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V ■ \ > ^1 / \-z. •I '1 ■\ •ltote«d .ccordlng to Act of Congress, In the year 18M, toy DANIEL WISE AND R. V- Al-LEN, XntHe Clerk'. Office of the Vl^^^^^fW^^^^^ <>' Ma.«ch«««* i !•-• . •• • FEB 2 7 1325 PMHTED BT Geo. C. Rasd, 3 Corshilu , . • ' BTIEREOTTPED BT \ / nOBART * KOBBINS, ^ «*-*«KGUl.ND IT« *««. BtWMTTP. FOnNDERT. BOSTON. « J i- \ ■ \ fi ,!f*V r^' LSMCtaUKtlii ^UfittifVUUy TO EVERY FRIEND OP EVANQELIGAL nOLINEBB AND OF SCRIPTURAL REVIVALS, THIS BOOK IB HOST ArFECTION ATBLT INBORIBBD. BT THEIR SINCERE 'Wlfil.-WISIipiff, DANIEL WISE, RALPH W. ALLSS. sT ^^P tt. / A PREFACE. The largo and rapid sale of the volume containing on account of Rev. James Caughey's extraordinary revival lat)or3^ having stamped it with the seal of public approbation, the tcstiinoniea of numerous and competent wifa|j^es hav- ing satisfied -us that it has been made extensivelf ' useful, and many persons having e?^rcsscd a strong desire to see some of those sermons in print which have been so remarka- bly blessed of God in the pulpit, we have thought fit to prepare and publish the present T^ork, as a companion^ to the t former. We publish jt with an honest conviction that it will . be a valuable addition to the spiritual literature of the church, and a means of leading many to seek a higher state of grace, and to engage in more intelligent and comprehensive efibrts for the salvation of souls. X' The sermons which form the first part of this book were i mostly taken down by British stenographers, as delivered in public. They give as fair a view of the character of Mr. Caughcy's pulpit efforts as can be ipnparted in print. But no one can form any adequate conception of the effect of these dis- * Over ten ihousand oopies were sold in about a y^r. The plates were then purchased by the book agents of the Methodist Episcopal Chuxeh Souths bj whom it is now publiabed* " -^ — — — i » — : —^ ^ — - TI PREFACE. {' i ( > t n coumcs on a congregation, who has not ^card them, as, hurn- ing with intellectual and spiritual fervor, they fell from the lips of that devoted man of God. They are publislMjd. not a.^ , models either of form, style, or manner, for any man to imi • tate ;— Mr. Caughcy cannot bo copied ; perhaps he ought not to be; he is unique in almost every respect; -but we offer 4licm simply as specimens of that pulpit oratory which Gp.1 has so wondrously blessed. Not that they are without merit as cotapositions. They do contain many fine, not to say sub- ^ Ume, passages. They are rich in illustration. They breatl^^^ ^ith the firo of a soul in earnest. :(hoy possess the rare power of kindling the heart to feeling, and of arousing the reader to action. They cannot be read without profit. Sim- ilar remarks a^ply to his - Thoughts" on the manifold topics treated of in the second.part of this book. They are not ele- • gant; they are not always profound: they are abrupt; the unity of the chapters isnot always preserved,-a fault growing out of the fact of their being written originally in the fortn of familiar letters : but they are vigorous, practical, plain, dis- tinguished for strong common sense, and Vnimated, like his sermons, though, not in the same degree, with life and feel- ing. The soul of earnest thought is in them, and they will btnefit every reflective and serious reader. Daniel Wise. ' Ralph W. Alles. -/• I I m 2m, ns, burn- fcU from tlHi lislicd, not M man to iiui- ho ought not - but wo ofll'i" '. •y which Gp^l without merit ot to sjvy 6ub- Thoy brcatlwh^ jsess the raro arousing the profit. Sim- nanifold topics ; y are not ele- e abrupt ; the I fault growing in the fortn of ical, plain, dis- niatcd, like his b life and fccl- I, and they will EL Wise. n W. Alles. CONTENTS. I- II.- ni.- IV.- V,- VI.- VII.- VIII.- IX.. X. XI.- PART I. — REVIVAL SKRMONS. ■ TnK STA!»m!»o DnpnT .......•••• ** • TlIK )l«NII'OTKM«K OK FaITO, ** -I'uuuiCATiu.N uv Faith, *!{ , -TlIK FKAU OK UKAtH l>KSTnOVKl> IIY A bldllT OK OlIIUHT, . , » W -THR FlII.NKSH UWKIXISO IN .IkKUH Clllll»T, '* -Tills FKAH ok U.MtONVKRTliO AlkX IN ^IIE lloU«. OK DeATII, . . Oi -6"KNIIIIN)I TUB Al'UUTi { '' -TiibStuivinu ok tub Si-hut, ivn -TUB Stino ok Dkatii, J*" -A Call to DkcihuiNj^ . . -r-. J^J| -An Invitation to^H^knku Soutu, . • • • "* PART II.— MISCELLANIES, CHAPTER 1. t ■ 19 BNTIBE 8ANCTIFICATI0N A ORADUAI. OB AN INSTANTANEOUS WORK 1 Three reapocts in which entire Banctiftcation is gradual — what \» entii* liurity"! inatiintancous ,8anctilloution— Htate of tlio-xo Alethodiata who arc nut sieltinKi>(>rmiS8-Ton profuBsing holinctw — opiKisitions — quiolc vegetation in ■ dying to Bin — Mr. Wesley — the doctrine argued from ita I Jcscribod — Dr. Clark — Fletcher — aoriptunil pnxifs — wl.y ung 1 warm climates- c»mtlitions — faitl;! ^.'^^^•>^^^ — «^.. -^......-^ — — — , r .f are not belicverrf purified at once — entire sanctification soroetiUiea given with }u;nvertedpr^^r.- their n^o^r-^^^^ ^rl'e? \t tw^t-tur-trc:.'^^^^^^ a^'lwered-de-crtedcongre. jiSr-"/iiuSor-«noonv«tcd Jiim-ter. cauuot Ik. extcn.hely u-of«l - adurM, • * * CHAPTER Vr. bevivals and tBb TEBB0R9 or OoD. • ■ X Uolj Spirit's care for hia own irork, .....••• * * * ' / ^ CHAPTER Vtl. < BKVIVAIi IXCITBUBMT8.^|| .' William D-Bon»'^-<>?a;tL"''ht^^ ,„d tbo Carm(fHte-fear «' f''* 'fi'^^'^^fV/S'^^^^^^ ovila- Elyah'B strugglca - his d'Sf^S*™!^*;'*!^" rains- de- the CarmeTte ^^orn^^-s^^'^in^^.'^'^^^J^^-^^ Btruetive rains - the whe&t^ and the ^ ch a^a^^ii^^^^ _ ^^^^^^ preaching - ghowf falls— gloiioua r e sult s — qu o t a t i on I Catab . . • * • • • • • • • * • * «6lr .Lydl Inf th« want of iton — tlie lB«y lid Ulk«Ml aUtut- U)7 1 ]r«r — th« leeret I — the dui«p<>ntu!hlrtg ' lu* iiiMutticiuut — ihclr Inlluonoe — prayor — \'hitcncld — hliiern»r«irrcct«*--*»»'*»«> '• Th«ban.n«t*iiop nIon..f lUT. u. « n««^^^^ revival wMtlngi - the tanl- old .M«tl..-dM... revived - J*';,,^^;"]"',^^!!";" '^JTuer'. opinion - U.. .«l««t Sn'L^^^rilir^- traVr^hJeeVrUa-ting' n.U.-tba U.w^ SerkofEpbesu*-* royal U««t«r.. • • * "^ * CHAl'tlUl IX. TDB lUgClllRR DIIIECTKD. luauua. CIIAPTEIl X. ram COWVKRT WDEH TEJIPTATIOW. •n,« hne and cry - Pharaoh's brick-kilns— Satan'i rage- t«mpUtlonan4 • ??„..„ of e«^ttl« -- fear of baekHlidlng - Christian armor - |mtlence needful - She! n-"ouK^^^^^^^ Sr^, Lou ity-va?ictie« in ChiUtian e:«iiou>hw). !T^^^mJ«C-S«».thlnker- are free^uer. - the "gbwayinanj. oocle»^^^^^^ -thrtofldelfew— .Ute.mM'. reason for not propagatlng Infldelltj - ChrUn tkrino»lity-»aophi«n--thetwow»t«hmon-»n«piUph "« cnAFteRxvn. ' V'^ • ^ , ' AHHlHlIiATIOlt. lUlaUon between poor hMJih apd error -what b ailnihllatlon1--ideB of B«l»Uon betwwn i»oT ne«ta i*^ the mind - atheUta - • predicament ^—•xtraot from the Sheffield bard, ..♦..••••••••••••• CHAPTER XVm. * ■■^ tH« S01TLV»<)T XATERIAk Arcament from divine and anwllo nato^i-* ^'"T"?''^?!!^^! JSR Jpunent - thought not an element of matter - a view of the creaUc n l!nMr"h.g of immatarial- why th« wxA U tM «r*s MiupMi ( • • « •3I* '*■ broomitiflk Im of «t«ni«l ;•• Booinian — 827 igi oonoerning iectt(Ui dcrlvra u Chrutiaua - 331 1/ otiwl greftta«H ifldelity baa oo ibl«3 and reasoa on '8 oucfeiMiua idollty — Cbrif . ... .337 tioQl — idea of ■ a predioament »r — a dilemma 345 — Bommary — a r of the oreati djrJng iinnBr - noMnm bard wclooma - «.mn.e,,t of old divine ^lek. 18 : '24 - I ho *;r.»en«r?« r«Kr«»- tbe nUrht after the Wl-*- extract from MilM.n - mental anguUh - prombe. to Moile^t badkilWera-Odd Hear to the i»nltent-a etrik n. thought -why S^oo I. dSayed - refleetloo> the past needful - an awful Te^un - affecting '^ ' at-lUappUcaUon, . \ '»''* inaideat pIAPTER XX. lACKSLIDER V lATIOtm. CHRIST A B4 Unbelief Itirentlre — an objection — preeenoe of iln— an feged Cbriftla|i and e name of Jeeue — IhoughU of ChrUt — power of Jeiue* name -tlie name uf c'bVjrTnmlirurnt — nauiM of Dilty- a revival incident -a qu«tion-^M inviUtion ^ ■ * •"* cnxirrER xxi. rAIT SI5I or BAOKILIDBM. Drrden'i ientlment — the law's doinand — forgetftilneea of sin not T^*^-- rocolloction of xin «h<>uld not hinder fniin oomlng to ChrUt — the depth of Uhrkit • mcroy to bo vlowod— an illuHtratloii — when repentance U deep enough-- fmtan'sadvantuge— >etroot of looking t^Ghrkt, • .372 CHAPTEtl XXn m BACKILIDBR MOST TAI^B RlOSr YIBWB Of 000. Ilindranoes to salvation not In OodA-fhlth precedes feeling— the Fathar muRt bo lionorcd— 0«)«r« lovo for sinneri equal to the love of Christ— Qod is reconciled by Ibo death of Christ— faith +- dishonoring views of the Father — fear a Mcqucnce of errwncous views — expuWve ideas— ||ooinian errors and their oppoaito extreme — Scripture views of the rather, .377 cnAPTKR xxni. THB BACKSUOBR B^CCORAOBD A ohange — imperfect peace — extract flroiki Arbuthnot— oonfliot between light and unbelief— confidence and love — ftarthfcr thoughts on the relation oC^« lather to the atonement— abounding lovo of the Father —harmony in tl>«^"^ bead— baoksliden are welcome, . . . > . . 886 CHAPTER X3aV. THB BACKSLIDBR liBBTOBBD. Praise — great deliverance — hipnble gratitude demanded — Sataa fhutiBtod QBOso for iiusreased surprise— a snare of Satan .888 XII .V H CONTlNTIi GHAPTKB XXV. or WtkAJWM, CHAPTER XXVI. CHAPTER XXVlL ^ BiMtt TO mswntBi. «!- mewied on mlnUten- pulpit »*'""" ,,,!:in - revival — ordioary effect of CHAPTER XXVm, mHIBTBBUli COWFLICTB. ^ Cold «ann.r-e«^ia »mn«.-;^^ Sri^hblhoj?ch«i(»-thopeator honor -^^^^^ bS- variety of PavSioy- students for the '"'"^^S^Y*' Sin^ JKiluro - plaR"* »» 2ft. - Jhrrca,.er8 - the Spartan '^"iHf buri„or- IntcTval- between rev.vali . — God with ui, ..•••••••••'** * /^^ BEVIVAL MISCELLANIES, SERMON I. THE STANDINQ DOUBT. lUJolee 0».rmora. pr.y wlihoul c.Mln«. In .t.rylhlnc f hr. Ihank. : for thl. to Uit will of 0«i In ChrUt J««tta conwrnlnf jou. — 1 Thm. ; l«, 17, 18. Now, that is a religion worth having. It is the sum and sob- stance of all true religion. It is the religion of the Bible, the religion of Heaven. I again repeat, such a religion as my text describes is a religion worth having ^ ftnd if a mftn has it, he will know it. Do you think it is possible for a man to rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanki, and not know it ? The religion of the New Testament is the simplest thin^ in the world. It is as open as the day. It seems to say to me, — Read me, criticize me, embrace me, and I will make you happy i and if it makes you happy, will you not know it? You cannot, then, have religion, and not know it. - Our text contains two ways, two glprious ways, by which the soul ascends to God, — prayer and gratitude. It contains three links of Christian'fexperience,— :ioy, prayer, thanksgivmg. They all depend one upon tbe other; you cannot dest|^yone without destroying tlg^rhole. If you stop praying, yoA will 3oon stop thanking ; - SBf you stop thankipg. you will soon stop rejoicing ; cease to rejoice, l^nd the voice of thanksgivmg willAo hushed, and the spirit of prayer will droop and die. Then * say, "Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing," &c. We will I. Show that it is the privilege of the Christian to .REJOICE EVERMORE. \, II. State the reason why So many professors do not attain to this happy state. 2 „ .» , I »a. =''""""■' »5r^"»?8 grave, : and .1.0 only ligh. .ha. gleamed upon .ha. I-'h «™" ''^' d,a».lv liKh. Iha. gliuunered in a chomel-houM ; and .ho only S .h ' .no, h.r earwa, .he .hriokof .ho do»0. ..ruggle and he Chan, of .ho funeral dirge. No, I would d,p my pencd m ho ovelie,. hue, of heaven, .0 p.in, a brigh. and beB"'.ful -P' '' from .he .kie,. wi.h .he love of God .porkhng on he coun o- . „„c..and ,he glory of God burning on h" ^row ; clo.ned w .h »i^.nt. of linhl. and crowned wilh a %vreoth of amnianlh , wi.l> S^f .ucWee. ,ereni.y a, would .ell .ha. all wi.hin wa. 'Z-Ihe peace of God; and an aspect of holy gladne« j::^ht fr m oTery sigUt of beau.y^and every .ound of melody; "Uh a buoyant Lp beconxing a (ravellor .0 .he ek.es, and an "iward l„okraisedreioicingly.oHhnwho ""-er hopo and h pp- nL and 10 that heaven from which she came, and .0 which she n."ningi walking amids. earth's ---f "''-.