment; and in the counsels of
peace, or covenant of grace, sustained the character of
representative of his people. The union of the church
to this glorious head in covenant is the foundation of
all practical religion, and the grand source of its revi-
val, progress, and final consummation. _Now ean we
look into this amazing mystery of Divine love, this in-
scrutable device of Infinite Wisdom, and not exclaim
with the apostle, ““O the depth of the riches both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable
are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”
The union of which we speak constitutes the original
spring of all revival of religion. For to those only that
are embraced in covenant, and partakers of that union,
will such a revival extend its healthful influence. The
people of the world may live in the same neighbour-
hood, they may belong to the same family, they may
worship in the same church, but, like Gideon’s fleece,
the members of Christ will be drenched, whilst the rest
are left dry. Oh, how solemn is this truth! How
does it lay in the dust the pride of man, and stop the
mouths of all who glory; for ‘‘He will be gracious to
whom he will be gracious.” But observe the connection
between this union and the work of Christ. The Father
chose a people, and gifted them to the Son. The
Son accepted them, guilty and polluted and ruined; and
engaged to redeem them by his precious blood. In this
wonderful transaction lay those deep foundations of re-
ligion, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail.
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 53

“Thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he

ages eternal life to as many as thou hast given
im.
2. To fit a man for receiving and acknowledging the
revelation of God in Christ Jesus, there must be vital
union to the Lord Jesus Christ. The fcederal union
is from eternity,—it is immutable and _everlasting.
‘The names of his seed “ are written in the Lamb’s book
of life;’ and none can ever be erased from it, none
can be added unto it. But this profound mystery is
hid from all flesh, even from its favoured objects, untill
the day of Christ’s power. In that day he, by his
Spirit, apprehends the soul dead in trespasses and sins;
and communicates a new nature, implants a principle
of spiritual life ; and thus disposes and enables the soul
to apprehend Him as he is offered in the gospel. The
very nature of a covenant, and the principle of repre-
sentation, require that an actual union shall be formed
between the head and the members of the body with
which the covenant is made. By natural birth, accord-
ingly, the successive generations of men become actually
connected with the first Adam, and in him with the
covenant made with him. In like manner, it is by
spiritual birth, and by an act of faith consequent upon
it, that any of the children of men become actually
united unto Christ, and in him become connected with
the covenant of grace: ‘“ Except a man be born again
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Now the work of Christ is the immediate source of
this connection. It is not formed but at his instance
in his intercession. For whether we regard the inter-
cession of Christ in general, or view it in detail, we
must perceive that upon it is suspended all which takes
place in the church: “ Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through
their word, that they all may be one.” In this we see
the first active movement in a revival of religion. Be
it that prayer should be made; and that uniformly it
has been made by the church for this end,—Whence
comes the Spirit by which they are stirred up to this
holy exercise and guided in it but from the intercession
of the High Priest within the veilr But though prayer
54 WORK OF CHRIST

be made of the church continually, not a believer will

be revived, not a sinner will be converted, untill the
Intercessor on high express his will that so it shall
be. And how is it that Christ possesses this mighty,
this marvelous influence? it is because he fulfilled all
righteousness and poured out his soul unto death :
«When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he
shall see his seed ”—“ He shall see of the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied.”
3. To fit men for the revelation of the glory of God
in Christ, it is indispensable that they have an interest
in Christ. In one sense it may be said that all to whom
the gospel is preached have interest in him, inasmuch
as he is freely offered to them, and they are invited to
accept of Him. The enemy indeed labours to persuade
sinners when first awakened that their guilt is too great,
their hearts too wicked, and their lives too abominable,
for Christ to receivethem. But this is false: For, since
the gospel is preached to sinners, and to sinners con-
sidered as such,—that is, having nothing in them but
sin, all are as free to embrace it as they are to receive a
letter that is addressed to them. A saving interest
in Christ, however, no man hath untill, by faith, of Di-
vine operation, he is united unto Him in the manner
already described: “If any man be in Christ he is a
new creature; old things are passed away, all things are
become new.”
Now it is when believers realise their interest in
Christ in a clear and decisive way that religion flourishes
in their souls. It was well with the Church when she
could say, “My Beloved is mine, and I am his.” For
then they see that Christ and they are one; that their
guilt and corruption and misery may be rolled over on
Christ that he may take it away ; and that Christ’s life,
righteousness, grace, and salvation, may be appropriated
as theirs. It is also when numbers are daily obtain-
ing interest in Christ by faith that religion is extended.
We may imagine that a revival has taken place when
churches are multiplied, ministers are increased, and
people are flocking to ask admission to spiritual privi-
leges. But all that may be, and religion be on the de-
cline or extinguished altogether. Where will you find
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 55

such multitudes claiming this kind of interest as in the

church of Rome? and yet that church is so degene-
rate as to be no better than a synagogue of Satan.
The church prospers—religion is revived when, as on
the day of Pentecost, multitudes are pricked in their
hearts, and cry out, Men and brethren, what shall we
do? and when, through the operation of the Spirit
bringing them to Christ, they obtain actual interest in
him and in all the blessings of his grace: “ He that
believeth shall be saved.”
But without the work of Christ no interest can be
obtained in him. He intercedes on behalf of sinners
for this end. He pleads his blood and righteousness as
the ground on which it shall be extended to them ; and
by an exhibition and application of his work to their
souls do they actually come into the possession of it:
“For our gospel came unto you not in word only, but in
power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance.”
4, To fit men for apprehending the revelation of Divine
glory in Christ, they must have communion with Christ:
By which we mean, the acting, out of one’s interest in
Christ, unto the enjoyment of all the blessings of his
purchased redemption. The life which the soul receives
in the day of its espousals is a spiritual and active life;
and it manifests its nature in all the graces which be-
long to the Christian character. Now the work of Christ
is the grand point of attraction to these graces; and in
it they find at once the food which nourishes and the
objects which exercise them. The chief of these graces,
and that on which all the others depend, is fazth. And
it is so just because it has more immediately to do with
Christ as he is proposed and commended in the light
of Divine testimony: “ By grace are ye saved, through
faith””—“ By faith we stand ”—‘ We walk by faith "—
“The just shall live by faith ”—‘ Who are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation.”
Now when religion is revived, this principle is invigo-
rated in the true people of God, and implanted in many
who before were entire strangers to it. When this is
the case, a believer seeks communion with Christ in
his work: he seeks it in his atonement. For, viewing
his union to Christ, and interest in him by faith, he
56 WORK OF CHRIST

sees that when Christ died for sin, he died forit: “Iam
crucified with Christ.” He seeks communion with
Christ in his righteousness; for by faith he sees that
when Christ obeyed the law, he obeyed it; and when
He rose from the dead, he rose: ‘* We are buried with
him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we
also should walk in newness of life.” This is a great
mystery, which carnal wisdom derides and despises;
and which, in a low state of religion, is obscured or per-
verted. But when the Spirit is poured out from on
high, when interest in Christ is sought and obtained,
and when faith, upheld and guided by Him who is its
author, looks into the constitution of the new covenant,
it sees its reality and glory causing the believer to ex-
claim, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ !”
1. The fruit of this communion with Christ in his
finished work, is the full and irrevocable pardon of all
sin and a valid title to eternal life. In a dead state of
the church, men are content with vague hopes of for-
giveness; and affect to wonder at the presumption of
those who speak of their being reconciled to God by
the death of his Son. But when religion is revived,
and the work of Christ applied; then the soul is so
burdened with a sense of guilt, so oppressed with the
fears of wrath, and so distressed with a conviction of
alienation from God, that nothing will do but immediate
and full restoration to the favour of God, and good hope
of eternal life. Nor untill this is obtained is there any
progress made in real religion. For so long as the
conscience is harassed with the accusation of guilt, there
will be a disposition to flee from God, not to come near
unto him,—like the brethren of Joseph, who trembled at
the recognition of him because they were reminded oftheir
offence against him. But when the work of Christ is
revealed as wrought for poor sinners, and is seen to
yield entire satisfaction to the justice and law of God;
and when the sinner obtains by faith aninterestin it; then
the righteousness of Christ is seen to be a believer’s
righteousness: and coming near to God, in the garment
of his elder Brother, he is accepted and blessed. And
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 57

now he understands the language of the apostle, “ being

justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
2. A second fruit of communion with Christ in his
work is the sanctification of the soul. The effect of a
revival of religion is to discover to men, that as they
are guilty and ready to perish, so they are altogether
corrupt and unprofitable. The ideas of their own vir-
tue and strength, in which they gloried, are now dissi-
pated; and a painful conviction is produced in their
minds, that “ every imagination of the thoughts of their
hearts is only evil and that continually.” To persons
in this state it is not enough that you assure them of
safety; they require spiritual health and purity. For
such are their apprehensions of the Divine character,
that they feel they are not fit to serve him in the flesh,
in which they know there is no good—“ The carnal
mind is enmity against God; it is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be.” To remedy this
sore evil, men may try a variety of expedients; but if
they know the grace of God in truth, they will find
they are all insufficient. But in the work of Christ,
provision is made for the mortification of sin: “For
our old man is crucified together with Christ; that the
body of sin might be destroyed; that henceforth we
should not serve sin. For-he that is dead is freed from
sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that
we shall also live with him.”
The work of Christ, however, is efficacious, not only
for the mortification of sin, but also for the production of
true holiness. The soul under its influence is trans-
formed into the image of God, in knowledge, righteous-
ness, and true holiness: ‘“‘And have put on the new
man, which after God is created in righteousness and
true holiness.” The whole life is brought into subjec-
tion to the will of God. The corruptions of the heart,
combined with the temptations of Satan, do oppose
many obstacles to the work of grace, and cause the be-
liever to cry out, in the bitterness of his soul, “Oh
wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death!” But through faith he can say,
“T thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And
58 WORK OF CHRIST

delighting in the law of God after the inward man, he

can add, “so then with my mind I serve the law of God,
but with the flesh the law of sin.”
3. A third fruit of communion with Christ by faith
is deliverance from every enemy. The original apostacy,
as it exposed men to the wrath of God, so it reduced
them to the most abject slavery. And in this servitude
they continue till the Son of God break their chains,
and set them at liberty: “If the Son therefore make
you free, ye shall be free indeed.” In a declining state
of religion, spiritual bondage is little felt or feared. The
great adversary of God and man is then comparatively
quiet; for he sees every thing turned to the advance-
ment of his kingdom. But the moment the symptoms
of a revival of religion appear, he is awake, and stirs
up all his might to hinder or mar it. “The Devil hath
come down, having great wrath, because he knows his
time is short,” is a description which applies to every
instance of real progress in the work of the Lord. He
assails the children of God with the most violent temp-
tations ; for he knows that the revival must begin with
them ; and he hopes, by striking at its source, to cut it
off altogether. The apostles were to be the instruments
of the revival on the day of Pentecost; and what do
we read? “Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have
you, that he may sift you as wheat.” We argue, that
the Lord designs to do good to our Sion, from the very
fact that the church is in being sifted ;and so violently
is the process carried on that some of our people seem
scarcely able to keep their ground. For, “ when the
enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will
lift up a standard against him.”
He does not, however, confine his assaults to the
people of God. He attacks those who have been awak-
ened to some concern about their souls, and labours to
persuade them that there is time enough to seek salva-
tion. And when this device fails he insinuates that it
is now too late, for they have sinned away the day ot
grace, and now there remains for them nothing “but
a certain fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery in-
dignation.” He seeks also to bring the whole question
of religion into contempt, by sowing tares among the
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 59

wheat. He gets individuals to profess great concern,

to be constant in their attendance upon means, and to
assume the aspect of really decided Christians, at the
very time they are secretly living in sin and resisting
the Spirit of grace. By these means, he hopes to throw
discredit upon the entire subject of religion, and thus
to deter men from having any thing to do with it. Now
how is this subtle and powerful adversary to be resisted
and overcome? By communion with Christ. “He
spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of
them openly, triumphing overthemin his cross.” He won
this victory as the head of his redeemed. And they by
faith are called to enter into his triumphs ; and, “taking
to them the whole armour of God, to stand in the evil
day.” ‘The accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and
by the word of their testimony.”! “I have prayed for
thee that thy faith fail not,” said our Lord to Peter in
the view of a sifting time.
We might go on to show, that it is by faith in the
work of Christ that those who are fitted for receiving
the revelation of Divine glory are delivered from the
world: “this is the victory which overcometh the world,
even our faith”—from the power and dominion of in-
dwelling sin: “sin shall not have dominion over you, for
ye are not under the law but under grace”—from the
fears, and in due time from the bitterness of death:
“Oh grave, where is thy victory? Oh death, where is
thy sting! The sting of death is sin, and the strength
of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who giveth us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ :” But time
forbids us to dwell on these interesting topics.
5. We therefore hasten to observe, in the last place,
under this head, that to fit men for the revelation of
God in Christ to their souls there is required conform-
ity to Christ. By this principle must we test the pre-
tensions of men to the possession of the grace which we
have illustrated under the former heads. “ For whom
God foreknew he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son.” And therefore “if any man
{ Revelation, xii, 10.
60 WORK: OF CHRIST

have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.” By

this principle, also, must we test all pretension to a re-
vival of religion; for if there be nogrowing conformity to
Christ in the people of God, and no beginnings of con-
formity to him in others, where shall we find traces of
a revival? A person endued with great spiritual saga-
city, indeed, may see symptoms of a coming season of
refreshing while it is yet afar off. He may, like the ser-
vant of the prophet, descry the cloud of heavenly blessing
though not larger than a man’s hand. But just as the
thirsty soil is not refreshed, nor the trees of the fields
revived, nor the flowers of the earth beautified, untill
a shower of rain actually fall, so it is not untill the
Spirit be poured from on high that the wilderness and
the solitary place is made glad for it, and the desert
rejoices and blossoms asthe rose. But when that is the
case, one of the most prominent features of the work is
the conformity to Christ which it produces. A revival
took place on Pentecost; and the Jewish rulers took
knowledge of the apostles that they had been with
Jesus. The work of the Lord prospered in Antioch,
and there disciples were first called Christians, that is,
persons like to Christ. “He that saith he abideth in
Him ought himself so to walk even as he walked.”
The conformity to Christ of which we speak must be
universal; that is, extending to our whole condition in
time and eternity, and to all the relations in which we
stand to God and our fellow-men, and to all the prin-
ciples and faculties of our nature. We must be con-
formed to him in life: ‘“ Because I live, ye shall live
also;” “Our life is hid with Christ in God”—in right-
eousness: ‘ We are the righteousness of God in him”—
in strength: “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ
Jesus’—in spirit: “ Let that mind be in you which was
in Christ”—in suffering: “I fill up that which is be-
hind of the sufferings of Christ;” “Let him take up his
cross and follow me”—in conversation: ‘Leaving us an
example that we should follow his steps ”—in victory
over enemies: “ Weare more than conquerors through
him that loved us”—in eternal glory : “He shall change
our vile bodies, and fashion them like unto his glorious
body ;” “When he appears, we shall be like him; for
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 61

we shall see him as he is;” “To him that. overcometh

will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also
overcame, and am sat down with my Father on his
throne.”
But though conformity to Christ be thus universal
in its extent, we must not forget that it is slow and
gradual in its progress. The Christian life is compared
to natural life, in which there is childhood, manhood,
and old age. And it were as unwise for a child to
complain that he is not a full-grown man as for a young
convert to complain that he is not an experienced be-
liever. The growth of this conformity is subject to
many checks, and even backslidings. The children of
Tarael now advanced towards Canaan, again they stood
still, and sometimes they retrograded. And in like
manner, true believers sometimes go on their way re-
joicing, sometimes they “are in heaviness through mani-
fold temptations,” and sometimes they are “carnal, and
walk like men.” But amidst the severe trials to which
they are subjected, the eminent perils to which they
are exposed, and the painful conflicts which they are
obliged to maintain, they hold on their way. For He
who has called them to his kingdom and glory leads
them by the right way, that they may go to the city of
habitation. “The path of the just is as the shining
light that shineth more and more unto the perfect
day.”
We need hardly remark, that, in this feature of it
also, a revival of religion stands closely connected
with the work of Christ. In that work is the glorious
model exhibited after which his people are to be formed.
And it were well for them to remember that “as He
was, so are they in this present world.” By the con-
templation of the glory of Christ as it shines in his
work, in the exercise of faith, are they to be gradually
transformed into the likeness of their Head: “ We all
with open face beholding, as in a glass, the glory of
the Lord, are changed into the same image, from
glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” But
that work contains the foundation on which conform-
ity to Christ proceeds. He lived and suffered and died
as a public person—the Father of anumerous offspring—
62 WORK OF CHhIST

the Head ofa singular community; and in all that hap-

pened to him, his people were virtually included. The
conformity which they acquire to him, therefore, is just
the development of what was wrapt up in his per-
sonal history. The favour they have with God is the
favour that he has; the sufferings they meet with
are his sufferings—only in their case they are not penal
as they were in His; the righteousness they wear is
the righteousness which he wrought out; the grace
they possess is the grace that is in Him; the glory
they shall enjoy is His glory. In the contemplation of
this wondrous truth, the manifestation it affords of
Divine wisdom and love, the interest which it throws
around the whole Christian scheme, and the security
and honour and stability it yields to the Christian life,
may we not exclaim, “ Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or perse-
cution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword,” &c.!
We have contemplated the work of Christ in relation
to the object of the Christian religion, and the qualifica-
tions involved in the apprehension of the object. We
now call your attention, in the third place, to the con-
nection of the work of Christ with the Divine agency
by which this glorious object is revealed and appre-
hended. The agency is none other than the Spirit of
the living God, who, equally with the Father and the
Son, is to be loved, adored, and served by all in heaven
and on the earth. To Him is committed and by Him
is graciously undertaken the work of giving effect to
the love of the Father and the grace of the Son—in the
actual redemption of the church from sin and ruin, and
her exaltation to holiness and bliss; this is “the pure
river of water of life” which John in vision beheld,
“clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God
and of the Lamb.”
In further illustration of this subject I remark, that
the mission of the Holy Spirit to the church proceeds
from the work of Christ. We must doubtless refer
this arrangement to the constitution of the eternal
covenant: a constitution, however, which is manifestly
designed to bring to view the personal relations of the
© Rom. viii, 35—39.
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 63

glorious Godhead. In that covenant the Father en-

gaged to give the Holy Spirit without measure to his
incarnate Son as head of the church; and through him,
and for his sake, to bestow him upon the members of
his body. But this promise had a distinct and specific
reference to the work of atonement and righteousness
which Jesus was to accomplish, and to the intercession
which, founded on that work, he was to maintain: “Thou
lovest righteousness and hatest iniquity; therefore God,
even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
above thy fellows.” We accordingly find that it was
not untill he had finished the work given him to do
that the dispensation of the Spirit properly began to run
its course: “ The Holy Ghost was not yet given, be-
cause that Jesus was not yet glorified;’ and how
was it he was to rise to this glory? “Ought not Christ
to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?”
The reason of this arrangement is sufficiently evident
from the testimony of Holy Scripture. We have seen
that all friendly intercourse between God and man was
broken up by the entrance of sin into the world,
through the transgression of Adam. Now the only
basis on which this intercourse can be renewed is the
work of Christ, and the satisfaction which he thereby
rendered to the justice of God, and the honour he put
upon his holy law. But the first step towards the
actual renewal of this sacred intercourse, and that on
which every other is suspended, is the mission of the
Holy Spirit the Comforter. The heavens are silent
as to all living and effective demonstrations of grace,
and the earth is fast closed against all overtures of
Divine love till this precious gift is communicated.
The glory of God shines not in the soul, and the soul
has no apprehension of that glory untill the Spirit of
the Lord be sent forth. The spiritual world is like the
original chaos, where thick darkness reigns till the
Spirit come in his life-giving power. ‘God,who com-
manded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” The
Scripture, accordingly, represents every saving blessing
as wrapt up in the gift of the Spirit; and observe how
64 WORK OF CIIRIST

its bestowal is connected with the work of Christ:

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us: that the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that
we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
The mission of the Spirit, as it thus proceeds on
the finished work of Christ, is immediately connected
with his intercession in heaven. In his last discourse
to his disciples, he comforted them under the sorrow
they felt at the prospect of his departure, by assuring
them that the Spirit would more than supply his place:
“I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever:’—a
promise, by the way, which is utterly inconsistent with
the expectations of Millennarians. The very terms
of the promise demonstrate, that the Spirit is de-
signed to supply the place of the Redeemer in His ab-
sence from the church. And consequently, if the Com-
forter be with the church, Christ in his bodily presence
is absent. But, observe how long this state of things
is to continue—“for ever;” that is, to the end of the
Christian dispensation. And lest it should be ima-
gined, that the church was to lose any thing by this
arrangement, our Lord tells his disciples, “It is expedient
for you that I go away, for if Igo not away the Com-
forter will not come unto you.” But how was the Com-
forter to come to the church? We answer, by the inter-
cession of Christ: “I will pray the Father, and he shall
give you another Comforter.” With this promise in his
view, and looking back upon the events which had oc-
curred in the interval, the apostle Peter knew well the
subject of his discourse when he said —“ therefore,
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost,
he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear.”
2. The work of the Spirit hath exclusively respect
to the work of Christ. To enter upon any account of
this work would be to anticipate the subject of the
next Lecture, and therefore all I intend at present to
show is, that, in the whole of it, there is express and
special reference to the work of Christ. The language
in which our Lord speaks of the subject is very remark-
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 65

able: “ He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever

he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you
things to come. He shall glorify me; for he shall
receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things
that the Father hath are mine; therefore, said I, that
he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you.”! The
description which in the same chapter he gives of the
work of the Comforter, finely illustrates this point.
He convinces of sin, but how? because they believe not
on Christ. He convinces of righteousness, because
Christ went to the Father, and the Church sees him no
more. He convinces of judgment, because the prince of
this world is judged, namely, in the triumphs of the
cross of Christ.
I must go on, however, to notice, in the Fourth place,
the connection of the work of Christ with the instru-
ment employed in the revival of religion: And that is
the whole word of God, contained in the Scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments. Now, to show that this
instrument is closely connected with the work of Christ,
we might remind you that it is represented as the word
of Christ ;and hence the apostle Peter, speaking of the
great salvation declared in the Gospel, says, “ Of which
salvation the prophets have enquired and searched dili-
gently, who prophesied of the grace that should come
unto you: searching what or what manner of time the
Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify.” But,
passing from this, we observe that the work of Christ is
the grand subject of the revelation made in holy Scrip-
ture. The introduction to the Book of Revelation might,
without the least impropriety, be put before the whole
Bible, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave
unto him.” In conversing with the Jews at a time
when not a page of the New Testament was traced, our
Lord exhorted them to “Search the Scriptures, for,”
he says, “in them ye think ye have eternal life, and
they are they which testify of me.” And talking to
the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, “he began
at Moses and all the Prophets, and expounded unto them
in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
In a declining state of the church this view of the
! John, xvi, 13—15.
66 WORK OF CHRIST

word of God may be entirely forgotten. But no sooner

is there a shaking among the dry bones, and sinners
are constrained to enquire what they must do to be
saved, than the Scriptures are read, especially as setting
forth Him who is given to be a covenant to the people,
that he may be for salvation to the ends of the earth.
The people of God too are constrained to search the
Scriptures, that they may see the glory and hear the
voice of Him whom their souls love. They labour to
fulfill the apostle’s command, “ Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly in all wisdom.”
I remark, in the Fifth and last place, that the work
of Christ is connected with Divine ordinances, by means
of which a revival of religion is maintained and pro-
moted. And of these the first in importance is the
Gospel ministry. To the work of Christ we owe the
very existence of this excellent and powerful mean of
grace.' To the ministers of Christ are committed the
keys of doctrine and discipline. By the key of doc-
trine I mean the preaching of the word. But what is,
at least what ought to be the subject of their preaching?
let one of the most gifted and useful of ministers answer :
“I determined not to know any thing among you save
Jesus Christ and him crucified.” In many cases the
ministry of the word is conducted in such a way that
one would imagine men had resolved to exclude this
glorious theme from their discourse. An exposition
of the duties of human life, an exhortation to the prac-
tice of virtue, an advice to be patient under trouble,
intermingled with some dry allusions to the example
of Christ, and a flattering but awfully delusive assurance
that if men are only attentive to these things the rewards
of heaven await them; that is all the gospel which many
preachers give to their people. But others contrive to
amuse them with a form of sound words, and to main-
tain all the appearance of evangelical preaching, while
in reality they administer the most deadly poison to
their hearers. For where is the mighty difference be-
tween saying that a man is to be saved by works, and
preaching that he is to be saved through Christ by a faith
of hisown production? The only difference is, that
' See Ephesians, iv, 7—13.
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 67

the one exposes to view the destructive error, while the

other gilds it over with the appearance of evangelical
doctrine. But it is not in connection with such a minis-
try that a revival of religion will take place. The
work of Christ must be held forth in all its beauty and
amplitude and fulness ;and salvation, by absolutely free
and sovereign grace, must be proclaimed, flowing from
the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the
communion of the Holy Ghost; and thus may a revival
be had, but not till then: ‘We preach Christ crucified,
to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolish-
ness ; but to them which believe, Christ the power of
God and the wisdom of God.” By this criterion are
ministers to be tried: “ Beloved, believe not every
spirit, but try the spirits whether they be of God; for
many false prophets are gone out into the world.” Let
men have ordination handed down to them in an un-
broken chain from the apostles ;let them have all the
learning which schools and colleges can give, and all the
skill in ecclesiastical law which church courts require;
let them be ever so accomplished in all the arts of pul-
pit oratory, if they do not faithfully preach Christ cruci-
fied they are not to be received: “ Though we or an
angel from heaven preach any other gospel, let him be
anathema.” .
To the ministers of Christ is committed the key of
discipline: And this also hath respect to the work of
Christ. For it is not every one that is to be admitted
to the privileges of the Christian church; nor is it all
who happen to be of age, of good character, and of com-
petent knowledge; nor is it all who may be esteemed
by blind and carnal men disciples of Christ; but those
who give evidence, such evidence as may be judged of
by a spiritually-minded man, that they are the subjects
of the work of grace which we have endeavoured to
describe, as lying at the root of all true knowledge of
Christ and saving interest in him. And when this is
the case, carnal professors will be ashamed, and hypo-
crites, like chaff, will be driven from the church. ‘Let
every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from
iniquity.”
We might illustrate the connection of the work
68 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

of Christ with the administration of the sacraments

of baptism and the Lord’s Supper; with prayer, secret,
social, and public; with fasting—a duty which has
ever been owned of God as a mean of promoting a re-
vival ; and with other means of grace; but we must for-
bear. In reviewing the ground over which we have
traveled, and marking the close and vital connection
which the work of Christ bears with the revival of re-
ligion in all the views in which it can be contemplated,
we are reminded of the words which the exalted Re-
deemer spake to his servant in Patmos, “I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the
Lord, which is and which was and which is to come,
the Almighty.”
The practical reflections suggested by the subject
before us are so many that it is necessary though
difficult to make a selection. In the first place we are
called to contemplate and admire the glory of Christ.
In every view that has been taken of his work he ap-
pears exceedingly glorious. He is glorious in himself,
in his Godhead, and in his manhood, and in the union
of both in his Person. He is glorious in his office of
Mediator—the Prophet, Priest, and King of his church.
He is glorious in his atonement, his righteousness, and
intercession. He is glorious in his grace and truth, his
person and love, his cause and salvation. Now itis for
us to enquire whether he be glorious in our estimation,
and whether, like the apostle, “ we count all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
the Lord ;’ for what will it avail to us that he is in all
his characters and relations so precious, if by us he be
accounted “a root out of a dry ground, having neither
form nor comeliness wherefore he should be desired” ?
2. We see how truly noble and excellent are the true
people of God. By the world indeed they are despised
and reproached ; but that is because they do not know
their character nor appreciate their worth: ‘ The world
knoweth us not because it knew him not.” But truly
excellent are they as the objects of God’s everlasting
love, the member’s of Christ’s mystical body, the temples
of the Holy Ghost, the purchase of atoning blood, the
partakers of imputed righteousness, the children of
 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS, 69

God and the heirs of eternal life. Be exhorted to exa-

mine whether you have any scriptural claim to be
ranked with this singular people. And if you have,
then walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are
called. Meditate on the work of Christ that your souls
may prosper and be in health; and that, living your-
selves, you may seek that others may be quickened and
brought to Christ. But if not, then be exhorted to
cast in your lot with the people of God, and “ esteem
the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the trea-
sures in Egypt.”
3. How fearful is the condition of those who reject
Christ. The guilt of the first apostacy lies upon them;
and that is sufficient to fill them with terror and dismay.
But there is superadded to that the more tremendous
guilt of despising the second Adam, and setting at
nought the covenant ratified by his precious blood. Now
who can conceive the misery that awaits gospel despisers
in being exposed tc the wrath of the Lamb of God?
O be exhorted to flee from this terrible judgment, and
seek refuge, by faith of the Spirit’s operation, in him
who is “a hiding-place from the wind and a covert from
the tempest.” One thing is needful for life; one thing
is needful for the hour of death ; one thing is needful
for the solemn hour of the judgment day; one thi:g is
needful for long, long eternity: And that is an interest
in Christ by the awakening, converting, and regenera-
ting grace of the Holy Ghost.
4. We may finally remark, how ample and how rich
is the encouragement given to sinners to seek Christ
and salvation in him. He is all-sufficient to save from
the lowest depths of guilt and corruption and wretched-
ness. No sin is so heinous but his blood may expiate
it; no guilt so aggravated but his righteousness may
cover it ; no depravity so strong but his grace may sub-
due it: “ He is able tosave them to the uttermost who
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them.” And if it be pleaded by any
that they are blind and cannot see his glory—helpless
and cannot accept his mercy: Even for this case there
is provision made in Christ. He is lifted up that he
may draw men unto him. He possesses the rare vir-
70 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

tue of bringing sinners to himself that they may be

saved. To them therefore who labour and are heavy-
laden, not only under a sense of their sin and misery,
but also under a conviction of the hardness and rebel-
lion of their hearts, the Lord Christ is a most suitable
Saviour. For the very doctrine of free and sovereign
grace, which is a stumbling-block to the world and to
mere professors of religion, is a doctrine exactly suited
to those who feel that they have destroyed themselves.
The glory of the gospel of Christ is, that salvation be-
longeth to the Lord, not only in its design and purchase,
but also in its application. And but for this, no flesh
would be saved. For leave men to themselves and they
will manifest the same inveterate hostility to the Gospel
which they do to the Law. ‘“ They that are in the flesh
cannot please God” by their faith any more than by
their obedience. The Spirit must quicken, for the flesh
profits nothing. Now let sinners ready to perish hear the
gracious voice that is addressed to them, “ The Spirit
and the Bride say Come, and let him that heareth say
Come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever
will let him come and take of the water of life freely.”
Amen.
 71

LECTURE III.
The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Revival of
Religion.
BY THE REV. ALFXANDER MOODY STUART, A.M.,
MINISTER OF ST. LUKE’S PARISH, EDINBURGH.

<* But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they
are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiri-
tually discerned.”—1 CoRINTHIANS, ii, 14,

In the revival of the work of God there are two effects

of the Spirit which we would mention at the outset of
our discourse : He enables ministers to preach with
far more than ordinary power, and the people to hear
with far more than ordinary perception. Zhe preaching
of the Word can never be imitated—it can never be
taught by man, nor learned by human skill. In this,
more than in any other field, “a man can receive
nothing except it be given him from heaven.” A man
may put words wisely together—he may utter them
well and winningly—but he cannot therefore preach.
When the Holy Spirit is given, every ambassador of
Christ is another man; the same truths are far more
clearly stated, and the same statements far more power-
fully made.—But the Spirit enables also the people to
hear. There may be no difference in the preacher—
no greater clearness, no greater power—yet the people
will hear far otherwise. The most common truths, most
weakly set forth, will come with irresistible efficacy.
The simple word read will work mightily in men’s
hearts for instruction, for conviction, for comfort.
May the Spirit now give the preacher such energy and
unction, or if He withhold the power from him, may he
open your ears to hear a feeble word, and perfect his
own strength in our weakness. Without his immediate
teaching, the parts that fall to us both respectively are
(fe WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

equally difficult—alike impossible. Without Him you

can no more hear than we can preach: For the dead
cannot speak; but no more can the dead open their
ears to listen. May the quickening Spirit now quicken
us all.
On the subject before us this evening—“ The Work
of the Holy Spirit in the Revival of Religion ”—we
draw from Scripture and from the words of our text
the four following positions :
I. The Spirit is now specially present on earth, and
with him we have now specially to do.
If. All things pertaining to life and godliness are
committed to the Spirit, and what he alone possesses,
he only can disclose.
Ill. The Holy Spirit is intrusted with the finished
redemption, not for the purpose of concealing it from
us, but that he may make it known, and persuade and
enable us to embrace it.
IV. Whenever the Spirit so works in the minds of
many there is a revival of religion, and nothing else is
a revival.
I. Then, The Spirit is specially present on earth,
and with him we have all specially to do.
He is now on the earth, not merely as the omnipresent
God, but in a manner more personal and special; just
as Christ was in the days of his flesh. His presence
not being felt by unbelievers, does not prove that it is
not real, any more than Christ’s not being seen of them
between his death and resurrection proved that he had
ascended and was here no more. Christ speaks of the
Spirit’s coming and presence, just as he does of his own:
“If I go not away the Comforter will not come unto
you; but if I depart I will send him unto you”—
“When he is come he will reprove the world.” He
reproves not the world while he himself remains in
heaven ; he convinces not by distant messages of in-
struction ; he convinces not by the mere words which
he moved holy men to write: but he comes, and not till
he has come does he begin to convince, so that whenever
he is convincing any, he has first come. And he is still
present, as in the days of the first disciples, for “he
will abide with you for ever.” Just indeed as Christ
 IN A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 73

on earth was not recognised by unbelievers, and was

even taken for a devil and his works for the works of
Satan; and as in his risen and now glorious body he was
not seen by them at all, so the Spirit is never gloriously
seen by the world, and when his presence is felt it is
not acknowledged : “ The world seeth him not, neither
knoweth him.” But as believers were witnesses of
Christ’s resurrection, so believers are witnesses of the
Spirit's glorious descent; for “ye know him, for he
dwelleth with you and shall be in you.” Or if unbe-
lievers do feel the presence of the Spirit, they reject him
just as they saw and rejected the “ Word manifested in
the flesh.” Of old they saw outwar.l evidence of the
Holy Ghost’s presence, but they mocked and denied;
and they felt then and feel now his reproofs in their
conscience ; but they quench and grieve, and even say
it is Satan. Many a man, whose carnal and self-righ-
teous confidence begins to be shaken and his worldly
comfort broken, ascribes his distress to sinful doubts or
satanic suggestions, when it is nothing else than the
work of the Holy Spirit striving with his spirit.
The Spirit then is gloriously present in the church:
present with believers, dwelling in them; present to
unbelievers, striving with them: and with the Spirit
therefore men have specially to do, whether believers
or unbelievers. We are all brought into special near-
ness and contact with him. Say not, O man, the Spirit
was never near to me. Christ, the Word made flesh,
“‘was in the world, and the world was made by him,
and the world knew him not.” The eternal Spirit now
is in the world, and “the world seeth him not, neither
knoweth him.” Pray that your eyes may be opened
to perceive “him with whom ye have to do,” lest you
should even sin against the Holy Ghost.”
II. All things pertaining to life and godliness are com-
mitted to the Spirit. This is declared in many passages
of Scripture, and brought out with great fulness in the
expression in our text, “the things of the Spirit of
God.” What in the ninth verse is designated by the
expression, “the things which God hath prepared for
them that love him,” and in the twelfth “the things
that are freely given to us of God” is in the verse be-
74 WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

fore us marked by the term, “the things of the Spirit

of God.” Eternal life, and all that prepares for it and
all that pertains to it; Christ with his death and his
merits ; every thing that the sinner needs to know for
salvation, or can know, being saved, is numbered among
“ the things of the Spirit of God.” These things belong
to him; they are lodged with him; they are his; “He
shall receive of mine;” “ All things that the Father hath
are mine, therefore said I that he shall take of mine.”
Had not Christ been equal with the Father and one
with him, it had been lowering the Eternal Spirit for
him to say, that “he shall receive of mine ;” but because
all things that the Father hath belong to Christ, there-
fore the Eternal Spirit, consistently with his own dignity,
receives of the things of Christ for us. And what is
committed to him alone he alone can disclose to us;
“He distributeth to every man severally as he will.”
No one else has the blessings to bestow, and no one
else can distribute them. They are very abundant and
they are very free—as free as the air of heaven is; so
free that it is said that the Spirit is given for the express
purpose of disclosing to us how free they are: “ We
have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit
that is of God, that we might know the things that are
freely given to us of God.’ Yet, while they are thus free,
they are entirely under his disposal; no man can give
them to his neighbour, or can make him know that they
are given. The Spirit alone giveth or revealeth that
they are given; and he does this in the way of distinct
distribution accordingto his own pleasure. “distributing
to every man severally as he will.’ They are never
bestowed in mere mass any more than they are dis-
covered by chance or by human skill. If one sinner is
enlightened, persuaded, renewed, it is by the express
will of the Spirit. Ifa thousand, it is the effect of the
same omnipotent will: “The wind bloweth where it
listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth; so is
every one that is born of the Spirit.” As the wind
bloweth where it listeth in so far as it regards us, so the
Spirit breathes where he wills, uncontroled, undirected,
self-moved.
 IN A hELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 79

Ili. Yet the Holy Ghost is intrusted with the things

of Christ, not for the purpose of concealing them
from us, but of making them clearly manifest, enabling
us to know and persuading us to embrace them. With-
out the Spirit, the blessings of redemption are at once
sealed from the view of man, and man closes his eyes
to them and shuts his heart against them.
1. Redeeming grace is from its own nature sealed
from the view of man. That which is revealed to the
mind by the Holy Ghost is the love of God in Christ,
it is opening the very bosom of Jehovah to the sinner,
disclosing his heart. Now this is clearly done in the
express words of Scripture—the words of the Holy
(host himself, and these words the Spirit ever uses for
revealing God in Christ. Still, when any man is born
of the Spirit, it is both by the express and immediate
volition of the Father—“ Of his own will begat he us
by the word of truth;” and there is the real unfolding
to the creature of the mind of the Creator—“ Eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man the things which God hath prepared for
them that love him; but God hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit.” Not merely hath the carnal eye not
seen them, but the eye of the creature could never see
them unless the Father brought them forth of his own
free will by the Spirit; for, as “no man knoweth the
things of aman save the spirit of man that is in him,
even so the things of God knoweth no man but the
Spirit of God.” A man knows many things about his
fellow-man, but his heart he knoweth not: even so it
is with the deep things of God; no one knoweth them
but the Spirit of God. Another being may have pri-
vilege of access to the Father's bosom—an angel of
light through the kindness of God—a forgiven sinner
through the blood of the Lamb—but he has of himself
no right of entrance. He may know the mind of God
towards himself—he may understand the mind of God
toward sinners of the human race; but he cannot go
and say to any this is the mind of God to you: or ifhe can
say so, he cannot convincingly prove it—he cannot un-
veil it—he cannot oven the bosom of the Father to the
sinner’s eye and say, Here is love. He hath not the
76 WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRI¥

mind of God to unlock it at pleasure, but goes as a

simple messenger. He cannot bring out the deep things
of God; he can sayI have found it so, go and you will
find it too, believe and you will enjoy it; but he can do
no more. God himself must reveal himself to his own
creature; man may be useful as an instrument, but I
must have intercourse with God, and from himself must
learn his own mind: “They shall be all taught of God.”
“ Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is
in heaven !”
2. But the sinful blindness of man’s fallen mind also
prevents him from discerning the grace of God in
Christ : “The natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him;
neither can he know, them, because they are spiritually
discerned.” There is no finer field for the exercise of
human intellect than the truths of revelation, and no-
thing strengthens the mind more than that access which
the gospel opens to the source of all mind, “ the Father
of our spirits.” One of the greatest minds that our
country has ever produced observed after being intro-
duced to his sovereign: “It does a man good to have
an interview with the king.” Ifa single interview with
an earthly inonarch was improving and quickening to
his mind, how much more ennobling and enlarging must
be a free intercourse with the King of kings! And the
truths revealed afford a noble exercise for the mind of
every man. In all their godlike grandeur and depth,
there are yet a definite precision and simplicity in the
main truths of the gospel, as in God being “just while
he justifies the ungodly who believeth in Jesus:” than
which man could imagine nothing more fitted either to
commend itself to the simplest understanding, or to
delight and exercise the highest. Yet this the natural
man discerns not. Even the truths which are more
nearly allied to natural religion, and of which the na-
tural mind might be supposed more capable; such as
the severity and eternity of future punishment, are to
him amazingly dim and confused. A man may believe
in future retribution as firmly at least as he believes
in his own death, and yet have scarcely any grasp of
 IN A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. ah

that punishment as everlasting. And then, that which

more immediately belongs to the gospel he appears
never at all to apprehend, although under the constant
hearing of it, or even in its constant utterance by him-
self. The law of God gloriously obeyed by Christ, his
justice gloriously satisfied, and the grace through him
without money and without price; these things never
enter into the natural mind. He destroys truth by
mercy, and he destroys mercy by truth; but mercy and
truth meeting together and exalting each other he never
apprehends. Neither “the gift of righteousness” nor
the “grace reigning through righteousness” can he
discern. The righteousness that is of grace and the
grace that is through righteousness, the gracious righ-
teousness and the righteous grace, are to him alike un-
known. Nay, so perverted is his understanding, that
he would think it a sin to believe on Christ. His con-
science convinces him of many sins, but never of the
sin of unbelief. He may indeed be forced to see that
he is an unbeliever, but he sees neither the guilt of un-
belief nor the duty of believing. He would think it pre-
sumption in him to receive now the finished redemption
and to trust now in the present Saviour. He would look
on that as deadly sin; and so his blinded conscience, far
from constraining him to believe, actually and power-
fully scares him from believing. But the Holy Spirit
enlightens—“ when he is come he will convince the
world of sin because they believe not on me—of righ-
teousness, because I go to my Father and ye see me no
more”—the redemption being completed and accepted.
And what the man thought to be conscientiousness be-
fore, he now sees to be legality and bondage and sin;
and what he counted presumption before and licenti-
ous denial of the law, he now sees to be meekness and
submission and holy faith.
3. And further, the heart of man is adverse to the
redemption and receives it not; “he receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to
him.” The glorious things of God are foolishness to
the natural heart; they are weak and insipid and
loathsome. The very wisdom of the Most High, thie
very glory of his wisdom is foolishness to fallen man—
78 WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Christ crucified, the wisdom of God and the power of

God, he cannot bear. He therefore receives not; he
receives not the truth concerning Christ, and he receives
not Christ, nor eternal life, nor the free forgiveness of
sins. And this is not mere ignorance, it is deep aver-
sion; it is not simple darkness of understanding, it is
stubborn hatred of heart; it is not a mere clouded in-
tellect, it is a perverse and ungodly will. It is true
that error of understanding keeps the heart in a state
of alienation, but on the other hand the alienated heart
blinds the understanding. Misconception of God and
of his mind toward us works suspicion and hatred, but
this very misconception is the result of previous enmity.
Each is at once the fruit and the seed of the other; the
ignorance springs from hatred, and the hatred springs
from ignorance. If we loved we should easily know,
if we knew we could not but love. But we know not
God, and therefore cannot love him; we hate him, and
therefore cannot know him. In our hostile suspicion we
misconceive of all his ways, we misinterpret all his
words, we darken all his revelation; not only therefore
must the understanding be enlightened, but the will
must be renewed. Could the mind be instructed with-
out the will being changed, man would only rebel the
more; clearer knowledge would only serve to quicken
the slumbering enmity. But the Spirit, while he clears
the perception, always renews the will; when we re-
ceive the Spirit that we may know, then also “the
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost.” The Spirit never does enable a man to know
without persuading him to embrace Christ. In salva-
tion, knowledge and reception are inseparably joined,
because all true knowledge in spiritual things is the
knowledge of a gift, according to the glorious expres-
sions, “if thou knewest the gift,” and “that we ma
know the things that are freely given.” All that we
really know is given, and all that we know therefore we
receive. This may be illustrated by the promise made
to Abraham of the earthly Canaan, by which was ty pi-
fied that better country which he sought, and that eter-
nal life which is the gift of God to us.’ Jehovah bade
him lift up his eyes and look northward and southward
 IN A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 79

and eastward and westward, while he declared, “For

all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it.”
It was the perception of a gift; he could look nowhere
but on that which was his own; revealing was giving,
and seeing was receiving. Soitis in redemption. By
the Spirit we know—not what is said, not what is done,
nor even what is merely promised, but what is given,
freely given. We know what is given, and we receive
what we know.
IV. When the Spirit so works in the hearts of many
there is a revival of religion, and nothing else is a re-
vival. Under this head we observe,
1. That while the Holy Ghost is always present in
his church, there are times when he draws manifestly
nearer and puts forth a greater energy of power. Every
believer is conscious in his own soul of changes corres-
ponding to this; for the Spirit is always with him,
abiding in him, and yet there are times of unusual
communion and far more than ordinary life. And as
the Spirit draws near to an individual, so does he draw
near to a land, and then religion is revived, spiritual life
is revived, spiritual understanding, spiritual worship,
spiritual repentance, spiritual obedience. At such a
time the Holy Ghost is peculiarly present with his peo-
ple and powerfully striving with sinners. He takes his
residence among men, and makes many living temples
to himself. He enables many to pray, and he is found
even of them that have not sought him. You may have
found in yourselves an experience that agrees with this.
In atime of much prayer on the part of others, have
you not often recognised the special presence of the
Spirit with yourself? In seasons such as that of your
communion, when thousands are continuing in prayer
and supplication, believers in other parts of the country,
at the very moment of your solemnities, have unex-
pectedly found such access in Christ to the Father by
the Spirit. ‘Then they have asked why is it so, and
have learned, on enquiry, that an exceeding great mul-
titude were then engaged in worship. What does this
prove? not merely that the separate prayers of separate
persons are heard for themselves, but that there are
outpourings of supplication which bring the Spirit him-
self near to the land, revealing the Lamb of God.
80 WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

2. The energy of the Spirit thus put forth is sufficient

for the rapid conversion of multitudes of souls, such as
is witnessed in a revival. The conversions that take
place at such a season are questioned by many, because
they say there have not been means enough going be-
fore, nor fruits enough following; and the work itself
has been too sudden and too general. These are the
easons of doubt which they assign. But the real and
secret reason is that they question the power of Him
who wrought the work—they inwardly think it too
great a work for the Eternal Spirit. There have been
means enough, but not such as they can recognise as
adequate to the effect,—not sufficient teaching and
earning and preaching and manifold preparation. Be-
cause these secondary means fall short, therefore they
doubt, not discerning the presence of the Holy Ghost
himself— this self-same Spirit who worketh all these,”
and who is more than the mightiest of all means. The
work again is too sudden;—yes for men, but not for
God the Holy Ghost. The briefest time is ample for
him, quite emple. What weak man could not do in
eternity, the Eternal and Almighty spirit can do in an
instant. The work of redemption is finished; the Spi-
rit who applies it is present ;and it need not take long
for the present Spirit to reveal the completed work.
But the numbers are too great ;—yes if with the Holy
Spirit conversion were a matter of labour and effort;
but if it is the work of omnipotent creating will, then
the conversion of ten thousand is not more difficult nor
more to be doubted than the conversion of one. But
the fruits are not sufficiently manifest ? This, however,
leads to a third observation.
3. If the Spirit of God shall convert a soul, that man
will be a mystery to the natural man: or if he convert
a thousand, the work will be unintelligible. All “the
things of the Spirit are foolishness to him”—the work
of the Spirit on the soul of man is foolishness, and the
spiritual man is in his estimation a simpleton and fool.
“ He that is spiritual is judged of no man”—“he is not
discerned”—not understood, and therefore not appre-
ciated. It were therefore good for a man to be himsel,
renewed in a time of the Spirit’s power, if it were fo
 IN A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 81

no other end than that he might be capable of discern-

‘ng and admiring so glorious a work of God Almighty.
Some men indeed say they will acknowledge a work of
the Spirit when they see its fruits; when? in a month
—in a year—in a life-time? But there is no better
time for beholding the work of the Spirit than when
his power is first put forth, for there is something pe-
culiarly glorious in the first creation of the soul unto
righteousness. The angels in heaven tarry not, but
rejoice over the sinner that repenteth, seizing the first
moment of his return. When Immanuel is born in
Bethlehem a helpless infant, the hosts of light commence
their song, the shepherds repair to the manger, the wise
men adore. They wait uot till they see him in his
manhood walking on the stormy sea and stilling the
waves with a word. Had they tarried they never could
have so seen him again. He was perfect in his in-
fancy and perfect in his manhood, but each period
was distinguished by its own peculiar beauty; the
loveliness of the infant was one, and the glory of the
man was another. Ten years hence, in the parishes at
present revived, you may see another sight, but you
cannot see what you will see now. We trust there will
be a progress in grace, but these men may be scattered,
they may be tried in a fiery furnace and separated for
the cause of Christ. After the Spirit was given at
Jerusalem the disciples were dispersed everywhere, and
there was many a noble sight, but it was not Pentecost.
And if men will not see the work of the Holy Ghost
now, they may never so see it again,—not from the Spirit
withdrawing himself, but from his working in a different
way. And besides, if you will not see the work of the
Spirit now, your eyes may be closed and your ears
made heavy, lest you should sec, and lest you should
hear. Christ says, “he who despiseth one of his little
ones, despiseth himself;” and in like manner, he who
despises the living temples of the Holy Ghost despises
the quickening Spirit who dwells in them.
But if you could discover the work in another, it will
be all the more sad if you experience it not in your-
selves. A melancholy thing it is to hear of others made
alive while you yourselves continue dead; a dangerous
82 CONCLUDING EXHORTATION.

thing to be interested in others yielding to the Spirit

striving with them, while you are yourselves resisting
the same Spirit striving with you. And therefore, by
way of application, before concluding, suffer a word of
exhortation to yourselves.
1. Believe in the necessity of the Holy Ghost to
enlighten your eye and renew your will; that you can-
not at first, and never can at any time say from the
heart that “Jesus Christ is Lord but by the Holy
Ghost ;” that whenever you are trusting in Christ, re-
joicing in him, or praying to God through his name,
the Holy Spirit is of his own will quickening and
teaching you.
2. Believe in the power and willingness of the Holy
Spirit to teach you. If Christ, the eternal Son of God,
was able to bear our sins, the Eternal Spirit is able to
convince us of sin, to enlighten our darkness, to quicken
our death. And his will is equal to his power; of his
own free will hath he undertaken to reveal Immanuel,
and he delights to glorify him. Of his own will he
engages ‘to teach sinners in the way” for the love that
he bears to sinners. Does he not love sinners? and
how would he otherwise dwell in the sinner’s heart?
It is indeed a holy entrance, for he comes through the
blood of the Lamb; aholy indwelling for the conscience
is ever cleansed by that blood; but it is of infinite love
that he undertakes to make the sinner holy by dwelling
in his heart ; entering where no fellow-man would stoop
to approach; abiding where no creature would endure
to remain. “Believe in the “ power of the Holy Ghost,”
believe in the “love of the Spirit.”
3. Believe in the presence of.the Holy Ghost; in his
special, personal, immediate, quickening presence.
Particularly, in the reading and hearing of his own
word, believe that he is present, interpreting and ap-
plying: ‘“ According to your faith, so will it be unto
you.” But man will say this is imagination, if I
think of him as f:r off, and he is absent; and again,
think of him as present, and find him near. It is not
imagination, it is knowledge of the truth; it is not
fancy, it is faith. Unbeliet’ is a veil between you and
God; on the one side all is dark, on the other all is
 CONCLUDING EXHORTATION. 83

light; faith by the power of God, tears the veil asunder,

and you are in the light. If you think of the Holy
Spirit as distant—of the Holy Spirit as weak in power—
of the Holy Spirit as of little love and condescension,
this is unbelief and untruth; and if the Holy Spirit
were thus to help you, would it not be an acknowledg-
ment that your misconception was true? would it
not be a denying of himself? He will help you, but
for this believe in him as he really is, Almighty, all-
present, all-willing.
4. Pray for the Holy Ghost: but pray believing that
he will be given: “ Ask in faith, nothing doubting.”
There is no promise that you can so plead as the pro-
mise of the Spirit; it is the great promise that remains
after the gift of Christ. He is “the promise of the
Father ”—“ The Holy Spirit of promise ”—“ The Holy
Spirit, given to them who ask.” The Father will give
the Spirit, for he is “the promise of the Father;” and
“If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more shall your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
and he is “the Spirit whom the Father will send in my
name.” Christ will give the Spirit, for he is “the
Spirit of the Son;” and, “If I depart I will send him
unto you.” He will send the Spirit, for it is by the
Spirit's work that “ He will see of the travail of his
soul, and be satisfied:” for the Spirit “will testify of
him;” and by testifying, “He will glorify him.” The
Spirit himself will come, for it is by the Spirit that you
pray for the Spirit. If the Spirit did not wish you to
come, he would not exhort you to pray for him, and
he would not enable you; but every exhortation in the
word, (which was given by the Holy Ghost,) and every
prayer from your hearts proves his willingness. Pray
for the Spirit for yourselves, that he may fill the
temple of your hearts; pray for the Spirit for others:
pray for saints; pray for sinners; pray for your fainilies;
pray for your parishes; pray for your city; pray for
your land; pray for the distant heathen; pray for
wandering Israel; that the Spirit may be given to all,
till “the knowledge of the glory of the Lord fill the
earth as the waters cover the sea.”
84 CONCLUDING EXHORTATION.

Is it toomuch? When doyouask least? when you have

least of the Spirit—when most? when you have most
of the Spirit. What does this prove? That enlarged
desires are of the Spirit—enlarged love of the Spirit—
enlarged prayer of the Spirit—That the Spirit is not
grieved but satisfied with great requests—that these are
according to the mind of the Spirit—that they are his
own mind, his own will, his own pleasure. If such love
were not in him, he would never move you to it; and
you need not be afraid of being moved too much; you
never grieved the Spirit by ascribing too great power
or too great love, but by quenching, straitening,
limiting. Children of God, suffer yourselves to be
“led by the Spirit of God;” let him “guide you into
all truth;” let him “teach you all things;” he will
guide surely and safely. And be not afraid to be led by
him into the largeness of the love of God, “Who so
loved the world as to give his only-begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.” You have strong argument to pray
that “the knowledge of the glory of the Lord may fill
the earth,” for the glory of the Lord is filling the earth
already. Christ says, “I have glorified thee on the
earth ;” and the worshipping angels say, “The whole
earth is full of his glory.” But “the light shineth in
darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not ;”
pray, therefore, for the gift of the Holy Ghost, that all
men may “ know the things that are freely given us of
God;” and that “the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord mar fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.”
 LECTURE IY.
Lhe Sovereignty of God, as connected with the Revival
of Religion.
BY MICHAEL WILLIS, D. D.,
MINISTER OF RENFIELD CHURCH.

* In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and pru-
dent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight.’”’,—Luke, x. 21,

Tue scene here referred to is not the least interesting

and instructive in the history of our Saviour. It is
one which may justly be recommended to the serious
meditation of those whose minds are apt to rise in dis-
gust at the very mention of election, and sovereignty,
and distinguishing grace; and who are ready to impute
severity or harshness to any who would venture a word
in vindication of what they, in the pride of their hearts,
spurn away as an unmerciful doctrine. Even were the
doctrine unmerciful, they are not to be reckoned un-
merciful surely who humbly propound, as an article of
faith, what they do feel assured God has revealed; or
who reckon that worthy of consideration, and good to
the use of edifying, which, in the assertion and illustra-
tion of it, they believe to fill so important a place in
the sacred volume.
But let them consider with themselves ere they pro-
nounce the doctrine unmerciful. Who is it that speaks
here? Is it one whose fervent love to the souls of men
is to be doubted—whose heart was devoid of tender-
ness—or whose yoke was grievous and burdensome?
And how speaks he? what is the subject of the
Saviour’s thoughts at the time? Itis just this doctrine
of God’s discriminating or sovereign grace, in the en-
lightening and saving of some, and the passing by of
others! And speaks He in the style of one hardly
consenting to the doctrine, expostulating with God the
86 SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

Father, or even grieving that the decree of God was

unalterable? No: it is in the language of humble and
profound adoration—of acquiescence in the will of the
Father and Lord of all, as necessarily holy and good in
all its determinations; nay, it is with more than ac-
quiescence, it is with thanksgiving and Joy. In that
hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit—he even rejoiced; and
said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth.
O yes! even while his bowels yearned towards a
perishing world, and a little afterwards he looked on
the infatuated city and wept over it, yet it not only re-
conciles him, if so I may speak, to the appointed course
of things, but it yields him relief, satisfaction, and joy,
to contemplate the will of God as the ultimate rule and
reason of the distinction made; it is enough that so
hath pleased God; it is a righteous thing that God
should be glorified, though sinners should perish, and
only some be saved. He knew that not only must the
judgment of God be according to truth in the con-
demnation of any, but, moreover, that it is fitting that
the holy and good will of the Most High should be exer-
cised freely in the dispensation of the gifts of mercy.
The sovereign will of God not only is, but ought to be,
and with devout thankfulness and joy, as well as
reverence, is to be acknowledged to be, the sole cause
why the Divine benignity is extended to some and not
to others in the one common mass of a sinful and guilty
race; and why one is chosen and another left. Some
may enquire how this is to be reconciled with Christ’s
weeping over the lost. We reply, that the tenderness of
his human sympathy enhances the value of that homage
which he renders to sovereignty, while it proves the
consistency of the faith of this sublime truth with the
most ardent concern for the welfare of mankind.
Christ, as man, loved all men, delighted in the happiness
of all, grieved in the misery of all. He had not other-
wise been a holy man, obedient to the law of love.
But while he thus commiserated with human sympathy
the ruin of those whom he knew to be reprobates, yet
in submilting this human affection to the all-wise de-
cree of God, he only manifested the entire holiness of
his nature.
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 87

There is no doctrine so re olting to human pride as

that of the absolute sovereignty of the Divine will-—
none more opposed by the enmity of the human heart,
and so slowly consented to by the yet unhumbled sinner.
It is in reality in this attribute lies the peculiar glory
of God; it is the most brilliant pearl in the crown of
Heaven. And no wonder that the sinner’s contest should
be with this mainly ; it is as acting from himself alone, as
the only cause, and to his glory as the only ultimate end,
that he claims tobe God; “of whom, and through whom,
and to whom, are all things ;” and it is in this that he is
removed to the farthest distance from all rivalship and
imitation. The will of no creature is or ought to be
uncontrolable by causes external to itself; and it is the
highest dignity to whichitought toaspire to be under the
entire control of God, and to move in harmony with his
law; but on this very account—that sovereignty is the
grand distinguishing difference between God and the
creature—does the rebellious creature dare to deny it.
He will acknowledge both justice and mercy to be in
God; but it isthe hardest of all lessons to acknow-
ledge, as the ultimate rule of what we are to do and
to practise and to believe, that so it hath pleased
Him.
And yet as the acknowledgment of this was the very
joy of the Saviour’s heart, so it is the joy of all pure
and perfect spirits. Election may be denied on earth,
but it is confessed in heaven. “Thou hast redeemed us
out of all nations,” is their untiring theme of wonder!
“Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and
unto the Lamb.” And it is with no hesitating response
—it is with loud voice—that the ten thousand times ten
thousand angels, and thousands of thousands exclaim,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,’—and again,
“ Amen! Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanks-
giving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our
God for ever and ever.”
In leading your attention to this subject, on which,
if on any, we stand in peculiar need of the leading of
the blessed Spirit, I would,
I. Shortly define the term sovereignty, especially in
its relation to the justice and grace of God.
8& SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

IJ. Show how, in its most absolute sense, sovereignty

is manifested not only in the scheme of grace in general,
but in all its unfoldings; and in the salvation of indivi-
duals as well as of the mass of the elect.
I. I believe that much mistake on this subject arises
from confounding the free self-determining will of God
with arbitrary and capricious acting. But no such im-
perfection or weakness can belong to one ofinfinite excel-
lence. Holiness, wisdom, truth, and mercy, belong to the
great Ruler of all, no less than power. His will there-
fore, though limited by nothing without himself, is, if we
may so say, limited by his justice and wisdom; or rather,
is never exercised but in full harmony with his other
moral perfections. The apostle, while representing to
the Ephesians the absolute freeness of the grace of God,
says, “ He hath predestinated us according to the good
pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his
grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Belov-
ed: In whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace; wherein, he adds, he hath abounded toward us
in all wisdom and prudence ;” and again, “having made
known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his
good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself;” and
again, “in whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to tie purpose of Him who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will;
that we should be to the praise of his glory.” The
inspired apostle speaks, you see, largely of grace, and of
the purpose of God’s good pleasure which he hath pur-
posed in himself; but he speaks of Him who worketh
all things ,in wisdom, and to the best end, after the
counsel of his own will. It is not without counsel, but
it is counsel with himself. For who hath known the
mind of the Lord, and who hath been his counsellor ?
God never acts without a wise end, though he may not
disclose that end to us further than that we surely know
of all his procedure, that it accomplishes the manifesta-
tion of his glory; and to us it is not the needful defence
of what He wills that the thing is seen by us to be wise:
it is the proof that it is wise that He wills it
Chapter i, 5—S, 11, 12.
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 89

Neither is the sovereignty of God ever exercised at

the expense of justice. The righteous Lord cannot but
love righteousness, and cannot but do righteously. I
know that on the subject of election and reprobation
this is the perfection that is most apt to be arraigned
by the pride of man; but we may ask boldly, even in
looking at what may be accounted the severer instances
of his government, Are not His waysequal? Were we
to say that God is the author of sin, we should indeed
give occasion to the objector to take offence. And in
the coarse way in which the objections to Divine sove-
reignty are often stated, this seems to be taken for grant-
ed, even that God creates many mentodamnthem. But
let not the creature become a false accuser of his Crea-
tor—God cannot tempt any man to evil. However,
then, it is to be acknowledged that sin is in the world
by Divine permission ; and while we hold that the so-
vereignty of God is manifested even in choosing to per-
mit moral evil; on this the Scripture is express, that by
man did sin enter: “By one man sin entered into the
world.” And however unable we may be to reconcile
this with the holiness of God, assuredly it is only of a
holy and wise permission we are to understand what-
ever passages seem to connect the sin of moral and ra-
tional agents with any causal influence on the part of
the Creator. Thus when our Saviour here recognises the
Divine sovereignty in hiding the gospel from the wise
and prudent, while he reveals it unto babes, we should
err were we to consider him as meaning that God di-
rectly causes the blindness of unbelievers. Even where
he is said to visit men with a spirit of blindness or strong
delusion, it is not in mere sovereignty, but in righteous
judgment.
Sovereignty, however, as well as judgment, is con-
cerned in such dispensations thus far, that, while he
might if he pleased reveal the truth to those from whom
he hides it, he does not will to interpose in the gracious
and saving manifestation of himself to every sinner.
That is, in other words, he is sovereign in the exercise
of his mercy ;not arbitrary, however, but righteous, in
his retributive judgments. “Thowhast hid these things
from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto
90 SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

babes: Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy

sight.”
This leads me to observe, that sovereignty in
respect of sinners of the human race is chiefly
displayed in the exercise of His mercy and grace:
And that it is not with God’s mercy as with his jus-
tice, that the exercise of it must be uniform and in-
variable. God must be just; He is just to all: But itis
a presumption altogether unwarranted, to suppose that
God must be merciful to all; 1 mean merciful in par-
doning and saving every sinful and miserable creature.
He declares otherwise. He saith to Moses, “I will
be gracious to whom I will gracious, and will show
mercy on whom I will show mercy.” Thus is the
grand distinction between these two attributes of the
Divine nature clearly indicated. You never hear
Jehovah speaking thus of his justice. He never says,
‘1 will be just to whom I will be just.” But though he
cannot, as the judge of the earth, do but what is right,
he claims to show mercy to whom he pleaseth. God
forbid I should hide the mercy of God, or conceal
his goodness. I know He is rich in mercy, ready to
forgive ;yea I know that it is a great part of the glory
of God to forgive. I go farther, I hold that in the
perfect freeness and sovereignty of the Divine mercy
is found the very best refuge of the sinner. For, if
the mercy of God were not sovereign, or He not sove-
reign in the exercise of it, the sinner who most needs
mercy might most despair of it. It is the glory of God
that he can be merciful, even to the very greatest sinner,
as well as the least. ‘There is this comfort hidden in the
declaration, I will show mercy on whom I will show
mercy. Enough that God wills it. It does not go by
the rule or principle of human merit at all; and there-
fore if God has promised, as we are sure he has, that
the chief of sinners who believeth on his Son, shall be
saved, the chief of sinners needs not despair; yea, may
certainly believe that God will forgive him, for he has
said he will, and his will is ever exercised in harmony
with his faithfulness; and we are not claiming for
Jehovah, under the plea of vindicating his sovereignty,
.a power of dispensing with his promises. But what we
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 91

affirm is that, except by his word and gracious promise,

he is not obliged to exercise compassion to the sinner.
Therefore his words, “I will be gracious to whom I will
be gracious,” while they speak blessed comfort to the
sinner who flees to the provided refuge, rebuke at the
same time the presumption that God must provide a
refuge to every one who is guilty, or a help for every
self-ruined one. The glory of his justice requires that
sin be punished. He who passed by and proclaimed
his name, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and
gracious,” declared he would “‘ by no means clear the
guilty.” So truly is ¢izs principle acted upon, that
wherever mercy is extended at al/, it is only on the
basis or through the medium of satisfaction rendered
to Divine justice. Now asit was entirely of himself to
provide that satisfaction by a Surety, so it rests with
himself to apply the benefit of it. To how many or to
how few is a question only to be determined by him-
self.
And here it is that sovereignty is very specially con-
cerned. God will manifest his goodness in such a way
as shall not only be glorifying to his justice, but illus-
trative of his absolute and uncontrolable right to give
or withhold his favour as seemeth good to him. It is
striking to observe that, even in answering favourably
Moses’ prayer, who imploringly asked,’ ‘I beseech thee,
show me thy glory,” He said indeed, “I will make all
my goodness pass before thee;” but then, as defining
its exercise, “I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and will show mercy to whom I will show
mercy ;” as if the glory of God were not sufficiently
seen in his dispensations of goodness, but when that
goodness is seen to be exercised in his mere good
pleasure; given or withheld in no consideration of the
relative merits of the elect on the one hand, or repro-
bates on the other, but because “so it hath pleased
him.”
Many of the objections to the doctrine of sovereignty
would vanish were it kept in mind, that the decree of
Election does not merely contemplate mankind as szch,
but as simmers; not men absolutely considered, but
© Exodus, xxxiii, 18, 19.
92 SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

sinful men, meriting the wrath of God. This is what

in ordinary conversation on the subject is often kept
out of sight; but it is what the Bible never fails to keep
foremost and prominent. And this being taken into
the account, the whole question, as far as the character
of God is affected, assumes a different complexion. It
is no longer the case of a supreme arbitrary Being, de-
ciding upon the fate of millions of rational creatures,
and choosing them to happiness or consigning them to
damnation, without rule or reason. It is the case of a
Just and Holy Governor of all, contemplating a sinful
and lost race of his creatures; and when the purity of
his nature and the honour of his throne rendered retri-
bution necessary; nay, when in strict justice that retri-
bution might have been universally exacted, never-
theless, desiring to glorify his mercy in the salvation
of some, yea, many, at the same time that for the glory
of his other attributes he inflicts condemnation on the
rest. There is here no act of injustice to complain of,
but an act of mercy to admire. The wonder ought
not to be that many perish, when all have sinned;
but what through eternity will be matter of wonder
and praise is that some are saved.
Hence too a difference may be stated here between
the ground of the condemnation of a sinner and the
ground of his reprobation, or his being passed by in
distinction from others who obtain mercy. It is of the
utmost importance to recollect that itis not sovereignty
that is the cause of condemnation, though election is
the cause of salvation. No reason can be given for the
salvation of sinncrs but that so it hath pleased God.
It is not so with those who perish; the reason of their
condemnation is their sin. Yet, when again you ask,
what is the reason why, when all have sinned, some
perish and others are saved? (that is, not what is the
ground of condemnation, but what is the reason of
their being passed by?) our answer must then refer
to sovereignty as well as justice: “So it hath pleased
Him.” This is the only solution our Saviour gives
here. He refers it to the will of God. He might
doubtless have said, that from many these things are
hidden, because they love not the truth, or that, being
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 93

sinners, it is what they deserve, to be left to perish;

but because he is here giving the reason, not of their
condemnation, but of some being saved and some passed
by, among those who, in common are sinners, his ex-
planation is, “Even so, Father, for so it hath seemed
good in thy sight.”
We only add that the same explanation is given by
the Apostle to the Romans, in that memorable passage
in the 9th chapter of that Epistle, where he is holding
discourse of the deep judgments of God. Having
shown that all are not Israel who are of Israel, and that
the children of the promise are counted for Abraham’s
seed, not by natural birth, but by grace, he refers back
to the words of God to Moses, a little ago quoted,
adding, “So then it isnot of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.” And
then taking up the objection against absolute sove-
reignty as neccssarily leaving the blame of our perdition
at the door of God himself, he asks, “ Nay, butO man,
who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me
thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the
same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another
unto dishonour?” It is observable that he here takes
the high ground of absolute sovereiguty; not, however,
but that the cause of Israel’s condemnation was their
own sin, especially unbelief, as he afterwards shows;
but when he would say, wherefore God, out of the one
sinful mass forms one to be a vessel of mercy, while on
another he shows his wrath, as a vessel of wrath, he
seeks no other reason, he gives no other explanation,
than that “So it hath pleased him.”
II. The whole history of redemption, through all its
unfoldings, manifests free and sovereign grace. I con-
fine myself, in the present discourse, to the displays of
God's sovereignty in the salvation of men; though it
were easy to show that Creation and Providence, so full
of the illustration of the wisdom and goodness of God,
abound also with satisfactory testimony to God’s abso-
lute dominion. Creation! to what can it be attributed
but to the will of God? He was under no necessity to
give being to any creature: “ Thou hast created all
94 SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Providence! the whole scheme of the Divine govern-
ment in heaven and on earth, is just the development of
the counsel of the Lord. Even a heathen king could
say,! “I blessed the Most High—he doth according
to his will in the army of heaven, and among the
inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand,
or say unto him, what dost thou?” “Our God is in
the heavens,” said another ; “he hath done whatsoever
he hath pleased.”* Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that
did he in the heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and in
all deep places.” Paul preached at Athens the sove-
reignty of God in the allotments of the time of life,
and place in the world, of each individual: “He hath
determined the times before appointed, and the bounds
of our habitation.”
But as the absolute sovereignty of God, as instanced
in the dispensations of grace, is most affecting, so the
proof of it is most ample. It is one grand object of the
revelations, both of Old Testament and of New, to make
it manifest. Grace! grace! is the constant theme—
free, unsolicited, undeserved mercy, in opposition to
every claim or pretension of human merit—sovereign
grace, in opposition to any compulsion or necessity on
the part of the Giver, or any supposed ground of pre-
ference in one guilty creature as compared with
another!—this, the whole history of redemption, in its
contrivance, accomplishment, and application, com-
mends to our humble faith, and our grateful admira-
tion.
1. The salvation of men, not of angels, illustrates it.
That a Saviour was provided for sinners at all, was of
the love of God, or his mere mercy: ‘“ Herein God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.”° “ Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he hath saved us.”* Thus we see grace
asserted in opposition to all human merit. But lest
any one should think that while Divine grace thus pro-
vided fur the salvation of the guilty, it could not pos-
{ Daniel, iv, 35. 2 Psalm exv, 3,
3 Romans, y, 8. 4 Titus. iii, 5.
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 95

sibly have been otherwise ; behold the same gracious

God passing by a nobler race than that of man, and
fixing his regards upon an inferior rebel family! “Verily,
he took not upon him the nature of angels, but he took
hold of the seed of Abraham.’! These sons of God,
these morning stars, are suffered to go into everlasting
darkness, while worms of the dust no less vile morally,
far inferior intellectually, are exalted to the dignity of
children, and inherit all things.
But then, among the human race themselves, look at
the distinction again! ‘“‘ He showed his word unto Jacob,
lis statutes and judgments unto Israel. He hath not
dealt so with any nation.”* Wherefore this distine-
tion ? can it be referred to merit? can it be traced even
to a comparative merit? So far from it, the Jews
were a nation singularly perverse and foolish. They
were foreknown by Jehovah as a people who would
deal treacherously: “I knew,” says he, “that thou
wouldst deal very treacherously, and wast called a trans-
gressor from the womb.” ? “They did worse than the
heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before them :”
so testifies the sacred historian.* When God set his love
upon them, he saw in them no moral beauty ; nay, only
pollution, as well as helplessness: “ Thou wast cast out
in the open field to the loathing of thy person, in the
day that thou wast born,” says Jehovah by his prophet.°
It was not that they were better than other nations in
their origin. Lest they should think so, he addresses
them thus: “ Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land
of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite and thy mother
a Hittite.” It was not for their ezrtwousness they were
singled out from among the nations: “ Not for thy
righteousness, says Moses, or for the uprightness of
thine heart, dost thou go in to possess their land;” and
he adds what strikingly illustrates our position a little
ago stated, “for the wickedness of these nations the
Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee,”
election being held forth as the sole cause of Israel’s
salvation and blessedness, but the destruction of the
Canaanites as no less a demonstration ofjustice than of
' Hebrews, ii, 16. 2 Psalm exlvii, 19. 3 Isaiah, xlviii, 8.
492 Chron. xxxiii, 9. 5 Ezek. xvi, 5.
96 SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

sovereignty. In fine, as little can we refer the distinc-

tion to their number or greatness as a people: ‘“ The
Lord did not set his love upon you,” says Moses, “ nor
choose you, because ye were more in number than any
people, for ye were the fewest of all people; but be-
cause the Lord loved you, and because he would keep
the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers.”* The
faithfulness of Jehovah, or his adherence to his word of
promise, is introduced as explaining his wondrous in-
terpositions in behalf of Israel; but his free love is the
cause or spring to which even the promise itself must
be traced up; for there is no promise of God, which
mercy was not as much concerned in the making as
truth in the fulfilling. “ He loved you because he loved
you,” is the short sum of the matter.
It might be shown, too, how, in the forbearance of
God with that people of Israel, and his returning to
them in the manifestations of his favour and reviving
presence after seasons of controversy with them for
their sins, sovereign mercy still appears in a most
affecting manner. See in proof of this, Isaiah, lvii,
17, 18: Thus he speaks of Israel, “I have seen his
ways and will heal him; I will lead him also and restore
comforts unto him and to his mourners.” One would
think, to hear such a promise, that it must be meant
that Israel had so amended their ways, as that Jehovah
could again return with favour without injury to his
glory ; but howstands the fact? The preceding words
are, (verse 17,) “For the iniquity of his covetousness
was I wroth and smote him; I hid me, and was wroth,
and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.”
No amendment—yea, progress in declension! yet in
this very connection occur the words, “I have seen his
ways and will heal him.” Let us not mistake. It surely
is not meant that without reformation and independent-
ly of it, the tokens of Jehovah’s complacency could be
realized to the full. Reformation must, in the order of
things, precede the external blessings promised; and
hence these are often represented as hingeing upon
national righteousness: “If ye be willing and obedient,
ye shall eat the fruit of the land.’* But let it not be
' Deut. vii, 7, 8. Isaiah, i, 19.
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 97

forgotten, nor the proof we are referring to be unob-

served, that the very reformation of national manners
is itselfa fruit and manifestation of grace; and that the
healing of the people takes rank among the unmerited
and unsolicited gifts of sovereign love: “I have seen his
ways, and will heal him.”
The twentieth and thirty-sixth chapters of Ezekiel
may be consulted for illustrations of the same thing:
“I wrought for my name’s sake, not according to your
wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O
ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.”
Now Israel was typical, in its election by God, of the
election of grace every where; and though even the
choice of that nation as a nation is irrevocable—and
their preservation to this day is a proof that the gifts
and calling of God in this respect also are without re-
pentance—yet the apostle reasons that the particular
and individual election, both of Jews and of Gentiles, is
that chiefly in which this great national election termi-
nates. There existed even all along, as he shows, a par-
ticular gracious election of individuals as distinguished
from the nation in general. God had reserved to hisn-
self out of that people, seven thousand men in the days
of Elias: “ And even so,” he concludes, “at the present
time also, there is a remnant according to the election
of grace.”
How striking is the display of grace and sovereignty
in the families of the patriarchs! We might go back
to the earliest of them. In the family of Adam himself
we see a distinction made—Abel accepted and Cain
passed hy. Faith, indeed, constituted the grand points
of difference; but what is faith but a gift of God?
Again, special favour rests on the line of Seth. But
his descendants sink into degeneracy. Then Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Again, in the fa-
mily of Noah, the line of Shem is chosen. It was long
after, that God was to persuade Japheth. In the family
or line of Shem, at length permitted to lapse into idolatry,
mercy rests upon Abraham. He is singled out from
amidst an idolatrous world—himself, for aught that ap-
pears, an idolater. What peculiar, yea infinite favour,
bestowed upon him for no other reason but that so it
98 SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

pleased God! “ Who raisea up the righteous man from

the East, called him to his foot, gave the nations before
him, and made him rule over kings? who hath wrought
and done it? I the Lord, the first and the last; I am
he.”! Again, in the family of Abraham, see Ishmael
passed by, and Isaac chosen: “ My covenant will I
establish with Isaac.” But of all instances su; plied by
those earlier records, the case of Isaac’s family sets
in the most impressive light the Divine grace and
sovereignty. This is the apostle’s chosen illustration.
Jacob and Esau, twin children of common parents ; the
same mother as well as the same father; of one birth as
well as one womb ; enjoying the like advantages of re-
ligious culture—behold of these one is loved of God,
the other hated! that is, passed by—hated compara-
tively—not loved with the same peculiar favour as he—
HATED, not as a creature, but as a sinful creature:
“For the children, being not yet born, neither having
done good or evil, that the purpose of God according
to election might stand, not of works, but of him that
calleth,itwas said unto her, The elder shall serve the
younger.”
In immediate connection with this illustration the
secred writer introduces the mention of Pharaoh.? In
him God would show his power and make his name
known; in his holy and sovereign dispensations He har-
dened his heart ; or if it is thought safer so to express
it, permitted Pharaoh to harden his own heart, and to
become the victim of his guilty obduraey ; mercy not
interposing to dispel his illusion nor to prevent the
judgments which he provoked from taking their course
upon the haughty oppressor. ‘So then,” reasons the
apostle, “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that showeth merey. For the
Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this purpose
have I raised thee up,” &c. ‘“ Angels must be here,”
says one, speaking of the sovereignty of God’s dispen-
sations, “to show the reach of God’s sovereignty to
heaven. So, as extending to the highest and most glo-
rious among men and angels, Beelzebub and Pharaok
must be here.”®
' Isaiah, xli, 2. 2 Romans, ix, 19,
3 Blackwell’s Sacred Scheme,
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 99

But in every case of conversion and revival the fact

holds. It is not in the consideration of the moral worth
or the excellency otherwise, of any individuals, that we
are to find the reason of their salvation: it is in God’s
sovereign appointment. Whatever the means or instru-
mentality may be, these are included in the arrange-
ments of the eternal purpose: “God hath from the be-
ginning chosen you to salvation,” says Paul to the Thes-
salonians, “through sanctification of the Spirit and
belief of the truth.”! To the Ephesians he says, “ Ac-
cording as he hath chosen us in him before the founda-
tion of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love,??—to the Romans, “ Whom
he predestinated, them he also called,”* &c.
Let it be observed how, in these passages, the whole
work of salvation, the whole chain of privileges pos-
sessed by the individual believers, is traced up to the
purpose of God. Faith itself is a gift of God, and
work of God in us—a fruit, not the cause, of election.
And the same may be affirmed of all those preparations
to conversion, in the serious attention which may have
been given to the word, or earnest and fervent prayers.
We see that the word of the truth is the grand ap-
pointed mean; but it becomes effectual by the power
of God only. He calls whom he predestinates—calls
rather than is sought. Conversion is fitly designated
thus, just to remind us the more that it is wholly in
obedience to a movement on God’s part that the sinner
bethinks himself of moving towards God. Prayer too
is of the inspiration of his own Spirit: “I will pour
upon them the Spirit of grace and of supplication.”
The whole history of churches and of individuals called
by the grace of God, illustrates sovereignty.
That the will of the creature is as little the cause of
salvation as the merit of the creature, what a proof have
we in Saul of Tarsus, in Lydia, in the members of the
Corinthian church! Saul, exceedingly zealous of the
traditions of the Jews, and furious in his opposition to
the cause of the gospel, becomes a thankful humble
vessel of mercy, and a zealous preacher of the faith
he destroyed. See too in what circumstances he was
(] Thess. ii, 13, % Ephes.i,4 % Rom, viii, 30.
100 SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

chosen—on his way to Damascus in company with

others embarked in the same impious design, but him-
self the very ringleader of the band. It is he who is
“the chosen vessel”! Him the voice of Christ addresses.
The others, less guilty it would seem, hear a voice, but
see not whospeaks. They are amazed but Saul is con-
verted: “It pleased God,” says he, (no wonder he thus
speaks, ) “who separated me from my mother’s womb,
and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me.” !
“Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
And such were some of you,” says the apostle to the
Corinthians; ‘“ but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified,
but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and
by the Spirit of our God.”
On the same principle we may perceive that t'e
subjects of conversion still are in many cases the most
unlikely persons; or when a day of divine power is ex-
perienced, let it not appear surprising that you behold
or hear of scoffing infidels receiving the humbling truths
of the gospel with obedient minds. God chooses some
of such, the more to impress us that all is according to
his purpose. He reveals these things even to babes,
persons illiterate it may be, some of them foolish, very
simple ones: “ Even so, Father, because it seemeth good
in thy sight.” The wise man glorying in his wisdom
may stand by amazed or incredulous—the thing revealed
to others may be hidden to him. There is partly
justice and judgment in this, it is true; God thus
punishes human presumption: “For judgment am I
come into this world, that they who see not may see,
and that they who see may be made blind.” But let
us not view it as an act of mere judgment: it is mercy,
mere mercy which chose the one; it is in sovereignty,
mere sovereignty, that God, who could, did not choose
the other: “Not many wise men after the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble are called; but God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the
things which are mighty; and base things of the world,
and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea,
and things which are not, to bring to nought things that
are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.” 2
' Gal. 1, 15, 16. 2 1 Cor. i, 26,
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 101

Sovereignty appears in the choosing of the places

where he is pleased to manifest the power of his grace.
The apostles or ministers of the word are directed to go
to one-people or country, and even forbidden to go to
another. Justas for along period “he showed his word
unto Jacob,” and as the preachers of Christ and of his
kingdom were not at once permitted to go “into the
way of the Gentiles; so again the Gentiles, despised
by the Jews, are chosen to inherit the blessing when
Israel is in righteons judgment “ blinded,” “ the dimi-
nishing of the one” becomes “the riches ” of the other.
Again, among the Gentiles, in one city rather than an-
other, the apostles are appointed to labour, the Lord
having “ people there.” Mark how the suggestions of
the sovereign Spirit of God overrule the purposes
of Paul and his companions: “ When they had gone
throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were
forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in
Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to
go into Bithynia; but the Spirit,” says the sacred his-
torian, “suffered them not.”! Asia (proconsular) in-
deed afterwards received the word—the time to favour
itcame. Meanwhile the appointed season for its en-
trance into Europe had arrived; and Paul obeys the sig-
nal to pass into Macedonia.
Further: sovereignty appears in the means and in-
strumentality by which conversion or revival is accom-
plished. It is ever the word which God honours, but
it may not always be the likeliest exhibition of that
word. The man of eloquence may be blessed, and bas
been blessed ; but the simple statement of the truth of
God, in unostentatious style, may prove the weapon of
greater power. It has often been so from the beginning.
It is so still. “Not by might nor by power, but by
my Spirit.” “Paul may plant, and Apollos may water;
but it is God alone that giveth the increase.” But that
no man may glory, not only the same word, but also
ministered by the same person, is the power of God to
one, and falls ineffectual on another. Under the minis-
try of Paul himself, “Some believed the things that
were spoken and some believed not.”* The Spirit
bloweth where it listeth.
' Acts, xvi, 6, 7. 2 Acts, xxviii, 24.
102 SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

To humble the pride of man, too, it has sometimes

happened that the same individual minister, blessed to
gain many souls to Christ 7m one place, has proved
himself comparatively fruitless in ancther. The cele-
brated Livingstone, so successful in his ministrations at
Shotts, found himself without sense of his Master’s
presences, and almost without power of utterance, when
ministering elsewhere some time after. It is said of Dr.
Stewart of Dingwall, that he perceived little or no effect
of his preaching the same kind of doctrine at Dingwall
which God had owned so much at Moulin.
And when I speak of doctrine, I must add that, even
as we have already shown, that sovereignty is never
exercised at the expense of justice; so, although God
does bless sometimes an imperfect ministration of his
word, and it may be, at the same time or in the same
place may seem to honour with success those who dif-
fer in sentiment on some articles of the faith, as well
as differ in their mode of stating the truths in which
they agree; this is no proof, nor ever ought to be
so interpreted, that soundness in the faith is of little
importance. We are to beware of deducing sweeping
conclusions from scanty premises. God may bless the
fidelity of an Episcopalian, without setting his seal to
Eviscopacy: But I must not, in forming my estimate
of the truth or error of the system of Episcopacy, look
to the blessing attending a faithful minister here and
there; I must look at its workings on the whole, and,
above all, compare its pretensions with the Scriptures.
God may bless an Arminian. I believe, some who even
conceal er deny the very doctrine I now preach—that
of alssolute sovereignty—have done good: but I cannot
compute the harm they have done. And I think it
probable, that they might have effected tenfold more
good had they declared the whole counsel of God. I
the rather touch on this point, because of the sensitive
jealousy of some, lest the exhibition of the doctrine of
election should prove a hinderance to conversion, by
stumbling and discouraging those who may happen to
misunderstand it. Away with such time-serving policy!
If God may sometimes bless those who in ignorance
withhold this doctrine, I believe he will frown upon
 CONNECTED WITH A REVIVAL. 103

those who thus advisedly dissemble or keep back his

counsel. Are we wiser than God? I know the doc-
trine requires to be handled with caution; but I know
too it may be preached so as to prove consolatory and
confirming to the saints of God, and a means of awak-
ening and stimulating sinners. I am happy to add here
the testimony of that good man, Mr. Robert Haldane;
who, speaking ef some partial revival on the continent
of Europe a few years ago, says, “There was nothing
brought under the consideration of the students of
Divinity who attended me at Geneva, which appeared
to contribute so effectually to overthrow their false
system of religion, founded on philosophy and vain de-
eeit, as the sublime view of the majesty of God pre-
sented in the concluding verses of the 11th chapter of
Romans, ending thus, ‘Of him, and through him, and to
him are all things.’ &c. Here God is deseribed as his
own last end in every thing that he does. Judging of
God as such an one as themselves, they were at first
startled at the idea, that he must love himself supremely,
infinitely more than the whole universe, and conse-
quently, must prefer his own glory to every thing be-
sides. But when they were reminded that God in
reality is infinitely more amiable and more valuable
than the whole creation, and that, consequently, if he
views things as they really are, he must regard himself
as infinitely worthy of being more valued and loved,
they saw that this truth was incontrovertible.”
The time of conversion and revival manifests sove-
reignty: The time, I mean, both of its occurrence, and
in the case of a revival, of its continuance. It is true
of the individual believer, that the spiritual comfort or
grace which he seeks may not be bestowed at the time
expected. It may be delayed till hope deferred maketh
the heart sick. So also the prayers of churches may be so
long in being answered, that when the answer comes
they may be like men that dreamed. A good and
eminent minister of God has been found to labour long
in his place in the vineyard with little success though
with much prayer: Another has scarcely begun the
work when a full reward is given into his bosom:
Again, while the means are plying by the same indivi-
104 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

dual with equal industry, or it may be greater, Christ

may seem to have withdrawn himself and to be gone.
As regards conversion, the time of its oceurrence has
often been not the least impressive proof to the indivi-
dual that the mercy of God is exercised sovereignly.
Not only has the scoffer become the subject of con-
verting grace, but sometimes in the very scene of his
contemptuous manifestations. It was thus, if we may
credit history, in the experience of some individuais,
who went, in past periods of revival, to scoff at the word
which was to be addressed to assembled multitudes, but
were apprehended of divine grace, and became the
willing captives of the Saviour they despised. What
more expressive instance of this than Paul’s conversion
on the way to Damascus? The furious persecutor might,
if it had so pleased God, have been made to yield to
the sceptre of the Lord Jesus before. His journey to
Damascus might have been prevented; his very plans
anticipated; but it is not till he is in the midst of their
execution that mercy arrests him.

Surely the very first of our practical reflections cn

all this ought to be—What gratitude, what unbounded
gratitude and praise is due to God from those to whom
he has given reason humbly to feel assured that grace
has triumphed through righteousness in their salvation !
that a boon so unspeakable, withheld from many, is
conferred on them, not more deserving!
Our very next reflection may well be—What humility
becomes them! forwho makeththemtodiffer? Let pride
be for ever far from the vessels of mercy; nor let them
even under the garb of humility, of professed humility,
pronounce upon the justice of God, or his mercy, as
being but barely manifested through a scheme which
does not effectually secure the salvation of all men and
all angels. Remember that salvation is not the only
end, nay, we are justified in saying it is not the
first end of the scheme of Providence. God's ulti-
mate end in all his counsels is his own glory. He
doth all things for himself; nor can he who is infinite
do otherwise.
 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS. 105

What an affecting view does the whole subject

present of man’s dependence, and of Jehovah’s suprem-
acy! How does the creature appear nothing, and God
all in all! And yet is not this the fitting station for
the creature to occupy in the presence of the Creator—
the worm of aday, before the Eternal? “What is man,
that God should be mindful of him? Behold all
nations are before Him as nothing; yea, less than
nothing, and vanity!” Is it fitting then, that in the
arrangements of infinite wisdom, or in the dispensation
of an injinite bounty, the paltry merits of any creature
should be of serious account? Who can define the
rights of the creature but He who made him? Is he
not absolutely dependent? And is it not the due
homage to the Almighty that man should feel and con-
fess this dependence? Nay, is it not the creature’s
happiness to know and acquiesce in God’s absolute
dominion? Pride, a desire to be independent of God
and his will, has been the spring of all misery. It is
the purpose of God to hide pride from man; to subdue
this towering spirit of false self-sufficiency, and to
bring him to see that, as the glory of God is the crea-
ture’s chief end, so the will of the Creator should
be his only ultimate rule. Nor does this end of all the
Divine dispensations subserve more surely the vindica-
tion of the rights of Jehovah than the interest and
well-being of man himself. It is when most abased
before the Lord; it is when most brought off from self-
dependence; it is when most denied to his own wisdom,
kis own righteousness, and his own strength; and
clinging the most to God as his stay, his hope, his
portion; it is when geeing himself to be nothing, his
interests and his glory utterly insignificant, when viewed
apart from the glory of God; it is then man is most
truly blessed. By pride came destruction; and by
humility is the pathway to honour again.
But while the appropriate use of the whole subject
is to lead us to see that God is in all things to be glori-
fied, it is necessary to guard against the practical abuse
of the doctrine; and the explanations which have been
given may enable us to see how ill-grounded are those
prejudices which are taken at the Divine sovereignty, or
106 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

the pleas founded on it, whether to extenuate an indo-

lent neglect of the means of salvation, or a heartless
despondency and distrust. It is not indeed for us to
pretend to clear up the dark mystery of God’s ways.
He giveth not account of this matter. If all were
plain and intelligible to the human mind, the Apostle
had not exclaimed, “O the depth of the riches both
of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” But though
we cannot fathom the depths of the Divine purposes, we
may remove some of the adventitious difficulties which
owe their existence to human misconception.
First of all, sin is of man, not of God. In vain we
seek to charge it upon our Creator: He disclaims it.
Our consciences pronounce in accordance with this;
they accuse and condemn us; and men accuse and
condemn one another. if our wills are not free to
choose the good till they are made free, it is sin that
has bound and enslaved them. Let this be remem-
bered.
And again, the grace of God in the manner of its
operation, or the decree in the manner of its accom-
plishment, harmonises with our rational nature. It does
no violence to our real liberty. It neither supersedes
the exercise of reason and understanding, nor the habits
of attention, and least of all, our duty of obedience to
the calls and commands of God that are addressed to us.
And this leads to the remark, that it is the invita-
tions, the promises, the precepts of Scripture, that con-
stitute our rule of duty and warrant of faith and hope.
It is with these, not with the decree and purpose of
God, that we have, in the first instance, to do. Not that
the decree is to be disbelieved, nor the doctrine of the
decree to be concealed; but it is all-important to
bear in mind that the invitations to faith in Christ are
addressed to us freely and particularly, and beyond all
doubt, sincerely and ingenuously; and it is not for us
to neglect compliance with these, in a dependence on
the promised aids of grace, on any pretence of our igno-
rance of God’s purposes. The secret purposes of God,
we may rest assured, will ever be found to be in
harmony with his revealed purposes; and the word,
the very oath of God, makes it certain that he that
 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS. 107

cometh shall not be cast out; that he that believeth on

the Son of God shall be saved.
Let us not for a moment suppose that election de-
notes God’s sovereign choice of one or another from
among those who seek his face, to the passing by of
the rest. The election will be found to embrace all
who truly seek God: yea, as election takes effect only
by our calling, and as effectual calling implies the out-
ward or common call of the gospel, addressed to every
hearer of the word of life; so it is just by hearing and
believing, not otherwise, that any man can know his
election. The earnestness of the believing seeker is
the very sign of his interest in God’s eternal purpose of
grace. Nay, it is election which is the cause of all;
nor, but for God’s merciful determination to renovate
the corrupt will of the sinner, would he ever have
asked in earnestness, or so much as knocked at the
door of heaven and of salvation. How then shall
it be feared that the God of heaven shall refuse the
prayer he has himself originated—the wish he has by
his own grace inspired?—But as our prayers of faith
will not be refused, so neither are they dispensed with
in the arrangements of Divine wisdom and sovereignty.
The decree of God embraces the means with the end,
we have seen; therefore, so far from being justified,
either as to conversion or revival, in neglecting prayer,
or attendance on the word, the ordination of God shuts
us up to the use of these and every appointed mean of
grace, and is our encouragement to expect success.
Whom he predestinated he called. In vain we shall
fold our arms in security, and say, If we are elected to
be saved, we shall be saved, whether we believe or not,
and whether we seek or not. No mistake can be more
ruinous than this; none more unjustifiable. We know,
on the one hand, that those who are ordained to eternal
life will believe; we know also, on the other hand, that
they who believe shall be saved.
I have often thought, therefore, that the doctrine of
election, so far from being a doctrine fitted to®encou-
rage either inactivity or despondency, is, when rightly
understood, the very doctrine which renders either in-
excusable. The fact that, as surely as God’s purposes
108 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

are unchangeable, ne nas chosen many to salvation,

through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth, may well inspire with hope, and rouse to action,
both the ministers and hearers of the gospel. If
we had no knowledge that there is an “election, who
shall obtain,” we might well hang down our hands, dis-
couraged and fearful. For how universally is man
blinded and deceived; and predisposed to resist the
message of life, and all the appliances of God’s truth.
The elect themselves are as little inclined, by nature, to
believe and repent as others. I beseech you to see that
it is a merciful ordination which has provided for
dispelling the darkness of their minds, and overcoming
the resistance of their evil hearts. What is election but
just a determination of the infinitely wise and gracious
God that many shall receive the truth and obey it? It
is as knowing that such a determination exists and
shall be accomplished, that the ministers of the gospel
may go forth with hope and joy on an errand which
else might look desperate. Election has opened a door
in heaven; a joyful light is thus sown in the field of a
dark and perishing world; and the messengers of Christ
go forth to gather the promised harvest. Not even the
deplorable opposition of men to the word of their salva-
tion will discourage altogether him who believes that
she ministry of reconciliation is the divinely appointed
method of bringing men to God; and with which the
effectual grace of the Spirit will be concurrent to the
effect of bowing the sinner’s will by an influence as wel-
come as irresistible. The decree gives him confidence;
and the sovereignty of that decree, while it calls for a
humble reference of the whole effect of his ministra-
tions to the Divine purpose, assures him, at the same
time, that wherever God has a people, no resistance
from hell or earth shall hinder their conversion; nay,
even their own hard and obdurate wills shall yield; and
though not against their consent, yet without their pre-
vious preparation, and independently of their merits,
the most degraded captives of Satan may become wil-
ling in a day of the Redeemer’s power. Of course
diligent preparation, in waiting on God, belongs to our
duty, and is indispensable. But often is God found
 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS. 1093

of them who seek him not. His ways are not our
ways.
Again, the sovereignty of God is misunderstood,
when Christians are supposed to have any reason in
this doctrine for relaxing in their watchfulness against
sin. On the contrary, it supplies an urgent motive to
Christian diligence. Holiness is the evidence of faith,
as faith is the evidence of election. Whom God has
foreknown he has predestinated to be conformed to
the image of his Son. This is the end of God’s electing
purpose; and just in so far as they discern the evi-
dences of this progressive conformation, can the heirs
of promise be assured of their happy interest in the
everlasting covenant. It is not the doctrine of our de-
pendence on sovereign grace which teaches men to be
content with a low standard of duty; it is rather that
which, presuming on human power and sufficiency, is
driven to bring down the rule, to meet and accommodate
the offers of self-sufficient righteousness. He who
believes that his salvation is according to God’s eternal
purpose and love, will find himself urged by the very
thought of such a cause and origin of the work, to at-
tribute corresponding importance and magnitude to the
work itself! The fruits of righteousness he looks for
are such as are worthy of the eternal design, and of the
Divine agency, to which he refers and attributes every
step of his sanctification. Hear the apostle adducing
this consideration as a motive to diligence, not an ex-
cuse for indolence: Work out your salvation with fear
and trembling; for it is God who worketh in you to will
and to do of his good pleasure.' Nor does he allow of
any evidence of conversion as satisfactory but what de-
monstrates the great power of the Divine Spirit.
“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God,”?
says he to the Thessalonians; but it is followed up by
this: “For our gospel came not unto you in word only,
but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much
assurance;” and it is accompanied with this testimony,
moreover, “We give thanks to God always for you all;
remembering without ceasing your work of, faith, and
labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.”
{ Philip. ii, 12. 2 | Thess. i, 4,
110 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

In fine, while the decree of sovereignty requires, in

order to our assurance, such decisive tests of the good
work of God in us, what stability does it impart to our
consolation and hope, when we are enabled to trace to
such a lasting and unchangeable source our spiritual
experience, instead of having to regard our religion as
dependent on our unstable and capricious will! He
who hath begun the good work will perfect it. The
foundation of the Lord standeth sure.
Intruth, the habitofreflection on thesovereignty ofGod
is also calculated to inspire the Christian with Joy and
comfort amidst all the changes ard trials of his present
state. It is the part of a wise man, as in reference to sal-
vation, so in the discharge of the ordinary duties of time,
to be active and conscientious, knowing that the care and
blessing of the Almighty are not promised to indolence
and to imprudence. But if, at the post of duty, vexa-
tions await us; if disappointments which sagacity could
not foresee, and industry could not prevent, thwart our
honest plans; we will find in the consideration of the
Divine purposes, and counsels, no small relief to our
hearts, in being able to recognise in the events that
befall us, a presiding will which is ever designing no
less wisely and faithfully than powerfully and irresis-
tibly. ‘The Lord reigneth, let the earth be glad.”3
“We know that all things shall work together for good
to them that love God, to them that are the called ac-
cording to his purpose.”*
3 Psalm xcvil. * Rom. viii, 28,
 Ill

LECTURE V.
The Word of God,—Preaching— Character of Preach-
ing fitted to produce a Revival,—Subordinate Means
of making known the Gospel—Parochial Visitation,
Sabbath Schools, &c.
BY THE REV. ROBERT S. CANDLISH,
MINISTER OF ST. GEORGE’S PARISH, EDINBURGH.

*¢ Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course,
and be glorified, even as it is with you.”—2 THEssALONIANS, jii, 1.

Tue great end of the gospel ministry is that tae word

of God may have free course, or may run, and so be
glorified. Of that word, it is said by the Psalmist’
that it runneth very swiftly: and as it runs, and
in proportion to the freedom and swiftness with
which it runs, it is glorified. It accomplishes that
which God pleases, and prospers in the thing whereto
he sends it. To the word of God having free course
and running swiftly, we find all the wonderful success
of the early ministry of the apostles and their fellow-
labourers uniformly traced. To the word of God we
find all the glory of that success ascribed. Thus’
in all the great things done at that first time of
refreshing, when God visited the earth and watered it,
the word of God had free course, ran swiftly, and was
glorified. And that word is still the same, and if simi-
lar effects are now or at any time to be anticipated, it
must be in the same way as of old, by the same word
having the same free course.
The word of God then is the instrument in every truly
religious movement, whether on a large or on a limited
acale. It is the truth contained in that word which
alone can savingly enlighten and impress either indivi-
dual minds in slow succession, or an entire congregation
or community together. In every work of the Holy
Spirit this instrumentality is employed, and the work is
{ Psalm exlvii, 15. 2 Acts, vi, 7; xii, 24; xix, 10.
 112 WORD OF GOD THE

genuine and trustworthy only in so far as it is a legiti-

mate effect of this cause. Various agencies may be
adopted in order to bring the word of God to bear on
the souls of those whom it is intended to move. It may
be directly taught and enforced, by reading and ex-
pounding, by preaching, by conference and meditation,
by the catechising of the young, by pressing it, in
short, in every form of persuasion and of warning, on the
hearts and consciences of all. Its truth may be symboli-
cally represented, sealed, and applied, by sacramental
emblems. It may be indirectly commended and carried
home by circumstances fitted to give weight and beauty
to its lessons, as by providential visitations, by the ex-
ample of those who adorn its doctrine, or by the sym-
pathy ofa general spiritual awakening. Still in every
case, if the effect produced is really divine, divine truth
inust be the immediate cause; and the word is that truth.
Now, viewing the word of God, or the truth whieh it
contains, as the great cause or instrument of every work
of the Spirit, of every religious revival, it may be proper,
I. To observe that it is in itself an instrament fit and
adequate for the production of such an effect; and II. To
consider how it may be best employed, directly, for that
end. And, while we examine as inquirers the nature
of this heavenly weapon, and the manner in which it
may be most effectually wielded, may the Lord grant,
that we may ourselves feel and submit to its power.
I. Where a great effect is to be produced, it is satis-
factory to discern an adequate cause. Where a great
work is to be done, it is most important to have a suf-
ficient instrument. The revival of religion is a great
effect, a great work. Is the word of God a sufficient
instrument ? To ascertain this, consider how that
word deals with men who are the subjects of this work;
how it grapples with the different parts of their mental
and moral constitution—how its doctrine appeals to the
reason, the conscience, the will, the heart.
1. ‘The word reveals the glory of God, as Creator,
Sovereign, Lord ofall, infinitely worthy of all reverence
and esteem, entitled to universal and unreserved alle-
giance. Its whole end and aim is to magnify God, to
unfold his excellencies and perfections, to assert his
 INSTRUMENT OF REVIVAL. 113

absolute supremacy, ‘This is its leading feature; and

in this respect it is in the strictest sense reasonable: it
is fitted to command the assent of every intelligence.
What the Bible reveals of God, of what he is in himself
and what he is in his claims over us, is such that reason
may most legitimately approve of it, embrace, accept
it; and is such, moreover, that when fairly apprehended
it may well invest the question of our relation to God
with an importance in the eye of reason that must make
all other questions give way. In the peculiar doctrines
of the gospel—in the great leading fact and principle of
the word of God, the shedding of blvod for the remis-
sion of sins—in the cross of Christ—the central article
of revealed truth to which all the rest point, and with
which they all harmonise, God appears in such a lignt
of surpassing glory, that it might seem, if man be a rea-
sonable being at all, he may well recognise, realize,
here, the great, the only ruling principle and object of
his life. Apart from the discoveries of the divine word
God may be and is misunderstood, and partial concep-
tions are formed of his character and of his manner of
dealing with us. He is regarded by turns either as a
severe and hard master who cannot be loved, or as so
weakly indulgent that he can scarcely be respected or
feared. Thus the god of this world blindeth the minds
cf them that believe not, and thinking of God as if he
were very much such an one as themselves, they find it
easy to put him in a great degree aside, and to give to
what concerns his claims over them, and their relation
to him, a very subordinate place in their regard. But,
let the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ really shine in any heart. Let
his word reveal his perfections and his sovereignty as
the just God and the Saviour. Reason at once acknow-
ledges that this nust be the true God, and that if so,
he himself and all matters connected with him must be
entitled to far more earnest consideration than men
commonly give to such consideration ;—indeed, as may
well engross and excite every reasonable being to the
very uttermost. Ifthe Bible be true, and the God of
the Bible be the true God, there is enough in the thought
of his holy supremacy, as Creator, Governor, Judge, to
114 WORD UF GOD

stir and move the spirits of all, to break every sleep, to

startle the very dead. Every rational principle within
is roused to instant and anxious and energetic concern.
Indifference alone is unreasonable and strange.
2. The conseience a'so is moved. ‘For the word of
God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-
edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of
soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a
discerner ofthe thoughts and intents of the heart.” The
sovereignty of God as the Holy One, asserted in the
word and assented to by the instructive response of en-
lightened reason, at once reveals the condemnation of
sin and compels the conscience to recognise that con-
demnation as just. Every refuge of lies is swept away—
every vain presumption of safety dashed to the ground.
All hard thoughts of God’s righteousness—all loose
calculations on his mercy vanish when He appears, and
we no longer feel as if surely he must of necessity spare
us, as if it would be hard in him to judge us. On
scriptural views, what really appears most unaccountable
and unreasonable is the fact, that responsible beings,
conscious of having offended, in whatever measure, the
sovereign Lawgiver, and aware of their liability to the
penal consequences of their offence, should live so en-
tirely at their ease, without any express assurance of
forgiveness on his part, or of an interest in that for-
giveness on theirs. The only explanation of the fact is
to be found in their inadequate views of the God with
whom they have todo. They know and feel that he is
in strict justice entitled to far more reverence and
regard than they actually render. They know and
feel that in strict justice he might be warranted in deal-
ing very summarily with those who have in any degree
transgressed his law, and in subjecting them at once to
all the horrors of the threatened penalty. But then
they think that this would be the extreme rigour of
severity and cruelty. They conceive that, as the kind,
the bounteous and beneficent Parent of all, God is
bound to deal more leniently with his frail and imper-
fect creatures, and they can give many plausible reasons
to show that fulfilling the terms which they prescribe
to themselves, and coming up to the standard which
 MOVIS THE CONSCIENCE. 115

they look upon as attainable, they may fairly-reckon on

a certain measure of indulgence now, and anticipate a
mild and merciful deliverance at last. With these sen-
timents, it is not wonderful that their conscience is very
calm and undisturbed. The truth is, their conscience
is not fully subjected to the influence, either of the jus-
tice or of the mercy of Him to whom it makes them
accountable. For this part of our constitution, the con-
science, while it is peculiarly delicate and sensitive, if
it is pointedly appealed to, is cold and callous under a
coarsertreatment. Meredispleasure in an offended party,
especially if it have in it anything of the character of pas-
sion, irritates and provokes. Mere impunity, onthe other
hand, produces a certain careless and insolent presump-
tion, a disposition to claim, almost as a matter of right,
or to expect as a matter of course, that the holy govern-
ment, which conscience cannot but acknowledge, shall
yet be modified in accommodation to what is, rather
than to what ought to be. But the idea of equity, of
justice, of perfect righteousness, alike inflexible and
imperturbible, overawes the conscience. The idea of
grace, unexpected, unmerited, unreserved, softens ard
subdues it. The enmity of the carnal mind, which will
not be subject to law, its dislike of arbitrary and sove-
reign authority, its suspicion, its pride—these natural
feelings hinder the conscience from duly recognising
the real position of a sinner before his God. But the
Bible, the truth therein contained, the truth as it is in
Jesus, presents God in an aspect which removes them
all. The infinitely venerable and terrible righteousness
of God, as it is manifested in a way which precludes
the very possibility ofany personally vindictive emotion—
for who can question the Father’s unchangeable com-
placency in his Son in the very instant of his laying on
him our doom?—but in a way which on that very ac-
count more awfully magnifies the calm majesty of law—
for He spared not his own Son—the love of God, seen
to be no ordinary and simple, and as it were, common-
place exercise of easy toleration, but a love passing
knowledge, a love the more wonderful, almost the
more incredible, the more the manner of it is really
perceived and felt: God himself, in short—when he is
116 WORD OF GOD

known through his word—so starts forth to view,

that the conscience, surprised and amazed, marvels at
its own quietness, is ashamed of the injustice which it
formerly did to its Ruler and Lord, and cannot con-
ceive how the thought of having sinned against such a
God should have occasioned so little distress, or the
thought ofhis holy disapprobation so little sorrow and so
little shame. The word of God, revealing God himself,
truly touches the conscience, and has in it enough to
call forth the most acute and poignant and passionate
feelings of which that faculty is naturally susceptible.
3. The word of God deals also with the will—with the
active energy, as well as the passive sensibilities and
susceptibilities of the soul. Man has a power to will,
and when that power is fairly stimulated, in whatever
direction, it becomes a force which cannot easily be
either measured or withstood. He has willed evil,
chosen it spontaneously, and so, in a certain sense,
caused it to be. Ever since, he either wills not, as we
might almost say, at all—living rather as one acted upon
than as one acting—by impressions and instincts rather
than by volitions; which is no uncommon state: or he
wills and works according to some pleasure of his own,
not accordingto the good pleasure of God. His will may
be powerful to embody and enact some idea of his own
independent and ambitious spirit; and in so doing, the
energy of his volition may overcomeall obstacles, andrule
the worid—either the world without or the world within.
But his will is powerless in regard to God. And it must
be so; for he stands in a relation to God which at once
enslaves and paralyses him. He has willed evil: and the
evil which he has willed he cannot undo. It clings to
him as a body of death, which he cannot shake off;
and however he may see and approve of what is good—
as of the holy law of the Holy God—his will, under the
burden of the evil which that very good condemns, is
feeble and inoperative, and cannot in any degree realize
it. Nor is it helped much by ordinary religious views.
These deal, for the most part, with the conscience alone,
and in the lowest style of it; either vaguely alarming
or indolently soothing it; either exciting its merely
instinctive apprehensions of danger, or ministering to
 DEALS WITH THE WILL. 117
its easy dreams of security. But they scarcely stir up
the will to a real and decided choice and determination
on the side of God and his law; for they fail to show how
the obligation to will the perfect good, which is God’s,
can be spontaneously acknowledged, without fixing al-
ways anew, and more hopelessly than ever, the condem-
nation of our own evil. Hence the natural conflict
between the conscience and the will. If the will is
really for God, to the full extent of his claims over us,
,then the conscience sinks and is overwhelmed. If the
conscience is to be appeased and pacified, the energy of
the will, in so far as it reaches beyond ordinary and
average attainments, must be relaxed. In this last
alternative most of us acquiesce. Our will is not
earnestly bent towards what is perfect. If it were, we
feel that we would be most miserable. It is enough
that we will—if we will anything at all in religion—it is
enough that we will some decent routine of respecta-
bility which we may satisfactorily work out. But now
there is in the word of God a far more urgent and far
more effectual appeal to the will—to the free will of
man; and there are in that word the means and ele-
ments of its emancipation and awakening. First of all,
the conflict, so far as conscience is concerned, is settled
and set at rest; and it is made plain that I may consent
to the law that is good, without sealing of necessity my
own ruin and condemnation. I am free, so far as that
consideration is concerned,—by virtue of the free grace
revealed in the word, and the full atonement there of-
fered to my acceptance—I am free to choose perfect
good, or which is the same thing, the perfect God, and
to direct the whole force and fervour of my voluntary
determination towards him. And that word unfolds the
fullimport and significancy of the great salvation, as a sal-
vation to be wrought out with fear and trembling, by one
in whom istruly wrought a power both to will and to do.
Salvation is described, not as a shower of soft and genial
influences, which we may suffer gently to alight upon us,
but as a business to be most energetically prosecuted,
taxing and straining to its utmost intensity the nervous
and active principle within. Thus the word of God,
rightly understood, summons us to a mighty enterprise,
118 WORD OF GOD

and puts us in a high position for conducting it. And

this is the explanation of the fact, that when scriptural
principles do obtain possession of any man’s suul, they
bring the man out in a new character of promptitude
and decision. Weak and irresolute before—weak and
irresolute still in all other matters—he is clear-sighted
and quick-sighted in all that concerns the new p.an and
purpose of his life—he shakes himself free of all the
hesitations and embarrassments which usually impede
and entangle him—he moves right onward as one sure
of his way—he acts as one conscious of power—he
speaks as one having authority. Take him while under
the influence of his natural temperament, and you may
find him yielding and unstable, wilful and wayward by
turns, the creature of every impulse, swayed by every
wind. But take him again when he has apprehended
the truth of God’s blessed word, or rather when that
truth has apprehended him, and he is no giddy child,
but a man, with a man’s purpose of heart and a man’s re-
solute determination of will. He is no more the slave of
circumstances and of the thousand scruples and falter-
ings, misgivings and fears, which make men halt andstag-
ger at every step. His eye is single—his will clear and
strong. Yes, there is in this blessed book, if you did
but lay hold of its solemn realities, or suffer them to
lay hold of you—if you would but know your election of
the grace of God, and your high calling in Christ Jesus
the Lord, there is enough to transform a whole congre-
gation of listless worshippers, receiving some impres-
sions, but retaining none, into a noble host, each man
in which shall in every movement not merely have the
soldier's instinctive bravery, but the clearness of percep-
tion and the intelligent energy of purpose which fit the
soldier to command. Then prophesy still upon the
bones, thou son of man, dry and dead as they are, and
say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, and let none
marvel or be scandalised, if there should be a noise
and a shaking, and a breath as of the mighty winds,
when the bones start to life—an exceeding great army,
each one now resolute to work out his own salvation,
and having power and energy to will and to do of God’s
good pleasure.
 DEALS WITH THE HEART. 119

4. The word of God deals with the heart, the seat of

all the affections, the emotions, the sympathies, which
agitate and animate the soul. There is here not merely
a demonstration satisfying to the reason, an appeal con-
vincing to the conscience, a call to which the disen-
thralled and emancipated will responds. There is much
that may fairly stir the very depths of the heart’s well-
springs and floods of feeling—the source and fountain
of all its tears. The system of truth itself which the
word contains is fitted to awaken all the heart’s various
passions, of grief, joy, fear, hope, hatred, love, admira-
tion, reverence, most holy awe, most rapturous delight.
See how one single feature of it, the view which it
gives of sin, has power to thrill the whole frame through
all its compass, from what is most vehement and violent
in its sensibilities, to what is most plaintive and pathetic.
Hear what the apostle says: “ Behold, this self-same
thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what careful-
ness it wrought in you, yea what indignation, yea what
fear, yea what vehement desire, yea what zeal, yea what
revenge,” | &c.; hear also what says the prophet: “I
will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inha-
bitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of suppli-
cations; and they shall look upon me whom they have
pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth
for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as
one that is in bitterness for his first-born. In that day
shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the
mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley ot Megiddon.” *
‘And this is but one of the emotions which the truth,
when apprehended, may awakgn. What shall we say
of the fear, the horror, the dismay which may well
burst upon the sinner, when the whole appalling
meaning of the scriptural threatenings of wrath flashes
in all its tremendous reality on his soul, and he opens
his eyes to see at his very feet the yawning gulph of
hell?’ Or how shall we assign any measure to the softer
but still more poignant sorrow that may be called forth
by the first real apprehension of that mercy against
which we have offended, and which is still waiting for
us; or to the intensity of that bitter hatred with which
( 2 Cor. vii, ll. 2 Zech. xii, 10, 11.
120 WORD OF GOD.

they for whom Jesus died may well loathe all that is
connected with the sin which crucified their Lord?
Then, again, in the full and free offer of instant and
complete forgiveness—when it comes home as a healing
balm to the broken and wounded spirit ;in the honest,
child-like, unquestioning acceptance of that offer; in the
removal of the last difficulty, the laying aside of the
last lingering scruple of unbelief—when, venturing at
last on the simple testimony of the word, the soul re-
turns unto its rest; in the glad relief of escape from
condemnation; in the peace of reconciliation ;and in
the new discoveries which every day thereafter may be
made of the depth of the Father’s love and the un-
searchable riches of Christ: in all these states and
moods of mind, which are but the acting out of what is
written in the word, the heart is stimulated to activity,
its pulses beat with quickened force, and with various
elements of moral fervour it glows and burns within
us. Then again, not only in its own nature, but in the
manner in which it is set forth, the truth contained in
the word is fitted to work these effects. The different
kinds of composition employed in the conveyance of
its truth evidently show that the Bible aims at and
strikes at the heart. Its simple, touching, and affec-
tionate narratives—its solemn legislative enactments and
sanctions—its noble strains of most sublime devotion—
its indignant tones of remonstrance and complaint—
its plaintive and elegiac strains of woe—its experimental
delineations of all the deep workings of a man’s spirit,
and the deep searchings of the Spirit of God: the
oracular voice also of its prophetic warnings—the resist-
less cogency of its doctrinal statements—the earnest
and paternal anxiety manifested in its counsels and
consolations—all the various modes in which it exhibits
the saving truth of God, and applies it to the various
exigencies of man’s history, and the various elements
of his moral being—all prove, that when the word has
its free course, when it works its due effects, if men have
hearts at all, they must needs be kindled to a degree
of intense interest and excitement—far, immeasurably
far beyond anything that the world ordinarily witnesses
among the cold formalists who profess to believe it.
 PREACHING. 121

Thus then the word of God, testifying the truth as

it is in Jesus, deals with all the various parts of our
mental and moral constitution, as reasonable, responsible,
active beings, and as beings subject also to emotions
and passions. It has in it a sufficient power to con-
vince the understanding, to convict the conscience,
to convert the will, to move and stir the heart. In all
views of it we might expect great results to follow from
the application of such an instrument either to solitary
individuals or to social masses and communities. Not
only does experience show what in particular instances
it has done. It is seen to be in its own nature, by the
matters of which it treats and its manner of treating
them, fitted to accomplish remarkable and extensive
effects. Nor are these to be traced merely to the ope-
ration of vague terror or fanciful excitement, or to
be explained by the single consideration, that where
their eternal interests are said to be involved, especially
when there is the sympathy of numbers equally af-
fected, men are easily brought under temporary feelings
and fervours, of which no very distinct account can be
given, and of which frequently few traces long remain.
We have endeavoured to point out that the word of God,
as the instrument of revival, operates in a way that can
be traced and followed satisfactorily—that can be seen
tobe in accordance withall the principles of man’s nature,
to which it appeals, as well as with the solemn realities
of his condition, by revealing which it appeals to them.
II. And here we might be expected to enter at some
length into the question regarding the best mode of
using this instrument in order to its working its due
and legitimate effects. Especially we might speak
of the pastor’s office as a preacher of the word. But
we almost shrink from discussing this subject, and seek-
ing to determine what kind of preaching is most likely
to be instrumental in reviving the work of the Lord.
We feel our incompetency for the task, and we feel
also the danger of appearing to connect the work, which
is the Lord’s, with any particular style or method of
discourse which men may adopt. The remarks already
made on the manner in which the word of God is in
itself fitted to work on the souls of sinners may in part
122 CHARACTER OF PREACHING

determine the manner in which it should be handled.

Thus, 1. We must deal with it as addressing itself to
the reason—the understanding of the hearer. Not that
our discourses should be argumentative and disputa-
ious. On the contrary, what was said on this point
was designed to show that the system of the gospel, the
revelation of the Bible, carries its own evidence along
with it; so that it needs only to be fairly and fully
stated to approve itself to every created intelligence ;—
its main principle being an uncompromising assertion of
the holy sovereignty of the Creator, and that being a
principle which created intelligence cannot but recog-
nise as right and true. The preacher, therefore, may
proceed upon the faith, not only of the scheme of the
Bible being reasonable in itself, but of its being felt to
be reasonable by all who intelligently hear. His busi-
ness is to state it in all its completeness of plan and
unity of design—not, of necessity, always formally and
systematically, but yet always as one speaking as to
wise men capable of judging, speaking wisdom to them
that are honest. Let-him declare the whole counsel of
God, and let him declare it as the counsel of God, not
embarrassed by any hesitating fears and misgivings,
but bold in the consciousness that he wields a weapon,
which may be resisted indeed by the pride of a half-
learned philosophy —a philosophy conscious of self,
cognisant truly of very little beyond—before which,
however, real wisdom reverently bows, because it bows
before the supremacy of the only-wise God. 2. Again:
In preaching the word we deal with men’s consciences.
Let us therefore deal plainly, closely, faithfully ;
reproving, rebuking, with all authority, but with all
meekness. There must be no shrinking, no sensitive
delicacy in ourapproachesto men. The case is too clear
and too urgent. We plead with them the cause of their
offended God. We can give them no quarter. We
must use all plainness of speech. As true and faithful
to the Mester whose ambassadors we are, we may not
trifle with our commission, or deal delicately with those
who are rebels against Him, and who, however callous
they muy seem, have yet consciences that do secretly
misgive them, and may be made openly to condemn
 FITTED TO PRODUCE REVIVAL. 123

them. 3. We address men who must be made fo wilé,

to make a moral choice, a vigorous determination. We
therefore ply them not merely with doctrinal statements
and convincing demonstrations, but with direct practi-
cal appeals. We present motives to influence them, and
we peremptorily call upon men to be up and doing—to
act, to be on the alert, to be alive, to close with God’s
offers, to enter on God's service. We address them as
those who can will; for we know that the people shall
be willing in the day of the Lord’s power. 4. We speak
to men who have hearts. We must needs therefore speak
tenderly, affectionately, pathetically. We do and must
seek to move men’s passions—not by vague declama-
tion, not through their imagination, but through their
reason and conscience, by topics well fitted to affect ad
toarouse them. In using the gospel weapon—the sword
of the Word—we must have continual respect to its
capabilities in this respect. Not cold ourselves, pas-
sionless, reserved—but moved and melted by the glorious
and awful things which the word reveals to faith,—we
speak not to stocks and stones, but to men who have
hearts to feel, if only the heart can be reached.
These few hints may suffice. Or if any would desire
to know more particularly how the word of God should
be handled by those who are his ministers, we would
desire them to do for themselves what, in searching
the Scriptures in regard to this subject, we have found
much interest indoing. Proceeding uyon the principle
suggested by our Christian poet,—
‘Would I describe a preacher such as Paul,
Were he on earth, would hear, approve, and own,
Paul should himself direct me,”
we ask you to collect and collate at your leisure the
various passages in his writings in which he speaks ‘of
this devartment of the ministerial work, of the manner
in which he dealt with the word of life, and by means
of it, with the hearts of men. You may arrange and
class them under three heads: Placing, 1. Those pas-
sages in which he describes his own manner of pro-
ceeding in this matter; 2. Those in which he counsels
and directs his fellow-labourers; And, 3. Those in
which he solicits on his own behalf and on theirs, the
124 PAROCHIAL VISITATIONS.

intercession of the churches to whom they ministered.

And considering these passages, thus collected, in the
light in which the general views which we have sug-
gested will present them, you will perceive how this great
apostle thought that ministers should hold forth the
word of life to their fellow-men: 1. Plainly, clearly,
intelligently, as being sure of carrying the assent of thei.
understanding; 2. Faithfully, as commending themselves
to every man’s conscience in the sight of God; 3.
Powerfully and authoritatively, as having a right to
command the will; 4. Affectionately, persuasively, as
being of like passions with those whom they address,
and as dealing with the tenderest and most delicate as
well as the strongest of their emotions: whence there
will of necessity spring, in handling the awful and deep
things of God, a certain sympathy with whatsoever is
human, which, instead of lessening the weight of the
uncompromised righteousness and truth of the Bible,
may invest it only with a moreaffecting pathos—a graver
and more solemn awe.
2. The same principles may be applied to the more
private ministrations of the pastor; and while they
very clearly show the importance and necessity of such
private intercourse between pastor and people, they
go far to determine also of what character it should be.
if indeed we deal with a weapon, so admirably and
exquisitely fitted to the various elements of force and
of feeling, in men’s nature, then clearly the more closely
we have access to that nature and to its workings in
particular minds, the better may be our hope of success.
If by our instrumentality the word of God which we
handle is to have its free and full course, we must assist in
bringing it to bear, not on men congregated in masses
merely, but on families apart and on individuals apart.
Hence in all cases in which the word is running swiftly
and working powerfully, there will be an encreased
earnestness in seeking for such private and confidential
ministrations on the people’s side, and encreased alacrity
and delight in granting them on the side of the pastor :
And not merely in cold and formal visitations, but
in meetings and communings of two or three, where
reserve is laid aside and hearts are laid bare, there will
 DUTY OF CIIRISTIANS. 125

be openings for the most precise and pointed applica-

tions of Divine truth—opportunities of speaking a word
in season. Would that there were more of this frank-
ness and friendship in the fellowship of the saints gene-
rally, and especially in the fellowship of pastors and
people—in the going in and out of the Lord’s servant
among the families to whom he preaches the word, and
the application of one and another in these families
to him, each laying open his own secret case, that he
might prescribe to each his own suitable cure. Thus
would we know better how the work of God is going
on, and how it fares with your souls: And thus by our
better knowledge and better understanding of one an-
other, by the freer communication of your wants to us,
and the better adaptation of our ministry to you, we
should be mutually stimulated and revived, and the
word of the Lord would have freer course; and in the
deepening of many an impression, which is now suffered
to fade away; in the following out of many a convic-
tion which is now apt to be soon forgotten; in the
right direction given to many an impulse and awaken-
ing, which men know not how to improve; in the con-
firming of many a purpose of those almost persuaded to
be Christians; in the completion of many a conversion
half begun; in the driving home of many a shaft, which
else must soon fall powerless away, and the pouring in
to the wounded spirit of many a healing cordial which
it may be apt, when most it needs it, to refuse; in these
various ways of reviving, awakening, soothing, sancti-
fying, the word of God, having freer course, would be
more signally and effectually glorified. We might ap-
ply these general remarks to many of the details of the
ministerial work, as it may be carried on among the old
and the young, in the various forms of catechising—
visiting—Sabbath teaching ;but we hasten to conclude
this lecture with a single practical observation.
In considering the present state of the church of
Christ, and the prospects of his cause in the world,
it is often very satisfactory to think that there may be an
element of hitherto untried power, in store and in
reserve, for the full accomplishment of its final triumph,
For there is much in what we now see, but too well
196 ORDINARY MEANS OF GRACE

titted to discourage hope and to try faith The slow

and doubtful progress of the truth, and the feeble stand
which it makes against ignorance and error and sin;
the uncertain sound which the trumpet gives; the sad
disorder and disunion in the ranks of friends; the va-
rious resources of emboldened foes; the little influence
which vital Christianity really has on the management
of affairs, and on the conduct of the multitudes who
bear the name; and the sort of quiet understanding
which seems so extensively to prevail, that—a decent
compromise being made with religion, more earnest
in some quarters, more formal in others—the routine of
civil and social life must not be too much disturbed
by its interference; these and similar features in the
aspect of the church and the world suggest painful
questionings and doubts, in the midst of which it is a
relief to call to mind that it may not be altogether on
the system of forces now in operation that success is
ultimately to depend, but that there may be a new era and
anew energy. It is to be observed however that this
idea may easily be pushed too far, and may be made to
minister to a dangerous practical error—the error of
evading present duty on the faith of future means and
opportunities. Thus the Jews in our Lord’s days re-
quired asign. ‘They would not be convineed by what
they saw and heard. They waited for their own par-
ticular sign from heaven. They postponed and put
away from them the instant and urgent obligation of
giving heed to the claims of a present Saviour, vainly
and presumptuously reckoning on some other method
of interposition to save them—on some more convincing
token, or some more awakening and irresistible call.
Thus also the rich man in the parable, speaking of his
brethren on whom ordinary motives and influences had
been brought to bear in vain, still clung to the hope that
a uew event might make a new impression: Alas! it is
too common a delusion; and one to which too many of
youmay be liable, adopting in regard to yourselves while
yet on earth the vain notion which haunted the wretched
man in hell when he desperately caughtat one last chance
of saving those whom in his lifetime he had contributed
to ruin. You have Moses and the Prophets, and you
 TO BE IMPROVED. 197

confess you do not hear them as you ought. But

surely if one rose from the dead you would repent.
You may not be quite so serious now as you think and
feel that you should be. But you have a vague sort
of expectation that something will yet occur to rouse
you to timely concern. You think that surely ona
sick-bed, or under the visitation of God’s chastening
hand —when time and its vanities fade from before
you, and eternal realities are pressed on your regard, you
will be more in earnest and more alive. Or perhaps you
fancy that if God were moresignally working in the place
where you dwell and the church to which you belong—-
if he were more manifestly, and in a more remarkable
way, interfering to quicken the dead souls and to move
the dry bones—if you witnessed tokens of revival, you
would cease to be so cold and careless as you are now,
you would be awed and solemnised. Surely if one, and
still more if many were seen starting up into new life
under some new and powerful movement of the Spirit
of God, you would not be unconcerned; your minds
would be stirred with new thoughts; your hearts would
burn with new fire. Somewhat of the same feeling
may arise in regard to the cause of Christ at large.
And in both cases, in reference both to individuals and
to the general church, it is a feeling which, unless very
wisely regulated, is apt to become most mischievous.
It may be doubly mischievous, ]. As encouraging a cer-
tain distaste and disaffection towards the more ordinary
means and movements of grace; and, 2. As hindering
and frustrating the right improvement of extraordinary
signs and extraordinary seasons, when these do occur.
1. The idea, that surely if one rose from the dead
you would repent, may encourage your neglect of
Moses and the Prophets—seeming to lessen both your
obligation to profit and your expectation of profiting
by them, and reconciling you to a very scanty measure
of fruit, as if it were all that you could reasonably be
required to reap from them. In this way you come to
excuse and almost to justify your present indifference
and want of zeal, and your easy acquiescence in a com-
paratively low tone of feeling, a very low standard of
principle and of attainment. ‘This is a grievous evil in
128 EVIL OF NEGLECTING

the case of individuals. You enjoy unspeakable advan-

tages in the means and opportunities of improvement
with which you are every day and every week so highly
favoured: but are not these apt to pall upon your spiri-
tual taste—to become stale and weary—unprofitable
and uninteresting? You feel that there is a sameness,
a commonplace insipidity about them. They do not
greatly arouse or affect you—indeed you would think
it somewhat strange if they did. You are conscious of
a considerable degree of listlessness and languor in your
ordinary sacred exercises. They have not the zest
which you would like them to have, nor have you that
vivid sense of reality which should give substance to
things hoped for and evidence to things not seen.
Surely the fault must lie partly in the way in which
these things are presented to you. At all events, fa-
miliarity somewhat blunts the keen edge of sensibility,
and it can be scarcely thought wonderful that you do not
tremble and weep and burn and rejoice, when the song
is old and the tale thrice told. Still your mind is not
altogether carnal, your heart is not hard; you are on the
whole as much impressed as your circumstances now
seem to require; and when God does visit you more
closely in some striking dispensation of Providence, or
by some special sign or awful warning, you will be more
deeply moved and stirred. Nay, but be assured that you
may be thus grievously sinning against the Holy Spirit
of God. Even when there seems to be an entire ab-
sence of every thing fitted to awaken and excite—when
matters are going on with the most dreary uniformity
—when day after day and Sabbath after Sabbath bring
still the same unvarying round of common duties
and common influences, alike for good and for evil,
even then there is enough in every verse of the Bible
on which you meditate, or over which you pray, to revive
your souls, and every hour spent in your closets may
be a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.
O! beware of the infatuation of requiring a sign, or
waiting till some wonderful interposition takes place to
startle and to save you. You have Moses and the Pro-
phets, hearthem. Be sure that now is the accepted time
—now is the day of salvation. Nor is this evil less,
 ORDINARY MEANS OF GRACE. 129
in the case of the church at large, if she should seek
thus to palliate her present inefficiency, and to reckon
on a future awakening. Let none say, for example,
when the Jews are brouglit in, or when this or that new
impulse is imparted, then there will be life and unity and
enlargement to the church, as if her present deadness and
disunion and straitness might thus be the less blamed,
or as if her efforts might in the meantime be suspended
or relaxed. For in all this we tempt God and limit the
Holy One of Israel. To acquiesce in any of the evils
of a low state of religion, as if they were inevitable, and
toassume the insufficiency of the influences now at work,
and the necessity of something more, as if God were un-
der some sort of obligation to interpose in some wonderful
way, to break the long silence of his ordinary providence,
and to speak out with a voice that may startle the dead
—what is this but a vain and impious attempt to shift
the blame away from ourselves, and to charge God
foolishly—a presumptuous refusal to be converted, un-
less we see signs and wonders ?—although we profess to
believe that there is enough in the still small voice of
the gospel of peace—enough in its feeblest utterance,
enough in its faintest echo, to tame the wildest of hu-
man passions, to soothe the bitterest of human woes, to
inspire every soul with zeal, and to knit all hearts to-
gether in love? Surely at least, something more may
be done for turning to account the present resources
of the church, the gifts which her great Head has re-
ceived for her, the riches of his grace and truth in
his word, the unexhausted treasure in heaven on which
she may freely draw; and not till the very utmost has
been made of these resources, for the purpose of revival
—of union—of enlargement—not till then may we sit
down in helpless indolence and wait for better days and
better means and men.
2. But this is not all. The feeling of which we are
speaking, unduly indulged, may not only tend to take
your minds away from present means and opportunities,
to palliate the sin of deadness in religion, and to en-
courage you in relaxing effort and restraining prayer;
but it must unfit you forrightly discerning and improving
the very interpositions for which you wait. Ye hypo-
130 SUITABLE CONDITION
crites, said our Lord to the Pharisees, ye cannot discern
the signs of the times. Yet these were the very persons
who were continually requiring a sign. Having fixed
in their own minds what sort of sign would satisfy
them, they overlooked all other signs, however nu-
merous and convincing. But even supposing the sign
which you expect to be given, or asign of the same kind,
may you not but too probably be disappointed in regard
to the effect which it should produce? For, may you not
be looking for profit from these visitations in a way in
which they were never fitted or intended to yield it?
May you not be overlooking what they have in common
with more ordinary means, though doubtless in a greater
degree, and fixing your thoughts on what they have
peculiar to themselves? Whereas it may be what they
have in common with all other ordinances that is alone
essential. What they have peculiar to themselves may
rank in a great degree among the mere accidents, and
circumstantials of the work. You have Moses and the
Prophets, but you think that surely if one rose from the
dead you would repent and be revived. And what is
it in this sign that you reckon on as likely to produce
so great and certain an impression? Ah! it may not
perhaps be the substantial message which one risen
from the dead would have to deliver. That would be as
old and ineffectual as the weary tale of Moses and the
Prophets. It may be the mere marvel of his resurrection,
and the strangeness of the voice issuing from the tomb.
In the case of individuals, how often does this delu-
sion operate and how often is its vanity felt; and in
reference to the church at large, and her expecta-
tion of times of refreshing from the presence of the
Lord. Surely any thing approaching to carnal in-
difference, as to desponding unbelief, in our estimate
and use of present influences, such as they are, is the
worst possible preparation for improving these times of
refreshing when they come, and the worst possible me-
thod for hastening their coming. There is no new
gospel to be preached, no new name to be given under
heaven whereby men may be saved. But the efficacy
of the old gospel will be more signally manifested, the
saving power of the old name will be more widely and
 FOR A REVIVAL. 13]
wonderfully felt. And when is it that, as a church or
as a congregation of a church, you are most likely to
be in a frame and posture the best fitted for turning to
account the dispensations and visitations of God—the
signs and tokens which may be given? Is it when you
are looking merely or chiefly to the things wherein they
differ from what you have been accustomed to see and
hear, or when you are looking mainly to the things
wherein they agree? In the former case you are likely
enough to be excited—to be overawed—to be perhaps
alarmed and aroused, by the strange and wonderful
work of the -Lord. But surely it is when you are
wholly engrossed with the old theme, which is the real
staple of all this new awakening,—it is then that you
are most likely, by the blessing of God, to be converted
and to be quickened. The word and the Spirit of God
are at all times within your reach. You have Moses
and the Prophets, and it is when you are in the very
attitude of hearing them, that you will be most sure of
receiving good, if one should rise from the dead. It is
when you are using the word, and stirring up the gift
of the Spirit that is in you, that you are most certain to
be in the way of a blessed renewal and revival, when
any event in providence, or ary act of the sovereignty
of God causes a freer course of that same word—a more
abundant outpouring of that same Spirit.
Continue ye then in the things which ye have learn-
ed, and have been assured of, and have known from child-
hood, even in the holy Scriptures, which are able to
make you wise unto salvation, through faith which is in
Christ Jesus—not as if you should be satisfied with the
present amount of influence which they exercise either
over you or over your children, or should cease to look
and pray and wait for times of refreshing when a new
impulse may be given, but in the humble conviction
that so doing you are in the way of grace and in the
path of duty now, and that you are in the best position
to turn to account—by the help of him by whose inspi-
ration all Scripture is given, and by whose sovereign
will all events are ordered and all spiritual blessings
dispensed—whatever more extraordinary means of re-
vival He may be pleased to send. Amen.
 132

LECTURE VI.
Prayer—Private, Family, Social, Public,—Its Spirit,
Character, and Objects, as connected with the Revival
of Religion,—Prayer for Ministers—for Believers
and Unbelievers.
BY THE REV. ALEXANDER CUMMING,
MINISTER OF DUNBARNEY PABISH.

In all the institutions which God has framed we dis

cover the glowing traces of divine wisdom ; he has
adapted them to the nature of man with an exquisite
skill which shows how deeply he knows its hidden secre-
cies. Prayer is an ordinance remarkably suited to the
exigencies of our fallen condition, because it tends to
preserve in our minds a vivid impression of the divine
agency. We are too apt to let our views terminate in
the operation of secondary causes, and to forget that
Almighty power to which they are indebted for their
energy and existence; but when God suspends the com-
munication of his benefits upon prayer, he compels us
to recognise his providence in the economy of human
affairs. When they are bestowed upon importunate
petitions being preferred, and withheld upon the omis-
sion of this duty, we see that God wields the whole ma-
chinery of second causes, which is so apt to veil him
from our notice, and that he does what he pleases in the
armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of this
lower world. And if prayer has been appointed that
he might be acknowledged as the author and distributer
of temporal blessings, much more is it necessary that
the same mean should exist as the accredited mode of
recognising him in conferring more precious mercies,
such as the spiritual transformation implied in renova-
tion of heart.
We learn from Scripture that the exhibition of om-
uipotent power made in the conversion of a soul is
 NECESSITY OF PRAYER. 128

equivalent to that implied in the creation of a new

world, or in the resuscitation of a dead body ; and if
his agency should be marked in the common occur-
rences which are productive of comfort to us, much
more should the impress of his hand be discerned in
those mighty changes in a human soul, which are much
more glorious in their nature and lasting in their con-
sequences than the formation of a new sun or any revo-
lution in the material universe. Hence if prayer is an
established medium by which God transmits to us tem-
poral gifts, much more is it necessary as the channel
by which enriching favours to the soul should flow. If
sinners were reclaimed from darkness and ignorance by
the instrumentality of the preacher, without the inter-
vention of such an ordinance as prayer, the transforma-
tion would be attributed to the eloquence, piety, or skill
of man, and God would be defrauded of his glory. Now,
that any thing should be ascribed to man so dispropor-
tioned to his powers, as the infusion of vital spirituality
into a soul, would be in the highest degree unbecoming ;
for it would be arrogating to him one of the most
transcendent displays of omnipotent power; and yet so
prone is he to lose sight of his Creator, and to transfer
to the creature or to secondary causes the honour
with which his holy name should be invested, that un-
less prayer had been instituted, the crown would have
been snatched from the head of God. It is true that,
in the heavenly world, where God shines in the full
blaze of his perfections, and where he is seen to be all-
controling and all-pervading Ruler of the universe,
prayer may not be necessary to remind the angels and
glorified saints, that God is the animating spring of in-
ferior causes: Zhere praise for benefits conferred sup-
plants prayer for needed favours; there that communion
with God, which it is one great end of prayer to create
here, is upheld, not by petitions, but by a ceaseless
shout of adoring hallelujahs; but in this shadowy scene,
where God is shrouded from our view by the mists of
carnality and unbelief, that institution is indispensably
requisite. God has sometimes heard the prayers of un-
regenerate men, not that they were embued with the
immortal principle of faith, but because their prayers
134 IMPORTUNATE PRAYER.

implied an acknowledgment of his supremacy and pro-

vidential sway, just as Christ enabled men to work
miracles because they believed in his power, though no
operation of saving faith was put forth.
But while prayer is necessary as a recognition of
God’s agency in the world, the various forms and de-
grees of it cause an acknowledgment of all the per-
fections which adorn his nature: our penitential con-
fessions do homage to his immaculate sanctity and im-
mutable justice; our ascriptions of adoration—to his
awful majesty, and our persevering importunity in de-
manding the fulfilment of his promises—to his truth and
love. When we persist in the exercise of prayer, not-
withstanding all discouragement, we do honour to that
loving kindness which will not frustrate the anticipa-
tions that are formed upon the basis of his written de-
clarations; and the longer the perseverance is main-
tained, and the more unpromising the symptoms against
which it is upheld, the greater is the lustre reflected
upon his character. Hence blessings of great magni-
tude are associated with ardour and perseverance in
prayer; for the more splendidly these qualities shine,
the greater is the attestation borne to his fidelity and
love. It is the invariable constitution of the kingdom
of heaven that blessings of great magnitude are not im-
parted except to prayers of the deepest urgency. When
the disciples asked Jesus why they could not dispossess
the demon he had ejected on his descent from the
mount of Transfiguration, he said to them, This kind
goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. This lan-
guage intimated, that though the more common class
might be easily expelled, that stubborn description
could not be driven out except by great assiduity in
supplication. When the two disciples were traveling
to Emmaus, our Saviour met them, and unfolded to
them the full lustre of the Scripture promises that re-
lated to his sufferings, till an expansive glow of heavenly
emotion was diffused over their souls; but he did not
discover himself as their risen Redeemer till their
ardour for communion with him was severely tasked.
He made as though he would have gone farther; and
when they urged him to take shelter during the night
 IMPORTUNATE PRAYER 185

in their abode, he seemed to repel their kindness, till

it is said they constrained him to turn aside with them;
then he made himself known in the breaking of bread;
and this is in exact harmony with the way in which the
Saviour acts in every age: he heaps many blessings
even on his feeblest saints, who soar not to the sublime
height of holy confidence which prompts the Jacob-like
wrestling of others; he makes their hearts burn within
them by gilding some cheering promises with a ray of
celestial brightness; but it is to those who, by their un-
conquerable ardour and inflexible perseverance, compel
him to turn aside, that he gives the sweetest glimpses
of his reconciled countenance. The frame of mind
then acquired is such as renders it compatible with
the procedure of God’s administration to grant the par-
ticular boon that may be desired. If benefits of vast
magnitude are to be bestowed, they must therefore be
preceded by prayers of fervid pathos; and God often
delays an answer to supplication, not that he despises
the anxious voice of our humble entreaty, but because
he waits till our desires gain an accession of strength,
and are somewhat commensurate to the vastness of the
mercy that is stored up for us; and for this purpose he
sometimes encircles us with an array of troubles, that
they may enhance the frequency and earnestness of our
addresses to the throne of grace. Jacob saw God face
to face at Peniel; and was dignified with a new name,
even that of Israel; but he might not have been graced
with so illustrious a distinction had he not been hemmed
round by a circle of troubles, and driven to God by the
impending fear of death from his brother Esau. The
intense flame of prayer kindled at that time, and the
humble confessions poured from his penitential bosom,
rendered it consistent with the laws which the Almighty
has established, that something more should be vouch-
safed than an immunity from threatened evil; and ac-
cordingly he was favoured with a visit from God, far
more condescending than that which gilded his slum-
bers at Bethel. Hannah prayed for a man child, and
she was goaded on to burning importunity by the un-
relenting taunts of her adversary; but God had in re-
serve for her something far more stupendous than she
{36 IMPORTUNATE PRAYER.

had ventured to hope. She was to have six children,

and her son Samuel was destined to be the most illus-
trious saint who figured in his day; and God used the
cruel inflictions of her neighbour’s tongue to stimulate
her to unfaltering energy, till it was in accordance with
his general procedure to grant her the boon that was
prepared. And perhaps the recent effusion of the Holy
Ghost dispensed to some favoured localities in Scotland
may be partly owing to the spirit of earnest prayer
awakened by the danger in which our establishment
has been involved: At the time of the meeting of the
last General Assembly the zeal of many in this exercise
received a powerful quickening; a lowering conjunction
of circumstances gave a fresh impulse to a prayerful
ardour previously roused: And blessed is any dispensa-
tion, however frowning, by which we secure the pro-
digal supplies of his grace. We see then the para-
mount importance of inflexible continuance in prayer,
since without it we shall fail of realizing mercies of
vast dimensions, either for ourselves or others. When
we are ready to complain that a listless languor taints
our petitions, let us remember that the best remedy for
languor in prayer is to prolong our devotional applica-
tions. It has been said by an elegant writer, in refe-
rence to this subject, that the chariot wheel grows warm
by rolling. When we first commenced our petitions our
prayers may be cold as the iron of the chariot wheel,
but as it becomes more fervid at every revolution, so
our petitions will acquire a greater intensity of ardour,
till they mount up to heaven in an all-consuming
flame. It is true, even after we have attained due
ardour in our petitions, God may keep us soliciting his
favours for some time before he makes them descend
on us, but every moment they are delayed, the stream
of blessing, which is only dammed up, will swell into
constantly accumulating stores till it overflows every
barrier, and rushes on in ample abundance. No prayer
ever ascends to the glorious fountain of mercy without
some favour being wafted to us in return, just as no
vapours ever ascend from the sea without afterward
coming down in refreshing humidity on the soil: The
vapours may ascend unseen, but they will :eturn in
 PERSEVERING PRAYER. 137
lad

softening and visible showers: Vapours may continue

to ascend for days and weeks without any rain descend-
ing to fertilize the ground; in due time, however, they
will be condensed in the aérial regions, the atmosphere
will become loaded with dark clouds, the treasures of
heaven will be poured down, and every particle that has
been attracted upwards by the sun will rush down in
exuberant showers to irrigate and fructify the parched
earth. So it will be with the prayers which we breathe
upwards for mercies to ourselves and others: they may
remain for weeks unnoticed; but the store of mercies
is every day increasing, and will in due time be be-
stowed. These remarks apply peculiarly to prayer for
ushering in the glory of the latter day: From the begin-
ning of the world supplications have been offered up
for that blessed consummation; the church of old sang,
‘(God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause his
face to shine upon us; that thy way may be known
upon earth—thy saving health among all nations,” &c.'
The New Testament church for eight hundred years has
been saying, “Thy kingdom come;” thousands of ex-
piring martyrs have breathed out their souls to God in
aspirations for the extension of Christ’s kingdom: hence
vapours have been rolling upward for thousands of years;
the sky is charged with daily augmenting treasures; at
last the gathering mass will begin to pour down, con-
ferring on an arid wilderness the blessing of luxuriant
fertility.
Sometimes God answers petitions immediately after
they are preferred, to show that he is the hearer and
answerer of prayer: ‘“ And it shall come to pass, that
before they call, I will answer ; and while they are yet
speaking, I will hear.”? At other times he keeps the
petitioner bowing at his throne for weeks, and months,
or years, as if he would not deign to listen to his cries;
but he rewards his faith and perseverance with a mercy
proportional in value to the term of the delay. We
have an illustration of this in the answers which God
wafted to Daniei’s prayers on two different occasions.
The prayer of Daniel when confessing his sins and the
sins of his people was heard as soon as it was offered;
{ Psalm lxvii. Isaiah, Ixv, 24.
138 IMPORTUNATE PRAYER.

at the very commencement of it provision was made to

answer it. The angel Gabriel was commissioned to
fly with urgent haste and bear God’s answer. The first
word of Daniel’s prayer reached the throne of God the
moment it was uttered; but the angel took some time
to travel from the New Jerusalem to the hallowed spot
where the prophet was prosecuting his sacred task,
showing that prayer wings its way through the clouds
to the throne.of God swifter than the speed of a seraph’s
wings. In the tenth chapter of Daniel we are told that
he spent three successive weeks in absorbing communion
with God, before receiving any indication of his favour.
He might perhaps wonder why God, who so promptly
answered his former suit, deferred granting him a second
communication; but when it was vouchsafed it was
more animating than that previously bestowed; for in-
stead of seeing Gabriel conveying a message of his
grace, he beheld the Angel of the covenant himself in
dazzling majesty—instead of a visit from the servant
he was privileged with an interview of the master. He
was at the same time informed, that from the first day
he had set his heart to seek God he had been heard;
and an angel sent from heaven to promote his views at
the Persian court, and counteract the designs of Israel's
enemies, which, it has been supposed, cost him so much
anguish at this time. We may go to God and solicit
the three loaves of bread with unwearied importunity;
a term of mortifying delay may elapse, but when he
rises to obviate our wants, he will give us not the
simple number we implored, but as many loaves as we
please.
There is a degree of importunity in prayer, which
God expects us to reach, and which is represented by
the wrestling of Jacob, who saith, “I will not let thee
go except thou bless me.” Doubtless one of the most
remarkable lessons taught us by that transaction is
the amazing condescension of God. ‘Lhat the wrestling
was corporeal is evident from the fact, that Jacob’s
thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with the angel;
this injury which was inflicted was intended to show
him that he had not overcome the angel by his
physical energy, but that he had lingered beside him
 IMPORTUNATE PRAYER. 139

soothed and delighted by the melody of his supplica

tions. He had made as though he would go farther—
as though he would break away from the society of the
patriarch without granting his benediction, and Jacob
seized him with the view of prolonging his stay untill it
was granted; and as he still seemed bent on disengag-
ing himself, a wrestling ensued. Now it would have
been an instance of deep compassion on the part of God
to have permitted Jacob to prostrate himself in deep
abazement at his feet, and to invoke, as a miserable
suppliant, the interposition of his grace; but that he
should have assumed for a time the appearance of hu-
manity to permit a mortal worm to use corporeal vio-
lence with him is altogether astonishing. The high
and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity stooped from
his august elevation above all creatures, to permit a
creature to lay a restraint on him; and indeed he has
used the remarkable phraseology, “ concerning the work
of my hand, command ye me.” Moses commanded
God when the latter exclaimed, “ Now, therefore, let
me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them,
and that I may consume them.”! Never do we honour
God so much as when our faith towers to such a heroic
pitch of trust in him as prompts a boldness which will
not be satisfied with any thing short of the boon that is
implored, for we believe there is so much love in the
yearnings of his paternal bosom that he will not
continue to repel our requests. And it is at the time
when we confer the greatest honour on him that he
honours us most in permitting us as it were to lay fet-
ters on his omnipotent arm. Let none argue that such
a posture of mind in prayer implies an irreverent fami-
liarity with Jehovah ; for never did Jacob evince more
lowly abasement than when “ he wept and made inter-
cession with the angel.” Abraham, when pleading for
Sodom, increased in boldness and humility at the same
time. When he began to attempt averting the storm
from Sodom, he said, “ Paradventure there be fifty
righteous within the city ; wilt thou also destroy and
not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are
therein?” He then deducted five from the specified
number, and waxing bolder he abated tens from it; but
( Exod. xxxii, 10.
140 PRAYER CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL.

as he proceeded he became more pierced with a sense

of his unworthiness, “I who am but dust and ashes,”
&s. And it is easy to understand the reason of this:
the very element which prompts the ardour of our
prayer, namely the impression that God will not despise
the unworthy and the sinful, abases us under a sense of
our guilt. It matters not though we are unable to
clothe our desires in eloquent phraseology; the wrestling
and the tears of Jacob were more emphatic indications
of his animated fervour than any language, however
elaborate, he could employ. There are prayers in which
there are no words, and words in which there are no
prayers. The desires of the believer sometimes burst
forth in a groan that cannot be uttered! Language in
all its range and copiousness can supply no expressions
sufficiently powerful to picture the burning emotions
then generated. The flame lighted up in the soul is
too divine and ethereal to have any thing commensurate
to it in the imagery of human speech ; and nothing but
a groan issuing from the inmost depths of the heart can
convey any adequate impression of it, and undoubtedly
such a groan is as sweet in the ears of God as the mel-
lifluous warblings of an angel’s harp. The Spirit is
more frequently spoken of as giving assistance in prayer
than in the discharge of any other duty; and one reason
why prayer, in its intensest form, proves so acceptable
to God is, that it indicates much of the fire of the
Spirit as being present in the soul.
As the auspicious time seems approaching when God
is to take to himself great power and reign, there is an
urgent call upon us to rise from the nerveless languor
that generally taints our petitions, to burning zeal.
We might naturally have concluded, from the preémi-
nent grandeur of the blessings in reserve for the church
in the latter day, that their descent would be preceded
by prayer of extraordinary fervour. Now this point is
the subject of prophetic announcement: “I have set
watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall
never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make
mention of the Lord, keep not silence; and give him
no rest till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a
‘ Romans, viii, 26.
 PRAYER CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL. 14]

praise in the earth.’! Here there is an allusion to the

Levites, who not only praised God with their melodious
instruments during the day, but who, as we learn from
Psalm exxxiv, breathed their adoring strains during the
night. These pastors will embark with such resolute
and unflinching determination in the work that they
will give him no rest, they will not let him go untill he
blesses the church. ‘ When the poor and needy seek
water and there is none, and their tongue faileth for
thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel
will not forsake them,” * &c. Men under the impres-
sion that there is no water, that is, feeling the compara-
tive destitution of living water, will pray with an ear-
nestness, painted by the tongue failing for thirst, and
then a prodigal supply of living water will be granted
to enrich and irrigate parched spots. And why will
the God of Israel postpone the descent of the living
water till this perception of moral desolation prompts
such intense prayer? “ that men may see and know and
consider and understand together, that the hand of the
Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath
created it.” That is, that the moral transformation
wrought on multitudes of mankind may be ascribed not
to the eloquence or wisdom of man, but to the might
of God’s outstretched arm.
And it is not to be supposed that we shall be exempted
from the general law by which fervent prayer is made
the precursor of spiritual blessings, when we remember
that the Lord Jesus Christ was not an exception from its
operation. He frequently consecrated whole unbroken
nights to supplication ; such as the night which preceded
the calling of the apostles. After the Sabbath, which
is generally denominated the great Sabbath, from the
resplendent array of beneficent deeds which signalised
it, he rose next day a great while before the sun ascended
the horizon, and held his sacred vigils of supplication.
But no instance of this in his life is more remarkable
than that exhibited towards the close of his pilgrimage.
In the garden of Gethsemane he offered up prayers and
supplications, with strong crying and tears. We read
in the twenty-second Psalm of the words of his roaring;
' Isaiah, Ixii, 6, 7, 2 Isaiah, xli, 17—0
142 PRAYER CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL.

and this is still more remarkably referred to in the sixty-

ninth Psalin, where he says, “I am weary of my crying,
my throat is dried.” This statement was probably veri-
fied in a literal manner. His cries were most vehement
when the sunshine of his Father’s countenance was
mantled from him ; and perhaps he was occupied a con-
siderable time in impassioned appeals to his heavenly
Father. For although we have on record only a short
prayer, “Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from
me,” which he offered in the garden, this may refer
merely to the basis or topics of his petition. Nehemiah,
and the Jews over whose labours in building the temple
he presided, are said to have made a contrite acknow-
ledgment of theirssins during the protracted period of
the fourth part of a day, while all that is recorded of
tleir prayer may be read in a few minutes; we are
therefore to regard the prayer ascribed to them in
Scripture, not as embracing the whole range of their
petitions, but merely as furnishing an abstract or sum-
mary of them. And so it was with the supplication our
Redeemer presented in the carden. When he returned
to his disciples and upbraided them for their culpable
remissness in falling asleep, he said, ‘“‘ What! could ye
uot watch with me one hour?” he did not say, Could ye
not watch with me a few minutes, which was more
likelyto have been his language if he had not been ab-
sent from them a considerable time. Besides, as he
thrice left them and thrice returned, it is not likely
that they would have been thrice lulled into slumber if
his absence had been continued only while he uttered a
short prayer deprecating God’s wrath, especially as
his reprimand must have stung them severely after
their confident protestations that they would never de-
sert him. We can easily understand how his prolonged
struggle and pathetic cries in the garden would make
him say, “I am weary of my crying, my throat is dried,”
when we remember the declaration, “who, in the days
of his tlesh, when he had offered up prayers and suppli-
cations, with strong crying and tears, unto him that
was able to save him from death, and was heard in that
he feared.” When the Saviour first entered on his
' Hebrews, v, 7.
 PRAYER CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL. 143

tempestuous conflict, his mind appears to have been

stunned and laid prostrate by the terrible shock of God’s
wrath, so that he was afraid his strength would altoge-
ther desert him under the prodigious load of misery he
endured.! Hence he said, save me, uphold, strengthen
me; and at this time so energetic were his cries when
afraid that the tempest of God’s wrath would altogether
crush him, that his throat became dried. And if Christ
obtained extraordinary strength for extraordinary exi-
gencies, only by such flaming earnestness of desire as
covered him with a bloody sweat, and almost shook his
material tenement to ruins, never let it be supposed
that we will secure transcendent blessings without efforts
ofa kindred description. The holy missionary, Brainerd,
who wrestled much in fervent petitions for the souls of
the savages to whom he ministered, was once praying
for them in a retired nook of alonely wilderness under
a cold and bleak sky, till his body was bedewed with
profuse perspiration ; but struck with the thought that
his ardour, intense though it was, felt immeasurably
short of Christ’s, he said, ‘I have prayed till my body
is drenched in copious sweat, but Christ prayed in
agony till his sweat was, as it were, great drops of
blood falling down to the ground.”
And if wrestling importunity will constrain God to
open his storehouse of blessings and pour down mercies,
it is always to be remembered, that there is one signal
benefit we may more easily secure than any other,
namely, the Holy Spirit: “If ye then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children; how much
more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask him?r’”* The image is here drawn
from the instinct of parental tenderness, and assures us
that it is not only probable but absolutely certain that
we shall receive the Holy Spirit by proper applications
made through the medium of our Intercessor. An in-
dividual may meet with a repulse from a brother or
sister or friend, but a child applying to a parent for the
necessary sustenance of life will not be dismissed empty.
Our Saviour refers to the case of an earthly parent,
not merely by way of comparison, but of contrast: If
L Pszlm Ixix, ], 2. 2 Luke, xi, 13
144 PRAYER CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL.

parents, though evil—though tainted with selfishness

and sin, know how to confer good gifts upon their
children, much more will a Father, of vast diffusive be-
nevolence, give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him,
He has not irrevocably pledged himself to grant any
specific temporal enjoyment, but he has guaranteed the
Holy Spirit; a gift that insures a blessed immortality.
God is more willing to give usa mercy of great dimen-
sions, whose consequences will be commensurate with
eternity, than one whose effects will be limited to time.
The exhaustless benignity of his nature has a wider
scope and sweeter exercise when we solicit something
large than when we restrict our expectations to what is
small. The more we ask, the more successful we shall
be; and hence it is easier to obtain the Holy Spirit,
who brings in his train the treasures of everlasting ages,
than any earthly acquisition. But let us remember, that
to usher in the glory of the latter day, we must practise
prayer in all its forms—private, family, social, public.
Never can the heart be so fully unfolded to God as when,
secluded from the society of men, we seek sublime con-
verse with our Creator. Our Saviour frequently prayed
with his disciples; but this did not supersede the dedi-
cation of hours or whole nights to solitary supplication
It was then he could most easily open to his Father ir
heaven those wants and cares which pressed on his
bosom in the view of his impending sufferings; these
were burdens which his disciples could not understand,
for they would never admit into their minds the idea ot
his death; but he could in secret pour all his sorrows
into the bosom of his Father. In the garden of Geth-
semane, when overpowered with horror and consterna-
tion at the dark gloom that overhung him, he retired
thrice from his favoured disciples, and prayed that if it
were possible the cup might pass from him. He could
give vent to all his emotions before his heavenly Father,
though he might not disclose them to others. And so it
is with his people: they feel many soul-burdens which
they would be unable to reveal to the most confidential
friend; and they know well that if they were unfolded,
they might encounter a severe or harsh judgment. But
God, who is a being of infinite love, will manifest to
 PRAYER CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL. 145

ward them a tender sympathy, show a kindness 1n and

condescending to bear with them, equal to the know-
ledge he has of all their secret wants. Hence a saint
finds in secret prayer a charm which does not invest any
form of social worship; and, on the other hand, an un-
regenerate man feels a greater repugnance to secret
prayer than to any public exercises. The latter is in
secret devotion brought into close contact with the
Being towards whom the natural enmity of his heart
exists in full operation ; and though he may go through
a round of private exercises in order to pacify the rest-
less throbings of conscience, he generally betrays a
lurking disrelish to them. He may evince something
like animated zeal in family or social devotion because
those who are linked with him in duty may admire his
accomplishments ; but in the closet his warmth will sub-
side. A man will not feel so much embarrassment when
meeting his enemy in a large society of individuals, as
when encountering him alone in a wilderness; and when
a soul imbued with no love for the supreme Being is ush-
ered alone into his immediate presence, he is brought
into most uncongenial society; and therefore considers
that as an irksome drudgery which a believer regards as
an alluring privilege. On the other hand, while a saint
considers every form of prayer as an endearing and en-
livening occupation, secret supplication is that to which
he betakes himself with the greatest alacrity, just as a
man will value intercourse with an intimate and con-
fidential friend even in the society of others, but will
appreciate most highly a conférence with him alone, as
it is then that he opens the hidden cares and emotions
of his bosom. Some of the most successful instances
of prayer recorded in Scripture are those where the
petitioner was alone with God. This was the case with
Jacob when the heavy woes overhanging him from the
wrath of his brother Esau made him flee to God at
Peniel to invoke the supernatural succour which alone
could extricate him from his embarrassing position. Hi
conduct on that occasion was very remarkable; he des-
patched his wives and servants and all that he had over
the brook, and prayed, remaining alone during the
darkness of the night, till his faith reached that pitch
 146 INTERCESSORY PRAYER.

of unfaltermg confidence which nas signalised him

ever since. And we must remember that though other
forms of prayer could not be observed, though we had
none to associate themselves with us in public devotion,
we have still the mighty engine of private prayer with
which we may freely operate; and never let us harbour
the idea that our individual efforts may not be attended
with splendid results. In the diary of President Ed-
wards, we have the following insertion: “Determined
that this objection is without weight, namely, That it is
not likely that God will make great alterations on the
whole world, and overturnings in kingdoms and nations,
only for the prayers of one obscure person seeing such
things used to be done in answer to the united earnest
prayers of the whole church, and if my prayers should
have some influence; it would be imperceptible and
small.” Moses alone stood in the breach to arrest the
tide of indignation that was about to roll over Israel;
Daniel’s aspirations turned the captivity of Israel;
and God said at a time when Israel was rushing with
headlong precipitation into a gulph of idolatry and im-
morality, Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and
Job, were in the city, they should deliver but their own
souls, implying that in cases of ordinary turpitude, they
would save a whole nation. If therefore, our souls are
impregnated with a principle of saving faith, we may,
in the retirement of our chamber, achieve victories that
will tell on the destinies of the nation. But let the
secret duties of the closet be blended with domestie
worship. It has been said that all the pleasures which
men derive from the pursuits of ambition and public
life, are far surpassed by those emanating from the
family circle; and if such a store of sweets is derived
from this little community, surely God should be hon-
oured in it. Parents have, from the urgent emer-
gencies of their own souls, strong arguments for prayer;
but the welfare of each child is a strong additional cord
drawing them to God; and how necessary is it then
that they should commend them to him in social wor-
ship. The relation in which they stand to their off-
spring invests them with prodigious power in forming
their sentiments and Opinions; and surely, that influence
 BLESSING OF SOCIAL PRAYER. 147

with which God has clothed them should be conse-

crated to his service; this is effectually done when by
the regular observance of household worship they show
them that the honour of God is the preéminent object
of their lives. But let them, while invoking mercy for
their own little circle, extend their sympathies wider
than their own house, and embrace in their petitions
at the domestic altar the wide family of mankind.
There is a special blessing associated with social
prayer. ‘Where two or three agree concerning any
thing it shall be done of your Father who is in heaven.”
There are two remarkable occasions specified in the
Acts of the Apostles on which a rich effusion of the
Spirit was granted, namely, the day of Pentecost, when
the Holy Ghost came down like a mighty rushing wind;
and the time mentioned,’ when the place was shaken
where the small company was praying. Both these rich
tides of spiritual influence were preceded by combined
prayer on the part of the little company who were con-
vened in the upper room. Immediately after Christ's
ascension they received an invigorating impulse to the
duty of prayer; instead of being dismayed by the loss
of their master, as the world might have anticipated,
they seemed instinct with new energy, and “they
were continually in the temple blessing and praising
God:” this language insinuates that the ten days inter-
vening between the triumphant entrance of Christ into
heaven and Pentecost were almost wholly absorbed by
the duty of prayer: after such exclusive and engrossing
dedication to that exercise, the Spirit’s operations were
bestowed with an amplitude that was intended to show
how far the blessings of the New Testament dispensa-
tion outstripped those of the old. The second occasion
above mentioned, was signalized by a more remarkable
descent of the Spirit than even the day of Pentecost
as was manifested by the pecuniary sacrifices made by
the disciples, the greater harmony and grace diffusea
among them, and the encreased boldness with which
the apostles gave their attcstation to the resurrection
of Christ. It was preceded by a prayer which the
hundred and twenty seemed to have been inspired to
Acts, iv, 30.
148 DUTY OF A CONCERT FOR PRAYER.

offer up simultaneously in the upper room: “And when

they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with
one accord. ! Daniel engaged his three friends to
wrestle with him in prayer for deliverance from Nebu-
chadnezzar’s wrath; and Esther requested the Jews to
join in prayer and fasting, before she made that appli-
cation to king Ahasuerus on which was suspended the
well-being of the Jewish nation. God has stamped the
impress of his holy approbation on united prayer; and
one of the most striking lessons we are taught by the
history of the late revival at Kilsyth is the momentous
place which prayer occupies in securing such a stupen-
dous blessing. How important is it that groups of
neighbours, consisting of six or seven, should associate
themselves together for devotional exercises, in addition
to their engaging in the solemnities of public worship:
a small number is most expedient, for when many are
admitted into such praying societies, the members are
apt, when conducting their devotional exercises, to be-
come a prey to the love of display which is inherent in
our fallen nature, or to be damped by the fear of man,
which bringeth a snare.
One duty imperiously encumbent on us at the present
day is, that we should enter into that concert for prayer
which has been repeatedly suggested of late in a News-
paper published in this city. We know that before, or
about the time when the Jews will be converted, a most
extensive union for prayer will take place, not only be-
tween individuals, but between cities, such as Glasgow
and Edinburgh. We are at present organizing plans
for the conversion of God's ancient people; and as this
concert is stated as one of the symptoms or peculiarities
of the time when God’s withering frewn will be removed
from them, we should feel a particularly strong obliga-
tion to concur in it without delay. There is a captivat-
ing beauty in such a social exercise, because it implies
fellowship not only with God, but with one another.
In heaven, when the glorious assembly who grace the
streets that are paved with gold, sing the song of Moses
and the Lamb, their shouts of praise enhance the sweet
communicn subsisting between them. Every symphony
' Acts, iv, 24. 2 Zechariah, viii, 20.
 BLESSING OF UNITED PRAYER. 149

which they combine to raise draws closer the bond

which links them to each other, as well as the tie which
binds them to the Lamb. In the sacrament of the
Lord’s Supper, believers feel much delight, from their
having communion not only with the. Head of the
church, but with many of the members who compose
his mystical body; and their bosoms thrill with a
kindred pleasure, when, though dispersed through dif-
ferent parts of the world, they repair to him as the ex-
haustless fountain of all grace, at some special moment
they may have previously fixed upon. It is observed,
by a pious writer, that friends when about to separate
have sometimes agreed to gaze at the sun at a parti-
cular hour of every day, and to think of each other
while in the act of admiring its shining orb; and that
in the same way believers, when praying to Christ,
though severed by distance, have sweet mutual fellow-
ship when they all invoke specific blessings at the same
stated time: though insulated from each other by local
residence, there is a glorious bond of union formed be-
tween them by the Sun of Righteousness, and God will
honour those applications which reflect glory on his
only-begotten Son as the centre of their union.
In the year 1744, a number of ministers in Scotland,
having taken into consideration the decayed state of
religion in the church in general, and the genial
showers of divine influence granted to some isolated
spots, judged it proper that all who were concerned for
the welfare of Zion should unite in extraordinary prayer
that God would appear in his glory, and grant an
abundant effusion of the Holy Spirit on all the churches,
and on the whole earth. After seeking direction from
God, they determined to dedicate certain specified
seasons to prayer for the furtherance of this object;
and by private correspondence and personal interviews,
they induced a great number of ministers and people,
both in this country and America, to concur in the
scheme. Besides that it was followed for years with
special showers from above in Scotland, it was attended
with a benignant smile from heaven in the fields ot
missionary enterprise. The illustrious Brainerd la-
boured under the auspices of the Society for Propagat-
150 CONCERT FOR PRAYER URGED.

ing Christian knowledge in Scotland. Although a

native of America, he was supported by the contribu-
tions levied for that institution; and it is remarkable
that nine months after the concert commenced, that
distinguished servant of God began that signal career
of success which elevated untutored savages to the
dignity of Christian brethren, and which has furnished
to the church a model for the direction of ministers
and missionaries in similar circumstances. Surely
then we are called upon to unite in the concert of
prayer proposed to be observed on Sabbath mornings.
Is not the hour specified—viz. from eight to nine—one
which many true believers, as well as nominal Chris-
tians, spend in criminal sleep? Will not the conscious-
ness that several thousands are besieging the throne of
grace at that moment rouse many from their slumber,
or render it impossible that they shall enjoy it with
comfort. Let all then who are congregated within this
sanctuary feel themselves bound to acquiesce in the
projected concert of prayer, and carry it into effect
next Sabbath, as well as to do every thing that may
forward the success of it with others.
The very hour during which we should engage in
this occupation is enough to remind us that one promi-
nent topic in all our petitions should be that God
would bless ministers and candidates for the pastoral
functions. The strongest incentive to prayer for those
who sustain, or may yet fill this office, is that the
character of an ambassador of Christ has an intimate
connection with the spiritual condition of his audience;
for when they lapse into a sinful decay, God often re-
moves from them any zealous champion of the cross
who may have presided over their spiritual welfare, and
sets over them either a dead pastor, or one in whom
the divine life is in a state of listless inactivity. We
learn from Amos, viii, 11, that God sometimes sends a
famine of the bread of life to his own people. Their
roaming from the north to the east is an evidence of a
spiritual appetite, as unregenerate men soon subside
into that apathy which renders them satisfied with the
frozen ministrations of their pastors. In Isaiah, xxx,
God says, that though he would give his people the
 PRAYER FOR MINISTERS, 151

bread of affliction and the water of affliction, he would

not remove their teachers into a corner any more;
implying that the greatest of all evil is the absence of
spiritual instructors, and that God sometimes withdraws
them in judgment from his own people. What is said
of David, king of Israel, when his people provoked the
anger of Jehovah, is often paralleled when congrega-
tions are vitiated by the encroachments of the world;
it is mentioned! that the anger of the Lord was kindled
against Israel, and he moved David against them to say,
Go, number Israel. Many of the nation might exclaim
against David’s aberration from duty, but the turpitude
of their own sins was the cause of all their woes, when
the pestilence swept over them. And when congrega-
tions are addicting themselves to the love of the world,
God sometimes permits their pastor to be lifeless and
spiritless and careless, that they may be entangled in
the subtle fowler’s net. When, however, they are
ardently devoted to prayer, their pastor will be copi-
ously replenished with the dews of the Spirit; he will
be marvelously aided in his studies, and come to them
on the Sabbath in the fulness of the blessing of the
gospel of Christ. During the week he will be like the
spies who searched out the promised land, and who,
after traversing its luxuriant expanse, returned laden
with a stately cluster from the vineyards of Eschwi: his
meditations will soar during the week to the paradise
above, and on the Sabbath he will enter the pulpit dis-
playing to them the exuberant produce of the better
Canaan. So spreading and profuse was the cluster
borne away by the spies, that it required two men to
support its weight; and if congregations were to be in
season and out of season commending their ministers to
the God of all grace, he would be to them every Sab-
bath a spy from that land that flows with milk and
honey, bending beneath the load of the treasures which
he had plucked from the margin of that river that
flows through the new Jerusalem. When the souls of a
flock are expanded in impassioned breathings for their
spiritual shepherd,God conducts him through that process
of discipline and triai by which he may be trained for
{2S mu], xxiv, ].
152 LISCIPLINE OF MINISTERS,

efficient usefulness among them. It is not the will of the

Almighty that those ministers who are to make success-
ful inroads into the domains of Satan, and wrest from him
the richest trophies, should propound the gospel by the
mere dint of an intellectual effort, without a deep experi-
mental impression ofthe truth they convey to others; and
in order that they may comprehend the power and pathos
«f the many animating promises that spangle the pages
f Scripture, it is necessary that they should be frequently
reduced to those trying emergencies to which the pro-
mises of God are adapted. When the minister endures
the fierce shock of temptation and affliction, and when,
in the midst of dismay and conflicts, he finds his confi-
dence immovably anchored on some luminous state-
ment or endearing promise of Scripture, he knows how
to unfold all its prodigal richness to a tempted and dis-
tressed soul. The apostle Paul informs the Corinthians
that on one occasion, when a mountainousload of anguish
crushed his spirit, he was pressed out of measure above
strength, insomuch that he despaired even of life. He
was often able to sustain himself under the complication
of troubles that crowded upon him from various quar-
ters; but he was then environed with such a dreary
circle of woes, that he received sentence of death against
himself; that is, he conceived his troubles so aggravated
that his speedy dissolution would be the issue of them.
Now what is the reason he assigns why his lot was
darkened by such a fierce combination of trials? that
he might be able to comfort others with the consola-
tions which were showered upon his own soul. Though
he was distinguished by transcendent endowments of
grace and knowledge, though he had been wrapt into
the third heavens, where words of the sublimest gran-
deur burst upon his ear, all this was insufficient to pre-
pare him for instilling the balm of comfort into the souls
of men without heavy and reiterated shocks of tribula-
tion. For fourteen years previous to the time when he
was invaded by the miseries detailed in the first chapter
of his second epistle to the Corinthians, a thorn had
rankled in his flesh to counteract any emotions of pride
which might inflate his mind; and yet this long pro-
tracted trial was not enough to give him that sensible
 DISCIPLINE OF MINISTERS. 153

acquaintance with trouble which might fit him to soothe

the anguish of others. It is true the Holy Spirit was
liberally imparted to the apostle, and enabled him to de-
clare the tidings of eternal life; but it was meet that
the Holy Ghost should bless most those instructions of
the apostle which were dictated by his own personal
experience. It is mentioned in the fifth chapter of the
Hebrews, as an essential qualification of the priests who
flourished under the Old Testament dispensation, that
they should have compassion on the ignorant and on
chem that are out of the way; and nothing tends more
to kindle in the mind of the pastor a feeling of com-
miseration for those who are stumbling on the dark
mountains, than the recollection of those hideous preci-
pices of ruin and misery over which he was nearly hurled
in the days of his ignoranee. And pastors must there-
fore expect that God will bring them a succession of
fiery vicissitudes if he is to bless them, by enabling them.
to speak a word in season to him that is weary. They
must drink of the cup of which the Saviour drank, and
be baptised with the baptism of which he was baptized,
that they may be attuned to an ardent sympathy for the
souls of men, and attain that skill by which they may
alleviate uueir woes. The celebrated Payson was as-
tonished at the diversified calamities of which he was
the victim during the early part of his career; he was
surprised that God made him to pass through so many
visitations of the rod, till many members of his con-
gregation were involved in the swelling billows of trial,
and he was enabled to minister to their distresses by
the experimental knowledge of Divine comfort which
he had acquired through trouble. He then saw an end
in all the various trials he had encountered, and which
had worn such an unaccountable aspect in his eyes.
There is reason to think that God, who, to ennoble
the office of high priest, which Caiaphas sustained,
helped him to use unconsciously words that signified
the effects of Christ’s death, leads ministers to state the
truth in a manner that is remarkably suitable to indi-
vidual cases among their hearers with which they may
be entirely unacquainted. We have an emphatic in-
stance of this in the life of Joseph Maylim, or the
154 PRAYER FOR MINISTERS.