^1 unsix..ted by i.3 dcliloments ; or descendmg from her high and wTtommu'ning, wi.h God, to minister to man-s we^re a, , head's ministering spirit of mercy ;. entermg the abod« of „Uery,and making the broken hear, tosmg or joy, v«.t.ng Z dwellings of rejoicing, and hallowing dl '"-'Wpmo'; -* Z smile ofGod." Religion is from heaven ; she walk, amidst itm^ky gloom of earth; she is the true philosopher's stone, *L"rting everything .0 gold ; she is described m our .ex. a, wpatting F'P*'""! joy. -"«')">''=« ^'"™""*-„. ,., „„, m you wan. .his perpetual joy, you must adtivate ,t, - you Sleep breathing towards heaven afte. it. You, I say, must Ltl I ; and, iL everything else, it v.11 Y^'l^IJZ tice. There are within your reach thousands of '=o"«"»f „lcuted U, increase your joy-co„s.dera.,c«. f™"'"'^- without, the past, the present, the futurp. hell earth. he.»en, I.- Tr Tut tTANSINO DOUDT. 16 •nd one spot abore all othen -r- Caltary. Very few Mem to understand this happy philosophy, — very few learn this blessed art ; and, consequently, they are up one day and doum another. Life with them is a checkered scone, full of lights and shadows; sadness, gloom, and despair, mingled with a few gleams of joy. Sorrow, however, extends its dark shadow over the greater part of life, and the sunoy spots are few and far between. For a long tiine this was my own experience ; sometimes I was hap> py, but the momentary joy I felt was followed by days of dark- ness and distress. But God has led mo into a higher and hap- pier state. ' My soul is very happy; O, how constantly happy am I ! I have proved it by sea and by land, in perils and in sunshine. I have been brought into circumstances where all human helps failed ; and, when de^h has threatened, my soul has been happy. I hiivc been wandering for some time u stran* gcr in a strange land, but the joy of the Lord has been my strength ; -my strength in travelling, in laboring, in sufloring; my strength iii praying, in preaching; and, when the last mor- tal struggle shall come, — when death shall chill the current of life, — when my heart and. flesh shall fail, I doubt not but even then the joy of the Lord shall be my strength. The joy of the Lord is a spring of happiness; rainbow-like; it shines brightest amidst the darkest gloom, and death itself will only make it celestial and immortal. ^ You never glorify God by fretting fl^way^ your little hour, and by murmuring atyottr Tot. If u gei^tleman turns out his 8e^ vants thin, Icifn,^ meagre, shabbrly dressed, and ill-favored, the people say, "Ah, they have a poor shop of it !» We don't envy them their lot ! Their looks tell what sort of a master they have." But>if he turns them out well clothed, with fine ruddy countenances, robust, strong, and healthy in ajppearance, " Ah !" say the people, " they have rare times ; they do their mister credit ; it 's worth while being a servont to such a master as that !" It is the happy Christian that honors his religion and his God. The world sees that" he has happiness to which thcv are stran- gers. »* Rejoice in the Lord always, and again! say rejoice" Phil. 4: 4. "O come, and let us sing unto the Lord; let UJ 16 Mflf 4L MllCtLLANIU. make a joyful noiw to the Rock of our lalvation." P*. ©6. I. " Moke a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye landi ; wnre the Urd with gladnc«,a».l come before hii presence with «inglng" Pfe. 96:4. "Be gUd in the Lord lind rejoice, ye rightcoui. and ihout for joy all ye that are upright in heart." Vu. 33 : 1. " Let tho sainU be joyful in glory, let them sing aloud upon their beds." Ps 149 : 6. "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord." Phil. 3:1. •' Let the priests be clothed with righteoua- ne«8, and shout aloud for joy." " Rejoice evermore." " Do you think," inquires one, " that oil Christians have this joy ? " I onswcr no ; I never thought so. If you could follow many of them into the domestic circle, — into the scenes of busi- ness, — oould you draw aside the veil ond look at them there, would you hear expressions of joy brooking forth from thoir lips' No; you would hear grumbling— grumbling --grumUing lii everything. If this gloomy, repining state of mind, in which multitudes of professing Christians indulge, were put into words,— if what the heart soys — for the heart often soys to God what the lips would not for worlds utter ; and, remember, God is olwoys listening to the silent but most expressive longuoge of the heart, — now, a believer's heart when r^inmg, says to God (oh, may yours never speak it to him !) " God of all my blessings — God of my salvation ! I believe that the disposol of oil the events of my life is in thy hands, and that thou hast promised to make them oil work together for my good ; but still I am 90 dissotis- fied with the manner in which thou ort arranging those evcnts,-^- there is so much undeserved harshness, unnecessary severity, in thy dealings with me,— that I wish either that thou wouldst alter thy mode of treatment, or that the guardianship were taken out of thy hands." Is not this the appalling language of o repining heart ? Ought he ever to reod it in your heart, believer, who for your everlasting happinpss has drained the life-blood of his own ? Think, then, how it must wound him to look into your heart, and see that, ftfter all he has done, all he has suffered for you, he has failed to win for himself your acquiescence, your confidence, your* su- preme affection J» Wei), whatever be the course you pursue, here Til ITAlfDIlfO OOUIT. tr it Ood'i will tbout yott, — " Rejoice evermore, pray witkoat ceiiiing. in tveiything give thanks : for this is the will of Ood in Christ Jesus concerning you." Hero is tho will, signed, sealed, and delivered over to you. " Rejoice cvenuore." This is the will of Qod concerning y6u, — but %vhcii f When you coino up to heoven ? No ; I answer, noto .' |t is Ood't will this- moment concerning you; and he now holds down to you a bunch of grapes — a bunch with throo «■ fmo grapes at ever grow in any part of the sunny world. Ho bids you gather them and cat. He pluces them ncor — within your reach. He oflers them freely. Ho bids you gatlior, and eat, ond live for* ever ! — -^continued joy, unceasing prayer, perpetual thanks^iv- iiig. Get this joy ; it will bo to you what the wings arc to \ho bird. The bird does not feet his wings ; they carry themselves and him too. Tho ship does not fuel the weight of the sails ; the sails carry themselves, and,waft on tho vessel too. The joy of the Lord-, as a heavenly breeze, will wuft you onward. Ood says to you, " Come, and I will show you tho length and tho breadth . of Immanuel's land." The church of Christ is rising to a belter understanding of her privileges. I have been, within the last few years, travelling many thousands of miles, and I have been Mtonishod to mco what multitudes of people, in different places around this planet, are gathering to tho Great Messiah. Tho Lord hasten tho time when all shall know him ! J n. — SUate the reason why somany professors do not attain to this happy state of experience. ' • Finit. Many professors in the Christian church havi never been born again. This is a fact as true as it is painful. Con* Science lifts up its warning voice ; tho Spirit flashes conviction across their minds ; or, under some alarming providence or Holy Ghost sermon, they become alarmed, — convinced of sip, — and, under the influence of these feelings, they connect themselves wit|i the people of God, and suppose that all is right. They are do' ceived, and they deceive others. 'Tis true there is a great change in them, n change pervading their whole conduct. 'Tis true there is stillness, but it is tho stillness of death ; there is peace, but it is the peace of the tomb. The circle of coremooiet 8* 18 BIflfAL MltCBLUNIIf. it fillc J up, lut you never hctr lh«ro my, "O, how I loved the Were > liflen eIo$et t All bnil, Mcred hour of devotion ! nver to ftttentively, you would never betr them exclaiming, •• O, precious Sabbath ! how culm, how Mcrcd, how holy, thy handi! how mv loul revels in thy hnllowod eieiciscs ! When wjlt thou arrive f " No ; their religion is a rwli- gion of fear, end all the hopes they hove of hi'avcn ore Used on Ihcir foncied freedom from evil— on reformation — on pro- fession. They are proof against fveryirgumcni, and every appeal : their profession acts like • lightriing conductor. See! see ! that old thatched house th^ Jutl^ediMiunce. Look cloae- ly ae it, and you will sec a little black rod running up along the side of it, from the bottom to the very top, and extending itself above the chimney. It is a lightning conductor; it attracts and leads off the burning element. Ah ! your profi»s*ion has mony a time acted like the lightning conductor. When God's ser- vants, under the influence of the Holy Ohost, have mode tht lightnings of divine truth flash upon you thot would hove de- molished your refuge of lies, discovered to you your guilty state, and hove led you to the blood of Christ, up went your lightning conductor, ond every impression wos evaded. You know nothing of deep, solid, spiritual joy ; you cannot rejpico evermore ; and one rcoson is, you have never been born again ; and, until this is the case, you may as well try to unite /ire and water, heaven and hell, as try to rejoice evermore. Bring together wind and water, and you will have o storm fj bring into contact fire and water, and you will hove a commotion ; bring the holy prin- ciples of Christianity and on unholy heart, and you will hove a commotion, a storm, a tempest ; they cannot agree, they cannot harmonize ; either you must change the religion or change the heart — they cannot unite. I tell you, you may as well try to make the poles meet, stop the winds iti their course, roll back the tide, or pluck the sun from the heavens, as perpetually to rejoice without the new birth. •• Marvel not that I say unto you, ye must be born again." 2. Another reason why so man j5.profossors do not rejoice ever- more is, they have a standing doubt of their acceptance with ' I nni iTAmwira douit. 19 f God--i doub< M to whoth«r ihvy «rt bom iftin ; «„d ihtw- fore th«y cannot rtjoico evtrmora. Now. that ui t bit of red mtnt.1 philowphy. "What do you m«»n." «iy, one. "by a •inndrnfl: doubt f I mean that the doubt ha. wm^hin/to •land upon ; that it. you cannot tell the time and place of your comremion. " YeC «iy. one, "I can tell the fery time and place where Go«I pardoned my lini. but I cannot rejoice erer- more." Ah ! I know what you are ; you are a backilider ! Tha devil could tell you that he Was once in hearen-once a ton of the mommg-once an archangel in glory ; that he onceeunir •weetly amidst the bowere of Eden ; that he once rei.ed the high hnllolujtths of heaven ; but what of that ? he is a dsvii now And what i. it that you can tell the time, place, and circum- •tances of your convomion ; - you are a bockslider now I A STANDING doubt! Whon did you got conveftod ? In what year of our Lord wos it ? In what month ? On what day wa. It? In what place? In what town did it happen ? -You know the place of your natuml birth. You could point out the place, town room. hour, and perhaps the very minute ; and probably you keep an anniversary of your birth..ky. O ! | love to see families do that ; I lovo to hear the voicLf joy and melody in their tabernacl^js. while they commenmrJo the birth^lay of one of the happy group. You do this, but ffen you have no .pint, ual birth-day anniversary. ' « »Fi"i* .wlf"' mC *"" ""'■ " " "'°' ''™""°' •" "''»'<■» ' " I •-.« .wer,- Why-no, no, not cMcntial like ropcntanco and faith • b". very du„rablo. I havo carefully examined .hi, poi . have bad an opp,r.uni.y of con,er,i|fc,i.h ,omo th Jpnd. o» •he ,mte of .he,r experience ; and lUFprcpared ,o alL hat .n n,ne,y.