Runaway Orphan Boy. He heard the celebrated

Dr. Carey in India, who during his discourse had
directed his expostulations very strongly to the Euro-
peans present, delaring that they by their avidity to
amass wealth were idolators as well as the Hindoos;
“they, (said he, meaning the Hindoos, ) have three and
thirty principal gods; but some of you have forty or
five and forty gods; only your gods are in the form of
bags of rupees.” This language struck him exceedingly,
from the singular coincidence between the precise
number of bags of rupees which Dr. Carey had charged
the Huropeans with worshipping and the number which
he had frequently thought he would like to possess
before giving up business, and returning to Britain;
and the impression then made on him terminated in his
acquiescence in the gospel message.
Little do hearers know the assistance they could
render their ministers by wrestling for them in their
closets. Baxter has mentioned it, in his Dying
Thoughts, as an encouragement to saints in every age,
that frequently when he was drooping under corporeal
disease, which disabled him from his ministerial work,
and threatened to extinguish his earthly being, some of
his friends, who had been benefited by his pastoral
labours, dedicated themselves to fasting and prayer ;
and immediately, contrary to all probability that was
founded on second causes, he was revived from pining
sickness, and restored to vigorous duty. It is to the
want of energetic prayerfulness in behalf of pastors
that they have so much reason to exclaim in the present
day, ‘Who hath believed our report, and to whom has
the arm of the Lord been revealed?” The influences
of the Spirit are indispensable to the success of the
ministry. God has sent forth to the church many
highly qualified pastors; but comparatively little of
divine influence has attended their labours. They are
like the row of numerous and well-constructed pipes in
a magnificent organ, which breathe no sound till the
blast goes through them; but let a stream of air be
made to enter them, and then the sweetest melody will
be heard. They are equipped with learning, and fired
with zeal; yet the life-giving Spirit suspends his ani-
 PRAYER FOR MINISTERS, 155
mating breath; but let the healing waters of the sanc-
tuary flow through the land, and they shall bring mul-
titudes of those that are ready to perish to worship the
Lord of hosts in Jerusalem. If any are ready to com-
plain that ministers blow their silver trumpets with so
little fruit at present, let them remember that even the
archangel’s pealing trump would not awaken the dead
on the last day if it were not seconded by the forth-
going of an omnipotent energy; and if the preacher’s
efforts are not seconded from above, they must prove
abortive. But many followers of the Lamb, instead of
imploring God to make rivers of living water flow from
their instructors to enrich and beautify their souls,
lavish upon them an idolatrous affection; and the time
that should be employed in commending them to God
is consumed in extolling their real or supposed accom-
plishments; and hence God is provoked to withhold
from them the promised blessing. If I were asked, to
what I would compare the feelings men should cherish
towards their pastors, I would say they should regard
them as the wise men from the east did the star which
guided their course towards Bethlehem. They re-
Joiced in the auspicious glow of the star which cheered
their tedious wanderings; it was not, however, for the
mere radiance and loveliness it beamed, but because it
marked the path by which they might find the adorable
Saviour who was to rescue the earth from misery.
Every moment they fastened their eyes upon the star
their bosoms heaved with emotions of transport; but
their ecstacy arose from their contemplating the birth
of that mysterious stranger whose advent was to
ennoble this wretched wilderness. In like manner, men
may and ought to attach a high importance to the
mninistrations of their pastor, but it is only while they
consider him as a star whose genial lustre will guide
them towards the glorious Emmanuel. While he un-
folds to them the unrestricted freeness and exuberant
fulness of the gospel, he will be like the star of Beth-
lehem when, after winding on in its radiant course, it
stood over the very house where the young child lay;
but when men put the instrument in the place of Christ,
then he dims the brilliancy of the star; and hence they
156 GOD ANSWERS PRAYER IN

are not guided as they would otherwise be to the ador-

able Redeemer.
We have thus attempted very feebly to exhibit the
necessity of impertunate prayer, in order that the
windows of heaven may be opened; and as God ap-
pears to be diffusing a general spirit of prayer, we have
reason to expect a general revival. It is true that our
earnest aspirations for the spread of religion, and the
introduction of the latter-day glory, may be answered
in a way very different from what we may anticipate.
God may answer them by “terrible things in righteous-
ness;” by commotions and convulsions that will “shake
terribly the earth,” and interrupt our external comfort,
while they will make the strongholds of Satan crumble
to the dust. The enemy has come down in great
wrath, knowing his time is but short; he will put forth
all his resources to stem the progress of the living
waters emanating from the sanctuary; and in the fierce
strife he will wage, he may make inroads on our peace
and quiet; but he will not arrest the glorious march of
righteousness and truth. We know from the pages of
prophecy that the universal extension of Christ’s king-
dom is to be preceded by the storm, the earthquake,
and the tempest, bystruggles of unparalleled magnitude;
but let us be comforted by remembering that God often
answers our petitions by permitting events to occur
which put an end to our outward ease, and yet promote
his glory.
As an instance of this, look to the apostle Paul: he
implored God to grant him a prosperous journey to
Rome, that as a herald of the everlasting gospel he
might waft the enlivening tidings of salvation to Satan’s
strongest fastness. God answered his prayer by sending
him a prisoner, and loading him with fetters. Wher
Paul was approaching Rome some of the Christian
brethren who flourished there met him with a cordial
welcome at Apii Forum, where it is said “he thanked
God and took courage :” this language implies that a
saddening depression loaded his spirits when he was
journeying to the scene of his imprisonment. Yet his
forlorn condition constituted a remarkable answer to
his prayer for a prosperous expedition to Rome: for
 THE BEST WAY FOR H?S GLORY. 157

although his chain was adverse to his personal comfort,

it was highly conducive to the advancement of Christ’s
cause, He tells us in his epistle to the Philippians, that
the things which had happened to him turned out for
the furtherance of the gospel: first, his chain obtained
for him access to the palace of Nero; for when sum-
moned to vindicate himself from the charges preferred
against him, he made the imperial palace resound with
the joyful intelligence of eternal life, so that several of
his domestics were converted: thus Paul says to the
Philippians: They that be of Cesar’s household salute
you. Secondly, his intrepid avowal of Christ embolden-
ed many to preach without dismay the glad tidings
of eternal life. Several of the apostle’s most animated
letters were written from the prison of Rome to the
different churches: and the joyful strains pervading
them, though penned in what would seem a most de-
solate condition, would invigurate those believers who
were pining under the iron rod of persecution, and
fortify them for the endurance of all the fiery trials
they were to undergo. Remember my bonds was an
injunction that would kindle a thrill of holy solemnity,
and a resolute contempt of suffering in the minds of the
Christians to whom he wrote. And though God may
answer our prayers for the progress of his cause by
changes and revolutions that will sweep away many
of our temporal conveniences and possessions, let us
rejoice that he will glorify himself by any dispensations
however inimical to our personal quiet.
We see then the mighty engine which prayer puts
into the hearts of every believer; by it a cottager be-
comes a prince, and the most indigent follower of the
Lamb is armed with a power which will effect the most
important events that are rushing onward in this sub-
lunary scene. It is the lamentation of many saints,
that in consequence of their having been placed in an
obscure position in the scale of society, they have little
influence to exert for the promotion of Christ’s cause;
and the only time when they breathe any aspiration for
rank or riches is when they reflect how much they
might have accomplished for the honour -of his name
had they been exalted to a more prominent station.
158 EFFECT OF FERVENT PRAYER.

But they should remember that, in the seclusion of the

closet, they can put forth an energy, which will con-
trol the incidents and vicissitudes of human affairs
more decidedly than the deep contrivances of the
statesman as the vehement eloquence of the orator.
Three individuals of the sublime faith of Noah, Daniel,
and Job, though poor like Lazarus who lay disfigured
with loathsome sores at the rich man’s gate, might alter
the fate of an empire, and rescue it from ruin when
deserving such a catastrophe; and there never was a
time when men of this stamp had a more thrilling im-
pulse to ply this effective instrument than at the present
moment. For God has given us some gleams of the
latter-day glory in the revivals with which he has re-
cently ennobled this land; but before a general effusion
will be granted, he expects that more general and
ardent petitions will be preferred. The great Head of
the church has come into the midst of us and he ex-
pects to be invited to remain; the King has been
walking through the galleries, and he expects that by
fervent entreaties he will be held there; the voice of
our Beloved has sounded over the mountains and hills
which so long severed him from our church, and, if we
hail it with joy, we shall soon have cause to cry out,
Behold he cometh leaping over the mountains and
skipping over the hills. He has, as it were, turned
aside to tarry for a night, but Jet us say to him, “O the
Hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble,
why shouldest thou be as a s tranger in the land, and as
a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry only for a
night ?”
Let us therefore, by unfaltering assiduity in prayer,
constrain the Saviour to turn aside. If any believer
here present should say that his hours are so crowded
with the avocations of business that he has not time to
allot to prayer for the extension of the Saviour’s king-
dom, I would remind him that he should act towards
Christ as Christ did towards him. The Saviour had
room for all his people in his heart when ne was going
to endure the floods of the divine wrath in Calvary and
Gethsemane: in his intercessory prayer which he put
up when on the verge of that terrific scene of misery
 ASSIDUITY IN PRAYER URGED. 159

which wound up his gloomy pilgrimage, ne makes men-

tion not only of his personal followers, but of all who
in every age should believe in his name,’ and every
individual here present who is united to him in the
bonds of the everlasting covenant must have been then
in his mind. Jt might have been supposed, that when
his hour of withering desolation was impending, he
could have had room for nothing but the anticipation
of his anguish ; but so deeply was our immortal happi-
ness entwined with the strings of his heart, that she
could not dismiss that pleasing subject from his medita-
tions, even in the hour of his dreary abandonment.
And if he could think of us when the fire of God’s
wrath was about to scorch him, we may appropriate
some time to think of him, and pray for the prosperity
of his cause amidst the multiplicity of the human
pursuit; if he could think of us not only when the
dark cloud was about to burst. upon his head, but when
the thunderbolts which lay hid in its bosom were ex-
pending on him all their fury; if the hope of our eternal
felicity was so sweet and soothing as to uphold him
amidst the bitterest throes of his anguish, surely amidst
the greatest hurry and distraction of business, and
amidst the most saddening vicissitudes of life, we
should separate some intervals to concert schemes for
his glory, and to implore the speedy prostration of every
antichristian authority
€ John, xvii, 20
 160

LECTURE VII.
The Godly Life of Believers,—Christians the Light of
the World,—Discipline of the Church, &c.

BY THE REV. WILLIAM ARNOT, A.B.,

INISTER OF ST, PETER’S PARISH.

** Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon
thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the
people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon
thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of
thy rising.’’—Isarag, Ix, 1—3.

Ir is gooa to ascertain and bear in mind the precise

position, in the execution of God’s decrees, occupied by
the Church ' of Christ now existing in the world. It is not
enough to think, on the one hand, of the relation in
which she stands to a world lying in wickedness: nor
is it enough, on the other hand, to think of the relation
in which she stands to the Lord her Redeemer. She
must look both ways, if she would know her own
position. A believer, turning upward his eye of faith,
can see, though it be but darkly, through the glass of
Revelation, God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the
God of his salvation. Looking downward, by help of
the same word of truth, he sees a multitude of men
living without God, and dying under his wrath. Izé is
not enough for such a one to know his own safety, and
luxuriate idly in the present hope of a future inheri-
tance. If he is adopted into the family of God, he is,
by that very fact, constituted a soldier of Jesus Christ.
He looks upward to a Master in heaven; but he also
looks downward to the work which that Master has
given him to do. While he rejoices in being freed from
the dominion of sin, he acknowledges himself the
servant of God. The field is the world. He is in the
' By the church is meant “all that in every place call upon
the name of Jesus Christ’—the whole “household of faith.’
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. 161

field; and that verv thing ne accounts a sufficient indi-

cation that he is called to labour.
The world—all this wide province of God’s dominion—
had risen in one combined revolt. One city—Zion, the
place of the tabernacles of the Most High—has been
overcome by the power of the King, freely forgiven,
and fully restored to favour. But the citizens .must
not indolently bask in the unmerited goodness of their
Lord. He who has done great things for them, will do
other great things by them. Having reclaimed that
one city, and established his authority there, he will
make it the centre of his operations for reducing to
submission those who still maintain an attitude of defi-
ance. There he has planted his standard,—there pro-
mulgated his Jaw,—there he manifests his power, and
wisdom, and love. The Lord reigneth in that city, and
the inhabitants thereof are glad. They account them-
selves not their own, but his. They enlist under his
banner to subdue his enemies—they offer themselves:
heralds to proclaim his grace. They have been made
willing to spend and to be spent in his service. On
that question there is no dispute. Their inquiry as-
sumes another form. It is, “Lord, what wilt thou
have me to do?”?
Citizens of Zion! many things your Lord would have
you to do, and he has recorded his will as to the manner
of doing them. God has a purpose of love towards this
fallen world, and ye must be instruments in effecting it.
His name will be hallowed,—his kingdom come,—his
will be done on earth. His own mighty power will do
this; but that power will be manifested in them that
believe. In the conversion of a sinner there is an
internal operation of the Holy Spirit, imperceptible as
the winds of heaven, and inexplicable as the source
whence these winds proceed; but in the conversion of
a sinner there is also a series of means—necessary, for
God prescribes nothing in vain—means that must be ap-
plied by the agency of willing men.
One of the means to be employed is the Word read
and preached—*“‘Sanctify them through thy truth: thy
word is truth.”* Another is the recognition of God’s
b “Acts, ix, 6, 2 John, xvii, 17.
162 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS.

sovereignty, in prayer for the conversion of sinners.

Thus Paul—My heart’s desire and prayer to God
for Israel is, that they might be saved.” These two
means—the Word and Prayer—prescribed by God,
and by the church employed for the conversion of the
world, have been explained and enforced in the two
immediately preceding lectures. Another—rHE GODLY
LIFE OF BELIEVERS—resting on the same authority, and
equally fitted to aid in accomplishing the same end, re-
mains the special subject of this discourse. It is a mean
of divine appointment: “ Ye are the light of the world:
let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in hea-
ven.” 2 Here the disciples of Christ are enjoined to
live a holy life, for the express purpose of affecting
thereby for good them that are without: and in the
text there is an instance of the effects produced in the
world when that injunction is obeyed. When the church
arises and shines—when she reflects the glory of the
Lord, then the Gentiles come to her light, and kings
to the brightness of her rising.
There is in the mean thus prescribed, a natural fit-
ness to accomplish the desired end. A false pretension
to holiness of life has often been made by hypocrites to
secure some selfish object. This proves that the thing
itself is found to be effectual in influencing the minds
of men. A life uniformly regulated by the precepts of
the gospel, and exemplifying all the graces of the Spirit,
is in itself the most likely, as well as practically the
most successful method of arresting the ungodly in their
downward path. A silent reproof thus administered
is felt to sting most poignantly. There is nothing that
ean be laid hold of as a pretext for eluding its force;
and the conscience is left to deal with the thing just as
it is. Nothing so much annoys those who love the
darkness, as the contiguity of a bright and steady light,
in the person of a devoted disciple of Jesus. Nothing
so much tends to keep alive the fading faith and love
of a backsliding disciple, as the contemplation of strong
faith and burning zeal, in the conduct of another who
is growing in grace. It was thus that the primitive
' Romans. x, 1. 2 Matthew, v, 14, 16.
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. 163

church increased in the fires. The blood of the mar-

tyrs was the seed of the church. The tortures which
the saints endured just gave them an opportunity of
exhibiting their character in higher relief, and thereby
making it more legible to all—an opportunity of exhi-
biting it in more striking contrast with that of their
cruel enemies, and thus making a holy example, at all
times powerful, then more than usually efficacious in
alluring men to the belief of the truth.
From the frequent application of the term “light” in
Scripture, to indicate the influence of a holy example,
it is evidently implied that there is a close analogy be-
tween it and the laws of light in the material universe.
We are thus invited to look to that analogy for help
to understand and apply our subject. Christ is “the
true light which lighteth every man that cometh into
the world,”! and yet he says of his disciples, “ye are
the light of the world.”? In the analogy of nature, we
find a clear exposition of the different senses in which
Christ and his people are said to be the light of the
world. The light of day, in which every living creature
rejoices, proceeds entirely from the sun; but we do not
always receive it direct from its source. If we could
receive it in that way only, half our day would be spent
in darkness. As the rays travel in straight lines, when-
ever any opaque body came between us and the sun, we
would be wholly destitute of his light. But as the law
is, all the material objects with which we are surrounded,
are, to a greater or less extent, possessed of the property
of reflecting the solar rays; and hence it is chiefly from
these objects that the light comes to our eyes, while it is
true that the whole comes originally from the sun. These
objects have no light in themselves: they only serve
as reflecting media for conveying the light that pro-
ceeds from another source. In this way it is that Chris-
tians afford spiritual light to the world. It has pleased
God to cause the light of his glorious gospel to shine
into their hearts, and thence it is obliquely communi-
cated to them that are without. The rays of the Sun
of Righteousness alone can spiritually enlighten a be-
nighted world; but God in his sovereignty has decreed
t John, i, 9. 2 Matthew, v, 14.
164 GOD: Y LIFE OF BELIEVERS.

that these shall be communicated to the people who sit

in darkness, by being reflected from the character of
those who have already seen light clearly.
Hitherto we have been pointing out the influence of
a godly life on the interests of religion generally: but
the special subject of this lecture is its influence in
promoting a revival of religion. Now, referring you
to the first lecture of the course for a full exposition of
what a revival is, let me here in one word remind you
that a revival is not a different thing from religion, but
a greater degree of the same thing. Consequently, it
is to be produced, not by the application of other means,
but by the more faithful and energetic application of
the same means. Since the word revival has become
current, let us beware of being led into error by its use.
Beware of expecting, in a lecture on revivals, any thing
different from what you would expect in a lecture on
religion. There is no generic—there is not even a
specific difference. The things are the same; they are
one thing, but in different degrees—sinners converted
in greater numbers than usual, and saints more lively
in their faith and love. There is no other difference.
Hence, having found that the godly life of believers is
effectual in promoting religion, it is not necessary to
alter it—it is not lawful to alter it in any way, in order
to accommodate it to the special subject of this dis-
course. As we find it in the word applied to religion
—the religion of Christ—we may take it, we must take
it, without alteration or amendment, in order to apply
it to the revival of religion. Having found a right
instrument, let us ply it with all our might,—push it
as far as we can, if so be we may promote a revival:
but beware of inventing another—beware of supposing
that any instrument is needed other than those which
are prescribed in the Word.
The need of a revival is acknowledged, and must be
acknowledged by all who will look upon the present
state of the world. A dreadful picture of it is written
in the text. Whether a still more literal and appalling
accomplishment of that prophecy is yet coming on, I
krow not: but it will be found that the present state
of the world accurately answers the description. We
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. W565

need not spend our strength straining down into coming

ages, and picturing out some darkness thicker than any
that has hitherto been felt, in ordcr to find out a coun-
terpart to this prophetic declaration. We must not
put aside present duty by demanding a sign, and look-
ing for it far in the distant future. If we could discern
the signs of the times—the present times—we would
find that already darkness covers the earth, and gross
darkness the peoples, not only those who worship many
zods, but those also that are marked on the map, Chris-
tian. He must have a vivid imagination, who can con-
ceive a more literal fulfilment of this prophecy than
that which is actually exhibited in many thousand in-
stances around our own dwellings. He must have a
fertile imagination indeed, who can picture on it a dark-
ness to come, yet more gross than that which pervades
the homes and the understandings and the hearts of
the godless men who move in multitudes amongst us.
There is need of a revival of religion, and from that
we might argue that there must have been a defect in
the application of the means appointed by God for
maintaining and promoting religion. But it is not
necessary to deduce it as an inference; we may look
upon it asa fact. Other means have been neglected;
put at present we are more immediately concerned to
know, that Christians have not been bringing the znflw-
ence of a godly example distinctly to bear on the un-
belief of the world.
The commands addressed to the Church in the text
suggest an accurate view of her present condition:
“ Arise!” He that hath an ear let him hear what the
Spirit saith to the church. The condition which re-
quires such an injunction is exactly her condition now.
If not altogether prostrate, she is certainly not standing
erect. Raised but a little above the clod, the attraction
of earth is strong, and keeps her bent downward still.
The sun is a more powerfully attracting body than the
earth; but the sun is far distant, and the attraction of
the lesser body, the earth, keeps us clinging to its sur-
face. So with the Sun of Righteousness: he is not only
in himself, but in the judgment of believers acknow-
ledged to be by far the more lovely—the more attrac-
166 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS.

tive object: but the world is nearer—is seen better by

the eye of sense, and draws downward the affections of
the soul. Among the disciples of Jesus there is not a
singleness of eye—there is not an undivided allegiance.
There is, if not a halting in the understanding between
two opinions, at least a halting in the affections between
two objects soliciting their regard. As when a magnet
is held over a needle—when it is brought near, a
tremulous motion ensues—one end riseg up, and quivers
uncertain between two antagonist forees—the unseen
mysterious attraction upward of the magnet, and the
more common attraction of gravitation downward.
Distracted by influences drawing in two opposite
directions, it yields partly to both, and wholly to neither.
Thus the church collectively, and in its individual
members, is distracted by the simultaneous operation
of two opposing laws—the law of the corrupt members,
and the law of the now enlightened mind—the one
pointing downward to the love of the world, and the
indulgence of sin; the other pointing upward to the
love of Christ, and the obedience of the gospel. Thus
bent the church is, though not laid prostrate; thus en-
tangled by the world, though not overcome. Although
she acknowledges the right of only one Lord to have
dominion over her, that one Lord is not made the ob-
ject of all her affections, the source of all her hopes,
the centre of all her aims; and, therefore, she must still
be considered as bowing down, and still addressed in
the command, “ Arise.
“Shine”—This implies that the church is not
emitting such a radiance as will easily distinguish
her from the surrounding world; and that is eminently
characteristic of the church now. This is the malady
that impairs her beauty and impedes her growth.
She does not shine; the shade of her colouring
is not sensibly different from that of the world.
They glide so naturally and smoothly into each other,
that you cannot perceive where the boundary lies.
The Savicur’s testimony regarding his first disciples is,
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of
the world.”! But where is this characteristic mark
© John, xvii, 16.
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. 167
now? This distinction has not been kept up as it
ought to have been, harsh and pointed and glaring, so
that none could mistake it. The edge of it has been
softened down, that it might melt insensibly and plea-
santly away into the world. Instead of standing out to
rebuke the unfruitful works of darkness by the substan-
tial reproof of a holy example, there has been a dally-
ing, and an accommodation, and an assimilation. In-
stead of being a light shining steadily in a dark place,
the church actually existing in the world is like that
flickering unsubstantial gleam that darts fitfully from
the northern horizon across the winter sky—faint even
where strongest; and every moment capriciously shift-
ing its place, and altering its intensity, and changing its
colours—so spread, and diluted, and melted away, that
you can never tell where the edge of it is, nor what
effect it may produce on the surrounding darkness.
It should make a Christian tremble for himself when
he hears that darkness covers the earth. If there be
not much difference between him and others, it is be-
cause there is no light in him. Where there is dark-
ness, the smallest spark of light is distinctly seen. A
renewed soul is a gem that should appear more brilliant
now in the body, than hereafter in the Redeemer’s
crown; for, here it is set in a dark ground; there it will
be lost in a radiance brighter than its own. Here sur-
rounding objects heighten and set off its lustre; there
it will have no glory by reason of the glory that excel-
leth. The world is a dark place—a believer’s character,
if we learn it from the mouth of our Lord, is a light
in the darkness. He is not of the world; it is his
enemy. He is separated from it by a broad, well-defined,
intelligible line; there is not only a difference, but an
opposition—not only a separation, but a contrast—such
a contrast that, though he should never open his lips, his
conduct is an abiding reproof of its wicked works.
Such is the character of a Christian, when we read
it in the word of Christ. Could we read the same in
the conduct of those who are called by his name?
Look on this picture and on that. Can that be gold
which is so dim? Is if not some adulterated, changed
thing, that is freely passing current amongst us for fine
168 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS.

gold? Light of the world! Oh, look upon the visible

church—upon that aspect of it which is exhibited to the
view of men, and does it not seem a refined, cruel mockery
to call it light? Does it not appear as if one would
make merry with the glaring discrepancy between the
name and its subject?
So much for the existence of the evil in general
terms; and now, before descending to the particular
symptoms of the disease, it may be good at this stage to
point out the remedy. It will do no good to show how
low we have fallen, if there be not held out at the same
time something to encourage the hope of amendment.
Observe the connexion between the two parts of the
command addressed to the church: “Arise, shine.”
In nature, it is generally necessary that a body should
be raised up, ere it can be enlightened or shine. In
northern regions of the globe, where the whole winter
is one continuous night, it is said that the inhabitants,
when the spring draws near, and the sun is expected to
appear above the horizon, ascend together the nearest
eminence, and greet with joyous acclamation the return
of day. There is here a close connexion between the
rising and the shining. Had they not arisen and gained
a height above the level of their huts, they had not seen
the sun. You may easily suppose that some—the infirm
or the indolent, are left behind in the plain; and you
can further suppose these looking up and seeing the
faces of their companions glistening in the direct rays
of the sun, while themselves experience none of his
cheering influence. The very same connexion there is
between “ Arise” and “Shine,” when considered as a
command to a backsliding church. Those who refuse
to be quickened will not be enlightened; those who
cleave to the dust will not be cheered by the light of
God’s countenance. Ye must be willing to rise, other-
wise ye cannot shine. But, in the case just alluded to
for illustration, it would have been vain for the men to
ascend the hill in quest of light had not the sun been
shining. It is true that their ascending the eminence
brought them within the direct influence of his beams;
but it is also true that their ascending the eminence
would have been of no avail, had not the sun been
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. 169

above the horizon. So, when we are addressed in this

imperative strain, there is hope concerning this thing:
“Shine, for thy light ts come, and the glory of the Lord
is risen upon thee:” “ Awake, thou that sleepest, and
arise from the dead:” and good encouragement there is
to attempt compliance, for it is added, ‘Christ shail
give thee light.”! Our light has come, and it is re-
quired that we rise and look upon it. “God, who com-
manded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”* The glory
of God, then, is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.
That is the glass in which we can behold it. Observe
the effect that follows from looking on it: “We, behold-
ing as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image, from glory to glory.”? By stead-
fast looking unto Jesus we acquire his likeness. Feature
after feature is transferred as we gaze, until the image
is complete in all its essential parts. ‘The glories of the
Redeemer are, one by one, imprinted on the believer’s
soul, until glory in the picture answers to glory in the
great exemplar—grace corresponding to grace, as the
letter to the type impressed upon it. And weil may
the saint thus illumined shine in the world. The im-
pression stamped upon his nature is that which shines
in the face of Jesus; and that which shines in the face
of Jcsus is the “glory of the Lord.” Christians! this is
your encouragement ; your light has come; you need
not wait for another; no brighter sun will ever appear
on your horizon. You have only to yield yourselves
to the influence of his light and heat. The great work
is not to be done—the power not to be exerted by
you. No man is required to save his own or his brother's
soul. That were a hopeless task, When a man is com-
manded to work out his own salvation, the encourage-
ment—the only thing that could have afforded a ground
of bope—immediately follows: “For it is God which
worketh in you.”* In like manner, when Christians
are commanded to shine for the purpose of enlightening
and saving others, they are not left to the hopeless task
{ Ephesians, v, 14. 2 2 Cor. iv, 6.
3 2 Cor. iii, 18. 4 Philip. ii, 13.
170 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS.

of producing the light themselves, for, saith the Scrip-

ture, “thy light is come.” Only be willing to let it
shine on you, and it will produce its own work.
As we pursue this topic, we are writing out our own
condemnation. The condemnation of the world is,
that “light is come into it, and men loved darkness ra-
ther than light because their deeds were evil.”' Here
is the condemnation, far more severe, of the church—we
may read it literally from the text, “ Thy light”—not
merely “light” as it is in the world, and not appropri-
ated, but “Thy light is come,” and the glory of the Lord
shail be seen upon thee. It is still among the things
that shall be—it is not seen yet. The glory of the Lord
not seen in us! And why? This is our condemnation,
that all other things are now ready, and we are not.
“ They looked to him and were lightened ;” know, that
if ye are not enlightened, it is because ye do not look.
If ye are not radiating around you the very glories that
shine in your Redeemer, it is simply because, cleaving
to the dust, you are not looking to Jesus.
Let us examine now in some particular instances, by
way of examples, how the glory of the Lord may be
transferred to, and seen in believers—so seen in them,
as to become the means of enlightening and converting
them that are without.
One feature that would be transferred to the charac-
ter of Christians, if they would look unto Jesus, is—a
meek forgiving disposition—a temper never irritated,
never yielding to passion—a charitable frame of mind
toward all. One of the many graces that go to make
up the fulness of Christ is, according to the apostle
Peter,® that “when he was reviled, he reviled not again;
when he suffered, he threatened not.” The apostle
Paul had looked on the face of Jesus, and had thereby
gotten that grace transferred to himself; (you know it
was not in his character at first). Of himself and his
fellow-labourers he testifies>—“ being reviled, we bless;
being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we en-
treat.” How closely the picture resembles the original!
O if the church would arise and receive this ray from
her Light, she would shine in the world a very different
© Jobn, di, 19. 2 | Peter, ii, 2, 3. 3} Cor. iv, 12.
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. 171

thing from what she has hitherto appeared. Of late

years this glory—that of ameek forgiving spirit—seems
to have almost “departed from her ;” and for want of
it, she has been hung up an unseemly misshapen thing
—the butt of the world’s sarcasm, rather than a light
attracting the world’s admiring gaze: “Jerusalem hath
grievously sinned; all that honoured her despise her,
because they have seen her nakedness.”! Looking to
ourselves in this aspect, we may well be “cast down:”
but we will not despair. This glory is in the face of
Jesus: if we look to him, it will yet be seen in us.
Another grace which Christians may get from the
same source is—the living, not for the world, but for
God—not for time, but for eternity. ‘One thing is
needful.” —That has been taught by the Lord, and ac-
knowledged true by all his disciples: you may read it
distinctly in the creed of the Church, but not in the con-
duct of her members. It would appear that an adulter-
ated version of that grand doctrine had been engraven
on the character of the professed followers of Christ:
shut the word, and let an impartial observer read it off
from the general aspect of the church, it will be found
to run—‘‘ many things are needful.” We are cum-
bered about the “many things,” just because we habitu-
ally look to them. When we learn to look unto Jesus,
we shall be found, in practice as well as in theory, ac-
counting the things of this present life not worthy to
be compared with the things at God’s right hand. Then
in choosing our occupations, our company, our plea-
sures, all will be done for eternity. The interests of
time, when they come into competition, will be reso-
lutely and wholly set aside. The evident aim of life
will be to seek first the kingdom of God and his right-
eousness, despisingin comparison all other things.
Another glory that would be transferred to the
church and seen in her members were she to arise and
look, is an aim, in the present life, not selfish but be-
nevolent. In Christ all fulness dwells. If we look to
him, we shall receive out of his fulness “grace for
grace :” we shall get graces implanted in our own souls,
corresponding to the graces that are in Him.’ And one
' Lam. i, 8 2 John, i, 16.
172 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS.

of the graces of our Lord Jesus Christ is, ‘that though

he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye
through his poverty might be rich.” When this grace
is conveyed to the church, corresponding to the same
grace in the Redeemer; when this glory from the face of
Jesus is transferred to believers, in such measure as to
be “seen upon” them, then there will be a shining in
the darkness; there will be a visible standing out from
the world; there will not be, as now, difficulty in “ dis-
cerning between him that serveth God, and him that
serveth him not.”2 Were the law, “Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself,” freely acknowledged, and
fully obeyed, it would completely change the aspect of
society ; it would turn the world upside down; we
shrink from looking at the law; we have not courage
to think ofits practical bearings: but that is because it
condemns us. We treat it as Ahab did Elijah. When, in
an unguarded moment, the obligation of that law starts
up before the mind and touches the conscience, it is re-
pelled with a thought, something akin to the confused
guilty-like exclamation of the King of Israel: ‘“ Hast
thou found me, O mine enemy!”° A selfish aim in a
Christian is a stain that dims the lustre of every other
grace he may possess. We must not be contented with
giving every one his due: our Lord has laid down an-
other rule, his own example: “This is my command-
ment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.” *
His love to sinners was not measured by their deserv-
ing; neither should ours. If we look unto Jesus, we
cannot long be contented to live without doing any body
harm. As in nature, “light is the vehicle of heat ;” so
a habitual looking on him who loved us, would not only
reveal to the understanding the greatness and freeness
of his love, but would melt the soul into a kindred
flame.
Let me specify one other glory that the church may
obtain by looking up, which is either not at all, or but
dimly seen upon her now—a confident hope of a bless-
ed immortality. As the eye of the believer is more
steadily fixed on the light that has arisen, faith will in-
© 2 Cor. viii, 9. 2 Mal. iii, 18.
3 1 Kings, xxi, 20. * John, xv, 12,
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. 173

crease; and as faith increases, the hope founded on it

will be confirmed; it will grow on until it issue in as-
surance; and that assurance will beget a habitual rejoic-
ing in the Lord, very different from the doubting, des-
ponding condition of most Christians in the present day.
When joy and peace in believing shall have become
general in the church, the change from her present de-
solate aspect will be so great, that it will readily be seen
upon her ;—so seen, that it will be acknowledged an em-
anation from the glory of the Lord.
My object, all along, has been to show that Christians
are deficient in holiness of life, and to urge them on to
higher degrees of attainment. In accordance with the
subject prescribed and the text chosen, I have, through-
out, been preaching morality: but I have been trying
to make it Christian morality. I would like to avoid
the silly conceit of those modern moral philosophers
who make it a point of honour, not to be indebted to
the Bible for a precept or a motive; who make a parade
of learned labour, in searching for light through the
mazy records of heathen antiquity, but will not borrow
from the record of God's word, except by stealth and
without acknowledgment; who would account it an
abatement from the true philosophic dignity to fortify
an argument by a direct appeal to the gospel of our
Lord and Saviour. Knowing that in our flesh there
dwelleth no good thing,I could never expect to see any
good there; unless I were able to point out a source,
independent of ourselves, from which it may come.
Knowing that nothing but roots of bitterness ever spring
up spontaneous in the soil of the corrupt mind, I could
never expect to see fruits of righteousness growing
there, without sowing, in the first place, the good seed
of the word. Knowing what the Scriptures and experi-
ence teach of the natural depravity of the human heart,\
it would have been a heartless, hopeless thing, to urge
a multitude of my brethren to greater holiness of life, if
I had not been allowed, at the same time, to point toa
fulness whence they might all receive. It would, in-
deed, have been a heartless, hopeless thing, to proclaim
in the hearing of fallen men, “ Arise, shine ;” if I had
been debarred from proclaiming in the same breath,
“Your light is come.”
174 GODLY LIFE OF BEL EVERS.

After So much of an expository character about the

godly life of believers—atter so much about what. it
is not,—what it is,;—and how it may be attained; we
should now be prepared to apply it more particularly
to our prescribed subject,—to press it as a mean, in-
tended and fitted to promote the revival of religion.
When the Church shall receive the glory of the
Lord from the face of Jesus Christ, and reflect that
glory around, the effect will be to dispel the darkness
that broods over the earth—to remove the gross dark-
ness that covers the people.
Recurring to the illustration already introduced ;—
suppose a few men placed on an eminence—that on
them the sun has arisen—that there is a multitude on
the plain below who see not the sun, but whose life
depends on seeing him. Suppose further, that those
below have no inclination to ascend—that invitations
are addressed to them in vain—that they are prevented
from making any effort by a secret sluggish doubt,
whether it really be true that a sun has appeared above
the horizon—that they are fast falling into a lethargy,
and dropping, one by one, dead on the cold ground.
Suppose that the effectual means of inducing them to
come up to a place of safety were to let them see the
sun’s rays actually shining on the countenances of
those who had already attained the height. What
would ye think of those favoured few, if they should
refuse to turn toward the sun as the signal and the
means of safety to their perishing brethren below!
Oh how shall we wash our hands from the guilt of our
brother’s blood !
Universally, without limitation as to time, place, or
other circumstances, Christians are bound to let their
light shine for the good of others; but with a view to
the further illustration of the subject, and a more pre-
cise enforcement of the duty, let us look to its special
bearing onsome of the more important relations of life.
Observe, in the first place, how this command bears on
professing Christians in their collective capacity asa con-
gregation—a number of families associated for the con-
joint worship of God, and administration of religious or-
dinances. As acongregation, Christiansshould come out
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. 175

from among the unclean, and having come out should

continue “separate.” There should be a well-defined
line of demarcation preserved. If such a body of
Christians would in any degree answer the end of their
being, they must be distinguished from the world. If
they would not be an instrument in the hand of the
wicked one to ruin many souls, they must be distin-
guished from the world, even as a light is distinguished
from the darkness. If they would exert a purifying
influence on those that are without, they must as a
body be pure. In short, there must be an unceasing,
untiring effort, after a rigid discipline and a pure com-
munion. On this topic it would be out of place to
descend to particulars; but it is within our own legiti-
mate province, to throw out a hint as to the existence
of the evil, and the method of correcting it. There is
much need of zeal in this matter; but it is very ne-
cessary that zeal in this matter should be attempered
with wisdom. There is danger of marring all, by be-
ginning at the wrong end. If any good is to be done,
we must begin at the heart. Get an increase of
warmth and activity there; thence let it penetrate and
pervade the members; and let the reinvigorated body
then, by the impulse from within—by its own spon-
taneous motion—shake off those unseemly excrescences
that may have stuck themselves on its surface, during
a period of sickly prostration. This is a safer and a
surer method, than the application, from without, of a
system of rules which, however excellent in themselves,
may be in advance, not only of the spiritual condition
of those to whom they must be applied, but also of
the spiritual comprehension of those who are to apply
them. The continued maintenance of a form of ad-
mission, when the actual spirituality of the body has
fallen below the standard of that form, is a most dan-
gerous thing. It is just the danger of a disease which,
leaving the extremities warm, and so lulling suspicion,
lays a freezing grasp upon the heart. Having thrown
out a caveat against what I conceive an error in the
method of proceeding, let me again reiterate, that if
our churches are to do any thing in their Master’s work,
they must exercise a rigid discipline. Let it only
176 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS.

proceed in the right way—let there be a movement

within the Church—let her arise and shine—let her
receive the enlightening and warming influences of
her living Head—let the demand for the exercise of
discipline come from an increased spirituality within,
and thus called for, let discipline be enforced—severe,
and yet more severe, as the increasing light within re-
veals new and hitherto undiscovered deformities.
These observations refer to a stage in church disci-
pline after the first step has been taken. ‘There is a
first step, however, which we might all be prepared to
take now—and which we must all take, ere we can in
any degree become “instruments of righteousness unto
God,” '—I mean the instant excision of all who are
known to be immoral or profane. Such sins as drunk-
enness, swearing, and sabbath desecration, must in every
case be held to disqualify. Until this be done, con-
scientiously and sternly done—it is more than foolish
to talk of Christians, in their congregational capacity,
being the light of the world. Congregations who
allow ‘of such sins in their members, are not obeying
their Lord’s command to let their light shine—they
are not trying to obey it—they are hindering the
coming of Christ’s kingdom. ‘They are not reviving
religion; they are caricaturing it, and holding it up to
the scorn of the world. After this first step is taken,
we shall not be producing so great an amount of evil;
but still helpless for good,—still only begianing. I
might go on to propose, as a second step, that the
worldly should be excluded from the communion of
the church; but alas! who are to exclude them? where
should we begin, and where end? I say, if you should
now begin by making a rule, that a worldly-minded
man should not be a member of the church, I do not
see how we could apply it; and yet it is true that
worldliness is the besetting sin of the church, dim-
ming her light, and preventing her from moving in the
service of her Lord. We are not in a condition to
apply such a rule; and yet we are not to fold our
hands helpless and despairing. The church cannot
get quit of worldliness by a process of excision fro.u
‘ Romans, vi, 13,
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. Wied
without: but the church may get quit of worldliness
by a process of extrusion from within. We must arise
and shine—those who are Christ’s must let their light
so shine, that the distinction between them and the
worldling may be clearly seen. Then we shall apply
our rule, and exclude the worldling from the commu-
nion of the church. So on with other steps in the pro-
cess. Let the rules be rigid and uncompromising;
but the framing and enacting right rules will be labour in
vain, unless, by an enlightening and enlivening process
within, the actual spirituality of the church be raised
tu the point where the application of right rules be-
comes possible. Strict enforcement of discipline is a
difficult thing, but it is essential: without it we have
no good ground to expect a general revival.
This would have been the natural place to introduce
the subject of union among different bodies of Chris-
tians, now kept separate by certain non-essential pecu-
liarities; but the theme would necessarily lengthen in
our hands beyond the reasonable limits of a discourse.
On this account I shall not attempt the illustration of it
here. Let me just remark in passing, that the present
disunion of those who hold by the head, is one of the
strongest barriers in the way of convincing papists; and
affords the infidel one of the most efficient of the wea-
pons which he wields against the truth. Surely all
who really desire the conversion of the world, should
stand in awe and tremble, as they read the prayer
offered up by a suffering Saviour, for union amongst
his own as the means of attracting the world to the
faith of the gospel:! “ Neithcr pray I for these alone,
but for them also which sliall believe on me through
their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father,
art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in
us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
Descending now from the contemplation of the col-
lective body, let us endeavour to bring the practical ap-
plication of our subject more particularly to bear upon
the different classes into which the body may be divided,
according to certain relations in which they stand to
each other; and of these, first, ministers.
t John, xvii, 20, 21.
 178 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS.

It is acknowledged that a minister's example is at

least of equal importance with his preaching. Indeed,
it is not right to institute a comparison between the
two in regard to their importance. ‘They are so closely
connected, that the efficiency of the one is wholly de-
pendent on the co-operation of the other. Better no
preaching at all, than a preaching of truth which is
contradicted by the daily walk of him who preaches it.
If a minister would let his light shine for the good of
others, he must,
1. Devote his time and his talents, zealously and
assiduously, to the great end of his office—the saving
of sinful souls.) Though there should be no positive
evil done, on which the most watchful adversary could
found an accusation, the mere negative evil of indo-
lence, inactivity, or dissipation of time and talents in
other pursuits, will effectually counteract the soundest
teaching. This negative evil is substantially a prac-
tical contradiction of the speculative truth taught,
and must necessarily lessen its effect. The counsel of
God, if faithfully declared, condemns the indolence of
a minister; and conversely, the indolence of a minister
Opposes the truth which himself has preached, and
so prevents it from having its own weight on the con-
sciences of those who hear.
2. Again, if a minister would let his light shine for the
good of others, he must not be of a worldly mind; he
must notbe secularinhisaim. Hemustavoid boththeevil,
and the appearance of the evil. It is admitted that there
is, among acertain portion of thecommunity at the present
day, adisposition to misrepresent ministers in this matter,
and to judge of them uncharitably. There is, among not
a few, a cruel disposition to grudge a minister even the
means of acomfortable subsistence; adisposition todecry
as avarice in a minister, what is in itself, and in other men
would be acknowledged, a just and praiseworthy con-
cern for the comfort of his family. This disposition on
the part of the people—of those among them who enter-
tain it—is their sin. It is a species of persecution to
which a minister must submit; but let him remember
that it is not enough for him that he make out a
good case against those who use him unkindly. He
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. 179

must take occasion, from their sin, to make a more

strenuous effort to avoid all appearance of that evil
which is a stumbling-block in their way. It is not
enough that he can justify himself against the accusa-
tions of these men; he must become all things to these
men, if by any means he may save them. There is room
for a great addition to the influence which the example
of the Church is now exerting on the world, by an in-
creased spirituality of aim actuating the conduct of her
ministers.
3. 1 am bound to point out, for the purpose ofsuggest-
ing amendment, that in the conduct of ministers which
has an adverse effect on the religion of the community.
And if my own experience, before I was invested with
the office, be any thing like a correct index of the feel-
ings of the community in this matter, I would say
that the manner, and tone, and spirit, in which ministers
frequently conduct the business of church courts, exert
in secret a powerful influence in preventing the cordial
reception of their Sabbath ministrations. There may
be in this too a certain amount of prejudice among the
people; but after making all due allowance for the pre-
judice, and taking into accounttoo the great improvement
which of late years has in many quarters been effected,
there remains a substantial evil to be redressed—an evil
that must be redressed, ere we can lay claim to the charac-
ter, or accomplish the end, of lights in the world.
Finally, ministers must, in their private intercourse with
the people, be themselves a comment on the doctrines
which they teach. They necessarily meet, in various cir-
cumstances, the very people to whom they preach on the
Sabbath. The two lines—that of their public ministra-
tion, and that of their private converse—are near each
other: if they do not run parallel, they will necessarily
meet, and cross, and oppose each other. Even the most
ignorant of the people instinctively observe the inc nsis-
tency; and, unless the private intercourse is manifestly
thrown into the same scale with the public preacains to
increase its weight, they will take care to throw it into
the opposite scale, and thus ease their consciences, by
deducting so much froin the force of the truth w 1ich
would otherwise have troubled them. It is espec.ally
180 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS.

required of ministers, if they would concur in promoting

a revival of religion, that they keep their lights always
barning.
The duty of letting their light shine for the good of
others is especially binding in another class—parents,
including masters, and superiors generally. Put less of
illustration will be needed here, as the principles that
apply to the conduct of ministers may be easily accom-
modated to superiors of another class. I speak not at
all of those parents who make no religious profession:
neither by precept nor example do they promote the
spiritual weal of their families. It would be prema-
ture to press on them the practice of the truth, before
they have been brought to acknowledge it. But let
professing Christian parents know, that in relation to
the religious interests of their family, the acknowledg-
ment of the truth is nothing—is worse than nothing—if
it is not followed up by a consistent practice. Children
inherit a corrupt nature ; religious duties are wearisome;
when conscience, enlightened by early instructions, re-
presents religious duties to be imperatively binding, the
most successful instrument which the wicked one can
employ to weaken conviction and resist the truth, is to
suggest to the mind of the child, in proof of the parent’s
insincerity, some discrepancy between his Sabbath-day
teaching and his week-day acting. Christian parents!
do not in this way give place to the devil; do not put
into his hands an instrument, whereby to sever the affec-
tions of your child from you, and from God. Mothers!
how much has been done by the holy example of a
mother making an impression in earliest childhood—a
first impression so deep as to keep its place, in defiance
of many a strong current of temptation in after life!
Not unfrequently the conversion in mature years of
profligate men is in a great measure due to that im-
pression, pertinaciously keeping its hold in spite of every
adverse influence, and at length, by some remarkable
dispensation of Providence, more vividly recalled. A
godly mother, kneeling by the cradle of the child, is a
light so clear, that it is seen when other events and
other objects are shrouded in the darkness of the for-
gotten past—seen shining afar in memory’s deenest
 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS. 181

recess—so seen as to be felt—felt with such power as

to revive religion in the soul of the grown man, after it
has been smothered long beneath a multitude of sins.
Let me suggest the practical application of the sub-
ject to one other class—children, and others who may
in various ways be in the condition of inferiors. Let
no one imagine that only those, who may be eminent
above others for their talents or station, are bound to
become the light of the world. These have greater
opportunities of doing good, and may be more exten-
sively useful; but the humblest disciple may and ought
to be a iight in his own sphere. Llowever private your
station or limited your talents, there is some one or
more who will be influenced by your example. Ye
cannot prevent that example from operating; there is
no neutral ground; it will affect your neighbours for
good or for evil. Let not the weakest lamb of Christ’s
flock despair of helping in this way to promote the re-
vival of religion. This is 2 weapon which may be used
by those who are unable to wield any other, A child,
if a child of God, may thus, without leaving the path
of his duty, become the mean of shedding spiritual
light into the mind of a benighted parent. It will not
do for such a one to offer violence to nature by assum-
ing the office of a teacher—the tone of dictation, A
modest, loving, winning, holy life will be far more ef-
fectual. I cannot conceive any mean more likely,
under God, to effect the conversion of an ungodly
parent, than a practical exhibition of the power of god-
liness, in the daily conduct of his own child. Suppose
a father has spent a day in worldly cares, an evening
in sinful pleasures, and retired to rest unblessed, without
a prayer to God, without a thought of his presence.
Ere his eyes are closed in sleep, there falls upon his
ear, through the stillness of night, a sweet, soft, inarti-
culate murmuring. It proceeds from the adjoining
chamber—the chamber where rests the child whom
nature has taught him to love. Louder and more dis-
tinct, the voice becomes, as the affections of the uncon-
scious suppliant warm into fervour;—it is a prayer.
The father listens. Arrested, he checks each rising
breath, and strains to catch the sound. Louder now it
182 GODLY LIFE OF GELIEVERS.

is, and still more clear;—it is a prayer for him. Hard

indeed must be his heart, if it can resist such a con-
straining power as this. ‘There will be a sting of re-
morse; but there may be more. On the wings of that
sharp arrow the enlightening Spirit may enter. The
man who resisted every other mean, may thus be taught
to pray —may be induced to seek, and seeking, find a
pardoning, reconciled God.
Consider your high calling, brethren, whatever your
rank inthe world or your station in the church ; think of
the honour conferred upon believers: they are not only
instruments, they are fellow-workers with (od, in the
accomplishment of his eternal decrees. The elements
of nature, the various orders of inanimate creation, all
unite in showing forth the Creator's glory: but they
are only the unconscious instruments of divine power.
The service rendered unto God by a renewed soul is a
willing service. The moment our minds are enlighten-
ed by the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to perceive what
the work is,—to perceive the excellence of the end, and
the fitness of the means; are allowed to exercise our
own judgment and will, in the execution of that which
the Sovereign Lord hath determined to bring to pass.
But, to be. intelligent, willing instruments, in accom-
plishing the divine decrees, implies a corresponding
duty on our part, and lays upon us a responsibility,
heavy in proportion to our intelligence, and the im-
portance of the end to be accomplished. Let the dis-
ciples of Christ weigh well the station which they oc-
cupy among the creatures of God; his thoughts to-
wards a sinful world are, and ever have been, thoughts
of love; his offers of mercy are freely made to all; he
waiteth to be gracious to every repentant sinner: many
and various are the means he has set in operation to
induce them to come; and among others you, ye fol-
lowers of the Lamb, by whatsoever name ye may be
called, have been placed in the midst of them to hold
forth a practical exhibition of the beauty of holiness,—
to show them, in your lives, how good a thing it is to
draw near to God,—to exemplify the pure morality of
the gospel, that men may be enticed to submit to its
power,—to live soberly, and righteously, and godly in
the world ; that men, seeing your good works, may glo-
 GODLY Likf£ Or SELIEVERS. 183

rify your Father which is inheaven. Ifyou have been

reconciled to God by the death of his Son, how awfully
solemn is the station ye hold between your heavenly
Father and those who are still his enemies! He has in
great mercy brought you into the marvellous light of
the gospel; and not, being willing that any should
perish, he has entrusted to you the task of communi-
cating that light to them who sit in darkness. This con-
sideration supplies one of the most powerful induce-
ments to the careful practice of every Christian grace.
If ye are not zealous of good works,—if your conduct is
inconsistent with your profession,—if ye do not, in your
intercourse with the world, exhibit the genuine charac-
ter of children of God, is there no danger, think ye, that
some sinner may be lulled asleep, or led into fatal er-
ror by the dimness or false colour of the light afforded
in yourexample? Is there no danger that such a one
may die in hisiniquity, and his blood be required at your
hand ?
When the tempest-tossed vessel approaches in dark-
ness the rocky shore, every thing depends upon the
steady shining of the appointed signal lights. Trusting
to these the mariner may thread his way through a thou-
sand dangers, and safely come to anchor in the calm
waters of a protected haven. If your king and country
had entrusted one of these beacon-lights to you, ye
would have felt a great weight of responsibility, en-
creasing aye as the darkness deepened, and the storm
arose; ye would not dare to desert your post ; ye could
not lie aown to sleep; you would be kept awake, if not
by the howling of the tempest, by the imagined cry of
distress. An aggrieved conscience would convert the
whistling of the wind into shrieks of drowning men. Or,
if from unconquerable indifference, or a malicious de-
sign, ye proved unfaithful, and lured to destruction a
ship’s confiding crew, ye would be called to a strict ac-
count before the righteous tribunals of the land. Blood
for blood would be the demand; and the sentence of the
judge, confirmed by the acclaim of an indignant peo-
ple, would consign you to death unpitied for your crime.
Such, in so far as things temporal can with things eter-
nal be compared—such ‘n the sight of God must be the
guilt of those, who by their profession have assumed the
184 GODLY LIFE OF BELIEVERS

character of lights in the world, and then proved unfaith-

ful to their sacred trust. The unconverted man reads in
the record of truth, that the disciples of Christ are the
lights of the world: he feels himself to be in darkness;
he hears you call yourselves by the name of Christ, and
looks to you for guidance; he looks to your conduct
for an example of what Christianity really is. If your
conduct be inconsistent with your profession,—if the
glory of the Lord is not seen upon you, ye are holding
out to him as the religion of Jesus—as the salvation of
God—something altogether different. He cannot dis-
tinguish between the good and the evil; he embraces
a false representation of the thing for the thing itself;
he has grasped a lie, thinking it to be the truth, be-
cause he received it from you; he goes down to the
grave with that lie in his right hand; he is cast away in
his iniquity. This is the end of him, but how shall ye
escape ?>—“ Where is thy brother!” I cannot conceive
of any question more dreadful issuing from the judg-
ment-seat, on the great and terrible day.
By the subject prescribed, I have been led to address
myself throughout to Christians , but I would not there-
by be understood to assume, that all in this assembly
are such. If anything like a faithful exposition has been
given of a Christian’s duty as a light in the world, it
should beget in many here, a doubt, as to the class in
which they should be ranked,—whether of those who
are required to give the light,—or of those who must
in the first instance receive it.
Ye who fear God,—who know that darkness covers
the earth,—and acknowledge your obligation to be-
come instruments in dispelling it, would you really de-
sire to see a Revival of Religion? Know that it is in
your own hands. All things are ready. In the Sun of
Righteousness there is a glory sufficient to attract all
nations. That Sun has arisen upon you. Ye are, by di-
vine appointment, the reflecting medium; through you
his beams are to be conveyed to the people who sit in
darkness. Arise then, and shine. Receive the light, and
diffuse itaround. Shine, for thy light has come. The
glory of the Lord has arisen: and when that glory is
“seen upon” the Church, the Gentiles shail come to
her light, and kings to the brightness of her rising ,
 185

LECTURE VIII.
ENCOURAGEMENTS TO EXPECT, PRAY, AND LABOUR
FOR THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION.

Encouragements from the Promises and Prophecies of

Scripture.
BY THE REV. JOHN G. LORIMER,
MINISTER OF ST, DAVID’S PARISH.

“‘ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, ard said unto
them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known
unto you, and hearken to my words: for these are not drunken, as ye sup.
pose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was
spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, (saith
God,) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesi ; and your sons and you?
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and yur ola
men si:all dream dreams; and on my servants, and on my hand-maidens,I
will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.’’—Acrts,
li, 14—18,

WE have now arrived at a very interesting stage in the

course of Lectures on the Revival of Religion. We
have seen what a revival of religion really is—what ef-
fects it is fitted to produce on the church and the world
—the connection which it holds with the entire work
of the Son—its relation also to the work of the Holy
Spirit—its origin in the sovereignty of the Father, and
the vindication which the same sovereignty supplies
against difficulties and objections. Descending from
these higher and more sublime views, we have seen
what are the means by which a revival of religion may
be promoted among men:—the faithful use of the
word of God in all the forms in which it can be brought
to bear upon different classes—the not less taithful use
of prayer in all the appropriate ways in which it can be
offered up—the holy lives of believers—the scriptural
exercise of church discipline.
These varied steps have brought us a considerable
186 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMI‘“ES

way inthe course. Reviewing them as a whole, we are

ready to say: “The revival of religion is a great scrip-
tural work, most excellent and desirable ;—means should
bz employed with all diligence to awaken and extend
it” But here the question presents itself, Is there any-
thing in the word of God to encourage us to expect or
pray or labour for a revival of religion? It is not
enough to know that a particular object is laudable and
good, and also to know the means by which it may be
most successfully accomplished ;—such are the spiritual
weakness and indisposition even of the people of God
that they need motives to encourage. The mere ex-
cellence of the object itself will not suffice ; there must
be something more quickening and animating. Many
will say: “ Most desirable as revivals may be—most
appropriate their means, is there any hope—any chance
of their being vouchsafed? Look to the history of the
church—see how rare and short-lived they are ;—the
result seems most uncertain, or rather success seems
most improbable.” It is plain that to men in this state
of mind the effect, in point of practical working, is the
same as if there were no possibility of such a thing as
a revival of religion at all—as if we knew nothing either
of its nature or of its means. What is it to us that re-
vivals of religion stand closely allied to the work of the
Son of God both when upon earth and now that he is
in heaven, and that they are inseparably connected with
the agency of the Holy Spirit in every age—what is it
to us that there are ample, and suitable, and divinely-
appointed means for awakening and carrying them for-
ward—if we are not encouraged to make our knowledge
available and employ the means which have been pro-
vided? We shall either not labour at all, or our la-
bours will be cold, formal, transient. Hitherto then the
course may be said to have been doctrinal and specu-
lative—now it becomes essentially practical. The ques-
tion is asked: Is there anything to encourage Chris-
tians to expect and pray and labour for a revival of re-
ligion among their fellow-men? The answer is, that
there is very much to encourage them—that the depart-
ment of motives is as large and clear and impressive
as any other part of the course. I begin with the first
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 187

and highest of all encouragements—THE PROMISES AND

PROPHECIES OF THE WORD OF GoD. I only regret that
in so extensive a field I shall be compelled to content
myself with little more than an outline. But may the
Holy Spirit, who inspired the promises and prophecies
of Scripture, and whose work we desire specially to ho-
nour in this course, bless even an outline, and so en-
courage us to pray and labour that the outline shall be
enlarged and filled up in our own experience to a full
and practical knowledge,—a knowledge embracing
others as well as ourselves in the blessing.
It is unnecessary to make or to attempt to keep up
any formal distinctions between the promises and the
predictions of Scripture in regard to revivals of reli-
gion. There is a distinction between a promise and a
prophecy. A friend may promise usa good thing who
cannot foresee what is to happen in the future, and who
cannot be said to prophesy, and a man may predict
some future good as he foretells the beneficial action of
a machine which has been set in motion, without him-
self feeling any real interest in the good, and who there-
fore could not with propriety be said to promise it. But
in the present case there is no room for such distinc-
tions; the promises and the prophecies ef Scripture in
reference to revivals of religion are nearly identical.
God’s promise to revive his church is equivalent to a
prophecy that his church shall be revived; and the pro-
phecy of revival with one who is so powerful, and who
takes so warm an interest in the work, is equivalent to
a gracious promise. In these circumstances | shall in
the following lecture use the promise and the prophecy
indiscriminately. It is the same Ever-blessed Triune
Jehovah who is the Author of both.
What then are the views which Scripture holds out
in connection with revivals of religion—present and
future? Does it hold out any encouragement, or is it
altogether silent? Some may think that there is no
necessity for promises or prophecies on the subject—
that the Church of Christ, on the force of other consi-
derations, may carry forward her work without their
aid. But even were this possible, success would not
be so satisfactory: It would not be the result of pro-
188 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

mise—it might be interpreted as the effect of random

influences. Besides, a promise from God is the expres-
sion of condescension and love: and as he does nothing
in vain, so we may be persuaded that if he actually
promise there is decided reason why he should do so.
It is sad that there should be any need for a revival
of religion—that religion should not always and uni-
versally be so warm and flourishing as to require no
revival. But since there is such necessity for it, what
reason have we and the church for gratitude that
the Persons of the adorable Godhead have all in the
word of truth stooped to supply us with so many and
so cheering encouragements. We might have hoped
that, since they take so deep an interest in the conver-
sion of souls,—the Father devising the plan of redemp-
tion—the Son executing—the Spirit applying it,—-since
a general revival of religion in a country or congrega-
tion so illustriously honours their perfections—the
glory of the Father, the love of the Son, the power of
the Spirit,—that they would give forth some intimations
and promises on the subject, and we are not disap-
puinted.
1. The word of God teems with intimations, direct
or indirect—with statements or inferences—with as-
surances and prophecies of a day of coming universal
religious revival. It is difficult to arrange and con-
dense materials so ample. The largest share of them
is in the form of prophecy; and there is a peculiar pro-
priety in this. The life which the Christian and the
church are at present called upon to live is a life of
faith; and no food is so appropriate for the exercise
of faith as promises pointing to future blessings.
Unlike the false religions of men so prevalent in the
world, which are contented to occupy the country
where they happen to have obtained a footing without
any desire for extension to other lands, true Chris-
tianity,—in other words, the gospel of Christ, is not
only indestructibie in its nature, and so permanent to
the end of time, it is essentially diffusive. It is fitted,
as it is designed, to be a universal religion. It contem-
plates universality. There is nothing in it of a local or
temporary character. Its ordinances are so few and
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 189

simple that they admit cf being observed in all coun-

tries—at the equator and at the pole. The gospel too
can live and flourish, as the event has proved, under
all forms of civil government—popular and despotic.
It is compared to light, and to salt, and to leaven—to
objects which diffuse themselves, and assimilate all
which they touch to their own likeness. A true Chris-
tian cannot keep the gospel quietly in his own bosom
as a thing of private gratification;—no: he cannot help
making it known to others: sympathy impels him. He
feels that it is a common blessing—a public trust.
How different the feeling of the poor heathen. Hence
there is a pravision in the very nature of true Chris-
tianity for its universal propagation. Spread it from
individual to individual—from family to family, it will
at length fill the world. Had it contained in it any
principle or institution essentially local and antisocial,
it is easy to see that its universality would have heen
impossible, and that all predictions to that effect would
have been delusive and vain.
But we have much more than the diffusive nature of
the gospel on which to proceed: we have the positive
declarations of the word of God. These are presented
in a great variety of forms. We can choose but a few.
What is the meaning of the first promise, that the
Seed of the woman is to crush the head of the Ser-
pent, if not that Christ is to establish a triumphant
kingdom in the earth? Would that promise and pro-
phecy be fulfilled if the gospel were never even to make
an approach to universality—if it were always to be
narrow, however excellent and beneficial within the
limits which it occupied? To Abraham, standing at
the head of the Jewish economy, essentially local in
its nature, was it promised that in his Seed, namely
Christ, all nations—all the families of the earth should
be blessed. A similar promise was repeated to suc-
ceeding patriarchs. And does it not distinctly point
to universality? What can be more comprehensive
than all nations—all the families of the earth? Ata
later day we have similar intimations; and the former
are never repealed. While in the burning but uncon-
sumed bush Moses had astriking emblem, in the desert
190 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

of Arabia, of the indestructibility of the church of God

amid the fiercest flames of persecution—in the deliver-
ance of Israel from Egypt—their miraculous passage
through the waters of the Red sea—their not less mira-
culous crossing of the Jordan in flood—their posses-
sion of Canaan under Joshua or Jesus, and the expul-
sion of the native inhabitants—we have impressive types
and representations of the coming universal triumphs of
the Christian church. And even to his countrymen, all
prejudiced as they were, and at a season when their
prejudice might naturally be expected to be strongest,
he intimated that a day was approaching in which their
peculiar privileges would be extended to others. Fif-
teen hundred years before the coming of Christ, Je-
hovah said by Moses: “I will move them to jealousy
with those which are not a people; I will provoke them
to anger with a foolish nation,” '—a remarkable pro-
phecy, which an apostle informs us* was fulfilled in the
calling of the Gentiles, and their participation in those
spiritual blessings of which the Jews, by their perver-
sity, had deprived them.
Descending the stream of time to the days of David,
how many and delightful are the predictions of the uni-
versal glory of Christ which burst upon the eye. In the
twenty-second Psalm, in which the Saviour is not only
spoken of but actually personated, apart from whom
indeed the psalm is unintelligible, we read, “ All the
ends of the earth shall remember themselves and turn
unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall
worship before him; for the kingdom is the Lord’s,
and he is the Governor among the nations.” Nothing
can be more comprehensive than this—the very ends
of the earth, withcut exception, and the very tribes
and families of the nations, all are to worship Mes-
siah; and a reason is assigned, because the world is
His, and He is entitled to the homage of all nations.
If we turn to the seventy-second Psalm, which was
written in the first instance with an eye to Solomon,
but which evidently points to a greater than Solomon,
we meet with such glorious prophecies as these: “He
shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river
! Deut. xxxii, 2]. 2 Rom. x, 19.
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 191

to the ends of the earth; they that dwell in the wilder-

ness”—the most inaccessible and inhospitable quarters,
“shall bow before him; and his enemies”—the most
powerful and obstinate, “shall lick the dust; the kings
of Tarshish and the Isles shall bring presents; the kings
of Sheba and Seba”—the most distant and unlikely
parties, “shall offer gifts; yea, all kings shall fall down
before him—all nations shall serve him: Blessed be the
Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone doth wondrous
things.” Under the review of the magnificent vision
which passes before him, the Psalmist cannot restrain
his gratitude and praise, and so he blesses the God of
Israel, whose almighty power and grace alone can ef-
fect such changes as these. And then, turning anew
to Messiah, he offers a similar ascription: “ And bles-
sed be His glorious name for ever, and let the whole
earth be filled with His glory.” Amen and amen.
I might go on in this way and transcribe whole chap-
ters from the prophecies of |saiah and Jeremiah and
Ezekiel, and no small portions from Daniel and Zech-
ariah and other minor prophets, all substantially speak-
ing the same language, but this is unnecessary, and
would unduly protract this lecture. I cannot how-
ever altogethcr refrain from quotinga few passages and
expressions: they may serve to recall your attention to
larger portions, and the exercise is a pleasing one to my
own mind. “Zook unto me,” says Messiah by his prophet
Isaiah, “and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I
am God, and there is pone else: I have sworn by my-
self—the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness
and shall not return—that unto me every knee shall
bow, every tongue swear.” Addressing the Gentile
church the same prophet says, “Sing, O barren, thou that
didst not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud,
thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the
children of the desolate than of the married wife, saith
the Lord :’’ that is, the Gentile church shall have a much
greater number of members than the Jewish. “Enlarge
the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the
curtains of thine habitations. Spare not:—lengthen thy
cords and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break
1 Isaiah, liv, 1.
192 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed
shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities
to be inhabited.”’ Nor is this all—a reason is assigned
in the fifth verse, “ For thy Maker is thy husband: the
Lord of Hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer the Holy
One of Israel ;—the God of the whole earth shall he be
called.”
What can better describe universality unless it be the
words ofthesame prophet, ‘‘Mine house,” says God, “shall
be called an house of prayer for all people;” or again,
“The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea”? How do the waters cover
the bed of the sea? Is it not so perfectly—so thoroughly
that there is not a corner or a cavity to which they do
not penetrate, and which they do not fill? Such shall
be the completeness with which the knowledge of the
true God shall pervade all the countries of the earth,
however remote and inaccessible. To similar purpose,
God says,! ‘It shall come to pass that I will gather all
nations and tongues ; and they shall come, and see my
glory. And I will set a sign among them, and I will
send those that escape of them unto the nations, to
Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal
and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my
fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall de-
clare my glory among the Gentiles.” It appears then,
that missionaries are to be sent forth to every country
under heaven, preaching the gospel. There is strong
reason to believe that, by Zarshish, we are to under-
stand the western parts of Europe; by Pul and Lud,
Ethiopia and the vast extent of Africa; by Tubal and
Javan, the northern parts of Asia and Ancient Greece;
and by the Isles afar off, the immense islands which lie
embosomed in the ocean—Australasia, and perhaps
America. In other words, we are taught that the gos-
pel is to be preached and obcyed throughout every
quarter of the world: there is to be no exception to
this blessed rule. Turning to a brother prophet, we
hear Jeremiah say, that “ All nations shall be gathere {
unto the name of the Lord at Jerusalem, and shall walk
no more after the imagination of their evil heart: that
' Isaiah, Ixvi, 18, 19.
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 193

all flesh shall come and worship before the Lord.”!

That “in that day they shall no more teach every man
his neighbour, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all
know me, from the least to the greatest of them, saith the
Lord.” And what is the testimony of Daniel? He tells
us, though a succession of vast monarchies may have
held the dominion of the earth, some of them for many
centuries, that another—a far more extensive monar-
chy—is to be reared up and spread over the world, even
the Kingdom of Christ. At first it appears as a stone
cut out of the mountain without hands,—in other words
a spiritual power: but it becomes larger and larger till
it passes into a great mountain and then fills the ‘whole
earth;” breaking up and absorbing all other kingdoms.
The same universal monarchy is pictured forth by the
prophet in another vision, in which the Son of man is
represented as coming to the Ancient of days, and re-
ceiving of him a dominion and glory and a kingdom,—
that “all people, and nations, and languages, should
serve him.’— What a wonderful kingdom is this!
Not a few universal monarchies have, age after age,
been stretched across the world; but in the hands of
man enlarged dominion has almost ever been prostituted
to the purposes of despotism, ignorance, and slavery.
Limited space and limited numbers are in this world
grand securities for the peace, intelligence, and pros-
perity of nations. Far different is the universal
monarchy of the Son of God. His kingdom is not
only much more extensive than’ any which was ever
reared ; but, strictly speaking, it is the most perfect of
governments. ‘There is no will save of ONE PERSON,
and he is Divine; and instead of diminishing human
happiness with the enlargement of the kingdom, the
wider it extends, the more subjects it iticludes, the more
thoroughly it is obeyed, the purer and more glorious
are its felicities; and need we wonder? No: for the
King is Righteous, and the empire Salvation, and the
people Redeemed.
There is no meaning in words if those of Daniel do not
most carefully and anxiously set forth to us the ideas of
universal extent and authority. You remember also how
{ Jeremiah, iii, 17.
194 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

Haggai, under the inspiration of prophecy, foresaw the

Desire—not of some or many, but of all nations,
coming to his temple, and filling his house with glory;
and that Zechariah speaks of the time when “Holiness
to the Lord” shall be written upon the very bells of the
horses—upon the ornaments of their harness, and when
the smallest and most common things shall be conse-
crated to God; when, in short, true religion shall be all-
pervading, and the Canaanite shall be no more found in
the land. What too is the language of Micah? “In the
last days, the days of Messiah, it shall come to pass
that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be
established on the top of the mountains”—prominent
and conspicuous from afar; “and it shall be exalted
above the hills, and people shall flow unto it ;” the
worshippers shall repair in crowds, like a full and fast-
flowing river; and “ many nations’—Gentiles—heathens,
“shall come and say, Come let us go up to the moun-
tain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in
his paths; for the law shall go forth from Zion, and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem ;” a prediction remark-
ably accomplished after the resurrection of Christ.
And what says Malachi, who closes the Old Testa-
ment canon? He may deal in severe reproofs on the
Jewish people; but he tells also of the time when from
the rising of the sun untill the going down of the same,
the name of the Lord shall be great among the Gentiles,
and when in every place incense shall be offered unto
God’s name and a pure offering. Indeed, the faithful
people of God in Old Testament times were seldom
involved in circumstances of trial and discouragement—
were almost never favoured with deliverance and
restoration, but they were reminded of the more ex-
tensive and glorious salvation awaiting the church of
God, and of the universal triumph of true Christianity.
To this every image of grandeur and beauty was made
subservient.
And if we pass from the Old Testament to the New,
we meet with no change for the worse,—no repeal:
we are gladdened with the same glorious prospects
under new forms of language and imagery. The
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 195

Saviour himself informs us that the kingdom of heaven

is like unto leaven which a woman took and hid in three
measures of meal, till the whole was leavened: he de-
clares that if he be lifted up from the earth, namely,
upon the cross of crucifixion, he shall draw all men
unto him. Many he has already drawn—amillions on
millions; but he is destined to draw many more in
the future—such a multitude that he may be said to
draw all. As he has been unspeakably dishonoured
upon earth, it is befitting and proper that on the same
earth he should be not less illustriously glorified; and
such shall be the case. He shall, as a Conqueror, draw
all men in his triumphant train. In perfect accordance
with these things the apostle Paul, in the eleventh
chapter of the Romans, speaks of the success of the
gospel among Jews and Gentiles in the primitive times,
though embracing a multitude of churches, as but the
first fruits—the pledges and the earnest of a coming, a
golden harvest; and he speaks also of the Jews being
brought in with the fulness of the Gentiles; implying
that there is a Gentile fulness yet to be gathered ; and
what is the testimony of John, the most aged and last
of the apostles? His book of Revelation is, from
beginning to end, not only a magnificent prophecy of
the perpetuity of the church, in spite of the heresies,
apostacies, and persecutions of many centuries, but also
a prophecy of the uJtimate and universal triumph of the
kingdom of Christ. It contains a picture of the glory
of true Christianity upon earth before passing into the
ineffable glories and beatitudes of heaven. First, we
have a description of the destruction of Antichrist—of
all the enemies of the Redeemer and his people;
and what a destruction!—The reaped harvest—the
gathered vintage—the battle field, where the birds
of the air are invited to come and devour the corpses of
the slain, are all employed to shadow forth its complete-
ness and irretrievableness. A millstone cast into the
sea—Satan shut up in the pit, and bound in chains, are
added to deepen the awful idea; and in the meantime,
what are the aspects of Christ? He is seen riding forth,
with many crowns upon his head, with the titles—“ King
of kings and Lord of lords” inscribed upon his thigh;
196 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

and the angels of heaven are heard rejoicing over the

fall of the foe, and exclaiming “The kingdoms of this
world are becowe the kingdoms of our God and of his
Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
2. Nor do the Scriptures only testify to the universality
of Christ’s kingdom, but also to Irs DURATION AND
GLORY. Amazingly wide-spread as it might be were it
transient— doomed quickly to pass away, it would lose
much of its interest and value; but it is destined to en-
dure. There may be in some distant futurity a partial
interruption of the blessings of its reign, but the prosperity
is to be most protracted. It is only such a reign as this
which is worthy of Christ, and a suitable reward for
his toil, and the long reign of his adversary. The prophet
speaks of the days of the church’s mourning being
ended—of Jerusalem being the joy of many generations.
The psalmist, in the seventy-second Psalm, speaking of
Messiah, declares that “ He shall live :” Sclomon may
die, but Christ shall live; He is the First and the Last,
the Living One ; “and to him shall be given of the gold
of Sheba; prayer also shall be made to him continually,
and daily shall he be praised ; His name shall endure
for ever; His name shall be continued as long as the
sun,” ay, longer than the sun and the whole frame
of creation; ‘“‘and men shall be blessed in him; all
nations shall call him blessed.” Ages after that lumi-
nary has ceased to shine, the Sun of Righteousness shall
continue to illuminate the ransomed of the Lord in
their heavenly abode. Their city has no need of the sun,
neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God
does lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof; and
the nations of them who are saved shall walk in the light
of it. Even in this world there shall be a lengthened
reign: The Millennium shall have its thousand years
of joy. Hitherto the reign of true Christianity has
been very short; and the more lively and powerful
it has always been the shorter; but it shall enjoy a
long and continuous career; there shall be abundance
of peace and spiritual prosperity as long as the moon
endureth. ;
This brings me to remark that the reign ot Christ
shall not only be extensive and enduring, but most
 4ND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 197

glorious. The worst evils shall disappear, and the

most precious blessings shall be conferred and enjoyed.
The glory of Jehovah, which was comparatively hid-
den under the Jewish, and has been but partially
revealed under what has passed of the Christian dis-
pensation, shall then shine forth; his saints shall see
it, and that not occasionally, now and then, but con-
tinually, without intermission; and so full and radiant
shall be the glory, that, to adopt the language of the pro-
phet, “the moon shall be confounded and thesun ashamed
when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in mount Zion and
in Jerusalem before his ancients gloriously.” All other
glory, however excellent, shall be drowned and extin-
guished in the glory of the God of redemption.
There shall be the glory of knowledge. Every veil
of ignorance and prejudice shall be taken away: even
dimness of eye, imperfect hearing, thestammering tongue,
shall be exchanged for their opposites; and comparing
the church then with the church now or at any former
period, “the light of the moon shall be as the light of the
sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the
light of seven days.” How glorious the radiance
when the light of the sun shall be multiplied seven
times, when the light of seven days shall be concen-
trated into one. How overpowering the glory!
There shall be the glory of holiness. Sin, in its
multiplied and most offensive forms, shall in a great
measure cease; idoiatry, superstition, and crime, shall
disappear; “The people shall be all righteous;” the
very children shall rival the attainments of the most
matured experience at present; the common affairs of
life shall be marked with religious feeling and motive;
“the pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls
before the altar; yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in
Judah shall be holy unto the Lord of Hosts.”
There shall be the glory of union. Throughout the
whole past history of the world there has been much
strife among the men of the world—much war among
nations—great divisions and dissensions in the Christian
church; but in the days of universal Christianity there
shall be wonderful harmony: the nations “shall beat
t Tsaiah, xxiv, 23.
198 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

their swords into pluughshares, and their spears into

pruning-hooks :” “ The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the
lion and fatling together, and a little child shall lead
them; and their young ones shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and the sucking
child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned
child shall. put his hand upon the cockatrice’s den.”
What a beautiful picture of the world! and not less
beautiful shall be the aspect of the church of Christ. In
that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one;
there shall be but one sheepfold for Jews and Gentiles,
as there is but one Shepherd. All the divisions about
non-essentials, by which the robe of the Saviour has
been so miserably rent, and the world scandalized, shall
be brought to an end; and the whole body of believers,
forming the vast proportion of the people of the earth,
shall be united together as one holy family, acknow-
ledging God in Christ as their common Father, and
living together as brothers and sisters—heirs of the
same privileges and hopes; then, indeed, shall the
people of the Lord dwell in a peaceable habitation, and
in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.
There shall be the glory of joy. We have every
reason to believe there will be a great and favourable
change as regards a present world,—that the earth,
freed from many evils, shall be much more fruitful,
and that human life and health shall be much longer,
and more secure to enjoy its bounties. The inhabit-
ant shall not say “I am sick,—As the days of a tree so
shall be the days of my people, saith the Lord.” And
spiritual blessings shall be as rich, yea inconceivably
richer,—the whole world shall resound with songs of
joy ;—all nature shall break forth into singing—the
mountains and the hills, the forests and the fields, shall
lift up their united and glad ascriptions, God shall pre-
pare a feast upon his holy mountain,—the marriage-
supper of the Lamb shall be celebrated. Not only the
earth, but heaven shall be filled with exceeding joy:
Angels and archangels—redeemed prophets and apostles
and martyrs, yea Christ the King shall rejoice—the
Lord thy God he will rejoice over thee with joy; he
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 199

will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing.
The church on earth and the church in heaven shall
blend their voices together, and with one heart exclaim:
“Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it; shout,
ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing,
ye mountains—O forest and every tree therein; for the
Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in
Israel.”
What glorious prospects are these! What Chris-
tian heart beats not with longing desire to see them
realised—to see the day when the kingdom of Satan,
in its various forms of Paganism and Mahometanism
and Popery and Judaism and Infidelity, and Prevail-
ing Ungodliness, shall all be dissipated and destroyed,
—when the peace and love of the true God shall
fill every heart—daily worship ascend from every
family—the word of truth be translated into every
tongue, and circulated in every country,—when the
holy law of the Sabbath shall be gladly and universally
observed, and Christian worship, baptism, and the
supper of the Lord, be co-extensive with the population
of the world? Who longs not to see the day when
“many and strong nations” shall unite themselves to
the Lord,—when all shall know God, from the least to
the greatest,—when children shall be remarkable for
early piety,—when even the most ignorant rustics shall be
consecrated to Jehovah,—when the poor shall be raised
from the dust, and the beggar from the dunghill, and
shall be set among princes, and made to inherit the
throne of God’s glory,—and when kings and queens
and princes, and persons of the most exalted station,
who have too often been bitter enemies, shall become
nursing-fathers and nursing-mothers of the church ;—
in short, when no nation, or next to none, throughout
all its ranks and classes, shall remain in a heathen or
unconverted condition. Who longs not to see truth
and knowledge and holiness and peace and joy, public
order and prosperity, national happiness and honour
universal?
O what a contrast is true Christianity to all tne
systems of man—intellectual or moral or religious,
philosophical or superstitious! They can boast of no
200 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

age of future glory; they have no hope with which to

cheer the hearts of their adherents. They may talk of
a return of the golden age ; but they delude themselves
with dreams:—their age is an age of iron; and the
longer they reign their darkness and tyranny are always
the more despotic and hopeless. The gospel may be
poor and unimposing in its outward aspects; its pro-
gress may be slow—the field which it occupies narrow,
—it may often be thrown back and weakened by out-
ward opposition and inward corruption; but when it
does arise to its future triumphs, and when these are
accomplished, how ample will be the compensation
for all past tardiness and decay,—how will every prayer
be then seen to be more than answered—every sacrifice
more than repaid,—how will friends rejoice and enemies
tremble, and all confess that it is the wisdom and the
power of God to salvation.
Nor have we the mere assurance, in prophetic forms
the most varied and impressive, that the knowledge of
Christ shall fill and pervade the earth. We cannot
doubt the assurance for a moment ;—it is infallibly
certain: But, as if to deepen our confidence the more,
the very ground and foundation on which it proceeds
is proclaimed to us. We are not only told that it shall
be—we are taught that it must be. The universal and
final success of the gospel is mixed up with the glorious
work of Emmanuel. It is part of His reward, and that
reward is guaranteed to Him by a divine oath. He
has, as Mediator, been appointed heir of the world,
that he might receive the heathen for his inheritance,
and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession.
The Father hath said unto him, “Thy throne, O God,
is for ever and ever ;” and moreover hath said, “I have
sworn by myself—the word hath gone out of my mouth
in righteousness, and shall not return—Unto thee every
knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear.” What
assurance can be stronger than this ;—yea, what assur-
ance can be half so strong? The word—the oath of
Jehovah, fulfilling a most righteous covenant ! all truth
is as falsehood to this.
Let us all be well persuaded of the coming—the
universal glories of the cross. Let none imagine we
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 201

have been merely contemplating figures of Eastern

hyperbole, or that any past success of the Christian
church explains all that has been promised. Let us
remember that the Scriptures are a book of truth and
soberness; and that our narrow hopes and still narrower
experience form no safe measure of their revelations, or
of God’s gracious intentions. Let us remember that
the words and the images descriptive of the future
glory of the church are far too numerous and harmoni-
ous to be explained away as an exaggerated expression,
—that if Jehovah meant to declare the ultimate and
universal triumphs of the gospel, he could not have
employed more appropriate terms: And, upon an op-
posite supposition, he could not have used terms more
fitted to mislead. And let us consider that all the
success in primitive times, and at the era of the Re-
formation, and at the present day, extensive and most
worthy of thankfulness as it is, is not once to be named
with the magnitude and duration of the promise and the
prophecy. What is the third part of the earth—now
reduced to a fifth—much of it only nominal Christianity
—and what are ten or twenty years of outward peace
and prosperity to a government of all nations—to the
kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the king-
dom, under the whole heaven, and to a duration which
reaches as long as the sun and moon endure—from
generation to generation—even for ever and ever? It
is but in modern times that some quarters of the world
have been discovered; millions of human beings are
arising where not many years ago no form of man but
a solitary savage of the wilderness was to be found,
Is it to be imagined that the best promises of Scripture
to the world were all fulfilled before immense portions
of the world, destined to be most populous, were known
at all? Surely not.
II. Having rapidly sketched the divine promises and
predictions of the universal reign of the gospel of
Christ, | come now to show THE BEARING WHICH THESE
THINGS HAVE UPON THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION,—in
other words, to show the application of what I have
been propounding to the course of lectures now on
hand. Aware, from the volume of inspiration, that
202 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

one day the gospel is to be universally diffused in its

knowledge and influence; and then contemplating the
narrow limits within which it is at present contained,
and within which it has ever been circumscribed; the
obvious inference which every thoughtful mind draws
is that there must be an immense revival of religion
before the prophecy of the glory of the latter day can
be fulfilled. And when one thinks of the prodigious
difficulties which lie in the way, from the enmity of
the carnal mind to the truth of God—the prejudices of
society, and the political arrangements of the world,—
all of which it would seriously disturb—one must be
not less satisfied that the work can be accomplished
only by the almighty power of the Spirit of God.
But it is not enough to know that there must be an
immense revival of religion, and that the Holy Ghost
must be the Author: The question arises—In what
way is the revival to be carried on which is to issue in
the glory of the latter days? Does Scripture, in the
form of promise or of prophecy, throw any light upon
the subject? It is possible to conceive that the gospel
may be made universal by the slow process by which it
is advancing at present. This indeed would require a
vast multitude of ages: Still, at the rate and in the
mode in which it is making progress—leavening one
individual and neighbourhood after another—it would at
length, especially if its forces became accelerated,
fill the
earth with true religion, supposing there to be no serious
days of heresy and declension to retard its course. Now,
is this the mode of propagating the gospel and making it
universal which the word of God leads us to expect? No.
It does speak of a gradual advancement: It speaks of
leaven, and of the sown ear and the springing blade,
and of the ear and the full ear; and it speaks of the
water of the gospel river, which at first reaches to the
ancles, then to the knees, and then to the neck, and
ultimately becomes such a flood of waters as to over-
spread the earth. And this accords with the gradual
procedure of God in nature and in providence. But,
happily. He does not limit himself to this course in the
kingdom of grace: He cheers his people with a warmer
encouragement. We are taught that while the progress
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 9208

of the gospel is gradual, within this gradual progress

there are sudden and remarkable expansions of religion
—in other words, revivals,—that as in nature, so in
grace, there is variety in the midst of uniformity. Many
men—yea Christian churches generally have too often
contented themselves with the belief as a whole that
the gospel is one day to be all-pervading and universal.
The church has not analysed the promises of God, and
considered the mode in which the blessed consumma-
tion is to be brought about; and so a generality and
vagueness have attached to her faith, not favourable to
fervent prayer or devoted labour. But the Scriptures
seem to leave no room to doubt, that, while there is to
be a gradual progress—the result of the Divine blessing
on suitable means faithfully and perseveringly applied
—there is also to be the occasional outbreakings of
sudden and singular revivals, which shall embrace a
large body of people—it may be tribes and nations—at
the same moment. This is a most cheering doctrine,
and relieves the mind from the feeling of weariness and
hopelessness which slow and protracted labour is apt to
inspire.
1. One of the forms in which prophecy speaks of the
progress and triumphs of Christianity is the suDDEN DE-
STRUCTION OF THE ENEMIES OF THE LORD. There are
many such euemies—many almost insuperable obstacles
to the progress of the gospel. Till they are weakened, or
taken out of the way, there is little hope of its advance-
ment in many of the most important regions ofthe earth.
What barriers to the diffused knowledge and influence
of divine truth are the two great Antichrists of the
East and the West—Mahometanism and Popery. Now
the promises and prophecies of Jehovah assure us that
they are to be utterly destroyed ; and, as the fruit of
this, that the gospel is to be blessed with signal success.
But how is this destruction to be accomplished? Isit
to be the slow work of many centuries? Are Mahomet-
anism and Popery to perish piecemeal—so that when
they actually die, their death shall scarcely be known?
No. They are to be destroyed when giving manifes-
tations of power,—suddenly and unexpectedly. This
is God’s usual course: to make his own arm the more
904 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

visible, and draw the attention of men more impres-

sively, he strikes down the enemy when even his peo-
ple are not looking for the blow. Thus it was, that
Babylon, the grand type of all the enemies of the
Lord, was destroyed. The Chaldeans were wrapt in se-
curity,—eating and drinking and making merry; but
that very night the gates were unbarred—the river
turned aside—and the city taken by surprise: So won-
derful was the deliverance thus afforded to the Jews,
that they declare “we were like men who dreamed :”
and not less wonderful, doubtless, was the overthrow to
the Chaldeans;—So it was with Jerusalem the great
Jewish Antichrist. Whatever may have been her haz-
ard at an earlier day, there was no prospect of unfav-
ourable change at the time the destruction came. She
seemed more likely to stand than she had done for many
years ;—there was no slow consumption ;—she did not
die of weakness. The assault of the Roman army was
sudden and successful, and withall most terrible.
Thus also have we reason to believe will it be in the
destruction of the existing Antichrist and enemies of
the Lord. The awful picture of the seventh of Daniel,
which some attribute to the day of judgment, so terri-
ble is the scene, but which plainly belongs to the doom
of Antichrist, does not indicate a slow and peace-
ful death: The thrones are set, and the Ancient of
days, the unsearchable Jehovah, whose garment is
white as snow, and whose hair is of pure wool, comes
forth and sits down upon his throne with Christ as As-
sessor ;—his throne is like a triumphal chariot, whose
wheels are of tire;—myriads of angels stand ready to
execute his orders; and ten thousand times ten thou-
sand stand as prisoners before his bar: the judgment
is set, and the books are opened; and the guilty are
given over to the fiery flame. Here there is nothing
gradual ;—there is the immediate and awful sentence of
a judge, followed by an execution as signal and imme-
diate. So it is in the prophetic visions of the book of
Revelation. In the hour of doom Antichrist does not
appear weak and emaciated like a skeleton—ready to
die: She appears in pomp and power, sitting as a queen.
The vials of divine wrath are not as we are apt to im-
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 205

agine—narrow-necked vessels, capable of inflicting

judgment only in a gradual manner: they are wide,
open-mouthed, capable of a full and immediate dis-
charge of vengeance.! ‘The images too, under which the
doom is pictured forth, do not indicate a slow and
gradual process,—they are the reaping of the harvest
of the earth,—the gathering of vintage of the grape,
—the plunge of the millstone into the sea: all are
rapid. There may be much time occupied in ripening
the two first—much long-suffering, till the sins of men
are fully ripe; but when they are once mature, the
reaping is rapid, and completed in a moment. No
one needs to be reminded, that the descent of a mill-
stone into the sea is sudden,—and as irretrievable as
speedy: it is the doing of a moment, and yet is hope-
less. It is worthy of notice too, from the eighteenth
chapter of Revelation, that the plagues of Antichrist,
her death and mourning and famine, are to come upon
her “in one day.” The spectators too of her doom,
who stand afar off for the fear of her torment, exclaim,
Alas, alas! that great city Babylon! that mighty city !
“for in one hour is thy judgment come.”
And lastly, the church of God is evidently not ex-
pecting the destruction,—she is exhorted to watch the
fall, just as Christ exhorted the disciples to watch and
be prepared for the fall of Jerusalem. ‘This intimates
that there is nothing in the outward aspect of the ene-
my to warrant the idea of immediate doom, but the re-
verse. There would be no need to counsel the saints to
watch, if the appearance of death were so visible and
striking as to draw forth their attention without any
warning.
It is plain then that Antichrist is to te destroyed
suddenly :and what does this prove but that there
will be a great and sudden manifestation of the power
of the Holy Spirit? It is only His power which can
quickly and at once overthrow adverse influences so
deeply rooted. It is accordant with His procedure, as
the Spirit of Revival, to effect grand and unlooked-
for changes; and there is a loud call for the exercise
of his might in the overthrow of enemies, in as much
t See Parkhurst on the Greek word.
206 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

as the fall of Antichrist is immediately followed by a

wide extension of the knowledge and influence of the
gospel,—in other words, by a great revival of religion.
It issaid that the judgment shall sit, and they shall take
away the dominion of Antichrist, to consume and de-
stroy it tothe end. And what is the result? Isa foe
simply extinguished, and does every thing stand as be-
fore? No. Immediately after the fall of the enemy,
the kingdom, and dominion. and the greatness of the
kingdom, under the whole heavens, are given to the
people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve
and obey him. Similar is the picture in the book of
Revelation: Immediately after the destruction of An-
tichrist, ‘‘ The seventh angel sounded, and there were
great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his
Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” We
have every reason to think too, that the conversion of
the Jews, in its fulness, will not take place till Babylon
has fallen. It may and doubtless will be realized in
some measure, but it is not till their great idolatrous
versecutor—Popery—is removed out of the way, and
the Euphrates of Mahometanism is dried up, that we
can expect the way for “the kings of the East” to be
adequately prepared. AndI need not say what an out-
pouring of the Holy Spirit the conversion of Israel will
indicate, and what means it will supply for immensely
spreading the religious revival which it begins. The
conversion of the Jews is acknowledged on all hands
to be connected with the conversion of the world in a
manner altogether singular and preéminent.
2. But we can appeal to other evidence besides the
sudden destruction of enemies, in proof of coming and
extensive religious revivals. The speedy death of ene-
mies would, indeed, both indicate and lead the way to
a blessed revival. Whata happy day will it be for the
gospel when Popery shall be overthrown, and the power
of the false prophet broken in pieces: It will be a very
jubilee. But we have much more glorious prospects in
the word of God: there are many promises, ample and
delightful, assuring us of the effusion of the Holy Spirit,
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 207

and teaching us to regard this is the way in which

the glory of the latter days shall, in all probability, be
brought about. ‘These promises are to be met with in
different books of Scripture—in different ages of the
church: they are more general and indefinite at first,
but become more full and defined as time rolls on, and
the history of the church is unfolded. It is well known,
that one of the great Scripture emblems of the Holy Spi-
rit is “water:” He is the Comforter and the Sanctifier,
and water at once refreshes and cleanses. The Saviour
assures us, that unless a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. the
water of baptism is a sign of the necessity of the ve-
generation of the Holy Spirit. In the seventh of John,
it is said, “In the last day, the great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him
come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me,
as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly (that is, his
heart and soul) shall flow rivers of living water. But
this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on
him should receive.”
Keeping these things in mind, that water and rivers
emblematically describe the Holy Spirit, let us attend to
a few Scripture passages descriptive of the glory of the
Church, and see whether we may not fairly infer that
there shall be great, extensive, and unexpected revivals
of religion in the future, and that thus in an impor-
tant degree shall she be carried forward to her final
and universal triumphs. David, speaking of the days
of Iessiah, says, ‘“ He shall come down like rain upon
the mown (or pasture) grass—as showers that water the
earth.” Do these images not well describe the gentle
but abundant communications ofthe Spirit? How often
does the rain fall unexpectedly on the mown grass!
Long is the pasture withered and ready to die; but the
shower descends, and forthwith the whole aspect of
nature is changed. “There shall be a handful of corn
in the earth, upon the top of the mountains, yet the
fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the
city shall flourish like grass of the earth.” What is it
which can make a mere handful of corn, scattered, not
in a fertile field, but on the rough top of a mountain,
208 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

grow at all,—much more shake like the cedars of Le-

banon, strong, stately, and secure, defying every storm?
What is it which can raise up so magnificent a crop
in circumstances so unfavourable? It is only the
abundant rains and blessing of heaven. And what is
it which can make the grass of the valley to grow in
luxuriance thick and strong? It is only the dew and
the rains of the same blessed Spirit. Would not
an abundant growth on the tops of mountains indicate
a peculiar communication of the influences of heaven—
of the sun and the shower? So shall the conversion of
multitudes, in the most unpropitious circumstances, the
regeneration of the Heathen and the Jew and the Infidel,
argue the presence and power of the Holy Ghost.
The same sacred writer, the inspired Psalmist, upon
another and an earlier occasion, says, primarily in
reference to himself and his deliverance from the hands
of Saul, but doubtless also with a distinct reference
to the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom he was a type,}!
“Thou hast made me the Head of the Heathen; a peo-
ple whom I have not known shall serve me; as soon as
they hear of me they shall obey me; the strangers,
(those who were alien,) shall submit themselves unto
me: the strangers shall fade away like leaves on the
approach of winter, and be afraid out of their close
places.” The points which are here particularly worthy
of notice are, that some of the heathen, as soon as they
hear of Christ, are to receive his gospel and serve him,
and that the enemy are to fall away like autumn leaves.
What images can better describe not slow and _pro-
tracted, but rapid and victorious conversion ; and what
again can be the source of these but the special out-
pouring of the Holy Spirit ?
Descending the stream of prophecy, we come to
the age of Isaiah, seven hundred years before the
coming of Christ: and what does he testify of the reli-
gious revivals of the latter days? In the thirty-fifth
chapter, including the two last verses of the thirty-fourth,
he gives usa brief but most beautiful picture of the
church under a general revival. It is said “ The wil-
derness and solitary place shall be glad for them, and
{ Psalm xviii, 44.
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 209

the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall

blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and
singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,—the
excellency of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the
glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God.”
Then, changing the image, the prophet goes on to say,
“The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of
the deaf shall be unstopped; then shall the Jame man
leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.” And
how is this blessed consummation to be brought about ?
Is it by science or philosophy, or political schemes
of government? No: the cause is described thus:
“For in the wilderness shall waters (that is the Holy
Spirit,) break forth, and streams in the desert, and the
parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty
land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons,
where each lay, shall be grass, with reeds and rushes.”
But this is only a single passage; and the book abounds
with similar testimonies. The prophet on another oc-
casion says, in much the same strain:' “ When the poor
and needy seek water and there is none, and their
tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them; I,
the God of Israel, will not forsake them; I will open
rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the
valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water; I will plant in the
wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle,
and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and
the pine, and the box tree together.” This is a most
beautiful prophecy of the abundant effusion of the Holy
Spirit in answer to prayer, and of the blessed and mar-
velous consequences with which the gift shall be at-
tended. Instead of mere dew, or showers, however con-
genial or sweet, there are to be rivers and fountains; and
in the most unlikely and necessitous quarters in the wil-
derness and dry land there are to be springs and pools of
water. What images toa resident in the hot and parched
countries of the East can convey ideas more grateful
and refreshing: and what is to be tie result of this
divine gift of the Spirit? Instead of poor, withered
shrubs, there are to be magnificent trees even in the
{ Tsaiah, xli, 17.
210 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

desert,—the fir tree, with its elevation of 150 feet,

and the box, with its everlasting green; all nature is to
be changed ; there is to be a new vegetable world.
Take another passage from the same prophet, de-
scriptive of the same glorious days:' “I will pour
water, says the Lord, upon him that is thirsty, and
floods upon the dry ground.” Here we have the same
promise of abundant effusion ; and that there may be no
misunderstanding of what is meant, the counterpart
immediately follows: “I will pour my Spirit upon
thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.”
And what is the fruit? Does the world remain as
ignorant, idolatrous, and ungodly as before? No:
“And they shall spring up as among the grass;” or
rather, “They shall spring up as grass in the midst of
waters, as willows by the water courses.” How do
grass and willows grow amid water in the sultry heat
of Eastern climates? Most rapidly and luxuriantly.
The course of rivers and streams may be traced from a
distance by the line of vegetable green—by the grass
and the willow which grow on their banks. Adopting
another image, the prophet goes on to say, “ One shall
say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself,” or
be called “by the name of Jacob.” He is God’s property,
and shall like theslave bear the name ofhis Master. “And
another shall subscribe with his hand,” or rather shall
write ov his hand “unto the Lord, andsurname himself
by the name of Israel.” The allusion is to idolators,
who made marks upon their hands and arms, and diffe-
rent parts of the body, in token of respect for their
idols, and to denote that they are their attached servants.
So shall men in the revival days of the church mark
themselves with the name and ensigns of the true God,
the God of Israel, and shall declare themselves his de-
voted people.
And these events shall not be long and slow in
their progress; they shall be brought about speedily.
Another prophecy,*, speaking of Messiah, testifies:
“ Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people,
a leader and commander to the people: Behold, thou
shalt call a nation that thou knowest not; and nations
{ Tsaiah, xliv, 3. 2 Isaiah, lv, 4, 5.
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 211

that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of the
Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel ; for He
hath glorified thee.” Here we are taught that not
merely individuals or families, but whole nations, who
have hitherto been most ignorant and opposed, shall
run quickly and cheerfully to Messiah,—in other words,
his gospel shall make great and rapid progress among
them; and how, except through a sudden outpouring
of the Spirit of God? The result does not seem to
be the effect of a lengthened application of means, but
of the speedy interposition of the Holy Ghost. Con-
templating days, too, of darkness and opposition which
lead to Messiah’s final triumphs, it is declared for the
encouragement of the church, that when the enemy
shali come in like a flood, from many quarters at once,
and with the overbearing power of a multitude of
waters, that then the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a
standard against him. Thus we are informed, that in
seasons of great danger and corruption there shall be
compensating revivals of religion on the other side.
And what is the effect of this outpouring of the Spirit ?
«“ And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and shall turn
away iniquity from Jacob.” “As for me, this is my
covenant with them, saith the Lord, my Spirit, which
is upon thee, and my words, which I have put in thy
mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of
the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy
seed’s secd, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for
ever.” So that here we have a promise of the perpe-
tuity of the Spirit, and that in an abundant measure.
Turning, again, to the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah,
how magnificent are the promise and the prophecy which
run through the whole. Inspiration seems to be ex-
hausted in finding images to picture forth the glorious
and universal change. ‘There is to be a prodigious as-
semblage: The sons of the Gentiles are to come from
afar—the daughters are to be carried on the side—the
camels and the dromedaries from distant lands, bearing
presents, are to cover the whole face of the country—
the flocks are to offer themselves willingly upon the
altar—there is to be no hesitation or resistance—they
t Ysaiah, Jix, 19—21.
212 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

are to fly as a cloud of doves to their houses, obscuring

the sun by their numbers—the ships of Tarshish are to
be among the first to bring God’s people from distant
lands. And what is to be the result? ‘The glory of
Lebanon,” says Jehovah, addressing his church, ‘ shall
come unto thee,”—that is, the cedar and the fir tree,
the pine tree and the box together, to beautify the
place of my sanctuary; “and I will make the place of
my feet”—that is, my temple, “glorious.” What do
these things describe if not general and rapid move-
ments? How swift is a dove upon the wing, and here
there are to be clouds of them hastening to their young.
What a flight! O the blessed operation of the Spirit!
The prophet concludes by saying, “A little one shall
become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation.
I the Lord will hasten it in his time.” The work is
not to be long and weary; it is to be speedy, and yet
effectual. Work hastily executed is generally imper-
fect—but here it is to be strong and abiding.
I might quote largely from the concluding chapters
of this noble prophet. These present the glory of the
latter day of the church not only in general outlines
and in the grand result, but in the leading details—
with a minuteness and a beauty to which there is no
parallel except in Scripture itself. This, however,
would swell the present lecture beyond all reason-
able bounds. But I cannot part with Isaiah without
quoting one or two verses from his closing chapter.
Speaking of the church, Jehovah says '—“ Before she
travailed she brought forth, before her pain came she
was delivered of a man-child. who hath heard such a
thing ;who hath seen such thing—shall the earth be
made to bring forth in one day, or shall a nation be
born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed she brought
forth her children.” ‘ Rejoice ye with Jerusalem and be
glad with her, all ye that love her.” Can any images
better show forth the marvelous and most unexpected
rapidity with which Jehovah shall carry forward his
cause in the appointed season? It shall exceed any
thing which ever was known or heard of among men.
All ordinary difficulties and trials shall disappear
' Tsaiah, Ixvi, 7.
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 913

There shall be birth without pain, and the harvests of

the earth shall be matured in a day,—the day of sow-
ing shall be the day of reaping. Nay, more,—not in-
dividuals, or families, or communities merely,but nations
shall be born at once—shall cast off their superstition
and idolatry and ungodliness, and embrace the truth
and law of God, and stand forth in the light of regene-
rated people. What prodigious moral changes are these !
How sudden and glorious! How shall they make up
for past delay, swallow up all opposition, and array
the world in new aspects—in the smiles cf moral love-
liness. The conclusion is very beautiful: “ And they
shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the
Lord ; out of all nations—upon horses and in chariots,
—/(the cradle thrown across the back of the camel,)
and in litters and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to
my holy mountain, Jerusalem.” Here all sorts of con-
veyances are employed, such are the crowds repairing
to Jerusalem, and yet the multitudes do not move as
multitudes generally do—slowly, leisurely. Though
some are carried upon litters, there are swift beasts; all
intimating that the movement is rapid as well as all-com-
prehensive. Nor is this all: The Lord informs us what
will take place when all are thus brought to Jerusalem,
as a clean vessel for the house of the Lord: and “I will
also, says he, take of them for Priests and for Levites;
for as the new heavens and the new earth which I will
make shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall
your seed and your name remain.” He will make pro-
vision for permanent worship ; his temple shall never
be shut or decay; its officers shall ever be engaged in
religious exercise.
Leaving the promises and prophecies of the book ot
Isaiah, let us turn to a contemporary—a brother pro-
phet, Joel: What does he testify regarding future re-
vivals of religion, sudden and extensive? The pro-
spects which he holds out are in perfect harmony with
those of Isaiah; there is no jarring. The apostle Peter,
in our text, distinctly points to the predictions of Joel:
When many on the day of Pentecost were ready, like
not a few in our day, to disparage the work of the
Spirit,—when they were daring enough to say it was the
914 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

effect of intoxication, as not a few now say it is of mere

animal enthusiasm and excitement; the apostle tells
them that there is no need for wonder, and far less
for such explanations,—that Joel had prophesied many
hundred years before, that there were to be such mani-
festations of the Spirit’s power, and that now these
were realized. ‘I'o oppose or ridicule the work of the
Spirit on the day of Pentecost was then only to expose
their own ignorance and folly. Speaking by Joel, Je-
hovah says, “ And it shall come to pass afterwards,” or
in the latter days, “that I will pour out my Spirit upon
all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall pro-
phesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young
men shall see visions; and also upon the servants and
upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my
Spirit.” Whatever accomplishment there may have
been of this prophecy on the day of Pentecost—though
we have reason to think that so far as miraculous power
is concerned it was completed on that occasion; yet
the terms seem too comprehensive to allow us to ima-
gine that remarkable outpourings of the Holy Spirit
are not still in reserve for the church. It is worthy of
remark, that the Spirit is said to be youred out on all
flesh without exception, and that the gracious influence
is to extend to all ranks and degrees of men,—to the
man-servant and the maid-servant. Large as were the
donations of Pentecost, they can scarcely be said to
have come up to these promises. And hence, we are
permitted still to look forward to effusions of the Spirit
not less illustrious than those of Pentecost, to effusions
as sudden and unexpected, and far wider and more glo-
rious.—Who rejoices not in the anticipation ?—who
would not sing for joy were the days of Pentecost to be
restored? Blessed are the hopes which Joel inspires:
he winds up his hrief book of prophecy with the de-
lightful words which surely intimate more than a Pen-
tecostal blessing: ' “ And it shall come to pass in that
day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and
the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah
shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth
cf the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of
© Joel, iii, 18,
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 215

Shittim,” or the valley of thorns, the land of briers and

thistles. The Holy Spirit shall regenerate the most,
ferocious natures ; where there was no water there shall:
be rivers; and where there was nothing but the transi-!
ent mountain stream there shall be an overflowing ot!
milk and wine.
Descending above two hundred years from the days
of Isaiah and Joel, to the days of Ezekiel, what do we
find,—do we meet with any prophecies of revival and
of the Spirit? There are many. Take one or two
specimens. Speaking of the restoration and conversion
of the Jews,' the Lord says, “And they shall come
thither, and they shall take away all the detestable
things thereof, and all the abominations thereof, from
thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will
put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony
heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of
flesh.” What can more truly or impressively describe
the spiritual state of the Jews than to say that they have
hearts of stone?—and what can better describe their
conversion than to say that God will give them a new
heart even the Holy Spirit? And if Jehovah thus re-
vive the Jew, the most adamantine and unlikely, will he
fail to revive the Gentile by the same blessed agency ?
There is a prophecy to the same effect in the thirty-
sixth chapter. Referring to the latter days of the church,
God says to Israel: ‘‘ Then will I sprinkle clean water
upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthi-
ness, and from all your idol, will I cleanse you. A
new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will
I put within you; and 1 will take away the stony heart
out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh,
and I will put my Spirit within you, aad cause you tc
walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments,
and do them.” The prophecy of the next, the thirty-
seventh chapter, may be peculiar to the Jews, and of
the same import with those already quoted, though still
more striking, The “Wind” we know, from the third
chapter of John, is one of the Scripture emblems of the
Spirit, and here in answer to the prayer: ‘Come forth
from the four winds, O Breath, and breathe upon the
‘ Ezekiel, xi, 18.
916 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

dry bones.” We are taught that the Breath or Wind

did come forth and breathe upon them, and they lived
and stood upon their feet, and became an exceeding
great army ; doubtless an army of the faith—an army
of apostles—to carry forward the triumphs of the cross.
But ifthe present, the thirty-seventh chapter, speaks
of a great revival among the Jews, the fruit of the
effusion of the Holy Spirit, the forty-seventh not less
plainly speaks of a great revival among the Gentiles,
the consequence of the operation of the same bles-
sed Spirit. Here the Spirit’s familiar image of water is
employed anew ; and as he breathed upon the dry bones
as the Spirit of life, so he flows forth from the sanctuary
as a Spirit of revival and refreshing ; and extending as
he proceeds, from small beginnings till he fills the whole
vision with a sea of waters. Wherever his gracious in-
fluence penetrates He heals—the dead he makes alive,
and the result of the whole is that there is “a very
great multitude of fish,” and that the converts are “ ex-
ceeding many.” Do not these images intimate a very
large effusion of the Holy Spirit, followed by fruits not
less abundantP
Passing from the prophecy of Ezekiel, and turning
to those of Zechariah, seventy years later, do we find
any abatement in the promises of the Spirit in the latter
days of the church? No: though the book of Zecha-
riah extends to but a few pages, it is full of reference
to the work of the Spirit in its most glorious forms.
In allusion to the building of the second temple, which
was carried forward amid unparalleled difficulties, the
prophet says:! “This is the word of the Lord unto
Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might nor by power, but by
my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great
mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a
plain: and He shall bring forth the head-stone thereof
with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace, unto it.” Here
we are taught that the erection of the second temple,
in other words, the progress of true religion in the
earth, is not owing to the learning of the wise, or the
power of princes, however important in their own place,
as subordinate instruments; that the agency of the Holy
' Zechariah, iv, 6.
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 917

Spirit is indispensable and supreme; that thus the most

formidable mountains of opposition shall be levelled;
end when the whole work is completed, the undivided
glory shall be ascribed to the free grace and goodness
of God. This is a strong general testimony to the suc-
cess which is awaiting the cause of God in the earth
and to the Holy Spirit as the grand, the appointed au-
thor. But if we turn to another passage,! we shall find
the same event described more in detail: “Thus saith
the Lord of hosts, It shall yet come to pass, that there
shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities
and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another,
saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and
to seek the Lord of hosts; I will go also: yea, many
people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord
of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.
What do these verses show if not that in the latte: days
there shall be a great visible extensive concert of prayer
among the people of God in different places and coun-
tries; that they shall come speedily, and pray earnestly
for the Holy Spirit, not for their own salvation, for that
is already secured, but for the salvation of others, and
so for the glory and honour of their King; and what
shall be the effect of this? A wide-spread revival of
religion. It is immediately added: “In those days it
shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of
all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the
skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you;
for we have heard that God is with you.” Men who
are anticipating a great and unexpected good eagerly
seize on any one whom they imagine can aid them in
obtaining it: And who are the parties who are expecting
spiritual blessing on the present occasion? They are
men of all the languages of the nations. Few descrip
tions can be more comprehensive.
How glorious and delightful is another prediction ot
the same prophet:2 “I will pour out,” says Messiah,
“upon the house of David, and the inhabitants of Jeru-
salem, the Spirit of grace and supplication; and they
shall look upon me whom they have pierced; and they
shall mourn for Him as one mourneth for an only son,
i Zechariah, viii, 20—22. 2 Zechariah, xii, 1O—12.
 218 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitter-

ness for a first born: in that day there shall be a great
mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad-
rimmon in the valley of Megiddon, and the land shall
mourn, every family apart,” &c. The Holy Spirit, who
is the author of acceptable prayer, is to be poured out.
In consequence of his grace and power, there shall be
conviction of sin, and repentance universal as the grief
for the death of Josiah; and so intense that the dearest
relatives shall be unable to communicate it to each
other. What follows? We are informed—blessed be
God—that the sufferers are not to remain in this state
of dreadful anguish without the hope of relief. No:
there shall be a fountain opened in the house of David
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for un-
cleanness ; in other words, the gospel of salvation shall
be proclaimed to them, and proclaimed with effect; for
it is immediately added: “‘ The names of the idols shall
be cut off out of the land, and the false prophets and
the unclean spirits shall disappear:” that is, the whole
country shall become Christian; all hostility shall be
overthrown. See then the glorious result of the out-
pouring of the Spirit: there is deep conviction; a cor-
dial reception of the gospel, and the universal diffusion
of Christianity.
And now, taking leave of the Old Testament and
passing to the New, what prophetic intimations do we
meet with of religious revivals as the fruit of the Spirit’s
operation? Our Lord, exhorting his disciples to prayer,
says: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him.” This not only teaches that the Spirit is supremely
important and indispensably necessary alike to saints and
to sinners, but also that there is no gift which we have
greater reason to ask, or which God is more forward and
delighted to bestow; andsurely then He will not withhold
the Spirit from the church or the world under the New
Testament dispensation. Turn to the fourteenth chapter
of John—what says our Lord? “I will pray the Father,
and he will give you another Comforter, that he may
abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth.”
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 219

Here is a gracious promise of the perpetual presence

of the Spirit in the church. Christ himself may remove,
but the Spirit remains. And what is the first fruits of
his manifestation? Let Pentecost testify: Multitudes
are brought under the deepest convictions ; and of these
three thousand are savingly converted on one occasion,
and five thousand on another. We all know that it is
only the Spirit who can make the preaching of the word
effectual,—that Paul may plant and Apollos water, but
that God alone can give the increase; and surely then,
when we read in the bock of prophecy of the wide-spread
and successful preachingof the gospel, and of the blessed
results with which it is attended, we are entitled to hold
that the Holy Spirit is the author of the whole, and to
render to him the unreserved glory. In the fourteenth
chapter of the book of Revelation we read that an angel
flew in the midst of heaven, —that is, throughout the visi-
ble church, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto
them that dwell on the earth, and “to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people, saying, with aloud voice,
Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judg-
ment is come: and worship him that made the heaven
and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water.” This
is a call to all nations to abandon their idolatry and to
serve the one living and true God; and what is the result
of the diffusion of the gospel? ‘And there followed
another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen.”
Hence it appears that the efficacious preaching of the
everlasting gospel is to have a considerable influence in
overthrowing the great Antichristian apostacy, and pre-
paring for the glory of the latter days. And how
is it, again, that the gospel is to be diffused and made
successful? The answer is, Only by the effusion of the
Holy Spirit of God. This is quite in harmony with the
types of the Old Testament. The jubilee of deliverance
from bondage, and of reinstatement in liberty and
lost possessions, is to be preceded—by what? Bytne
blowing of the gospel trumpet: and who is it that givee
skill and- strength to the trumpeter but the Spirit of the
Lord, before whose blast the walls of Jericho fell? We
see ther from the revelation of the New Testament, as
well as of the Old, that the Holy Spirit is to be im-
 220 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

parted suddenly and largely in the future. The angel

flies: and all nations are to share in the blessing.
Pentecost, too, was sudden and far beyond the expec-
tations of the hundred and twenty disciples. We have
every reason to believe that it is the power and magni-
tude of the Spirit’s work which will provoke Satan
to gather his host together, and fight his last battle
with the armies of the living God at Armageddon.
The madness and desperation of his struggle are no
mean proof of the liberality and abundance with which
the Spirit shall have been communicated. Indeed, when
one remembers that the Old Testament dispensation
might be said to be the dispensation of the Son, he being
the great promised object of the patriarchs and prophets
of old; so that the present is peculiarly the dispensation
of the Holy Spirit, he being the leading promised ob-
ject of the gospel age, under which we live ;—when
these things are considered, we need not wonder that
the Spirit should be largely given to the church under
the New Testament; even though we should not be
able to point to promises of his effusion in as many
words. After the abundant revelation of the former
dispensation of his coming, and the actual communica-
tion of the Spirit’s grace in the gospel dispensation, it
was not necessary to be repeating formal promises of
days of revival. These were taken for granted as a
matter of course. Hence the allusions are only inci-
dental; but they are not on that account the less sure.
Let me refer only to one: In the eleventh chapter of
the book of Revelation we are informed of the sad his-
tory of the church of God under the image of two wit-
nesses who prophesy in sackcloth for 1260 years, and
who are slain, and their bodies left unburied, while their
enemies rejoice with unbounded joy over their mortal
remains. ‘The interesting point to notice is that, in a
very short time—three years and a half—“ The Spirit
of life from God” enters into them, and they arise and
stand on their feet, and are called up to heaven, and
their enemies are confounded, and the gospel is univer-
sally diffused, so that the kingdoms of the world become
the kingdoms of God and of his Christ. I humbly ap-
prehend that by “the Spirit of life from God” we
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 921

are to understand the Holy Spirit of God; and how

impressively then are we reminded, under the New
Testament dispensation, that the Holy Spirit is in the
latter days to be richly communicated to the church and
the world, and that a glorious revival is to be the result.
3. And now we have completed our sketch of the lead-
ing Scripture promises and prophecies bearing upon a
revival of religion. We have seen from a multitude of
passages, not only that one day the gospel shall be uni-
versal and triumphant over the world—from which we
have drawn the inference that the Holy Spirit must
previously be largely imparted—but we have seen that
sudden and large effusions of the Spirit, leading to ex-
tensive religious revivals, are matter of direct promise
and prediction. We are entitled then to look for re-
ligious revivals in the future days of the church. They
are essential to the fulfilment of prophecy. If there
be no revivals the prophecy fails, and with its failure
the evidence of Christianity is compromised. Has there
then been any accomplishment of the prophecies of re-
vivals which we have been surveying? Though as yet
there had been none, we could not have inferred that
the prediction was false,—they might be still future. It
is in the future that we are taught to look for them in a
large degree. It may be expected that as the church
approaches the great and universal revival of the mil-
lennium, there shall be frequent and decided indi-
cations of the blessed work which terminates in the
millennial glory ;but happily we are not left altogether
to the future: we can appeal to past and present proofs
that the promised work of the Spirit of God is in course
of fulfilment.
Here I am aware J am treading on the borders of a
subject allotted to the brother who succeeds me, and I
am unwilling to anticipate; but let me ask whether there
was not a remarkable revival of true religion among the
Jews in the Maccabean period, under the persecutions
of Antiochus,' and whether the successful propagation
{ Vitringa, the celebrated commentator on Isaiah, regards the
Maccabean era of Jewish History as the type of the primitive
Christian church in its sufferings and graces, so high and devoted
was the religion of that day.
922 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

of the gospel in primitive times may not be considered

as a great revival? Did not the planting of so many
churches in so brief a space of time, and the endurance
to the death of so many martyrs, hundreds and thou-
sands, and tens of thousands, indicate an accomplish-
ment of the promise that God would pour out his
Spirit? Was there not also a great revival of true
religion at the period of the Reformation from Po-
pery? Most rapid and extensive was the work. Ed-
wards, in one of his standard books,’ says, “ Many
of the princes of Germany soon fell in with the Re-
formed religion; and many other states and king-
doms in Europe, as England, Scotland, Sweden, Den-
mark, Norway, great part of France, Poland, Lithu-
ania, Switzerland, and the Low Countries, so that it
is thought that heretofore about half Christendom were
of the Protestant religion; though since, the Papists”
(He might have ‘added rather—the Infidels) “have
gained ground, so that the Protestants now have not so
great a proportion.” This good work was not slow or
protracted in its movement,—it was swift as well as
general. I have given some attention to the history of
the Protestant church of France, and few things have
surprised me more in the course of my investigations
than the rapidity with which the gospel advanced. This
was strikingly true of the provinces of Navarre and
Bearn; and taking the church generally, we have the
testimony of Theodore Beza, that he could count above
‘wo thousand churches—many of them large, with col-
egiate ministers—in the course of a few years, from
twelve to twenty years, after the Reformation. Similar
was the history of our beloved Scotland, so distinguished
above many lands for the number and power ofits reli-
gious revivals. By a comparison of Antiquarian docu-
ments, inaccessible to the general reader, I have recently
ascertained that in seven short years, from the calling of
the first General Assembly in 1560 to 1567, and these
years of remarkable civil dissension and war, not less
than eight hundred and seventy-four moral and religi-
ous agents were raised up for the spiritual instruction
of her parishes-—Ministers, Exhorters, and Scripture
' The History of Redemption, p. 284.
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 293

Readers. Not a few of them may have been very

humble; but here we have a labourer for almost every
parish in Scotland in seven years: and what is remark-
able, they penetrated to the inhospitable shores of Ar-
gyle, of Orkney, and Shetland. What can explain this
marvellous fact but an unusual outpouring of the Holy
Spirit ?—and what but the same cause can explain the
striking testimony, “ that within ten years after Popery
was discharged in Scotland, there was not in all the
country ten persons of quality to be found who did not
profess the true reformed religion: and so it was among
the commons in proportion ?”?!
How rapid was the change in several of our Scottish
parishes in the religious revivals of the middle of the
17th and 18th centuries, at Shotts and Kilsyth and
Cambuslang, in other days. Nor has the Spirit ceased
to be given, in fulfilment of the promise, in the age in
which we live. Not to speak of recent doings in our
own vicinity, every one who has read Williams’s
most interesting narrative of the progress of Christian
missions in the South Seas must have been struck with
the rapidity with which great religious changes were
effected—on hundreds and thousands of individuals—
sometimes over whole islands—in the course of a few
weeks or months, by very humble agents. In some
cases, the people seemed to be waiting for Christian
teachers, and had thrown away their idols before they
appeared. In one case, the chapel was actually built
before any missionary planted his foot on the shore.
Tidings of change, like a fiery cross, spread from island
to island, and wherever a few of the leading chiefs aban-
doned their superstition, the body of the people fol-
lowed their example. In very many instances of course
this was no more than the renunciation of open idolatry,
—it did not imply a genuine reception of Christianity:
still the change even in these cases was very remarkable
—reminding us of the prophecy that nations shall he
born in a day, and intimating a large effusion of the
Holy Spirit of God. And if the Spirit has thus been
imparted in former and in present times, what reason
have we to doubt whether the prophecy shall continue
Livingstone.
224 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

to be fulfilled in the future? So far from doubting, we

have every reason to believe that the word of God re-
garding religious revivals shall be more and more fully
accomplished till the whole world participates in the
blessing,—and every enemy removed, the millennium
shall begin its protracted reign. Viewing the Scrip-
tures aright—recollecting their unchanging faithfulness,
the wonder is not that there are revivals of religion,
the fruits of the Spirit’s power; the wonder would have
been had there been no revivals—no progess except
what is slow—the result of a painful and progressive
labour.
IV. And now, let us ask what is the PRACTICAL IN-
FERENCE to be derived from all this? Is it not that
the church should be encouraged to look for revivals?
Much does she need encouragement. Many, insidious,
and powerful are her enemies ; very various too are the
untoward and adverse influences with which she has to
contend. The truly good are comparatively few; and,
with honourable exceptions, they are timid and divided
—the worldly, the erroneous; the wicked are bold and
well-combined. It is to be feared that Popery and Infi-
delity and general Ungodliness are on the encrease. It is
certain that most pernicious principles, seriously affect-
ing practice in different ranks of society, are spreading.
All this is discouraging. It is fitted to damp the spirits,
to hinder prayer, to relax exertion. No doubt there are
bright spots in the picture, for which it becomes us to be
devoutly thankful. Still there is much to sink and dis-
hearten: Six millions of Jews—600 million of Heathen!
And what in these circumstances so well fitted to
cheer as the hope of a great universal revival? This
is just what is needed. It would at once meet and
overcome all our difficulties and discouragements, and
it would put us in possession of the moral and religious
results—the improvement and the excellence and the
moral glory for which we so greatly long. Many men
—ministers,—yea, the Christian church generally have
not been expecting religious revivals. They have not
been looking for uncommon manifestations of the
Spirit’s power. They have taken for granted that,
some how or other, in some way or other, the gospel
 im
AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 925

shall one day be universal. This is all that they know

and care about. Comparatively speaking, such an idea
is cold, distant, discouraging. It wants life and energy,
Men must be encouraged to look for revivals near—
large—sudden—abiding ; and this will cheer and rejoice
the heart, and send new life and power through the en-
tire man.
Surely after the promises and prophecies of revivals
which have been unfolded, and the partial fulfilment
which we have seen them to receive, it is altogether un-
necessary for me to urge any reasons why you should
be encouraged to expect and pray and labour for a
revival. You have the word of God to direct and
sustain you, and on what stronger foundation can your
faith and hope rest? Men may deceive or be mis-
taken, but Jehovah is unchangeable. His promises are
all yea and amen. His people have in every age ex-
perienced of His faithfulness. You believe the word
of men, the word of children, and will you not believe
the word of God, and upon a subject too where his own
glory and the glory of his church are so deeply involved?
If you were labouring under personal affliction, would
you not search the Scriptures for promises of support
under its pressure, and should you not seek as earnestly
for consolation and encouragement under the afflictions
of the church of Christ in the same quarter? If there
were promises of earthly blessings, of peace and pro-
sperity, in which you might share, would you not be-
lieve them,—would not your mind be often running
forward on the pleasing anticipation, and should you
not believe, or should you believe coldly and indistinctly
the promises of the unchangeable Jehovah regarding
the spiritual health and riches of the church of the re-
deemed? Should you not rather receive them with
the warmest assurance of mind, and realise them with
hope and joy? Ah! what a pity that treasures of pro-
mise and of prophecy should be lying open in our bibles
from year to year—should be vouchsafed for the ex-
press purpose of encouraging us, and that through our
coldness and half believing, we should derive as little
real comfort from them as if they had never been
given, or as if they did not apply to us.
226 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

Think not only of the promises of God,—so many,

so rich, so beautiful,—so finely adapted to the taste and
likings of his people,—extending over such vast spaces
of time,—repeated by so various prophets,—and yet all
harmonious and one. Think of the spirit and example
of good men in trying times. How were they sup-
ported? It was by believing the promises and predic-
tions of the word of God respecting the church. When
the faithful Jews were captives in Babylon how did
they feel in reference to the cause of God? Did they
surrender themselves to discouragement and despair ?
No: they remembered the promises of the Lord. They
studied the book of prophecy ; they hoped for deliver-
ance, and were at length set free even beyond their
expectations. How were the Reformers from Po-
pery cheered in their arduous work? Did they trust
to their own sagacity, or the native power of truth, or
the aid of powerful friends? No! they searched the
prophecies ;—the book of Revelation was one of their
unwearied themes; therein they saw clearly the doom
of Antichrist and the blessed revival which follows.
They pressed these views upon their hearers.' They
thought of, and prayed for the Holy Spirit, not as a
mere abstraction, but as a divine Person whose power
was absolutely indispensable. And thus, believing the
promises and the prophecies of God, they were enabled
to make a thousand sacrifices, to rise superior to a thou-
sand discouragements, and to carry forward the work
of Jehovah. With cheerfulness and joy, they them-
{ Jurieu, the French Protestant minister at Rotterdam, in
his work on the prophecies, lamenting the decline of the spirit of
the Reformation, says, ‘‘ This controversy about Antichrist hath
‘anguished for a hundred years. It hath been unhappily aban-
doned on a politic account, and in obedience to popish princes,
Tis a wicked complaisance, for which we are punished, and which
hath cost us very dear. For if we had perpetually exposed this
great and important truth before the eyes of the Protestants, that
the papany is antichristianism, they would not have fallen into that
degeneracy and apostacy which we see at present. How could
they have resolved within themselves to submit to Antichrist, and
return to his party? But it is so long since they heard it so called
that they have forgot it. They thought that it was only a trans-
ee cf zeal in the first Reformers from which we were now come
oO i >
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 227
selves laboured under the impulse of a revival, and they
looked for revivals still larger and more glorious in the
future. Thus were they sustained. Thus let us and the
Christian church now be sustained. The promises where
believed and realised are as efficacious as ever. Why
should believers of other days appropriate the entire
benefit of them? They are as open to us as to them—
as really intended for our consolation as theirs; and the
very number of religious revivals which have taken place
since their day, interpreted as fulfilments of Scripture
prediction, should quicken our confidence in the Divine
faithfulness the more, and induce us to pray and to la-
bour for revivals the more. Is it to be credited that
Heathenism is stronger now than in primitive times—
that Popery is stronger now than in the days of the Re-
formation—that the Holy Spirit has become weak with
the progress of years? And why then do we not
plead the promises and predictions of the word of God?
Is it asked, in the way of objection, why revivals are
few in number—narrow in range—short-lived in du-
ration, while the promises are so many and exuberant ?
Is this supposed to shake and invalidate the prophecy?
First of all, let us remember that there have been a
considerable number of revivals,—perhaps a greater
number than those who plead the objection are aware
of. Independently of what was vouchsafed to the
churches of the Reformation in their early days, and
what has been enjoyed by our own country, so eminent
for its revivals, not only at that period but in subse-
quent days, pleasing proofs could be referred to in the
history of more modern times, that the Spirit of God
has not been altogether wanting to the Protestant
churches of Germany and France and Holland, Den-
mark and Sweden;! and above ail,—the Christian
churches of the United States of America. In all these
quarters there have been sound religious revivals more
or less extensive. But throwing these out of account,
' In the form of a Supplement to this Lecture, I shall throw
together some information respecting the Revival of Religion in
the churches of the Reformation during the last twent, years.
It may be interesting to the reader, and confirm the views
given in the text.
228 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

we have to remember that the Sovereignty of God is

to be taken into consideration in explaining the com
paratively small number of religious revivals.—Revivals
are intended, as they are fitted in a conspicuous way, to
show forth the Divine Sovereignty, in choosing some
and passing by others. There may be no revivals in a
particular place and at a particular time, because there
are no souls to be saved at that time or place, just as
the appearance of a work of the Spirit of the Lord may
be an intimation that then and there the good Shepherd
has sheep to gather into the fold. Apart, however, from
this ultimate reason, we may safely say that the grand
proximate cause why revivals are brief and few is be-
cause there is so little faith and expectation and prayer
for them on the part of the people of God. Christians are
contented with cold, vague, and general views of the com-
ing of Christ’s kingdom. They do not really expect re-
vivals. They are willing to go on, as they have been do-
ing, without any greater progress or more visible suc-
cess. ‘This is dishonouring to God and injurious to his
cause. It isa state of lively and unwearied faith,—it is
expecting much and thinking well and generously of
God which is pleasing to him, and draws down his
blessing.—When is it that revivals appear? Gener-
ally after much prayer and earnest expectation. Even
in the recent case of Kilsyth, good men prayed and
died in the belief that the revival was coming years be-
fore it appeared. And what does this show but that
living faith—full confidence in the promises of God is
the high road to success? Indeed, what is the use of
a promise—how can it be of any service, except as it is
held and pleaded in prayer? We would not have pre-
sumed to ask God for great revivals of religion had he
not condescended to promise: but having promised
what is our duty but to believe his word, and to live in
the lively expectation that the prediction shall be accom-
plished? It is thus that we honour God and obtain the
thing promised. As there is nothing which honours Him
more than fully, cheerfully, unreservedly believing his
word; so there is nothing in return which He more hon-
ours than this believing. He blesses it with success.
One reason of the greater number and power of revivals
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIETURE. 939

in Scotland than in many other countries may just be,

that one revival leads to more faith and expectation and
prayer for other revivals. Thus revivals may be said to
perpetuate themselves—they draw forth the disposition
of soul which God has promised to acknowledge and re-
ward. Since the religious movement in this vicinity,
there have been far more faith and expectation of
a revival—much more belief of the promises and
prophecies ; consequently much more prayer for the
blessing. In all probability this shall be ere long re-
warded, if it be not already in the course of reward, by
a larger number of revivals: and these still more con-
spicuous in their character. O how delightful will be
the day when revivals, by exciting faith and expectation
and prayer, in connection with the promises and pro-
phecies of God’s word, shall awaken other revivals, and
these shall move on like enlarging circles on the wa-
ters, giving birth to other and more comprehensive
movements, till the sacred influence shall reach the very
circumference of the lake and cover the whole surface
with the indications of the presence of the Spirit who
stirreth the waters. How delightful when not a part,
a single parish or congregation of the church, here and
there, shall receive a few drops of the shower ; but when
the whole church shall obtain the plenteous rain, and
when the more that she receives she shall be stirred up
but to expect and believe and pray for the more, till the
whole world shall share in the blessings of the church,
and the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as
the waters cover the channel of the deep.
Since then it is want of faith on the part of believers
which is one of the grand obstacles to the general re-
vival of religion ;—since it is the Church herself who
makes revivals few and partial and short-lived, let us all
be awoke to faith; and not to any sort of faith, but to
strong and lively and persevering faith in the promises
of God regarding the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Let us study the promises and the predictions of the
word of Jehovah; let us be familiar with them; let us
be fully persuaded of their infallible truth; let us be ever
confidently looking for their fulfilment; where there is
delay, let us be wearying for its end, and enquiring into
230 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

the causes of postponement; and the fewer and more

abridged revivals have been in the past, let that just
be an additional reason why we should be all the more
earnest in our hopes and expectations of the future.
Let us beware of unbelief, or of a cold, indolent, unex-
pectant faith. This is but to invite delay; it is to court
failure. What was the reason that so many of the Israel-
ites who stood victorious and rejoicing on the shores of
the Ked sea did not enter the promised land, and did not
take possession of Canaan in the name of the Lord? It
was their want of faith. They went ona similar errand
to that on which we and the Christian church are called
upon to go. Commanded by divine authority—cheered
by divine promise—they were required to go forth,—
to overthrow the kingdom of idolatry, superstition, and
crime,—to plant throughout the length and breadth of
Canaan the knowledge of the one living and true God:
But their faith was weak ; they were terrified by diffi-
culties; they refused to apply all their energies in the
service of Jehovah. The result was, what might have
been expected—the idolatry of the Canaanites con-
tinued. The vast body of the Israelites perished in
the wilderness; only two of them were privileged to
enter the promised land. If, with our higher advan-
tages, going forth to take possession of countries—
not for ourselves, but for our Master—using not the
temporal sword against the lives of the heathen, but
the sword of the Spirit, even the word of the Lord,
for the salvation of their souls, and animated by the
promises and prophecies of Jehovah, we yet fail
through unbelief or weakness of faith, will it be won-
derful that the result in our case should be equally
fruitless and disgraceful? While unbelief is so disastrous,
how noble, how successful is strong faith. What was
it which subdued kingdoms, and wrought righteousness,
and obtained promises, and stopped the mouths of
lions, and quenched the violence of fire, escaped the
edge of the sword, out of weakness was made strong,
waxed valiant in fight, put to flight the armies of the
aliens, and sustained the martyrs in their unparalleled
struggles, even unto death? It was strong faith—
full confidence in the promises of God, and in the pros-
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 931
=

pects which He held forth of the future success and

triumph of his cause.
Let us then be strong in faith, and so give glory
to God. Conscious of our own weakness, let our
prayer be, “Lord, increase our faith.” This was a
prayer which was preferred by the disciples when
they were called to the discharge of a difficult duty,
the continued forgiveness of provoking injury. Let us
present the same petition when called, as we now are,
to carry forward the kingdom of Christ amid almost in-
surmountable obstacles and obstructions; when called
to believe God’s word in circumstances highly unpropi-
tious to faith. Let us be expecting revivals, and large
ones; let us be looking out for the streaks of dawn
upon the horizon, and anticipating the coming day.
How happy for the wearied traveller, after toiling
through a long and arid waste, on reaching the top of a
mountain ridge, suddenly to behold a vast expanse of
nature’s richest scenery spread out before him; the
green fields and the waving forests, and the village or
the city glistening in the sunshine! Would not his
heart beat with joy on,reaching such an oasis as this?
Should the Christian’s joy be less when, after the long
weary wilderness condition of the church, advancing
where there is progress but by slow degrees—scanty tufts
of verdure here and there—his eye unexpectedly falls
upon successive and ever enlarging fields of living ver-
dure—water springing up to everlasting life—trees of
righteousness, the planting of Jehovah—all giving indi-
cation of an immortal youth—of an eternal summer?
In conclusion, let me exhort Christians to be com-
forted and animated. None can enjoy greater sources
of satisfaction and hope; other causes may fail—theirs
is sure of ultimate triumph; come what will of present
difficulty or trial, they are on the winning side: let them
be persuaded of this, and exercise lively faith in the pro-
mises of God. Such faith will impart cheerfulness and
Joy to all their prayers and labours. Instead of being
cold and contracted and discouraged in their obedience,
like the self-righteous sinner, they shall, like the recon-
ciled and confiding believer, live in perpetual sun-
shine. They will be ever expecting good, and good
232 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PROMISES

will ever be flowing in upon them. Not that they are

to reason with themselves in this manner: ‘ Revivals,
and ultimate and universal success are promised; they
shall come of themselves; let us resign ourselves to the
ease of a dreaming expectation. No: this would be
a gross perversion of the Scripture doctrine of promises
and predictions—of the same character with a prostitu-
tion of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
Promises are not intended to supersede prayer or labour,
but to give cheerfulness and support under the discharge
of their duties. Such perversions would unfit for
present obedience, and would even prevent Christians
availing themselves of the advantages of revivals when
they came.
Let me exhort formalists to arise to serious self-con-
sideration and to diligence. They have been taught how
glorious. are the days of revival which await the church
—what care and zeal will be one day entertained and
cherished regarding the one thing needful by multitudes
now thoughtless and unconvinced. Can they be then
any longer careless? When they see what earnest pro-
mises and predictions regard the conversion of others, can
they be cold and indifferent about their own, or can they
account the dry formalities of a mere external service a
good enough religion—all that is required? Willthey not
rather feel themselves rebuked by the manifest warmth
and zeal of the promised revivals, and stimulated to seek
and possess a religion in better accordance with that
which the Spirit of the Lord proclaims to be genuine
and divine? Can they object to revivals now, and look
upon them with suspicion and disdain, when they are
found to occupy so large a part of the prophetic Scrip-
tures, and when under God they supply the readiest
means of overcoming all the present evils of society
and of the world, and of rendering Christianity, with all
its blessings, universal and all-pervading ?
Lastly, let me exhort the open enemy of the gospel,
whether a professed infidel or an abandoned, ungodly
sinner, to draw a lesson of solemn warning from the
subject which we have been considering. If the pro-
mises and prophecies of the universal triumphs of the
truth through the medium of successive revivals be so
 AND PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE. 933

many and strong and sure, how vain is all his op-
position to them. He may hurt himself; he cannot
prevent or even arrest the cause of the Redeemer.
It shall advance and prevail in spite of him. It has al-
ready overcome far more formidable hostility than any
which he can hope to muster; the Devil has nothing
new to offer; and the promise of Jehovah standeth sure
for ever. He is pledged to see to the triumph of his
truth and people. Instead of indulging in fruitless oppo-
sition, let the sinner now be wise and instructed; let
him serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with tremb-
ling; let him kiss the Son ere he be angry, and he perish
from the way. Let him remember that when the wrath
of the Lamb is kindled but a little, blessed—happy in-
deed are all they who have put their trust in him.

SupPLEMENTARY SKETCH OF THE RECENT RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN

THE CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION, REFERRED TO IN THE
FOREGCING LECTURE.

Ir may not be inappropriate to the argument of the

text, if I subjoin a few notices of revivals in recent
times, some of them little known. Though they leave
a vast deal still to be prayed and laboured for, yet it
would be ungrateful to God, and moreover fitted to
prevent future success, not devoutly to acknowledge
the Spirit of Jehovah in the following favourable
symptoms. I have collected my information from
various quarters, and I believe it is as correct as the
circumstances of the respective cases admit of, at the
present stage of progress.
To begin with our own beloved Scotland—There
can be no question, amid all the unfavourable signs of
various kinds which appear, that a decided revival of
religion has taken place in our land within the last
twenty years, and is vigorously moving forward. All
acquainted with the large towns, such as Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Aberdeen, &c., must be aware of this change.
Though the Church of Scotland was not permitted to
sink so low as the other churcnes of the Reformation,
yet there was deep decline. The rejection by the
234 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

General Assembly in 1796, though only by a majority

of 14, in a small house of 102, of the proposal then
made by several synods and presbyteries, to send the
gospel to the heathen, and the grounds on which this
rejection was supported by more than one speaker, is
an impressive indication of the low state of Christianity
then prevalent in the Church. The revived missionary
spirit of the present day, both at home and abroad, to-
wards Jews and Gentiles,—the great encrease of devoted
ministers—the improvement of ministers of the former
age—the raising up of a large additional number of
schools and churches—and the very warfare in which
the Church has been and is at present engaged, all bear
witness to her decided growth as a spiritual church of
Christ, the effect of the outpouring of the Spirit of
God.
In England similar blessed symptoms have appeared
in much the same period. It is well known that during
a great part of last century vital religion was at a very
low ebb in the sister country. Both in the Establish-
ment and among the Protestant Dissenters there was
much coldness where there was not serious heresy.
Bishop Lavington, addressing his clergy, says, “My
brethren, I beg you will rise up with me against moral
preaching. We have long been attempting the refor-
mation of the nation by discourses of this kind—with
what success? None at all: On the contrary, we have
dexterously preached the people into downright infi-
delity. We must change our voice and preach Christ
and him crucified.” Again, “ Whatever may have been
the cause of not preaching the doctrines of the gospel,
the effect has been lamentable. Our people have
grown less and less mindful, first of the distinguishing
articles of their creed—then, as will always be the case,
of that one which they hold in common with the Hea-
then—have forgot in effect their Creator as well as
their Redeemer and Sanctifier—seldom or never serious-
ly worshipping him, or thinking of the state of their
souls in relation to Him ; but flattering themselves that
what they are pleased to call a moral and harmless life,
though far from being either, is the one thiag needful.”
—First Charge. Such was the carelessness that Hannah
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 235
More, in 1789, found in Somersetshire thirteen adjoin-
ing parishes in which there was not so much as one
curate resident ;and such was the ignorance that out of
108 children in one of these parishes drawn to her
schooi not one could tell who made them! The pro-
minently religious ministers were so inconsiderable in
number that they could be counted. Of course, there
were many faithful pastors unknown to the religiou
world. But whata happy change has now taken place.
The ministers of the cross are reckoned by thousands;
and large sums of money are subscribed for carrying the
knowledge of the gospel, through schools and churches
and foreign missions, to the guilty and the perishing both
at home and abroad. Throughout the kingdom not less
than £500,000 are thus annually raised. Making an
abatement fora recent most affecting revival of the spirit
and principles of Popery in the Established church, and
the spirit of political partisanship among some classes
of Dissenters, there has | een’ a happy change in the tone
of the religious press in England—a growing thirst for
the theological writings of the best period of the church.
The Scriptures too have been circulated to the extent
of millions. In 1792, the whole stock of the university
printer was only 4500 copies, and there was-no Bible
Society.
With regard to Jreland, again, the revival has if pos-
sible been more rapid than in either of the other parts
of the kingdom. ‘The Established church, which used
to be employed as a mere reward for political services
—to the nearly utter neglect of the religious interests
alike of Protestants and Roman Catholics—is now
rendered subservient to its great end as a Christian
institute. Her faithful ministers are encreasing every
day; and one of the best proofs of their zeal and succesy
is to be found in the bitter and merciless persecution
which they are experiencing at the hands of the Romish
priesthood in cases where it is plain that it is the pure
gospel of Christ which is the only exciting cause of the
persecution. We have heard of various parishes where
the fruit of the Evangelical labours of the Protestant
ministers is already visible in the improved moral as-
pects of society. In one case a decided simultaneous
236 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

revival was lately reported by the Rev. Mr. Burns of

Kilsyth, which embraced 150 souls, under the labours
of the Rev. Mr. Trench. The reader does not need to
be reminded that a great improvement has taken place
in the Presbyterian church of Ireland since she ex-
cluded the Arians from her communion,—that she has
made a considerable accession to her places of worship,
and is pursuing the cause of scriptural education and
bible circulation with great zeal and encouraging suc-
cess, while she lifts up a solemn protest against Po-
pery. One Educational Society alone receives the
patronage and aid of between six and seven hundred
Protestant ministers. The whole religious societies la-
bouring for the moral regeneration of Ireland classed
together could the other year point to an annual income
of above £20,000—a mighty contrast to the cold day,
not very distant, (1828,) when the Irish bible, com-
plete, in the native character, first issued from the
press.
Turning to the Continent, it is cheering to think of
the decided revival of religion which within these few
years has appeared in several churches of the Reforma-
tion. To begin with France, as nearest to our own
shores—Every friend of true religion must rejoice to
learn, that the Protestant church of a country which
was well-nigh crushed between Popery and Infidelity
—a country where the truth as it is in Christ was per-
secuted almost to extinction, with a longer and more
bloody warfare than perhaps any church in Christen-
dom ever experienced—it is matter of devout gratitude
to learn that this church has caught the spirit of her
best days, and is rapidly reviving. The whole number
of faithful pastors in 1818 could not be estimated by
those who had the best means of knowing at more than
6 or 12; now they are rated at 120, equal to a third of the
whole. In Paris, there are now, of all denominations,
12 or 13 ministers who preach the gospel faithfully
among a professedly Protestant population of 35,000.
This may seem a small force; but it is a vast change for
the better upon a state of things where, not a great
many years ago, there was only one herald of the cross,
and he a foreigner. In the north of France, in the
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 237

neighbourhood of Lille, several churches have been

formed within these few years, composed almost en-
tirely of converted Romanists—from seven to eight
hundred have thus been brought, it is believed, to the
knowledge of the truth within the last eight or nine
years. ‘T'wenty-one pastors, of different denominations,
now faithfully preach the gospel where, but a few years
ago, there were only two. Does this not indicate a re-
vival of religion, and lay the foundation for a still more
general awakening? In another district of France,
again, there are sixteen new Evangelical churches,
most of them, it may be, very small, but some having
an attendance of from tiree to four hundred hearers
and daily encreasing in number—all the fruit of a few
years’ prayer and labour accompanied by the power of
the Holy Spirit. In the city of Strasburg, again—a very
stronghold of false doctrine —where there are twenty-two
theological pastors and eight professors in the Protest-
ant university of Neological sentiments, an evangelical
church has lately been established under the ministry of
Mr. Major, aad is attended by 500 to 600 persons.
Some time ago, eleven pious young men were prepar-
iag for the ministry under his eye. Various similar
delightful facts might be referred to, such as the de-
fection of three fourths of a large parish with the
Mayor at their head, near Cherbourg, in 1827, from
the church of Rome; but let these suffice for France.
Simply let me add, that there has been since 1818 a
circulation of 150,000 copies of the Scriptures among
the Protestant population of the country—that there
are various Christian periodicals regularly published, and
that there is both a home and a foreign mission for the
propagation of the gospel : the latter maintaining a few
missionaries on the East coast of Africa. No one who
is acquainted with the mingled Popery and Jnfidelity
and Irreligion and Vice of France generally can doubt
that such results as these, comparatively recent as they
are in their origin, could have been brought about only
by the power of the Spirit of Jehovah.
Leaving France and directing our eyes to Holland,
we are gladdened with the indications of revival. In
common with all the churches of the Reformation, that
938 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

of Holland, once se famous for its learning and its Cal-

vinism, and so kind to the persecuted refugees from
other lands, underwent a serious decline much about
the same period as its sister churches. First it was
weakened and perverted by Arminianism, and then,
in the progress of error and of the French Revoiu-
tion, corrupted by semi-Socinianism and Infidelity.
But out of the 1238 ministers of that church a large
number seem always to have been faithful, and the
wide-spread suffering under the French infidel rule
appears to have been blessed of God to the awakening
of many, both among ministers and laymen, who had
departed from the faith. So far as I could learn, on a
recent brief visit to that country, there seems every
reason to believe, that a decided improvement has set
in of late years; though even where there is orthodoxy,
it is to be feared much of it is coid and lifeless. The
secession of seven pastors with their flecks, a few years
ago, from the national church, on the score of its low
Christianity, and the severity with which some of them
have been treated since, may be interpreted as an evi-
dence of religious revival, and ultimately may be useful
to the greater awakening of the church as a whole; but
among intelligent Christian men, with whom I came
into contact, the separation is not viewed at present in
this light. The adherents of the Secession, amounting
only to a few thousands, and chiefly young men, hold
that the assurance of one’s personal safety is essential
to saving faith, and a participation in ordinances. They
are not much known or heard of. The originating cause,
I was given to understand, of the harsh treatment to
which some of them were subjected, was their seizing
and maintaining that the property of the churches right-
fully belonged to them, as they were the only érue church
of Holland. So long as they held by this doctrine the
State would not recognise them as such, and treated
them with a severity which every Christian and friend of
freedom must condemn; but as soon-as they could
show that they differed from the national church, which
they speedily did on a few points, chiefly of form, they
were, in common with other bodies, not of the Estab-
lishment, recognised ;and they are now equaily pro-
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 939

tected as others. If my information be correct, it is to

be regretted that from the outset they put themselves in
a false position as regards the State, and gave two much
ground to awaken the just suspicions of the govern-
ment. I trust, however, that as their sincerity and zeal
are undoubted, they will drop any unsound doctrinal
peculiarity into which their very circumstances may
have driven them, and that they will be eminently bles-
sed of God for the revival of the true and ancient doc-
trine of the church of Holland, as set forth in the Hei-
delberg Standards.
Passing to Denmark, we meet with the following
facts, resting chiefly on the authority of the Archives
du Christianisme. An important religious movement
appeared in 1825, which led to a warm controversy
upon the capital doctrine of justification by free grace
through faith. Though in common with other Contin-
ental reformed churches, there was much Neology in
the. 1500 pulpits of Denmark ; yet many of the pastors,
and still more of the people, were not prepared for the
daring extent to which some leading Neologists went
in altering, at their own will, the ancient liturgy and
baptismal service, which were sound ; this created salu-
tary enquiry and called forth resistance. The Ar-
chives say, during the last ten years there have been
serious manifestations, especially in Fronia and Jutland.
In the first a craving has been awakened—a hungering
after that which constitutes the marrow of the gospel—
the gratuitous and merciful favour of God in Christ
Jesus. A great number of souls have asked with the
Philippian jailor, “ What shall we do to be saved; and
finding no answer in the Rationalist discourses of their
Doctors, they have sought the answer beyond the
church, in the old Christian writings, especially in the
admirable treatises of Luther, and in the ancient Psalms
of Broissou and Kuigo. To secure the reading of these,
and in order to encourage each other to seek the grace
of God and to grow in it, these Christians met at par-
ticular houses. Such is the origin of the religious meet-
ings which are now held in many places, and which con-
tribute, wherever they keep faithfully to the word of
God, to nourish and to spread the spirit of Christianity.
940 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

At first the awakened were sharply persecuted by the

world,—not, it is true, in so terrible a manner as the
Christians in the Canton de Vaud, but still with much
bitterness: they now leave them tolerably quiet. In
Jutland, the awakened, as they are called, are for the
most part among the Haugeans, that is to say, followers
of John Neilson Hauge, a Sorwegian peasant, who, to-
ward the end of last century, aroused by the word of
God a great number of souls from the sleep of death.
Interesting as these notices may be, a vast deal remains
to be accomplished. The population of Denmark
amounts to two millions; and according to the Rev.
Mr. Baird, who lately visited the country, there are
only two evangelical professors in its universities. In the
principal one at Copenhagen, with a thousand students,
four hundred of whom are theological students, there is
not so much as one evangelical professor. It is cheer-
ing, however, to be assured, that many of the young
men meet to read and pray together even in discourag-
ing circumstances.
With regard, again, to Norway, with its five hundred
ministers among a population of a million, the Rev.
Mr. Baird, who as agent for several American religious
societies, lately visited it, states, that a good work has
been going on gradually for a number of years—com-
mencing with the peasant already alluded to. His fol-
lowers now ramify through a large portion of Norway.
They do not separate from the Established Church
which they hope to benefit by abiding in its communion,
but hold social meetings for prayer, reading the Scrip-
tures, and exhortation. ‘Although, says Mr. Baird, there
may occasionally be some excesses, and perhaps some
erroneous doctrines, among the people who are to a
great degree without the guidance of an evangelical
ministry, yet there is every reason for believing that
there is among them a genuine and glorious work of
the Spirit. Such at any rate is the testimony of the en-
lightened and excellent Bishop Windigarde of Gotten-
berg, whose diocese borders on a portion of Norway,
and from whom I received the above information.”
Few countries are more interesting to a decided Pro-
testant than Sweden. So thorough was the work of
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 941

heformation here, that to this day there is scarcely a

Roman Catholic family among three millions of peo-
ple; nor has the church suffered much from the in-
fluence of German Neology. The 3500 pastors are
almost all orthodox,—well educated,—much respected.
There are five hundred students of divinity; and the
people are almost universally able to read, and possess
many virtues. But all this will not confer vital religion,
nor perpetuate it where it exists. It is a melancholy
truth, that to a vast extent the power of godliness has
disappeared from the church of Sweden, particularly
during the last fifty or sixty years; but it is matter of
joy and gratitude, that within the last ten or twelve
there have been revivals in various parts of the coun-
try, and in some cases to a considerable extent. The
labours of the late Rev. Mr. Shaerton of Lund were
much blessed in the southern part of the kingdom;
and since his death his writings, which are eminently
practical and spiritual, have been widely circulated,
and have proved highly useful. ‘the circulation too of
nearly half a million copies of the word of God ina
few years among a people who can all read could scarce-
ly fail to operate most favourably. So conspicuous,
however, are the awakened for their study of the Scrip-
tures and good books, that they are generally known
among their neighbours by the name of ‘The Readers.”
Mr. Baird, on the testimony of a faithful Swedish
minister, gives an interesting account of the parish of
Norrala, two hundred miles to the north of Stockholm,
where, under the ministry of a succession of faithful
pastors, there has been a succession of revivals,—first
in 1765, then in 1780, and next in 1817—when, to use
the narrator’s language, “ A mighty wind of divine
grace blew upon the valley, and caused an unexpected
shaking”—and lastly, in 1834. Both the young and the
aged were brought to the knowledge of the truth on
these occasions; and a beautiful manifestation was made
of the power of the gospel in the hands of the Holy
Spirit. The practical result is given in the character
of “The Readers,” not only of this but of other parish-
es, in the following sentences :—
“<‘The Readers’ possess the testimony of impartial
 249 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

judges to the fact, that they are the most sober, moral,
peaceful, industrious, and honourable men—the most
diligent attendants at church, and the most attentive
hearers.” Again, “they give honour where honour is
due, and that not only to the good and gentle, but also
to the froward—they give custom where custom is due
—they labour with diligence each in the calling where-
with he was called, that they may not, by their own im-
providence, become burdens to others, but on the con-
trary may have to give to him that needeth. An actual
transgression of the law of the land cannot be charged
upon any one who has contributed and is a member of
their society, (for conference and prayer,) and good
morals, cleanliness, civility, and decorum, in words and
deeds, are considered by ‘The Readers’ as belonging to
the character of Christians.”
Passing from Sweden to Germany, one naturally en-
quires whether there is any revival in that land, which
was the nursery of the Reformation. In many districts
the gospel ministers are thinly sown; but they are en-
creasing. Such is the state of things in Saxony, which
was trodden by the footsteps of Luther, and which still
boasts of a large Protestant population—three fourths
ndee@ of the whole. In other quarters the progress is
till more marked. Dr.Tholuck, of Halle, stated in Lon-
kon, in 1835, that vast changes had taken place in the
eligious feeling and aspect of various parts of Ger-
many during the last twenty or even ten years; and all
on the side of the gospel. In the Lower Rhine, near
Dusseldorp, I have learned from private information, as
well as from public documents, that a marked revival
is going forward under Mr. Fleidner, at Kaiserworth,
who visited Scotland a few years ago, and also at El-
berfeldt and the neighbourhood. Ina valley in that
quarter of the country there are not less than twelve
faithful preachers of the cross. Dr. Tholuck, speaking
of them, says, they have spread in such a manner as to
fill the whole of the surrounding towns and villages, so
that it may be justly said there can scarcely be found
any considerable place in the district which does not
possess at least one proclaimer of the truth. One of
the ministers in this valley is Krummacher, whose work
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 243

ou the character and history of “ Elijah the Tishbite”

has had an immense and we trust useful sale in this
and other Christian countries.
Higher up the Rhine, in the vicinity of Frankfort-
on-the-Maine, a Roman Catholic priest, a few years ago,
abandoned the church of Rome with fifty of his flock
simultaneously ; and that not to adopt a cold-hearted,
erroneous Protestantism, which is little if any better
than Popery, but to adopt the pure and primitive gos-
pel of Christ. The new converts, after suitable and
satisfactory examination, were received, in the presence
of four thousand persons in the open air, to the com-
munion of the Reformed Church. After one of the
ministers had preached from the words, “I am the light
of the world,” the converts of Holzhausen were invited
to make a public profession of their faith. Helferick,
who had been their Popish curate, but who even then
preached the gospel, spoke in the name of all. His testi-
mony was confirmed by their assent given with a loud
voice. It is related that they fell on their knees and re-
ceived the blessing. Then they partook of the commu-
nion in both kinds; the singing of a Psalm closed this
sacred festival, which will be long and delightfully re-
membered by all the attendants. Who can doubt that
this was a revival, and that the Spirit of God was
poured out as its Author ?
But I must not detain the reader with single cases.
Let us for a moment contemplate Prussta—an immense
country, with fifteen millions of inhabitants. It is here
that the spirit of revival in Germany has appeared in
the most decided form. The tribulations produced by
the wars of Napoleon have, with the blessing of God,
wrought lessons of abiding, of heavenly wisdom. The
king is understood to be a decided Christian nimeself,
and uses all his influence to promote true Christianity
among his subjects. He is careful in the appointment
of faithful men to churches and colleges. All corres-
pondence on missionary and kindred subjects he has
provided shall pass through the Post-office free,—
100,000 copies of the Scriptures have through his care
been circulated in the army, and by the labours of
Bible societies, which are numerous, not less than a
244 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

million of copies have been spread abroad in the

course of a few years over the country at large. The
Rev. Dr. Paterson, one of the agents of the British and
Foreign Bible Society, recently stated, that on visiting
Prussia after an interval of twenty years, he was much
struck with the favourable change. It is estimated that
an eighth part of the clergy are decidedly evangelical,—
certainly a small proportion compared with the whole,
but a large number when it is remembered that not many
years ago evangelical religion was almost extinct in the
ministry. The Rev. Mr. Baird supposes that there may
be six hundred heralds of the cross of Christ in Prussia.
This surely indicates a most blessed revival. At Ber-
lin, the capital which was once the very seat of infi-
delity in Europe, under a monarch who is said to have
made “Voltaire his gospel and Rousseau his catechism,”
the progress of the gospel has been, as if in derision
of enemies, most conspicuous. Dr. Tholuck tells us
that it prospers as a vineyard of the Lord. More than
a third of the ministers proclaim the pure gospel ot
Christ; and not one of the professors of the university
belong to the Rationalist or Socinian school. There
are four hundred students under their care,—a hundred
of the students under Dr. Tholuck, at Halle, being a
third of the entire number, are considered young men
of promising piety; and what is remarkable, and be-
tokens well for the church—here as elsewhere, the grace
of God seems to have made choice of the men of most
encouraging talent and influence.
Among the good signs to be met with in Prussia—
the signs of revived religion—it would be improper to
omit to notice the kind protection and retreat afforded
by the king to the poor persecuted Tyrolese in Silesia.
It is well known that a few years ago there was a re-
markable outpouring of the Spirit of God upon a dis-
trict of the Tyrol which is under the sway of Popish
Austria. The effect of this was that between four and
five hundred persons abandoned Popery, and, in spite
of persecution, embraced the evangelical faith. Their
Romish priests and neighbours were exceedingly pro-
voked by the change, and continued to make their lives
so bitter that they determined, if possible, to leave their
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 245

native land, though, as mountaineers, that land was

peculiarly endeared to them. Seeing it vain to hope
for protection from Austria, they had recourse to the
Protestant king of Prussia, and presented their request
through John Fleidl, one of their brethren, in the fol-
lowing interesting terms, which I am not aware have
been published in this country :—“ Our faith,” says he,
‘rests whollyon the Holy Scriptures and the doctrine
of the Augsburg Confession of Faith. We have read
them attentively,—we discover the differences there
are between the word of God and human tradition.
We neither wish to nor can we ever revounce our
own faith to preserve it. We are ready to quit our
houses, our fields, our country. May it please your
majesty to grant usa place where we can form a distinct
community. It will refresh and console us. Deign to
place us in a country which in some respects resembles
the home.of our fathers. Agriculture and the care of
flocks are our occupation. Give us a faithful preacher
and a good schoolmaster. At first we shall hardly be
in a situation to maintain them by our own means; the
journey will cost us much; we know not what else we
may bring to our new dwellings, but we and our children
cannot dispense with the consolations of religion and
with school instruction. If the poor among us should
suffer, after the rich among us have done what they
could to aid them, we reckon upon your majesty as upon
afather. May God, in his great goodness, repay to you
for all which you may do for us. We will conduct
ourselves faithfully, honourably, and gratefully in Prus-
sia, and we will not lose our good Tyrolese habits; we
will only encrease the number of your good subjects,
and we will remain a living monument to attest to pos-
terity this truth, that misfortune when placed by the
side of piety ceases to be misfortune, and that the gospel
forced to fly before Popery always finds protection with
the magnanimous king of Prussia.” The request was
granted; a district of county amid the mountains of
Silesia was assigned them; in a few weeks they, to
the number of 440, parted with all their little pro-
perty, which, under God’s good providence, realized
100,000 florins, after which they left their native valleys,
246 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

never to return. It is stated that, “The converted

Tyrolese, like Abraham, left their country, their parents,
their father’s house, and every where met with the most
cordial reception from the Reformed Christians of
Germany. They never thought before that the com-
munion of saints was so strong and so sweet. Many
parishes made collections for them, and the poor added
their small offerings to the subscriptions of the rich to
supply the wants of the exiled Tyrolese. When they
entered a Protestant village, they were generally lodged
in private houses, and if it were Sabbath, they had the
pleasure of attending pubiic worship. How were their
souls comforted and their hearts strengthened by receiv-
ing these precious testimonies of Christian charity. The
Lord had given them brethren to replace the old friends
they had left.” It is cheering to learn, though it is no
more than what might have been expected, that the
Tyrolese already exert a happy religious influence on
all the country around that in which they are settled.
‘The old Protestant churches of Silesia, which had
become cold and lukewarm from the prevalence of So-
cinian opinions, feel revived and strengthened on behold-
ing the new Protestants moving forward with so much
ardour and courage in the way of the Lord. Thus
what men meant for evil has been overruled by God for
good. ‘The Tyrolese, driven from their country by the
persecution of priests, have become the instruments of
revival and blessing.
I do not defend the conduct of the king of Prussia in
all his religious proceedings. I believe that in some he
has acted an intolerant part—a part which is inconsis-
tent with the rights of conscience; but no one doubts
the sincerity of his Christianity, and I must confess that
I am disposed to make every allowance for the emperor
of an almost despotic sovereignty, and especially for one
who has acted so noble a part in resisting the usurpa-
tions of Popery in the case of the archbishop of
Cologne, and in supplying a hospitable refuge to the
exiled Tyrolese among the mountains of Silesia.
We may notice among the symptoms indicative
of a revival of evangelical feeling in Germany as a
whole, the interest which has been excited, and the
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. Q47

resolution which has been formed to erect a great public

monument to the honour of Gustavus Adolphus, the
illustrious king of Sweden—the Protestant hero of the
thirty years’ war—the noble defender of the rights
and privileges of the members of the Protestant church.
The monument is to be raised on the plains of Lutzen,
where he fell. All the divisions of Protestant Germany
cordially concur in the object; and already the poor, as
well as kings and princes and nobles, are pouring in
their offerings with humble and generous joy. Such an
event could scarcely have been looked for a few years
ago under the cold and dark reign of Socinianism,
which has no sympathy with true Protestantism,—ir
other words, with Christian heroism.
Another sign which points to the same favourable
conclusion is the revived taste which has appeared fo.
the works of the Reformers, such as Luther and Calvin
These had passed into great desuetude; in many quarters
they were almost forgotten; and, indeed, what interes
could Socinians feel in the writings of either? Theiz
wish must have been to obliterate and to bury them.
So completely were the Swiss Reformers, Calvin and
Zuingle, forgotten, that I understand many of their
own countrymen on the spot cannot tell where the one
was buried and where the other lived. Now there
is a great demand for the works of the Reformers;
large editions are published and widely circulated.
This surely indicates a warm and growing interes€ in
their spirit and sentiments. Nor is this all: within the
last ten or twelve years there has been a great progress
in the periodical religious literature of Germany and of
the Protestant parts of the Continent generally. The
Rationalists, who make such a boast of reason and ol
learning, either do not publish much in this way, or
they have lost ground; while Journals chiefly literary
in their character have of late years devoted much more
of their attention than formerly to theology—a proof o:
what they believe to be the public interest on the sub-
ject. Above all, periodicals of sound Christianity and
missionary zeal have been largely and rapidly mutiplied
The Archives du Christianisme speak of thirty perio
dicals sowing the word of life, besides eight being con
248 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

secrated to the cause of Missions; one of them at so

low a price as fourpence a-year, the better to reach the
humblest. class of society.
Were I not afraid of unduly enlarging this supple-
mentary paper, I would refer to the recent persecution
of Christians in Bohemia as a proof that the cause of
the gospel is reviving in the country of John Huss and
Jerome of Prague, two of the harbingers of the Refor-
mation. It is not worth Satan’s while to persecute any
thing else; and he will scarcely find the adherents of
any other system who deem their theological sentiments
of such importance as to warrant the endurance of per-
secution in their behalf; but I shall not enlarge. Before
concluding witha brief notice of the revived religious tone
of Protestant Switzerland, let me simply allude to an
interesting revival which is said to have appeared in a
small poor village of Bavaria, on the Danube; the
Archives du Christianisme are my authority. In 1826,
Lutz, a Popish priest, was appointed to this charge.
He knew the truth, and preached it faithfully accord-
ing to his light. For two years little fruit appeared;
but as he advanced in the ministrv the effects became
more powerful and visible, till in 1832, he felt himself
constrained to abandon the church of Rome. Not
jess than five hundred and fifty persons followed his
example. Of course, he and his flock were not a little
persecuted: he was obliged ultimately to withdraw; but
happily his .place was supplied by a pastor not less
faithful and enlightened. By means which were never
explained—doubtless by fraud and flattery—Lutz was
himself reconverted to Popery and sent back to re-
convert the people whom he was supposed to have
perverted. Some of them yielded to the temptation;
but the great body remained firm under the better
pastor, and we believe continue so to this day, in the
face of unspeakable discouragements.
And now we turn to Switzerland. Strong as are
the grounds of thankfulness for the revival vouchsated
in the quarters of which I have already spoken, the
blessed change has been much more marked and ex-
tensive among the Swiss than in any of the continental
nations. Much error and evil indeed still remain; ove
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 249

half of the cantons are Popish, and in one of them,

Friburg, the Jesuits have a college attended by from
seven hundred to eight hundred pupils, drawn together
from all countries, foreign as well as Continental. It
seems to be one of the last refuges of that pestilent
order. Among the pupils I understand there are not
less than six of the sons of Popish princes; but even
in the leading Roman Catholic cantons there is a con-
siderable stir after freedom—a growing distaste for the
Papal authority and human tradition in matters of re-
ligion. A well informed Christian minister, so lately
as in November, 1838, says: “Enlightened Roman
Catholics are found all over Switzerland who disavow
the pretensions of their clergy, and demand a reforma-
tion in the bosom of their own church.” He adds, that
a Society has recently been formed of Liberal Catholies
at Shauffhausen to oppose the ultra-montane, or extreme
Popish opinions, and that the Pope is very jealous of
them. A few years ago, his nuncio in Switzerland
published two vehement protests against the reforms
introduced into the Popish churches of St. Gall and
Lucerne, (which was wont to be a very stronghold of
Popery,) but all in vain, or rather to the greater injury
of the Papal authority.
With regard to several of the Protestant cantons,
the revival of genuine Christianity has been most de-
lightful. No one needs to be informed how fearfully
the Swiss Reformed church had abandoned the doc-
trines for which Calvin and Beza and Farel and
Zuinglius so nobly contended—that her ministers had
sunk either into Socinianism and infidelity, or into a cold
and useless orthodoxy. So completely had the Reformed
church been destroyed, that she has lost her lay eldership
and every thing like discipline, those essential features
for which she was onee conspicuous. The change, too,
in the moral character of very many of the people has
been corresponding. §o little was Calvin prized by his
modern successors, that I have been informed by an
intelligent minister from Geneva that twenty years ago
the Socinian pastors sent fifteen manuscript volumes of
his writings to be sold as waste paper; of these only a
single volume was accidentally saved. The same gen-
250 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

tleman informed me that a minister is still alive who,

instead of preaching the everlasting gospel, he remem-
bers to have heard preach upon such a topic as the
usefulness and pleasantness of dancing: Such was the
food with which immortal souls were fed where they
were not poisoned with heresy. But now, blessed be
God, there is a great change. The Socinians, both
pastors and people, are still strong in Geneva; but there
are faithful men on the other side. Not only are there
several evangelical churches, but there is an evangelical
college, which is presided over by Mr. D’Aubigny, the
accomplished biographer of Luther—a work recently
translated and published in this country. The college
has already sent forth a number of devoted ministers
to France as well as Switzerland, and is at present edu-
cating nearly thirty individuals. Of Geneva, as a
whole, an intelligent Christian writes in 1837: “ a
is met at all points by truth; and it is gratifying to be
able to add that the number of the friends of orthodoxy
encreases every year, while that of Socinians sensibly
diminishes. It is remarkable that the same persons who
once boastingly avowed the lax doctrines of the age
are now afraid openly to profess all their opinions, but
adopt to some extent the language of evangelical piety;
to such a degree has Christianity regained her influence
in Geneva.”
Passing to Neufchatel, another of the four cantons
where the French language is spoken, it is stated that
German Neology never prevailed in this district, as in
many others. The pastors were generally orthodox but
lifeless. The French correspondent of the New York
Observer, who is himself a native of Switzerland, and
now a minister of the Protestant church of France, in-
forms us that a decided revival of religion, followed by
a change in the moral aspect of society, has taken place
in a district of Neufchatel. He attributes it, under
God, to the disinterested labours of a lady, M. Calame,
who, for twenty years conducted an establishment for
the Christian and industrious education of children—an
establishment which seems to have been almost main-
tained from day to day by prayer. Shortly before her
death, in 1834, the school numbered 300 pupils. Many of
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 951

these have now grown up, and have gone forth as

domestic servants, labourers, apprentices, shopkeepers,
&e. A number of them, having settled in the small
town of Locle, have, through their religion, created such
a marked contrast, in point of moral character, between
that town and a neighbouring town in external circum-
stances precisely similar, as to be at once visible to the
intelligent eye. Thus humble and unlikely are the
instruments which God often employs for the further-
ance of his cause.
Advancing northward to Basle, we meet with a Swiss
town whose missionary spirit immediately proclaims its
revived piety. In 1830, this town and its country dis-
tricts caught the revolutionary spirit of the times. A
bloody struggle for political power took place between
the inhabitants of the city and country—in which the
latter were successful; but the change was not favour-
able to the cause of evangelical religion. The im-
mediate effect was to drive nearly thirty faithful mi-
nisters from the country into the town, and to supply
not of the gospel
their places with uneducated preachers,
but of political liberty. Under such preaching the mi-
nisters. were not respected and their congregations soon
declined. On the other hand, in the town, the acces-
sion of so many ministers, and sanctified adversity, gave
an impulse to the interests of evangelical religion. The
missionary institution originated in small beginnings,
but now it has sent forth a hundred missionaries, who
are labouring in various quarters at home and abroad,
—some supported by the institution, others by foreign
missionary societies. The annual receipts are not less
than £6000. Two missionary magazines and three re-
ligious periodicals are published in the town of Basle,
with a population of 16,000—no small indication surely
of its missionary spirit and zeal.
If from Basle we now turn to Berne, the prospect
which meets the Christian eye is not Jess pleasing. As
in the former case so here the political struggles of the
last few years between the aristocratic and democratic
parties have been sanctified to the spiritual good of
many. Not a few have been led to look for happiness to
better things than party power and triumph, and under
252 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

difficulty and disappointment have found consolation

in the gospel of Christ. The reign of Socinianism is
at an end, and an extensive religious revival pervades
the canton ; wherever the gospel is preached the peo-
ple flock in crowds to hear it; almost all the minis-
ters are orthodox, and a great number are truly
evangelical preachers. A new university has lately
been established, which will render it unnecessary for
young men to repair to Germany for the completion of
their studies. This will protect them against various
hazards. The professors of the new university are all
said to be men not only of talent, but of strictly evange-
lical views. Dr. Paterson states that the Sabbath is
better observed in Rerne than in any town of the Con-
tinent which he had visited. This is not saying little
for the religion of men in a quarter where the Sabbath
is generally so much desecrated. It is only true Chris-
tianity which can ever lead men suitably to value it.
On the same authority, we are informed that there is a
Missionary Society in Berne, which numbers seven
thousand members, and that throughout the canton
there are a hundred and twenty stations for prayer.
Another testifies that a great many bibles and tracts
have been distributed throughout the towns and villages
of the canton, and have lent an important influence in
hastening on and extending the revival. The whole
population is estimated at 330,000—of whom 40,000
professedly belong to the church of Rome.
The next Protestant canton which briefly solicits our
attention is that of Zurich, the canton of Zuingle the
celebrated Swiss Reformer. Sad to tell, no part of
Switzerland has been more poisoned with German Neo-
logy, but here also there is a return towards the truth.
A weekly journal is published at the capital, entitled
the Evangelical Church Gazette of Switzerland, which
advocates the peculiar doctrines of the gospel, and has
a wide circulation. Not long ago, a handsome monu-
ment was erected by the pastors and people of Zurich
to the honour of Zuingle. It consists of a block of
rough granite; on two sides there are inscriptions on
iron plates—one of them consists of the memorable
words used by the Reformer at the moment he fell de.
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 258

fending the cause of Christ and the liberty of his eoun-

try—* They can kill the body but not the soul.” Thou-
sands attended from a distance to witness the solemn
dedication of so interesting a memorial of events which
passed three hundred years ago, and all discovered
deep sympathy with the Scriptural principles and ex-
alted sentiments to which the speakers testified.—
But perhaps the most satisfactory proof of the revived
religious feeling of Zurich, and a very recent one, is to
be found in the noble constitutional resistance which
has been offered by the whole body of the people te
the appointment of Dr. Strauss, as a professor of theo-
logy in their university. This gentleman, if I am not
mistaken, was expelled from Tubigen for his infidelity.
He is the author of a work, entitled “the Life of
Christ,” which has not the credit of originality, but
consists of a compilation of all the infidel notions
which have been started regarding our blessed Lord.
His object is to show that Jesus Christ is an ideal re-
presentation, and never had any personal existence.
This he attempts to make out by a course of criticism
which, as has been well shown by one of his many
successful antagonists, would on the same principles
entitle us to call in question the existence of such
persons as Luther and Napoleon Bonaparte. In the
face of this the newly created democratic magistrates
of Zurich, who had no religion themselves, and who
thought Strauss’s speculations were in accordance with
the spirit of the age, appointed him to the vacant chair.
The people were indignant at such an insult to their
own piety and the recognised evangelical faith of the
country, and assembled in meetings—regularly organizea
all over the province, and ere long sent in remonstrances
and petitions signed by the whole adult male popula-
tion of the canton—by 40,000 persons out of a popu-
lation of 200,000. The spirit of calmness, harmony,
zeal, and courage, with which this was accomplished
was of the noblest kind. The magistrates, after betak-
ing themselves to a thousand shifts utterly unworthy of
men who professed to be the friends of liberty and after
being defeated in them all, were constrained to aban-
don the appointment on condition that Strauss should
954 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

receive from the state an annual pension of a thousand

francs. Thus has the cause of Evangelical réligion
triumphed in the canton of Zurich, over popular but
infidel magistrates. Of course it is not supposed that all
who bore a part in the successful remonstrance I have
described were true Christians; but, from the evange
Jical strain which pervades the public papers and ad-
dresses on the subject, it is plain that love to the gospel
was a ruling motive, and that this was so generally felt
by the people as to draw all for the time at least under
its influence. Hence the petition was at once unanimous
and national. No one will imagine that the same
spirit could have been excited and the same result
realised twenty years ago. Matters may have subse-
quently proceeded to violence, but that does not affect
the merits of the case, and on this point I am not pos-
sessed of sufficient information to form any judgment.
The revived evangelic feeling of the canton is plain,
and that is the point which is before us.
The last illustration of the revival of true Christianity
among the churches of the Reformation to which I
shall refer is what has appeared within the last twenty
years in the canton of Vaud. Here the outpouring of
the Spirit of God has been most abundant and conspi-
cuous. Keen was the persecution which at an early
stage was awakened and for many years maintained.
The cruelty was worthy of the inquisitors of the Church
of Rome. Not only Socinian pastors and magistrates,
but the body of the people, the mob, who are supposed
to be always the friends of the suffering and the
enemies of persecution, gladly bore a part in the in-
fliction. The sufferings of the faithful men of the
Pays de Vaud clearly show, that though Socinians
boast of the rule of reason and the love of freedom,
they can be the greatest oppressors, and the same suf-
ferings prove, that other parties besides Established
churches can persecute—that a Swiss Socinian mob,
though without any civil power, is not more kind than
an Irish Popish mob in the same circumstances. In
short, that persecution is not an accidental peculiarity,
but a principle of man’s fallen nature to be met with in
all till they are renewed by the Spirit of God, and in
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 255

some even after that renewal. Blessed be God, per-

secution did not extinguish the truth in the canton
of Vaud. The more that good men were maltreated,
the more did their evangelical principles spread. It is
estimated, that out of one hundred and fifty-nine pastors,
nearly one hundred and twenty are pious men, while
all are orthodox; and that in fifty parishes a decided
religious awakening has appeared. ‘The entire popula-
tion is reckoned at 173,000, so that there is a pretty
full provision of religious instruction for the people;
especially as there are twenty Dissenting evangelical
churches besides. There are not less than ten religious
societies for the distribution of Bibles and Tracts, and
promoting the cause of missions. With regard to Lu-
saune, which is the capital of the canton—the town in
other days of Rousseau and Gibbon, the leading infidels
of their time, it is cheering to learn that all the pastors
are evangelical men, and that the professors of the uni-
versity, fourteen in number, participate in the same
spirit and sentiments. This holds out delightful hopes
for the future. Not a few of the ministers are men of
high talent—many are learned in the Scriptures—all
are well educated. Lusaune, with a population not much
exceeding 10,000, has not less than three Missionary
Societies, and besides a Bible, a Tract, and a Sabbath
Observance Society. And yet the whole change in the
canton, so happy and hopeful, originated with a very
humble instrument—a pious female, who distributed
tracts, and who was ridiculed and persecuted for doing
so. Thus is it oftentimes with God. His ways are
not as our ways, nor His thoughts as our thoughts. In
several of the blessed revivals which we have been con-
templating He first employed, not pastors of high talent
and acknowledged reputation, but laymen, peasants,
females! What can better proclaim that the work is
Hisown? It may be added, as an indication of the re-
vival which has taken place so decidedly in the canton
of Vaud, that the pastors are endeavouring to restore
the ancient order and discipline of the Reformed church ;
to associate laymen with ministers in the government,
and to draw those fences around ordinances which the
Head of the church himself appointed.
956 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS IN THE

Though the churches of the United States of Ameria

are, strictly speaking, not churches of the Reformatio },
but of a late date, yet I should have rejoiced to have
borne testimony to the revival which has taken place in
not a few of them within the last twenty years. But
the subject is far too extensive to be overtaken in these
hasty remarks. Suffice it to say, that though there is
much and serious religious error in many of the Ameri-
can churches—although not a few of their revivals ere
more than suspicious; yet there can be no question that
a decided and most important work of God has been
and continues to be carried forward through their in-
strumentality. Were there no other proofs, the zeal in
the circulation of the Scriptures and of religious tracts,
and in the maintenance of home and foreign missions,
would clearly show, that a large body of our American
brethren have received of the Spirit of God. This is not
invalidated by the immense religious destitution of their
own land, which they so feelingly deplore, and which
they labour so zealously to supply. Any one who has
had occasion to examine into the state of the American
churches thirty years ago, must feel, on comparing
them with the same churches at the present day, that
there is a loud call for gratitude to God for the distin-
guished improvement which has taken place,—in other
words, for the blessed revival which has been vouch-
safed.
In concluding this long addition to my lecture, I feel
that I must caution the reader against imagining, that
the revival in the churches of the Reformation, of
which I have been writing, is greater than it really is.
When one view of a subject, one class of facts, is chiefly
dwelt on, there is always a danger of men gathering a
stronger impression from it than is proper or is intended.
Let no one then abridge his sympathy, or prayers, or
labours, for the spiritual renovation of the churches of
the Reformation, as if the work were already accom-
plished. Even in the most favourable cases which
have been described, very much remains to be done;
while in many of them the change has not advanced
beyond the mere dawn of morning. Let men be thank-
ful for what God has wrought, and be encouraged to
 CHURCHES OF THE REFORMATION. 957

hope and pray for much more; in no case let them

be relaxed and at ease. ‘This were to pervert and pre-
vent God’s goodness in the work of Revivals. At the
same time, it must be borne in mind, that I have only
given the leading features of favourable change which
nave come to my knowledge. I trust and believe that
there is a vast amount of hidden goed with which God
is blessing his church, unknown to me or to “the reli-
gious world” of either this country or the Continent.
I have only to add, that my chief authorities for the
statements which I have made, and which I have not
thought it necessary minutely to specify, are the Ar-
chives du Christianisme, the Rev. Mr. Baird’s Tour,
the Letters of the French correspondent of the New
York Observer, an important religious paper, and my
own communications and correspondence with friends
either on the Continent or well acquainted with its re-
ligious character and condition
 258

LECTURE IX.
Encouragements from the History of the Church un-
der the Old and under the New Testament Dispen-
sations, to expect, pray, and labour for the Revival
of Religion.
BY THE REV. JAMES MUNRO,
MINISTER OF WEST-PARISH, RUTHERGLEN.