„,ne ca,e, out of a handled where they couldToUel .he ..me and place of .heir .piri.ual bir.h, ( have found them „ SiZ TT "';'' "'""'"■'" ""'* "' "I""'""- While I wa" we^; 1 Ul" I' "r 1 '""f' ■"""«• *° ";"■• 'n.! children irj r ? "t"'""^ ""'• '•"PPy- ""' """band very ie. pressed nd mekncholy , presently he looked a. me .nd^«,d, y. sir. I Jont know >vhat to make of iki, preachimf vou have CO npleu.ly »h«. me up in . corner, and yoS only >.. ^ '4 1 10 •tflf Al. MttOtLLAMIIt. I «&■! mo on« liule loophoU to eit«p ««l it.** Whattrtf fimy U tb« d«pr«MiiiiM proauced in mindt by ihb kind of pwtchiiif , tm\ it tkafmt, — jutt iboulon* out of t hundred ! 1 hold thai iho work of convention !• to motnentous, thai no man can paw through ilMnd not know it. Tha Bible .pcmka of il aa a pia- ing from darkneea to light ; from the devil to Chrial j from bondage to liberty ; from death to life ! You cannot drink the wormwood and the gall, you cannot cry for mercy. ]pu cannot tsperience the new crcali<)ii, — you cannot p^M throu^ all theat Mleep. la there a «ilor here f I believe there la. Do you remember when your vaeecl daehcd upon a nxk, and bccame.a wreck? Plunged in the boiling deep, you itruggled through Iht foaming wavea, and reached thol rock. There you Ml „down, dnuiclitd, chilled, exhauited ; you expected to periah. A veiael hove in light; you waved your handkerchief-, one of the crow law you ; the boot wai lowered ; the rope wat thrown out to ]^ ; you tied it round your waiat, and wprang iftto the ■am ; you were drawn out and aaved. Car\ you forget that deliverance? No, - never ! never ! While memory holdt ita ■eat, it will be engraven there. And, I aik the profoMor, can you forget when you were pordoncd ? when Vou were saved fVom hell? when you obM»ined a title to hoaVen ? when "you underwent the change thol determines your destiny? But, ahr! yoif cannot Tccollect the <^ and place of that great event. There is still that ttan^ing doubt : like Aaron's rod, it swallows v^a everything. LikePhoraoh's^even lean kine, it devours all ; i/foUowi you like your iha'doW. You retire to your closet to hoia communion' with Ood ; you confess your failing; you look "at the great blessings of; salvation; your soul kindles with strong deair^; you ask Gwl to bestow these blessinjjs upon you ; but up comes the standing doubt. You come to the houw of Ood ,- you hear the messenger o^ heaven opening up t|je, greot privileges of the saints ; you, see how infinitely superior they are to aught that earth can bestow; and you would re- jowe, — but thete's thot sfmnding doubt. Then you think of heaven - of that bettor land — of the society of the blessed — of the employment of the redeemed — of the visions of God-^ »ii fat iTAJimjio o^tr. tl •r RMy bt the >ro«chiiig, tucA I hotil that tha man can pata >r it aa a fiaaa- Chrial; froin mot drink tha :y. Wi cannot roujiatl thtaa a if. Do you and became a i{;i;l«d through Phore you Mt :lcd to p<*riih. irchicf"*, one of tpe wnt thrown Nprang iAto tha ^ou forgot that miory holds ita ) profoMor, can ^ou were nvad en ? when " yott destiny f But, bat great etent. rod, it swallows , it devours all ; ) your closet to ijling ; you look it kindles with blessinjgfs upon me to the house opening up t^e_ ifinitely superior I you would ro- n you think of »f the blessed — isions of God — * of tho eternity of glory — of lh« fadeloM crowns: you woukl hle«i Go^ for iha prospect, ami " hr«ak out into a song,** but up comes (h« ttanding douAt, ■— perhapa I am not a Christiaii { iif not, tht heaven is not mine. You think of hell, tha Are, tho gtMiwing worm, the burning wrath of God, ihn Mc'mf of devils, the cry of despair, the shrieks of the lost, the bowlings of tho damned, tho eternity of death, the universal wail, the groana of bmmdless woe awokening, echoing, rolling around tha world of death. " Bnt, ah ! " soy you, •• I am a professor - I am t Christian ; 1 shall im saved from that hell." But up comaa tho ttattding dauht, •• Perhaps I am ; J t^p)f I am; 1 trust I am; but I don't know." Well, then, *t is only <• Psrhnpa I shall to* cape it; I think I shall escape it; I trust J shall escape it ; but I don't know." Ah ! there 'a the ttanding doubt ! You can- not rejoice evermore. Get this motter settled ; get it settled at once. End thit controvewy with Heaven. Fly, fly to the blood -- tho blood — the blood .of the Lamb. I tell you, if you take not core, this standing doubt will get you into hell, ofter all. Now, you are pardoned, or you are not pardoned ; you are condemned, or you are justified. If there was a world where there was neither • lod nor a Devil, — neither sin nor holinest, — if theio waa lonie middle state, some border land, where you would bo sked no (juosfiona about your conduct, — where there would bo 10 open lM)(»kw, no jud^inont dfty, — then you might have gone n with this standing doubt. Bur there is no border land. There is, however, n judgment day. There pro books to bo pened. There is a Judge — an omniscient Judge. And it 's all cur at hand. O h will you get this standing doubt removed ( iVil you get this great question set at rest? ¥', r» SERMON II. u • .Ml TRB OUmPOTOfCR OP PAITD. >, I Mr *tnt« r«> wlMM iM«|rM*v«t f « AmIm whM y« pmy, Mlt«* MMi |«iwaiv« Umm, •ml y« •Ihi i M»« tkcNl.— W*«« II I M. Tm eonfrvgntion will ricoU«ct ihtl lh«M wonli wttt ipokcn by Iht 8«f iour, at h4 waa paMing from tho Mount of Olir«t to J«rttMt«iu. By \\m wiiyiid« ho aaw a fig-trno which looked / {||eattltful, and doubfUt* gam tigna of fruit u|)on it ; and, being hungry, he looked. up among the leave* for fruit, but ihera waa none : and he said, i^* No man eat fruit of ^^'^^^ Ml^tk^ ^^^ ^ver." //« kUUd lifM tm, iM^iaught a iT'^^^MUk '!'>>« next morning, as Christ and his disciples were fmKf^i*<»\Mt ' ^Lftm^mberod that the tree had been cursed ; he looked at it, and }A[:<*« Master, it iSjWithered," withered from top to bottom, dried l^l^'ihe i(^ts, cuiaed. Jesus said unto them, *' Mave faith itP^HH|i^ vfiifly I m^y unto you, that whosoever shall say unto thij ^Sp W^- (h(|iij-cmoved, and be thou cnst into tho sea, an^|flWR|n<9^ doubt ^SrliU heart, but shall believe that those things whit^h he iiaith shall come to pass, he shall have whatso- ever he saiih. Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever y« desire when ye prey, believe that ye receive them, aod ye shall hkve them." t should like to say to this audience, that whenever our Saviour said, " Verily, verily," he was about to deliver some very important truth. Ho was now teaching the omnipotence of faith. I '' In Manchester, wit^n t{ie last few doys, many things haven been said obout suddA^ conversion. An old lady said to i^i •UVhy, Mr. C, I hear that you are converting them hjr^j^ofres, and by hundreds, i don't understand this sudden contersicm." I aoswor, thor^ ia no such « thi^g in the Scriptaro as gradual •..!• J.' r * • ff»y, Mitt* UmI It «Vff« ipok«n ouiit of Olivet I which looked it ; and, heing , but then wtt oked ftt it, and to bottom, dried 1, ** Hatt Ikith ' thall tay unto It into the i«a, irve that thota 1 have whatto- t things Roever ! them, and ye audience, that I was about to V teoching the ny things haTe>i dy said to i^, hem h^^ftwet, m conVorsiMi." are at gxadittl « Tut oamtfOTiltci or raim. ;> ».r i vffiioa. Off gradual purity ; iheie rousi \m a bst momefit wlbtfl kin (fi^tu, and a llfti momtni kvIm^ it dot* not ; and thit niuil likt pla<-e in time, t0t one momtnl afWr dtatk would be !«•( late, unlfwt wa believe in purgatory. Ihirdtm and purity li» daririn«« clearly taught in the llibte ; and. in the rery natum «t^ thing*, they must be sudden in their attainment. Our teit it tll# f fMit polar star of our salvation. You will remember it it i«» rimied i^ the life of Napole suade him from' it. Napole«n's words are iheaa! ''Am I to likme bectiuse the great degree of power 1 have already attnined forces mo to attume the dictatorship of the world ? My deatii^ it not yet arcomplished ; my present situotion is bat a sketch of the picture which I must finish. There must ba ona uniren«) Buropean code — one court ofc appeal. The same money, tha same weights and luettsures, the same liiwt, must have currency throufl^out Europe. I must make one nation out of all tha |g|l^ur«^n states, and Piiris mutt be th« capital of the wwld." ^^ Hit uncle remonstmted with him, and conjured him not to I tempt Provkieiii»«»nol U» A^fy Heaven and earth, tha wrath \ of man and the fttry »f ||| tlwnentt ; at the same timt. ha abo expressed his ftrar that ha would link under tha difficultiea. The only ansmt #luch Knpolcon gave wat in- keeping with hia cliomcttT. Hr led the cardinal to lh@ window, and opening the casement, he pointed upward, and asked him " If ha taw yonder star l" " No, sirq," answered th@ astonished cardinal. " But I see i|," answond N'ttiwJeon. ^ Wo point you to our mt at tho great polar ttar of faith, tha ] great charter (or believing, — containing m principle on which BlumlKjni Omnipqtonco, — as the medium that linkt man to tha throne of tho Great Etcmol, connecting man with God. Archimedes, when he discovcrud tho powdt of tho lerer, said, "If you can find me a fulcrum to rest my lever upon, I can move the world." " Whot it a fulcrum ? " tayt one. I an- ^ iwer, a point or centre on which a i^ver tuma. "And what it a l^ry I answer, a bar, or mechanical power by which great w«igh»t art moved. ■i-l.- m i ■3 .,! :)«''i\ ■^ wla ■3 ;;'# il/ ' M ' & * \ /' . ■ V ♦ ^'^I- e -. « a - V '>■ * J, , 0^ i'. ■-• ' ' 24 REVIVAL MI8CBLLANIU. r Our text is the fulcrum — faith Is the lever ; and wilh it we can move two worlds at once, and hell into the borgnin. " What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive • them, and ye shall have them." Before we discuss this subject, we want to ask a few questions. There are, perhaps, persons here belonging to other denomina* tions. You may be Calvinist?, and as good, I hope, as any of us. You may, however, differ from me on doctrinal points , and, to do you good, I should have to argue with you half an hour, and then perhaps leave you as I found you. Well, I leave all controversy with th^ pastors ; but I want to beg just two things of you. First, |fo with me &6 far as you can ; and the secb^d is, get all the good you can. There are also some backsliders here. Are you willing to come back ? " Yes," says one, " I am, I am ; for I have had a . miserable life of it." . And you who are seeking pardon, I want to ask you a ques- tion. ^'Pardon!" says one; "why, my heart is as hard as a flint." Well, if God shall convert your soul before I leave this place, will you meet me in the school-room dt the close of this service to let me know it ? Will you do it? Well; I believe you will. ' And you who are s^king the witness of the Spirit and purity of heart. If God shall purify your heart before I leave this place, will you meet me at the close of this service and let me know It? You will all do i^ will you? Well, I will trust to your honor. Says one, " Then you are expecting souls to be saved before you leave the pul]jit, are you ? " I am, I am ex- pecting it ; and heaven expects it, and hell expects it. , I believe we shall have souls saved ere I leave this place. Lord, help ! Holy Ghost, help ! " What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." j, I. Is THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAITH AND BELIE V- ' INO?. :• -^. I answer, yes; just as much as between water at rest and water in motion — wind at rest and wind in motion. Believing r and wilh it we •gain. " What that ye receive ' a few questions, ither denomina- hope, as any of jctrinal points i ith you half an .. Well, I leave to beg just two I can ; and the you willing to or I have had a ask you a ques- is as hard as a fore \ leave this the close of this Well^I believe Bpirit and purity ore I leave this rvice and let me /"ell, I will trust icting SQuls to be I am, I am ex- cts it. I believe ce. Lord, help ! desire when ye have them." ITH AND BELIEV- mter at rest and [>tion. Believing '*> THE OMNiPQtENOB OP PAITB. fj IS the application of faith to some truth. Believir.g is faith in motion. There may bo ever so much faith, and no believing. It IS not enough that there bo a general conviction that God i, true; that the Bible is a revelation from him; thattbe invisible thm^s of which the Bible speaks are realities : there may be all . th.s, and yet no salvation. God has given us his testimony that Josus Chnstdieda sacriHce for the sins of every.man, and con- .