Many of you I presume are aware, that the eminent

and excellent servant of Christ,' to whom this lecture
was originally assigned, has been prevented by indis-
position from fulfilling his task, and I must be permit-
‘ed to say, I am painfully sensible of the great loss
which not this assemblage alone, but the Christian
public at large, has thereby sustained. The subject
upon which, in his unavoidable absence, I have been
somewhat suddenly and most unexpectedly called to
address you, is ‘The Encouragements deducible from
the history of the Church under the Old and under the
New Testament Dispensations to expect, pray, and la-
bour for the Revival of Religion.” This specification
evidently assumes, first, that such events as we deno-
minate revivals—remarkable visitations of the Holy
Spirit, rapidly encreasing the,power, and enlarging the
sphere of vital godliness, have actually occurred at dif-
ferent periods of the church’s history; and secondly,
that in the production of such events it has commonly
pleased the Father of mercies to employ, as a principal
mean, the prayers and exertions of his people. The
special business then we take it, which we have at pre-
sent on hand, is to endeavour by an appeal to Scrip-
ture, and other authentic records of the ministration
of the Spirit, to show that both these assumptions are
well founded, and thus to make way for the inference,
that on condition of our duly praying and labouring
' The Rev. Robert Buchanan, Tron church, Glasgow.
 ENCOURAGEMENT, ETC. 259

for it, we have, in our own time and circumstances,

ample and conclusive warrant to expect a revival of the
Lord’s work. Now, as we do not intend to exhibit a
mere table of reference, we will not, of course, attempt
an accumulation of all the examples, fitted to advance
our object, which might be gathered from so vast a
field, but restrict ourselves to a cursory notice of a
few of the more obvious and striking; and ¢hese, for
reasons which will readily occur to those who are con-
versant with the various objections to revivals, we shall
take chiefly from the Sacred Volume.
Were one to undertake a complete history of this most
interesting class of events, he might not improperly, we
conceive, commence by adverting to that notable state-
ment:! “Then began men to call upon the name of the
Lord,” or, as the margin reads, to call themselves by the
name of the Lord. In that pregnant remark, whichever
interpretation be followed, we have no difficuity in re-
cognising an epoch in the early progress of the Re-
deemer’s kingdom,—an earnest of the outpouring of the
Spirit upon all flesh,—some visible and conspicuous
movement on the part of the church, indicative of a
marked increase of internal union; and of zeal and de-
cision in departing from, and testifying against, the
ways of accursed Cain and his followers;—in a word,
unequivocal symptoms of what we should in these days
term a revival. For another instance—one as to whose
origin and progress we have little definite information,
but the happy fruits of which are fully and distinctly
recorded—we might refer you to the period of Israel’s
wanderings in the wilderness. On the deep ungodliness
of the vast majority indeed of those who had attained
to twenty years and upwards at the Exodus, no effec-
tual impression appears to have been made, either by
the astonishing miracles of kindness and compassion
wrought on their behalf, or the terrible “vengeance taken
of their inventions;” and the desert accordingly, which
witnessed their incorrigible impenitence, became with
two solitary exceptions their grave. But upon the chil-
dren of that froward and faithless race, with such also
of the congregation as were under the age of twenty at
' Genesis, iy, 26.
260 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

the deliverance from Egypt, Jehovah was pleased, in

sovereign mercy, to bestow another heart. So abun-
dantly did he vouchsafe to bless to them the dreadful
judgments inflicted on their stiff-necked and stout-
hearted fathers—their own miraculous preservation
amid the unnumbered perils of forty years’ sojourning
in the waste howling wilderness,—together with the
prayers, the instructions, and the example, of his faith-
ful and devoted servants, Moses and Joshua, that their
love and loyalty to him shone forth with a splendour
hardly equalled, and uever surpassed by any succeeding
generation of Israel. Witness, in proof of this asser-
tion, the ardour and unanimity they displayed on occa-
sion of Achan’s sin, in searching out the presumptuous
offender, and executing upon him and his house the
awful senterce of the Divine law;—their cheerful sub-
mission, on the borders of the promised land, to the
painful and long suspended rite of circumcision,—a
transaction concerning which the Lord said unto Jo-
shua, “This day have I rolled away the reproach of
Egypt from off you;’—the upright though doubtless
precipitate eagerness with which, to vindicate the hon-
our of Jehovah, the other tribes flew to arms when in-
formed that Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, had set up
an altar, on the east of Jordan—a proceeding which sa-
voured it was conceived of sedition and schism,—the
admirable expostulation of the majority, reluctant after
all, to shed kindred blood, and the equally admirable
reply of the suspected tribes—in consequence of which,
this seemingly formidable breach was immediately heal-
ed. Attend likewise to the less direct, but not less de-
cisive evidence, that the saving grace, as well as the
special providence of their heavenly King had done for
this generation great things,—afforded by their sudden
and supernatural uprooting of the devoted nations,
which were “greater and mightier than they;” and fin-
ally, hearken to the explicit testimony of inspiration to
their worth: “I remember thee,” saith the Searcher of
hearts, speaking of this generation, “the kindness of
thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou went-
est after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not
Jeremiah, ii, 2.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 261

sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the first
fruits of his encrease.” “Cleave unto the Lord,” is the
language of Joshua, in one of his latest addresses, ‘as
ye have cone unto this day:’ and among the closing
sentences of the book that bears his name it is written,
*‘ Tsrael served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all
the eiders that overlived Joshua.”—My friends, have
none of you that are parents cause to fear that your
children are improving the matchless privileges which
you may be despising—that, under one and the same
dispensation of means and of mercy, they are pursuing
the path that leads to the heavenly Canaan, and you
as swiftly that which conducts to the saddest portion
of the reprobate?
The elders that overlived Joshua, and the generation
over whom it was their happiness to preside, having at
length gone the way of all the earth,’ “There arose an-
other generation, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the
works that he had done for Israel. And the children
of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served
Baalim.” Nor do we find that any very memorable re-
formation tock place, until we arrive at the far distant
days of Samuel the seer.—But a set time to favour
Zion was come, and consequently the fervent prayers,
of this eminently godly man were heard, his manifold
and unwearied labours to reclaim an apostate and de-
generate nation crowned with an abundant blessing.
This statement is amply verified, by the contents of
chapter seventh of the first of the two books called by
his name. There we are told, that while the Ark abode
at Kirjath-jearim, all the house of “Israel lamented af-
ter the Lord.” Urgent reasons had long existed for
such lamentation, but it is manifest, that these had
now been set home by power from on high At this
solemn and important juncture, Samuel spake unto all
the house of Israel,—through the medium it would ap-
pear of the heads of the nation—saying, “If ye do re-
turn unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away
the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and
prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve ham only,
and he will deliver you out of the hands of the Philis-
' Judges, ii, 1O—1t2.
 962 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

tines.” Let the following verse declare how cordialiy

the counsel of the holy sage was approved: then the
children of Israel did put away Baalim, and Ashtaroth,
and served the Lord only. Delighted above measure,
we may be sure, by a change so evident and salutary,
and earnestly desirous of deepening the impressions in
which it originated, Samuel gave orders to gather all
Israel to Mizpeh, that he might pray for them unto the
Lord. At his command “they gathered together, and
drew water, and poured it out before the Lord,”—as an
emblem perhaps of the fulness of their penitent sor-
row, or their joy in the returning smile of him whose
favour is life,—and “fasted on that day, and said there,
We have sinned against the Lord.” «Few words,” ob-
serves a very competent judge, in commenting on this
passage, “are here used, but they are so expressive,
that we cannot hesitate to pronounce this, one of the
most general and effectual revivals of religion which
ever took place in the Church of Israel.” As it is a
circumstance from which, whether simply or mystically
viewed, the rulers and the people of every Christian
land have much to learn, we must not omit to remind
you, that on this, as on many similar occasions,—some
of which will straightway fall under our notice,—the
God of truth and mercy was pleased to signify and seal
his gracious acceptance of his repentant heritage, by a
signal interposition of Providence, at once bringing de-
liverance to them, and destruction on their foes: for
the Philistines having at this very time gone up against
Israel,—as they drew near to battle, “the Lord thun-
dered with a great thunder on that day upon the Phil-
istines, and discomfited them, and they were smitten
defore Israel.”
The Monarchs of Israel were repeatedly made the
instruments of arresting the progress of national cor-
ruption and decay, and restoring to the paths of right-
eousness, the feet of an erring and unstable people.
Neither the church, nor the nation, had cause to rejoice
in the first of this new order of rulers; but the reign of
his renowned successor was fruitful of blessings to both.
In the son of Jesse, flagrant as were some of his per-
sonal delinquencies, religion found, throughout the long
 HISTORY OF TILE CHURCH. 263

lapse of his chequered sway, a powerful friend, a stren-

uous promoter, and in the main a bright example of its
practical ascendancy. And no one can fail to remark,
on the slightest survey of his history, that the combined
influence of David's ardent piety and active zeal, his
transcendent gifts of devotional and prophetic song, so
nobly exercised,—his exalted rank and splendid success
in fighting the battles of the Lord, was productive of
incalculable spiritual benefit to his kingdom. But the
point perhaps where his reign presents the strongest
contrast, in respect of the prevalence and the power of
godliness, to that of his hapless predecessor—the time
at which the heart of the nation appears to have flowed
most freely and joyously forth, in confidence and love
to the Rock of Israel, was that of the removal of the
ark from its long imprisonment at Kirjath-jearim, to
the abode prepared for it on Mount Zion.—Of the spe-
cial presence, the covenant favour of Jehovah, the ark
was one of the most sacred symbols; and when we re-
member that, for seventy years and upwards, it had been
permitted to remain in obscurity and neglect: and see
it at length, amid the rapturous alleluias of Judah’s as-
sembled thousands, conducted to its appointed sanc-
tuary; is it possible to avoid the conclusion, that God
hath been visiting and reviving his alienated inheritance,
and causing many of them to drink deeply of the spirit
of the man after his own heart?—And say, brethren,
are not these the scenes that confer true dignity on
states and kingdoms, and immortal value on their his-
tory;=—the prince, in his princely capacity, taking the
lead in doing homage to the name, and forwarding the
cause of the Most High; and the people cordially and
unanimously following his steps?
The building of the temple, the most superb and
costly structure perhaps ever reared on earth, goes far
to prove, that the peaceful reign of Solomon was
adorned in its earlier days by no small portion of that
warm and wide-spread piety which his father David
had laboured so devoutly and successfully to diffuse.
A work of such magnitude could not rationally have
been undertaken in the circumstances of Solomon, save
with the hearty co-operation of his people; and this, a
264 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

strong and lively desire for the promotion of the Divine

glory alone could have secured. But it is evident—
in accordance with the infallible promise—* Them that
honour me, I will honour”’—that Jehovah lifted the
light of his countenance with especial brightness on
his chosen—vouchsafed unto them a season ofpeculiarly
intimate and animating communion, at the consecration
of this glorious monument of national veneration and
affiance. Rarely has this fallen world exhibited a spec-
tacle of more interesting and impressive solemnity than
that which the sacred historian sets before us in con-
cluding the description of that magnificent ceremony.
The beautiful dedicatory prayer had now been offered,
the fire had ‘come down from heaven and consumed the
burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the
Lord filled the house, and the priests could not enter,
because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s
house ;’—at this unspeakably solemn moment it was,’
that all the children of Israel, having seen “how the
fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the
house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the
ground upon the pavement, and worshipped and praised
the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his mercy endureth
for ever.” With this sublime and affecting picture of
a whole nation prostrate as one man before his footstool,
who ever, while he casteth down the proud, exalts the
humble ;—we are nothing surprised that the sacred
festivities brought at length to a close, “the king sent
the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart
for the goodness that the Lord had showed unto David,
and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.”
The heart of Solomon was turned away for a time in his
old age, from the service of the Lord to the love of idols—
a fearful warning to all to take heed and beware of the
leaven of superstition and irreligion. This grievous
defection his people were not slow to imitate, and with
slight and transient interruptions the tide of apostacy
prevailed and grew until the accession of his great
grandson Asa. But Asa “did that which was good
and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: For? he
took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high
© 2 Chronicles, vii, 3. 2 2 Chronicles, xiv, 3.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 265
places, and brake down the images, and cut down the
groves, and cominanded Judah to seek the Lord God
of their fathers, and to do the law and the command-
ment. Also he took away out of all the citi’s ofJudah
the high places and the images.” The extent of this
reformation gives an awful conception of the extent o.
the previous corruption. How deep, how lamen‘able
the contrast implied in the words just quoted, to the
time at which David brought up the Ark to Zion—to
the day on which Solomon dedicated the temple. But
it is not more painful and humiliating to contemplate
the dreadful amount of the previous degeneracy, than
instructive and exhilarating to mark the happy conse-
quences of the noble reformation thus far so speedily
effected by the vigorous zeal of Asa, and the rapid dif-
fusion of his principles throughout the body of his peo-
ple. To illustrate these observations let us refer again
to the inspired narrative. “He took away the altars
of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake
down the images, and cut down the groves; and com-
manded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers,
and to do the law and the commandment. Also he
took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places
and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.”
And he built fenced cities in Judah, for the land had
rest, and he had no war in those years, because the
Lord had given him rest. Therefore he said unto Ju-
dah, “ Let us buiid these cities, and make about them
walls and towers, while the land is yet before us, be-
cause we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought
him, and he hath given us rest on every side; so they
built and prospered.” The remainder of this chapter,
containing as it does a striking example of the blessed
effects of faith united with prudence in the hour of
danger, is hardly less applicable to our subject—but we
must pass on, without further comment, to the still more
apposite matter of the chapter following. There we
learn, that after all which had been done, the refurma-
tion of the land from idolatry was yet far from being
complete; and by what means the Spirit of God pre-
pared the hearts of Asa and his people to resume and
carry forward the good work. And Asa, we are told,!
' 2 Ch¢onicles, xv, 8.
266 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

‘took courage, and put away the abominable idols out

of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities
which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the
altar of the Lord that was before the porch of the Lord.
Awd he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the
strangers with them, out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and
sat of Simeon; (for they fell to him out of Jsraed in
ibundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was
with him,) “so they gathered themselves together at
Jerusalem”—(this, it has been remarked, seems to
have been a voluntary assembly by common agreement,
rather than by the king’s command or invitation, unless
we suppose it to have been at one of the great festivals)
—‘in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. And
they offered unto the Lord, seven hundred oxen and
seven thousand sheep. And they entered into a cove-
nant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all
their: heart and with all their soul: that whosoever
would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put
to death, whether small or great, whether man or wo-
man. And they sware unto the Lord with a loud
voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with
cornets. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they
had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their
whole desire, and he was found ofthem, and the Lord gave
them rest round about.” It is impossible, we think, for
any one attentively to compare the religious estate of
Judah when Asa ascended the throne, with its condi-
tion as pourtrayed in this passage, without being con-
strained to acknowledge, that step by step a mighty im-
provement hath taken place—a wonderful resuscitation of
genuine piety. Asa planted, the son of Oded watered,!
and the Lord hath given in his own time a rich and
rapid increase. May he, of his great mercy, incline
and enable ws, our families and friends, our church and
country, to seek him with our whole desire; then as-
suredly, of ws also he will be found, and give us rest
round about.
As a promoter of the kingdom of God, Jehoshaphat
was more than worthy of his father Asa. The Lord *
was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first
' 2 Chronicles, xv, 1—8. 2 2 Chronicles, xvii, 3.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 267

ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;

but sought unto the Lord God of his fathers, and
walked in his commandments, and not after the doings
of Israel. Having learned by experience the happiness
of such a course, he applied himself with equal wisdom
and diligence to commend it to his people. In proof
of this, it is sufficient to refer to the deep concern he
showed for their instruction in the divine law. “In
the third year of his reign ' he sent to his princes, even
to Ben-hail, &c., to teach in the cities of Judah. And
with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, &c., and
with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests. And they
taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the
Lord with them, and went about throughout all the
cities of Judah and taught the people.” From such
endeavours to advance his glory and the reconciliation
of his revolted offspring—if prosecuted in a humble and
dependent spirit, the blessing of Jehovah will never be
withheld. That itwasvouchsafed in the present instance
is significantly intimated by the declaration immediately
following the passage just quoted: ‘And the fear of the
Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were
round about Judah, so that they made no war against
Jehoshaphat.” For a fuller view of the character of
this excellent king, his activity in promoting piety and
justice, the success which crowned his labours, and the
goodness of the Lord in delivering him from the hand
of his enemies, we must refer to chapters xix and xx
of this book. From the former we learn, that on his
return to Jerusalem from the battle of Ramoth-gilead,
in which he fought as the ally of the impious Ahab, he
was met by the prophet Jehu and thus saluted, “Shouldest
thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the
Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the
Lord.” This reproof appears to have left a strong and
abiding impression—for directly we read, “Jehoshaphat
went out again through the people, from Beersheba to
mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the Lord
God of their fathers. And he set judges in the land,
throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city,
and said to the judges, Take heed what ye do, for ye
t 2 Chronicles, xvii, 7—9.
268 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you
in the judgment: wherefore now, let the fear of the
Lord be upon you; take heed and do it, for there is
no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of per-
sons, nor taking of gifts.’ ‘“ After this it came to pass!
that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon,
and with them others besides the Ammonites, came
against Jehoshaphat to battle.” Affliction is one of the
most powerful means of proving men’s hearts, as it is
of their amelioration, when accompanied by the sanc-
tifying influence of the Holy Ghost. Let us see how
it wrought at this time on Jehoshaphat and his people.
No sooner was he apprised of the formidable danger
impending over his kingdom, than .he set himself to
seek the Lord, and proclaimed, on the simple authority
of his kingly office, a fast throughout all Judah. To
keep this solemnity, to confess and bewail their own
sins and the sins of their fathers, “all Judah, with their
little ones, their wives and their children,” hastened to
Jerusalem. There, in the precincts of the temple, sur-
rounded by the trembling and disconsolate multitude,
the godly monarch preferred a short but emphatic and
appropriate prayer: “To him that ruleth over all the
kingdoms of the heathen”—imploring direction and
deliverance in this dread emergency. “‘Then® upon
Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, a Levite, came the Spi-
rit of the Lord, in the midst of the congregation. And
he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of
Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, thus saith the
Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason
of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but
God’s. ‘To-morrow go ye down against them: ye shall
not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand
ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” Upon
hearing this gracious answer to his importunate peti-
tions, “Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to
the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jeru-
salem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.
And the Levites stood up to praise the Lord God of
Israel with a loud voice on high.” Early on the
following morning, the army of Jehoshaphat went forth
' 2 Chronicles, xx, 1. 2 2 Chronicles, xx, 144—19.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 269

to meet the foe—the king exhorting his warriors to

believe in the Lord, and so be established. And when
Judah came toward the watch-tower in the wilderness.
behold the accomplishment of the promise: ‘Ye shall
not need to fight:” “they looked unto the multitude,
and they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none
escaped.” ‘Three days were they occupied in gather-
ing of the spoil, it was so much. And on the fourth
day they assembled themselves in the valley of Bera-
chah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the
name of the same place was called the valley of Bera-
chah (that is blessing) unto this day. Then they re-
turned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, to go again
to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them
to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jervu-
salem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets, untc
the house of the Lord. And the fear of God was on all
the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard
that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.
So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God
gave him rest round about.” These things, brethren,
were written for our learning: yet how few among us
are adequately acquainted with them—how much smaller
still, the number duly cognisant of the momentous les-
sons which they so simply and affectingly inculcate.
Pray, that they may this night sink deep into your
hearts, and bring forth each its corresponding fruit an
hundred-fold.
Among the princes of Judah who did that which is
right and good in the sight of the Lord a conspicuous
place must be assigned to Hezekiah. On his ascending
the throne, he found the nation reduced to the brink
of destruction by the monstrous and incorrigible im-
pieties of his father, Ahaz. The Lord brought Judah
low, because of Ahaz; for he (Ahaz) made Judah
naked and transgressed sore against the Lord. To
such enormity did his wickedness ultimately proceed,
that he gathered together the vessels of the house of
God and cut them in pieces, and shut up the doors of
the house of the Lord. And he made him altars in every
corner of Jerusalem, and in every several eity of Judah
{2 Chron. xxviil, 19.
270 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

he made high places to burn incense unto other gods,

and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.
In the fi-st year of his reign, in the first month, Heze-
kiah opened the doors of the Lord’s house and repaired
them. His next step was to assemble the Levites, who
appear to have been peculiarly infected by the corrup-
tion of the times, and enjoin them to sanctify! them-
selves and sanctify the house of the Lord God, and
carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place, and give
attention to their various important duties: at the same
time intimating his resolution to make a covenant with
the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath might
be turned away—in which he had delivered Judah
and Jerusalem to trouble, to astonishment, and
to hissing. With all despatch these injunctions were
obeyed. An atonement was then made for all Israel—
the Levites placed in the temple, with cymbals, &c.,
according to the commandment of David—the whole
service of the Lord’s house, in a word, was again “set
in order” with such celerity “that Hezekiah rejoiced,
and all the people, that God had prepared the people,
for the thing was done suddeniy.”* Having been
hitherto so evidently helped and prospered in_his
labours of love, Hezekiah, with the concurrence of his
princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, estab-
lished a decree to make proclamation? throughout all
Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should
come to keep the passover unto the Lord God of Israel
at Jerusalem; for they had not done it of a long time
in such sort, as it was written, “So the posts went with
the letters from the king and his princes throughout
all Israel and Judah, saying, Ye children of Israel,
turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you
that are escaped out of the hands of the kings of As-
syria. The posts passed from city to city through the
ceuntry of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun;
but they laughed them to scorn; nevertheless divers of
Ashur and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled them-
selves, and came to Jerusalem. Also in Judah the
‘ See Exodus, xix, 10; and Scott’s Notes on the passage.
® 2 Chron. xxix, 36. 3 2 Chron. xxx, 3.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 271
hand of God was to give them one heart to do the com-
mandment of the king by the word of the Lord. Then
there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the
feast—a very great congregation. And they arose, and
took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all
the altars for incense, and cast them into the brook
Kidron. Then they killed the Passover, and the Priests
and the Levites were ashamed—Is not the hand of God
visible in this?—and sanctified themselves, and brought
in the burnt offerings into the house of the Lord.” No
circumstance noted in the history of this memorable
festival is more entitled to our attention at present than
the following: “ A multitude of the people, even many
of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had
not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover.”
But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: “The goon.
Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek
the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleanse
according to the purification of the sanctuary... Ana
the Lord hearkened unto Hezekiah, and healed the
people.” The more important particulars of this cele-
brated passover, yet unnoticed, and its immediate prac-
tical results, are these: “The children of Israel kep:
the feast seven days with great gladness. And Heze-
kiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taugh.
the good knowledge of the Lord. And the whole as-
sembly took counsel to keep the feast other seven days,
and they kept other seven days with gladness: for
Hezekiah did give to the congregation a thousand bul-
locks and seven thousand sheep, and the princes gave
to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thou-
sand sheep, and a great number of the priests sanctified
themselves. And all the congregation of Judah and or
Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land ot
Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced. So there was
great joy in Jerusalem—since the time of Solomon there
was not the like. Then the priests arose, and blessed
' Compare 1 Corinthians, xi, 29, 30.
? As illustrative still further of the holy issues of the manifes¢
work of grace developed and matured by meaus of this grea:
sclemnity, we would recommend to you the careful perusal o:
the entire chapter, from the commencement of which we have
just been quoting. What follows is so strikingly to our purpose
272 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer
came up to his holy dwelling-place, even unto heaven.
When all this was finished, all Israel that were present
went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images
in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the
high places and the altars out of all Judah and Ben-
jamin; in Ephraim also, and Manasseh, until they had
utterly destroyed them all. Then, not sooner, every
man returned to his possession.”
Feeling that there is refreshment, revival in the very air
and aspect of suchscenes, which ofyou, believing brethren,
is not ready in the fulness of his heart to exclaim, Is this
the Judah which Ahaz made naked—this the Jerusalem
which not many months ago was polluted in every
corner by detestable vanities? Blessed be the Spirit
by whose almighty energy they were wrought—for the
record of these marvels; and blessed be his name who
hath promised to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him.
Notwithstanding the measure of reformation brought
about by Manasseh after “he was humbled,” the
that we must be excused for extracting it: “Hezekiah, more-
over, commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the
portion of the Priests and the Levites, that they might be en-
couraged in the law of the Lord. And as soon as the command-
ment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance
the first fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the
increase of the field. The children of Israel and Judah, that
dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of
oxen and sheep which were consecrated unto the Lord, and laid
them by heaps. And when Hezekiah and the princes saw the
heaps they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. Then Heze-
kiah questioned with the priests concerning the heaps—from their
magnitude, supposing, it would seem, that those priests who had
charge of the oblations, instead of distributing a due proportion
to their brethren, intended to reserve the whole for themselves.
Azariah, the chief priest of the house of Zadok, answered him
and said, since the people began to bring the offerings we have
had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed
his people, and that which is left is this great store. It has here
been pertinently observed, “The disinterestedness of the priests
was highly commendable; for they might have easily enriched
themselves without being suspected; and the whole transaction
enlarges our idea of the blessing which had attended the preced-
ing solemnity; for before this the priests seem to have been
generally very careless and ungodly.”
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. Die

worship of Jehovah, in less than sixty years from the

death of Hezekiah, had again become well nigh ex-
tinct in apostate Judah. With the accession of Josiah,
however, a day of parting glory arose on the wastes of
Zion. He was yet a child when the sceptre of a back
slidden nation passed into his hands. Many, therefore,
and peculiar must his temptations have been to follow
other gods, and choose his portion in this life; never-
theless, the grace to which no obstacles are invincible,
effectually inclined him in the eighth year of his reign,
the sixteenth of his age, to seek after the God of David,
his father. Four years later,! he began to purge
Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the
groves, and the carved images, and the molten images,
And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his pre-
sence, and the images, and made dust of them, and
strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed
unto them; and when he had broken down the altars,
and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of
Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. These sweeping and
determined exertions for the abolition of idolatry were
followed up (in spirit) by the appointment of a com-
mission to repair the temple—a business in course of
which an incident occurred that gave a powerful im-
pulse to the zeal of the youthful reformer, and the
cause of truth among his partly awakened subjects.
This was the discovery of a book of the law, (probably
the original writing deposited in the ark by Moses,) in
some obscure by-place of the temple. For the sake of
magnifying the importance of this discovery, we need
not suppose that besides this no other roll of the
“Scripture” then existed in the land. One thing seems
obvious, that neither the king nor the principal officers
of religion possessed a copy, or knew at least they did;
and that both were but imperfectly acquainted with its
contents; so that in effect the book of the covenant had
in a great measure ceased outof the land ;* andits appear-
! 2Chronicles, xxxiv, 3.
2 Who does not recollect that to this dismal picture the whole
extent of Papal Christendom presented for ages a dreadful
parallel? Who knows not that if Popery had its will, the sight
of a Bible, ay even in Scotland, emphatically the land of Bibles,
would soon again become a wonder—‘“a new thing under the
274 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

ance on this much to be remembered occasion was as

if “one had risen from the dead.” The book having
been brought to the king, it came to pass that when
he heard the words of the law, he rent his clothes, and
in the utmost consternation, sent to enquire of the di-
vine oracle by the prophetess Huldah, whether the awful
curses denounced against apostacy would indeed be
executed. The answer returned to him was—Mark it,
ye careless sinners, ponder it, ye that mourn in Zion;
thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold I will bring
evil upon this place, even all the curses that are written
in the book which they have read before the king; and
as for the king, say unto him, because thine heart was
tender, and thou didst humble thyself, and rend thy
clothes and weep before me, behold I will gather thee
to thy fathers in peace. A message from God at once
so consoling and so terrible could not fail still more
profoundly to humble the soul of the contrite king,
and engage him with the deepest simplicity and earnest-
ness to say, “ Lord, what wouldest thou have me to do?”
How well this remark harmonizes with the brief outline
of his future proceedings none of you will be at a loss
to perceive. Here we can further trace them only to
the extent of the following extract, omitting all notice
of the great passover, respecting which it is said:
‘There was no passover like to that from the days of
Samuel.” And the king* went up into the house of
the Lord, and all the men of Judah, great and small,
and he read in their ears all the words of the book of
the covenant; and he caused all that were present in
Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to i¢; and the inha-
bitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of
God, the God of their fathers. And Josiah took away
all the abominations out of all the countries that per-
tained to the children of Israel, and made all that were
present in Israel to serve the Lord their God; and all
his days they departed not from following the Lord, the
God of their fathers.” We are aware that the impres-
sion naturally produced by these striking statements at
sun’? At the bare idea of such a consummation what heart
does not shudder? The mighty God of Jacob defend us and our
posterity from it!
{2 Chron. xxxiv, 23. 2% Chron. xxxiv, 29.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 975

first sight requires greatly to be modified, since we

find Jehovah complaining, apparently of this very
generation:! “Judah hath not turned unto me with
her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord.” Still
it would be contrary to all analogy to suppose, that
amidst such a multitude of dissemblers, there were not
a goodly number of genuine converts.
These aresome of the more prominent revivals by which
the era of the first Jewish monarchy is distinguished.
Let us next shortly advert to certain events relating to
the return of the captives from Babylon, fully entitled, it
would seem, to be called by that name. The prema-
ture and sorely lamented death of Josiah was the sunset
of Judah's glory. Her descent to destruction was from
that hour as the stone that is hurled from the moun-
tain’s brow. The madness of idolatry, arrested for a
season, again rolled an impetuous and resistless flood
over the length and breadth of the land, and fierce and
furious on its track came the torrent of Jehovah's wrath.
Within a few years, Jehoiakim and certain of the choice
of his people, had been bound and carried away captive
to Babylon; and in twenty years from that “beginning
of sorrows,” Jerusalem and the temple were a heap of
ruins; and thousands more of the flower of the nation
had hanged their harps on the willows “by Babel’s
streams.” But grievously as they had rebelled, and
justly as they merited to be given over to destruction,
Jehovah had not cast off his chosen for ever. Jere-
miah, who with others of the prophets, had foretold, in
the most awful terms, the coming desolation, had
further been commissioned to declare that at the end
of seventy years, God would revisit his people in peace,
and restore them to their own land; and, moreover, that
their restoration would be preceded by a signal revival
of his fear in their hearts. Thus saith the Lord, * after
seventy years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit
you, and perform my good word, in causing you to
return to this place; then shall ye call upon me, and
ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto
you; ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search
for me with all your heart. And now that the empire
t Jererniah, iii, 10. 2 Jeremiah, xxix, 10.
276 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

of Chaldea hastened to its fall, and the day of Israel's

release drew nigh, we find Ezekiel himself among the
captives, by his example, his prayers, and his preaching,
an efficient instrument of fanning the feeble embers
of faith and piety which still survived in a small
remnant of his brethren in bondage, declaring, in lan-
guage still more distinctly descriptive of spiritual reno-
vation, that their return to the land would be accom-
panied by a great turning of their hearts to the God of
their fathers: “I will sprinkle clean water‘ upon you
and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness and from
all your idols will I cleanse you; a new heart also will
I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.”
In accordance with these predictions is the account
given of the first return of the captive Jews under the
conduct of Zerubbabel. ‘Then, upon the proclamation
of Cyrus,” which was evidently the result of supernatural
influence, “rose up the chief of the fathers* of Judah
and Benjamin, and the Priests and the Levites, with all
whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the
house of the Lord.” The number who experienced
this divine quickening was upwards of forty-two thou-
sand, and the reality and force of it are satisfactorily
evinced in the vigour with which they began, and the
stedfastness with which they continued to prosecute the
grand object of their return.
After an interval of between seventy and eighty
years, Ezra the scribe, one of the most distinguished
names in the Jewish annals, came from Babylon to
Jerusalem, with as many of those still in captivity as
were minded to accompany him—bearing a commis-
sion from Artaxerxes, to enquire how far the law of
God was observed in Judah—to rectify whatever dis-
orders he might find, and to complete the decorations
of the temple—the building of which, after many vex-
atious interruptions, had at length been finished. The
presence of such a man at Jerusalem was at this time
urgently required, and led by the blessing of Heaven to
highly important and salutary consequences. He found
many of his countrymen—although as a nation they
never after their deliverance from Babylon actually
€ Ezekiel, xxxvi, 25. 2 Ezra, i, 5.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 277

addicted themselves to gross idolatry, on the high way

thither. For not the people only, but a number also ot
the Priests and Levites, had taken to them wives from
among the daughters of the surrounding heathen—a
practice strictly prohibited by the law of Moses and
strongly tending, it is obvious, to departure from “the
Fountain of living waters.” This intelligence pierced
the heart of the holy man with the most poignant
sorrow. He rent his garment and his mantle, plucked
the hair from his head, and sat down in speechless
astonishment :—How beautiful an example of Christian
sensibility and compassion. He then prayed in an
agony of shame and humiliation, magnifying the tender
mercy of Jehovah, and confessing the heinous back-
slidings of his covenant people. The sight of a man
eminent at once for character and station thus humbled,
thus afflicted by sins not his own, had a powerful effect
both in awakening penitent feelings in the hearts of
others, and in deepening and drawing them forth where
they already existed. Around him gathered every one
that “trembled at the words of God ”—and forthwith
crowds of men, women, and children, bathed in tears.
The issue corresponded to this promising omen—the
offenders saw and confessed their guilt, and to prove the
sincerity of their repentance, agreed to put away their
idolatrous wives, and the children they had by them.
We are not prepared to maintain that none of those
who consented to a measure so singular and so trying
were actuated mainly by the wisdom of this world;
but neither can we hesitate to affirm, that the obvious
impression of the sacred narrative is, that the majority
went into it from deep and pungent convictions of sin,
and a sincere desire of reconciliation with their offended
Father in heaven.
From the period to which we have just referred,
twelve or fourteen years had again elapsed, when it
pleased God to raise up in the person of Nehemiah, cup-
bearer to Artaxerxes, another zealous and effective
agent both of temporal and spiritual good to the rem-
nant of the captivity now established in Judah. Hear-
ing of the affliction and reproach which lay upon his
brethren, by reason of the walls of Jerusalem being still
978 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

unbuilt, he determined to ask permission of his royal

master to go thither and build—as he pathetically de-
scribes the object of his journey—the “city of my
fathers’ sepulchres.” His request, in answer to special
and importunate prayer for its success, was readily
granted, and he quickly set forth on his pious embassy,
provided with an armed escort, and a letter to the
keeper of the king’s forest to furnish him with the re-
quisite supply of timber for the work. In a marvel-
lously short space of time, despite of the bitter and
furious opposition of the Samaritans, he was enabled
by the good hand of his God upon him to complete
the primary object of his mission—the restoration of
the walls and the gates of Jerusalem. ‘This it is evi-
dent was a work eminently calculated to subserve the
interests of pure religion—and who can refuse to ac-
knowledge, in the enthusiastic ardour, energy, and re-
solution of the builders,! the fruit of a sudden spring
shower of gracious influence on their hearts? After
this, it was represented to Nehemiah, that many of the
wealthier and more influential of his countrymen had
been guilty of sorely oppressing their poor brethren by
the exaction of exorbitant interest on money lent them
to pay the king’s tribute, and purchase corn in a time
of dearth. He instantly espoused the cause of the op-
pressed with all the warmth of a generous and compas-
sionate heart, and remonstrated with the evil-doers in
terms so forcible and appropriate, that they immedi-
ately agreed to restore their ill-gotten gains, declaring,
“ As thou sayest we will do.” It is not every day, nor
among every description of men, that a simple appeal
to conscience is followed by such results. On this af-
fair Scott’s remark is excellent—* Thus,” says he, ‘ was
this matter in one assembly amicably settled by mo-
tives and arguments taken from true religion, and the
law of God: yet one of a similar kind disturbed the
Roman state for ages, and the oppression was never
effectually prevented !—But the most important and
interesting passage by far of Nehemiah’s history, espe-
cially in relation to our present occupation, is that in
which he is represented as zealously labouring along
{ Nehemiah, iv, 13, &c.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 279

with Ezra to iustruct the people in the Divine law,

and excite in them the sorrow that worketh repentance.
Being assembled in great numbers at Jerusalem to
keep the feast of trumpets, the people’ gathered them-
selves together as one man into the street, and required
Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law which the
Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra brought
the law before the congregation, both of men and wo-
men, and all that could hear with understanding—and
he read therein from the morning until mid-day, before
the men and the women, and those that could under-
stand, and the ears of all the people were attentive:
And deeply did the ears of many affect their hearts.
The voice of contrite weeping and holy joy alternately
prevailed, as Ezra from a pulpit of wood made for the
purpose, and the Priests and Levites—having probably
separate audiences, since one man’s voice could not
possibly extend over such a concourse—“
read in the
law distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused the peo-
ple to understand the reading.” On the second day,
the chief of the fathers, the Priests and the Levites,
being gathered together unto Ezra, even to understand
the words of the law, that is, that Ezra might explain
to them such portions of it as they less fully compre-
hended,—it was resolved to keep the feast of Taber-
nacles, as the law enjoined. The people accordingly
made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of
his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the
house of God: since the days of Joshua haa not the
children of Israel done so: and there was very great
gladness:—Also day by day he real in the book of
the law. Every thing is beautiful in his season :—
Nehemiah and Ezra had exhorted the people on the
first day of the month not to weep, but to rejoice in
the Lord, agreeably to the spirit of the festival they
were met to solemnize. On the 24th day, however, and
doubtless by the authority of Nehemiah, the children
of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sack-
clothes and earth upon them: And the seed of Israel
separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and
confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
€ Nehemiah, viii, }, &c.
280 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

The long-suffering mercy, the distinguishing favour of

Jehovah towards his chosen nation, and the heinous in-
gratitude which they had shown in return, were then
largely discoursed of by the Levites,—probably at
different stations, as when previously they expounded
the law. The sequel proves that these penitential ex-
ercises were greatly blessed: For they are no sooner
brought toa close than we read that the people, old and
young, men and women, as many as had understanding,
entered into a solemn covenant drawn up in writing, to
which Nehemiah and the other principal persons affixed
their names and seals, to walk in God’s law and ob-
serve and do all his commandments: In particular
they engaged to renounce their besetting sins, the
great decisive proof of sincere repentance, namely to
abstain from ali marriage alliances with the surround-
ing heathen—to buy from them no ware or victuals on
the Sabbath, and to contribute regularly to the due
support of the Temple services.
With these brief and very imperfect remarks on the
times of special refreshment and reviving vouchsafed
unto the church of Israel previous to the winding up
of her history, in so far as it is recorded in Scripture,
we must hasten—passing entirely by the long interval,
not even excepting the noble contendings of the Mac-
cabees for the faith of their fathers—to the opening of
the New Testament dispensation. Now to all who
have bestowed any measure of attention on the subject,
it 1s well known the Jews had at this ever-memorable
epoch sunk unto the lowest depth of degeneracy and
corruption. A small remnant indeed with aged Simeon
waited in patience and hope for the trne consolation
of Israel, but the body of the nation, priests and people
—(notwithstanding that by many the form of the
Mosaic worship was still zealously regarded )—were to
the last degree in their principles perverse, in their ha-
bits depraved. The fearful picture which Isaiah has
left of the profligacy of his countrymen in the days
which he illumined and adorned is yet more applicable
in its darkest features to the contemporaries of the
Saviour: “ Ah sinful nation, a people laden with ini-
quity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters!
 HISTORY OF THE CHUBCH. 281

They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the

holy one of Israel unto anger, they are gone away
backward. The whole head is sick, and the whole
heart faint,—from the sole of the foot even unto the
head there is no soundness in it.” I cannot forbear,
says Josephus, declaring my opinion, though the decla-
ration fills me with great emotion and regret, that if
the Romans had delayed to come against these wretches,
the city would either have been engulphed by an earth-
quake, overwhelmed by a deluge, or destroyed by fire
from heaven as Sodom was, for that generation was
far more enormously wicked than those who suffered
these calamities: And thou, Capernaum, said Jesus,
which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down
to hell: for if the mighty works which have been done
in thee had been done in Sodom it would have re-
mained until this day. Such were the seed of Abra-
ham according to the flesh, in those days when John
the Baptist began in the wilderness of Judea to preach
“ Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” To
move the hearts of such men, no ordinary style of ad-
dress was required. That of the Baptist was in the
highest degree searching, arousing, pungent. The
spirit of Elias burned in his breast—the power thun-
dered in his voice. And who can doubt that his minis-
try was extensively blessed as he reads, “ Then went out
to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region
round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jor-
dan confessing their sins”—that all the peuple who
heard him and the publicans justified God? who can
doubt that, while the great majority heard him only as
Herod heard, and were willing but for a very little
while to walk in his light, nevertheless the prediction
of Gabriel wasnot suffered to fall to the ground—“ Many
of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their
God” r
Unto the people whom the Baptist had been labour-
ing to make ready “the Lord their God” at length ap-
peared, in fashion “as a man,” preaching the gospel of
the kingdom. Here then it were most natural to anti-
cipate, if unacquainted with the fact, the dawn of a re-
vival day totally eclipsing all that had gone before
 282 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THe

But, turning from conjecture to history, we find that

the immediate spiritual fruits of the Saviour’s personal
ministry were comparatively small and inconsiderable.
Not many hundreds at most were effectually persuaded,
it would seem, to repent and believe the gospel by the
instructions and appeals of God manifest in fesh. A
more solemn truth than this can hardly be conceived.
—lIt supplies, however, no argument against the use or
the importance of means of grace: it only shows that
the most excellent, the most perfect means are in and
by themselves powerless—utterly unequal to the quick-
ening of souls dead in trespasses and in sins. The na-
tural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit—not it
declared by the lips of inspiration—not even at the
mouth of Emmanuel himself. Brethren, this is a doc-
trine which in proportion to its infinite importance we
are slow to learn and prone to forget. To bring it
home to our minds with a power, a pressure which no
direct statements could equal, may not this have been
one reason why so few real converts were made by Him
who “spake as never man spake” ?—But it is neces-
sary to remark that, to however limited an extent the
personal ministry of the Saviour issued in the actual sal-
vation of sinners, the whole period of his public life was
marked by unwonted religious excitement and agita-
tion. On the soul of the nation no longer lay unbro-
ken, undisturbed the torpor of spiritual death ;—The
legions of darkness gave violent signs of their conscious-
ness that some strange jeopardy had encompassed their
dominion on earth;—The enmity of the carnal mind
was roused to the highest pitch of exasperation. —
Meanwhile a great preparatory work was proceeding in
the hearts of many elect unto eternal life. The pro-
found awakening—the manifest revival—begun by the
Baptist was sustained and advanced. Hypocrisy was
fearlessly unmasked, and unsparingly scourged, in the
high places of her strength—sophistries were refuted,
prejudices undermined,—in a word, multitudes were
unquestionably led to solemn enquiry and reflexion—
trembling seized the heart of many a secure and slum-
bering sinner, and seed was sown which afterwards
sprang up in a sudden and glorious harvest.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 283

To the contemplation of that bright and blessed era

your thoughts are next for a moment to be directed.
From his tears and travail on earth let us now then fol-
low our adorable Emmanuel to his exaltation on the
right hand of the Father: with his enthronement there
the proper age of the Holy Spirit began—the fulness
of the times arrived for the dispensation of his saving
influences unto all flesh. From the foundation of the
church the Spirit’s power had been felt, the fruits of
his love made manifest; but henceforth, his precious
gifts were ta be communicated with a plenitude, a lib-
erality before unknown. The star-light which he had
shed upon a solitary people was now to become the
splendour of the all-warming, all-vivifying sun;—the
narrow stream, in which his benign influences had here-
tofore been pent up, a majestic river rolling health and
gladness through every land. Now it was meet that
the connection between the ascension of Messiah and
the pouring out of the Spirit should be distinctly seen,
—eternally signalised. It was fitting too, that some
illustrious display of Messiah’s power and love should
be made on earth, in close conjunction with the extatic
acclamations of the blessed, as they beheld him enter
the celestial gates in human form—the triumphant
spoiler of hell and the grave,—fitting that on the very
spot where lately he had been crowned with thorns,
and nailed to an accursed tree, it should be confessed
by thousands of his bitterest enemies, and thence pro-
claimed to all countries and ages, that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, the King of Israel, the Saviour
of the world. Accordingly he had been seated but a
few days on the Mediatorial throne—and these only
to afford scope to the faith and the prayers of the feeble
company of his disciples associated at.Jerusalem—when
he shed down in unexampled profusion the miraculous
gifts, the converting and sanctifying grace of his pro-
mised Spirit. The effects of this stupendous manifes-
tation of Messiah’s kingly power and munificence were
beyond comparison or conception glorious. With
tongues and hearts of heavenly fire, his chosen heralds
forthwith began to preach glad tidings, to publish peace,
to make offer in the name of their crucified Lord, of
284 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

pardon and life eternal to the chief of sinners. The

fondly cherished dream of the restoration at that time
of the kingdom to Israel hath vanished at last, and
with it all unseemly contention who “should be the
greatest.”—The glory of their risen and exalted Mas-
ter, and the salvation of perishing sinners through faith
in his atoning blood—these are the objects which now
engross their thoughts and absord the noblest energies
of their souls,—the objects for whose sake they are
willing to renounce all that is dear on earth, to endure
all that is painful in persecution unto death. Need you
be told the success of their devoted labours: thousands
on that very day of wonders were pierced to the heart
with a sense of their guilt and misery, and enabled to
lay hold of the hope set before them.—How refreshing,
how animating to read immediately after, “the Lord
added to the church daily such as should be saved; and
again, the number of the men was about five thou-
sand; and again, multitudes of believers, both men and
women, were added to the Lord; the number of the
disciples was multiplied at Jerusalem greatly; and a
great company of the Priests were obedient to the faith.”
All this took place within two years of the descent of
the Spirit: eight years more had not elapsed before the
gospel was preached with saving power to the Gentiles
at Cesarea, and at Antioch much people added to the
Lord. With what rapidity its triumphs were multiplied,
both among them and the Jews scattered abroad, the
following testimonies relating to the next eight years of
the New Dispensation are witness. At Iconium, a great
multitude both of Jews and also of the Greeks believed:
the converts of Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, were con-
firmed in the faith, and encreased in number daily. In
Thessalonica some of the Jews believed, and of the de-
vout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women
not a few. At Berea, many of the Jews believed, also
of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men
not a few. Many at Corinth believed and were bap-
tized. The word of God grew mightily at Ephesus and
prevailed. At Athens, certain men clave unto Paul,
and Demetrius complained that, throughout all Asia,
Paul had preached and turned away much people.—
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 285
Would ye know how much in those days was implied
in such expressions as believing, being obedient to the
faith, being added to the Lord;—how they felt, how
they acted who were then called Christians? As to
the apostles, agreeably to what we have already declar-
ed of their zeal and devotedness after the Pentecost, we
find them declaring to the multitude of the disciples—
“we will give ourselves continually to prayer and the
ministry of the word: and the inspired historian of their
deeds affirms of them—that daily in the temple, and in
every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus
Christ. When renouncing the charge of the “daily
ministration” they recommend, as fit persons to become
their substitutes in that business, men of honest report,
full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom. Again, respect-
ing the general body of the faithful, we read, that for
a time, “all that believed were together, and had all
things common, and sold their possessions and goods,
and parted them to all men as every man had need.
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the tem-
ple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat
their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, prais-
ing God, and having favour with all the people.” Again,
we have the infallible witness testifying “the multitude
of them that believed were of one heart and one soul,
and great grace was upon themall. On this point let us
further hear the testimony of Paul,—writing to the
Thessalonians, he tells them, “We give thanks to God
always for you—remembering without ceasing your
work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope
in our Lord Jesus Christ; for our gospel came not to
you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy
Ghost: and ye became followers of us, and of the Lord.”
With these scriptural intimations of what Christians
were in the primitive age, let us compare one or two
passages relating to the same subject from uninspired
writings. “They bind themselves,” says Pliny, a hostile
heathen, speaking of the Asiatic Christians, “not to the
commission of any wickedness, but not to be guilty of
theft, or robbery, or adultery,—never to falsify their
word, nor to deny a pledge committed to them when
called upon to return it.” Describing the early condi-
986 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

tion of the Corinthian church, St. Clement writes, “You

were all humble in spirit—nothing boasting, subject
rather than subjecting, giving rather than receiving:
contented with the food of God, and carefully embrac-
ing his words, your feelings were expanded, and his
sufferings were before your eyes—so profound and
beautiful the peace that was given you, and so insati-
able the desire of beneficence. Every division, every
schism, was detesta'.le to you; you wept over the fail-
ings of your neighbours; you thought their defects your
own, and were impatient after every good work.” The
following testimony embraces almost the whole extent of
the then Christian world. It is from the pen of Bar-
desenes, a learned Christian of Mesopotamia, contempo-
rary with Marcus Antoninus. ‘Neither do Christians
in Parthia indulge in polygamy, though they be Par-
thians; nor do they marry their own daughters in Per-
sia, though they be Persians. Among the Bactrians
and the Gauls, they do not commit adultery, but where-
soever they are, they rise above the evdl laws and cus-
toms of the country.” My friends, has the gospel come
with such power—such effects to us?—has it raised us
above the evil laws and customs of an ungodly world,
—led us to abound in works of faith and labours of
love,—made us followers of holy Paul and of the Lord;
then are we seeking earnestly to strengthen our bre-
thren—praying without intermission that the word may
every where have free course and be glorified; that the
whole church may again become radiant with the light
of departed days—the whole earth glad in the smile of
Jesus? Many ages ago would such prayers have beer
realised had the gospel continued to spread and prevail
as in the times of the apostles: but soon was the fair
morning we have been viewing destined to be overcast,
and by degrees almost swallowed up in gloom. The
epistles to the seven churches of Asia! bear emphatic
‘ From these remarkable communications, let us extract a
single sentence in order to show in what circumstances a church
in the Saviour's account requires to be revived. ‘Unto the an-
gel of the church of Ephesus, write—I know thy works, and thy
labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear with them
which are evil; and thou hast tried them which say they are
apostles and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne,
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 237

witness to the fact, that even before the end of the first
century, palpable symptoms of declension had mani-
fested themselves in some of the earliest and most fa-
voured seats of the faith. Unhappily there is abundant
evidence that neither was the declension thus early re-
proved, of limited extent, or of brief continuance.
Long after this, indeed, the gospel continued to
diffuse its heavenly light among the benighted heathen.
sut the power which accompanied its first promulga-
tion sensibly decreased, and in fuily an equal proportion
the value of its fruits. From age to age, the vineyard
of the Lord assumed a colder, bleaker, and drearier
aspect; instead of the fir tree, came up the thorn; and
instead of the myrtle, the brier. Gradually the pro-
gressive decay of spiritual strength and vigour prepared
the way for the revelation of the Man of Sin, the Anti-
christ of Rome, who for ages held in worse than Egyp-
tian bondage almost the entire extent of western Chris-
tendom, and binds, alas! to this hour, in darkness and
iron, millions of deluded souls. Beneath his fostering
auspices, ignorance, superstition, and profligacy, every
where prevailed and increased to a degree of which, in
our prodigiously altered circumstances, it is quite im-
possible to form any adequate conception. With the
contents of the word of God, the great majority of the
(so called,) priests themselves speedily became as little
acquainted as were the children unborn; and no vanity
of fable, where any knowledge of it was possessed, could
have been more absolutely disregarded as the rule of
life. To such an enormous height did the corruptions
of the Papacy, both in doctrine and morals, rise at last,
that the question could hardly have been pronounced
extravagant, whether the religion of Jesus, so prosti-
tuted, so profaned, was not rather a curse than a bles-
sing to men. Still it is important and interesting to
bear in mind, that throughout the long and horrible
night in which Popery was extending and securing her
baleful empire, there arose, at intervals, within her pale,
and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured and hast
not fainted. Nevertheless, I ha e so vewhat against thee, be-
cause thou hast left thy first love. Rem2mber from whence thou
art fallen and repent,” &c.
288 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

individuals endued with light from on high to discern and

courage to protest against her monstrous abominations.
Many also are of opinion that beyond her pale there
existed an unbroken succession of faithful and incor-
ruptible witnesses for the truth: insomuch that when
scornfully asked where was the religion of Protestants
before Luther, they are prepared, should it not be held
sufficient to answer, “in the Bible,” to add, and “in the
valleys of Piedmont.” But cheering and delightful
though it be to trace in the darkest tines of papal cor-
ruption the perpetuity of the promise “The gates of
hell shall not prevail against the church,” it must still
be acknowledged that the depth and the dreariness of
the all but universal gloom which for a thousand years
had been thickening over the nations of Europe, render
the Reformation of the sixteenth century one of the
most blessed and momentous epochs in the history of
mankind. Then burst, in fuil-orbed majesty, from be-
neath the veil of that long and dismal eclipse, the Sun
of truth; and obedient to his call, nation after nation
suddenly arose from the slumber and the stupor of
ages, and asserted their unalienable right to search the
Scriptures and worship the God of their fathers in spirit
and intruth. Butthe mighty revolutionstopped not here:
thousands and tens of thousands, in throwing off the
fetters of Rome, were made spiritually free. The great
leaders of the Reformation were men not more eminent
for the excellence of their gifts than for the abundance
of grace by which they were engaged to consecrate
them all to the Redeemer’s glory, aud the regeneration
and enlargement of his church. Their labours in the
gospel, accordingly, were mighty to the pulling down
of strongholds, the translation of sinners out of darkness
into marvellous light. And well, my friends, doth it
become us, with gratitude and humility, to remember
that as in no country was the Reformation itself,
strictly so called, effected so rapidly as in our own, in
none was it accompanied with spiritual reviving so ex-
tensive and manifest.
In Scotland, says Kirkton, “The whole nation was
converted by lump. Lo! here a nation born in one
day; yea, moulded into one congregation, and sealed
 HISTORY OF 1HE CHURCH. 289

as a fountain with a solemn oath and covenant.” To

the same purpose are the following reflections of
Fleming, in his Fulfilling of Scripture: “It is astonish-
ing, and should be matter of wonder and praise for
after ages, to consider that solemn time of the Reforma-
tion (in Scotland,) when the Lord began to visit his
church. What a swift course the spreading of the
kingdom of Christ had; and how professors of the
truth thronged in amidst the greatest threatenings of
those on whose side authority and power then was.
O! how astonishing and extraordinary was this appear-
ance of the Lord there on all ranks, so that they
offered themselves willingly for the truth; and upon
such of his servants as were sent forth on the work of
the ministry, with such zeal and oneness of spirit as, on
the furthest hazard of their lives and estates, they did
enter into covenant for mutual defence, for the truth
of Christ, and a free profession thereof.” The testimony
of Knox! is not less decisive: “Our very enemies can
witness in how great purity did God establish his true
religion among us; and this we confess to bea strength
given us from God, because we esteem not ourselves
wise in our own eyes: but knowing our wisdom to be
foolishness, we, before God, laid it aside, and followed
that which was only approved of him. In this point
could never our enemies cause us faint, whilst for this we
wrestled, that the reverend face of the first primitive
and apostolic church should be reduced to the eyes and
knowledge of men; and in that point hath our God
strengthened us, till the work was finished, as the world
may sce.”
But we cannot better serve the cause we are endea-
vouring to plead, than by subjoining to these general
testimonies respecting the revival of genuine piety in
our native land at the time of the Reformation from
Popery, a few of the more remarkable visitations of the
Spirit upon particular places. The first we shall men-
tion occurred under the ministry of the “ Scottish John
Baptist, Mr. George Wishart.” On a certain occasion,
being excluded from the pulpit at Ayr, by Dunbar,
Bishop of Glasgow, he allayed the vehemence of his
‘ History, p. 203.
290 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

friends, who would have forced an entrance, by remark-

ing, “Jesus Christ is as mighty in the field as in the
church, and himself oft preached in the desert, at the
seaside, and other places. It is the word of peace God
sends by me; the blood of none shall be shed this day
for the preaching of it.” So saying, “he mounted an
earthen fence, and continued preaching to the people
above three hours, and God wrought so wonderfully by
that sermon, that one of the wickedest men in the coun-
try, the laird of Sheld, was converted by it, and his eyes
ran down with such abundance of tears, that all men
wondered at him.”! Hearing at this time that the plague
had broken out in Dundee, Wishart, forcing his way
through all the expostulations of his friends, hastened
to the scene of infection, observing, “They are now in
trouble, and need comfort ; perhaps the hand of God
will make them now to magnify and reverence the
word which before they lightly esteemed.” He station-
ed himself at the east gate, having the whole within,
and the sick without: and chose for his text, ‘‘ he sent
his word and healed them.”? “By which sermon he so
raised up the hearts of those who heard him, that they
regarded not death, but judged them more happy who
should then depart, than such as should remain behind.”?
The next name notably associated with the work of
the Spirit is that of William Cooper. Towards the
close of this (sixteenth) century, he was for a time
minister of Bathkenner. On his first arrival there, “he
found for a church four ruined walls, without roof,
door, or window;”* but such was the acceptance of his
faithful labours for the eternal interests of his people,
that within a few months they cheerfully of their own
motion repaired and embellished the church. ‘‘ During
seven or eight years of a very successful ministry in
that place, it pleased God to begin to acquaint him
with his terrors, and with inward temptations, so that
his life was almost wasted by heaviness; yet thereby he
learned to know more and more of Christ Jesus. He
was afterwards removed to the north, where for nine-
teen years he was a comfort to the best, and a wound
* Fleming, ii, p. 297 2 Ps, evii, 20. ° Fleming, ii, p. 297.
History of Revivals of Religion in the British Isles, p. 174
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 291
to the worst sort.” He had evening meetings three
nights in the week; of which he says, “It would have
dene a Christian’s heart good to see those Joyful as-
semblies,—to have heard the zealous cryings to God
among that people, with sighings, and tears, and melting
hearts, and mourning eyes.” ‘Mr. Cooper had never a
controversy with any man but for his sins, and the
Lord assisting him, the power of the word did so ham-
mer down their pride, that they were all of them brought
to acknowledge their evil ways.”
Contemporary with Cooper was John Welsh, “in
respect of his spiritual life, and familiarity with his
Maker, a man unparalleled.” His first sphere of la-
bour was Selkirk, and though his stay there was short,
he left behind him some seals of his fidelity in making
known Christ crucified. In 1590 he was translated
from Kirkcudbright to Ayr. Such was the condition of
his new charge, that at first no one would let him a
house, and he was often obliged to rush in between
bloody combatants on the public streets, his head pro-
tected by a helmet, his weapon the message of peace.
Having put a stop to an affray, he would cause a table
to be spread on the street, and offering a prayer, per-
suade the angry parties to eat and drink together, and
conclude the business by singing a psalm. He was
most assiduous in his holy duties, never preaching less
than once a day. “Butif his diligence was great, so it
is doubted whether his sowing in painfulness, or his
harvest in success was greatest; for if either his spiritual
experience in seeking the Lord, or his painfulness in
converting souls be considered, they will be found un-
paralleled in Scotland.” Mr. David Dickson ofIrvine, a
much honoured servant of God, was used to say, long
after Welsh was in glory, when any one mentioned the
success of his ministry
—“ The gleaning grapes in Ayr
in Mr. Welsh’s time, were far above the vintage of Ir-
vine in his own.” How important for all who have any
love for Christ and the souls of their fellow-sinners to
know, that this is the man who, from the beginning of
hs ministry till his death, reckoned the day ill spent if
he staid not seven or eight hours in prayer,—who, on
going to rest, was accustomed to lay a plaid above his
992 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

bed clothes, so that when he arose to his night prayers,

he could cover himself with it,—who would retire to the
church of Ayr, which was at some distance from the
town, and not find it “an irksome solitude to pass the
whole night there in prayer.” “Ona certain night, being
under an extraordinary pressure of spirit to pour forth
his heart to God, he left his bed and spent most of the
night in that exercise: his wife, becoming at last un-
easy, went to seek for him, but missing him in his or-
dinary place, entered other gardens by such passages as
she knew: at last she heard a voice, and drawing near
to it, could hear him speak a few words with great force
and fervency, accompanied with audible expressions of
inward anguish, which were these :” “O God, wilt thou
not give me Scotland! O God, wilt thou not give me
Scotland !”
Mr. Bruce, about the time of Welsh’s removal to Ayr,
commenced his ministry in Edinburgh. Kirkton de-
scribes the power of his preaching in the following
words: “ He made always ane earthquake upon his
hearers, and rarely preached but to a weeping auditory.
I have heard ane eminent minister say, he believed never
man in the latter ages spoke with Mr. Bruce his autho-
rity.” At Edinburgh his labours were singularly blessed,
and when a prisoner at Inverness, “he marvellously
enlightened that poor dark country,” and turned many
souls into the way of peace. “‘A poor Highlander once
came to him after sermon, and offered him his whole
substance, (which was only two cows,) upon condition
Mr. Bruce would make God his friend ;—an evidence
of the power of his ministry as evident as it was simple:
and many such he had.” The little incident we are
about to state, lets us at once into the secret of Bruce's
power and pathos in the pulpit. At Larbot, where he
frequently preached, “he used after the first service to
retire to a chamber near the church. Some noblemen
having once come far to hear him, and having the same
distance to return to their homes, became impatient
from his delay in returning to church, and sent the
bell-man to hearken at his door if there were any ap-
pearance of his coming. The bell-man returned and
said, ‘I think he will not come out this day at all, for
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 293

I hear him always saying to another that he cannot go

except the other go with him, and I do not hear the
other answer him a word at all.’”
A little before his death, in 1632, he was made the
means of a wonderful illustration of the blessed promise,
the prayer of a righteous man availeth much. He was
at Edinburgh, and through weakness kept his chamber,
when divers godly ministers then assembled there came
together, and gave him an account of the actings of
these times, the prelates then being resolved to intro-
duce the Service-book. ‘‘ Bruce prayed, and did therein
tell over again to the Lord the very substance of their
discourse, which was asad representation of the case
of the church ;—at which time there was such an ex-
traordinary motion on all present, so sensible a down-
pouring of the Spirit, that they could hardly contain
themselves. But what was most strange, there was
even some unusual motion on those who were in other
parts of the house, not knowing the cause at the very
instant. One present on the vccasion said, ‘O how
strange a man is this, for he knocketh down the Spirit
of God on us all.’ This he said because Mr. Bruce
did divers times knock with his fingers on the table.”!
The General Assembly was, in 1596, the scene of
another remarkable quickening of souls, already most of
them it may be presumed in Christ. The ministers and
other commissioners to the number of between four and
five hundred being convened, to humble themselves
and wrestle with God—‘* to pursue a national as well as
a personal reconciliation,” Mr. John Davidson, “the
salt of the church of Scotland, both in the pulpit and
judicatories, both for zeal and constancy,” * was called
to preside. He showed—having caused to be read the
3rd and 34th chapters of Ezekiel—“
that the end of their
meeting was the confession of sins, and entering into a
new covenant and league with the Lord, that thus by
repentance they might be the meeter to provoke others
to the same; and he was followed with that power for
movir.g of their spirits in application, that within an
hour after they were entered into the church, they
looked with another countenance than that wherewith
' Fleming on Fulfiliing of the Scriptures, i, 37. 2 Kirkton.
294 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

they entered. He exhorted them to retired meditation,

and acknowledgment of their sins, even whilst they
were together. For the space of a quarter of an hour
they were thus humbling themselves— the preacher
pausing it would seem during that time—yea, with such
a joint concurrence with those sighs and groans, and
with shedding of tears amongst the-most, every one
provoking another by their example, and the teacher
himself by his, so as the very church resounded, and
that place might worthily be called a Bochim, for the
like of that day had not been seen in Scotland since
the Reformation. After prayer and public confession,
Mr. Davidson discoursed from Luke, xii, 22; and was
wonderfully assisted by God's Spirit to cast down and
raise up again the brethren. When they were to dis-
solve, they were stayed by the Moderator, and desired
to hold up their hands to testify their entering into a
new league and covenant with God. They held up
their hands presently and readily, which was a moving
spectacle to all who were present.”
Passing on to the Reformativu of the church from
Prelacy in 1638, we find that this also was a time of
extensive and extraordinary revival. The Lord, says
Fleming, did let forth much of his Spirit, when this na-
tion did (again) ‘solemnly enter into covenant, which
many yet alive do know, how the spirits of men were
raised and wrought upon by the word and ordinances
lively and longed after. Then did the nation own the
Lord, and was visibly owned by him. Much zeal and an
enlarged heart did appear for the public cause—per-
sonal reformation was seriously set about—and then
also was there a remarkable gale of providence that did
attend the actings of his people, which did atonish their
adversaries.” These striking declarations are con-
firmed by the testimony of Livingston. “I was present
at Lanark, and several other parishes, when, on Sab-
bath after the forenoon service, the Covenant was read
and sworn: and I may truly say that in all my life time,
excepting at the kirk of Shotts, I never saw such mo-
tions from the Spirit of God. All the people generally
and most willingly concurred. I have seen more than
' Fleming on Fulfilling of the Scriptures, vol. it, 316.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 295

a thousand persons all at once lifting up their hands,

and the tears falling down their eyes.
The signing of the Covenant at Edinburgh is thus
interestingly and beautifully described by Mr. Aiton
in his life of Henderson. “The Presbyterians had
crowded to Edinburgh to the number of sixty thou-
sand, and on the 28th of February a fast had been ap-
pointed in the Grey Friars’ church. Long before the
appointed hour, the venerable church and the large
open space around it were filled with Presbyterians
from every quarter of Scotland. At two o'clock
Rothes, Loudon, Henderson, Dickson, and Johnston
arrived with a copy of the Covenant ready for signa-
ture. Henderson constituted the meeting by prayer
“verrie powerfullie and pertinentlie” to the purpose on
hand. The Covenant was.read by Johnston, “out of a
fair parchment about an elne squair.” When the read-
ing was finished, there was a pause, and silence still as
death. Rothes broke it by requesting that if any of
them had objections to offer he would now be heard.
“Few comes, and these few proposed but few doubts,
which were soon resolved.” The venerable Earl of Sc-
therland stepped forward, and put the first name to the
memorable document. After it had gone the round of
the whole church, it was taken out to be signed by the
crowd in the churchyard. Here it was spread before
them like another roll of the prophets, upon a flat
gravestone, to be read and subscribed by as many
as could get near it. Many in addition to their name
wrote, “till death,’ and some even opened a vein anc
subscribed with their blood. The immense sheet in a
short time became so much crowded with names or
both sides, and throughout its whole space, that there
was not room left for a single additional signature.
Zeal in the cause of Christ, and courage for the li-
berties of Scotland, warmed every breast. Joy was
mingled with the expressions of some, and the voice of
shouting arose from a few. But by far the greater
number were deeply impressed with very different feel-
ings. Most of them of all sorts wept bitterly for their
defection from the Lord. And in testimony of his
sincerity, every one confirmed his subscription by a
296 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE
solemn oath. With groans and tears streaming down
their faces, they all lifted up their right hands at once.
When this awful appeal was made to the Searcher of
hearts at the day of judgment, so great was the fear
of again breaking the covenant, that thousands of arms
which had never trembled even when drawing the
sword on the eve of battle were now loosened at every
ioint. After‘the oath had been administered, the peo-
ple were powerfully enjoined to begin their personal
reformation. At the conclusion, every body seemed
to feel that a great measure of the Divine presence had
accompanied the solemnities of the day, and with their
hearts much comforted and strengthened for every
duty, the enormous crowd retired about nine at night.
Well might Henderson boast in his reply to the Aber-
deen doctors, that “this was the day of the Lord’s
power, wherein we saw his people most willingly offer
themselves, in multitudes, like the dew-drops of the
morning—this was indeed the great day of Israel,
wherein the arm of the Lord was revealed—the day of
the Redeemer’s strength, on which the princes of the
people assembled to swear their al'egiance to the King
of kings.” Earlier by thirteen years than the period
of which we have last been speaking was the well
known outpouring of the Spirit at Stewarton and its
vicinity. Here the principal human agent was Mr.
Dickson of Irvine, at one time professor of Moral
Philosophy in the university of Glasgow.
Mr. Dickson’s ministry, says Wodrow, was singular-
ly countenanced of God,—multitudes were convinced
and converted, and few that lived in his day were hon-
oured to be instruments of conversion more than he.
Not a few came from distant places, and settled in
Irvine, that they might be uncer his ministry. Upon
the Sabbath. evenings, many persons under soul distress
used to resort to his house after sermon, when usually
he spent an hour or two in answering their cases, and
directing and comforting those who were cast down, in
all which he had an extraordinary talent. For a con-
siderable time few Sabbaths passed without evident to-
kens of the peculiar presence of the Spirit with the soul
of this meek and holy man, and the souls of his audi-
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 297

tory. And being induced thereby to begin a weekly

lecture on the market-day, he found an opportunity
of commending the truth to the people of Stewarton
and other adjoining parishes; thus, like a spreading
moorburn, to use the words of Fleming, the power.of
godliness did advance from one place to another, which
put a marvellous lustre on these parts of the country,
the savour whereof brought many from other parts of
the land to see the truth. It is interesting to know,
that the latter end of this eminent saint, and “ winner
of souls,” realised the promise, “‘ Mark thou the perfect
man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man
is peace.’ Livingston, coming to visit him on his death-
bed, and enquiring how he found himself, he said, Ihave
taken all my good deeds, and all my bad deeds, and cast
them together in a heap before the Lord, and have be-
taken me to Jesus Christ, and in him have full and sweet
peace. Within a few days after, he died.
Most of you have heard of the glorious revelation of the
Lord’s arm in the parish of Shotts. It occurred at the
dispensation of the Supper in June, 1630. The circum-
stance that several of the then persecuted ministers would
takea part in thesolemnservices having become generally
known, a vast concourse of godly persons assembled on
this occasion from all quarters of the country. To
inany of, them the Sabbath was a blessed day—their
communion was indeed with the Father, and with his
Son Jesus Christ: nor do we marvel, when we re-
member that among those who dispensed the bread
of life was venerable Bruce—and. that several days
had been spent in social prayer, preparatory to the
service. In the evening, instead of retiring to rest,
the joyful multitude divided themselves into little
bands, and spent the whole night in supplication and
praise. The Monday was consecrated to thanksgiving,
a practice not then common, and proved the great day
of the feast. After much entreaty, John Livingston,
chaplain to the Countess of Wigtown, a young man,
and not ordained, agreed to preach. He had spent
the night in prayer and conference—but as the hour
of assembling approached, his heart quailed at the
' Psalm xxxvii, 37.
298 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

thought of addressing so many aged and experienced

saints, and he actually fled from the duty he had un-
dertaken. Kut just as the kirk of Shotts was vanish-
ing from his view these words, “ Was I ever a barren
wilderness or a land of darkness?” were borne in upon
his mind with such force as compelled him to return
to the work. He took for his text Ezekiel, xxxvi. 25,
26—and discoursed with power for an hour and half.
“ As he was about to conclude, a heavy shower made
the people hastily take to their cloaks and mantles.
They kept their places, however, and the preacher
continued. If a few drops of rain from the clouds
so discompose you, how discomposed will you be,
how full of horror and despair if God should deal
with you as you deserve! and thus he will deal with
all the finally impenitent. God might justly rain fire
and brimstone upon us, as upon the cities of the plain.
The Son of God, by tabernacling in our nature, and
obeying and suffering in it, is the only refuge and
covert from the storm, and none but penitent believers
shall have the benefit of that shelter. In a similar
strain he exhorted and warned for about an hour after
his premeditated thoughts were exhausted—with great
enlargement and melting of heart, and with such visi-
ble effect upon his audience as made it manifest,
God was in the midst of them of atruth.” I can speak
on sure ground, says Fleming, that near five hundred
had at that time a most discernible change wrought on
them, of whom most proved lively Christians after-
wards. It was the sowing of a seed through Clydes-
dale, so that many of the most eminent Christians of
that country could date, either their conversion, or some
remarkable confirmation of their case, from that day.
At the distance of some twenty years from the im-
mortal “Shott’s Monday,” we see another remarkable
exemplification of the promise, “the wilderness shalk
rejoice and blossom as the rose,” attendant on the la-
bours of William Guthrie, minister of Fenwick. His
character and success as a pastor are thus described
by his biographer. ‘The heavenly zeal for the glory
of his great Master which animated the labours of this
excellent minister, his fervent love to the souls of wen
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 299

dying in their sins, and his holy wisdom and diligence

in reclaiming and instructing them, were so honoured
by God and accompanied with the powerful influences
of his Holy Spirit, that in a little time a noble change
was wrought upon a barbarous multitude: they were
almost all persuaded to attend the public ordinances,
to set up and maintain the worship of God in their fa-
milies; and scarce was there a house in the whole par-
ish that did not bring forth some fruit of his ministry,
and afford some real converts to a religious life.” ‘The
fulness and freeness of his exhibition of Christ, to-
gether with the excellency of his preaching gift, did
so recommend him to the affections of people, says
Livingston, that they turned the corn field of his glebe
to a little town, every one building a house for his
family upon it, that they might live under the drop
of his ministry.” His large church was often crowded
by great multitudes—it is further stated in his life—from
Glasgow, Paisley, Lanark, Hamilton, and other distant
places, deprived by persecution of the bread of life at
home; and his strong clear voice enabled him to extend
the profit of his discourse to the many hundreds who
were obliged to stay without doors. “An extraordinary
zeal then enlivened the souls of sincere Christians; they
were animated by a warm affection to the truth, and an
uncommon delight in hearing the joyful sound: and
this made them despise the difficulties that lay in the
way, so that it was their usual practice to come to Fen-
wick on Saturday, spend the greatest part of that night
in prayer and conversation about the great concerns of
their souls, attend on public worship on the Sabbath,
dedicate the remainder of that holy day to religious ex-
ercises, and then on the Monday go home ten or twenty
miles without grudging the fatigue of so long a way,
the want of sleep and other refreshments, or finding
themselves iess prepared for any business through the
week. A remarkable blessing accompanied ordinances
dispensed to people who came with such a disposition
of soul; great numbers were converted to the truth and
many were built up in their most holy faith. A divine
power animated the gospel that was preached, and ex-
arted itself in a holy warmth and sanctified affections,
300 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

—a ravishing pleasure in divine fellowship,—and a no-

ble joy and triumph in their King and Saviour, which
were to be visibly discerned in the hearers: many went
confirmed in the good ways of the Lord, strengthened
and comforted against temporal fears and discourage-
ments; and the fruits of righteousness discovered in the
excellency of a holy conversation were a glorious proof
of the sincerity of their profession and the wonderful
success of Mr. Guthrie's ministry.”
The Church of Ireland was privileged to share in those
showers of blessing which at and near the time of the
second Reformation—as in part we have seen—fell out
so copiously on different portions of the vineyard in
our native land. “i must instance (writes Mr. Flem-
ing,’) that solemn and great work which was in the
Church of Ireland about the year 1628, and some years
thereafter, which as many grave and solid Christians
yet alive can witness, who were there present, was a
bright and hot sun-blink of the gospel; yea, may with
sobriety be said to have been one of the largest mani-
festations of the Spirit and of the most solemn times of
the down-pouring thereof that almost since the days of
the apostles hath been seen, where the power of God
did sensibly accompany the word with an unusual mo-
tion upon the hearers and a very great tack as to the con-
version of souls to Christ; the goings of the Lord then
full of majesty, and the shout of a king was heard in
the solemn meetings of his people, that, as a judicious
old Christian who was there did express it, he thought
it was like a dazzling beam of God with such an un-
usual brightness as even forced bystanders to an aston-
ishment; a very effectual door opened to the minis-
ters of Christ in preaching the word, while the people
might be seen hearing the same in a melting frame,
with much tenderness of spirit; surely this was the very
power of God, a convincing seal to the truth and min-
istry of his servants. I remember, among other pas-
sages, what a worthy Christian told me, how sometimes
in hearing the word such a power and evidence of the
Lord’s presence was with it, that he hath been forced
to rise and look through the church what the people
' Fulfilling of the Scriptures, v.1. i, p. 356.
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. vO!