-quently for me. Faith, then, is putting confidence in God's testimony ; it .s to be understood in a plain, common^ense way. The Bible was written for the people -the common people! the mass ; nnd if God has Hot meant the word faith to be under- .tood in a common-sense way, he would have prefaced the BiHe with a dictionary, and have explained the nature of believinir- but a3 there IS no such an explanation given, we infer that we amJT T^ It just as it is understood in ordinary languagl^ among men As to the mystery of faith, there is no myste^ about It Just put confidence in God as you would in* frienZ Unbelief is the great sin of the age -the sin that VZt heaven -the plague-spot pf eternal death on the soul-!tho . .^nner^sn.^tt^n^us^^ hell written in his heart- the sin lZ7aZ he soul. On the other hand, fdith 6pens the hand of GoT ^a^^ sanation, conquei. hell, and places the soul on ^^x^rlt of God.. B'-'l'evmg; then, 13 faith in motion- faith lavimrhnM OttJhe testimony of God'. / wiin laying hold n. Is FAITH THE GIFT OF GoD ? Thoro is a gr«al deal o(f controve^y i„ ,he world on .hi, que.. f on, the dev,l, and himself. Ian. exceedingly jealouVoferr^ ner s salvation. But in what senae is faith the ^ift of P^ » i «n«. U«,t while Alpo^, ^ perfom the« Linb^Q^ M BEVirff MISCBLLANfBS. the .ct. 1hen,«l»e. ate purely hi. own. A. O0.I do., not blthe, ,vall<, eat. hear. «e for u,, neither doe, he lel>e« for „r God ha, given n,an a capacity to believe: v,z a m nd to wJigh evidence, nod to receive truth when .upported by evidence^ He ha, given the object of faith : viz.. the Lord Je,u, Chn.t. which is like a great sun ri,en upon our worU. We infer, then, a. God ha, given the capacity, the evdence. the object, and a, he ha, laid the responsibility on .nan : a, ^the Tntence ;f the las. judgment turn, on this pojnt; »s ,a vatton or damnation is suspended on believing or non-bel.ev.ng, the act. of.faith must be possible - must be a man's own. O, how .m- ,::ntiti, tharyou understand what \«° '' P«";. -V"' 1; your part, in his matter! -that you should see the folly of nduTgin^ i.; unbelief, under the delusion that God V>as not gtven you faith ! How many on this vital point have been dece.ved How many of the slain has the grave closed over ■ How many, .„ they rushed into eternity, and a, the gleams of ""■"'>'«' l-Bht fl.,hed upon them, and dispelled the delus.ons that ruined them, uttered ^decUMmd, went down damned, and more than blood was shed! Whatcould God havedone, to enable you to believe, that he ha, not done? .If all thing, be re^dy. then, why tarry? Why wait? Believe and be saved. "What^thmg, soever ye • desile when ye prjy. believe that ye receive them, and ye shuU have them." j / HI HoVf C^U. YOO ACCOtlBT TOR IT THAT THEHS p IH 80MB A ORBATER ASSESS TO BEUEVE THAI. IN OTHERS? - Some accoLt for it on the ground of consfSufonal dtffa. ences. I don't believe a word of it; I <><«•'' l"''-''^, *»'""' ,.an is born with greater constitutional *™'J«"^V°. "™«tl" another. Others account for it on the ground of divme partial Ity. I answer, there is no partiality in God. ««P' ."«'' ^ you make yourselves. God is partial to them that believe ha word : hence it is written, ■• He that believeth shall be savei Wo may. itt some measure, account for this inaptness to be- . Ueve^r^e ground of tite pride of intdlect. ;0'."»y-^ _"I «n not like one of the .imple herd of roankmd, who can w 'I ■ \f)(\ does no! le leliove for iz., a mind to 1 by evidence. Jesus Ghniti ^U ^$ • •* the evidence, I man: as the ; ; ^s salvation lieving, the act . O, how im- part, i^nd what ^ see the folly of 1 lias not given been deceived ' ! How many, f immortal light at ruined them, lore than blood you to believe, >en, why tarry ? lings soever ye ^ m. and ye shull | lEKB ^8 IN SOMB BS? ti^utional difTer* believe that one y to believe than of divine partial- , except such as . that believe hia shall be saved." inaptness to be-' «» ! " says one, kind, who can te- THE OMNIPOTENCE O^ FAITH. 27 eeive for truth every silly notion announced to them. I mast have evidence -good sound argument; I must be convinced before 1 can believe." '-Well- you «y, "do you deapiw me for that?" No- I honor a thinking man ; but you pride yourself above the com. mon ma,,, and you will not come down to re,»ive God', rjain •inple testimony. God aay,, " What things soever ye desire whn, ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall hav» ^thom, and you refuse to believe this tfestimony . J7f"^l"r ""!"""• ■" """" '■"'" ' "<"''' f'i*. »nd some . •trdng faith; how do. you'accoupt for that!" I answer the" one has an exercised faith, and %> other a non^xercised fci*! and tha « the reason why there is a greater aptness to belie™ n one than in another. Look yonder at that blacksmith, wield- .ng the heavy hammer from hour to hour, and that without anv injury or inconvenience. Were you to labor with that hamme. for one half an hour, you would be so stiff, the next itaoming. Z you would scjrcoly be able to lift your hand to your head ^ tho blacksmith IS up and at it. the next morning, as lively as ever • exercise ha, made the difference. Take afthe, illus"S' Suppose a mother to tendage her son till it is thirteen y«« oU beginning at his feet, bandaging him up clean TLIZ. hke an Egyptian mummy. At the age of thirteen, she remove, 1 f?f • ""'' T' "^""'' ""y '»»• ™" f-'h ""d play with other children." Why, i, cannot move; its joints ^^ Iml ., a compete cripple. Ah. some „f you have'been in ba da^^ all you hfe ; y„„ are spiritual cripples. Glory be to God if you w, 1 but believe, he will set your joints all right! and p„, ..rength m your imbs. ,• What things soever ye desire whe„ m. beheve that ye receive them, and ye sha'll have thim " What does another mother do with her weakly child I Whv »ke se^ him on his feet, and holds oiit one finger to him. a.d «>ys. "Now. my dear, try." Down he tumbles. She sets hitn «pagain.-..Come.c„me.myson; try. try again." (Ah'y™- « he ,s very weakly yet - ) He tries aga.>. an'd dowa he gZ aetter ^oon he reaches from chair to chait; and. ,f youdont J :l' I'll .!• 28 BBTITAL MISCELLANIES. take care of him, he ia out of doom among the wheels. • That mother knows the philosophy of getting strength. He gets strength. •• What things soever ye desire whew ye pray, believe that ve receive them, and ye shall have them^" IV. Are the objects of faith limited I Can I believe for what I like, and have it? I an8Wcr,jio; on ternporal matters you must put in an if. \ wns coming, the other day, frbm Ireland, in a steamer ; I generally suffer dreadfully from sea-sickness. I therefore asked the Lord to let us have a calm sea ; yet I did not know but that many ships might be lying outside the port loaded with corn, and would want a wind to blow them up to give food to the starving people, and I would not'ha^e the people perish to save me from sickness ; therefore, I had to put in an if. Still, I believe we may get the full as- Wrance of faith even for temporal matters. That mother may, for the safety of her son; that wife, for the deliverance of her husband. There 's an instance in the life of Luther of the as- surance of faith iu prayer. Miconius was ill with a swelling in his throat, given up by the medical men, and appeared to bo on the borders of death. Luther prayed for him, and said, " Lord, Miconius is necessary to thy church; thy work cannot go on without him." He felt he had hold of God, and he said, " Mico- nius shall not die, but liVte.'-' Intimation of the confidence of Luther for Miconius was sent to the latter, and he was so excited that the swelling burst, and his life was spared. In a German work there is a circumstance recorded of a mother who was lying on what seemed to be the bed of death. Her little daughter, about five years of age, was heard to pray, '«0, dear Lord Jesus, make my mother better!" The little child was heard to repeat to herself " Yes, I will make your mother better." Some would eall this the child 's superstition, but I call it her faith. The mother recovered. There was once a. man who hail a cai :er in his eyes, and his eyes were being eaten out with the disease. This poor man cried to the Lord, and said, " O Lord, wilt thou let the cancer eat out mine eyes ? Thou wilt not, Lord ; thou wilt put greater honor on thy servant heels. • That h. He gets pray, believe swcr^no; on ing, the other Qr dreadfully let us have a ight be lying int a wind to and I would )s ; therefore, t the full as- inother may, erance of her lor of the as- a swelling in ill rod to be on . said, " Lord, cannot go on said, " Mico- confidence of id he wus so pared. recorded of a bed of death, leard to pray, " The little ill make your 's superstition, here was once es were being d to the Lord, ut mine eyes ? on thy servant THE OMNIPOTBNCI OF FAITH. •4i — 29 i'h u„limi..d f.i,h. .^Be i. ul .1. /"' *' ""'' ^^ • open 'o you. and a v^ce^rom .h?^ ' *"" '' "'"'"' even „ ,hou wile." t"o veni.t eT f ^'' " «" " •""» *•« ya, ev„y .„rib„„ of .:« D,7;"'y of «»". 'ho WocKl of Chri... "re pledged ,„ .he fulfi menU?^.'.'? ^ **""" '" ""' «"'"'»'' -n. give up y„ur,el,e, o hi , „ n'", > ." "•" '"»"■'-' -11 «ve you, „ay, he do.h « ri': "';.'':'' "^ "'' Jon. he hero, no peradventure,. Let the» K ^""emust be no if, «nre,or,ed ,ru« in ,he blood of Ch",. „"„", """'""T""'''''?' rove a,io„ f,o„ Heaven, if .here be a ^v^onl f " '"'"''' *« ' be v.rloe in the blood of Chris. Z^ ^ T °^ """'y' "" 'h'"' in (J«l, you will bo J^ed ' ^C" '" ""' ""'y «"«»'. '"-I. when ye pray, believe that ye receive .heT T" T '''"■" •hem." •'° ™'"™ 'hein, and ye shall have • .0 l": rX^r.^i:';!: :-' ""• - %. r happened .he o.her a Bap,is. bro.her. Thf MelhTd' T •°;*'°""^'"- °"^ hnxhet, " I have been .binkinfJ! i^ v" '""" '° •"' B-P'i" . things soever ye desire when "t ™ ."^' """ '*«• ' W'-at .«hem, and ye shall have Zj< HLt It™ "■"' ^« '««'" ■n.»take abou. ,he translation Hal ^"^ """* "« "ome A good old Greek Te ZL ^^ ' ^'*°'' Testament f » ierioon and gmmlr C^Tirt' '"™ = ">« «™''' «nd the tense of the v^t tI.*^ r^' '° '""""o 'he root ^ff-fr. (receive). we~ J~f .7 ' "'^""" "»"e™). «nd •-"..herfixedhisfin' rr the i /""""■""'• 'f'"* a-P.^* ^8 different tenninntion.- •■ Then," «ud h,' ■ 1 ■ It 'f IK' . 1_ ■ r 30 BlVIfAL MISCII LANIIt. « it must be in tho firtt Abriit." " No, brother : tee, mi«fi»^aTf , the first Aoriit, baa a prefix to it; therefore it cannot be that." Tho Baptist brother said, " I see I must give it up. The worda are rightly translated." Ho remembered it was written (Isa. 46 : 54)^ "And it shall come to pass, that hcforo they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear." And had not Chwles Wesley an eye to this passage when he penned that hymn, — ...:..