were doing, thinking from what he felt in his own spi-

rit, it was a wonder that any could go away without
some change upon them.—Then it was sweet to come
thirty or forty miles to the solemn communions, and
there continue from the time they came until they re-
turned, without wearying or making use of sleep; yea,
but little either meat or drink; and as some of them
professed, did not feel the need thereof, but went away
most fresh and vigorous; their souls so filled with the
sense of God’s presence.” There are those among you,
we doubt not, to whose minds this passage vividly recalls
some of the deeply solemn scenes and circumstances
which it was your privilege to witness last autumn at
Kilsyth. As to those of you, if decided Christians, who
have been conversant with revivals only through the
medium of testimony, such representations will be ex-
ceedingly apt to present a certain cast of exaggeration;
and hence arises, we apprehend, a strong obligation to
embrace the opportunity of seeing a revival wherever
in the course of Providence it is afforded.
The records of the Saviour’s kingdom, in the 18th cen-
tury, exhibit many of the brightest triumphs of Sove-
reign grace, in connection withthe unwearied labours and
unceasing prayers of such men as Whitefield, Wesley,
and President Edwards, Walker of Truro, Venn of
Hudderstield, Berridge of Everton, Charles of Bala,
and Robe, M‘Culloch, and Stewart in Scotland. But as
the progress of the evening forbids the wish to follow
the movements of any of these devoted soldiers of the
cross in detail, let it suffice to mention a few particu-
lars illustrative of the grand results of their glorious
warfare. Mr. Walker, not the least distinguished of
these worthies, speaking of the growth of a right spirit
in his own heart, tells us, “As this work was going for-
ward in myself, the people were made partakers of it;
—by and by I began to deal with them as lost sinners,
to beat down formality and self-righteousness, and to
preach Christ.” The fruit of this, by the mighty work-
ing of the Spirit, quickly appeared. It was a new way
to them; they were surprised and grew angry, not with-
out an evident fear resting upon them, and an interest-
ing curiosity to hear me again of this matter. I have
 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE
802

reason to judge that, almost all of them have been one

time or other awakened more or less.......[n the mean-
time, sume more sensibly pricked in their hearts, came
to me enquiring what they must do? The number of
these continually encreasing, I thought my utmost dili-
gence was needful towards them; they were univers-
ally ignorant in the grossest degree; I was glad to give
them as many evenings in the week as I could spare, ap-
pcinting them to attend me aftertheir work was over.....«
I had from the first engaged them frequently to con-
verse together, and pray with one another...... By the
grace of God, the number whose conduct seemed to ex-
press a lively faith began now to be soinething consid-
erable, for which reason it was thought advisable to
The number of
form them into a religious society......
members is row upwards of seventy; it was afterwards
considerably encreased.” Of Berridge, Vicar of Ever-
ton, his biographer declares, “We learn from more sour-
ces than one, that he was in the first year (after be-
ginning to preach the true gospel) visited by a thousand
persons under serious impressions; and it has been com-
puted, that under his own and the joint ministry of Mr.
Hicks, about four thousand were awakened to a concern
for their souls in twelve months.”
There is hardly upon record, a more evident and as-
tonishing work of the Holy Spirit than that which ac-
companied the proclamation of the gospel by Whitefield
and Wesley, to the colliers of Kingswood, near Bristol.
“In the year 1739, when Whitetield intimated his inten-
tion of going to America to convert the savages, his
friends at Bristol replied—what need is there of going
abroad for this? Have we not Indians enough at home?
if you have a mind to convert savages, go to the col-
liers of Kingswood.” The suggestion was not made in
vain. “On Saturday, February 17th, 1739, Whitefield
stood upon a mount in a place called Rose Green, his
frst field pulpit, and preached to about two hundred of
these barbarous men, who being quite unprepared for
his exhortations, were more astonished than impressed.”
“His second audience at Kingswood consisted of two
thousand individuals; his third, from four to five, and
they went on encreasing to ten, fourteen, and twenty
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 303

thousand...... The first evidence he observed, of having

made any impression on his rude auditors, was their
deep silence; the next, and still more convincing, was
his observation of the white gutters made by the tears
which fell plentifully down their cheeks black and un-
washed from the coal-pits” Wesley, by whom, on his
removal to America, Whitefield was succeeded in this
most interesting field of labour, speaking of the har-
vest which it yielded in return to their conjoint prayers
and labours, says, ‘“‘Few persons have lived long in the
West of England, who have not heard of the colliers of
Kingswood, a people famous from the beginning hith-
erto for neither fearing God nor regarding man; so ig-
norant of the things of God that they seemed but one
remove from the beasts that perish. Many last winter
used tauntingly to say of Mr. Whitefield, if he will con-
vert heathens, why does he not go to the colliers of
Kingswood? In spring he did so; when he was called
away, others followed to compel them to come in; and
by the grace of God their labour was not in vain. The
scene is already changed: Kingswood does not now, as
a year ago, resound with cursing and blasphemy; it is
no more filled with drunkenness and uncleanness, and
the idle diversions which naturally lead thereto. It is
no longer full of wars and fightings, of clamours and
bitterness, of wrath and envyings; peace and love are
there; great numbers of people are mild, gentle, and
easy to be entreated; they do not cry, neither strive,
and hardly is their voice heard in the street, or indeed
in their own wood, unless when they are at their usual
evening devotion singing praise unto God their Saviour.
That their children too might know the things which
make for their peace, it was sometime since proposed
to build a school house, and the foundation was laid in
June last...... Lhus we see, that in the middle of Febru-
ary, Kingswood was a wilderness, and that when the
month of June arrived, it was already blossoming like
the rose.” The following brief extracts from the letters
of Charles of Bala, “the apostle of North Wales,” will
enable you to form some idea of the great revival which
took place under his ministry in North Wales; begin-
ning in the year 1791. Let it be premised, that previ-
304 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

ous to this, Charles had made extraordinary and most

successful exertions to instruct the young by means of
circulating, and latterly of fixed week-night and Sab-
bath schools, which he frequently visited, and publicly
catechised...... The Sunday schools, he observes, “and
the public examination of them have undoubtedly done
wonders in Wales, and have succeeded in moralizing the
people, when all other means failed.” In September,
1791, he writes in reply to some enquiries on the sub-
ject: “About the state of the churches in Wales I have
nothing but what is favourable to communicate. At
Bala, we have had a very great, powerful, and glorious
outpouring of the Spirit on the people in general, es-
pecially on the children and young people. Some of
the wildest and most inconsiderate young people of both
sexes have been awakened. If the Lord should be
pleased to continue the work as it has prevailed some
weeks past, the devil's kingdom will be in ruins in this
neighbourhood.—Ride on, ride on, thou King of glorv!
is the present cry of my soul day and night...... It is an
easy work to preach the gospel here at this time; di-
vine truths have their own infinite weight and import-
ance on the minds of the people; beams of divine light,
together with divine irresistible energy, accompany every
truth delivered. It is glorious to see how the stoutest
hearts are bowed down and the hardest melted: I would
not be without seeing what I have lately seen, no, not
for the world...... These are the blessed things I have to
relate to you respecting poor Wales;—the Charity
schools here are wonderfully blessed; children, that
were before like jewels buried in rubbish, now appear
with divine lustre and transcendent beauty; little chil-
dren from six to twelve years old are affected, aston-
ished, and overpowered; their young minds day and
night are filled with nothing but soul concerns. Add I
say is matter of fact; I have not exaggerated in the
least degree, nor related more than a small part of the
whole. The Lord hath done great things for us, and
to him be all the praise.” In a letter written to an em-
nent minister in Edinburgh the year following, he says,
“that it was the work of God, I am not left to doubt in
the least degree; it carries along with it every scrip-
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 305

tural satisfactory evidence that we can possibly desire,

—such as deep conviction of sin, of righteousness, of
judgment,—great reformation of manners, great love
for and delight in the word of God, in prayer, in spiri-
tual conversation, and divine ordinances. These, even
in young per: ons, occupy the place and employ the time
that was spent in vain diversions and amusements......
I am far from expecting that all who have experienced
these impressions are savingly wrought upon and really
converted: if that were the case, all the country must
have been converted; for, at one time, there were but
few who had not felt awful impressions on their minds,
producing foreboding fears respecting their future ex-
istence in another world.”
A single remark of the celebrated Edwards, we have
not time for more, will assist you in forming some gene-
ral notion of the extent and character of the revival by
which different parts of New England in America were
visited early in this century. It is by the mixture of
counterfeit religion with true—he observes in the trea-
tise on ‘religious affections’—“
that the devil has hitherto
had his greatest advantage against the cause of Christ.
By this principally has he prevailed against revivals of
religion that have been in our nation since the Refor-
mation. By this he prevailed against New England,
to quench the love and spoil the joy of her espousals
about a hundred years ago. So the same cunning ser-
pent hath suddenly prevailed to deprive us of that fair
prospect we had a little while ago of a kind of paradt-
saic state of the church in New England.”
The permanent results of the great work of the Lord
at Cambuslang in this neighbourhood in 1742 are thus
stated by Mr. M‘Culloch, the minister of the parish at
the time. ‘Setting aside all those who appeared under
awakenings here in 1742, who have since remarkably
declined, there is a considerable number of the then
awakened that appear to bring forth good fruits. I do
not talk of them at random, nor speak of their number
in a loose general way, but have now before me, at the
writing of this, April 27, 1751, a list of about four
hundred persons awakened here in 1742, who, from
that time to the time of their death, or to this, that is,
806 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

for these nine years past, have been all enabled to be-
have in a good measure as becometh the gospel, by any
thing I could ever see, and by the best information I
could get concerning them.” From a letter dated May
8, 1742, evidently written by a highly competent wit-
ness” —we extract the following summary of the means,
and preparations by which this wonderful work was
preceded. “The sum of the facts I have represented
is, that this work has been begun and carried on under
the influence of the great and substantial doctrines of
Christianity, pressing jointly the necessity of repentance
towards God, of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and
holiness in all manner of conversation; that it came
after such preparations as an extensive conccrn about
religion gradually encreasing—together with extraor-
dinary fervent prayer, (in large meetings) particularly
relating to the success of the gospel.”
“When Cambuslang! and other parishes were sharing
so copiously of the Divine influence, it was matter of
grief and discouragement to Mr. Robe, then minister
of Kilsyth, that not one of his people seemed as yet at
all to be awakened. He continued to wrestle much
in prayer, and still with affectionate earnestness to ex-
hibit to his people a full and a free salvation. The
Lord did in due time send a plenteous rain. The first
symptoms were the reviving of many of the meetings
for prayer, the institution of some new associations,
and particularly of one composed exclusively of females
from ten to sixteen years of age. These movements
were hailed as the harbingers of brighter days.” In
his narrative of the blessed effects of the mighty change
then approaching, Mr. Robe states, “On May 16, I
preached as | have done for some time, on Gal. iv, 19:
My little children, of whom I travail in birth until Christ
be formed in you. While pressing all the unregenerate
to seek to have Christ formed in them, an extraordin-
ary power of the Divine Spirit accompanied the word
preached. ‘There was a great mourning in the congre-
gation as for an only son. Many cried out, and these
not only women, but some strong and stout-hearted
young men.” The number of individuals awakened in
' History of Revivals, &., p. 267.
 HISTURY OF THE CHURCH. 307

the course of the revival now decidedly begun, and who

afterwards made a public profession of faith in Christ,
was about three hundred, and “by various authentic
documents recorded in Mr. Robe’s narrative, it is as-
certained, that the conversation of all of these was such
as became the gospel. The moral influence on the
parish generally was remarkable.” Among the in-
stances, he writes, ‘of the good fruits of this work may
be mentioned visible reformation from many open sins,
particularly cursing, swearing, and drinking. In social
meetings edifying conversation has taken the place of
what was frothy, foolish, or censorious. Instead of world-
ly and common discourse on the Lord’s day there is that
which is spiritual and good to the use cf edifying.
There is a general desire after public ordinances.
The generality of the people attend the preaching of
the word during.the week as regularly as upon the
Lord’s day. The worship of God is set up and main-
tained in many families who formerly neglected it.
There are many new societies for prayer, composed by
individuals of all ages. Former feuds and animosicies
are in a great measure laid aside and forgot, and this
hath been the most peaceable summer among neigh-
bours that was ever known in this parish. I have heard
little or nothing of that pilfering and stealing tha: was
so frequent before this work began. Yea, there have
been several instances of restitution, and some of these
showing consciences of no ordinary tenderness.”
The “race that bringeth salvation,” so abundantly
shed Cown at this remarkable time on Cambuslang and
Kilsyth, was extended in various lesser degrees to several
other parishes in the same district, and to some also at
a greater distance. In the parish of Campsie about a
‘\undred souls were awakened, and nearly the same
number in Calder in the immediate neighbourhood.
The revival at Calder began under singular circum-
stances. The Minister, Mr. Warden, was in the practice
of delivering a week-day lecture in a small village at
some distance from the church. This lecture he inti-
mated trom the pulpit on the Sabbath. Discouraged
by the small attendance for a while past, he said
sorrewfuliy one day in giving the intimation, “ But
308 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

why should I tell you, for you will not come.” On

the usual day he proceeded to the village resolved to
announce that the service would be givenup. Touched
with pity for the grief of their faithful pastor, the peo-
ple said one to another, “ Poor body, let us go this time.
Not aware of this resolution, he came unprovided with
a discourse, and was not a little disconcerted when he
found the room crowded. “Qh, cried he with charac-
teristic simplicity, | have often been here with a sermon
when there were no folks, and now, when there are
plenty of folks, I have nosermon.” “He retired intoa
wood at a little distance, earnestly to implore Divine
direction and blessing. Immediately he returned and
preached from these words, which had been suggested
to his mind while in the wood: ‘Unto you, O men, I
call; and my voice is to the sons of men.”! From
this text he opened up the fulness—the freeness of the
gospel proclamation. The Holy Spirit accompanied
the word. Many were effectually humbled and ulti-
mately made to bow to the sceptre of Jesus.”* Com-
passion for their disappointed minister was the ostensi-
ble cause of the people of Calder assembling in such
numbers on this important day; but when we think of
the great things which God had been doing all around,
and of the many prayers which along with those of its
affectionate pastor, doubtiess arose from the awakened
parishes on behalf of this heretofore desert locality, we
may well suppose that, however unconscious of it, there
was a higher and holier force concerned in bringing
them together.—We ought narrowly and often to ex-
amine our motives for frequenting public ordinances,
and earnestly to pray they may be such as God ap-
proves: at the same time it is very comfortable to re-
fiect that many who enter the sanctuary in the most
' Proverbs, viii, 4.
* Revival Tracts, No. 1II. It may be proper to state that the
Tracts here and in other places of this Lecture referred to under
this title are those published under the superintendence of the
Glasgow Revival Tract Society: and, also that the work to which
reference is repeatedly made, and to which we have been much
indebted, under the abridged title of History of Revivals, &c.,
is that recently published by Mrs. Duncan of Ruthwell, entitled
“ History of Revivals of Religion in the British Isles,”
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 309

careless and ungodly frame have cause, to tne praise of

Sovereign grace, to say It is good for me to be here;
‘“‘ This is none other but the house of God and this is
the gate of heaven.”
In the parish of Gargunnoch about a hundred souls
were at this time brought under saving convictions, the
greater number of them while attending the dispensa-
tion of the Supper at different places in the neighbour-
hood. “The case of the parish of Baldernock de-
serves to be particularly noticed. Few of the people
had visited those places in which the revivals took
place: and although for some years there had been no
regular pastor, yet about ninety individuals were
brought under the quickening influence of the Spirit of
promise. Mr. Wallace, who had previously laboured
amongst them in holy things for about fifty years, had
been faithful and zealous, and perhaps the many con-
versions which new took place might be remotely traced
to his ministrations. But in the absence of a regular
ministry, God, who can accomplish his purposes of mercy
with weak as well as with powerful means, raised up
and qualified Mr. James Forsyth, who occupied the
humble but honourable station of parochial school-
master, as the instrument of carrying forward the good
work, which had made such advances in the surround-
ing country. He was a man long distinguished for
godliness. His experience of the preciousness of Christ
could not but prompt him to embrace the opportunity
which his profession afforded of diffusing the know-
ledge of that name and of that salvation which he knew
to be so essential to the true happiness of the people
with whom he was brought 1n contact. He partook of
the joy with which the news of God’s dealings with his
church was received by such as had themselves tasted
that the Lord is gracious; and in the peculiar circum-
stances of the parish, he endeavoured by every mean
in his power to infuse the same spiritual life among the
people. He spoke more especially to the young with
earnestness and affection about their lost condition by
nature and practice;—about the love of God manifested
in the gift of his Son for the salvation of sinners ready
' Revival Tracts, No. III.
310 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE

to perish; and the Hoty Spirit was pleased to convey

these simple but impressive truths to the souls of his
interesting charge, who in their turn were enabled to
leave a testimony to the truth in the consciences of the
adult population. Respecting the people, in general,
of this parish, Mr. Forsyth thus writes, “Some were
awakened at Cambuslang, &c. ; but the greater number
at the private meetings for prayer. These meetings
were held twice a week, and all were admitted who
chose” ‘These meetings were eminently countenanc-
ed. Many who attended were blessed with the com-
munications of Divine grace, and made to experience
the image and the earnest of the fellowship that is
above.” By consulting No. X of the “ Revival Tracts,”
which gives a most interesting account of a revival in
Skye in 1812—14, you will find that much humbler
instruments still than Mr. Forsyth of Baldernock are
sometimes employed by the Spirit of all grace in dis-
tributing to perishing souls the bread of life.
The materials for indefinitely prolonging these illus-
trations of the power and the glory of gospel-grace are
so ample, so interesting, that it is with much reluctance
we forbear the further application of them. Between
the point at which we pause and the present day, there
may be traced—in conspicuous and refreshing contrast
to the wintry coldness, sterility, and death which have
too generally prevailed throughout the church—many
a spot of living green, many a gleam of millennial glory.
Volumes would not suffice were we fully to declare and
speak of all the wonders which during that interval the
Lord hath wrought in our own eminently favoured land,
in the sister kingdoms on the Continent, in India, Cey-
lon, the South sea islands, and above all, in the United
States of America. But we must no longer trespass on
your patience; nor is it necessary,—enough having
been already said to establish beyond controversy the
fact, that agreeably to his word of promise so largely set
before you in the preceding lecture, Jehovah has often
in a marked and extraordinary manner come down and
comforted “his heritage when it was weary.” Again
and again have we seen light arise suddenly “on them
who sat in the shadow of death,” —“the thirsty land be-
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. oll

come springs of water,” —the smoking flax blown into a

flame,—the dry bones of the valley “stand up an ex-
ceediig great army.” In a way of all others fitted the
best to impress our untoward hearts, we have beer
taught that there are no depths of declension, of debase-
ment, of apparent hopelessness, from which the faithful
and the covenant-keeping God cannot ransom and raise
up his people,—no tract in all the wide wilderness of
sin so desolate, that his blessing cannot swiftly clothe it
in the beauty and the bloom of Eden.—Nor less forci-
bly have we been taught that the bestowment of that
blessing, “exen life for evermore,” is associated with,
suspended as it were wpon, the use of certain divinely-
appointed means, namely, prayer and the promulgation
of the word of truth. These can of themselves do no-
thing but in the spiritual world neither is any thing
done without them. There is no merit in prayer, no
inherent etficacy in the soundest and most zealous
preaching. Nevertheless, as the ordinances of the King
of kings, the prayer of faith and the preaching of the
truth, are honoured to do great things—to do all things.
As the instrument the one of procuring the Holy Spirit,
—as the grand medium the other, by which his benign
and omnipotent energy 1s exerted on the souls of men—
how often have we this evening been called to mark
their power to remove mountains, to waken the dead,
to lay the strongholds of Satan in the dust. But is it
certain that the use of tiiese means wiil always be pro-
ductive of like results; that the prayer of faith will ever
avail tu bring down the Spirit, and that his blessing will
ever avail to render the “joyful sound” effectual to the
conversion of sinners and the edifying “of the body of the
Lord?"—<As certain as that God cannot lie, and cannot
change; as certain as itis that his kingdom shall come,
his will be done on all the earth. Then, brethren, do you
feel an interest in the coming of that kingdom—in the
rapid augmentation of its power in believers ; and the
extension of its holy and blessed sway over the impeni-
tent? Inother words, would you see a great and speedy
revival of the Lord’s work,—a manifest, an extensive,
a universal revival?—ye are not straitened in him, see
that ye be not straitened in yourselves. The more in
312 ENCOURAGEMENT FROM TRE

every sevse of the word you in this case desire, the more
you shall have—the more you ask, the more assuredly
you will obtain. Awake therefore, Christian brethren,
from the lethargy of unbelicf;—arise, animated by the
many wonders of mercy ye have this night been called
to observe Howing forth upen the church, and the world,
through the instrumentality of prayer, and the procla-
ination of the truth; arise and ply these mighty instru-
ments in earnest—with the energy of full assurance that
in proportion as they are strenuously and extensively
employed, with continual dependence on the work of
Emmanuel, they will prove effectual to advance the Di-
vine glory, to secure the peace, the happiness, and the
salvation of men. The working of one ofthese instru-
ments, the proclamation of the gospel, is no doubt pecu-
liarly the province of a comparatively small class among
us; but there is no Christian who may not vitally con-
tribute by his prayers to the greater efficiency of the
public preaching of the cross, and who moreover has
not numberless opportunities in other circumstances, to
teach, to warn, to exhort,—which he is solemnly bound
to improve.—And the more to encourage tlic hearts, to
animate the prayers, and inflame the zeal of all godly
ministers, elders, and people, in pointing out the way
of life, it ought to be known that scarcely a day at pre-
sent passes which does not bring us tidings from differ-
ent parts of the country, of another and another repeti-
tion of those glorious and not soon to be forgotten
scenes Which recently in our neighbourhood and latter-
ly at our very doors, have created so profound an in-
terest and communicated so powerful an impulse to the
Saviour’s cause. And wiat, my friends, would be the
effect upon that cause—which we profess to hold so
dear—throughout the earth, were this great Protestant
city, on a scale proportioned to its magnitude and influ.
ence, to become the scene of a decided revival—were
it suddenly from its centre to its farthest suburbs to be-
come instinct with spiritual vitality and heavenly joy;
were the great majority of its families, instead of living
as now in sin and going down in sorrow and despair to
the grave, to become the penitent, the peaceful, and
devoted fo:lowers of the Lamb;—were the Spirit of the
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 313

gospel to become predominant in its busy streets and in

the ships that bear its merchandise to the ends of the
earth, and were there written upon the great mass of its
gold and silver and precious things, “holiness unto the
Lord!” O my friends, which of you for the hastening
of a day so bright, so blessed, will not emulate the “im-
perishable testimony” borne to that woman who came
aforehand to anoint the Saviour’s body to the burying,
—‘she hath done what she could.”
 314

LECTURE X.
Symptoms and Fruits of a Revival of Religion.

BY THE REV. CHARLES J. BROWN,

MINISTER OF NEW NORTH KIRK PARISH, EDINBURGH.

“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry
ground;:I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine off-
spring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the
water-courses. One shall say, 1 am the Lord’s ; and another shall call him-
self by the name of Jacob: and another shall subscribe with his hand unto
the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.’’—Isa1au, xliv, 3 5

In order to render the Symptoms and the Fruits of a

Revived state of a Church more clear and palpable,
it would have been desirable, had the time permitted,
to trace first of all the symptoms of an opposite state
—of a low and dead condition of a church. I have no
doubt, however, that this has been done already in
the previous lectures. And I shall simply observe, in
the most general manner, that a Dead Church may
be known by such marks as these: The general pre-
valence of obscure and distant and shadowy thoughts
of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and more
particularly of the Person and Work of the Holy
Ghost: the prevalence of slight thoughts and views
of the odiousness and danger of sin—general indiffer-
ence about sin—tampering with sin—slight thoughts
of the evil and danger of it: low and unscriptural views
of Christian privilege and character—scarce one in
fifty communicants feeling, that to be a Christian is to
he a citizen of heaven, an heir of glory, a temple of the
Holy Ghost, a king and a priest unto God,—the church
confounded with the world—nobody able to find out
where the people are who are styled in Scripture “the
salt of the earth,” the “light of the world,” the “living
epistles of Christ, known and read of all men:” a sloth-
ful and incredulous use of the means of grace—some
 SYMPTOMS AND FRUITS, ETC. 315

of them wholly neglected, the rest used with little heart

and little faith: conformity to the world in its corrupt
maxims, amusements, and practices; and in fine, indif-
ference about the conversion of the world,—even of the
nearest relatives, acquaintances, and friends. Such be-
ing at least among the more leading symptoms of a
dead church, the subject of our enquiry to-night is this
—when the Spirit of the Lord comes down in infinite
mercy to revive a church, what will be the symptoms,
and what the fruits of his gloriouslife-giving presence and
operations—what the symptoms and fruits of a revival??
“I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods
upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy
seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: and they
shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the
water-courses. One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and
another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and
another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord,
and surname himself by the name of Israel.”
I. 1. The first symptom which I mention, is an unusual
thirst for the preaching of the word, and unusual melt-
ings of soul under it. Observe how it is with the new-
born babe. It thirsts, by the power of an irresistible in-
tinct, after its mother’s milk, the destined food and nour-
ishment ofits infant life. Just so it is with the heaven-
born soul,—with the new-born revived church. It thirsts,
by the force of a resistless spiritual instinct, after “the
sincere milk of the word,” the food and nourishment of
the immortal soul. In dead souls and dead churches,
there is nothing even approaching to a thirst for the
preaching of the word. The people come to the house
of God, not to satisfy an appetite, but to discharge a
duty. The most solemn and affecting truths fall power-
less on their ears. Thereare no meltings, no subduings
of soul under them. They are scarce listened to without
impatience, unless there be something remarkable and
exciting in the style and manner of address. Very pos-
sibly, eloquence may moisten the eyes and touch the
feelings of the people ; but the most affecting truths of
God fail of reaching their hearts. Nothing seems much
worth attending to which wants the charm of novelty
1 Isaiah, xliv, 8—5.
316 SYMPTOMS AND FRUITS OF

Services at all out of the fixed routine of time and

place are viewed with indifference, if not dislike. In
short, there is nothing at all resembling an appetite, a
thirst for the word; there is no deep, soul-penetrating,
soul-subduing interest felt in hearing it. The whole of
this is reversed in a revived, a living church. The souls
of the people there open at once to the word of God,
melt and bend beneath the most simple truths presented
in the simplest scripture dress; every opportunity is
eagerly embraced ; new opportunities are desired and
longed for; the word is drunk in with an avidity and
delight before unknown. Those words describe the
experience of multitudes, “My soul breaketh for the
longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.”
“T opened my mouth and panted, [ longed for thy com-
mandments.” In the account of the island of Arran,
of date 1512, we read: ‘“‘ For some months after the
commencement of the awakening, the subjects of it
manifested an uncommon thirst after the means of grace.
Both old and young flocked in multitudes to hear the
word of God. His house, and the place employed for
private meetings, were frequently so crowded that the
people, as it were, trod one upon another. To travel
ten or fifteen miles to hear sermon was considered as a
very small matter.” ‘They longed for the return of
the Sabbath: They rejoiced when it was said to them,
‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ They eagerly
sought after renewed opportunities of receiving spiritual
instruction. Their desire was so great as not to be
easily satisfied. In our religious assemblies at this time
some might be seen filled with divine love, others with
fear; some rejoicing in hope of the glory of God, and
others trembling lest they should come short of it.” I
might give many other examples to the same effect.
Let one suffice from the account of Skye. “It was a
common thing, as soon as the Bible was opened, after
the preliminary services, and just as the reader began”
—here, you will observe, it was the simple reading
of the word without preaching; yet such was the
power upon the minds of the people, that “it was
a common thing, as soon as the Bible was opened,
after the preliminary services, and just as the reader
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. O17

began, for great meltings to come upon the hearers.

The deepest attention was paid to every word as the
sacred verses were slowly and solemnly enunciated.
Then the silent tear might be seen stealing down the
rugged but expressive countenances turned upon the
reader, andsoon. “It was often a stirring sight to
witness the multitudes assembling during the dark win-
ter evenings—to trace their progress, as they came in
all directions across moors and mountains, by the blaz-
ing torches which they carried to light their way to the
places of meeting. The word of the Lord was precious
in those days; and personal inconvenience was little
thought of when the hungering soul sought to be satis-
fied.” Unusual thirst for the preaching of the word,
and meitings of soul under it.
2. A second symptom, to which I invite your at-
tention, is the prevalence ufanxious enquiries about sal-
vation. How is it, in this respect, in a dead state
ofa church? I fear I can tell you, my friends, from a
gcod deal of painful experience. The minister preaches
to his people from Sabbath to Sabbath, that “except
a man be born again be cannot see the kingdom of
God.” He addresses them in such solemn words as
these—“ Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish.”
He preaches the gospel to them, ‘Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thow shalt be saved.” Well, he finds
after every examination he can make, that the mass of
his hearers remain very much as they were before: no
awakening of souls to any real belief’ in these things; no
general deep concern among the people regarding them.
All things, from week to week, and from Sacrament to
Sacrament, seem to jog on very much in the same uni-
form course with scarce any perceptible alteration. |
am quite well aware that more good may be accom-
plished under a man’s ministry than he has the means
of knowing. But it is just as clear to my mind, that if
there were any thing like an extensive awakening of
souls from the death of sin, it could not be ccncealed
from one anxiously on the outlook to perceive it. It
would appear in many ways not to be misunderstood;
it would appear in evident irrepressible concern and
anxiety about salvation; it would appear in frequent
618 SYMPTOMS ANP FRUITS OF

applications by people to ministers and others for spi-

ritual advice; feelings of false delicacy and shame would
be thrown aside; persons under concern of soul, in
place of allowing their feelings to lie pent up within
their breasts, there, perhaps, to languish and die, would
unfold them to those in whom they had confidence,
“asking the way to Zion with their faces thitherward.”
“The watchmen that go about the city found me, ¢o
whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul lovech?” The
awakened hearers of Pcter on the day of Pentecost
cried out as one man, “Men and brethren, what shall
we do?” They revealed their anxiety to those who had
been the means of awakening it. “They said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren,
what shall we dor” By abundant examples we might
show that so it has been, and will be, in every instance
of arevived church. The time obliges me to pass to a
3. Third, and the only other symptom which I men-
tion, namely, an earnest general desire to give vent to
the feelings in Prayer, secret and social. lf the word,
brethren, is the milk, the nourishment of the new-born
soul—the revived church, Prayer is the element it
breathes in, the very breath itself of the awakened, re-
generated soul. ‘ Behold he prayeth,” was said of Saul
instantly on his conversion. No sooner has a man been
quickened to realising vivid perceptions of God and sin
and eternity, than he pours his feelings instinctively
forth in prayer. All set forms of words are cast away.
There is no room for them. The prayers of an awak-
ened soul are cries for deliverance: groanings that can-
not be uttered take the place of customary phrases and
expressions. ‘The prayers ofliving souls are these—* I
stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirstethk
after thee as a thirsty land. Hear me speedily, O Lord,
my spirit faileth ; hide not thy face from me, lest ! be
like unto those that go down unto the pit.” The same
character of course must belong to the revived church.
In dead churches there is little prayer ;and what there
is, is cold and formal and listless) Talk in such
churches of a man, under any circumstances, spending
whole hours or nights together in prayer, and you are
set down as a madman. Nosympathy is felt with any-
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 319

thing of this kind. Nights can be spent in revelry and

carnal mirth. A night spent in communion with the
adorable God,—in seeking the welfare of an imperish-
able spirit, is the next door to insanity. If there is
little secret prayer in dead churches, there is perhaps
still less social prayer. It is a melancholy and scarcely
credible fact, which I have, however, on authority [
can rely on, that after minute and accurate inquiry
made but a few months ago in Fdinburgh, only four
meetings for social prayer could be found in the whole
of that city in connection with the Established church.
It is otherwise now, I am glad to say. But so it was
only a few months ago. Oh, how different would be
the state of things in a revived, a living church! To
give but one instance out of many before me,—Mr.
Halley thus writes in the account of Muthill, 1743:
‘Thirteen societies for prayer have been recently in-
stituted, and a new one is about to be established. I
cannot express how much I am charmed with the young
people.” ‘Oh, to hear the young lambs crying after the
great Shepherd,—to hear them pouring out their souls
with such fervour, with such beautiful expressions, with
such copiousness and fulness, did not only strike me
with admiration, but melted me into tears. I wished
in my heart that all contradictors, gainsayers, and blas-
phemers of this work of God had been where I was that
night.”
II. And now, in passing to what will require a some-
what fuller notice—the Fruits of a Revival—it is pro-
per to observe at the outset, that the distinction be-
tween symptoms and fruits is simply this—that while
symptoms belong rather to the condition of a church in
the course of revival, marking the passage of it from
the one of the two states to the other, fruits are rather
to be understood of those fixed characteristic features
of a work of divine grace in the souls of men, which
vary but little with mere changing circumstances, and
form the grand standing tests and evidences of the
reality of religion, alike in individual souls, and in the
churches viewed collectively.
1. The first of them which I mention, is. profound
sorrow and shame in the view of former estrangement
320 SYMPTOMS AND FRUITS OF

from God. The Scriptures are perfectly clear and ex-

press on this point. ‘I will pour upon the house of
David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit
of grace and of supplication.” And what shall be the
fruit,—what the result of this outpouring of the Holy
Ghost? Is it joy simply? Is it change of conduct and
life simply? Nay, joy were but delusion in this case
apart from sorrow; change of conduct were but hypoc-
risy without grief and shame for conduct past. ‘I will
pour upon them the Spirit of grace—and they shall look
upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn
for him,’—not believe on him simply, but mourn tor
him,—mourn for Aim, for dishonours done to him,—
for ignominy cast upon him,—for miserable unbelief,
impenitence, estrangement from God in time past. So
in many other parts of the prophetic books, when God
is promising to pour his Spirit upon the house of Israel,
we find such words as these—“ they shall come with
weeping, and with supplications will I lead them.” “I
have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus.”
“Thou shalt remember and be confounded, and never
open thy mouth any more because of shame.” “Ye
shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your
abominations.” Wherever there is a genuine work of
the Spirit of God, Christian souls revived, will be dis-
posed to say with Job, “I abhor myself,”—with Asaph,
“T was as a beast before thee,’"—with Ephraim, “I was
ashamed, yea even confounded,”—with the publican,
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ Converted souls
will look back with loathing on one continued course
of dishonours done to the glorious God. They will
see an unspeakable depth of meaning in that question
of an Apostle—‘ What fruit had ye then in those
things whereof ye are now ashamed; for the end of
those things is death?” They will enter deeply into
the words of another Apostle, “For the time past of
our lives may suffice us to have wrought the will of the
Gentiles:”—as a little boy with whom I conversed lately,
—on my saying to him, Well, my boy, it is not too soon
to have given yourself to Christ,”—* too long,” said he,
“too long!” ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and
before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 321

son.” Yes, dear brethren, there are “stony-ground”

hearers, that “hear the word, and anon with joy” in
a sort “receive it.” But their joy is altogether selfish
and superficial. It is unmixed with sorrow. They sow
not in tears; and therefore they reap not in joy. They
‘have no root in themselves, and in time of temptation
they fall away.” How is it in this respect, let me ask,
with you? As to our congregations at large, there is
no difficulty in seeing what this text says of them. We
shall then have revived churches, when we have weep-
ing, mourning churches. “In that day there shall be
a great mourning in Jerusalem; and the land shall
mourn.” ‘‘ihey shall come with weeping, and with
supplications will I lead them.” ‘“ All those with whom
I conversed,” says Mr. Halley of Muthill, “appeared
to be touched to the quick,—the arrows of the Al-
mighty shot to their very hearts,—trembling like the
jJailor, and crying out against sin ;’—sorrow and shame
in the view of former estrangement from God.
2. But a second fruit of Revival, inseparably con-
nected with this, is hearty renunciation of sin, and de-
dication to God. ‘To mourn for sin without forsaking
it, is a contradiction, an impossibility. Sin may cleave
to a man who mourns over it: but that is a very dif-
ferent thing from his cleaving to the sin. A man may
seem to mourn over sins he will not forsake. But he
does not really mourn for the sins, but only for some-
thing that happens to be associated with them. I knew
the case of a person who, bathed in tears, cried aloud
“is there no mercy for me?” But God was not in the
tears ; for when the same person was told, in reference
to a particular course of sin, that it must be abandoned,
—that Christ would save men from their sins, but not
in them, the message was despised, and the friend that
brought it dismissed with expressions of anger. Ano-
ther, on the contrary, subdued by the Spirit’s grace,
while engaged in his ordinary occupations, came in-
stantly and made open eonfession of a sin which he
had long and stoutly denied. Zaccheus, converted, ex-
claims, “ Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to
the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man
by false accusation, I restore him four-fold.” “ Ephraim
$22 SYMPTOMS AND FRUITS OF

shall say, What have I to do any more with idols?”

We just now found Ephraim bemoaning himself. He
is not content, however, with that. Ashamed of the
sin, as well as afraid of the punishment, he exclaims—
What have I to do any more with idols? I cast them
away—I have done with them for ever. “Depart from
me, ye evil-doers, for I will keep the commandments of
my God.” It is not so much, however, the simple re-
nunciation of sin that marks the work of God’s grace
in the soul, as the surrender of the soul itself to God,
which includes the other, and decisively stamps it with
the seal of the Holy Spirit. It 1s quite possible to turn
at least from some sins, without taking God in the
place of all! It is not so much the “turning from
idols” simply, as turning to God from idols, to serve
the living and true God,” that decisively marks the
work of grace. The text affords the finest of all illus-
trations here. In the third chapter, we have the pro-
mise of the Holy Spirit—‘ I will pour water upon him
that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.” What
shall be the fruit—what the certain immediate re-
sult? Look at verse fifth. “One shall say, | am the
Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of
Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto
the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.”
“One shall say, Iam the Lord's.” 1 belong to him:
by creation, redemption, self-consecration, I am_ his
property—I yield myself to his service, “1 am the
Lord’s :” and another shall call himself by the name of
Jacob ”—-whose God was the Lord; “and another
shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord,”—not
content with saying, “I am the Lord’s,” he shall, by a
solemn deed and bond, written and subscribed with
his hand, give himself away to the Lord—“and surname
himself by the name of Israel.” Do you know anything
of this fruit, brethren? [am very desirous that we
should not speculate this evening, but try ourselves by
each several fruit as it comes before us. I have no
doubt that many of you, for instance at the Lord’s
table, have taken up the position of consecrated souls—
consecrated and given up to God for all eternity. Were
you distinctly aware that that was your position? Are
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 323

you prepared still to stand to it? Will you go to your

chambers this night, and looking it full in the face,
with all its duties, conflicts, privileges, will you solemn-
ly take it up anew, saying, “My beloved is mine, and
I am his;” “O Lord, I am thy servant ;” “Thou art
my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep
thy word;” “I have sworn and I will perform it, that
[ will keep thy righteous judgments ” ?
3. A third fruit of revival is a high and loving esteem
of communion with God, and all divine ordinances and
means of grace. I spoke, under the head of Symptoms,
of an unusual thirst for the preaching of the Word,—
a thirst betokening the passage of a church out of one
condition into another. What I now speak of is some-
thing different from this. It is that fixed, habitual
delight in the ordinances of God, which continues to
characterise converted living souls, when possibly both
the first intensity of the thirst, and many things con-
nected with the manner of satisfying it, have passed
away. What I speak of is the state of mind expressed
in words like these: “ Lord, Ihave loved the habitation of
thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth:”
“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that I may
dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life:”
“How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!”
Wherever there is a genuine work of God in the soul,
there will infallibly be a high regard for the sanctuary of
God, for the Sabbath of God, for the mercy-seat of God,
for the word of God, for the holy table of God, for the
very instruments employed and blessed of God to the
soul’s eternal welfare. “How beautiful upon the moun-
tains are the feet of them that publish the gospel of
peace!” But this fruit does not come out in its full
shape and character until, along with the ordinances,
we have taken into view the fellowship of the God of
them. The delight of the living soul is in the God of
the ordinances. It esteems them only as means of en-
joying Him. It loves the sanctuary, to behold His
beauty,—the communion table, as a place of meeting
with Him,—the Sabbath, for the Lord of the Sabbath,—
the messengers, for their message—their work’s sake.
“I will go about the city,” says the Spouse; “in
324 SYMPTOMS AND FRUITS OF

the streets and in the broad way I will seek Him whom
my soul loveth:” “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of
his mouth: “I sat down under His shadow with great
delight.” Know you any thing of this fruit, brethren?
Do you pant and breathe after a nearer fellowship with
the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ? Know you
what this high and loving esteem is, of communion
with God, and all divine ordinances and means ap-
pointed to maintain and to advance it?
4, But a fourth fruit of revival to which I would
ask your attention, is a spirit of charity and mutual
forbearance, of tenderness and brotherly love. We find
the apostle expressly saying that the “fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness.”
Observe the account given of the Christian church im-
mediately on the outpouring of the Spirit at the day of
Pentecost:! “ And all that believed were together, and
had all things common; and sold their possessions and
goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had
need.” Especially observe the fourth chapter:* “And
when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they
were assembled together; and they were all filled with
the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with
boldness; and the multitude of them that believed
were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of
them that ought of the things which he possessed was
his own; but they had all things common: neither was
there any among them that lacked: for as many as
were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and
brought the prices of the things that were sold; and
laid them down at the apostles’ feet; and distribution
was made unto every man according as he had
need. Of course there were several peculiarities here
belonging to the early church, which are not designed
for our imitation; but the spirit of unity and harmony,
“one heart and one soul”—the spirit of generous, en-
Jarged mutual charity, and tenderness and forbearance,
is evidently set forth as the proper characteristic fruit
of the Holy Ghost. The same effect infallibly will
spring from the same cause in every country and
every age. Individual souls, brought by the spirit of
' Acts, ii, 44, 45. 2 Acts, iv, 32—35.
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 345

love and peace into the fellowship of “the Prince of

peace,” will burn with intense desire to see mercy and
peace and love reigning among the children of men.
Revived churches, in place cf biting and devouring one
another, will marvel at their former discords, weep over
them, and strive togefher only for the faith of the
gospel. I believe, brethren, that in one day the out-
pouring of the Spirit would extinguish the fire of a
hundred controversies. The grand spring of discord is
pride. Men once brought to their knees,—like Ephraim,
made to “smite upon their thigh,”—like Job, to “abhor
themselves,’—might by duty be forced, but assuredly
would not by inclination be drawn inte the field of con-
tention. What is the source of many of our keenest
controversies? It is the low state of vital religion; the
Spirit of the Lord is not with us; the soul wants occu-
pation; there is little communion with God, little striv-
ing against sin, little pressing after conformity to the
Divine image. Disputes and discords rush in to fill up
the very vacuum. In such a soil, to change the figure,
disputes of their own accord spring up in rank luxuri-
ance. I am quite well aware that, in existing circum-
stances, many controversies must be continued; but let
the church only be revived—let a spirit of faith and
holiness be but extensively poured forth—and the cir-
cumstances will change; and we shall find far too
much to do in setting ourselves against the common
enemy, to have either leisure or heart for conflicts and
contentions among ourselves. “The multitude of them
that believed were of one heart and of one soul.”
‘From the first,” says Mr. Burns, in his account of
Kilsyth, ‘the people of the Dissenting congregation
seemed interested in the work equally with our own;
and there appears to this day to be much of the spirit
of love diffused among us. The state of society is com-
pletely changed; politics are quite over with us; they
who passed each other before are now seen shaking
hands, and conversing about the all-engrossing subject.”
As to charity, in the more limited sense of the word, I
cannot help reading a line or two from the account of
Lewis:—“ It has long been the custom to make a col-
lection at the Thursday lecture for the most necessitous
3826 SYMPTOMS AND FRUITS OF

persons in the district where the lecture is held; and

thus, without poor rates, these people support their own
poor. For many years they have contributed £13 or
upwards to the Gzelic School Society, sometimes £16;
and one year, when the Society was in difficulty, the
contributions amounted to £20. On transmitting £16,
which was the sum collected in Uig in 1830, Mr.
M‘Leod remarks—‘ Considering the circumstances of
the people, I bear testimony that their liberality and
zeal in this case have cause to provoke very many to
similar duties. It was most delightful to see the hoary
head and the young scholar of eight or nine years join-
ing in this contribution. The will preponderates over
our purse, so that we cannot do exactly what we would.’
In 1831, Mr. M‘Leod, while he petitions that a teacher
may not be removed from his present station for another
year, says: ‘A poor man in that station declared to me
lately, that should the directors demand one of his cows,
he would readily give one before he would part with
the teacher.’” The greater part of this extract might
with equal propriety have come under,
5. The next fruit of revival which I mention—
namely, zeal for the conversion of others, and especially
of relatives and domestics. When the Christians of the
infant church of Jerusalem were scattered abroad in
the persecution upon the death of Stephen, we are told
that “they went every where preaching the word.”
Most of them, doubtless, were private Christians; yet
wherever they went, it seems they carried the news of
Christ along with them. “The love of Christ con-
strained them.” ‘ They could not but speak the things
which they had seen and heard.” They could not but
say to men—“ Come with us and we will do you good:”
‘‘We have found the Messiah:” “Come see a man that
told me all that ever I did; is not this the Christ?” Full
of the Holy Ghost, in their own simple way they
preached the gospel. Ah! in dead churches it is
deemed the business of ministers to “pluck men as
brands from the burning.” Private members will
rather leave them there to perish than put their hands tu
the work. It is not their business, forsooth! Not their
business, though they profess to believe that the Son of
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 327

God left the bosom of the Father, and died on the

tree for their salvation! Was that Hs business? Not
their business, while they profess to have given them-
selves and all that belongs to them to Christ, for his
service and glory! Not theig business, when the matter
concerns their own nearest relatives—their parents,
brothers, sisters, children! Is it possible that a man can
be going to heaven himself, and be indifferent whether
he meet his dearest friends there or no? Every living
Christian will, in some sense or other, be a missionary; he
will have the spirit of one; in various ways suitable to his
station he will act as one. Every revived church will be
a missionary church. In living churches, the glory of
Christ and the salvation of men will be deemed the busi-
ness of every man. No doubt, regard will be had to
circumstances and stations; but of nothing, my friends,
am I more firmly convinced than this, that that silence
about God and divine things, which in dead churches
is deemed the result of a prudent and sober discretion,
is in the vast majority of cases, the result of nothing
but an unworthy shame, a mean worldly policy, a
base fear of man bringing a snare; and, worst of all,
a cold and heartless indifference and apathy and unbe-
lief. “I beheld transgressors and was grieved,” is the
language of a living soul. “Thy kingdom come, thy
will be done upon the earth, as it is done in heaven,”
is the language of the revived church. God bids Eze-
kiel set his mark on the foreheads of “the men that
sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land.” |
pray you take this also home to your consciences. How
feel you as to the honour of Christ and the salvation of
men? Would it make you very joyful to hear of the
decided conversion to God of some near relative who
had been living without God, and without hope in the
world? Is the advancement of Christ’s cause your
happiness? Do you pray and long for the outpouring
of his Spirit, for the coming of his kingdom? Does
that which touches his honour and interest, touch the
apple of ‘your eye? ' ;
6. There is only another, a sixth fruit of revival, which
I notice: namely, @ tender concern to adorn the gospel
by an upright and conscientious discharge of ordinary
828 SYMPTOMS AND FRUITS OF

duties. It is here, my brethren, that enthusiasts, hypo-

crites, and fanatics, all in the end bring out the hollow-
ness and rottenness of their professions. They often
display a great deal of fervour and zeal in religious
duties. They look uncommonly fair in the church and
on their knees. But follow them to their houses, to
their places of business, to the ordinary transactions of
life; their religion is all on the outside; there is no
principle at the bottom of it; they can cheat and lie
and oppress the widow and the fatherless without com-
punction. It turns out a mere caricature, a mere mi-
mic stolen copy of the work of God,—a delusion, a
dream. On the other hand, says the apostle; “The fruit
of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and
truth.” The work of the Holy Ghost is signally tested,
evidenced, adorned, by a quiet and steady attention to
the things which are “true and honest and just and
lovely and of good report.” We are told of the Chris-
tians of the day of Pentecost, that they did eat their
bread with gladness and singieness of heart, praising
God, and having favour with all the people. The
dreadful punishment of Ananias and Sapphira, while
it shows, that there were not wanting hypocrites from
the first, evinces in the clearest manner the general
prevalence of integrity and truth in the early church.
The exception powerfully confirms the rule. That
the same fruit everywhere attends the outpouring of
the Spirit, I shall only further establish, by an ex-
tract of the deepest interest, in regard to the Island of
Lewis: “On occasion of a year of famine, the natives
were put to great straits, and in danger of perishing for
want. A vessel laden with meal was driven upon their
shores by stress of weather. Did the famine-stricken
natives seize on the ship, and Jawlessly apply her cargo
to the supply of their necessities? If they had, hunger
would have formed for them a plausible excuse.
Twenty years before they would doubtless have done
so, and held themselves guiltless. But now it was not
so. Every portion was accurately weighed or divided;
and, as their necessities were so great that they had
nothing then to pay, their affectionate minister gave a
promissory note for it, knowing well that the excellent
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 329

lady whose property the lands are, would not suffer

him to be impoverished. The people knew this also,
but none took advantage of it: all were occupied in
economising to the utmost, till one after another they
had repaid their debt. Thus they obtained not only
the great blessing of necessary food, but preserved the
still greater blessing of integrity, and a spirit free from
covetousness.
“It is a rule in this and the other isles of the Hebrides,
that when a man meets a stray sheep on the moor, he
is entitled to carry it home as his own, and obliged to
make an equivalent offering in the collection for the
poor on the Sabbath day. After the commencement of
the revival in the Lewis, many came to confess to their
minister the trouble of conscience they experienced by
reason of having what they called a black sheep in their
flocks—some having had them for several winters. The
minister always directed them to make restitution now
in the appointed way; and in one season, the sum of
£16 was deposited in the plate. The number of sheep
annually lost has wonderfully diminished since the
commencement of the revival, leading to the conclusion,
that the loss imputed to accident arose from dis-
honesty.”
I have thus mentioned, as the symptoms of a revival,
an unusual thirst for the preaching of the word, and
unusual meltings of soul under it; the prevalence of
anxious enquiries about salvation; an earnest general
desire to give vent to the feelings in prayer, secret and
social. ‘The fruits I have mentioned are these: pro-
found sorrow and shame in the view of former estrange-
ment from God; hearty renunciation of sin, and dedi-
cation to God; a high and loving esteem of com-
munion with God, and all divine ordinances and means
of grace; a spirit of charity and mutual forbearance,
of tenderness and brotherly love; zeal for the con-
version of others, and especially of relations and do-
mestics; a tender concern to adorn the gospel by an
upright and conscientious discharge of ordinary duties.
Brethren, how precious, how supremely desirable the
revival everywhere of the work of God, since such are
the fruits of it! How low also, by the contrast of those
330 SYMPTOMS AND FRUITS, ETC.
fruits, does the actual state of religion appear, in our
parishes and congregations generally! In both views,
how loudly are we called to break forth, in earnest
united prayer, “Oh that thou wouldst rend the heavens,
that thou wouldst come down, that the mountains
might flow down at thy presence!” ‘“ Awake, O north
wind, and come, thou south.” ‘“O Lord, revive thy
work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the
years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” “Come
from the four winds, O Breath, and breathe upon
these slain, that they may live.” Are there those in
this house conscious to themselves, from the absence
of the various fruits that have been mentioned, that
they have never been raised from the death of sin? I
would this night proclaim to them, the Lord Jesus,
“the Resurrection and the Life.” “Ye wild not come
to me,” says he, “that ye might have life.” Are there
those who can but faintly hope that they exhibit
them, without being confident that they do? Let
them come anew to Christ, as poor ruined sinners;
and let them press on towards the different fruits, one by
one, crying for the outpouring of that Spirit from whom
they flow, at once upon their own souls, and upon the
Church and the World around them. ‘When the
poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their
tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I
the God of Israel will not forsake them: I will open
rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the
valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water: I will plant in the
wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle,
and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and
the pine, and the box tree together; that they may see,
and know, and consider, and understand together, that
the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy
One of Israel hath created it.” }
' Tsaiah, xli, 17—20,
 331

LECTURE XI.
Mode of Conducting a Revival, so as to improve such a
visitation of Divine grace——Errors and Evils to be
avoided

BY THE REV. WILLIAM BURNS,

MINISTER OF KILSYTH.

** Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold
fast that which is good.”,—1 THESSALONIANS, V- 17.

THE branch of the great subject of the revival of reli-

gion allotted to me, is “the Mode of Conducting a Re-
vival, so as to improve such a visitation of grace, with
the description of the Errors and Evils tu be guarded
against.” I feel my inadequacy to illustrate such a sub-
ject, and have endeavoured to approach to it in the
spirit of humility, self-abasement, and prayer. There
has, however, a previous question been moved, which
may require, first of all, to be disposed of, namely,
—‘Is it right and lawful even to suggest or hin¢ at
such a thing as conducting a religious revival? Is it
not presumptuous? Is it not incongruous to speak of
conducting a work which belongs exclusively to God,
and in which the Divine sovereignty is peculiarly pro-
minent? This has been in some degree already set on
its true basis in discourses which have preceded in the
course, particularly in that which illustrated the work
of the Holy Spirit in the revival of religion, the sove-
reignty of God as connected with it, with the means of
promoting the same glorious work.
I would now proceed more particuiarly to observe, in
reference to the objection, that the figures which are
employed by the great Teacher himself on the subject of
which we are to treat seem to furnish us with the pro-
per answer to the question and to the objections which
have been started: “The wind bloweth where it listeth,
thou hearest the sound, but canst not tell whence it
332 MODE OF CONDUCTING

cometh, or whither it goeth: so is every one that is born

of the Spirit.” Nevertheless human sagacity, industry,
and activity, are much exercised and applied in making
use of the winds in various branches of human enter-
prise, both on the land and on the water. And, although
we cannot command the shower or the genial vegetative
heat, the husbandman and the gardener know well, how
with skill and activity to prepare the soil and to cast in
the seed: “ This also, saith the prophet,’ cometh from
the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and ex-
cellent in working.” The electrical fluid also has been,
by later efforts of skill and ingenuity, directed in its
course, so as to be conducted harmlessly along; and
certain diseases to which the human frame is liable have
been, by a well known process of medical skill and ex-
periment, either greatly modified, or prevented, and all
without any presumptuous attempt at interfering with
the great all-wise Disposer—the Lord of nature,—whose
will gives law to the universe.
A revival of religion is an unusually successful dis-
pensation of religious ordinances, the effect of a copious
effusion of the influences of Divine grace; but in
other respects it comes under the same rules with the
more ordinary dispensation, where the effects of the
word of grace are less obvious and prominent. In both
it is obvious that human agency is employed, and wis-
dom and zeal and activity are not less called for in the
one than in the other, or rather a greater degree of
prudence, of wise consultation, and of untiring watch-
fulness and activity, are to be called forth in the period
of an awakening than in ordinary times. “In all om
ways, we are to acknowledge God, that He may direct
our steps.” The rules I have selected as the text are
certainly peculiarly applicable in an awakened state of
the church :— Quench not the Spirit. Despise not
prophesyings. Prove all things: hold fast that which
is good,’ &e. Let us proceed therefore, by the Divine
help aud blessing—humbly and earnestly implored,
First, to make some remarks upon the best mode of
conducting and continuing a revival.
The first remark, | would venture to make is ;—that
{ Tsaiah, xxviii, 29.
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 333

“holiness to the Lord” should be inscribed upon all

and every one engaged in such a work. The Lord is
in his holy temple, therefore should we keep silence be-
fore Him. All who bear the vessels of the sanctuary
should be holy. This no doubt is true at all times;
but it holds still more pre-eminently and _ strikingly
where the goings of the King of Zion are seen, with
more than usual majesty and power, in his temple.
“His arrows fly thick to pierce the hearts of the King’s
enemies, and the people fall under him.” His word is
“as a fire and a hammer that breaketh the rock in
pieces.” When all is thug, as it were, solemnising—the
presence of Deity peculiarly felt—tke great work of the
ever-blessed Trinity going on with unusual manifesta-
tion;—when all heaven and hell, as well as earth,
are, so to speak, in active and powerful movement
;—
when the trumpet of the gospel waxes louder and
louder, when even Zion mount seems all on flame; and
when an unusual influence attends the dispensation of
the word, sealing it upon the souls both of sinners and
of saints,—then the presence and the operations of the
holders of office in the church, who are characterised
by any thing but spirituality of mind, seems peculiarly
incongruous. !
When religion is in a low state, it is seldom that
the office of Eldership is at all filled up, even as to
numbers, in any kind of proportion to the extent or
population of parishes or congregations. There is,
for the most part, a melancholy skeleton of what
may have been at one time a well-conditioned, and
fully organised, lively body of Minister and of Elders
and Deacons, in those parishes where religion has
been in a declining state. But even on the supposi-
tion, that the framework has continued after the ani-
mating spirit of religion has departed, the dead
branches must be replaced with those which have life
from the true Vine,—the mouldering stones changed
into living ones, ere the church as a building—the
temple of the Lord, can be restored to order or beauty.
But perhaps in most cases where a “revival” takes
place, one of the first movements is among office-bearers
t Deuteronomy, xxiii, 9.
334 MODE OF CONDUCTING

of the church; and an improved state of that import-

ant department of Zion precedes any very decided or
general improvement; in which case, these are “the
Lord’s remembrancers,” ready to take their places on
the watch-towers; and, making their rounds, “serving
the Lord instantly day and night :” and, having grace
and wisdom given to them according to their exigencies,
they are in some degree prepared for the pleasant though
difficult work to which they have been called. He
“with whom is the residue of the Spirit” giveth more
grace to the humble; and it shall be given in the hour
and season of need how to speak, and to act, in answer
to prayer—secret and united.
This leads to another remark, that prayer, unceasing
and earnest, is that wherein the great strength of a re-
vival of religion lieth. This it is which draweth down
the pure, life-giving, animating influence which sets all
hearts in motion, which kindles every sacrifice, which
consecrates every tongue, and makes every house a
Bethel, every heart an altar and a sacrifice of a sweet-
emelling savour, and each body and soul a living tem-
ple, consecrated to the presence and residence of the
ever-blessed Trinity. Then every address to the Lord is
the offering of the heart perfumed with the incense of the
Redeemer’s merits; every act of worship is an immediate,
felt, realized entry into the holiest of all—a beholding of
the glory of God, and of Jesus Christ at his right hand
—a blessed communion “ with the Father and with his
Son, Jesus Christ”—“ a pouring out of the heart before
the Lord.” There is a nearness to God felt and enjoyed,
and a persuasion that we have the petitions that we have
desired of Him. I know not any thing by which the
services of prayer and of preaching, which have been
most evidently blessed for conversion and for edifica-
tion, have been more peculiarly characterised and pre-
eminently distinguished, than by this prayerful, earnest
pleading with the Lord, that he may not leave to bar-
renness and coldness in the speaker, or to listlessness
and unconcern in the hearers. It is not strength of
arguing, or eloquence, in the ordinary sense of these ex-
pressions, which the Lord has owned and succeeded,
but holy unction on the spirit—humble, fervent, wrest-
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 333

ling, that the word may not return void, and that none
may go away unimpressed; and this in secret, and be-
fore and after the addresses from the pulpit or prayer
meeting. With regard to the social meetings for prayer
to which not a few have referred as the scene and th
means of their first serious impressions, or where they
found peace, the question has been put, How are
they conducted, and what is their peculiarity, to which
such more than usual success may be, under the blessing
of God, attributed? The answer is in sum this; That
they have not been so much for enerease of knowledge
and of experience in the Christian life, as for promoting
lively personal religion, and to bring those to the poiné
who have been, it may be, going about it and about it,
without ever declaring on the Lord’s side. Fellowship
meetings, properly so called, of Christian friends, for
growth in grace and deeper insight into divine things,
useful as they are, yet are not those which have among us
been referred to; but those into which mere enquirers
have been admitted, yea, which they have been solicited
to attend. Some we know disapprove of this kind of
prayer meetings as of a nature too open, and as wanting
in correct views of Christian character, in allowing those
to be present among the people of God who have not
made any serious profession, and who may go away and
bring discredit on the good cause. But perhaps this
solution may be allowed, that prayer meetings of the
nature now described, and fellowship meetings, are
each in their place scriptural and useful: and, perhaps
that which might not be expedient in one grade of so-
ciety, may suit another. We have in our view chiefly
those in the humbler walks of life, who are much more
in the way of familiar and unceremonious converse
with each other, and much less shackled by forms
than those in a more elevated station. The meetings
referred to are not so much for mutual religious fellow-
ship, and the comparing of passages of Scripture or of
experience, as for immediate addresses in prayer and
praise, interspersed with a few verses of Scripture, com-
ments and controversy excluded. Certain it is, that
among us not a few young parents particularly have
been thus much benefited ; and either at such meetings,
336 MODE OF CONDUCTING

or as an effect of the reading and hearing of the gos-

pel, and reflection and communings to which these
meetings have given rise, not a few have been brought to
the knowledge and experience of the truth.
The weekly public prayer meetings too, which have
been conducted for several years, and to which some
resorted who were not in the habit of church-going,
have been blessed for conversion and for edification:
to which we add, the meetings for missionary purposes,
which have been found very enlivening ; so that while
“watering others, we are ourselves watered.” No
church or parish can be in a sound, wholesome, or
flourishing state spiritually, where there is no special
attention and prayer called forth in regard to the spi-
ritual condition of the heathen and the Jew. Indeed,
the very use of the prayer our Lord hath taught his
disciples, condemns those who pay no respect to the
spiritual wants and miseries of the Jewish or of the
Gentile nations, and renders their use of such a prayer
at any time a mere inanimate form. Too many par-
ishes, we fear, are still in this sad and dead condition!
More closely still to the important point on hand,
the concert of united and continued and persevering
prayer for the abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit
requires to be earnesily pressed and embraced. It has
been remarked, as an important and encouraging fact
in the history of the revivals with which we are best
acquainted, that the moving spring of them all has been
prayer—believing, earnest, united ; by asmaller number,
it may have been by only a very few at first, but, im-
mediately preceding the remarkable awakenings, by a
greater number of Christians brought together, as on
sacramental occasions. Witness the wonderful day at
the Kirk of Shotts in 1630, preceded by a night and a
morning of incessant praying among ministers, and by
the people who had been engaged in holy communion
at the table of the Lord, and who were unwilling to
depart without a blessing. Now, “the Lord’s hand is
not shortened that he cannot save, neither is his ear
heavy that it cannot hear.’ When we come down to
more recent awakenings in our church: to that of
Moulin, 1800; Skye, 1814; Arran, 1813; Lewis, 1834;
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. oor

and in Kilsyth at this present time: it is true in each

case that “the Lord hearkened and heard those who
feared his name,” and who were “speaking often one to
another” of the things of salvation, and who were, with
united believing supplications, addressing the throne of
grace, and were looking up and expecting an answer.
Going to Scripture history and referring as far back
as to the days of Enos, when “men began to call upon
the name of Jehovah,”! and coming down to the day of
Pentecost, when the Apostles in an “upper-room con-
tinued all with one accord in prayer and supplication,
waiting for the promise of the Spirit,” we find the same
important place given to prayer; and doubtless, the his-
tory of the true church of the living God, in every
age and in every place of the world, would be found to
present a beautiful uniformity and unity in this respect,
so that it is verified in the church—the body of Christ
collectively viewed, as well as in each individual mem-
ber, that “ whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved.’’*
I conclude this part of the subject, by earnestly
pressing upon my fathers and brethren in the ministry,
the duty and the privilege of having a weekly prayer
meeting, wherever circumstances will allow of it, on
some evening of the week, over which the minister
should preside. The attendance, as it was formerly
with us, for some time may be small and somewhat dis-
couraging; but good is always doing more or Jess, and
there may come a time when such a meeting will form
a rallying-point to the enquirers after salvation, and a
mean of great comfort and edification to the people of
God. Such weekly meeting was commenced in the year
of the cholera, 1832, with us, as it had been in many
places. It was often thinly attended, but never given
up. Not a few have obtained saving impressions when
they dropped in to these meetings, where a familiar
short exposition of a psalm was given with prayer and
praise, and once in four weeks religious intelligence.
It has been found by some to be to them the “house
of God and the gate of heavea.” Besides there were
weekly meetings held in two rural districts, one of
' Genesis, iv, 26. 2 Romans, x, 12.
338 MODE OF CONDUCTING

which has been recently formed into a parish, distinct

so far as religious ordinances are concerned, which were
found very conducive to spiritual good. In this latter
case a failure was predicted, and seemed at one time
nearly verified, but it was never given over to extine-
tion; and now the work of the Lord has revived in
that district, where, a few years ago, rudeness, ungod-
liness, and intemperance prevailed. We have just to
reverse this description. Old things are in a great
measure done away, and the Banton district of miners
flourishes not merely by its minerals, but by prayer and
the preaching of the word. A tap-room has been chang-
ed into a meeting-place for prayer, in which not a few
assemble for holy converse and united prayer. and
praise, where lately there was only the sound of revelry
and of wrangling! If it be asked wherein the great
strength lies, the answer is, in prayer,—without which
the church would be, like Samson without his hair,
weak and like others.
Again: To carry forward and extend a revival while
all the ordinary means of grace must be regularly and
zealously maintained, there must be an instancy also
out of season. Some have unreasonably objected to the
using of any means beyond the usual Sabbath-day mi-
nistrations and the orderly round of visitation, as en-
dangering due respect to the instituted regularly re-
curring means of grace: and such persons are so wedded
to form, and so punctilious as to hours and seasons of
public meetings, that the inroads made upon time and
privacy of study by any thing like an awakening of
numbers to a sense of their spirituai danger, would be
an annoyance to them. Now, my friends, while every
studious and prayerful means should be used to conduct
the preaching of the word—the devotional exercises in
public, and the pastoral visitations, in the most pointed,
lively, scriptural, and edifying manner, giving to these
the full force of all the preacher's head and heart, and
best manner of address—there must be beyond these,
and in addition to all the ordinary means, a patient and
instant waiting upon cases of the convinced and anxious
—that they may be instructed and edified; and even
although the regular hours of closing should have ar-
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 839

rived, the urgency of trembling and awakened enquir-

ers may, yea must in a season so unusual and an
occasion so pressing, overrule all the customary, and at
ordinary times, salutary restrictions as to times and
seasons. I know this is with some a very difficult point,
and, no doubt, it is easy to summon up reasons against
all deviations from rule as to time and place for reli-
gious exercises. But the answer here is just this ;—
that the whole work we are now treating of is of an
unusual kind, and therefore must not be subjected ri-
gidly to ordinary rules: here wisdom and zeal must be
eminently conjoined with much and earnest waiting
upon God for direction. The sunshine, while it lasts,
should be fervidly improved, as it is by the farmer: the
springtide must be waited on, and all hands must be at
work—the sails spread, the prosperous gale with the
favourable current not neglected, although the sun may
have set, and although no moon nor stars should appear.
The Philippian jailor was converted at midnight, and
St. Paul, once at least, when about to depart on the
morrow, continued his speech until the same hour
of midnight. So, my friends and brethren, even at
uncanonical hours we must be willing that men be
converted.
So it was with Mr. Robe in 1742, for, “ considering
in his own mind what had been done at Cambuslang,
and hearing the criticisms of the world on the week-day
services—the many hours spent in church, &c., Mr.
Robe, while he prayed for a time of refreshing from
the Lord on his own people at Kilsyth, made various
secret resolutions as to how he would arrange matters
so as to avoid censure, should his prayers be answered.
But when the time came, the exigence of the souls cry-
ing out ‘What shall we do?’ overset all his precon-
ceived plans; for when the good man had closed his
services, and saw many of his people sit gazing upon
him as if they were still hungering for more, he was
constrained to begin anew, and then called in elders,
and next ministers from the adjacency to assist, and
also to mark the doings of the Lord,” &c.'
Such seasons will soon, we fear too soon pass by,
' History of Revivals, &c., p. 260,
340 MODE OF CONDUCTING

leaving many after all in their dead sleep. The faith-

ful, and rousing, and pointed preaching of the word,
with appeals, it may be, after the usual addresses have
been finished, without any apparent impression, may in
some cases be called for, and have been actually at-
tended with marked success, though here it is granted
that there is room for the question—“ Why resort to
such methods, instead ofleaving the message, solemnly
and affectionately delivered and followed with fervent
effectual prayer, to the impression which may be ex-
pected to have been made?” In the method followed
by our Lord and by the apostles, there seems to be
warrant for both of these plans of addressing sinners.
We find them in many instances declaring the truth
boldly and affectionately, and this done, leaving it to
operate by the divine Spirit’s influence, just like the
husbandman sowing the seed after previous preparation,
and after a time looking fur the encrease. At other
times we find them following up the more public and
general addresses with special reasonings and conver-
sations, so as “by all means to save some,” even “ pull-
ing them out of the fire.” }
One mean which seems to have been often blessed to
conversion, is that of individual address by one man,
or from one friend to another; as Andrew telling Pe-
ter, “I have found the Messias:” “Come and see.”
In the season of a revival this comes to be a very com-
mon case: the subject of salvation is so much the mat-
ter of interest and reasoning among friends and neigh-
bours, that one member of a family speaks to another,
and one workman speaks to his fellow, and one student
in a class to another on the same bench, and one occu-
pier of a seat in a church to the individual near him:
in reference to the all-important subject. Thus it is, that
the reserve which is ordinarily observed on the subject
of salvation is broken through, and there results a free
and interesting interchange of thought, of mind, and of
heart. Hence also arises very naturally, an encreasing
number of meetings for prayer and Christian fellowship:
and these again become so many rallving-points, or
places of resort, to those who are asking the great ques-
' Acta, xxviii, 23,30, 31.
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 34k

tion, “What they shall do to be saved.” There is here,

however, some evil to be apprehended when the anxious
are led to go to the first person they meet with, how-
ever imperfectly qualified to give them advice. Surely
it is to be regretted that it so frequently happens, that
the sermon or the address which has made a serious
impression is not immediately followed up by an ear-
nest and humble application for advice to the teacher,
whose words have been so far effectual: or, if that
cannot be attained from any cause, why not to the
godly parent, or elder, or stated pastor, or experienced
Christian friend, instead of consulting only, or chiefly
with the most forward and self-confident, as is often
the case; by which mistake many have been bewildered
or led away to some new sect, and been turned aside
to vain jangling? And here I would observe, that it
should be well known and understood beyond all doubt,
that consultation on soul-concerns is expected, and at
all times welcomed and courted by the pastor watching
for souls. This, alas! it must be acknowledged, has
been too seldom the state of things betwixt the minister
and his flock; and thus many precious opportunities of
doing good have been neglected, and many precious
souls, there is reason to fear, have been lost.
Again, while prayer, as we have seen, is the spirit
of a revival of religion, the substance of a revival,—the
pillar and ground of all is the sound, zealous, pointed
preaching of Christ—the compliance with the command,
“Go, stand, and speak unto the people all the words
of this life.” Some, it may be, have attempted to ob-
tain or to promote a revival—by speaking much about
revivals, by describing them, or by defending them.
All this may be so far well, and the recital at such
meetings, of well-authenticated cases of awakening and
of conversion, may be very animating; yea, may be a
meansof conversions: but to rest in these, to flatter
ourselves that good has been done merely because a
few meetings of this kind have been thronged by atten-
tive hearers will not do. The people must be plied
from day to day with plain, faithful, scriptural preach-
ing to them, and not merely before them. The convic-
tion must more and more be wrought on the minds of the
512
C27
MODE OF CONDUCTING

hearers, that the preacher is in earnest, that he means

and feels what he says; that, iu the words of R. Baxter,
he “never expects to meet any one of them in heaven un-
less they be truly converted.” I have read of one preach-
er that he was successful in two things very difficult to
attain,—the one is making the hearers to feel that he
was in earnest in wishing their conversion; the other,
that God was in earnest in calling them, and willing to
save them.—Of another I have heard, that lately he
preached about revivals, but now he proclaims the doc-
trine of salvation more than before in a way calculated
by the blessing of God really to produee a revival. It is
the word of the living God, delivered in a living man-
ner, which proves quickening and powerful! And here
I would beg leave, with great humility, just to suggest the
inquiry,—whether the preaching of our day, generally
speaking, has been altogether of the description for
plainness, for godly sincerity, and home-dealing, which
comes to men’s business and bosoms; and, whether it
would not appear, at the close of too many sermons,
almost incongruous to expect that there may have been
made such an impression as to lead any of the audi-
ence to stay behind, waiting and seeking further counsel?
And further, may not the question be salutary, Are not
some pulpit addresses, though unexceptionable as to
doctrine, yet too much of an abstract description, and
in the style of what is brought before an audience as
hearers and judges, instead of being addressed ¢o them
as matters of personal and most pressing concern; and
is not the sound too general and uncertain to leave a
decided and deep impression? It is amazing, and it is
lamentable, how many able and doctrinally sound dis-
courses are delivered from Sabbath to Sabbath in the
pulpits of our land, of the practical converting efficiency
of which there are so few palpable fruits and evidences.
Is there not too often a substitution of the intellect for
the heart?—of human reasoning, for the demonstra-
tion of the Spirit? Is there not a defect of prayer, and
a practical forgetting of the often-repeated text, “Not
by might, nor power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts”? Do we not expect too little, and that because
we pray too little, and too coldly ?—Certain it is, that
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 343

there is a defect,—a great defect somewhere, and we have

probably touched upon some of the points in question,
which may be useful in suggesting the remedy and the
means of promoting a more awakened feeling and frame
in speaking and hearing God’s word. Of certain preach-
ers who were peculiarly successful, it is said “their ser-
mons are not distinguished by what is called talent ;—
few of them exhibit marks of powerful genius: they
are plain, energetic, and manly:—No attempt at ora-
torical display ; no poetical description; no metaphysi-
cal dissertation; no learned criticism: but simple, prac-
tical truth forcibly presented, illustrated, and applied.”
May the number of such preachers be encreased a hun-
dred-fold in all the churches; may the Lord pour out
his Spirit more copiously on preachers and hearers ;—
then there will be a speaking as of dying men fo dying
men, feeling themselves so: and of living men, to living
men,—of heart to heart /
Another very valuable means of carrying forward the
work of revival is pastoral visitation. Waiving all gen-
eral remarks on the unquestionable importance of this
department of ministerial duty, I would remark, that be-
sides that these visits are from various causes generally
few and far between, there is another imperfection too
commonly attendant upon the mode in which they are
conducted, and that is, too little holy earnestness and
closeness and familiarity of the proper kind, similar to
that of the enquiries of a beloved friend or family phy-
sician. There is apt to be too much ceremony. and too
distant and too general and vague application, to be a
likely means of leaving a permanent impression. Now,
a season of revival affords manifest openings and fa-
cilities for closer and more home address. The awak-
ening of so many to concern about salvation, and the
beneficial change upon the life and conversation of
neighbours and relatives, naturally give rise to a more
free, and at the same time a peculiarly solemn mode of
address. Such scenes bring into nearer contact with
the condition of souls, and place us together as it were
on the borders of eternity and the judgment-seat of
Christ. We come at once to deal with our people,—
young and old—about matters of near and everlasting
544 MODE OF CONDUCTING

moment. Instead of a few remarks on relative duties,

and it may be, hearing a few questions from the youthful
members of the family, with a prayer: there will be
(not forced in, but) naturally introduced, serious con-
versation with each member as to how it now fares with
them, and how their sowls are? The idea I wish to con-
vey is thus well expressed, in describing family visita-
tion as practised by Presbyterian churches transatlan-
tic: “Visiting a family for the express purpose of re-
ligious enquiry, in order to ascertain the religious state
of the heads of the family, and of every member ;—the
amount of their Bible knowledge, and the manner in
which they perform their acknowledged duties; and es-
pecially to ascertain whether they are really seeking
God. The visit is purely pastoral; and as it is by no
means considered requisite for the physician to travel
all round the circle of general topics before he can ven-
ture to allude to the purposes of his visit; so neither is
this deemed necessary for the minister: he feels at lib-
erty at once to enter upon enquiries relating to the soul.
These enquiries are often put in the plainest and most
pointed form to the individual, and no evasion permit-
ted. If the question be put, “ Are you living in the
habit of prayer,” and the answer be evasive, it would
be immediately followed by the plain question, “Did
you pray this morning ? had you communion with God?”
and followed by perhaps nothing more than an affec-
tionate pressure of the hand, and a fatherly caution to
beware of going back. Worldly conversation—perplex-
ing enquiries—doctrinal disputes—find no place: the
only subject is the application of the great doctrine of
salvation to the consciences of the hearers, according to
their capacities and attainments.” Now, no doubt wis-
dom is profitable to direct here, how far such close
questioning may 77 sume cases be practicable, or for edi-
fication; but certainly holy zeal and affection may do
very much to make that a very interesting work which
is either too much neglected, or tuo formally and coldiy
performed, and make it a promising means of carrying
forward a revival. A season like the present surely
would be seized, for getting into more close dealing
with the hearts and consciences of our people; and, in
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 345

the majority of cases having to deal with the poor and

unlearned, access will be found more easily and accept-
ably and usefully than might at first be apprehended.
Connected with this also, the catechetical and conver-
sational manner of visiting families, in order to impart
solid views of Divine truth, and to establish the weak
and lately awakened, is most requisite and desirable, see-
ing that it is through the influence of family religion
that a revival of religion is likely to pervade and to be
handed down in its blessed influence to succeeding
times. (See the Directory for Visitation of Families,
in our Confession of Faith.)
This brings me to speak of Bible classes for reli-
gious instruction conducted by ministers, and by pious
and intelligent Christians under their superintendence.
These have been greatly honoured of God as supple-
mental to the blessed and scripturally-approved exam-
ple of “commanding children and household to keep
the way of the Lord, and to do judgment and justice.”
There is warrant also for the Sabbath classes, for we
read of one teaching his brother, saying Know the Lord;
‘ The following remarks appear to me very valuable. “ From
long observation of facts I have been particularly impressed with
the importance of early instruction. I feel more strongly attach-
ed to the good old way, trodden by the venerable fathers of the
Reformation in Scotland, and Holland, and England, and after-
wards by our pilgrim fathers, who brought the light of “immor-
tality and life’ to our western wilderness. With them the in-
struction of youth in the elementary doctrines of religion, by
catechising and pastoral visitation, was an important part of min-
isterial labour. The revered Flavel, in 1688, addressing the Pu-
ritans, remarks thus: ‘Prudence will direct us to lay a good
foundaticn among our people by catechising and instructing them
in the principles of Christianity, without which we labour in vain.
Unless we have a knowing people, we are unlikely to have a gra-
cious people. All our excellent sermons shall be dashed upon
the rock of their ignorance, What age of the world has produc-
ed more lively and steadfast professors than the first ages? and
then this duty (of catechising) most eminently flourished in the
church. Clemens, Optatus, Austin, Ambrose, Basil, were cate-
chists.’ This hath therefore been a constant practice in the
church ;and in the first ages they had a particular person set
apart to this office.”—See appendix to Sprague’s Lectures, (Col-
lins’s Edition, )Letter X, by Dr. Proudfaot,—a most valuable let-
ter where a!l are excelient.
346 MODE OF CONDUCTING

and Cain’s answer is recorded not for approval, but as

a beacon, “Am I my brother’s keeper ?”—The answer
is, “Yes, you ought to care for a brother: and especial-
ly for such as cannot, or will not care for themselves.”
True, every family should be a Sabbath school, and a
prayer meeting, yea, a church; but in order to bring
about such a glorious result, every Scriptural means
must be used, and such schools of the prophets as well-
conducted Sabbath classes should be earnestly encour-
aged. On these the blessing of God has abundantly
rested. Frequently has it been observed, that in re-
vivals the Bible classes and Sunday schools have been
deeply affected; chey have felt the first influence of
God’s grace, and the great work has sometimes com-
menced with them. Before leaving this head, I would
just observe, that from the local plan of Sabbath school-
ing, by drawing as it were a circle around a station, and
collecting the neglected children enclosed, much good
has resulted. ‘Three years ago, by thus “assaying to do
good,” a large call for Bibles resulted, and other blessed
effects connected with the present revival,—such as in-
crease of prayer meetings; a desire for good reading;
attendance on ordinances; saving benefit to not a few
of youthful age.
Another means of carrying forward revivals is the
appointment of days of Fasting and of Thanksgiving.
I am persuaded that we are guilty of criminal neglect
in this respect, in not being more observant of the
spiritual and moral sigus as well as the occurring
events which call for such appointments. The follow-
ing, referring to the early history of our American
Presbyterian brethren, seems to be well worthy of notice.
Hutchison, in his history of Massachusetts, says, “ The
fathers laid aside the fasts and feasts of the Church of
England, and appointed, as occasion required, days of
fasting and prayer, to implore the Divine blessing upon
their affairs. This practice has been continued down
to the present time, (1829). If the savages threatened
to exterminate their settlement, the fathers appointed a
fast ; if religion languished, they held a solemn fast. At
different periods, this practice has been observed ever
since among the churches; and very frequently have
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 347

great blessings been granted, after days of supplication,

accompanied by solemn fasts. So of days of thanks-
giving.” Upon this subject, I would very humbly sug-
gest that congregational or parochial fas/s and thanks-
givings, occasioned by some more than usual breaking
forth of evél on the one hand, or of good on the other,
seem highly beneficial. The experiment was made in
the parish of Kilsyth in the year 1830, on account of
appalling moral depravity prevailing. The appointment
was much honoured of God, and respected by man,
though at first opposed by some. The reasons for it were
set forth in a memorial by the session, and read for two
Sabbaths previously. It was followed by a blessing.
All the Commandments were gone over, in a portion of
the sermon as well as in prayer, and special—very spe-
cial notice of the breaches that had been most promin-
ent. That day is still remembered by many and re-
ferred to with interest: Zhe first day of this year,
1840, was a thanksgiving day and a prayer day. A
similar appointment was very lately made by one of
the brethren in Edinburgh, owing to the inadvertent
admission of some unworthy communicants ; the obser-
vance of which had a very solemnising effect, and I
believe has not been without its visible good fruits.
This is a course which ought to be more frequently
resorted to. Before an ordination, for example, how
suitable to have a day, or a part of it, spent in fasting
and prayer. In the first platform of Presbytery after
the Reformation, as described in the Geneva Confession,
this is to be found.
But these observations, though referring to points of
great importance, under the head of means of carrying
forward revivals, may be perhaps judged too general,
and more specialty may be demanded. These special-
ties, however, may more properly be dealt with under
the second head.
( « The ministers and elders, at such times as there wanteth a
minister, assemble the whole congregation,” &c. “ At the which
time, the minister exhorteth them to humble themselves to God
by fasting and prayer (Acts, xiii, 14, &c.) that both their election
may be agreeable to /is will, and also profitable to the churck.”
—Geneva Confession, received and approved by the Church of
Scotland, 1560, John Knox being minister.
348 MODE OF CONDUCTING