# ** I take the bleMinjBLArom abore, And wonder at thy boundless lovo *' f The Greek scholar can examine for himself; and though he. may have all the knowledge of an archangel, I defy him to say that the passage is wrongly translated. It is, then, ♦• What things soever ye desire, believe that ye receive them, and ye thai! have them." Then you are not to believe that it was done •ome time ago, — not that he will do it at some future period; but believe that he doth it now. VI. What prepakation must a man have, in order to BELIEVE? ; "\ " What do you mean," says one, " by a preparation ? " I answer, I mean, how many tears a man must jshtd, — how deep, must bo his conviction, — how soft must be his heart, — what amount of godly sorrow must he feel, — how long must he lemaiti in a state of repentance ?c I have read this blessed Bible r through on my knees,— every word of it, — and I find no standard m {t; God ha^ set up none. There is not a word said about how many tears a man must shed, how soft or hard the heart must be ; nothing of the kind : and, as God has set up no stand- ard, I '11 be the last man in the world to make one. J. believe there are far too many creeds and standards floating 4^ut the Christian church already. No ; there is no spiritual batometei or thermometer; and I am glad of it, for it would greatly per- pl«t a minister, and it would also greatly distress penitent souls. Same persons could not shed a tear, if you gave them the world , still the heart may bleed, while the eyes are dry. Glory be t9 m :#; THE OMNrPOTttiCi OF FAITH. t be thtt." rho words 11 (Isa. 45 : call I will And had «uned that though he. him to say un, ♦• What em, and ye it was done are period; I ORDBR TO [tttibnl" I — how decR art, -— what ng must he »Iessed Bible [ no standard I said «bout ird the heart up no atand- ». J believe ig 4|>out the lal batometei' greatly per- enitent souls, m the world} Glory be tp - \ ft 'v'.cn y, pray, W«« .hir^ r.cle ht ?„r'°' iVV" •or, of .,.„ ,.„,., „f .,„ p«i,r„.T.h„ o ,ot".?;i :!' "t if the master, of the subioct or »»,« «;0"egp. ol the servant, of .h„vc„.„b,e «; oS:*: " rTrTi^/itV''^"""' ye», of all gn,Jc. of mind from .h„ r .' , ?'"''«<'?'■•'. - intcll»:,u„| „„„. ,. vrdo r. *" "' ""-» "P «« whoro ,i„ i» i„dul,.d, God will never rr' Z ''". T'' f" milling., „,„.g„.„,„ ,l,eHolySBW.Vh'" 7 "'''"'«'"« •ru.hi„ unri«l„coos„„„; b„7,h.nk O J 7 ""^ '"''•"''« "" arc a^kening up ,o .l.o,„g,.l ^"rin!. ' "' 'TT'"""'"'" '»t» are. Son.e of ,ho Calvini,, Iw ~ ''°"" "' "" Calvin- mce.i„g,, .„e ether day, „„d"'d"sr" """"' ""'"° <" ■»" hearts cleansed frem sin." The' r. ■ "° "° ""'° '" ««' »'« the clearness on tbeae great doctn„«,r"n? T^ ""' '"'™ «" Ood will purify theirheal by f"i^ ' **"""""■" ''»"'"»" "ao.n you; G„, wo^uld'a^";:: SrV'T'"" """^"' you. I know what I sav I .n.^^ , / . '''""' °' '"""ify •»nds Without wratKa^n^'dLrng-'-LTf'^i, "'''"'""""' that there is no iniquity ih them V , "" "P '° 'ho* •oon as you like, or, ff you hL L, "^^ '""* ""' ''"P"' " , b-t I tell you it is of ;„ ^e ^"' ^l""^ «o tarry, y„„ ^ , •■" i- give „p the s?: to ;hl'^ "Z r?"'.""' yo" •"« «• poor fellow wandering on thru^K r f? "''"«"■»• See that I ■!"'<; he.s.umbe,,a^„dfal "5 •''"'"''''"''''»»' *« "'8^* " I »P a cry for help Li, cry Wk ° ""T ^"'''' ''"'' P"'" ""^ »•• « heaM echoing on ,h,?uer,t °"m ' ""'"'" »' »«">«. "nd . ■ ■■■•'■ - *» - ^ . ■ " ' 1 :#• ■:ik^ 3g EBflTAL maCILLAKIM. cloud; — tw! •««! Ifeey *W ■tanding Uttening; thoy hiirt h««rd that cry for halp;-now they are making way to that .pot whence the sound proceeds; one of them is stondmg on the edge of that deep pit; he listens, and the cry is heard again. " Whd b down there I" «0,tir,I have fallen into this dreadful place; ray feet are itttck in the mire ! " « Be of good courage, my friend ; there are two strong follows Kite, besides myself; we 'II soon have you up." N6W the rope is being let down. " There, take hold of that rope, man ; take fast hold ; now give a strong pull " Up comes thfrope : the man in the pit has let it slip. " Why, what s the matter, down there? Come, come; now take a firmer hold. Now, comrades, give another pull." Up comes the rope again. "Why, man, you mult surely have something in your hands." " I have a few things, sir, that I should like to brmg up with me, down here." " Come, cast them away, and take hold of the rope, and not trifle in this way ! " . Now he casts the things out of one of his hands, ond they try again ; but up comes the rope again. " I tell yoU, man. if you don't cast away those things and take hold, we wUl leave you to your fate." Now he casta them oil away, and takes firm hold, and wp he comet ! ' ^ And you must renounce sin. If you indulge iniquity in.your heart, you may cry till doomsday, and God will not hear yotir prayer. "What preparation is necessary?" I #flk, do you want pardon or purity ? " What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Here, then, you see the preparation necessary. Istj desire; | 2nd, prayer; 3d, faith. \ 1. Desire.^lf your desires be sincere, you will i^it away evei^r,^, evil; you will sacrifice every idol, though it may be dear ai a right hand, or precious as a right eye. Desires, says an old writer, are the saUs of the mind. What is it that hurries the I poor drunkard to the drunkard's grave, with a velocity awiil at . / • thoy h«?» I way to that inding on the heard again. ; roy feet are strong feUoWi I hold of that ." Up comet ly, what 's the L firmer hold. i moit surely bring up with I rope, and not einds, and they ||^| U you, man, if , wo will leave and takes firm Iniquity in^your not hear your I 4l8k, do you yo desiro when all hav« them." '. Istj desire; ' ■ ■ ""^ ■ . ■ ' ■ ppt away every, may be dear ai ires, says an old that hurries the I relocity swiil at THi oMNipcrriNci or faith. 83 timf? Why, dejire; deep, intent,, baling dwire; deair. str^m "Tr*'.*^ "^u 'T'' " ''^y ^^"« ^- »»>« cooling .tream. What ,. ,t that hurries on the thief to plunder hi! works up mar to a point, when he can commit a crime, tha with the foul deed of murder » Why. deaiie ' "If you dc..iro Miration, Ihon," .ay. Wo.loy. "look fof i, ^-ery day, every hour, ercry mom.n,' Why'^o. Z h„u i. .. .0 l|. ob..,„cd by faith. And hy .hi. token you illuZl k„o«r whether you .eo], i, by f.i,h or by work. If by wrk. f ™u .tu, ^cT" r."'°'''"8 " ^y *""" Mn.6 (hi, d.y. f you .eek .t by fa.th, and just a. you «re. thon «pect it no^ I. . of unportanco to ob.orvo, that there i. an in,ern.ble ooni necuon between these three point,: expect it hy ^.^A exne H a ofTr", T' " '^; ''" •'™y »"« of 'hem, , to7eny nil or them ; to allow one of them, i. to allow ,he,„ all Z you bolioTOwe are mnctified by faith ? Be true T„ • cipie,ana l«,k for the W-ing „.tl yo!" ^ „ XC" - n naked faith •• j Tl T\ ''"''' ^^^ ^ ^^^<^d promise hy have now Ff . ' J"*' "uch a heart as you !;::;:l LTomTtoch iiTtr ""''' ""-:• ^ «" - •»^- solvation by CX ?„„ '' T^'Z- """' "°"' "*" »«»'''»8 «.. .,• J,.. y..M. L" -ra *iT ;r .rmTt- you your sails up! Yes son,. „f , '"*""""• «»»• l"".!-. you are o'„ the v 'ry ed° of T '""• • '^^ ""^ ''™' poor woman, " If I ca , bu7to„eh^,e Lm fH"'"'"- *"" "" bf made whole •• Th„ „? . ^"^ "' •"' e«™™'. I »hall wi,h .ret of bw "T!;rrf>"™"'' "'"■• "' ■■"' -«'' Jieia the .t^ Weil "f I. rV™"'"""" '''"•"" « tne attempt. JJomc Ibu way and that way, by ;« ■}!: u MWffWUL HUOILLAIQIS. the wav«i of the peo^o, now the ti bting borno nearar and « Mtrtr. * If I c«B bat touch iho htm of hia garmantl" Now/ l\ tumbling, pole, agitated, the itretchea out her hand, and touchat, ^i<< tad k mttla whola. Now, ainaer, Christ la in^tha crowd ; ha ia'* J nigh thac; ha ia paaaing by thaa; touch him, touch him. and lift! • V In Amari», lome ^ean ago, thera wia an old gentleman Who had conNtrucied an electrifying^ machine. Tho atudenti from one of the :ollegea went to his houiicf Ito ico thia^^^'ndrrful machine. Ho began to wind round, and round, and ITomimI, tilt tha machina was charg<6d witli the electric fluid. " Now, my lada," said he, " take hold of each other's hands ; now yott that ■tand before there, touch that brass ball." He touched, raYid" iuddcn as lightning, the shock was folt through th() whola .° group. And if ever this promise was chargnd with electrifying, galvanizing. Mating power, it is now. •• What things soever ya desire when ye pray, ^lieve that ye receive thorn, and ye shall have them." See ! see that vessel leaving the port of Liverpool. (Now, don't laugh at my seafaring language.) "Ship ahoy! whither bound?" "New York, sir." "New York! when do you expect to get there, captain?" "Good vessel, sir; fair wind ; I expect a sho/t voyoge." " Why, man, you have not a rag of sail up; I '11 tell jipu where you 'II get, if you don't take care ; you '11 get to the bottom." Now, hero comes another vessel. "Ship ahoy! whither bound?" " New York, sir." "New York! when do you expect to arrive there, captain?" " Look aloft; sir ; the compaw stands direct to a poinC; foir wind and a fine broeze!" HoW finely she 's rigged — moinsail, top fail, top-gallant pail ! See, how she bounds on before the breeze ! The desires are tho sails of the mind. Hove you got your sails up ? Yes, yes, bless God ! I see many of you have, -r- many of ,you in the gallery there, and roar y of you below there, have your sal sup. Come, — , . «' Blow, bree«e«, blow » gate of grace.*' Now let all get down before the Lord; all of you in the gal- lery there, and all of you below. Now, "what things soever •4 i I- :x mi oMNiroTiffvi or f4iTii. 96 neartr mnd % HI" N©w," \; knd U>uch«i, yv.l<^ rowd ; he ii ^* h him. and tieman Who idr'nti rrom i^jbndcrful UromiMl, tilt " Now, my m yott that . ' )Uchod, firA'^ th() wholo •' ' electrifying, p toever ye ^ ind yo shall if Liverpool. Ship ahoy! * tc! when do si, sir; fair i have not a u don't take ncs another York, sir." B, captain?" C; fair wind lainsail, top 3 the breeze ! ;ot your sails , T— many of there, have y detirt when y\a pray, believe that ye receive them, ami y« shall have them.** It la not a cold, lifetose trtut, but a good, bold, hearty venture on Christ. I cannot doubt the truth of my Lord : I can aa aoon doubt hia divini^ aa hia truth ; I can aa soon doubt hit Oodhead aa hia vemcity. ** What prvparation,** aiys one, «*ia neceaaaryt" "What things soever ye deaira when ye pray, bt^lie^e that ye receive them, and ye shall hav« (hi>m.'% Ood cannot lie. I will dit rathi>r than doubt my Ood. Ood is not a man, that ho should He. The devil does not car* a rush for a Christian believing that Ood is able, willing, wail- ing, and anxious to sanctify the soul. Nor docs he care for him believing that God will do it some time. No ; it is faith in the present ^onso that the devil dreads, — believing that Ood doea just now do it. Thia simply and fully taking Ood at his word ia the great spell. Come, n[iy dear brother ! come» my dear sister . don't be afraid to step into the sea to Jcaus, as Peter did. Hark! ho' bids you meet him. Now step (so to speak) on the naked promise, and the Spirit and the blood will fully cleanse. If ever my Ood W09 here, ho is here now. Touch tho promise — touch the hem of his garment ! I know some of you are touching. Ho is saving some of you ; I know my Ood ia saving some of you. Let your inmost soul cry out— " 'T It don« ; thou dost ihlt moment tsve i Wlih full ■alvatlon bltti | , Redemptioa through thy blood I have, And spotlsM loVs and p«ac«." , " Whot things soever ye desire when ye pmy believe that y receive thorn, and yo shall have them." ; II in the gal- linga aoever ■m dERMON ill. jPi' !f:t 't ■ ; . POEiriOATlON BY fAlTII. ' Avnitili Sun my, ** Blrmed mn tho pure in hoftrt, for thiy ihall Me God." And Pteter Myi, " Put no diflorenco between us and them, purifying their hearta by failh." The diitinclion between theie two itatomenti ii thit : Jeius tolls you the blessedness of . such ft stotCt and Ptetef tells you how you may obtain it — "put- ting no diflerenco btUweon us and them, purifying thcir^ hiHirts by faith." When I enter a place for a jhort time, I often meet with a great many inquiries about this doctrine of purity ; indeed* the number of cases have been so numerous,' I have been obliged io tefuse attention to some ; but, thot I mny atone for this seem- ing want of courtesy, I will on this occasion put my sermon in th« shape of question and answer. I will cndeavc^r to be con- versational and simple, thot all may understand. i .' Before I proceed, I want to ask a question or two. Now, If Ood shall set you at liberty, give you the direct witness of the Spirit, or purify your hearts, whilgj am preaching, or. before 1 leave this place, will you meet.me at the close of this service in the vestry of this chapel, to let me know it I It does so comfort thift poor heart of mine to know that my God is setting his scnl to the work. My God is in this place; he is here; I feel him blessing this poor little heart; my soul is v^ery happy. I believe we shall have many hearts purified before I leave this place — hallelujah ! God can save all sorts of sinners, in all sorts of places. The Gospel can triumph anywhere out of hell-r " P"^- ting no difference between them and us, purifying theif hearts by feitb." 1 'I ■I .A niBm&A-noN av wknm. Iffy ihalt Me reeti ui tnd tion betwmn t!H»tfdnMt of in it--"put- thoir^ heart! I ofMn meet rity ; indeed. been obliged or thii leem* iy termon in ror to be con* wo. Now, if iritnefls of the g, or.,bcforo 1 hia wfrvice in les 10 comfort jtting hii sen I re; I feel him py. I believe this place — n all aorts of fhell — "pui. g theif hearta .1 i -I I.— Wnv Don Ooo rvtirr -nil MAtt •? fMTlf Ood hat old ua that ht puriAtfa th« haart by &iUi ; aii4 eavki •• aaaifn no other maaon. thin shoutd ba tnough. The (net that Ood haa aaid thai ha puriAaa tha haart by (aith. ought to iatiafy ua that ihera ara tha vary beat of raaaima for atich a eouraai but ia thia the only r«aaon we <-an aaaignl I anawtr, (MO ; wa give Uia two following reaaona : I. Man waa ruined by bplieving tha devil j and tkagraat Ood hM dotarminad that ha ahall be aaved by believing Him. Ha WM loal by receiving the teatimony of Satan, by believing th« He of tha davil; ha can o«ly bo aaved by receiving Heavan'a teatimony, by believing the trnth of Ood. 0, accuraed unbaliaf f whaf doat thou do for man f Thou doat sink him, corrupt him. damn him, link him to tha devil, and plunge htm in tha deej)a of hell. On the contrary, faith elevatta him, puriflaa him.aavea him, linka him to Ood, placea him oiLlha evarlaating throne, and makea otornni aunahine to aettio on hHi head. Thia doctrine diatinguiahca Proteatnntiam from every apurioua form of Chriatianlty — from Romiah Popery. German Rational, lam, and Engliah Puaoyiam. Theao three corrupt forma of Chriatianity aim a deadly blow at the groat doctrine of juatiAca- tion by faith. Theae go to mix up mon'a merita with the merita of the blood of Chriat; these place, aa the ground of a ainner'a hope, man's morality, inateod of the Saviour'a death. The doc- trine of juatification by faith olonc ia tha glory of , Chriatianity. Thia doctrine ia a« old aa the. fall of man. It is worthy of remark, that on the very Hamc day that man fell, the bleaaed Ood mtroduced the new ayntcm of aalvntion. In the cool of the e*emng, Ood walked in tho garden, and aaid, •• The seed of the woman ahall brUiao the aorpcnt'a head ;" tho germ of it waa there. The very first human apirit tha| entered heaven wont there a martyr for tho doctrine of juatification by faith. See those two altars, aide by aide. One of them ia piled up with the fruits of the earth ; the other is laden with a poor littlo atrug. g mg lamb. By tho one standa Cain, tho father of the deist. He preaenta hia offering to Ood, but no rcaponae ia heard, no fire fiom beaten kindles the sacrifice, and his countenance (alia. . n 38 ■K\ ■ KBVIVAL MISCELLANIES. By the side of the other stands Abel, pious, meek, and humble , looking through the gurgling blood of the Lamb, on to the sum- mit of Calvary, — on to God's Lamb bearing away the world's guilt, — bearing away into eternal oblivion his own; and believ ing he is justified by faith. It was by this doctrine of heaven that the Wesleys and Whitfield aroused the slumbering church, and awakened a half-damned world. Justification by faith i^ the glory of Protestantism. O, ye British- Christians ! hold it fast. Let neither Romanism, Germanism, nor Puseyism rob you of it. Talk about it to your children, as you sit around the heaiths-of your homes ,- tell it to your neighbors, as you walk by * the way, and mingle with them in your daily calling ; preach it, lire it,>nd, if necessary, die for it. It will be the salvation of your soul, of your family, of yotir country, of your world. See that old building there — it is a moonlight scene. How antique and majestic it looks! — how venerable with age! ^ what a solemn grandeur seems thrown around it ! Draw a little nearer. Ah! now you see the soft moonbeams peeping through; light is gleaming through a chick here find an opening yonder. Owls «ind bats Gutter about in the dim mist, and noisome things creep there. Ah ! it looks grand in the moonlight ; but the day dawn shows its old dilapidated walls — it 's a temple in ruin. See, see a little lad cast an acorn into its centre ! It grows silently — makes its way— it now pushes up its long gaunt arms, and spreads abroad its branches; and, as it grows, it pushes its way through the mouldering walls^ Ah! there the entire building is tumbled down in ruins around its base, and the tree is stand- ingin all its glory. The little acorn is justification by faith. It will J)ush its way through the old antiquated forms of Popery, Rationalism, and modern-dressed Puseyism. These will all fal. m ruins aroUnd the base of this tree. The crash may.be loud, and earth and hell may roar as though its very foundations had given way, and even heaven may seem to tremble a^ the shock; but when not a vestige of the old temple is standing^the tree will bloom in all its glory. ^ - ' 2. Faith s e cur e s all the glory to God . Yonder is a- mighty mountain. See, there's a niaii hastening on to it; he w now vS ■f - !< 'J i f ■A » -f i: PURIFICATION BY FAITH. 39 c, and humble , [>n to the sum' ay the world's n; and believ rine of heaven bering church, on by faith ii^ stians ! hold it Puseyism rob sit around the IS you walk by ing ; preach it, lie salvation of ir world. , See How antique ige! — what a ' a little nearer, through; light yonder. Owls ne things creep t the day dawn in itiin. See, rows silently — lunt arms, and pushes its way entire building e tree is stand- on by faith. It - >rms of Popery, lese will all fal. ih may, be loud, foundations had [e at the shock; anding^the tree -.."■-i>*>- der is a- mighty » ■■->*, 1 -1 > M ^:M walking in its dvrk shadow; he has in his hand a little rod it looks bat a simple little thing. At the base of that mountain there is a great camp of peoplp, about a million and a half, per» ishing for water. Hark, how the cattle bleat ! How intensely hot the atmosphere — how glaring and burning the rays of the sun! Scarcely a ^ade of gmss is to be seen — everything seems to droops and die. ,, See, see how they are lying in grdups, men, women, and children, dying for water! Hark! did you hear that p.wful moan, borne along on the fighing winds ? Ah ! -it was the last groan of a perishing mortal. O ! Jiow fearful is a famine of water ! But see, see, there 's the man with his little rod, standing by the side of a great rock ! He lifts his little rod, and strikes once, twice, three times : — the stream of water is gushing out ; it rolls down the mountain side, and runs through the camp. They al^ saved. Now, if God had given Moses a great sledge-hammer, and he had gone to the rock, pulled off his '' coat, and commenced work, the people would have said, >' See what arms, what muscle, he has ! There 's power, there 's strength. He knows the fissures of the rock — ah! he knows where to strike. He has sa{-ed the people. Glory be to Moses!" But nobody, looking at the little insignificant rod, would say, glory be to Moses, but, glory be to God, the God of Moses, who doth all things well. So it is in the doctrine ofsalvation by faith— ' it secures all the glory to God. The poor, trembling, agitated penitent at the foot of Calvary, when his guilt is washed away by the hallowed stream ; when his troubled spirit is hushed into a calm; when the fearful storm of wrath is past, and the sun- shine of heavenly peac^ opens upon his soul; when his soul bathes in the noontide love of God shed on him from Calvary's cross ; when he slakes his thirst at the stream that rolls from tht throne ; when that memomble sentence of Jesus, « It is finished,'* comes rushing, rushing pn his ear, homo down *n the winds of eighteen centuries, — he listens to it, believes it, and is saved by it; then he cries. Glory be to God ! The people of God, as they gaze on and see a fellow-mortal born a second time, cry. Glory be to God ! The angels, who love to linger over such places, — places where sinners are saved,— as they see the first gusbings > it; hew now 40 RBVIVAL MISCELLANIES. of a renewed heart, a^ they see the streaming upturned eye fixed on Jesus, they cry, Glory be to God! The seraphim, the cherubim, the archangels, join in the chorus;- the song widens and swells on from choir to ghoir — from rank to rank ; it sweeps the outskirts of creation ; now as soft as music of Eolia's harp — now in mighty thunderings'^-*rsounding forth from the trembling voice of the newly pardoned sinner to the fairest son of the morning, Glory to God in the highest— a sinner sayed by grace ! V«n4 every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and unier the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are ir them, heard I saying, "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever." The glory is secured to God. '^ 11.^ — What IS FAITH? ' ,1 answer, a divine conviction of the realities of eternity ; a liiental discernment of the invisible things of which the Bible speaks; the mental eye piercing through the clouds that hang between time and eternity ; an eye looking back and seeing in the centre of the world's history, on the summit of Calvary, the Son of God dying for man ; an eye that look§~Tjp and sees the everlasting God upon the throne of the universfe- governing all that is; sees Jesus as man's mediator, statiiding at the right hand of the Majesty on high, with his reeking wounds, fresh, as it were, from, Calvary, as a lamb newly slain, pleading for siit^ ners ; sees heaven with all its glory, hell with all its agonies, its horrors, its boundless woes. Eternity, in all its solemn and •vast dimensions, — in its Unbegun, unfading, limitless duration, — an eye looking onwards to death, judgment, to eternity ; and all the consequences pendffiig upon life's choice, spreading their influence ovet* a boundless future. Indeed, faith is said to be the substance of things hoped for : in the language of another, not the fugitive shadow of a dream, or, transient ignis-fatim^ dancing along the horizon of out vision; not exactly the thing* themselves, but the substance of them. Which the long arm of faith can raach, even across the ocean of time; and that sub- 'stance, too so much better adapted to our present state of being than "the things hoped for,'^ Jt " angels' foo^, incarnated ■X ' FURIFICATION BY PAITH, 41 ipturned eye eraphim, the song widens ik ; it sweeps ilia's harp — he trembling t son of the ed by grace ! e earth, and ii that are ir d glory, and Eind unto the God. '^ f eternity ; a ich the Bible ds that hang nd seeing in 'Calvary, the and sees the governing all at the right mds, fresh, as iding for silt, I its agonies, ;s solemn and ss duration, — rnity ; and all )reading their is said to be ge of another, t ignis'fatiatif tly the things e long arm of and that sub- state of being 1^, incarnated ■I' materialized for man; an aliment for his triune nature. When the soul reaches out its arm into eternity, and feels in the palm of its God for a chil4's portion, it always brings it home in a . substance to which all jthe senses and yearnings of human nature may sit down to feast. It never makes a journey to heaven' without bringing back sortke ohoice things for each of the spiritual senses. To the sight it daguerreotypes on the mental eye the great city of God, the new Jerusalem, with its golden streets, its foundatioii-stones o^celestial water, its gates of pearl, the great white throne, the robes and ranlcs of the heavenly host, the river of life, ^e visions of indescribable magnificence. To another sense it spreads out the marriage «%)perof the Lamb, and frijiits and flower» of immortal taste and bloom. To the ear it brings the melody of th^ golden harps, the strain of angel anthems. In short, it created II Jieaven for evety sense, and ?!ets the whole family of them arlonging for it, and then feeds them with the substance of things hoped for. But is this saving feith — justi- fying faith? I answer, no; saving faith may be included uhdet two heads. \ 1. Assent: assent to such truths as the following : -^ «< He died for our sins, androse again for our justification." Ml am he that blotteth out thy sins." " Who is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." 