Il. Errors to be guarded against in the matter of

revivals.
Errors and mistakes indeed are incident to every
thing to which man puts his hand. In the case of or-
dinary duties the danger is formality. In services and
duties more unusual, as in the case of the work of re-
vival, the errors to which ministers and office-bearers
are exposed are of a different character ; either, on the
one hand, in being too easily satisfied with cases, in
healing too slightly, and being too ready to give com-
fort; or on the other, in putting stumblingblocks in the
way, and denying the application of the balm of conso-
lation where it ought to be administered. Certain it is,
on the one side, that awakening—conviction—weeping
and trembling—are not conversion, though often the
commencement of a saving change; therefore, there
should be a sifting process as a preliminary to comfort-
ing. On the other hand, it is the Divine will and com-
mand, that each one to whom the gospel offer is made
should immediately believe, and so have life, without
being kept for weeks or even days in despair; and,
therefore, we are sure that there is no Scripture war-
rant for keeping anxious enquirers a certain length of
time in legal bondage and labouring in the fire, ere the
free offer of salvation is made to them. Again, there
is an error into which those not acquainted with the
work are very apt to fall, and that is; when there ap-
pears to be any melting and evident commotion among
the hearers, straightway to get alarmed and to wish to
have all the subject of such distress instantly removed;
and again,—to become impatient of detention—to wish,
in short, to shut all up decently, it may be with a few
words of prayer and advice, and so to conclude. There
is a great and manifest danger of thus quashing and
deadening convictions both in the distressed and in at-
tendant friends and observers. In relation to the ques-
tion, what is duty when—as is sometimes, though not
always the case in such awakenings—there are sob-
bings, or outcries of the spiritually-wounded, I will
here recite some of Mr. Robe’s observations on this
subject, with this remark, that when we were tried ex-
actly in a similar way recently, in the churchyard
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 849

scene, which I have elsewhere described, we followed

the same plan as Mr. Robe had been led to pursue,
without any special reference at the time to his mode,
and the reasons he assigned. Similarity of cases led to
a similar treatment. Mr. Robe had been previously
anxious on this subject, and had made resolves that so
soon as any fell under remarkable distress they should
be carried out of the congregation into a separate place;
he also prayed, that if it were the holy will of God,
He would bring them to a sight of their sin and danger,
without those bodily distresses, which were so unplea-
sant to behold, so distressing to the people themselves,
and offensive to several. ‘The Lord in a little time dis-
covered to me my error and imprudence in this...... I
observed that some were awakened while they had the
distressed in their sight, and heard exhortations given in
the place where they were convened. From this I was
persuaded, that the example of others under spiritual
terrors and distress was one of the means the Lord was
pleased to bless.......1 am now of opinion, after all I
have seen and experienced relative to this work, that
it is best to leave the distressed to their liberty, and in
the congregation if they incline, until it be dismissed.
No means that Providence puts into our hands is to be
omitted that hath a tendency to awaken secure sinners.”
In these sentiments, I entirely accord with my vene-
rated predecessor. In reference to one of the remark-
able days of the present revival already noticed, I
may just further remark, that I felt a tendency to the
error Mr. Robe says he fell into at the first; namely,
to take away the distressed by themselves, which would
have left many equally anxious unaddressed, and might
have arrested the progress of the work and prevented
much of the good which we know resulted from con-
tinued appeals; for we know that the Lord works by
the use of means; and that sympathy with, and rea-
sonings from the case of the distressed are among the
means which He is pleased to employ. The few
sentences following are from the remarkab ly judi-
cious letter on this subject addressed to Mr. Robe and
introduced into his narrative :—“If the King of glory
descends in his majesty among you, and strikes secure
350 MODE OF CONDUCTING

sinners with the terrors of his wrath, whereby they are

made, from a felt sense of their perishing condition, to
cry out, “What must I do to be saved?” why must
these trophies of his victory be removed out of the as-
sembly? This cry is what was common in the Apos-
tles’ time, and no doubt will be so again, and much more
abundant, as the glory of the latter day approaches.”
weeeeeAnd again, “Christ will plead his own cause,
and Wisdom is justified of her children.” How true
also is that which follows, of which I have often
thought since the beginning of this work. ‘There is
no end, and there can be no good fruit of seeking to
obviate the objections of an ungodly world, and the
company of carnal worldly professors. Their cavils
will be innumerable,” &e. In reality one of the greatest
errors to be dreaded, and watched and prayed against,
is that of excessive caution, under the guise of prudence,
in anxiety to avoid giving offence to worldly people,
who never can be reconciled, by all you can do, to any
thing in the shape of a revival of religion. We never
should attempt to make it palatable to those who can-
not suffer any thing like vital religion in any form.
No doubt, the good moral effects resulting, the men of
the world may be competent in some degree to appre-
ciate; and, it is good to have these to appeal to in an-
swering objections; but in the conducting of the revi-
val itself, there must be no respect to wh t worldly
friends may say, or even to the opinion of cold-hearted
professors, who are too easily satisfied to let things go
on as they are, rather than take much trouble or run
any risk of being excepted at, by the friends of what
has been callea rational religion. Needless offence is
not to be given, nor are we to be regardless of the cen-
sure of observers further than a sense of duty, and the
command, “ Be not conformed to the world,” demand;
but we apprehend, after all, that the error of excessive
caution is much more common among us! than the
' T have said, “among us,” for it appears from various pas-
sages in the valuable appendix to Sprogue’s Lectures, that in
America, there are lamentable excesses and follies connected
with the subject of revivals. I quote the following sentences
from an able and judicious letter of Dr. Griffin, as a warning
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 351

opposite of too much zeal, while, most certainly, all

things should be “done decently and in order.” This is
a general salutary rule; for God is the God of order
in all the churches: nevertheless the Lord worketh
variously, and sometimes as it were cometh out of his
place, making bare his arm, and there is a flying
thick of his arrows, piercing many hearts, and breaking
of rocks with a kind of loud explosion. Sometimes,
again, it may be truly said, that there “cometh the
sound of earthquake, and of strong wind ;” and yet the
Lord is not in these, but in the still small voice, calling
to solemn reflection, and deep musing. In all meet-
ings of God’s people, let us ever remember, that we
stand in awe; “ The Lord is in His holy temple, let all
keep silence before Him!”
Another evil to be guarded against in a season of
revival is, the intrusion of controversy and of novel
doctrines ; not new, it may be, in actual existence, but
as relates to the place and the people where the awak-
ening may be in progress. “Beware,” says the judi-
cious Halyburton, “beware of vain speculations and
curiosities in religion.” These tend sadly to blight the
springing of the ear of grace, if indeed they do not choke
it even inthe blade. This applies to societies and classes
as well as to individuals. In Glenlyon, the introduction
of the controversy about infant baptism proved most
injurious to the revival which had begun, and which
previously to this unhappy controversy was advancing
so auspiciously. The enemy got advantage, and in-
stead of the all-important questions, “What shall I
do to be saved?” and “ How are we to grow in grace?”
against all that would justly prejudice the cause: “ Let the at-
tention of the world be aroused by every hallowed means; let
the imagination and passions be wrought upon as far as the
most sweet and solemn and awful truths of God can move
them ; let every knee be pressed to the earth in prayer and every
authorised tongue be strained with entreaties to dying men; let
the whole operation be as impressive—as irresistible as love and
truth and eloquence can make it: but, O, for the honour of
Christ and his Spirit, and in pity to the cultivated millions of
our race, let revivals be conducted with order and taste (and,
we add, with scriptural simplicit y and unction), and shun every
thing by which our brethren may be offended, or made to fall”
 302 MODE OF CONDUCTING

—the torch was thrown in, and the community set in a

flame about the mode and the subjects of baptism.
The former of these, the question about dipping
and immersion, is usually introduced in the first
place, (though assuredly of minor importance, ) which,
when practically illustrated by the actual immersion of
a few, gives to the careless, to scoffers, and to for-
malists, just what they wish, in order to involve the
whole matter of religious revival in ridicule, and to turn
men’s minds away entirely from the real controversy
which is carrying on, against the stupidity, worldli-
ness, and irreligion of an untoward generation, and for
the destruction of “all the works of the devil.” The
attempt has been repeatedly made in Kilsyth by certain
of the American Baptists, who, by the way, are very
unsound in their creed in essential points: while the
particular Baptists have not been amenable to the cen-
sure of bringing forward their peculiar views; but, as
far as known to us, have rejoiced in the work of grace,
and wished us success. We have much reason to be
thankful, that the class I have referred to above have
been hitherto defeated entirely, and that their attempts
to distract prayer meetings, by introducing their fa-
vourite subjects, have been most strenuously and har-
moniously resisted. The attempts of the Roman
Catholics, and of Socinians, and the teachers of univer-
sal pardon, have been equally unsuccessful. I am
happy to say, that our people cannot endure unsound
doctrine, and when they hear the word as they have
heard it from a great number of ministers from various
places of the church, they have shown the opposite of
a captious spirit, and have, we know, been much de-
lighted and edified with the uniformity of scriptural
doctrine, with which they have been so highly favoured.
“The sheep of Christ hear his voice, and a stranger
will they not follow.” Yet we are justly jealous of such
strangers making entry, and of grievous wolves not
sparing the flock.
When I speak of the danger of controversy to the
on-going of a revival, I wish not to be misunderstood,
as if the true faith in its whole extent were not to be
uniformly maintained, and as if a genuine revival were
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 393

not in fact just a powerful and successful combat with

error in doctrine and in practice. Instead of hanging
out a flag of truce to the Arminians, for example, the
great truths which are so fully set forth in the epistle
to the Romans have been illustrated and expounded,
as an antidote to their errors during two years past.
It was not then by avoiding controverted subjects, and
simply dwelling on truths common to professing Chris-
tians, as some would recommend, but by “ not shunning
to declare the whole counsel of God;” by dwelling on
every doctrine of the Bible, whether controverted or
not, or however repulsive to the carnal mind; and by
bringing all to the test of Scripture, that the work was
promoted. What, in fact, has a Christian to do but to
carry ona constant unremitting warfare with error, both
doctrinal and practical—a casting out and killing bad
seed, and sowing and watering the good?
I cannot refrain here from just hinting, in relation
to a very stirring subject at present, that nothing could
be conceived more threatening to the on-going of such
a blessed work as that we are privileged to witness,
than would be the InTRUSION of a minister in opposi-
tion to the seriously felt and solemnly expressed convic-
tions of the people that they could not be spiritually edi-
fied by his ministrations. If the calling for the serious,
prayerful consideration of this subject at the present
crisis of our church, should be viewed by any one as
an infringement of the rule I have been illustrating,
namely, the evil influence of controversy, I would only
say in addition to what I have just advanced, that in
our apprehension we might as well at once abandon the
church of our fathers, dear as it is to us, in which, in 1742
and in 1839, such glorious things have beén done for
us, whereof we are glad, as continue in stupid inacti-
vity, when the enemies of her true interests would deal
with her as the Philistines with Samson, when, his
strength having departed, they proceeded to put out
his eyes, and make him grind in the prison-house, the
sport of his enemies. Surely we should be already
blind and enchained, did we not arise as one man to
use all diligence that our views and wishes on this sub-
ject may not be mistaken. Surely our thus praying
354 MODE OF CONDUCTING

unceasingly for the prosperity of our Sion, and our

holding fast that which is good, and our not despising
prophesying, as those do who put nothing to the account
of interesting, and unctuous, and sound preaching of
the word, (which are very essential elements of accep-
table ministrations,) but who think any thing which is
not absolutely heathenish and heretical good enough
for our people,—our taking a strong view of the present
position of our church, as calling for all our earnestness
of prayer and exertion, cannot be amenable to the
charge of “quenching the Spirit,” whose office it is to
testify of Jesus Christ, as the church's Head and great
Shepherd. In this great cause it is good to be zealous,
and we use weapons, not carnal, “but mighty through
God to the pulling down of strong-holds.”
Further: To promote, consolidate, and perpetuate a
revival, let us be on our guard against superficial and
ill-cemented systems of religious doctrine and practice.
In a period of awakening, the feelings are excited—the
conscience roused; exercises of prayer and praise much
engaged in; psalmody is unusually lively; the hymn-
book is by some converts specially exercised; but the
Catechism and the Confession of Faith, and even the
sacred Scriptures themselves, are in danger of being in
a measure neglected. In a sound revival, certainly the
word of the living God, the grand means of regenera-
tion, and of progressive holiness, must be prized above
all other books; and so we are happy to find it gene-
rally among us: yet some of the awakened have been,
it is frankly acknowledged, but very imperfectly ground-
ed in the principles “of the faith delivered to the saints.”
Some of them never had the form of sound words at
all; by others all had been forgotten in the days of
their ungodliness. If, therefore, pains be not taken to
communicate solid, scriptural views, and to indoctrinate
both the head and the heart, there may be anticipated
a plentiful crop of very green weak stalks, which may
never ripen at all, or which will produce at best only a
very small quantity of good grain. There is much need
therefore to be at all due pains, both in preaching pub-
licly, and in teaching privately from house to house, to
explain clearly and fully, and, at the same time, affec-
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 855

tionately and attractively, the doctrines and the duties

of Christianity, and the close connection betwixt them;
so that the word of Christ may dwell in the converts
richly, and that they may learn to dovall, in word and
in deed, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; giving
thanks through him; and teaching and admonishing
themselves and others; “building up in their most holy
faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping themselves
in the love of God, and looking for the mercy of the
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.’ There must be
much watchfulness, lest when men sleep the enemy
sow tares, which will grow up much more readily and
luxuriantly where there is a lack of good seed sown.
Another error I would point at is, the yielding to the
opposing influence, and the failing of ardour to push the
advantage gained, and being in a manner satisfied that
enough has been gained, or at least as much as can be
expected; the conviction that we need not look for the
continuance beyond a certain limited period of such a
lively state of religion in a parish or congregation; in
short, a taking it almost d@s a matter of course, that after a
revival there shall be a decline. This, indeed, is what
the enemies of such a work are always setting forth, as
an objection to any work of this kind, that any benefit
which might seem to be gained by the awakened ener-
gies and feelings of Christians in such a season, is more
than counterbalanced by a consequent depression, or
even an outbreaking of opposite passions and feelings.
Now, there is certainly no necessity for such an un-
happy result; no reason why the increase of the power
of religious truth over the mind, and conscience, and
hearts of men should be attended with so deplorable a
result as that which has been alleged. On the contrary,
as is true of evil, that a “little leaven leaveneth the
whole lump,” so also is it true of good. True religion
is both of a diffusive and of a perpetuating quality.
Genuine piety is not like the seeds which are called
annuals; it is rather of the perennial kind. Still the
objection of the enemies of revivals, that they are apt
to prove like the morning cloud and early dew, may,
and ought to be improved upon, as showing us what
we should guard against, and that with much concern,
306 MODE OF CONDUCTING
with continued care and diligent use of the means,
especially with earnest prayer. Let not diligence be
relaxed, nor prayer cease, nor concert for united in-
tercession and pleading be broken or intermitted.
Mr. Robe laments this in 1749, and says; “Had the
concert been renewed which had begun about 1744,
who can tell but that the revival would have been much
more extensive and continuous?” The means already
pointed out may, by the Divine blessing, secure this
most desirable result. But among the errors to be
watched and guarded against, this of losing heart, and
lowering or stinting our expectation, or shortening our
aim, is to be particularly noted ; and in opposition
to this error, as the apostle Paul exhorts,’ “Let us
labour” —the word signifies let us be ambitious—
“‘that whether present or absent, we may be accepted
of Him.” Let us not only “hold fast that which we
have, that no man take our crown,” but seek with intense
holy ardour of sacred ambition, that the temple of the
Lord may be carried on, and raised still to a more
elevated and commanding height, pointing to the skies.
Let not the builders slacken their exertions; let not
the watchers go to slumber. Let the Lord’s remem-
brancers not keep silence, but “ give him no rest till he
establish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
I will advert to another error, which we may be
in danger of falling into in a season of revival; or
rather, an error on the right and left, namely, the error
on the one hand, of a reluctance to go to any extent be-
yond the regular dispensation of religious ordinances;
and the opposite error of making more of the extraor-
dinary, to the disparagement of the regular and weekly
dispensation of word and sacrament. The preaching
of the word not only out of the usual seasons, but also
out of the wswal place, some people have such an
aversion to, that the very fact of sermons delivered
to crowds in a market-place, or church-yard, and
the congregating such numbers of people at the com-
munion, are regarded by them with suspicion, if not
positively condemned; but the facts are unquestion-
able, that by this going out as it were to the highways
‘ 2 Corinthians, v, 9.
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. oO7

and hedges, many poor wanderers have been brought

in; and the influence of the truth much more exten-
sively diffused than could have been otherwise: the
seed of the word has in this way been carried far beyond
the boundaries of a small district, and not a few added
to the church of such as shall be saved. The dispen-
sation of the Supper in the unusual circumstances of a
parish where there is a revival, seems to possess the
advantage, besides its direct end in the edification and
comfort of newly-converted disciples, of causing the
word of the gospel to come to the ears and hearts of
many who might not otherwise ever know the joyful
sound, and of quickening the affections and graces of
God's people. The assembling too in the house of God
much more frequently than in ordinary times, while
the desire for hearing continues, and sowing in large
measure the good seed, assuredly is the part of wisdom,
and accordant with the maxim and practice of the wise
preacher, who “stilltaught the people knowledge ;”
and the rule, “In the
morning sow thy seed, and in the
evening withhold not,
for thou knowest not which shall
prosper—this or that,
or whether both shall not be alike
good.” Beware, then, of the error of withholding
abundance of good seed, and of neglecting to afford
opportunities of hearing the word; for if you do, the
enemy will be at work, and sow a plentiful crop of
weeds, which will grow up luxuriantly. To prevent
chaff, and worse, even bad seed getting in, fill up the
vessel and then the ground with abundance of good seed
—even sound and healthful doctrine.
On the other hand, it would be an error still worse
than the former, were we to give any kind of promi-
nence to the extraordinary, above the ordinary and re-
gularly recurring means of grace, to prefer the prayer
meeting to the church, or to give any countenance to
the idea, that there is some unaccountable virtue or
charm in an owt-of-door sermon, or in the congregating
of multitudes, which in vain may be looked for within
achurch or in the ordinary sabbath-day worship. Our
Lord assures us, that “ wherever two or three are gath-
ered together in my name, there I am in the midst of
my people. Lo! i am with you always.”
308 MODE OF CONDUCTING

I have remarked an evil which did incidentally and

in part result from ministers about forty years ago so
often leaving their own churches vacant, that they
might assist at communions, the consequence of which
was that too many of the people relaxed their attend-
ance on the weekly returning Sabbaths, feeling no re-
luctance, nor thinking it any breach of the Fourth Com-
mandment, to remain in their houses every now and
then, as the appearance of a shower of rain, or of snow,
or even as indolence suggested. Now it is worthy of
consideration that the frequently repeated meetings for
worship during a period of revival, unless there be much
pains and prayer directed to meet and obviate this
evil, may lead or rather be perverted to this very
hurtful end, namely, a sinful neglect of gathering the
manna fresh every day and every Sabbath. There is
certainly this evil to be anxiously guarded against, a
depending on new excitements, instead of hearing what
the Spirit is daily saying to thechurches. The regular
exercises of worship and ordinary means of grace may be
compared to the regular channels and conduits through
which the waters are conveyed, which keep them from
overspreading and demolishing the surface exposed to
them ; and these being kept always open, and in repair,
the unusually copious descending of vapour in the
abundant showers, or even the flood, has conductors
prepared, and in a state of readiness to receive it.
In fine, the great and swmming evil, if we may so ex-
press it, is just the “‘ quenching the Spirit.” We know
what quenches flame, to which there is an allusion in
the text. It may be quenched by being overlaid;—so is
the Spirit by the cares of the world, by cold specula-
tion, Fire is quenched by neglect, by being left un-
stirred ;—so is the Spirit by not stirring up the gift; or
by withholding material;—so, in a spiritual sense, by not
supplying the fuel of meditation and reading the word
and prayer; or by want of air, or by foul air; for flame
goes out in an exhausted receiver, and is extinguished
by pouring impure air upon it, or water, or any other
element adverse to it ;—so is the Spirit quenched by the
exclusion of the holy atmosphere of heavenly desire,
and by unsavoury temper and conversation, or by con-
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 359

formity to the world and secularity of spirit, especially

in ministers and elders. The livid flaine of envy and
malice too eats out the holy fire of divine love; and, as
the separation of the embers, and scattering and divid-
ing the material which feeds the flame, soon cause
the fire to go out; so the divisions among brethren
quench the Spirit, and arrest the progress of revival.
Here I would further suggest, in concluding this
head, that there is need of much grace to establish and
keep the heart, for Satan is always busy, and when
shut out at one avenue he will try another. When he
cannot get us inveigled in the snares which have been
detected and broken, he will try to get us to worship
some other idol, and to make even duties a snare; he
will come even into prayer meetings when other meet-
ings are abandoned; and he will try to pervert these
by spiritual pride,—by speculation,—by setting some of
the members, whose natural temper may have that ten-
dency, to vie with others which shall pray most flu-
ently; and may be tempting us to speak of the number
of our prayer meetings as if these were the certain, and
almost the only evidences required of real godliness
and of growth in grace. Thus we fear the Spirit of
God has often been grieved away; and even prayer
meetings may have become the germs of division in-
stead of godly edifying. We cannot be too much on our
guard in these respects, for grace is a plant of a tender
kind, and so is a revival of a tender and delicate nature.
Let none of these social prayer meetings be a substitute
for the domestic altar, or the secret worship of the
closet. Let us “keep the heart with all diligence, for
out of it are the issues of life.” Let there be a church
in every house—and let every heart be an altar. Thus
instead of quenching the Spirit, we must earnestly
invite his stay; we must hate and renounce those
sins which cause this “holy Dove to mourn, and which
would drive Him from our breast.” In our own spirits
—in our families—in our church—there must no wick-
ed thing be endured. Strict discipline among our re-
puted converts, and in our members generally, must
be exercised ;a fast day may very soon be required, and
we humbled because of the sins which we fear may be
360 MODE OF CONDUCTING

committed in the management of this matter, which

will be peculiarly aggravated after what has been seen
and tasted and professed. Here we may truly apply
our Lord’s words on a certain occasion, in answer to
the question of a disciple, “Why could not we cast
him out?”—“this kind goeth not out but by prayer
and fasting.”! It is not by mere “bustling activity,”
nor by wisely laid and strenuously prosecuted schemes
of either church reform or enlargement; it is not by
good planning, nor good writing and reasoning, nor
by large donations, nor by earnestness of zeal—no
not by all these combined that the blessing is to be
secured. All these are good and needful; but they
require to be all consecrated by prayer—drawing down
the unction of the Holy Ghost. While therefore we
plan and labour and plant; let us also water: for
‘“God—the hearer of prayer—giveth the increase;” “as
for God, his work is perfect;’ with him is the residue
of the Spirit. He promises to send, not only the soft
dew unto Israel, but “water upon the thirsty, and floods
upon the dry ground.”
I have thus attempted the part assigned to me in this
course on the interesting work of revival, treating of the
“mode of conducting it and pointing out errors to be
avoided.” I fear that what R. Baxter remarks will be
but too applicable here,—that upon every thing “mar
touches,he leavesthemarks of his fingers.” Yet the Lord,
whose work every genuine revival is, can, and will, not-
withstanding, maintain and carry forward his cause, as
again, his voice is distinctly heard in his church, cry-
ing, ‘“ Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight
a high way: let every valley be exalted, and every
mountain levelled; and the crooked and rough places
made plain, that Jehovah alone may be exalted.” Verily,
“revival” has come most seasonably. No time it is true
is unseasonable ; but in many points, the present is a very
perilous and momentous crisis; and nothing we are
persuaded could save us but a powerful awakening from
the deadly slumbers of spiritual insensibility, and the
pervading influence of genuine godliness. There is
only one way to regenerate society—the same by which
' Matthew, xvii, 21.
 A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 361

the individual is regenerated; namely, “by the word of

truth, which liveth and abideth for ever.” The first
teachers of Christianity had no devices but those of
plain truth, and strong faith, and humble boldness, and
fervent love; and the giving themselves to prayer and
the preaching of the word. Let it be said of us, as of
them, “We believe, and therefore speak; we feel and
therefore persuade; we desire to do nothing against
but for the truth, that God in all things may be glori-
fied, through Jesus Christ ;to whom be glory now and
for ever!”
 362

LECTURE XII.
Hindrances to a Revival of Religion.

BY THE REV. PATRICK FAIRBAIRN,

MINISTER OF BRIDGETON.

** Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of
the way of my people,”’—Isarau, lvii, 14

THE context leaves little reason to doubt, that these

words carry an immediate and primary reference to the
conversion of the Jewish people, and their ultimate re-
storation to the land of their fathers. They are words
put into the mouth of one, or rather of the whole nation
represented under the character of one individual, as
fitly to be spoken then, when they shall have seen how
all their fleshly confidences, instead of delivering them
from trouble, and securing to them the inheritance they
so much delighted in, had but carried them away like a
whirlwind. When they shall have been made fully alive
to the vanity of such confidences, and effectually taught
to put their trust in the living God, then the time to
favour them shall indeed be come-—they shall receive
power from him again “to possess the land and inherit
his holy mountain,” and shall be able to say—to say
with authority and effect, in regard to whatsoever may
withstand the work of God in their behalf—“Cast ye
up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-
block out of the way of my people.”
I need hardly tell you, that the period of Israel's re-
turn into the bosom of the church of God, and restora-
tion to the land of their fathers, shall be one deserving
above every other to be called a séason of revival. It
will bring showers of refreshment to the whole church,
Gentile as well as Jewish, and shall be felt like a great
moral resurrection, “life from the dead,” throughout
the bounds of Christendom. In the things, therefore,
which are predicted to happen or commanded to be
 REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 363

done concerning it, we may reasonably expect to find

much that is capable of being applied to any other
work and season of revival within the pale of the pro-
fessing church of Christ. Now of the grand revival,
which is to attend the recovery of ancient Israel, it is
clearly intimated in the words before us, that there shall
be certain hindrances or stumblingblocks standing in the
way, which every one is required to do his utmost to
remove. And in like manner, in regard to that revived
state of religion which we are seeking to promote in
the congregations and parishes of our land, there are
hindrances of various kinds, which all who love the
cause of God and desire the advancement of his king-
dom should endeavour, as far as lies within their power,
to cast up, and take out of the way, that a path may be
prepared for the triumphant march of truth and right-
eousness. ‘That such hindrances should exist, however
much to be deplored, is no more than what might be
expected in a world, where every work of God is na-
turally disrelished and opposed; but so much the more
is it to be expected of his faithful people, that they
shall not only themselves abstain from taking part in
anything which might “hinder the gospel of Christ,”
but also seek with solemn care and application to effect
its removal, wherever it may exist.
In drawing your attention to the hindrances in ques-
tion, as we have undertaken to do this evening, the pre-
cise connection must be borne in mind, in which the
general subject now under discussion calls us to con-
template them. It is not every hindrance we are to no-
tice which may oppose the entrance of the gospel into
each individual heart, but only such hindrances as tend
to prevent that general awakening to divine things and
increased liveliness and vigour in those who have al-
ready been awakened, which we understand by the
name of a revival. The principle, therefore, of man’s
indwelling depravity, which ever opposes itself to a
work of grace in the soul—the power and malice of Sa-
tan, which strive without ceasing to pervert in the ap-
prehensions of men the right ways of the Lord—the
cares, the pleasures, and the possessions of a present
world, which are most apt to pre-occupy the desires of
364 “4INDRANCES T0 A

the mind, and shut out all dutiful regard to what is spi-
ritual and divine—these hindrances, which are common
to all states of society, and are felt by every soul with-
standing the entrance or weakening the influence of the
truth as it is in Christ, do not come within the line of
cur present observations: we are to speak only of the
things which have a special bearing upon the work be-
fore us, and exercise an untoward influence in regard
either to the commencement or the spread of a revival
of pure and undefiled religion.
I. The first hindrance of this description, or rather
the first kind of hindrances, which we shall mention, is
found in the present state and constitution of society,
which in various respects is unfavourable either to the
commencing, or to the continuing of a revived state of
religion.
1. In this point of view, that may be said to be an
evil and a hindrance, which in another may be regarded
with satisfaction—I mean the almost universal profes-
sion of Christianity. The world with us has become
religious in name, but with many I need scarcely say
only in name. Men here regard it so much as their
right to be acknowledged Christians. that if withheld
from them they feelthemselves to be insulted or wronged.
But there are thousands who feel thus, who yet, while
they do so, present, not the less under the mask and
appearance of a Christian profession, every feature and
aspect of worldliness. Society in its public and acknow-
ledged character—in its upper surface, so to speak, is
all Christian, while in the underground of its feelings,
principles, and habits, it remains in great part carnal and
worldly ; and though the difference as really exists now
as ever it did between the Christian and the worldling,
the religious and the irreligious, as a professed and
visible distinction it has well-nigh ceased to exist.
This is a state of things in itself most deeply to be
deplored, as betokening the prevalence of much spirit-
ual delusion, and in its influence upon the work of which
we now treat, most hurtful and pernicious. For this
worldly leaven continuing under the form of religion, is
not merely so much profession unquickened by the true
Spirit of the gospel, but ¢hat placed at the same time
 REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 365

in a position where if can most effectually lower the

tone and mar the exercise of what 7s quickened. It is
not simply an adverse power, against which vital reli-
gion has to make head in the land, but an adverse power,
in the guise and attitude of friendliness, planted in the
very home and bosom of religion, to chill its divine
warmth and damp its heavenly aspirations. Not only
does it serve by its impure and gross adulterations to
deprave in men’s minds the character of real piety, but
wherever the Spirit of God causes such piety to spring
forth anew with becoming vigour, there it is ever ready
with its cold suspicions and discouraging fears and cruel
mockings to breathe as with a withering blast upon the
opening blossoms of spiritual life and beauty. Oh pain-
ful thought to be found thus hinderers of the work of
God in a region where all should be fellow-workers
with him—at once refusing to enter into the kingdom
of God and proving stumbling-blocks to those who are
seeking to enter in! Who would not shrink from acting
so unseemly a part in the fold of Christ? Remember,
then, there is but one way of fully and properly avoid-
ing it, and that is by walking in the power as well as
in the form of godliness.
2. Another evil, not far removed from this, in the
present state of society, as it exists especially in the large
is
towns and in many also of the villages of Scotland,
great
the depressed and hard-wrought condition of the
with
mass of the people—which at once furnishes them and
a ready excuse for negle cting the means of grace,
yment
tends, by excessive and long-continued emplo feel-
about worldly things , to induc e upon their whole
most unfa-
ings and character an impress and character
l. Some men may
vourable to a work of genuine reviva as a s
work long and hard at their worldly occupation tition
by the stir and compe
matter of choice, prompted
of acquir-
of a commercial age, and in the expectation
of tempo ral gain. But the hard-
ing a larger increase exten ding
as
wrought condition of which we now speak, society, is the
far and wide through the present state of
out of the kind
result of necessity—a necessity growing
ed in, as either impera-
of employments commonly engag
of servic e, or virtually re-
tively requiring long hours
366 HINDRANCES TO A

quiring it in consequence of the small rate of profits con-

nected with them, so that there may be obtained from them
the means of livelihood. It would be of little use to dwell
upon a state of things which, however much it may be re-
gretted, and however extensively it may prevail, is the
result of circumstances which lie beyond the control of
man’s will, and are not to be remedied by man’s device.
But when you think how multitudes of our working po-
pulation are every day employed in manual labour, some
for twelve, some even for fifteen hours, with such con-
tinued and incessant application as shuts out almost the
possibility of meanwhile entertaining a thought or exer-
cising a care about the concerns of the soul, and inevi-
tably reduces the bodily frame to a state of languor and
exhaustion ;—and when, moreover, you think how in the
case of vast numbers this prodigious amount of labour
is coupled with such scanty remuneration as leaves the
uphappy workman hopelessly impoverished in his cir-
cumstances, as well as jaded and fatigued with exces-
sive toil ;—when you think of such a state of things pre-
vailing so extensively as to comprehend entire classes
of our countrymen, you may easily conceive that it will
form no slight discouragement and hindrance to the re-
vival of a sound and living piety—but the extent to
which it does so can only be estimated by those who
have the misfortune to witness its baneful operation.
The worldly habit of mind, the depressed spirits, the
languid frames, the straitened circumstances, the little
opportunity and less inclination for minding spiritual
concerns, which such a state of things tends to produce,
are working with so destructive an influence on the re-
ligious interests of the people, that the very form and
appearance of religion can with difficulty be preserved
among them——how much more difficult, then, to intro-
duce a revived and lively state of religion!
3. It were well, however, if the form of evil now men-
tioned were the only hindrance of this nature which we
had reason to bewail, but there are other peculiarities
in the framework of society, especially in our large
towns, very closely connected with this, and hardly less
unfavourable to the production of a work of genuine
revival. The peculiarities I refer to are chiefly to be
 REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 367

traced to the change which has sprung from the extensive

use of machinery in business; in consequence of which
immense multitudes of people have come to be congre-
gated together, and the leaven of sin is thus furnished
with opportunities of diffusing itself, which it could not
otherwise enjoy. And not only so, but the people them-
selves, used chiefly for the purpose of working machines,
and supplanted in a thousand departments of labour by
the introduction of machines, have come in a sense to
be viewed as a part of one great system of machinery,
having no other counection with those in whose em-
ployment they serve than that of conducting some par-
ticular branch of the complicated but regular scheme
of operations. And if only this be suitably performed
by them, and the stipulated sum be paid for it by the
masters, it is the whole that in general is thought of or
expected on either part—no other link for the most
part exists between them—no feeling as of a great mo-
ral stewardship, on the one hand, to be exercised for
the best interests of the employed, and of conscientious
and dutiful regard, on the other, to be maintained to-
ward the authority and interests of the employer.
We mean not to complain of the change which lies
at the root of this state of things—for it proceeds by a
law which cannot be controled; it is the natural and
necessary result of the greater command which men
have acquired over the powers and resources of nature;
and though many have suffered by it both in their tem-
poral and spiritual interests—though its progress is un-
questionably tracked by many a ruined constitution,
many an impoverished family, many a neglected and
profligate neighbourhood; yet in itself it is a natural
good, tending to promote the temporal welfare of so-
ciety, and if rightly used and directed, not inconsistent
with the advancement of religion and virtue. The thing
to be regretted and complained of is, not the change it-
self of which we speak, but the derangement which it
has been allowed to bring into tie relations of social
life, and the corruption it has thereby been the occasion
of spreading through the community. Were sufficient
care taken to check the tendency which it naturally
has to relax the tie that should bind together the upper
368 HINDRANCES TO A

and the lower ranks of society-—were the employers and

the employed alike solicitous to honour the relations in
which they stand to each other by the mutual inter-
change of kindly feeling and affection—above all, did
those who stand at the head of large establishments in
business but feel and endeavour to acquit themselves
of the responsibility which lies upon them in regard
to the faithful management of these, by gathering into
their service persons of worth and principle,—by main-
taining a due regard to the character as well as to the
workmanship of those whom they employ, and exerting
their influence and authority to encourage and foster
the interests of righteousness among their people :—
Were all this faithfully and properly done, the new form
and aspect of things which has come in upon us in this
respect, instead of being the source only of evil, might
be made to minister to the moral well-being of society,
and we might have the satisfaction to hear of revivals
in our workshops, as well as in our congregations and
colleges. But while matters proceed as for the most
part they have hitherto done, we can oniy view our
manufacturing establishments as introducing an order
of things greatly prejudicial to a work of real godliness
—strengthening in many respects the bands of vice and
hindering the manifestation of gospel principle. Yet
not, let it ever be remembered, as a matter of necessity
but only of actual operation—it might be otherwise—
even now we can point to examples of large establish-
ments in which the moral and religious is never forgot-
ten amid the laborious and economical concerns which
belong to them; and therefore let every one who has
at heart the interests of godliness strive as far as in him
lies to cast up, and prepare the way, and remove the
stumblingblocks also here, and let not, if by any means
he can prevent it, our advances in mechanical skill and
commercial greatness be purchased at the fearful cost
of raising new and encreasing barriers against the spread
of pure religion.!
‘ Much more might have been said under this head of the hin-
drance occasioned by what may be called the Factory- or Public-
work system, comprehending so large a part of our town popu-
lation. But it is not one of the least evils connected with it,
 REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 369

4. There is yet another evil, though of a different

kind, which we descry in the present state of society,
and which from painful observation has been often
pressed upon us as a great hindrance to the revival of
living piety—namely, the deep and wide-spread politi-
cal character of society. We need not enquire how or
when it may have become pervaded by such a charac-
ter; the fact that it is so, unhappily admits of no dis-
pute; from the highest to the lowest ranks of society
every man is more or less a politician, and with multi-
tudes politics form such an engrossing theme as to
consume nearly the whole of their leisure thought and
reading and converse. It is not any particular shade
of politics of which we now speak, as thus deeply root-
ing itself in the public mind and forming a hindrance
to the reviving of the work of God—though doubtless
in particular cases much may also depend on that—but
politics at large in whatever shade or form they may
take possession of the mind. We say, that whatever
be a man’s political creed, if he is so enamoured of the
views embraced in it as to make them the object of
his greatest concern—-to fill up the most of his leisure
time by busying himself with them—to identify, not
only his own temporal interests, but the interests also
of religion and virtue and the general good, with the
success of these political views, and eye with suspicion
and dislike every one who has espoused other and op-
posite views—if this should happen to be the case on
any thing like a general or extensive scale, politics
that it in a great measure prevents the proper working of the paro-
chial machinery, and indeed cuts off in a manner one main chan-
nel of pastoral usefulness. Ministers may visit their people or
their parish, but they can find no opportunity of seeing that part,
in many districts the largest part, of the population who are con-
nected with the public works, and who, with scarcely time
enough to take their meals, are confined to unremitting employ-
menit from a very early to a late hour. This may be said to be an
unavoidable consequence of the artificial state of things into
which we bave come, but the evil does not less really exist and
mar the operations of a gospel ministry; and it should at least
have the effect of leading’ those who are at the head of such es-
per-
tablishments to exercise a closer superintendence over the
sons in their employment, and strengthen the hands of ministers
in other respects as much as they can.
370 HINDRANCES TO A

will unquestionably be found a powerful bar to the re-

vival or spread of living godliness in the world; for as
a subject of engrossing interest, and giving rise to
governing principles of action, the two things may be
said to run in opposite directions. The one is spiri-
tual, the other carnal; the one in every event eyes pre-
eminently the hand of God, the other regards only the
hand and agency of man; the one breathes the ele-
vated purity of heaven, and manifests itself in the stern
principles of godliness, and the labours of a generous
and self-denying love—the other savours of the corrup-
tion of the world, and runs out into manifestations of
jealous y, bitterness, and strife; the one comes to lift
the soul above its present tabernacle of clay, that it
may seek its home and its inheritance in those realms
of light where alone glory that is abiding and joys that
are imperishable can be inherited—the other comes to
enchain the soul to what is earthly, to swell it with
high thoughts of a greatness either already possessed
or yet attainable on earth, and render all-important in
its eyes the objects and events of a present existence.
Now while there is this essential contrariety between
a political and a religious spirit, that the case now exists
as we have supposed in regard to the extensive and
pernicious influence of the former, we need not stand
long to demonstrate. Who does not know, how much
the emulations, wraths, strifes, and similar works of the
flesh, which disfigure so much the aspect of our social
condition, and counteract the work of the Spirit of
God, spring from political grounds? Who does not
know, we shall not say, how much precious time
is
wasted, but how much those times and seasons which
ought to be consecrated to sober thought and exercises
of devotion have become utterly lost to these hallowed
purposes, by undue regard to publications’ and concerns
merely political? Who does not know, how much the
political have of late become interwoven with the reli-
gious distinctions of our land, and particular churches
are viewed as objects of favour or aversion, accord-
ing as their respective ministers or communions are
understood to adhere to one or another party in the
state? And so completely has the spirit we now de-
 REVIVAL OF RELIGION. ov

plore distilled its malignant poison into many bosoms,

that we have known men on their dying beds spurning
from them the ministrations of the gospel because of-
fered to them by the hand of one who was looked on
as a political opponent—and men consciously wasting
under the power of a mortal disease, yet clinging with
such melancholy fondness to their views of political
government, that on these their mind still found its
choicest employment, and no effort even then could
avail to turn its thoughts into a higher and holier
channel.
Ah! who can think of such a sore evil as this, and
the other kindred evils already adverted to, spreading
their noxious roots though the whole fabric of society
around us, without mourning at the success with which
the god of this world has reared his bars and _hin-
drances against the blessed influence of the gospel, even
amid the full sunshine of its divine truths. It well be-
comes us indeed to mourn—yet not as without hope.
We know, that hurtful and pernicious as these must be,
there is in the word and Spirit of God what is more
than able to overcome them; the Church, as we shall af-
terwards see, has in her own hands the power to dislodge
them all, and in the confidence of her heaven-derived
strength may say to each one of them in succession,
“Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerub-
babel thou shalt become a plain.” But let it never
be forgotten by the people of God, that the removal of
the hindrances in question is their immediate and per-
sonal concern; they are not to wait till the world rights
itself, but consider themselves peculiarly charged with
rectifying, by every means in their power, that which is
disordered; not only as members of the church of
Christ must they employ the spiritual weapons with
which they are furnished, but as members of a present
society, which is overrun with so many forms and ele-
ments of evil, it is their imperative duty to be ever wit-
nessing against the evil, and as far as the influence of
their example and authority can reach to cast up, and
prepare the way, and take up the stumblingblocks out
of the way, that when God is pleased to revive us again,
his word may have free course and he glorified.
372 HINDRANCES TO A

II. We proceed now to mention, as a second great

hindrance to a revival of religion, the spirit of division
and discord, which prevails in the church, and the
consequent absence of that fervent love in which Christ
enjoined his disciples with the utmost care and devoted-
ness to walk.
I need not repeat the many precepts in which this
great duty is enjoined in the gospel, or the manifold
considerations which are employed to enforce it on
the observance of Christ’s followers. These must be
familiar to the mind of every one that hears me—would
that they were also engraved upon your heart and re-
flected in the course of your every-day procedure. For
consider in what lightthe requirements of the gospel place
this exercise of love among the Christian community;
it is, as something indispensable to the existence of a
Christian condition, and the grand testimonial by
which the truths of the gospel were to be commended
to the notice and acceptance of men. “This is my
commandment, that ye love one another, as I have
loved you. By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one to another.” History has
recorded how faithfully down to a certain period the
precept was observed, and how well the manifestation
of love it called forth from the followers of Christ an-
swered the expectation he had formed concerning it.
Men were constrained on this account to recognise
them as his disciples; the expression was everywhere
heard from the lips of heathens, “ Behold how these
Christians love one another!” and their favourable re-
gard being thus won, the prejudices of ignorance melted
away, and the truth advanced with rapid strides through
the world.
Alas! that we should have fallen so far from our
proper calling, and have exhibited so little of the badge
of true discipleship. We not only have our political
divisions, rending with a spirit of fierce and angry
partizanship the whole framework of society, but we
have also our religious animosities, leading the professed
members of the church of Christ to bite and devour
one another. It is not simply that one church is divid-
ed from another by some minor shades of difference in
 REVIVAL OF RELIGION. ole

doctrine, or by a different platform of government and

worship, but that through the loop-holes of these smaller
differences a spirit of discord and jealousy has been
permitted to enter, and party interests to a great ex-
tent are more set by than the triumph of gospel truth
over the ignorance and wickedness of man. This un-
questionably is one of the leading causes by which
Christianity has been staid in its progress through the
world, and the precious blessings have been retained
within a narrow compass, which God designed to have
no bounds but those of the habitable globe. It is also
one of the darkest clouds which overhang our prospect
for the future; for the signs of the times hold out little
or no promise of its disappearing, and so long as it
exists it must operate most injuriously upon the inte-
rests of religion, and hinder its revival in the hearts of
men, by preventing the just exhibition of Christian
principle, grieving the Holy Spirit of God, and marring
that union of counsel, prayer, and exertion, on the part
of God’s people, which, having so many obstacles to
encounter, the cause of righteousness most urgently
requires.
The history of past revivals furnishes striking and
impressive lessons on this point, which at. the present
time ought to be deeply pondered by the people of
God. Wherever the Holy Spirit has been poured out
with great power upon a people, in nothing has his
presence been more uniformly displayed than in diffus-
ing a spirit of fervent love—giving us thereby to un-
derstand how much his mind must be grieved and his
work hindered by the prevalence of an opposite spirit.
It is noticed in almost every revival from the day of
Pentecost to the present times, that believers were
made of one heart and mind, old quarrels soon made
up, former animosities banished, new breaches speedily
healed, and the pleasing spectacle exhibited of persons
shaking hands together who were wont to pass each
other with a frown before. And it is an instructive
and solemn fact, brought out in the history of more
than one revival, that when a whole neighbourhood
had been well watered with the showers of grace, no
drop of blessing has descended there where a spirit
374 HINDRANCES TO A

of controversy and strife had obtained a footing '—the

Spirit of God hovered around, but fled from the seene
of discord, as from a doomed region, where his dove-
like temper could find no resting-place. Sad but in-
structive lesson indeed! Oh may the Spirit himself
impress it in deep and abiding characters on the tablet
of your heart. Ever remember, that “his work is
sown in peace of them that make peace,” and no dwell-
ing can be more distasteful, no vessel more unsuitable
to him than a heart which delights itself with matters
that provoke contention and strife. There are many
grounds of division both in the church and in the world,
which, however much you may deplore, you may be
able to do little or nothing personally to control; but
we entreat you by “the love of the Spirit,” by the
bowels of Jesus, by the regard you bear to his most
solemn command, and by your desire to promote the
interests of living piety, to labour with all diligence to
keep your own minds in the peace of God, and in your
intercourse and connection with others ever to strive
for “the things which make for peace.”
III. Another serious hindrance or stumblingblock in
the way of a general revival of religion is the laxity of
discipline, ov the toleration of scandalous offences in
the church.
The great Head of the church knew well that his
church on earth should not remain free from worldly
intermixture, and that even within its outward pale of-
fences should be found to come. Therefore, in one
place, he likens his kingdom to a fishing net, which
gathered fishes of all kinds, bad as well as good; and in
t « Wherever our lamentable divisions prevailed, serious reli-
gion declined to a shadow. The work of conversion went but
slowly and indiscernibly on. The influences of the Holy Spirit
were restrained.” (Mr. Robe’s narrative.) “It is particularly
worthy of remark, that in the districts where a spirit of contro-
versy had got a footing by means of the Secession from the
Church, which had recently taken place, neither Church nor Seces-
sion partook of the good gift which God was bestowing. Hearts
hot with contention are not in a position to receive divine truth.”
History of Revivals in British Isles, p. 282—See also at p. 339
an instance of a work of revival being completely staid by the
introduction of a subject of controversy.
 REVIVAu OF RELIGION. 375

another, to a field sown by himself with wheat, by the

enemy with tares—the children oflight and the children
of darkness living and growing together, as members of
one Christian community. But though this is the state
of things which the unerring foresight of Christ pre-
dicted should continue even to the end of the world—
though up to that final period Satan may in every
parish and congregation be expected to have his mem-
bers, no excuse is thereby given to the Church for re-
laxing the bonds of discipline, and allowing sin to pro-
ceed unchecked within her pale. She has the powers
of a government received from her divine Head, for the
express purpose of maintaining the efficiency of her
discipline, and the purity of her communion. In the
exercise of these powers of government she is com-
manded to beware lest any root of bitterness should
grow up and trouble her—to rebuke, admonish, exhort
those that are out of the way—to purge out the old
leaven—and deliver such as have been guilty of gross
sin and repented not, over to Satan for the destruction
of the flesh, that is, formally to eject them from the
communion of the church.
It is impossible to glance ever so hastily over the
condition of the church, as it at present exists, without
perceiving, that as a whole it is very far from being
what it ought to be in its zeal against iniquity and care
to separate itself from the corruptions of the world.
Individual churches, having fewer difficulties in this
respect to contend with, from some peculiarity either
in their position or in their method of government, may
be able to keep themselves comparatively free from
these internal disorders. But there are very few com-
munions, we fear, which have not need of some im-
provement, in this respect—very few churches which
deserve the commendation that was bestowed on Ephe-
sus, that “they cannot bear them which are evil.”
The leaven of sin has spread too far, and the whole-
some restraints of a pervading piety have become too
much enfeebled and broken for the work to be easily
done; a spirit is abroad— heady, high-minded, lovers
of pleasure more than lovers of God ”—which will not
endure sound discipline ;and to deal with the covetous,
376 HINDRANCES TO A

the dishonest, the fornicator, the drunkard, the Sabbath-

breaker, the blasphemer, and others guilty of like flag-
rant transgressions, requires, especially in such evil and
disjointed times as these, a firmness and vigilance, a zeal
for God’s glory and fidelity to the souls of men, but
rarely exercised either in the measure or with the re-
gularity that they ought to be.
The toleration of such offences, however, in the
church of Christ, however difficult it may be to prevent
them, is a very sore evil, and most disastrous in its in-
fluence on the work of reformation. So far as it pre-
vails in any church she virtually lays down her testi-
mony for holiness, and suffers to leave unemployed the
most effective means for impressing upon men the guilt
and danger of sin. The Church appears in the humi-
liating attitude of descending into an unseemly alliance
with the pollutions of the world, and by so doing loses,
in the estimation and feeling of the world itself, her
dignity, her consistence, and consequently her moral
power.
But even that is not the worst—for by her unfaith-
fulness she loses more a great deal in her connection
with what is above, than in her standing and influence
with what is below. Every profane or impure person
admitted into the bosom of the Church, like another
Achan in the camp of Israel, carrying defilement into
the house of God, lessens her interest in his favour and
diminishes her dowry of blessing. Her strength to
prevail with God and make inroads upon the kingdom
of darkness does not depend upon the greatness of her
numbers, but upon the amount of holy principle which
she brings into the service of God. ‘ What is the chaff
tothe wheat?” Better a congregation of a handful of
members, if like Gideon’s army it were pervaded by
one spirit of resclute and devoted zeal, than one tenfold
larger, if overspread with signs of depravity and cor-
ruption. Strong in the might of the Spirit, and full of
the favour of the Lord, they should be, though few in
number, “in the midst of many people as a dew from
the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth
not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.” There-
fore let all, ministers, elders, and people, each jn their
 REVIVAL OF REJIGION. 377

respective places, give diligent heed to secure the main-

tenance of a proper discipline, and protect the church
from the reproach and injury of scandalous offences.
Let those who bear rule in the house of God, as put
in charge with a most solemn stewardship, beware of
encouraging sinners in their iniquity, by winking at
their misdeeds, and of permitting the precious ordin-
ances of God to be desecrated by the pollution of
wicked hands; and let congregations by their counten-
ance and prayers be careful to promote and strengthen
the cause of reformation, so as to make it seen and felt,
that they cannot and will not “bear them which are
evil.”
IV. The last thing to which I would call your at-
tention, as a hindrance to a revived state of religion,
is the want of a right state of mind among real Chris-
tians in regard to such a revival. In what do we con-
ceive such a state of mind properly to consist? Chiefly
in two things—faith in the possibility of the work, and
a sense of personal responsibility in regard to its pro-
duction.
1. Faith in its possibility—faith, that is, to believe
that it is not a vain and chimerical thing—a fine or
extravagant idea floating in the brain of a heated en-
thusiasm—but a state of things which, as it often has
been, so may it again be realized and seen amongst
men. I mean not now to search out and set before you
what grounds there are for believing, that a revival of
religion may in any particular place or period of the
church’s history be made to appear. ‘This has already
been done in the two discourses which treated of the
encouragements given us in the word of promise, and
in the page of inspired history, to warrant and beget
expectations of such a work. But it is one thing to
know the grounds, and another thing to rest on them
with realizing confidence, and draw from them life and
energy. Yet to do this is an important, and for the
most part an essential step toward the end in question.
God honours the faith of his people, by giving to it
the promise of blessing. “To him that believeth all
things are possible.” But without faith nothing is pos-
sible in the matter now under consideration ;for where
378 HINDRANCES TO A

it is not, there will be no expectation or desire pouring

themselves out in prayer to God for the needed supply
of grace, and no application of the means through
which grace works to produce and carry forward the
spiritual renovation. We fear, however, there are few
comparatively, who have any realizing faith or even
any settled convictions upon the subject. They are too
much satisfied with things as they are, or disposed to
make too much of the difficulties standing in the way
of reformation. Ah! did they but know it, no difficulty
stands so much in the way as their own unbelief, and
were that supplanted by a clear and living faith, those
things whch now seemas mountains would soon flow
down and melt like wax before the fire. For what is
the word of promise? “If ye have faith as a grain of
mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Remove
hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and all
things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye
shall receive.” Oh cast up, therefore, cast up, by re-
moving out of the way the deadly stumblingblock of an
evil heart of unbelief, and seek through divine grace
to have your hearts rooted and grounded in that faith
unto which God hath given such mighty power over
the adverse and corrupt influences of a sinful world.
Were there but the faith which there ought to be in
the sincere people of God, it would soon overcome
them ali and win for the truth of God a glorious vic-
tory.
2. This, however, is not all; for with faith in the
possibility of a revival, there must be a sense of per-
sonal responsibility in regard to the means necessary
for producing it. That it is God’s work, requiring at
every step the interposition of his hand, and manifest-
ing often in a singular manner the sovereignty of his
grace, does not the less render it dependent on the in-
strumentality of his people; and if the greatness of the
effect produced appear many times so completely out
of proportion to the smallness of the means employed,
that we feel constrained to look almost exclusively to
the hand of God, so far from regarding this as a proof
that little or no account should be made of human in-
strumentality, it should but stimulate us the more dili-
 REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 379

gently to employ it, as being evidently crowned by God

with such superabundant honour and blessing. But to
put forth the instrumentality necessary to bring about,
or to sustain a revived state of religion, a feeling ot
personal responsibility on the part both of pastors and
people, is indispensable. In the pastors no doubt first
and most prominently—but not in them alone—there
must be the sympathy of other hearts, leading to the
united co-operation of other hands. But if men sink
the feeling of their own responsibility in that of the
minister or the church at large—if, seeing so much ini-
quity prevailing and so many difficulties standing in the
way of reformation, they look each one to his neigh-
bour for giving the requisite application, and satisfy
themselves with the thought that they can do little or
nothing in the matter, what reasonable expectation can
be entertained of the needed reformation ever taking
place? Who then will pray as if any thing depended
on the success of his prayers? Who will manifest a
proper and becoming concern for the prevailing sinful-
ness? Who will order his conversation, and lay out
his talents and use his opportunities, as if it stood with
him in a measure to turn the tide of ungodliness aad
revive the interests of piety? We may confidently
answer, none—for a want of felt responsibility on the
part of individual members will never fail to produce
the sad spectacle of a slumbering church carelessly
looking on while iniquity proceeds in its course, and
sinners are perishing in their guilt.
Oh! that we could get you to feel aright the obliga-
tion which rests on you as individuals to promote this
divine work—we should not despair of vanquishing
every other difficulty and dislodging every other hind-
rance. And yct what should be more seriously and
constantly felt by every true follower of Jesus than this?
If that be indeed your character, then ye are witnesses
for the truth as it is in Christ, to go forth and confess
him before men—ye are “the light of the world” to
relieve its darkness, “the salt of the earth” to restrain
its corruption—the priests, who must intercede for its
ungodliness and draw down on it the blessing of Heaven
——the regenerating leaven, which is to spread from
380 HINDRANCES TO A

heart to heart, from life to life, till the whole is leavened.

For you to be unconcerned about the salvation of men,
and bear no effective hand in it, would be to leave one
great design unfulfilled for which salvation has been
extended to you—ah! it would be to show that you
are yet yourselves strangers to its blessings. The pro-
gress of salvation is an object of intense interest to the
angels of heaven, who bend from their habitations of
glory with eager desire to behold the turning of im-
mortal souls to the way of peace—and O can it be
viewed with silent indifference by the Redeemed on
earth, themselves rescued from the pit of destruction.
and spared for the very purpose of being fellow-workers
with God in the operations of his grace? No, it is
impossible they can be unconcerned and inactive spec-
tators of this blessed work; as members of Christ's
body, and having the principles of grace implanted in
their souls, they are bound and called upon to interest
themselves in the redemption of sinners; they must not
roll it back upon the ministers of the gospel, as if it
belonged only to their line of things, nor indeed can
they do so without turning aside from their Christian
calling, and virtually becoming chargeable with the
blood of souls.
We cannot speak otherwise of the responsibility
which cleaves to each individual member of the church
of Christ—for it necessarily grows out of their standing
aud character; and yet the want of a proper feeling of
this among even the better part of Christians, and con-
sequently a want of lively and active faith in the pos-
sibility of attaining to another state of things, these are
what we have most reason of all to deplore as standing
in the way of a diffused and living Christianity. It is
not that the world is doing so much to withstand it,
but that the church will do so little to establish and
promote it—not that there are such giant forces to con-
tend against, but that there is such a mournful defici-
ency of those feelings and principles, to which the pro-
mise of success and victory is given ; this is what chiefly
fills us with concern and makes us tremble for the issue.
Did we but see a feeling of solemn responsibility taking
possession of the Lord’s people, each one charging him-
 REVIVAL OF RELIGION. 3sl

sclf with concern for the salvation of those around him,

and in a spirit of faith going on to strive and look for
the performance of that which is promised, then should
we rest assured that the Lord was about to revive his
work in the midst of us—for then would his people
have become alive to their proper calling, and be in a
fitting condition to receive and manifest the divine
energy, the covenant-blessing, which through them as
its appointed channel, the Lord is purposed to shed
forth upon a sinful world. Go, then, we beseech you,
and take the matter home to your own bosom, and con-
sider with all solemnity what is required at your hands;
it is with you that the work of reformation must begin,
and from you and through you that it must proceed;
the quickening impulse of renewed life must first be
felt to throb at the heart, must first move and animate
the sincere people of Christ, before it can reach those,
who are in a state of distance and alienation. And if
you do indeed cherish and manifest it in the manner
we now exhort you to do, the Lord will assuredly for
your sakes “rebuke the destroyer,” and cause righteous
judgment to proceed.
 LECTURE XIII.
The Necessity of the Revival of Religion in the present
circumstances of the Church.—Encouragements espe-
cially applicable to the present time.

BY THE REV. JOHN MACNAUGHTAN,

MBNISTER OF HIGH CHURCH PARISH, PAISLEY.

“Wilt thou nit revive us again, that thy people may rejeice in thee?’
PsaLM )xxxv, 6,

THE subject which I have been requested to illustrate

is the necessity for a revival of religion in the present
circumstances of the church, and the encouragement
especially applicable to the present time,—a subject
which you will at once perceive embraces two very
different and distinct topics—the necessity and the en-
couragement; the former pointing to facts and circum-
stances humiliating to the believer and condemnatory
of the church; the latter to promises and prospects, il-
lustrative of God’s abounding grace, and calculated to
inspire his children with holiest expectation and devout-
est gratitude: the lesson inscribed on the one is, “ Be ye
afflicted and mourn,” &c.; that on the other is “Awake
and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the
dew of herbs.” In the subject, therefore, there are all
the varieties of light and shade. The encouragement,
like the bright figures on the foreground of a beautiful
picture, are relieved against the dark object that forms
and fills up the background; and the effect of the
whole harmonises with the portraiture of the plan of
God’s grace in Christ, wherein the darkness of man’s
ruined and undone condition sets off the splendour of
Emmanuel’s love, and the creature’s hopelessness fur-
nishes the appropriate contrast to the freeness and the
brilliance of the Creator’s promises—a contrast beauti-
fully exemplified in such passages as these—“( Israel,
 NECESSITY FOR A REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH. 3883

thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help:”

“Ye have sold yourselves for nought; but ye shall be
redeemed without money.” Let me call your attention,
I. To the necessity for a revival in the present cir
cumstances of the church; and here there are obviously
two questions to be considered, viz—When is a revival
necessary? and what are the specific circumstances in
the present state of the church that demonstrate the
existence of that necessity? The former of these ques-
tions has, I have no doubt, been already largely dis-
cussed in the previous lectures, and therefore I shall
content myself with a very general and rapid notice of
it. Wherever there are the proofs of spiritual death in,
or around the professing church—wherever there is an
actual decay or dormancy in the energy or activity of
its members, or wherever there is the absence of a pro-
gression in those habits and feelings and principles that
distinguish the divine life, there is a necessity for a re-
vival. If, among the professors of a holy faith, we find
a growing conformity to the world in its passions,
its policy, or its practices,—a want of sensibility to the
claims of God, to the glory of Jesus, or to the im-
perishable interests of immortal souls,—a deadness in
devotion—a lack of spirituality in sentiment and feeling,
—a willingness to parade a dwarfed and shrivelled
Christianity before the world, as if it were the healthful
and full-grown impersonation of a living and energetic
faith—we say a revival is necessary; and this not-
withstanding any scattered and splendid exceptions of
almost apostolic zeal, or seraphic fervour, that may give
lustre or dignity to the age or the church with which
they are connected.
Thereis no difficulty in deciding when arevival is neces-
sary in the world of nature; let winter protract her reign
through the months of spring; and spread her mantle of
snow, like a spotless winding sheet, over the fields that
were wont at that season to be green and gladsome ; let
the time for the singing of birds roll round, and no music
be heard in the leafless groves; let the sower fitl his
hand with the precious seed, but be denied the oppor-
tunity of scattering it over the earth; and although we
may witness here and there thesnowdrop rearing its head,
384 NECESSITY FOR A

as the harbinger of vernal beauty, amid the ungenial

snows, we at once conclude that a revival is necessary;
and we long for the genial breeze, the refreshing shower,
the invigorating sunbeam, that earth may escape from
the blight of a long winter, array herself in all the
bridal loveliness of an opening spring, and give forth
the promise of a rich and luxuriant harvest. The same
conclusion forces itself upon us, when a cold and wither-
ing summer succeeds an early and promising seed-time,
checking the advances of a needed vegetation, and al-
most quenching the hopes of the husbandman. The
half-opened tlower- bud that bends on its weakene d stalk
seems to plead for the reviving sunbeam to develope
its hidden loveliness, and throw the blush of summer
beauty on the faded cheek of a drooping world: and so
in the world of grace, in the great spiritual garden—
when the winter of worldly conformity seems either to
retard the buds of promise, or to check their growth
after indications of vitality have appeared, we say that
a revival is necessary. Or, to drop all metaphor, when
there are few conversions under the ministrations of the
church, and souls are perishing around her, unpitied
and unhelped,—when there is an evident suspension or
withdrawment of those spiritual influences that are alone
efficient to convince or to comfort; when there is a
visible defection from acknowledged principle, or from
attained piety—a cold, lukewarm formality, usurping
the place of a generous, devoted, living Christianity, we
say a revival is required; and every believer who grieves
when the Spirit is quenched, or the great salvation is
neglected, or the commands of Christ are contemned,
or the glories of the latter day are retarded, is bound
to utter the prayer—*“ Wilt thou not revive us again—
O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, and come
down:” “Awake, O north wind, and come, thou
south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof
may flow out:” till the Lord fulfils his own gracious
promise: “Thy dead men shall live, together with my
dead body shall they arise; awake and sing, ye that
dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs.”
But let us attend more particularly to the specific cir-
cumstances in the present condition of the church tha!
 REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH. 285

render a revival necessary: and the first proof that

presentsitselfto our view is the limited extent
of the visible
church in the present days. If we examine the dimen-
sions and extent of the church, either as laid down in
the covenant made with Emmanuel, oras described in the
clear and undoubted language of holy prophecy, we
find, that these are immeasurably vast, when compared
with the actual and limited territory that owns and ac-
knowledges the sway of the Redeemer: In the one, all
the kingdoms of the world are delineated as filled with
the knowledge of God, kissing the sceptre, and pro-
claiming the praises of an adored Saviour,—his domi-
nion is from sea to sea, and from the river to the end
of the earth; in the other, the territorial extent that
is occupied by the professing church of the Lord
is very inconsiderable indeed; more abridged I be-
lieve than it was in apostolic times, when the word
of God had free course and was glorified, and when
the gospel of the kingdom was preached amongst
all the nations under heaven. Let us take a rapid
survey of the state of the earth, beginning with
Jerusalem, from whence the light originally emanated;
and if we enquire for the church of Christ amongst
the Jews—for the descendants of the great companies
of priests and people who were added to the faith,
we shall ask in vain: the Jews, as a nation, are still
obstinately opposed to the very name of Jesus, and
amongst them the gospel can scarcely be said to have
made any conquest at all. Passing down to Asia
Minor, we naturally enquire for those flourishing
churches that were the scenes of the miracles and
ministrations of our Lord’s personal disciples, and his-
tory replies that they have passed away: what the
power of the false prophet has spared, the supersti-
tions of the Greek church have defaced; and the
abodes that were consecrated by the tread of prophets,
and hallowed by the residence of apostles, are now the
grave-yards of a buried Christianity, or the chosen seats
for the palaces of a proud and licentious superstition.
And now all is darkness—a darkness, like that of Egypt,
that may be felt—standing amid the ruins of the fallen
and dilapidated church of Smyrna. If we cast an eye
386 NECESSITY FOR A

over Turkey, down to Egypt—athwart Arabia—into

Persia, and across it to a great portion of Eastern
India, we perceive all these lovely lands, the fairest
and richest section of this globe, with a population of
at least a hundred millions, under the dominion of the
false prophet—living in willing subjection to a system
which has rightly been denominated a compound of
falsehood, licentiousness, and cruelty; where sanguinary
enactment and cunningly-devised legislation seem to
render the conversion of its votaries an almost impossi-
bility, and threaten a long and determined resistance
ere it will yield to the sway of the cross of Christ.—
Arrived at the confines of Mahometan delusion, we find
ourselves amongst the high places of heathen idolatry;
amid all the wild and revolting abominations of that un-
hallowed system,—a system pregnant with all that is
insulting to humanity,—debasing to the creature, and
dishonouring to the Eternal. But who shall describe its
fearful limit ?—from the torrid zone to the arctic circle,
throughout Africa and Asia and much of America—
amid the islands of the great sea, it maintains an almost
undisturbed sway: and everywhere, from the rude idol-
atryof Labrador to the more refined and mystic ab-
surdities of Hindostan, it presents the same loathsome,
demoralizing, soul-destroying features, burdening the
world with its atrocious and cruel ceremonial, and caus-
ing to ascend in daily memorial to heaven, the groans
of a suffering creation, steeped in unalloyed wretched-
ness, and oppressed by a system which, while it pro-
mises relief, only embitters the misery and aggravates
the woe. Ye privileged sons of a happy clime, whose
lines have fallen in pleasant places, and whose is a good-
ly heritage, cast your eyes across the broad waters that
roll between and heathen shores; look out on the bound-
less ocean, not when it sleeps in sullen majesty—a
mighty but a waveless sea; mark it at the moment
when the hurricanes of heaven have lashed it into wild-
est fury; when its tossed and angry bosom is strewn
with the wreck of a thousand hopes; and it is peace, it
is serenity itself, when compared with the tempests of
passion and of pride, of lust and of rapine, of cruelty
and of crime,which heathenism has let loose on wretched
 REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH. 387

man, to desolate and destroy the hopes and the hap-

piness of the five hundred millions who live, who die,
who perish beneath its sway,—perish without a ray of
mercy to gild their path to eternity, or a word of grace
to whisper peace to their undying souls. No doubt
there are here and there amidst its territory some stan-
dard-bearers of the cross, but these are too few and in-
significant to affect the general enumeration, or to re-
lieve the hideous gloom ;—like scattered stars in a
stormy night, twinkling past the edges of the dark clouds
that roll above in stupendous masses, they rather serve
to reveal than to relieve the intenseness of the gloom
that overspreads the sky.
But then, there is Christendom, and surely this at
least will be occupied by the visible church of Christ,
—alas! no,—there the Man of Sin reigns, “that son
of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above
all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that
he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing him-
self that he is God. And what is there of the church
of Christ within his domain? Its every truth is de-
faced and deteriorated by the admixture of heathen
rites and Rabbinical superstition ;and crosses and pen-
ances and saint worship, with all the other devices by
which that merchandise in souls is carried on, are sub-
stituted for a simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and for the cordial embracing of the Redeemer, which
is required of the sinner in the everlasting gospel.—
Christendom—there infidelity has her abode—that sys-
tem which, robbing the soul of its fond immortality,
heaven of its charm, and hell of its horror, is little
better than a noisome sepulchre for all that is lofty in
creature hope, and dignified in human virtue. Like
heathenism, it assumes many a form, but its leading
characteristics are ever the same—the combination of
profanity in sentiment with pollution in practice. In
Germany, it is seen disguised amid the fascination of
an elegant and erudite philosophy,—in France, amid
the attractions of a professed liberalism,—but in Britain,
once exalted but now disgraced Britain, it is struggling
for the ascendancy in the social edifice, undisguised,
in all its natural loathsomeness,—a combination of
388 NECESSITY FOR A

blasphemy and brutality, most aptly described by the

apostle Jude, when he said these men speak evil of
those things which they know not; but what they know
naturally, as brute beasts, in these things they corrupt
themselves.
Nor is the sad survey complete even now, in Protest-
ant Europe and America, thousands, nay millions have
scarcely a “name to live,”—the Sabbath profanation
—the neglect of ordinances—the open fraud—the undis-
guised formality—proclaim how many have a gospel,
and yet are ignorant of its glad tidings; and how neces-
sary itis to reduce the bounds of the visible church even
within the narrow limits of a professed Protestantism.
And what is the conclusion at which we have arrived?
—that instead of the church being co-extensive with
the world, it is shut up into a corner; and that the truth
and the tidings which angels sung of as being tidings -
of great joy to all people are known only by a few mil-
lions on this mighty globe, who scarcely amount to a
tenth part of its vast population; and oh, is there not
in this melancholy fact an argument that overbears all
opposition and demonstrates the necessity for a revival,
—yes, for a revival on a grander scale than earth has
yet witnessed, as the only mean of fulfilling the blessed
promises of a gracious God ?—for what is earth when
thus spread out before the eye?—a mighty pest-house, a
grave-yard—a land of death, with its million piles of dry
bones; but even these can live; and it is ours if we have
tasted the joys of salvation to utter the fervent prayer,
—‘“Come from the four winds, O Breath, and breathe
upon these slain that they may live.”
Again, I would remark, that the want of zeal in the
church for Emmanuel’s glory, the feebleness of what
has admirably been termed “the evangelistic spirit,” and
the lethargic unconcern with which the perdition of
immortal souls is regarded, prove that a revival is ne-
cessary. Such a charge may, at first sight, appear
scarcely admissible in this bustling and active age,—
amid the numerous institutions in vigorous operation
for the conversion of the world, and the splendid array
of names and contributions that annually attract the
public eye, and the dazzling eloquence with which every
 REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH. 389

triumph on foreign shores is heralded from pulpits and

from platforms, it might be imagined that intrepid zeal
and sleepless activity were the undoubted characteris-
tics of this excited age; and certainly, if we were called
simply to institute a comparison between the criminal
supineness of the past century, and the vigour of the
present, the efforts of those days will seem at once
momentous and magnificent; but when we calmly con-
sider the amount of energy put forth, as a means to an
end—as the devised and existing machinery to convert
the world to Christ—as the effort which is put forth in
answer to the claims of God and the calls of a perish-
ing world, we feel as if we would require to blot out
such terms as sacrifice and self-denial from the Chris-
tian vocabulary altogether. No doubt there are in the
present day many able and devoted men in the mis-
sionary field,—who are daily proclaiming to us that the
heathen are without God and without hope in the
world,—that they are hateful and hating one another,
and we profess to believe all the dismal representations
that are made of those dark places of the earth that are
full of the habitations of horrid cruelty—but we meet
these cases, not with the sympathy or the sacrifice of
generous and noble and sanctified hearts, but with the
idle sentimentalism, the sordid avarice, or the grudged
and paltry contribution that betokens how utterly in-
sensible we are to Christ’s honour as denied by a heathen
world, and to the miseries in which earth is steeped as
alienated from God.—Yes, instead of Christian zeal
and philanthropic effort being now in their prime, they
are but in their infancy. If we take the Saviour's com-
mand as our rule, his kingdom as the sphere of our ap-
pointed operation, the zeal of his apostles as the mo-
del of our own,—we cannot fail to be humbled and
ashamed. We must be persuaded and convinced that a
mighty impulse must be given to the sluggish Chris-
tianity of the times,—that there must be an increase
of what is called benevolence, both in spirit and in act,
—that in fact a revival is necessary, ere the church can
take up the language of the apostle and say, “The love
of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that
if one died for all, then are all dead; and that he died
390 NECESSITY FOR A

for all, that they who live should not henceforth live
unto themselves, but unto Him that died for them and
that rose again.”
A third remark on this subject is—That the divisions
in the church, and the jarring controversies of the age,
demonstrate the necessity of a revival, ere the Church
can regain her shattered strength, and become beauti-
tied with that brotherly love which is the bond of per-
fectness. Controversy is not in all cases a symptom
of a weak or decayed Christianity; on the contrary,
the fearless exposure of error, the maintenance of
sound principle, the refutation of unsound doctrine,
and the resistance of every sentiment that militates
directly or indirectly against the faith as it is in Jesus,
is indicative of a healthful and vigorous spirit; but,
alas! this is not the character of the age—its present
contentions have been within the church itself; and its
holy unity has been rudely rent by disputes as trivial
as those which saddened the heart of an apostle,
when he found one saying I am of Paul, and another, I
am of Apollos, and a third, Iam of Cephas. It has been
nobly said by one of the master spirits of the age, whose
fame is in all the churches, that there is a sad disposition
amongst Christians to overlook their great points of agree-
ment, and unduly to magnify their points of difference;
that while the latter are minute and microscopic, amount-
ing to no conceivable magnitude when contrasted with
the transcendent and all-important subjects on which
there reigns the entirest and most perfect agreement,
that these infinitesimal distinctions have been made the
rallying-points of bitter contention, the very thought of
which is enough to humble us allin the dust. And what
has been the effect of these intestine oppositions ?—not
merely that the strength and power of an united church
has not been brought to bear upon a wicked and un-
subdued world, but that a deeper injury has been done
to the interest of truth and righteousness than all ex-
ternal hostilities could by possibility have effected.
I sometimes think that Christian grace is like the
diamond. That gem may be cast into the fire, but it will
not consume; it will only glow with the lustre of the
ruby; it may be struck at with the sword, but it re-
 REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH. 391

mains a diamond still. It may however be ground down

with its own dust,—and the harsh collision of kindred
gems will abrade the polished surface of both, and dim
and darken their lustre more effectually than all the
appliances which science can suggest; and what are
the graces of the Christian but gems taken from the
mine of God’s eternal love, scattered in rich profusion
by the hand of his Divine Spirit on the hearts of be-
lievers—the ornaments of that robe of needle-work
wherein the Spouse of the Redeemer is clad—that
no fire, no sword of persecution can destroy? The
world’s violence cannot spoil them of their spark-
ling; but the rude and the jarring controversies of
Christian men themselves may so darken their surface,
that it can scarcely be known whether they are the graces
of the Spirit, or the workings of unsanctified passion
and unsubdued pride. There is nothing extravagant in
this idea; for what have been the effects of these
divisions? have they not broken in upon the communion
of saints, and rendered it impossible to say as of old,
Behold howthese Christianslove one another? Time was
when the circle of holy fellowship was wider than it is
now; when it might be said as in apostolic days, that
“they ate their bread together with singleness of heart
and joy, praising the Lord;” but now each travels on
his own path, or if brought together by the unforeseen
occurrences of Providence, spend their time in contend-
ing for their respective peculiarities, and separate
weakened rather than recruited in the faith. And have
not these contentions hindered our prayers, distracted
the attention from nobler occupations, and retarded the
growth of vital godliness? The hours and opportunities
that might have been employed in assaulting the strong-
holds of sin and Satan have been spent in repelling
internal assailants, and the gifts that would have been
most usefully employed against the empire of darkness
have been exercised against the real obliquities or the
fancied aberrations of the soldiers of the cross; and thus
has the lustre of Christian charity been darkened, the
strength of Christian principles been weakened, and the
power of Christian prayer been enervated: For if it be
the solemn charge of the Lord Jesus that we should
892 NECESSITY FOR A

love one another, as he gave us commandment—if his

parting prayer for his church was that it might be one—
if his marked declaration was, By this shall all men
know that ye are my disciples, by your love one to
another—must not unnecessary division, unauthorised
schism, provoke his displeasure, quench his Spirit, and
result in the withholding of the grace without which
the church must wither and weaken and decay?
And how can this state of things be remedied?
either by fierce persecution or by a revival of religion.
Let times of trouble again return: and let malice
armed with power go forth to destroy the saints of God;
let the furnace and the scaffold be prepared again; let
the great contest between truth and error be waged openly
as of old; and when the fire blazes hotly—the masses
of precious metal that are to be found in all Christian
communities, with their respective amount of alloy, will
be melted down—much of the dross will be separated
from them all, and the pure metal will run together,
and form one flood of molten gold. But is such a
process of union at all desirable? Blessed be God,
there is another :—the effusion of the Holy Spirit will
effect the same end by a gentler and more gracious
operation; it has accomplished it in other days; it has
partially effected it in the times in which we live:—the
Spirit of the Lord is a Spirit of peace, of meekness, of
love, of gentleness, of patience; it is his to draw our
souls near to Jesus, to bring us to his bosom, till our
hearts are replenished with the tenderness and affection
that throbbed in the spirit of the Redeemer;—it is his
to teach us how to love Christ’s image in all his children,
enabling us to throw the mantle, not of a spurious, but
of a spotless charity over the weakness of our brethren,
sweetly uniting all who are in the faith in one holy,
happy brotherhood, and repressing the first movements
of bitterness or clamour in the soul by the gentle but
effective reproof—Peace, be still, for ye are all brethren;
therefore “let all bitterness and wrath, anger, clamour,
and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all
malice, and be ye kind one toward another, tender-
hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s
sake hath forgiven you.”
 REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH. 393

Finally, I remark that the languor of the devotional

spirit in the church, demonstrates the necessity for a
revival of religion. It is one of the strange anomalies
of these times, that we meet with a ready assent to all
that can be urged or argued on the omnipotence of
believing, importunate prayer; and yet rarely are
brought into contact with the thing itself. The theory is
universally accredited—the act is generally neglected;
just as if the clear statements of Scripture regarding
the potency, the almost miraculous efficacy of prayer
were designed as a pillow on which the church might
slumber, rather than as a mighty stimulus to rouse to
heroic achievements and urge on to glorious efforts in
the cause of the Redeemer. Let a spirit from the up-
per sanctuary enter into our halls of sacred convoca-
tion, or stand upon our hearths amid all the quietude
of the domestic circle, or enter into the deep recesses
of our secret chambers, and would he imagine that our
faith was this—that prayer had power with God, and
could prevail ;and would he return to yon bright and
blessed abode, assured that we felt that earnest, humble,
persevering prayer was the mightiest creature instru-
mentality for hurrying on the mirific splendours of the
millennial age? Ah! there is need for a revival here,
that which alone will be produced by the outpouring
of the Spirit, the Spirit of grace and of supplication.
O ye professed followers of the Lamb, who are apt to
imagine that the piety of the age is more fervid and
extensive than it is, listen to this command so truly
applicable both to ministers and people: “T have set
watchmen on thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never
hold their peace, day nor night: ye that make mention of
the name of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him
no rest, till he establish and make Jerusalem a praise in
the earth.” There is the command, but where is the
obedience? Jerusalem is in heaps, the wide earth is
the palace of sin and the prison-house of piety—there
is not yet the lighting down of Jehovah’s arm, nor such
displays of glory as when he shook the house, and
filled all the disciples with the Holy Ghost; there is
not the simultaneous conversion of thousands to God
_-and where is the prayer—the prayer without ceas-
 394 NECESSITY FOR A

ing—the watching unto prayer, the being instant in

prayer? In this we are short, far short of what duty
and grace demand. Only reflect on the chilling for-
mality and the withering faithlessness that too often
attach to the devotions of the sanctuary—on the
homes in which baptized children sleep, that are never
consecrated at all by the voice of prayer—on the closets
that have never been sanctified as the scenes of a
soul’s breathing after God; on the limited number of
prayer associations in the land, and on the difficulty of
preserving them from instant and rapid decay; and the
proof will be more than sufficient, that it is time for
God to work, yea to revive his work in the midst of
the years. Gather up these scattered thoughts: the
abridged sphere of the church’s efforts, and the feeble-
ness of these efforts themselves—her divided condition,
and her iifeless piety—and say is there not a necessity
for a revival? Shall we believe that when God’s Spirit
is poured out from on high, his graces, like tides of
molten silver, shall first enrich his chosen ones and then
roll out to the whole earth to aggrandise and ennoble its
impoverished children ?—shall we believe, that when
the showers come down on the mountains of Zion to
beautify and refresh its drooping herbage, that they
will sweep in resistless torrents over the whole world,
overturning in their course the idolatries of the nations,
fertilising every barren land, gladdening every wild and
wilderness, and causing the most blighted regions to
blossom like the rose ?—shall we believe that when a
revival takes place on a scale commensurate with
the Church’s necessities, that she shall awake from
her slumber, put on her beautiful garments, and, rich in
all the graces wherewith the Saviour so plenteously
adorns his chosen Bride, go forth in his name to
speak peace unto the nations,—to unfold to them the
blessings of the new and well-ordered covenant, and
invite them to enter on an age of almost seraphic hap-
piness ?—shall we believe that when a revival is pro-
duced, that the internal harassments and vexations of
the church shall cease,—that the Eternal Spirit shall
hush into silence all contemptible disagreements,—
“‘that the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adver-
 REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH. 395

saries of Judah be cut off—that Ephraim shall not envy

Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim,—that the
hearts of Christians shall become almost visibly the
habitation of God through the Spirit, and be irradiated
with all the moral glory of his Divine presence,—and
shall we not plead and pray for such a time? The
loftiest patriotism, the noblest philanthropy, the purest
faith demand that we shall cry aloud and spare not,—
yea that we shall mourn and lament because that day
is delayed. Ch, if the Church were but alive to this
urgent necessity,—if she but felt how much of guilt
attaches to her because the blessing is withheld,—if she
but considered how her unbelief and prayerlessness
stands in the way, as it were, of Jehovah’s sweetest pro-
mises,—it would humble her to the very dust because
of her sin, and her acknowledged guiltiness would be
the harbinger of the day of love. Ye children of the
covenant—go, weep amid the graves of perished mil-
lions,—weep amid the graves of buried graces,—weep
amid the ruins which your own lifelessness has caused
in the church and around it; and when the tear-drop of
contrition has filled the eye of the soul, look through
it to a wounded Saviour, and say, “O Lord, revive thy
work in the midst of the year—in wrath remember
mercy.”
The second branch of the subject assigned us, is—
What are the encouragements especially applicable to
present times ?—that is, what reason has the Church of
Christ in those days for expecting a rich and plenteous
effusion of spiritual influence throughout her borders?
The general dissatisfaction with the existing state of
things, or in other words the general agreement that a
revival is necessary, we regard as an encouraging symp-
tom. During the lapse of the last century, the Church
settled upon her lees, slumbered and slept, dreaming
of the security of her position, and the sufficiency of
her effort,—as if exhausted with the immense output-
ting of energy which the Reformation called forth, she
fell back into a false and fatal indifference to the glory
of her divine Head, and the all-important ends of her
vwn institution; she seemed to forget her holy calling
altogether; error was extensively disseminated, and
396 PRESENT ENCOURAGEMENT

formalism became prevalent amongst many of her

professors, while a perishing world was left to pursue
its career of destruction unpitied and unrelieved. But
through the tender mercy of the Lord, that state of
apathy exists no longer; and although it cannot be said
that it is supplanted by the zeal and activity and faith
which the Lord demands, it may at least be affirmed—
that sorrow for past neglect, confession of present dead-
ness, and a keen, a growing sensibility to existing defi-
ciency prevails in the church; and this we hail as the
prospect of better days. When we examine the word
of God, we tind that before the great resurrection in
the valley of dry bones, the prophet was led to mark
and bewail their lifelessness;—the period of recon-
structed symmetry and of celestial life was preceded
by the picture of unburied skeletons, on whose ghastli-
ness the prophet mused, till he felt it to be almost
impossible that they could live at all; but that deep
conviction was the precursor of a rustling amid these
piles of death,—the Spirit had entered into them and
they became a great army. We read moreover, that be-
fore the prodigal was enfolded in his father’s embrace,
and enriched with all the precious tokens of his favour,
that he had become thoroughly dissatisfied with his
estranged and outcast condition, and was bewailing and
confessing the sin of his past misspent hours. And
who does not know that in the history of the soul, the
consciousness of misery, the feeling of guilt, the humble
confession of unworthiness, the sensibility of much un-
thankfulness and unfaithfulness to the Lord of all, is
symptomatic of a work of grace within, and is most usu-
ally the harbinger of a revival inthat soul? Just as the
glimmering of the morning star, the last in the train of
night, while it speaks of the darkness that was, but is
passing away, heralds in the rising of a cloudless sun;
so the gleams of conviction, shining upon the soul, war-
rant the expectation that the Sun of Righteousness is
about to arrive with healing under his wings. When
therefore we find the Church, throughout her different
sections, deeply impressed with the fact that she does
not occupy that position in the world that she ought,
sighing after an enlarged spirituality, grieving over her
 TO EXPECT A REVIVAL. 397

withered condition, and proclaiming at once that her

defections have restrained the effusions of grace, and
that her all-transcendent duties cannot be discharged
till her righteousness be made to go forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a lamp that burneth, we may rest
assured that the set time to favour Zion draws on apace
—and that the Lord will speedily beautify her abun-
dantly with the joys of his presence, and render her a
praise and a glory in the earth.
A second encouragement especially applicable to pre-
sent times is the missionary zeal of the age, and the
success that has attended the labours of Christian mis-
sionaries in modern days. There are two great duties
incumbent on the church in all ages, the simultaneous
discharge of which is essential to her prosperity, namely,
the maintenance of the truth, and the propagation of
it in the earth. She must hold fast the form of sound
words; and she must go out into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. In fact, the former
necessarily implies and leads to the latter; for the faith
once delivered to the saints clearly demands a persever-
ing and continued effort “to make the ways of the
Lord known upon earth, and his saving health amongst
all nations.” Now, although this was not denied by the
Church during her age of apathy, it was literally ne-
glected in practice; and the close of the last century
may be named as the date of the rise of modern mis-
sions. It would be no easy task to trace the progress
of the noble efforts made since in that holy cause—to
describe the large and comprehensive plans that are at
this moment in operation for the evangelization of man
—or tell of the languages in which the word of God
can now be read—or detail the names of the tribes and
nations on every quarter of the globe which the heralds
of the cross have visited ;—“ the angel is in fact flying
through the midst of heaven having the everlasting gos-
pel to preach unto them that dwell in the earth, and to
every nation and kindred and people and tongue:” and
while his sound is going out unto all the earth, the dews
of grace are silently distilling on the souls of thousands,
and preparing them to appreciate the messages of mercy
and the glad tidings of great joy which the gospel un-
398 PRESENT ENCOURAGEMENT

folds:\—Never before were efforts so many or so mighty

employed; and never had the church such prospect
of a blessed result: the fields are already white unto
the harvest—and where we only expected that the
ranker weeds which for ages have been exhaling their
noisome vapours on the breeze would be withering, we
already behold them torn up by the roots, and their
places supplied by those flowers which at once exhibit
the humility of the lily of the valley, and exhale the
fragrance of the rose of Sharon ;—even on Judah’s
withered stem, there are symptoms of efflorescence;
and here and there, like Aaron’s rod of old, it is beauti-
fied with the lovely almond flower and enriched with
the ripened fruit. Amongst the nations where the power
of heathenism was most deeply riveted, the most mar-
vellous changes are going forward, through the com-
bined influences of Providential movement, and the
workings of grace. Who can read the splendid and gor-
geous illustrations which Dr. Duff throws around this
subject in his treatise on India and its missions, or trace
the noble and successful inroads on idolatry made by
Dr.Wilson, (in whose character we find so richly blend-
ed the erudition of the philosopher with the devotion
and piety of the believer,) not to speak of the success
of others connected with kindred associations, without
feeling that God is beckoning the church onward to
certain success,—that he is calling on her emphatically
to arise and put on strength, for the glory of the Lord
ts risen upon her? And when we behold her beginning
to respond to that call—shaking herseli from the dust—
claiming the earth as the Lord’s—gathering in her tro-
phies ere she has scarcely planted a foot on the field of
conflict at all; when we hear of whole islands, as in
the South seas, turning from dumb idols to the service
of the living God—nations being literally born in a day,
can we fail to regard this as a precious encouragement
not only to persevere in the work which the Lord hath
blessed, but to believe that he is about to open the win-
dows of heaven and drop down fatness on all the pas-
tures of Zion?
The third encouragement to which we would point
is the increased spirit of prayer in the church. In the
 TO EXPECT A REVIVAL. 399

records of the church of Christ, it will be found that

there exists an invariable connection between the grace
of supplication and the gift of the Spirit, the former be-
ing in fact the result, the first result usually of his bles-
sed influences—the very utterance of an importunate
petition in the immediate presence of the Eternal
God, in tones of deepest humility and loftiest conti-
tience, being itself an indication that the Holy Ghost
has touched that heart, and is preparing to associate
with the very feebleness of these petitions, effects of
the most magnificent and divine character. Indeed all
the remarkableinterpositions of Sovereign goodness have
been preceded by the revived spirit of prayer. Moses
cried unto God amid the varied distresses of Israel, and
the Lord opened a pathway through them all ;—he ear-
nestly besought God’s favour for himself—and the Lord
passed by and proclaimed all his goodness. Solomon
laid aside his regal crown—and amid the gathered thou-
sands of Jacob, eutreated God’s favour for his church
and people, and the fire came down from heaven, and
the light of God’s glory—the splendour of the Sche-
kinah filled the temple. Elijah, who was a man of like
passions with ourselves, prayed, and the heavens became
as brass; he prayed again and their windows were open-
ed. Amid the idolatries of Baal he stood alone on Mount
Carmel—a witness for Jehovah;—a resistless testimony
was about to be vouchsafed to the cause of truth and for
the overthrow of error: it was preceded by prayer: that
holy man, dauntless and unmoved, amid the fretted
passions, and the wild orgies of the priests of sin, cast
himself on the arm of God; pronounced his simple re-
quest at his throne, and scarce had ceased his utterance
till the required proof was gloriously furnished. The
outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was
preceded by prayer. In short, with reference to all the
promises of God, whether these affect the individual or
the church, it remaineth true,—that for all these things,
saith the Lord, will I be enquired of by the house of
Israel to do it for them. Now, while we dare not think
with complacency on the evidences of the Church’s spi-
rituality, or say of her avowed adherents as was said of
the penitent persecutor of old, Behold he prayeth, still
400 PRESENT ENCOURAGEMENT

we must not despise the day of small things, and when

we find a greater prominence given in all the ministra-
tions of the sanctuary to the office and work of the
Spirit, an increased attendance on meetings for prayer,
a more willing disposition in all emergencies to have
recourse to public and united prayer ;—and above all,
when throughout the entire church there is a union of
sentiment and a harmony of hearts on one topic issuing
in the ceaseless supplication from the closet, the domes-
tic circle, the prayer meeting, the solemn assembly, that
the Lord would revive his work—can we doubt that
he who has quickened the desire will abundantly satisfy
it; and that the rekindled and enlarged fervency will
usher in a pentecostal day brighter and more blessed
than any which the world ever saw before?
A fourth ground of encouragement may be found in
the actual revivals that are taking place in various parts
of the world at present. Into the details of these it is
not necessary that I should enter—a passing glance is
all that our subject or our circumstances will admit of.
In America, for example, there have been unquestionably
in many congregations the evidences of the glorious
marchings of the King of Zion; for after all the abate-
ments (and we confess they are not few nor small, )that
require to be made, because of the spurious excitement,
and the wild reveries, and the undisguised fanaticism
which in the land have occasionally been substituted
for a genuine revival of religion—there remains enough
of decided proof of multitudes of perishing sinners sub-
dued to the obedience of the faith, and led willingly to
glory alone in the cross of Christ, to warrant us in ex-
claiming what hath not God wrought. In Eastern
India, too, in the district of Krishnagur, God’s power
has been gloriously manifested: seventy villages in one
neighbourhood are enquiring after Jesus; one thousand
of their inhabitants are already received into the fellow-
ship of the church of Christ, and many more are seek-
ing the way to Zion with their faces thitherward. In the
islands of the great Pacific, the same holy scenes are
transacting; for we find it thus recorded in recent
intelligence: “Since the commencement of the year
1838, a remarkable change appears to have taken place;
 TO EXPECT A REVIVAL. 401

the outpouring of the Spirit has been of a very marked

and extensive character; all ages, from the hoary head
to the child of eight years; all classes, from the highest
to the lowest, and from the most moral to the most pro-
fligate, appear to have partaken more or less in the ex-
citement and awakening that has occurred.” “The
king and queen of the islands, with all their train, have
become regular attendants upon the means of grace,
and we cannot but hope that the latter is decidedly
born of God.” From the island of Oahu, Mr. Bishop
writes: “That at his station he hopes that about a
thousand have already experienced the power of renew-
ing grace, and seven hundred and sixty have been re-
ceived into the church.” On the continent of Europe,
amidst the neology of Germany and the infidelity of
France, there is much to cheer; the evangelical spirit
is awakening from its torpor, and the churches abroad
are being furnished with the demonstration that the
time to favour Zion is at hand; and in our own beloved
and highly-privileged land—the scenes of Shotts and
Cambuslang, with all their wondrous results, of which
our fathers told us, have been graciously renewed, and
both in the Church and amongst the Dissenters have
there been repeated shakingsof thedead and dried bones;
our ears may even yet catch the sound of the rustling
as bone comes to his bone, under the potent, irresistible
efficacy of an Almighty Spirit. And just as, when we
witness the large and heavy rain-drop descending on
the withered earth, we conclude that the shower is at
hand—that this is but its harbinger ; and just as, when
we witness streaks of golden light impinging the dull
and gloomy eastern horizon, we conclude that the sun
rolls on, and will speedily look forth from the windows
of the morning, rejoicing, like a strong man, to run his
race: so do we regard these gracious visitations in the
spiritual world, not as the ample and completed accom-
plishment of specific promise, but as the commencement
of an age of grace—the preparatives for earth’s approach-
ing jubilee,—the pledge of a Redeemer’s unchanged
love—a love yet to be more universally realised, when,
amid the harmonies of the world’s praise, it shall be an-
nounced, “The earth is full of the knowledge of the
Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
492 PRESENT ENCOURAGEMENTI1

We would advert very shortly as a fifth ground of

encouragement, to the difficulties with which the cause
of God is now embarrassed, to the false spirit of the age,
and to the evil temper of the times: all these warrant
the hope that the Lord will vindicate his own cause,
and prove that verily there is a God that judgeth in the
earth. Undoubtedly the present age is pregnant with
principles directly subversive of truth and righteousness;
the political heavens are in many places veiled and
gloomy, and clouds are hurrying over the horizon of
the Church that forebode a coming tempest,—the
supremacy of God’s word, as the ultimate standard by
which all opinions ana practices must be tried, is ques-
tioned in a thousand ways—and men, boasting of their
own prodigious wisdom, attempt to narrow the applica-
tion of its eternal truths—to subordinate its express
dictates to the fiat of fallible man, and to banish it
altogether from its place as the guide of faith and of
manners. We regard in fact all the dangers with which
the vital Christianity of the age is menaced as hinging
cn the doctrine of the Bible’s supremacy. The contro-
versy with Popery, the warfare with a daring infidelity,
the contests with errorists of all shades, and the resis-
tance of the graspings of a disguised or open Erastianism,
all turn upon the simple question of the supremacy of
the Scriptures over all men, all laws, all powers, all
principles, and the repeated, determined, hitherto un-
heard-of invasion of that truth in various forms, con-
stitutes one of the darkest features in these troublous
times. But even this we regard as fraught with en-
couragement; it has thrown the Church on her spiritual
resources; it has led her to a closer and more affec-
tionate reliance on her divine Head; and as the result
of this, her strength is consolidating, even while her
difficulties increase; and the cry that is wrung out,
perhaps in bitterness, from her wounded and aggrieved
heart, “It is time for thee to work, O Lord, for man has
made void thy law,” isthe recognition in faith of Jehovah’s
sure and unalterable declaration—that at even tide it
shall be light; for “when the enemy cometh in like a
flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard
against him.”
 TO EXPECT A REVIVAL. 403

Finally, encouragement may be drawn from the be-

lief that the days of latter glory are near at hand. We
have no intention of entering the field of unfulfilled
prophecy, to draw therefrom any minute illustrations
of this position; all that is requisite is evidence of the
facts that there is a period of coming enlargement and
prosperity to the kingdom of the Redeemer, and that
there are peculiar features in the present times differ-
ent in many respects from what has been witnessed
before, and evidently prognosticating immense changes
in the world at large, which in all likelihood will illus-
trate the judgment as well asthemercy of the Most High.
Whatever opinions any man may have formed of the
immediate prospects of the church of Christ, he cannot
doubt that there are great though hidden results on the
wheel of providence. The revolutionary spirit which is
shaking Europe to its centre, the waning power of the
crescent—the dismemberment of the Turkish domin-
ion—the symbolical drying up of the great river—the
shaking of the papal power in Russia and in Prussia
—the general preparations for war amid universal
eulogies on the blessings of peace—the approaching
closeness of the conflict between light and darkness;
these are some of the plain and unambiguous movements
in providence that cannot be overlooked, the evident
intimations that the prophetic periods are rapidly filling
up, and that the latter days, the times of glory, are near
at hand. True, there is much of perplexity and fear as-
sociated with the intermediate procedure: the stone cut
out of the mountains without hands must dash in
pieces all other dominions, and scatter their power and
their pride like chaff out of the threshing-floor, before
it becomes the mountain filling the whole earth; but
that need be no cause of alarm to the people of God,—
no, not if the powers of heaven were even now shaken,
for “when these things begin to come to pass, the Lord
hath said, Lift up your heads, for your redemption
draweth nigh—Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees,
when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own-
selves that summer is now nigh at hand; so likewise ye,
when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the
kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” Having then these
404 DUTY CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL.

holy encouragements, let us as the professed and coven-

anted children of the kingdom, arise and work the
Lord’s work in the earth, with a fixed belief in the
sovereignty of God: let us combine assiduous effort with
importunate prayer for the erection of this kingdom
around—let no apparent difficulties enfeeble our faith
or-enervate our exertions, for the work is the Lord’s,
and he who is infinitely concerned about it will be our
strength and our shield. But oh let us all remember
that we have something more to do with a revival than
to philosophise about its character, or to dwell upon its
likelihood. The first, the great question with us all
must be, Has the Spirit quickened my dead soul—Has
he convinced me of sin and righteousness and judg-
ment? for what will it avail that you cordially entertain
the most scriptural notions of the glories of the coming
kingdom of Jesus, if there is not established within you
the kingdom which is righteousness and peace ard joy
in the Holy Ghost? Awake, ye slumberers who are
at ease in Zion, and search your hearts with this simple
question, Have I believed in the Lord Jesus? and then,
when you have given your own souls to the Saviour,
you will be prepared to plead in sincerity, “ Wilt thou
not revive us, O Lord? O Lord, revive thy work in
the midst of the years,” &c. Amen.
 405

LECTURE XIV.
Practical Addresses and Counsels, pointing out the im-
mediate Duty of Christians and others in connection
with the Revival of Religion, and the Advantages of
Lixpecting, Seeking, and Labouring for it.