2. Trust : and trust may be defined as of a two-fold character. Says one, " I trust I shall be saved some time, -^to-morrow, next year, on a dying bed." «' I tLink," says another, " that none can be saved till a dying hour ; I trust I shall1)e saved then." The tnisi connected with salvation is a trust in the merits of Christ for a present salvation, — an enlightened," hearty, bold trust in Christ just now, — exclaiming, with confidence, with the eye fixed on Calvary, on the dying Saviour, "Lord thou canstj thou ^^ WILT, thou DOST save." "What, then," asks the penitent sinner, "must I believe, in order to obtain pardon and purity ?" I answer, you have it in these words, " He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only,, but for the sins of the whole world." " What is the meaning of a propitiation?" I answer, a ccwerwi^. He covered •1- 42 REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. ! I them, suffered for them, bc.re them, bore them away; as the Bible says, •* He bore our sins in his own body on- the tlree." |Now one thing is clear as light; r- if he bore them, suffered for tliem, died for them, you need not b^ar them, suffer for them, die for them." " But, did he suffer enough? or, in other words, was the atonement complete ? " Listen to God's word on this sub- ject — Heb. 9: 25, 26,—" Nor yet that' he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year ' with the blood of others. For then must he often have suffered unce the foundation of the world ; but now, once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put "away sin by the sacrifice of hims^." Do you, then, understand what he did for you when he jdicd— that he satisfied the claims of a violated law, of insulted justice,' for your sins ? " But was this satisfaction com- plete — was God satisfied ? Did he suffer enough ? ", I answer, this sacrifice was so complete that it cannot be mended. It was a more complete satisfaction than you could have made,- if you had suffered in hell-fire a whole eternity. Yea, if all the angela Were to come down from heaven and cover the hill of Calvary with crosses, and each one die as a sacrifice for your sins, they could not add one whit to the completeness of the atonement Christ made when he bowed his head and died. Then he suf-., fered enough to save you. A minister once said to a broken- hearted woman, smiting on her breast^ and groaning for salva- tion, "My friend, do you believe that Jesus, when he died on the tree, suffered enough for you, or would you hajve him to suffer a little more ? " " O ! no, sir, he suflfered enough — -he . .suffered enough." "Did he? did he?" said the minister. "Yes," said the woman; and as she believed it, her whole countenance changed, peace overflowed her heart, th^ greaj .l|aange was effected. ^Now,I^sk you, do you believe that' Jesus suffered enough for you ? You cannot imderstand it, believe it, trilst in it, and not be saved. " But," sfey^ the sinner, " did the Father accept of the death of Christ as an atonement for my sins ?" I answer, was it not the burning love in the Father's' heart that led him to give his Son ^itt>die ?^ As the Bible says, ** God 60 lov^d the world, that ne gav^ his frer himself > every year ' ave suffered the end of ! sacrifice of it you when ited law, of sfuctioncom- 'V I answer, ded. It was nade,^ if you 11 the angels 1 of Calvary ur sins, they le atonement rhen he suf-.. to a broken-' ing foi salva- L he died on ha^e him to snough — -he . ;he minister, t, her whole rt, th^ great ve that'^Jesus it, believe it, ner, " did the ment for my the Father's' that whosoever leFieveth x>n him- shall not perish, but have ever- lastmg hfe." Wessed words! they should be written iri letters of ^old, in letters of light ; should be hung up in your bedrooms ; written up m every public way, that passing sinners may read * theip ; engrave them on your hearts. Then, it was the Father's owi appointment that the Son should die? Do you w&nt fur- ther proof that the Father, accepted it » Go and stand by the - tomb in the rock : the Soij^of God is.laid a corpse in that tomb - all IS quiet ; twice the sun has gone down upon that tomb • the murdered Saviour sleeps quietly; .the seal is unbroken- the starlight gleams i^pon the spears of the rude soldiers, as they watch the sepulchre; the ihorning star ushers in the firSt rays of gdden^ay ; an|l all is yet stUl as death. See ! see ! tm bright light aloft -r how beautiful! how soft! how unlike ar , earthly l,^t!^rtpome8 rushing, rushing down-it is an holy -angel!^ Hem those soldiery start !_how pale ' they look ! J- what! hath death bknched their countenances? The angel heods > them not; he snaps the seal; with one bound he rolls away the Stone Come weeding sinner- come, saints, and look in uroD the slam Lord! * "Qome, srints, and droBa tear or two^ - . - On the dear bosom of your God ^ . ..He shed a thousand drops for you, I A thousand drops of richer blood. '^ ?"t lo I what sudden joys I see ! , £ /esus the dead revives again; The rising God forsakes his tomh ; The tomb in vain forbids his rise, V ' Cherubic legions guard him home, . And Ihout him welcipie to the skies." fHo't7h'\'' PTf^'^/f ""her hath arf^ed .he atonement. ^t Ae greet atoning work was complete. 0, how t),e love of Podshine, outrnthe^ftof Chrfet; hoW it pervades e™^ pai ^^"^l h .ays, in lang,^ ,„„,,, ^,„ iZ^t, 'Meir^y 'sfree." In Irelai^ a gray^eaded and*ii Thy debt is paid, thy soul is free, ^ And thou art justified.*' S Every blessing is thine by faith, — not only {Mirdon, but punty and heaven — " putting fio difference, between them ^Miid U8» purifying their hearts by faith." " '*" III. What is the difference between faith and knowl- edge ? .■ ^ . . ■■-■■[' ■■ I answer, faith and knowledge are distinct ; they-certaiiily do not mean one and the sam6 thin^. We will try to make this plain. A man promises you one hundred pouijds' -to-morrow at twelve o'clpck, — exactly at twelve o'clock, — on condition thai you meet him precisely at that time on the Exchange; the man isan honest man, and you have full confidence in his word. As you are retiring to bed you say, "To-morrow at twelve o'clock I shall have one hundred pounds." The morning conies, and the clock strikes eight; «> In four hours moiie I shall have thp one hundred pounds:" Ten o'clock arrives, and you 'exclaim, " In two hours more the one hundred pdunds will be mine}* Ten minutes to twelve o'clock finds you on your way-, to the Exchange. As you see the man waiting for you, you say, " Ah ! I thought you would keep your word." The gentleman, accord- ing to promise, p^ives you the check for the "one hundred pounds «*Ah ! " say you, " I have faith in pur word." "Faith, man ! *\ Replies the gentleman ; "you have the check ; read for yourself ; you no longer brlieve, but kpow you Vve what was promised f it is not fafth. but kn^edge." It was faith at eight o'clock, at ten o'clock, at tenlminute- to twelve o'clock; but th^ very moment you received the check, it was faith no longer," but knowledge. Ah'! I know the reason why you Wish to confound these two' things — why you ask what diSience is then between faith and knowU J, 'M- 46 RSTIVAL MISCELLANIES. edge. It is because you wish to feel first, and believe afterwards. But there is a distinction between the two, and faith must pre- cede knowledge. WhjTare you afraid to trust God for the M* filment of his wc:.d ? You put confidence in the word of fallible man. You are not afraid to risk your Wealth, your health, evien your life, on the word of a fallible human- creature Why, then, do you want to receive the gift of God, and then believe after- viftrds? Did ever God deceive you ? Did he ever deceive, in one sm gle case, since the world began ? * Did he ever deceive the phi- losopher, in any one of the laws relating to time ? Have not like efiPects followed like causes through the whole history of time, and around the entire globe ? TEvery time nature has been put to the test, she has given a faithful response ; and the God of the system of j:reation is the God of the economy of grace. Did God ever deceive a penitent sinner? Has one ever trusted in Christ, and not been saved ? Can infidels point to one case in the past six thousand years ? We defy them to do it. When, then, you find out that heat won't expand, that cold won't con- tracft, that fire won't burn, that poison won't kill, that bodies won't gravitate towards their centre, that light does not follow the rising sun, — then, you mayjbegih to fear that a penitent may trust in Christ and not be saved. God is as true in grace as in nature ; yea, though the heavens and the earth may pass away,« not one jot or tittle of his word will fall to the ground. He has magnified his word above all his name. IV. What degrees of paith are necessarv to Salvation ? I answer, I do not know, because God has nowhere said in his book how much, or how little, a man must have in order to be saved. He has, however, said, that he will not break a bruised reed, nor quench a smoking flax. He has said, " If ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed (and that is, small enough), and s h a ll sa y to this mountain, be thou ca s t into th e sea, and shall not doubt ii't your heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to passV ye shall have whatsoever he ■aith.** I do ncl mean to say that you^^itaft understand and 4 t * :!''*■•'%. -A: 4 .'■''':■ /■'-/ rUSIFlCATION Bt FAITH. 47 where .reijr truth in the Bible, in orde^ to' be «mi j but I. dd »y you mu.t understand what Chri.t did for you when he died 1^ '=™"; "Jdyou must understand and Iru.l in h'» mctifi. c»l death. If the ble,«„gyou are Peking i, puri.y. U«h " , fauh au.. n« high enough to embmce thrSaWourfnot :ari^X What, then, are you waiting for? Are you .till iookin. fe, on,eth.ni^,,n your»lf to recommend y.u to Je,ua J wlul hgci creature y^ are! You need not wait for any further ^What* dung, a«ver ye desire when ye .pn.y, believe that y, the truth of God's promise as in his Godhead — in the failhfnl ness of ChristWorf as in his diWnity. Many f yolty, " I beWeftathe ■«<.«. and willing, and wiUing\„w! to save;" Llvain Y '"" """■■"'' »'»PPi"S"'-.y»» 4 short rf Why. then, do you tarry longer? Why..do.youdeubt? What can you w.sh or in Christ that is not in him? U it powe/and greamess?- All power is in his hands: he rolls along'Z^tot S t'/' * "l^J' """'' '■Sh'-ing* d. hi, bidding; an S!^« "?"'«'''"• I»"g™'»'»»'-Hei,thrM th^b Tr r ^'^' ^"•«' *«'■ Solomon J and e «h iT "'rt: "", ."'"™ '"«• *« .hade. when'L . pared with him. U it humility and tenderness?— He wore a ser™„,.s form; hi, ear was never closed Labile of w^^nd Ae^venes. outca,. wa, never refused b/hi* ..,U." w™t^ I, .twis^.m?_In him dwelleth .11 die LZs of ZS andwi^om. I, it durability ?_He is Ae sameyesMly ^ %.