BY NATHANIEL PATERSON, D.D.,

MINISTER OF ST. ANDREW'S PARISH, GLASGOW.

“Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger towards us to cease.
Wi't thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all
generations? Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in
thee? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation,”—PsaLM
1xxxv, 4—7.

He is no Christian who cares only for his own soul; he

is no “ fellow-citizen with the saints and of the house-
hold of God,” if the desires of his heart and the energies
of his hand be limited to the affairs of his own house-
hold; nor can he be regarded as an heir of the heavenly
Canaan whose soul breathes not the constant fervent
prayer that peace may be within Jerusalem's walls and
glory given to Jerusalem’s King. You will try your
hearts by this test when you think with what overtlow-
ing love your Lord forsook the glory of his Father’s
throne, and died, the Just for the unjust, that he might
bring you unto God. Have ye his spirit? are ye his,
and one with him, without a longing of heart for the
honour of his cross and the coming of his kingdom?
Behold in our text an example more befitting the
followers of the Lamb. The prayer of the Psalmist is
not for himself: “Turn us, O God of our salvation;”
neither is it for his own household: “Wilt thou not
revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee?
Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salva-
tion.” It is not for himself, or family, or national pros-
perity, in a worldly sense, but for the whole body of
the people, and as a people of God; that they may be
406 DUTY CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL.

turned unto the Lord, revived from their spiritual dead-

ness, delivered from their present distresses, saved from
impending wrath, and made to rejoice in the loving-
kindness of him who is King of kings, and Lord of
lords.
It is generally, and with good reason, supposed that
this beautiful and affecting psalm was written after the
return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon:
“Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou
hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.” But that
they have since become estranged from God, and are
lying under the tokens of the Livine displeasure, clearly
appears from the humble, earnest supplication of our
text: “Turn us, O God; wilt thou be angry with us
for ever?” It is devoutly to be observed; and Oh!
most of all ought Christians, in the clearer light and
more bountiful grace of the gospel, to observe it, that
past mercies, so far from being forgotten amidst present
troubles, should then more than ever be gratefully
called to mind, and used as arguments to self-abasement,
and as pleas in prayer for a restoration to the Divine
favour. And true it is, that when God has that favour
in store for any people, he gives first the spirit of grace
and of supplication to sue for it; and hence a prayerful
heart in the people is at once the surest sign of the
coming favour, and the fittest preparation for receiving
it. And be it remarked, that this text, as it is given
by inspiration of God and for the service of the sanc-
tuary, is thus made in reality not the prayer of the
Psalmist for the people, but the prayer of the people
for themselves.
And thus we behold the people of God recounting
the mercies which had restored them to their beloved
land, lamenting their subsequent estrangement, and
deprecating the wrath due to their ingratitude and
deadness of heart :as much as to say in their commun-
ings before God, Will nothing do ?—neither the severity
of an ignominious exile, northe kindness that has brought
back their captivity? Must they go on to multiply
their provocations, and will God be angry with them
for ever? No, there is a remedy for these sore and
otherwise interminable griefs and fears—one that will
 DUTY CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL. 407

heal the fountain of bitterness in their own hearts, and

prevent the Divine anger from being drawn out to all
generations, That remedy is just the prayer of our
text. Let it be in every heart, as dictated and taught
by the Spirit of God; and as the Lord liveth, and can-
not deny himself, the prayer of a convicted, fearing,
and penitent people will be all fulfilled. The nation,
brought to a sense of their ingratitude for past mercies,
and blessed with a true spiritual and religious revival,
will praise the Lord for this new manifestation of his
goodness, and as sure as they depart from their provo-
cations, the Lord will cause his anger towards them to
cease, and his people shall rejoice in him.
But what of all this, if the affairs of the ancient church
be all that we have to learn from our text? Far from
it. The Psalmist merely pens what the Holy Spirit
indites ;and the prayer of our text is given to the church
of God for every age. It is not set down in the way
of historical record, to tell us how this ancient people
prayed; but to teach us how we and every people un-
der heaven ought to pray. And the more humbly and
hopefully ought we to take the lesson thus conveyed,
seeing that the circumstances of our text bear a strik-
ing parallel to those of our time. Thus serving to fix in
every mind the conviction that we are divinely called, in
our equal need of a revival, to betake ourselves to this
very prayer as the mean of recovery from our spiritual
deadness, and as certainly prescribed to us as to the
ancient people of God.
You cannot fail, after what you have heard in the
preceding lecture, to be deeply impressed with the ne-
cessity of a religious revival in our land. And not-
withstanding all that you have heard and felt with deep
sorrow, I notice a few things by way of renewing the
impression, as on the strength of that will depend much
of the practical application which we would urge on
every soul in the conclusion of this course. It has been
well ascertained, that in the head city of this empire,
nearly halfa million of souls are without a bible in
their possession. Think of half a million of heathens
in one city, and in this 19th century of the Christian
era. In the two chief cities of Scotland—a land once
408 DUTY CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL.

so famed in all the world for piety and religious know-

ledge—far upwards of a hundred thousand souls are
habitually estranged from the house of God and the
decent observance of the Christian Sabbath. We fear
there is no prayer, no catechising of children, no voice
of salvation and rejoicing in all their tabernacles. And
in the whole of this smaller division of the island, not
less than half a million of people are living in the like
ignorance, and dying in the like dreary prospects of
eternity. Then look to the papal millions of Ireland,
at this day insulting God with idolatrous sacrifices, and
training the young in the superstitious rites of the
darkest ages. See what apostles of Socinianism are
travelling from city to city, and finding a ready way to
inculcate upon the ignorant, the vicious, and the worldly,
the belief that the Saviour is not the Son of God, and
that there is no healing balm for sinners in the blood
of atonement! And now the like classes are equally
accessible to that monster Socialism; so zealous as to
employ its missionaries in public works ;and so cunning
as to entrap the unwary by its new name, which, being
somewhat engaging, may serve also to disguise the utter
infidelity and detestable morals of its system. Is nota
revival of the work of God much needed in the midst
of moral pestilences such as these? But alas! whilst
your souls shudder at the outward spreading of these
deadly mischiefs, you are called to look within the pale
of professed communion; and who is able to reckon
there the amount of open vice, of secret heart-cherished
sin, of covetousness which is idolatry, of mammon wor-
ship, of hypocrisy and spiritual deadness with its name
to live?
And whilst we have before us so great a prevalence
of wilful and deep-rooted sin, as dishonouring to Jeho-
vah as it is humbling to our hearts; have we not rea-
son, as directed by our text, to recount the many mer-
cies which God, in former times, hath so abundantly
vouchsafed to this highly-favoured land—a land rescued
from popish ignorance and superstition—a land once
esteemed the fairest daughter of the Reformation—a
land of bibles, of churches, and schools; of prayer, of
piety, and intelligence—a people whose sires bled on
 DUTY CONNECTED WITH REVIVAL. 409

every hill and dale for upholding the Headship of Christ,

and have handed down to our day those sacred rights
and privileges which they bought with their blood?
Truly we may say, on looking to the past, “Lord, thou
hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought
back the captivity of Jacob.” And seeing now so much
division amongst us, so much indifference to truths
once so dear, so malignant an hostility in multitudes
to the very name and cause of our Redeemer; can we
fail, amidst these proofs of church-defection and decay-
ing godliness, to be moved by these obvious tokens of
the Divine displeasure, and to exclaim with the Psal-
mist in godly fear, “ Wilt thou be angry with us for
ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all genera-
tions ?”
It is time, from such tokens, to take the alarm, and
seek our refuge in the prayer of our text: “Turn us,
O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger towards
us to cease: wilt thou not revive us again, that thy peo-
may rejoice in thee? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and
grant us thy salvation.” We are now as the church
was in ancient times, when the Spirit of God imparted
these appropriate terms of supplication; and when
we contemplate the church of our Redeemer as the
ark in which our immortal souls are carried, when
“deep calleth unto deep,” and the signs of judgment
surround us, we regard also the prayer of our text as
the dove sent forth to seek a token for good from Him
who can say to the troubled sea, “ Peace, be still ;” and
we are led to thank God and take courage when we
see the dove return with this answer to the church’s
prayer which we have in the words immediately fol-
lowing our text: “I will hear what God the Lord will
speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to
his saints; but let them not turn again to folly. Surely
his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory
may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met toge-
ther; righteousness and peace have kissed, each other.
Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness
shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give
that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.
Righteousness shall go before him and shall set us in
4lu RELIGIOUS REVIVAL DESIRABLE.

the way of his steps.” This answer to prayer, this

grant of the revival prayed for, is all that the hearts of
God’s people can desire. And if, from the present as-
pect of things around you,—the abounding iniquity,
the spiritual deadness, and the signs of impending judg-
ment, you are convinced of the necessity of a religious
revival in our land; if thus you learn what is the mind
of the Spirit respecting it,—how it is promised in an-
swer to prayer, and how certainly it must prove reme-
dial of the evils you have cause to deplore; then come
with one heart and aim to the practical end which this
course of lectures has in view; and let us unite, in
humble dependence on the Divine aid, to consider,
I. How devoutly is such revival to be desired;
II. How confidently to be expected; and,
III. How earnestly to be sought.
I. First, then, we are to speak of the extreme desirable-
ness of a religious revival. We do not of course include
every thing that may bear that name. We offer no
defence of whatever may be false, spurious, hypocri-
tical, or of mere temporary excitement; but mean only
that which is really the work of the Spirit of God, in
awakening sinners to a sense of their danger, in fasten-
ing on their souls a conviction of sin, from which they
shall find no rest till they flee to the atoning blood and
saving grace of the Redeemer, receive him as he is
offered, embrace him as all their salvation, and esteem
him infinitely precious, because full of compassion and
mighty to save. Such operation of the Spirit is the
great gospel-promise to the church; and is not the ful-
filment of that promise, of all things on earth, the most
devoutly to be desired? “I will pray the Father,”
said the Saviour to his disciples, “and he will send you
another Comforter, that he may abide with you for
ever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:
but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you and shall
be in you.” And again, “ The Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, he shall teach you all things. He shall
glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show
it unto you.” Can any man, professing the faith of
Jesus, disregard this gracious promise? Can any one
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL DESIRABLE. 4h1

believe in the efficacy of the Saviour’s death, and not

appreciate the gift of the Spirit, which the Saviour by
his death procured? Shall any disciple of Christ learn
from his Lord’s own mouth, that an agent almighty
and holy is provided for the effectual teaching of the
church, and will he yet expect to be otherwise savingly
taught—to be convinced of sin and led to the only
refuge for lost souls?
But look on the Divine record to an exampre of this
promise realized, and seeing that a serious concern for
the soul—the acceptance of Christ as a Saviour—an¢
a new holiness of heart and life, are the immediate ef-
fects, surely there will then be no doubt that a revival
so glorifying to God, and blessed to man, is infinitely
desirable. ‘Behold I send the promise of my Father
upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until
ye be endued with power from on high.” On the da
of Pentecost the word of promise was fulfilled by the
outpouring of the Spirit on the apostles and people;
when Peter, bearing witness to the divinity and glory
of a crucified Saviour, now exalted to the right hand of
God, exclaimed, “ Let all the house of Israel know as-
suredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye
have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Hearing these
words uttered with demonstration of the Spirit and with
power, the people were pricked in their hearts, and
said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, “ Men and
brethren, what shall we do? and the same day there
were added unto the church about three thousand eruls.”
When did such effects appear by the preaching of the
Saviour himself? Enough to show that he will be
glorified, and sinners saved, only in the way appointed
in his word. Nor was the emotion thus produced in
the minds of so many at all of a transient nature,
though it was obviously sudden and simultaneous. On
the contrary, we read that “they continued steadfastly
in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking
of bread and in prayers ;” and further, that “they, con-
tinving daily with one accord in the temple, and break-
ing bread from house to house, did eat their meat with
gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and
having favour with all the people.”
412 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL DESIRABLE.

Thus, when we would show how greatly the revival

of religion is to be desired, we can refer to an exempli-
fication of the work so authoritative and complete as
to place equally beyond all controversy either the ex-
cellency of a revival, or the precise meaning which that
term conveys. Nor are we confined to a solitary case.
As in the aspect of the heavens, we have alternations
from lowering shades to “the clear shining after rain;”
so in the moral vicissitudes that pass over the sacred
page; we have many periods of portentous gloom, and
as often the eye is gladdened when the Spirit of the
Lord appears in Zion, and “the righteousness thereof
goes forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a
lamp that burneth.” In the history of nations also, how
numerous have been the times of refreshing to the peo-
ple of God when they have been visited with tokens of
the Divine power as manifest and gracious as on the
day of Pentecost. These have been fully unfolded in
a previous part of this course; and to all such periods
we refer for proof how good, on the part of God, and
blessed to his church, have all those seasons of revival
been. I instance one, which as it is memorable ought
to be long and universally remembered—J mean that
glorious era when the dark cloud of papal superstition
was rolled away from our land, and the Sun of Righte-
ousness, long hid, shone forth with healing in his beams.
The strongholds of Satan fell; his servants fought not;
they fled from the light; the sword of the Spirit was
the only weapon; and the victory was the more joyful
that it was bloodless: you could not tell what became
of the enemy; but you might see a nation who sat in
the region and shadow of death, brought of a sudden
to the temple, “ praising God with one accord, and eat-
ing their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.”
In many places of our land, at divers seasons and
after long decays of religion, there have been times
of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, by a sig-
nal outpouring of his Spirit. As no instances of that
kind have been more remarkable than those of our day,
and as they have been nigh to your own doors, it must
be a shame to the coldness of your hearts if you have
not been eye-witnesses to the work. And confident we
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL DESIRABLE. 4138

are, that all who have will be ready with one mind to
set to their seal, that of a truth the work is of God, and
that it is above all things to be desired in behalf of all
men. He whose work it is takes care that it shall be
well attested ;in order that his hand may be recognised,
and his name glorified ;that they who receive the bles-
sing may know its source; and to this further end, that
of the world it may be said, “ Many shall see it and
fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” He provides that
there shall be a two-fold testimony to the work of his
hand ;—one the consciousness of a new state; the other,
the exhibition of a new character. The one is satisfy-
ing to the individual who is the subject of a divine ope-
ration; the other is convincing to such as are stran-
gers to the work of the Spirit; and both united afford
the strongest evidence to all, that a work so good and
gracious is in reality the work of God. The testimony
of the individual, under the consciousness of a new state
of mind, is expressed in this way: whereas I was blind,
now I see ;—whereas I obeyed the lusts of the flesh, I
now hate all sin and strive against it ;—before, I lived
unto the world, followed its fashion, satisfied my soul
with its enjoyments, and sought no other portion; now,
the love of Christ constrains me to live unto him, to
walk in his steps, to seek first the kingdom of God and
his righteousness, believing that all other things shall
be added unto me. This we say is the experience of
every one who is savingly awakened, and turned unto
the Lord ; and if you ask those who are the subjects of
a genuine revival, however numerous they may be, they
will all speak the same thing; they will speak accord-
ing to the witness within, and give thanks to God for
the tokens of his grace and love. But along with these
declarations of a felt experience, God in his wisdom
provides that there shall be another source of evidence
in the manifestations of a new character; and wherever
there is a true revival, as the many so influenced bear
witness to the work of God on their inward man, so
there will be found also a concurrent and outward tes-
timony, which may be drawn, not indeed from every in-
dividual of the district, but from the renewed aspect of
life and manners presented by the general population
of the district.
4]+4 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL DESIRABLE.

Let me briefly notice some of the happy features of

that moral reformation to which we refer, and as they
have appeared in the parish of Kilsyth to very many
and the most competent witnesses. The books of the
great day will show what faitnful labours of an evan-
gelical ministry, and what persevering prayers of elders
and other pious parishioners have been blessed by an
outpouring of the Spirit, producing those effects to
which, in a few words, I direct your attention, and from
which the most incredulous will be convinced how truly
a religious revival is to be desired in all places, and for
every member of the human family. Men naturally do
not love either God or the gates of Zion; but a worse
state is superinduced when to this inherent dislike there
has been added, amongst many, the force of a habit,
growing more inveterate, both in the neglect and con-
tempt of the sanctuary and its sacred ordinances; and
if in such circumstances there be multitudes, as there
are in the place we have named, who crowd to the house
of God even on week days, and Sabbath after Sabbath,
have we not proof most convincing that they are the
subjects of an extraordinary gracious influence, that the
land of God is there, and the effect so good as to re-
Joice every soul that loves the Lord Jesus Christ in sin-
cerity? This attendance in the house of prayer, by
many previously estranged, is accompanied with the
“voice of salvation and rejoicing in all their taber-
nacles.” The old have deserted the standards of the
enemy, and the young are enlisted in the service of their
Lord. When I think of dear children, what temptations
beset them, and how hard it is in their levity of temper
to impress their minds with serious and sacred things,
I know not in all the world a sight so touching to the
heart, and fit to draw forth tears of gratitude, as the
spirit of prayer diffused amongst these youthful disci-
ples, who form themselves into little groups in godly
friendship, and pray with and for each other, for their
parents, ministers, and elders, with a grace and wisdom
worthy of advanced Christians. How sweetly do they
inhale the promise, “ They that seek me early shall find
me.” It seems as if their dear Saviour were on earth,
and took them in his arms and blessed them, and said
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL DESIKABLE. 415

to you, Behold these, “for of such is the kingdom

of heaven.”
It may be further seen in that same place, as might
be expected, where old and young are brought under
the influence of Divine grace, that there is nothing of
Sabbath desecration, or profane jesting, or filthy com-
munication among the people; nor is it heard, whether
in places of concourse, or amongst children at play, that
the name of God is taken in vain.—Drunkenness, once
prevalent, has so given way to a godly sobriety, that
tavern-keepers have been threatened with ruin, or, be-
ing themselves converted, have sought some other way
of earning their bread. And it is not easy to estimate
what comforts will accumulate in the homes of the la-
bouring poor, when not only that vile sink of intemper-
ance, which drained off the life’s blood of their families,
is done away; but industry, like a tree of paradise, now
cultivated with steady hands and cheerful hearts, is ever
yielding the happiest shelter and the most delicious
fruits. O it is in this well seen that godliness hath the
promise of the life that now is, as well as that which is
to come. The masters of public works bear witness to
a much altered and nobly improved condition of the
working classes—better work, more of it, punctually
executed, and, contrary to former practice, attended with
next to no craving of payment per-advance. Do not
these things speak what is good to the worldly wise,
not less than to the lovers of Zion? The fierceness of
disputation too, whether arising from political or religi-
ous division, is lulled into an unwonted repose; and
those who were so hostile to one another as not to meet
on speaking terms, or meet in strife, now, united to the
same loving Redeemer, dwell together as dear children
in love, and go to the house of God in harmony, as it be-
comes those who have one Lord, one faith, one bap-
tism, and are united in one hope of their calling.
I notice one other effect which, though it may seem
small, is yet of great moment. The robbing of field
produce by juvenile offenders is a vice that is notorious
on every way-side and about every village. The hus-
bandmen and peasantry of the place we have specified
will tell you how wonderfully this annoyance has re-
416 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL DESIRABLE.

cently disappeared ; and if such theft be commonly re-

garded as insignificant, the more credit on that very
account must be ascribed to the might of those religi-
ous principles by which it is restrained. The event
shows that the power of divine truth has reached the
youngest and most neglected of the community; that
if there may be some whose minds are not directly so
influenced, yet are they overawed by the prevailing tone
of sentiment, or they fear lest they should be marked
as offenders, where there are few to be partakers in
their shame. And from things small in themselves, we
are led to the grand conclusion, that the fear of God is
a better defence to tne fields in question than the high-
est wall; and that no sin appears little to those who re-
cognise the presence of the Lord, and look for “the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ: who gave himself for us, that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people zealous of good works.”
On the whole view of the case then, regarding these
and many other happy and outward effects, we would
say, let ministers of Christ try their strength to draw
out a godless people and settle them in church-going
habits ;let patriots and philosophers employ their wisest
schemes to produce the like reformation of morals; let
magistrates put in force all the vigilance of police and
the terrors of a prison: and the result will be, that no
department of such agency or the whole taken together,
will at all avail to produce such a renewal of heart and
transformation of life, as are here most obviously set
before us.—And why then not readily acknowledge the
hand of God as manifested in such perfect accordance
with his word ?—why not see, and be convinced, that
the good done can in no other way be accomplished;
and that such a revival of religion is really the most de-
sirable of all things here below? Is the awakening of
one sinner to a care for his immortal soul not to be
contended for, and devoutly to be sought? and is it
less to the glory of God, that many, in the same place
and at the same time, should be the subjects of a work
so gracious? Is the turning of one soul from darkness
to light a cause of rejoicing in heaven, and will there
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL DESIRABLE. 417

not be a louder acclaim amidst the heavenly hosts, if a

thousand in one day are turned from the power of Sa-
tan unto God?—A revival then just means the awak-
ening and conversion of many at once, instead of one
at a time, to which last it there be any valid objection
there ought to be no ministry at all; and if the work
be good in the case of solitary conversions, the more
joyfully is it to be hailed when conversions are many;
for then it is the same grace manifested in greater abun-
dance. Who that delights in the springing of the earth,
would prefer a drop, here and there, on the parched
ground, to the bounteous shower by which the Lord
crowns the year with his goodness ?—who that admires
a lonely flower in the wilderness, would not conceive
more gladness of heart were the whole desert to rejoice
and blossom as the rose?—-who that goes forth weep-
ing and bearing precious seed, would not rejoice to
come again bringing his sheaves with him? and how
woful is the plight of the husbandman who sees an
enemy reap the harvest, and leave only a few gleaning
ears to be gathered by himself. Yet some there are who
object to those seasons of revival, when there are show-
ers of blessings and bountiful fruits.—They would limit
the power of God, and suspect a spuriousness in the
work of salvation if thousands are suddenly brought to
the question, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
I warn thee, O man, take heed that such thoughts be
not in thy heart. Thou art in the presence of God,
who has promised that he will pour out his Spirit on all
flesh: “ask and it shall be given thee.” Dost thou
shun the prayer ?—then the precept of thy God is dis-
obeyed; dost thou ask and not care whether the Spirit
be given?—then thy prayer is a mockery of the Most
High, and the answer to prayer is despised ; do others
pray for an outpouring of the Spirit, in behalf of all
around them? and when the blessing is bestowed, is it
thy part to cavil at the manifestations of divine grace?
Let this be proof to thee that thou art yet in the gall
of bitterness and bond of iniquity. Who shall contend
with God and prosper? Quench not the Spirit: grieve
not the Holy Spirit of God. “Be not ye mockers, lest
your bands be made strong.”
 418 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL DESIRABLE.

There will always be gainsayers when a godly zeal is

stirred up in the church of Christ, when any signal to-
kens of God's favour are vouchsafed to his people, and
when thus an inroad is made on the empire of dark-
ness.—But we hope better things of you. From all
that you have heard in this course of lectures—from
all that you have read of gospel-promise or its fulfil-
ment—from all that you have seen in the history of the
church, or witnessed of revivals in your own day,—we
confidently hope that your hearts are moved to a just
conviction, that of all desirable things on earth, whether
for God’s glory or the salvation of perishing sinners, a
religious revival, in the present aspect of things around
you, is most devoutly to be desired.
What delight must it afford to faithful and zealous
ministers of Christ to see the work of the Lord pros-
pering in their hands. What shepherd can look with-
out sorrow on a flock that is weak and sickly and
vanishing away ? What husbandman can behold with-
out grief the luxuriant growth of thorns and thistles
amidst the choaked and fruitless corn—a field of his
labour as unsightly as it is unprofitable. But how
much more, in the Lord's vineyard, is the sight to be
deplored when the eye rests upon desolation accom-
panied with the vivid prospect of ruined souls, and the
reckoning for eternity ? Ministers are commanded to
preach the word, to be instant in season and out of
season; to exhort, rebuke, reprove, with all long suffer-
ing and dectrine. Let us suppose the ministering
servant to be duly impressed with the solemnity of the
charge, “O Son of man, I have set thee a watchman
unto the house of Israel: therefore thou shalt hear the
word at my mouth and warn them from me. When I
say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely
die: if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from
his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but
his blood will I require at thine hand;” in the deep
awe of a charge so momentous, he labours with all
earnestness to shake the strongholds of Satan, to sub-
due the enmity of the carnal mind, and gain a willing
ear. But the sound of his voice is as the wind passing
over a grave, his words as the rain not falling on the
\
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL DESIRABLE. 419

grateful soil but on the rock of the mountain. “Not

by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the
Lord.” The Lord sends forth his Spirit, and his word
prevails. The dry bones awake to life; the hard heart
is no obstacle ; the way is easy; “the mountains melt,
and tlow down at his presence.” In such a stirring time
the minister’s hands are full indeed, but his heart over-
flows with gladness. It is evidently the Lord’s work in
which he is engaged, and he is a fellow-worker with
him. All around is full of life and joy; the vineyard
is fruitful; “the mountains drop sweet wine, and his
soul is cheered by the songs of the vintage.” What a
blessed deliverance from the burden of careless souls,
deaf to the call of the gospel, and dying it may be with-
out “bands in their death!” What bright anticipations
of those numerous converts in whom the Saviour “shall
see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied !”
What minister of Christ will not ascribe to God the
highest praise, and say of such a revival it is more to be
desired than all the triumphs of conquerors, and all the
crowns they have won?
One word to you who have children to rear: a re-
vival is much to be desired by you. How dearly you
love your little ones, and how awful the thought that
one of them should perish! And yet they are so
thoughtless, so full of levity, and so hard to be impres-
sed with the love and the fear of God. You have
sworn to train them up in the way that they should go.
But you see that folly is bound up in their hearts; that
whilst they run after evil examples, they may die in
their youth. How precious for their sakes is the re-
vival of religion in all the place of your abode. Its
effects are as conspicuous in the minds of the young as
of the old, and what aid is thus afforded to the strivings
of parental love? Not only are the youthful examples
of evil in a great measure removed from the path of
your children; but those who in other circumstances
were seducers, now ranked on the Lord’s side, are
ready to take another by the hand and say, “Come
thou with us and we will do thee good.” Your lines
have fallen in pleasant places when the promise is
realized, “I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed and my
420 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE EXPECTED.

blessing on thine offspring: and they shall spring up

as among the grass, and as willows by the water-courses.
One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call
himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall sub-
scribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname him-
self by the name of Israel.” ‘Thus dear to parents on
account of their children, as to ministers on account of
their flocks, is a time of revival and of refreshing from
the presence of the Lord ; and not less to all the house-
hold of faith on account of the cause and kingdom of
our blessed Redeemer. It is the highest aim and de-
light of all who are his that he should be glorified and
sinners saved. In a time of revival the eyes of the
blind are opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped, and
the lame man leaps as an hart. Waters break out in
the wilderness, and streams in the desert. A highway
is there, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The
unclean shall not pass over it, and the way-faring men,
though fools, shall not err therein. ‘The Redeemed
shall walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall
return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting
joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and glad-
ness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” From
all these views we trust ye have come to the strong
conclusion, that a revival of religion, fraught as it is
with such proofs of a life-giving and saving efficacy, is.
of all things on earth the most devoutly to be desired.
And with what enlightened devotion ought we to give
thanks to God for the assurance we are permitted to
entertain, that that which is the most desirable of all
things is also the most confidently to be expected.
II. To this confident expectation we now proceed,
as was proposed in the second place, to direct your
thoughts, and to show that this good hope through
grace is grounded on the good-will of God toward his
church; on the blessing with which he accompanies
the faithful preaching of his word; and the gift of his
Spirit promised in answer to the prayers of his people.
In speaking of these it cannot be necessary to detain
you long, considering what was so amply unfolded in
the 8th Lecture of this course, namely, the encourage-
ment to look for revivals from the promises and pro-
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE EXPECTED. 421

phecies of Scripture. But as our efforts to promote

the cause of revivals will ever depend much on the
strength of that faith in which they are expected, it
cannot be unreasonable to say a few words on each of
these topics we have named.
1, Then, we are warranted to look for a revival in any
corner of the vineyard from the good-will of our Lord
towards his church and people. Could we take into our
hearts more of the Divine love as manifested in the salva-
tion of souls, we would expect more of the Divine favour
in behalf of religious revivals. The love of God in the
gift of his Son has no parallel; it is above all height and
depth and breadth and length; it passeth knowledge.
‘(god so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish
but have everlasting life: for God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through him might be saved.” Add to this God’s own
view of that love as heightened by the previous ill-
desert of all to whom it is vouchsafed: ‘‘God com-
mendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.” To this, which is already
marvellous beyond conception, must be superadded what
is a less observed proof of the greatness of that love
which God has shown to lost sinners, namely, that Christ,
who was dear to the Father from all eternity, is exalted
to a still higher place in the Father’s complacency, be-
cause of the love he showed to our race in giving himself
for us. The Saviour’s words to this effect are: “ There-
fore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my
life that I might take it again.” What then, it may be
asked, could God do more? he gave his only-begotten
and well-beloved Son; what could Christ do more? he
gave himself for us—he died, the Just for the unjust, that
he might bring us unto God—he became sin for us, that
we might be righteousness of God in him.
As there is nothing which it is so hard for carnal
minds to believe, so nothing in the compass of revealed
truth is so largely insisted on, as the immeasurable ex-
tent of Heaven’s undeserved love; and whilst that is
coldly regarded, it will be no wonder at all if there be
a doubtful or indifferent looking-for of that favour which
 492
i RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE EXPECTED.

is implied in a religious revival. Let us see then yet

more what pains are taken by the Spirit of truth to
make the testimony of the Divine love more clear to
the understanding and more affecting to the heart.
Illustrations are tried by similes drawn from those rela-
tions of life in which love is the most deeply felt and
best exemplified: ‘“ Husbands, love your wives, even as
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it,
that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing
ot water by the word; that he might present it to him-
self a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without
blemish.” Thus the strength and tenderness of the love
which the Lord bears to his people is compared to that
subsisting between those who by the ties of nature are
no longer twain but one flesh; and surely if there be
such union of the church with her Lord; if he desire
that she should be presented to himself a glorious
church, it cannot be that he will admire her spiritual
deadness and decay; and therefore he will in no way
be unwilling to grant her that revival by which she may
appreciate his worth, and in purity of heart repay his
affection. Again, recourse is had to another com-
parison: “Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and
break forth into singing, O mountains; for the Lord
hath comforted his people, and will have mercy on his
afflicted. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me,
and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget
her sucking child, that she should not have compassion
on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, but
I will not forget thee. Behold I have graven thee
on the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually
before me.” Let every hearer who believes in Christ
take the comfort of these words, as well for all that
concerns his own soul as the well-being of the church.
Art thou in sorrow, O man or woman ?—murmur not,
and never despond. Rest in thy Saviour’s love—a
love manifested in deed and in truth—proved by the
cross he suffered for thy sake, and by the glory of the
crown to which he will exalt thee. Affliction is his
refiner, and applied, not for his pleasure, but thy profit,
that thou mayest partake of his holiness—a gracious
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE EXPECTED. 423

sign that thou art not forgotten, but engraven on the

palms of his hands. Is the Church in trouble?—her
Lord sees that she too has need of purifying, and she is
afflicted that she may be holy and without blemish.
Let her not murmur, nor be dismayed; but trust in the
Lord, for her walls are continually before him. “Why
art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou dis-
quieted in me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet
praise him who is the health of my countenance and
my God.”
Thus may we confidently look for revivals from the
affecting demonstrations of the Divine love, and still
more from what we learn of our Lord’s gracious designs,
which embrace all ages and every tribe and tongue
and people. He would have all men to come to the
knowledge of the truth and be saved. He is able to
save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him.
There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor un-
circumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but
Christ is all and in all. Of a truth, says the apostle, I
perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but in
every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righte-
eousness, is accepted of him. And not only does this
guod-will of the Lord embrace all lands, but in the
counsels of heaven it is fixed that the grace of our
Redeemer shall one day reach the remotest regions and
enrich them all. In him shall all kindreds of the
earth be blessed, all the kingdoms of this world shall
become the kingdom of God, and of his Christ. His
dominion shall extend from sea to sea, and from the river
to the ends of the earth. The glorious accession of the
Gentiles into his church is thus foretold in the beautiful
and glowing language of the prophet: “Arise, shine,
for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen
upon thee. For behold the darkness shall cover the
earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord
shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon
thee; and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and
kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine
eyes round about and see; all they gather themselves
together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from
afar, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.”
424 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE EXPECTED.

Whether then ye think of the love so manifested, or

of the grace so designed, you are prepared to say, There
can be no place in the Lord’s dominions—no quarter in
the habitable globe, where you may not confidently
look for the coming of his kingdom, or expect a revival
of his salvation-work where it has once begun, however
wofully it may have fallen into decay. And this con-
clusion is most precious; it is not less authorised than
it is delightful. We may suffer grief and humbling of
soul because of much sin, on account of which the
favour of God is justly withdrawn; and we may be left to
look on scenes of consequent loathsomeness, desolation,
and death; but with what reassurance and comfort may
we recur to the imperishable records of the Divine
goodness, to the sure decree which Jehovah will main-
tain, and to the contemplation of that loving and Al-
mighty Saviour who is the same yesterday, to-day, and
for ever. As in the individual case, he has no pleasure
in the death of the soul, but says to the sinner, Turn
and live; so in the case of his church, in whatever
quarter it may have sunk into deadness of spirit, he has
no pleasure in the sight of its perishing souls and lifeless
sacrifices. It is not in such a way that he shall be the
First-born of many brethren,—that he shall see ofthe
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. Surely he
takes a loving concern for the vineyard which he
watered with his blood,—in those trees of righteousness
which reward his toil and bring forth fruit unto God.
“Flerein,” he says, “is my Father glorified in that ye
bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” And
how is his compassionate heart grieved with the sight
of those trees of his vineyard which prove unfruitful
and only fit to be cut down as cumberers of the ground.
That he delights in revivals rather than death and a
sentence of righteous condemnation, may be clearly
seen by these words of the parable, which show at once
the tenderness of the heart that would spare the dying,
and the skilfulness of the hand that would employ the
wisest and the best of means for the preservation of
life: “ Lord, let it alone this year also, till I dig about it,
and dung it: and if it bear fruit, wedl; and if not,
then after that thou shalt cut it down.”
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE EXPECTED. 425

Again, we may confidently expect a revival of reli-

gion in every place from the blessing with which God
has promised to accompany the preaching of his
word. His command is, “ Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature ;” and his promise
is, “ My word shall not return to me void; but it shall
accomplish that which I please, and prosper in the thing
whereto I sent it: for as the rain cometh down and the
snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but
watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud,
that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth.”
Nothing can more plainly speak of the Lord’s goodness
in promoting a spiritual revival in the hearts of his
people. Look to the dry cracked furrows of the ground,
consuined with drought, and see how the sickly crop is
revived when the heavens pour down their beneficent
treasures; and it is by the like figure that the Psalmist
expresses his joy and gratitude for spiritual blessings so
bountifully realized: “Thou, O God, didst send a
plentiful rain whereby thou didst confirm thine inherit-
ance when it was weary.”
But well it ought to be observed, that if we would
expect such blessings on a gospel ministry, theze must be
by a full and free and faithfully preached gospel; it
must not be man’s word but God’s;.it must be the
word of truth having nothing of man’s device super-
added—nothing of God’s counsel withheld. There is
in the world much preaching in Christ’s name that has
yet but little connection with the gospel of the grace
of God; and if spiritual deadness and not spiritual life
be the fruit of a faithless ministry, there is not from
that to be inferred any unfaithfulness in him that hath
promised ; for it is only to the word as it proceeded
out of the mouth of God, that the blessing of its author
is vouchsafed. And it is no less confirmatory of our
hope in the promise than instructive of the way in
which the hope may be realized, to find in fact, that
wherever true revivals have appeared they have been
preceded by what alone can be called a faithful pro-
clamation of the gospel to lost sinners ;—insisting much
on man’s utter depravity by nature and the necessity of
426 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE EXPECTED,

regeneration ; the sufficiency of Christ to save, and the

sinner’s justification by faith in him, together with an
entire dependence on the Spirit of God as a Sanctifier,
Comforter, and Guide. Let there be on the part of
all heralds of the cross, such announcement of plain
scripture doctrine, urged with a diligence and godiy
zeal becoming the work of salvation ; and then, whether
we look to. the love of God in the gift of his Son, or to
the faithfulness of him who hath promised by his word
to bless the souls of men, as by the rain that falls he
blesses the springing of the ground; we may in all
places and at all times expect a revival of religion,
wherever it is yet wanted, either to promote the glory
of the Lord, or the well-being of his church and people.
And lastly, as the ground of this confident expectation,
we rest on the purchased and promised influence of the
Divine Spirit. As the Spirit of God is the almighty
agent by whom alone a true revival of religion is pro-
duced ; as the word, though ordained for life, is without
the Divine teaching, known only in the deadness of
the letter; and as the Saviour, by virtue of his death
and ascension to yiory, hath procured the effectual
working of the Spirit in behalf of his church; we are
warranted most confidently to look for a revival of re-
ligion, because the life-giving and sanctifying work of
the Holy Ghost is promised of God in answer to the
prayers of his people. If we would comfortably and
profitably entertain this holy and earnest expectation,
we must.have clear views of our destitution without the
Divine aid, of the Spirit’s work, and of the way in which
that gracious influence is bestowed. Without the Di-
vine agency the enmity of the carnal mind remains un-
broken; the ear is not open to the call of the gospel,
and ministers, loud or low in speech, are but as a sound-
ing brass or a tinkling cymbal. ‘There is, therefore, no
hope at all even of a solitary conversion, and still less
of a general revival, save only by the teaching of the
Spirit of God. But it is just to meet this exigency that
the Spirit is procured, and that we are plainly taught
what the working of the Spirit is: “« Howbeit, when he
the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you into all
truth.” Again, “It is expedient for you,” says our
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE EXPECTED. 427

Lord, “that I go away; for if I go not away the Com-

forter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will
send him unto you; and when he is come, he will re-
prove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of
righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see
me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this
world is judged.” Now, see how this gracious and ef-
fectual working of the Holy Ghost is promised in an-
swer to prayer. In the words of our Saviour, “ Ask,
and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that ask-
eth receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened.” In the words of the
prophet, “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you
and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness and from
all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will
I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and
cause you to walk in my statutes: and ye shall keep my
judgments and do them.” Here is the abundant gra-
cious promise, needful alike to every living soul; and
given to many, it implies all that a true revival can
mean. But what is the method of conferring the pro-
mised gift? It is given in answer to prayer, “Thus
saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be enquired of
by the house of Israel to do it for them.” How econ-
fidently then may we look for that which God has pro-
mised to give to them that ask ;—but see also how our
suit is encouraged by terms the most endearing, and
the fittest to win our confidence. “If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask him.” How kind the en-
couragement! and who but the Giver can tell how
great the gift? “For since the beginning of the world,
men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither
hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, what he hath
prepared for him that waiteth for him.” Thus see what
is the agency of the Spirit in the work of revival; how
unavailing, without a Divine power, all human efforts
are; and how certainly procured for the church of
Christ, and promised in answer to-the prayers of his
428 RELIGLOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT.

people, is that gracious influence by which souls are

quickened in their spiritual deadness, and made to live
and rejoice before God. And then taking into one
view our Lord's great love to the church for which he
gave himself; his blessing on a full and freely preach-
ed gospel; and the sure promise of his enlivening and
purifying Spirit; what heart can fail to have the fullest
persuasion thata religious revival is in every place and
time of need most confidently to be expected?
And now, when you have come to the conclusion in
the first topic of our discourse, that a true revival of
religion is devoutly to be desired, and have seen in the
second that it is confidently to be expected; it can only
remain that you either deny the grace of our Lord, or
would rather prefer to the life which he gives, those
shadows of death which are darkening around you, if
you do not with one heart and mind resolve that that
which is in the highest degree to be desired and hoped
for is also most fervently to be sought. This is the
III. Third and last thing to which we proposed to
direct your attention; namely, that the revival of re-
ligion in our land, and in this time of need, ought
through the use of divinely appointed means to be most
earnestly promoted. And
1. By faithful, fervent, and persevering prayer for
the outpouring of the Spirit. And O when you think
of approaching the ear of the Eternal; when you con-
template the “glorious high throne which from the be-
ginning is the place of our sanctuary ;” when you look
to God and the mercy-seat; to Christ, ever appearing in
the presence of God for us; and to the Holy Spirit
making intercession with groanings that cannot be ut-
tered; you will be shocked at the thought of those
cold, heartless, formal, and aimless prayers, which are
frequently offered in the name of Jesus and at a throne
of grace. Let it ever be remembered that he who is
the hearer of prayer is also the searcher of all hearts; and
knows whether you draw near to him with your lips,
whilst your hearts are far from him. And surely when
you cunsider with what a cause it is that you come to
God—pleading for the revival of religion—that dead
souls may be quickened, that thousands sickly and per-
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT. 429

ishing, through lack of knowledge, may be saved from

death, and fed with the bread of life; when you esti-
mate the privilege of approaching a throne so high and
a God so holy,—the grandeur of the pleading in the
cause of revivals, together with the sin of indifferent
prayer; surely the serious view of such things will serve
to humble your souls and deeply convince you, that in
the exercise of prayer you need the aid of Divine grace
as well as in any other duty to which you are called.
“Lord, teach us to pray;” “quicken us and we will
call on thy name.” It is only in such. humbling convic-
tion of our insufficiency, and such dependence on the
Spirit of grace, that we commend to every disciple of
Jesus an outpouring of the heart before God for the
revival of religion in our land. We say then, in the
earnest expectation of an end so desirable,
Pray for yourselves. What need has every one
of you to be more alive than you have ever been to
the great concerns of salvation. How near is death!
how awful is eternity! Have you mourned for sin?
Have ye fled to the refuge? Are ye living unto
God? You can do ill by your example but no good
to the cause of revivals unless you be yourselves re-
vived. This is one instance in which charity must begin
at home. You cannot commend that which you know
not; you cannot exhibit or impart that which you have
not; you cannot pray that others may obtain that
which you do not yourselves appreciate. In this cause
therefore your own soul is the first concern; and, how
deeply ought that concern to be felt; for death may
come quickly, and in spiritual deadness your souls can-
not be saved; therefore to get the greatest good and
promote the well-being of others also, pray earnestly,
pray continually that the work of revival many be
carried on in your own souls.
Pray for your children, for whom you are respon-
sible, and whose temporal and eternal interests are so
closely interwoven with your own. “All souls are
mine,” saith the Lord our Maker; “as the soul of the
father, so also the soul of the son: The soul that sin-
neth it shall die.” You cannot of yourselves convert
your children; you can train and qualify them for the
430 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT.

world, but you cannot win them to Christ ;and except

they be converted they cannot enter into the kingdom
of heaven. Are ye willing to see them lost—to be
separated from these dear little ones for ever? Can
heaven be, sweet to you if a gulph be fixed between
you and them? The Spirit of God only can renew
their hearts, guide them into all truth, and unite their
souls in love to Jesus by a living faith, Wherefore
teach them to pray, and pray ye for them; relying on
the gracious promise of their Saviour and God,—“TI
will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing on
thine offspring.” Giving praise for a promise so blessed,
be fervent in prayer that it may be all fulfilled. Make
this your great aim—your constant endeavour in be-
half of those most dearly loved. Be not content with
their fitness for the world, nor boast of the friends you
can procure amongst men; but let their training accord
with the immortal being that God has conferred, and
tell them kindly of a Father in heaven, and the Friend
that sticketh closer than a brother—of that great and
good Shepherd who gathereth the lambs in his arms, and
carrieth them in his bosom. Fulfil the vows you have
taken in their infant baptism: bring them up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord; teach them to
remember their Creator and Redeemer in the days of
their youth, to get by heart the songs of Zion, and
show by patient instruction, by catechising, family
prayer and pious example, that you care for the Saviour’s
glory and their salvation. This is the way that each
of you in a narrower sphere and in the nearest and
dearest concerns, may take your part in promoting the
work of revival. This is the least you owe to God,
and to those whom he has for a time committed to your
care; and O if such were made the rules of parental
administration; were such the conduct of all the families
throughout our land who profess to be of Christ; we
should indeed be nigh to a time of revival and of re-
freshing from the presence of the Lord. We are not
in urging such duties putting the effect for the cause.
We speak of the means of promoting a revival for
diffusing good; and where are we to begin, if it be not
with such as have the profession of godliness ;—with
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT. 431

what are we to begin if it be not with the dearest of all

ties and the strongest of all obligations: and having
spoken of prayer as the mean of revival in the heart,
of the individual and then of the household, we say,
Pray for us who are called to minister in holy
things—for all ministers of the everlasting gospel, and
especially for your own pastor. Pray that the pastoral
tie, which is ordained of God for his glory and the sav-
ing of the flock, may be hallowed and endeared and
strengthened and blessed ; that a door of utterance may
be given to the speaker, and a door of entrance to the
hearer; that with all faithfulness the truth may be
spoken as it is in Jesus, and carried home to the hearts
of the people with demonstration of the Spirit and with
power.
If such be no theme of your daily devotions, then,
most certain it is, that, not caring for a gospel ministry,
nor desiring to live as “the beloved and elect of God
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth,” your souls are in a very dead and languishing
state; either indifferent to the divine precept respecting
the pastoral relation, or holding no faith in the power
and promise of the divine Spirit. And little likelihood
there is that in such a condition you will either seek a
revival of religion in your own souls, or promote that
cause for the well-being of others in your land. But
here again I would call your attention to that which is
your personal interest, and which because it embraces
eternity is the weightiest of all; and I would observe
that a prayerless attendance on the ministers of Christ
is a sure proof that you regard not him whose ministers
they are. You may indeed respect their persons as
you would those of worldly friends, but you respect not
their office; and Christ the chief Shepherd says to
them whom he invests with the sacred calling, “He
that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth,
you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth
Him thatsent me.” These are the words of your Lord,
the judge of all the earth, and how shall you meet him
in the day of judgment if you disregard him and his
message in the courts of his own house, “where he
hath set his eye and his heart continually” ? How very
 432 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT

different from all this is the hearing of those whose

prayers for their minister and the success of the word
arise from their families and closets morning and even-
ing before God? With what other mind do they ap-
proach the sanctuary ? with what open hearts do they
come? with what desire that the word, being mixed
with faith, may profit their souls? with what hunger-
ing and thirsting after righteousness, and reliance on
the promise that they shall be filled? The effect of
this longing for the word of life is not confined to their
own bosoms—it is seen in their looks,—it diffuses a
sympathetic influence on all around them; the congre-
gation is lively: And whilst the very sight of this
ardour communicates a liveliness and enlargement of
heart to the pastor, it is his supreme delight to feed
the loving disciples of his Lord with the good word and
bread of life.
These are the fruits of a prayerful disposition on the
part of the people, and wisely ordered for the encourage-
ment of the ministerial labourer; but we do not say
that the good effect on his spirit is left to depend on
any confidence he may gather from the animated eyes
and listening demeanour of his audience. No: we
believe God: we believe in the efficacy of prayer: we
believe the word that says “Ask and it shall be given
you.” And so believing, we see by the eye of faith, and
are sure that the united persevering prayers of a con-
gregation for the success of the gospel ministry is an-
swered by the outpouring of the Spirit on the heart of
the minister. No prayer is more sure of an answer in
peace. We can figure no attitude of a Christian people
more pleasing to God than when, as a flock of Christ,
though dwelling in their several homes, they are held
together by a common tie of love to their pastor and
to the chief Shepherd and Bishop of their souls; all
united in the sacrifice of praise for the blessings of a
gospel ministry, yet putting no trust in the erring
counsels of the creature, but depending on the Lord
and praying that his ministering servants may be
clothed with salvation. It is to the church in this
lowly plight seeking nothing selfish, nothing earthly,
but looking for the coming of the Lord in his glory,
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT. 433

that we trust her Lord will say, “Thy lips, O .my

Spouse, drop as the honey-comb ;” and while she is yet
speaking he will hear and answer all her prayer. He
will shed abroad his love in the heart of his ministering
servant,—will touch his lips with a live coal, and purge
away his sin,—will cause his mouth to speak right things,
aud make him wise in winning souls. The good thus
obtained for their minister by the prayers of his people
will be amply repaid into their own bosom, and the bene-
fit will extend to all the flock under his care. The
word accompanied by the working of the Spirit will
greatly prevail; the hard and stony heart well experi-
ence the transforming power of divine truth, and they
that are of a broken spirit the tenderness of its conso-
lations:—“ My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my
speech shall distil as the dew: as the small rain upon
the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.”
How earnestly then ought every member of the flock
to seek God for a blessing on his word.
Never till the Spirit be poured out on all flesh will
it be known what is the might of prayer as the means
of revival in the church; and never till lost souls are
numbered in the depths of perdition will the neglect of
such prayer be estimated to the full amount of its wick-
edness and ruin. Yet, even now, it may be clearly seen
that a congregation without prayer, and consequently
without the Spirit that is given in answer to praver,
may long remain amidst the light without knowing the
life of the word. If the truth be not fully and freely
‘spoken, or otherwise learned, the people must be in
darkness; for what they only partially receive is not
the will of God for their salvation, and cannot be a
guide to heaven. But let the truth be faithfully pro-
claimed from Sabbath to Sabbath; yet if ye be not
given to prayer for the Divine blessing on the ordinance
of the word,—we say ye may long dwell beneath its
light, but ye will certainly be strangers to its life-giving
power ; you will be as a vineyard exposed indeed to the
brightness of the sun, but covered with snow. In such
circumstances there is light but no life; and the clear-
ness serves only to reveal the desolation and render its
aspect more woful. There are groves, but no music—
434 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT.

flowers without perfume—trees that yield no fruit.

Art thou convinced, O mortal creature, that thou art
as fruitless unto God as a snow-clad vineyard is to thee?
Then here is thy resource: “ Awake, O north-wind,
and come, thuu south; blow upon my garden, that the
spices thereof may flow out.” By the breath of the
Spirit the icy barriers are dissolved, and the vital ray
penetrates the fiving soil, giving motion to the sap and
awakening to life and beauty every tree and flower.—
Then the lily of the valley vies with the whiteness of
light, whilst the rose of Sharon reflects the morning
beams; and the vine, putting forth her tendrils, prepares
the cluster that shall be spared, for there is a blessing
in it. The voice of singing and sweet odours fill the
air; and the vineyard is all life and loveliness like the
paradise that God first made. ‘Let my beloved come
into his garden and eat his pleasant fruits.” O! it
would mortify our pride, and cover our face with
shame, could we discern the disorder and sterility
of the Lord’s vineyard as we do the state of our
own. “If I tell you earthly things and ye believe not,
how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things.”
The heavenly are spiritual, and infinitely transcend all
that eye hath seen or heart conceived. Think of a lost
crown and the ruin of outcasts ; look on the other hand
to the favour of God here, and the joy of his kingdom
hereafter; see the real dignity of a renewed and spiri-
tual life,—the pleasure of progressing in the holiness
meet for heaven, amidst the pains, the decays, the no-
thingness of our temporal lot; and then conceive the
widest diffusion of all this gain—reaching to and blessing
all your friends and neighbours, the community in
which you dwell and the whole earth. For an end so
worthy of God and good to man is the ministry of the
word ordained. It has indeed wrought out great be-
nificence, and will yet do far more; but it will be fruit-
less without the prayers of a hearing people, and so ne-
glected it will add to the weight of their reckoning for
eternity. But it is the Lord’s will that all should pray
for the efficacy of his word, and it is his pleasure te
work by it infinitely beyond all that you can ask o
think. Wherefore, we beseech you, for your own sake,
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT. 439

for the sake of your pastor who prays for you, for the
Lord's glory and the great salvation,—seek the Spirit
of grace, and with one accord, without ceasing, pray for
a blessing—showers of blessing—on the ministry of
the word. So shall life and beauty and fruitfulness
abound; “yea, the Lord shall give that which is good;
and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness
shall go before him and shall set us in the way of his
steps.”
Thus it accords with all Scripture, with reason, and
with the experience of those who have witnessed a re-
vival, that no means are more efficacious than prayer;
and next to this, as the two are strongly united, and
alike strictly enjoined, we call you
2. To the exercise of fasting for the promotion of
religious revivals. The precepts respecting it in the
Old Testament are numerous as they are solemn and
peremptory: whilst the effects that have followed its
observance have ever showed that God had regard to
the mourners in Zion. But instead of urging these pre-
cepts as they were practised under the Old Testament
dispensation, we shall rather observe with what clear-
ness the duty of fasting, as an ordinance of God, is
carried into effect and established in the New. As
Moses fasted forty days before receiving the tables of
the law, and Elijah as long in the wilderness of Arabia;
so Christ, in another wilderness, fasted an equal period
before he commenced the labours of his holy ministry.
And as the duty is thus enforced by his example, let us
attend also to the manner in which it is taught in his
word: “Moreover when ye fast.” Thus it is spoken
of as an ordinance already known and all along in use,
and thus emphatically authorised under the Christian
dispensation. And we are the more earnest to have
this duly noticed as we are well aware of a prevailing
levity in regard to that solemn institution in our day.
‘Moreover, when ye fast,” our Saviour continues, ‘be
not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they
disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to
fast. Verily, I say unto you, they have their reward.
But thou when thou fastest anoimt thine head and
wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast,
 436 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT.

but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father

which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Again,
says our Lord, ‘ Can ye make the children of the bride-
chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? But
the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken
away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.”
And surely when a general deadness of spirit appears
in the church, it may well be said that the bridegroom
is taken away; and as plainly are we taught that in
such a time there is the fittest occasion for fasting and
humiliation before God. And as a further proof that
this is not only to be held as a Christian duty, but as
means eminently fitted to procure the Divine favour,
we find that when our Lord rebuked the disciples for
their want of faith on their failing to heal one who, in
a peculiar “manner, was possessed of a devil, he said,
“ Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by fasting and
prayer;” and thus our Saviour showed that fasting
for gracious purposes is efficacious in a way that prayer
without fasting is not.
Let us see how well enlightened reason corresponds
to these dictates of Divine truth; and how religious
fasting may, as a duty, be argued from the very consti-
tution of nature, and the course of Divine providence.
In sorrow we forget to eat our bread; and in propor-
tion to the depth of sorrow will be our inability to re-
ceive and relish the ordinary supply of creature com-
forts. But a sense of sin—grief for having offended
God—the shame of our guilt, ingratitude, and unpro-
fitable services, together with the terror of deserved
and impending wrath, may justly occasion a deeper af-
fliction to the immortal soul than any causes of suffer-
ing which are of a temporal kind. But if we naturally
feel the temporal, and not so the spiritual; if recourse
to creature comforts—such as eating and drinking, so-
ciety and mirth—tend to make our minds easy amidst
the strongest reasons of spiritual mourning; and if that
mourning be a right thing in the sight of God, and the
way to obtain forgiveness ;then ought the things which
hinder the afflicting of the soul to be put away; theu
ought ye to fast and mourn that sin may be pardoned,
and that the favour of God may be restored. And ob-
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT. 437

vious it is, that such fasting is enforced at the most

needful time, by a law of Providence which no mortal
can resist. ‘That law may be resisted now, but a day
awaits you when it will not,—unless you die by a sud-
den blow, which few, if it were left to their own choice,
would prefer. It is appointed for all men once to die;
and God ordains a time of fasting before death. It is
a season of dread solemnity—the judgment is nigh—
you are about to hear from the Great Judge, once for
all: “Come, ye blessed,” or, ‘Depart, ye cursed.” Then
sin is remembered, and the remembrance may not be
hindered by any arts of amusement, or the indulgence
of sleep, or society, or food, or drink. This is fasting:
and it is ordained by a law of Providence as plain and
powerful as any that is written in the word of God.
And O we do fear that if this ordinance so written be
now despised, when the devout observance of it might
be followed by the richest gains, and the sweetest con-
solation, it will remain to be kept at a time when the
griefs will be many, and the consolations few.
Now, if fasting, as an ordinance of God, be of ever-
lasting obligation in his church,—exemplified by Moses
and the prophets, and especially by the Saviour him-
self; also, enjoined by him, and declared to be effica-
cious in a way that prayer without fasting is not; if it
do so well accord with the humbling of the soul before
God on account of sin, and with God’s gracious deal-
ings in giving grace unto the lowly ; then, most of all,
is fasting to be recommended under the deep sense we
entertain of the worldliness and spiritual deadness so
prevalent in our Jand; it is to be recommended that we
may, by its devout observance, more deeply afflict our
souls, and mourn not only for our personal sins, but
for those of our church and people; that God may look
on our affliction,—that he may turn from the fierceness
of his anger, and grant us a time of refreshing and re-
vival from his presence. The broken and contrite heart
God only can give. Seeing that his judgments are
abroad, we would ask God to give us the Spirit of grace
that we may fast and mourn in those days.—Better fast
now for your own sin, than at the hour of dissolution,
when there may be nought but a fearful looking-for of
 438 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT.

judgment; better fast now for national sin, than wait

the sinking pulse of spiritual life and soon see nothing
around you but the region and shadow of death; better
fast now when the Lord is nigh and willing to be en-
treated, than delay,—it may be till the Bridegroom be
altogether gone—* Then shall they fast in those days.”
And have we not cause enough for fasting and hu-
miliation ?—have we not reasons, as urgent a any that
are recorded in holy writ? Do we find that God s peo-
ple fasted because of locusts—of mildew—of the sword
without, and distracted counsels within? And have
we no fear of infidel swarms gathering around us and
darkening the air, and settling all over the vineyard?
Is not this a time of rebuke and of fear when multi-
tudes, in defiance of all law, and without religion, are
stirring up sedition, and already invading the quietude
of the hearth as well as the holiness of the altar? And
to meet such dangers, what preparation have we amidst
our internal divisions—our carnal security—our mam-
mon-worship, whilst the enemy is coming in like a flood?
Is this a time for Judah to vex Ephraim, and Ephraim
to vex Judah? “Is it a time, O ye, to dwell in your
ceiled houses, and this house lie waste ”—this house of
the Lord unheeded though falling into decay? Surely
it is time to seek the Lord by fasting and prayer ;—to
ery unto him with one voice, “Turn us, O God, of our
salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
Wilt thou not revive us again that thy people may re-
joice in thee? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant
us thy salvation.” And the more to induce every soul
to this humbling before God as the means of promot-
ing a religious revival in our land, call to mind as you
have formerly seen how blessed such a revival is as a
remedy for spiritual evils whether felt or feared. Ina
time of revival, divisions cease—the love of truth pre-
vails—and iniquity, as ashamed, hides her face. It is
thus, “when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the
Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”
And how needful is all this admonition respecting
the solemn duty we are now considering. Fasting is
not in our day denied to be an ordinance of God; but
how seldom, how feebly and formally is it observed,
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT. 439

even at those stated times when it is used as a prepara-

tion for sitting down at the Lord’s table to comme-
morate his dying love. How few comparatively wait
upon God in his sanctuary on a day set apart for fast-
ing, humiliation, and prayer. Around this city and other
towns in the neighbourhood, crowds are seen not repair-
ing to the courts of the Lord’s house on the day of
sacramental fasting, but hasting away from it in all
directions. This is no sign of revival, but of its need;
and shows how that which we hold to be efficacious as
the means, is wilfully and extensively shunned. It is a
sign of coming judgment, and a reason why, with all
our heart and soul, we should lift up our testimony
against this contempt of God, and exhort to better
things. Why are so many withheld from the house of
prayer at such a season? Some are allured by the
love of pleasure; they have no sorrow for their sin, and
therefore no fitness for a communion table: Some are
busy with the world; and yet they would be ashamed
to say that they have not as much freedom as to com-
mand a few hours to serve any ends of their own.
They too must be far from that frame of spirit which
is fit for commemorating the Saviour’s death; for their
hearts are given to the world, and they cannot serve God
and Mammon. If either the lovers of pleasure, or the
votaries of earthly gain, who both unite in profaning
the day of fasting, think of repairing to the Lord’s table
to take into their hands the symbols of their Saviour’s
death, O let them enquire what trust have they in
God? what communion with Christ? what crucifying
of themselves unto the world? what glorying in the
cross? what hope in a once crucified and now exalted
Redeemer? And let me now warn you: If one of
you, next fast-day, make light of that ordinance, and shun
the house of prayer; then I say, no sorrow for sin, no
joy in the great salvation. Sickness and death will
soon come; then shall ye fast. But let us hope better
things of you. We look to the fruits of revival around
us; we pray for a more bountiful outpouring of the
spirit, and hope that on the approaching solemnity of -
the Lord’s supper you will fast more like the followers
of Him “who was delivered for your offences and is
 440 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT.

risen again for your justification.” We urge you toa

more humble devout and prayerful observance of the
day:set apart for that solemn service as a fit prepara-
tion for sacramental communion. We do this most:
earnestly from the authority of God’s word, and from
the experience of all godly ministers who have witnessed
the work of revival, and have seen the most marked ef-
fects of divine grace on days of fasting and humilia-
tion. Prepare for this homage by remembering past
vows, and present sins ;then look to the Lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the world, and plead the
promise, “I will pour upon the house of David, and
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace
and supplication; and they shall look upon me whom
they have pierced, and shall mourn for him as one that
mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness
for him as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.”
Let such be your mourning—such the mourning of this
people; and God who is true—who loved you—who is
willing in his love to embrace you all, will to the letter
fulfil his own word; and then shall ye have the comfort
of another promise—“ Blessed are they that mourn:
for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the poor in
spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
3. And lastly, as the means of promoting the revival
of religion in our own land, and the work of the Lord
all over the world, let me exhort you to a careful imi-
tation of Christ in deeds of benevolence—doing good
to all men as you have opportunity, especially to the
household of faith. On this field of Christian duty
your time will not permit me to dwell. It has many at-
tractions which we are compelled to resist; and many
excellencies to which our observations may not, in -an
adequate proportion, extend now in the close of this
already lengthened discourse. Let me only refer to
some of the more prominent duties in the way of Chris-
tian benevolence to which you are called; and show
how, under a gracious providence, the giving is accom-
panied with the getting of good; whence it will appear,
that the imitation of Christ in charity to men, on the
part of the Lord’s people, is eminently conducive to a
religious revival amongst all the people of the land.
 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT. 441

The connexion between the outgoing of love from the

heart, and the inflowing of grace upon the heart, is thus
marked in the word of inspiration: ‘The liberal soul
shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be wa-
tered also himself.” And not only so, but the favour
of God accompanies that stream of benevolence which
honours him as its fountain. Thus it is that mercy is
twice blessed ; it blesses him that gives and him that
receives. The receiver in his gladness is constrained
to own, that the good of which he is made to partake
must have proceeded from some other source than any
previously found either in his own heart, or that of
worldly men; and thus urged to a diligent search, he
is gratefully led to God the fountain of all good; of
whom he now entertains better thoughts, and is soon
brought to realize the truth of the word, “ Every one
that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and
to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
The good works then to which as Christians you are
called, and to which we specially refer as conducive to
the revival of religion are, the building or repairing the
house of God—in other words so extending the church
or multiplying the places of worship, that the gospel
may be preached to every creature in the land; send-
ing the gospel to the heathen; providing for the godiy
upbringing of the young, by erecting schools in neces-
sitous places, and supplying the means of a sound scrip-
tural education, that children may learn the fear of the
Lord; and not forgetting the reliefoftemporal wants—
feeding the hungry and clothing the naked: even as
Christ had pity on all bodily sufferings at the same
time that he fed the souls of his people with bread from
heaven. And how far are you required to extend your
efforts, in performing these works of mercy? Let every
man give as God hath prospered him—“As I have loved
you, so ought you to love one another.”
We esteem it a token for good, and see in it the
hope of revival in our day, that the church of our
fathers has of late in a remarkable degree been roused
from past slumber, and is now bent on various schemes
of benevolence embracing the best interests of men
both at home and abroad. And as we have already
 449 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL TO BE SOUGHT.

marked the principle which unites the giving with the

receiving of spiritual good, we shall now by two exam-
ples illustrate that union, with a view to increase your
charity, and thereby promote the cause of revivals. In
a populous parish towards the south, the people under
an able and prayerful pastor were invited to meet earlier
on Sabbath than the ordinary hour of worship, for the
purpose of receiving missionary intelligence and uniting
in prayer for a blessing on the various schemes of bene-
volence conducted by the General Assembly of our
church. This was continued from Sabbath to Sabbath
with a view to enlighten and interest the parishioners
in such works and labours of love; to draw forth their
charity, and promote the glory of their Lord by doing
good. The attendance gradually encreased; and as
the growing zeal for knowledge of gospel missions could
not be gratified by the limited time which might be
spared from the other services of the Sabbath, it be-
came necessary to hold these meetings on a week-day.
Still more assembled, and soon it appeared that the
people were alive not only to the demand of charity
but to the importance of prayer, till at length, by a
spontaneous impulse, no less than forty prayer-meetings,
held at suitable intervals of distance, were established
over the parish. This is indeed a good earnest of revi-
val, and that not directly sought, but the result of a dif-
ferentaim. Thinking how to communicate, they receive;
—watering others, they are watered also themselves,
The other example to which I refer is taken from a
distant land. And the distance affords the advantage
of showing how the like principles will Operate in the
like manner wherever you go; for God is over all, and
his word is the same to all, and his love in the heart of
man will speak his praise in every elimce. You have
all heard of a recent and remarkable revival extending
to ten villages of heathens in India. Missionaries of
the Episcopalian church had been at work in these places
for several years, but with little sensible effect of their
labours. ‘The district was visited by a famine caused
by floods, and help come to the perishing natives from
various quarters. Grateful for their preserved lives,
and enquiring into the sources whence their deliverance
 CONCLUDING REFLECTION. 443

came, they found that it all proceeded from Christians;

that the surrounding idolators, though not involved in
the like calamity, did nothing for their afflicted country-
men. The conviction became instant and universal,
that that must needs be the true religion which teaches
men to love one another. The corn of their own sow-
ing had failed; but He who makes all things work to
gether for good, caused the seed of the word, before
unheeded, to spring up in their hearts: and the whole
people with one accord turned from their idols, re-
nounced their false prophets, applied their minds to the
gospel of Christ, and very many, after due examination,
were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Ghost. Here then is one green spot
in a far desert; and whilst we entertain the hope that
ere long the wilderness to a greater extent will rejoice
and blossom as the rose, we would learn by this affect-
ing example, how effectually the revival of religion,
whether at home or abroad, is promoted by a faithful
imitation of Christ in those works of charity,and mercy by
which we adorn his doctrine, and show, that God is love.
In conclusion:—Ah! my brethren, it is a solemn
thing on the present occasion to give utterance to that
term. It is not now used as it was by any of my pre-
decessors ;it has now to be pronounced, not as signify-
ing the close of a single lecture, but the end of this
present course. Andwhathasthe fruit been? Are we
prepared for heaven? are we nearer to God? are we
ourselves revived? This conclusion reminds me that
it will soon be my lot—that it will soon be the lot of
every one of us to say, “I have finished my course.”
O that each one of us may then be able, in holy
confidence, to exclaim, “I have fought the good fight,
I have kept the faith.”
In conclusion then let us give thanks for the Divine
countenance with which this course of lectures has
been signally favoured. The attendance has been un-
precedented for its magnitude and constancy and zeal.
A further proof of a widely-diffused interest in the
cause is that a single tract on the subject of revival has
been circulated to the extent of forty thousand copies
within the space of a few months. And we trust that
444 CONCLUDING EXHORTATION.

many, from their devout and prayerful attendance here,

have been edified in the faith; that not a few have
been turned unto the Lord; that the fruit will be unto
holiness, and the end everlasting life. This course of
lectures, like all things human, must come toa close: we
now leave it, but the cause itself we commit to God and
to the word of his grace. We beseech you to give all
diligence to the means we have unfolded, and the ad-
monitions we have sought to impress upon your minds.
Let our text be committed to memory, and dwell
in your heart. Teach your children to repeat it, and
make it the pleading of your prayers morning and even-
ing in the closet and in the family. See its application
to our time. Amidst signs of coming wrath, there is
enough of spiritual deadness to show our need of a
revival. It is of all things the most devoutly to be
desired ; confidently to be expected; fervently to be
sought :—sought by prayer for yourselves—for your
families—for your ministers and the success of their
labours; sought by fasting as well as prayer’; and by a
careful imitation of Christ in doing good. The time
is short. Think what evil some of you have done by
speaking against, or not speaking for the honour of
your blessed Redeemer; scoffing at revival, perhaps,
encouraging sin and promoting the powers of dark-
ness. ‘Who shall stand before thee, O holy Lord
God?” Yourtime is short: do all the good you can. Your
Lord and Judge hath declared, “Except ye be con-
verted ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven ;”
and again he says, ‘‘When thou art converted streng-
then thy brethren.” Pray with and for them; mourn
with them on every appearance of sin; and make your
religion lovely in their eyes by imitating Christ in love
to their souls. Strive at least to save some, and so
promote the cause of revivals. Let those on the Lord’s
side take each one his fellow-traveller by the hand
and say, “ We are journeying unto the:place of which
the Lord said I will give it you: Come thou with
us and we will do thee good.”

Glasgow: William Collins & Co., Printers.

 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

JOHN BONAR: Born in 1799, he was the son of the Rev.

Archibald Bonar of Cramond, near Edinburgh. After
studying at the University of Edinburgh he was
ordained and inducted to Larbert Church of Scot-
land in 1826. He came out with the Free Church at
the Disruption in 1843 and had charge of Larbert
and Dunipace (Stirlingshire). Later he was minister
of Aberdeen South and Glasgow Renfield. His deep
interest in the state of religion in the Colonies led in
1854 to his appointment as Secretary of the Free
Church Colonial and Continental Committees. He
died in 1863.
JONATHAN R. ANDERSON: He was born at Elderslie,
Paisley, in 1803. After studying at Glasgow Uni-
versity he was ordained to the ministry at Kirkfield
Chapel in that city in 1834. His next charge was the
John Knox Church in Glasgow to which he went in
1842. In 1843 he sided with the Free Church, but he
was suspended in 1852 for professing views that, in
certain ways, were held to be contrary to the
Westminster Confession of Faith. He died in 1859.
His writings include Sermons on Sacramental Occa-
sions.
A. MOODY STUART: the well-known minister of Free St.
Luke’s, Edinburgh, and author of such excellent
titles as Commentary on the Song of Solomon, and
The Three Marys, was born at Paisley in 1809. After
studying at Edinburgh and Glasgow he was licensed
to preach. For two years he was engaged in mission-
ary work on Holy Island. He was ordained to St.
Luke’s Parish in Edinburgh in 1837, and became
“the special experimental divine of the Edinburgh
pulpit down to about 1880”. He was “an expert in
case divinity”. His church became known “as a
446 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

rallying centre of the most exercised Christians of his

generation”. In 1876 he became senior minister. He
retired completely in 1887, his death occurring a
year later. His other works include Recollections of
Dr. John Duncan, and The Bible True to Itself.
MICHAEL WILLIs: Born in Greenock in 1799, he belonged
to the Secession Church in which he was ordained in
1821. Together with his congregation at Renfield,
Glasgow, he joined the Church of Scotland in 1839,
but Church and congregation adhered to the Free
Church in 1843.
ROBERT SMITH CANDLISH: His father belonged to Ayr-
shire, lived in the same neighbourhood as Robert
Burns, and was a friend of the poet. The son was born
in Edinburgh in 1806. Called to St. George’s, the
most prominent pulpit in Edinburgh, in 1833, he
remained there until his death in 1873. Next to Dr.
Chalmers he was the outstanding leader in the
formation of the Free Church of Scotland in 1843,
and thereafter until his death. In 1862, on the death
of Dr. William Cunningham, he was appointed
Principal of New College, Edinburgh, an office which
he combined with his pastoral duties. Several fine
scholarly works were published under his name,
chiefly Contributions to the Exposition of the Book of
Genesis, A Commentary on the First Epistle ofJohn,
The Fatherhood of God, and The Atonement.
ALEXANDER CUMMING: Born at Edinburgh in 1804 he
studied at its University and was ordained to the
ministry in 1834. His first charge was at Dunbarney
in Perthshire. He adhered to the Free Church in the
Disruption of 1843. Called to the Gorbals, Glasgow,
in 1853, he laboured there until 1874 and died six
years later.
WILLIAM ARNOT: He was born at Scone, Perthshire, in
1808. In his youth he was apprenticed to a gardener,
but the deep impression made on his mind by the
death of a converted brother led him to study for the
ministry. In College at Glasgow he excelled in Greek.
In 1838 he was ordained to St. Peter’s, Glasgow, and
came out with the Free Church at the Disruption. In
1863 he was called to the (Free) High Church in
 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 447

Edinburgh. On three occasions he visited the United

States of America and Canada to minister the Word.
During the last ten years of his life he edited a
monthly magazine called The Family Treasury. His
books include The Life of Dr. James Hamilton, The
Parables of Our Lord, and Laws from Heaven for Life
on Earth (based on the Book of Proverbs). He died in
1875.
JOHN G. LORIMER: He was born in 1804, the son of Dr.
Robert Lorimer of Haddington. He studied at Edin-
burgh and St. Andrews before being ordained to the
ministry at Torryburn, Fife, in 1829. Three years
later he moved to St. David’s Church, Glasgow, the
congregation attaching itself to the Free Church in
1843. He remained with this Church until his death.
He had a particular interest in Continental Christ-
ians (Europe) and wrote a History of the Protestant
Church of France. He also wrote The Recent Reli-
gious Awakening in America.
JAMES MUNRO: a native of Lochwinnock, Renfrewshire.
Born in 1803 he studied at St. Andrews, Glasgow and
Edinburgh. After ordination in 1836, his entire
ministry was spent in Rutherglen (Glasgow), where
he became senior minister in 1878 before his death in
1884.
CHARLES J. BROWN: a son of Alexander Brown, Lord
Provost of Aberdeen. Born in Aberdeen in 1806 he
was ordained to the ministry in Anderston Church,
Glasgow, in 1831. He took an active part in the Ten
Years’ Conflict (1833-43) which led to the forma-
tion of the Free Church of Scotland. Called to the
New North Church in Edinburgh in 1837 he exer-
cised along and fruitful ministry there until his death
in 1884. The quality of that ministry is evident in one
of his few printed works, The Divine Glory of Christ.
WILLIAM H. BURNS: He was the father of the better-
known William Chalmers Burns, associate of R. M.
M‘Cheyne and missionary to China. Born in 1779 he
studied at Edinburgh University before his ordina-
tion in 1800 at Dun, near Brechin, Forfarshire. He is
described as “the very model of a Christian pastor”
and his wife as “an angel of sunshine”. His name is
 448 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

chiefly associated with Kilsyth Church to which he

was called in 1821. He prepared the way for the
Revival of 1839 in which his son, already mentioned,
took so prominent a part. His Life was written by his
son, Dr. Islay Burns, under the title The Pastor of
Kilsyth.
PATRICK FAIRBAIRN: a distinguished theologian of the
Free Church whose writings are still highly valued.
He was a native of the parish of Greenlaw (Berwick-
shire), his date of birth being 1805. After ordination
he served congregations in North Ronaldshay
(Orkney), Bridgeton (Glasgow), and Salton (East
Lothian). Adhering to the Free Church in 1843 he
was appointed in 1852 to the Divinity Faculty in the
College in Aberdeen. In 1856 he was transferred to
the Free Church College in Glasgow where he was not
only Professor of Theology but also Principal. In
1865 he was elected Moderator of the General
Assembly of the Free Church. Five years later he
joined the company for revising the translation of the
Old Testament Scriptures, and attended their meet-
ings until his sudden death in 1874. He edited the
Imperial Bible Dictionary (1867) and contributed
many important articles to it. His writings also
include the Typology of Scripture. (1845-7), Ezekiel
and his Book ofProphecy (1851), and translations of
the works of some Continental scholars, principally
Hengstenberg (Commentary on the Psalms, Com-
mentary on the Revelation of St. John). Itis on record
that “he was always ready for the humblest acts of
service”.
JOHN MACNAUGHTAN: Born at Greenock in 1807 he
studied for the ministry at Glasgow. Ordained in
1830 he became minister at Crown Court Church,
London. Two years later he moved to Paisley High
Church. Following the Disruption of 1843 he spent
one year in Canada as a deputy of the Free Church. In
1849 he accepted a call to a church in Belfast. He
died in 1884.
NATHANIEL PATERSON: he was born at Kelso in 1787.
After studying at Edinburgh University he was
ordained to the ministry in Galashiels in 1821. In
 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 449

1834 he moved to St. Andrews Church, Glasgow,

and remained there for the duration of his ministry.
He was Moderator of the Free Church General
Assembly in 1850. His books include The Manse
Garden and Popery: the Enemy of the Souls of Men.
He was a friend of Sir Walter Scott until the latter’s
death in 1832. He himself died in 1871.

A ols v9
THEOLOGY LIBRARY
CLAREMONT, CALIF.
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 The Revival cf religion : addresses
2 G6 Scottish evangelical leaders
R48 delivered in Glasgow in 1840. --
1984 Edinburgh : Banner of Truth, 1984.
xxx, 449 ps ; cma
Facsime of: ed» published Sols °:
SenNnes . 1840.
ISBN 0-85151-435-9

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