«d forever; when all other lights ar, dimm'«l wT JT when the sun of every other shy is blotted ou^; thi. light m »na ever. Eveiry thing you need is in him. I ask whv tK«« rgetfulneS9, , have such isregard the jroclamation sible ! — the Heaven and shall M to my marches id volleys of ral gives tho ind a fleet is ted over the the king of 1 and bloody who is but a awaken, to nal realities; in on the njgions of hell. There no pleasure, no friendship, no love, enters ; before them hopo never blooms, and to them mercy neter comes ; on them the Sabbath never dawns. Indeed, their •♦?un of mercy has set in blushing sorrows at their sins; their day of grace has closed upon jhem forever. No sound of men-.y, nor sigh of sympathy, will ever soothe their bitter woo They neglected the gre|^ salvation | they believed not the truth , they knew not God ; they died in their sins ; they denied the T^ord that bought them. He called — they refused ; they would — i»t hear, and he ceased to call ; they would not Joolf to him, and h^ ceased to beckon. Their guardian angel, who," by divine ^ a^intment, shielded their thoughtless charge from their ghostly enemies, sighed and feft thertl'; and the devil and his angels laughed a horrible grin of triumph, and'dragged their struggling victim down, to darkness, fire, and pains, — while saints and angels mourned, and said, 'the precious soul is lost,, forever lost.' But when the guilty spirit was driven away, in his wick- edness, those who wetted the parched lips, watched the 'dying- gasp, and heard the last, last groan, saw not the seizure ofthe guilty spirit, when it was delivered over to the tormentors, who hauled it away from earth, and friends, and mercy, to cast it into hell; the attendant in the chamber of. death heard not the departed spirit plunge into that lake that burns with fire and brimstone. No! it' was ji disembodied spirit that fell. The bonds of iniquity, and the chains of sin, were not heard to clank, when the unsaved spirit fell doWn from the high precipice of mercy, into the lake of fire. Not a sound was heard, — it was all the silence of death. Only those ears which death had opened could" hear the angry, temj)est, an#t1ie storfts of ^-rath, which raise th^ raging billows on tho lake of fire, and dash with buriiing fury .n their guilty souls. However loud, the thunder may roar ^ngr the gloomy caverns in those regions of 'horror and vengeance, we cannot.hear the sound thereof. How- ever bright maybe the flashes c^he lightnings of divine wrath, darting across the deep glooms of hell, we cannot see them. Let faith look through the gates of hell, — shut, forever shut ! -^ ' and.Me those countless multitudes of lost souls, enduring tht :4-' r t i, ■ . (;.A--. i ^ \ 1 1 1'' 1 \ 1 1 "f 1 ,1 BITITAL MISCBLLANIB8. •ting! of awakened, guilty conscienccR ; and oh ! iivhit anp^iish can be eompored to that of a spirit, when it thui grovels in shame, rouses in fury, lowers in disapp< intment, pines in jealousy, stagnates in apnthy, crouches in fonr, and congeals in despair! What arrows could be so sharp ? What poisons so deadly 7 The past burning in light to its remembrance, and yet yields no ray; consciousness filling up its solitude, yet fnuln no rest ; alone with its thoughts and reproochest surrcunded by others alike wretched, having no secret, explored and covered with shame, when there is nothing it loves, and nothing that loves it." Let faith, we say, look through the infernal gates, and get a distinct view of these fearful realities; or take the doctrine of the glories of heaven, or the great atonement, and view them in all their bearings on its interests, and how power* ful will be the faithful vision, in its influence on the soul ! Thus faith derives power from its objects. — objects compared With which earth is an atom, time a moment, and the present uni* verse a passing shadow. " Do you want a proof of the power of foith? Read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews ; there you will see its amazing effects. Do youvvant a proof of the power of faith ? Look up aniong the blessed, — survey their dignity, their purity, their glory, — and remember it was by faith they were justified, puri- fied, preserved, — by faith they entered heaven. We have considered why God saves by faith, the nature of faith, the difTerence between faith and knowledge, the amaz- ing power of faidb. Now, we ask, penitent sjnnert do you believe for pardon I Those of you who are seeking the witness of the Spirit, and purity of heaift, are you believing for the blessing you need ? My God is in this place. He is purifying some of your hearts. " What things soever ye desiro when ye pray,"&c.: ' . -^^ L .- :V-'..':r': .:"^ >■■•.. .*i.-/:.' ;■ Unconverted man, do you believe in the great verities of religion ? You are shut up to the^/'M, or to damnalion.' T AVO- I i C • ^ "I i I ways open before you — faith, that leads to Calvary. and heaven; and unbelief, that leads to hell. ,.You are shut up to one or the Other of these. Yoa may tremble between the two, and zefuse ti PVBIPICATION IT PAtTH. 61 ^h It an(^iiflh ■ grovels in It, pines in ind congeals It poiaons ro ibrance, and de, yet nnd.M irrcunded by and covered lothing that rernal gates, or fftke the I nement, and how power- soul ! Thus n pared with present uni* Read the its amazing ? Look up purity, their stifled, puri- e nature of , the amaz- ler, do you ' the witness ing for the is purifying lire when ye ; verities of alion.' Two and heaven ; c» one or the », andzefuse 1.1 to decide, but death will soon decide for you. You are on the narrow ridge of Mind, and the wovos of time are silently, but surely, washing it away, sand by sand. You cannot occupy youf present position long. A decision will soon be imperative ujK)n you. PrQcrastinntion may prove destruction ; delay may be death. Spurn the ollurements, which entice you from your Saviour; burst the fetters which bind you; lift your eye to Calvary; believe and live. Siiys a lute writer, when appealing to sinners : — «• On a part of the British coast, where beetling clJHs, from three to five hundred feet in hei{,ht, overhang the ocean, some individuals, during a certain season of the ywr, obtain a solitary livelihood by collecting the eggs of rock-bird^, and gathering samphire. The wny in which they putsue this hazardous calling is as fol- lows: — The man drives an iron crow-bar securely into the ground, alwut a yar.l from the edge of the precipice. To that crow-bnr he inakeiS fast a rope, of which he then lays hold. I^ next slides gently over the clifT, and lowers himself till he reaches the ledges and crags, where he expects to find the object of his pursuit. To gain these places is sometimes a dif- ficult task; and when they fall within the perpendicular the only method of accomplishing it is for the adventurer to swing in the air, till, by dexterous managenjent, he can so balanco himself as to reach the spot on which he wishes to descend. A basket, made for the purpose, and strapped between the shoul ders, contains the fruit of his labor; and when he has filled the oasket, or failed in the attempt, he ascends, hand over hand, to the summit. On one occasion, a man who was thus employed, in gaining a narrow ledge of rock, which was overhung by a higher portion of the cliflT, secured his footing, but let go the ■-Mfm^. He at once perceived his peril. No one could come to *fcis rescue, pr even hear his cries. The fearfuj alternative immediately flashed on his mind: it Avas, being starved to demh, or dashed to pieces lour hundred feet below! On turn- mg round, he saw the rope he ht^d quitted, but it was far-away "• As it swung backwards and forwards, its long vibrations testified - the mighty eflbrts by which hp had reached the deplorable pre* V ■-■■ Our text is a joyful exclamation of a venerable old saint, upon seeing the Lord's Christ. It seems that when his eyes once looked upon Jesus, he never wished them to gaze o^aught more on earth. ^ Hence he exclaimed, "Now, LordVlettest thou my servant depart in pe^ce." We remark — I. That God always honors PHE-EMmENTLV devoted men ^ " 1 hem that honor me," saith the Lord, " .vil! I honor." Aga i n, "The se cret of t he Lord is with them that fear him." M you attentively observe the history of men who have ri^n fkt 9 nflk 6» ■■?)4 ■I*.?-.-.''* Ill f \ 54 REVIVAL MISCELLANIB8. above the cpminon standard of Christian experience, mien of eminent piety, you will generally find that such men are signally honored of God by some remarkable interpositions of Providence, by some special answers to prayer, by the bestow'ment of some gift, or by being rendered instrumental in the salvation of mul- titudes of immortal souls. These cemarks could.be borne out by a reference to the lives of holy men., With AbrahanTGod con- versed as a man with his friend, and when about to destroy Sodom, the matter was revealed to Abraham. Joseph was made the saviour of a nation. Moses was called up to Sinai te com- mune with the Deity for forty days. What a shield did God hold over David; truly he yras immortal till his work was done Enoch and Elijah were taken to heaven without dying. An angel descended with Daniel into the lions' den to shut their mouths. A form like the Son of God is seen walking in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrew youths, so that the smell of fire does not pass upon them. Paul is saved in a storm at ^a, while the waves were commissioned to dash to pieces the vessel; and an angel stands by him on the deck, and Paul's life is spared, and ^e lives of the whole crew are given to him; We might refer you to Wesley, Whitefield, Bramwell, Smith, arid a long list of others, and in some way or another God has specially honored every one of them. We have a case in point in our text. The time had come when the great Messiah was about to-appear in the world, and this great fact God reveals to Simeon. It was revealed to him that he should not see death till he had seen the Lord's Christ. Undevout minds are too worldly, too apathetic, too dull, to hear the secret whispering of heaven. 'T is the spiritual ear alone that can hear the Still sinall voice that coi^es across the universe from the spirit world — '■ 't is the spiritual eye alone that reads the secrets of eternity, that sees passing in review before it the realities of the hidden state. Some simple-hearted Christians were once returning from chapel ; they had' been to hear the holy Bramwell preach. One of them said to the other, "How is it that Mr. Bramwell^ has alwajs something new to tell us?" v™ ^ "Ah ! " said the other, " I can tell you how it is ; he livei very m PEAE OP DEATH DESTHOTED BY CHRIST.. 55 much nearer the gates of heaven than many of us, and God tells him things he does not tell other people." And 80 it was with Simeon. He lived very much nearer the gates of heaven than many, of his day; and God honored him by telhng him this greaJJaclH It was revealed unto Simeon that he should not see d ej|||l he had seen the Lord's Christ. il. Simeon was a man: op pre-eminent mvotedness to 'JOD. " And, behold," say the scriptures, " there was aTman injeru- salem whose name was Simeon," Observes an eminent divine, _No doubt there were many pers6ns in |erqsalem named Simeoii, besides th,s man but there was none of the name who merited the attention of God so much as he in the text." There are four thmgs said about him in the text, every one of which is an evidence of his great devotedness. It is said of him that he was r''.^\ he waited for thf consolation of Ismel, and that th? Hrfy Gto was upon him. He had been reconciled to God. This IS assumed, for without this there would have been no devotedness, no waiting for the consolation of Ismel, and the HolyGhost never would have rested upon him. He believed ^e divine promise, and therefore waited for the consolation of !„T.h Lt" ^ •*'"'«— 1>« »«'. went up in earnest prayer and thaUsgiving ,0 Gdd,_and the Holy Ghost was upon hL. God jf ified through the blood of the Lamb. Jus. before men m an h« actions, thus proving to the world that he was justified before God. A right heart and a right life. DeJt.mta religion of mere forms and ceremonies, b„, devoutness if soul «mt,ng for M the fulness of Christ; and then the great cro™ I'^rT *?.«'?.«*«' -""? "ton him. attestingThlXTiL ■.pi*oval. aiding him in his devotedness, guiding hita in Z »mple to s^ the Lord's Christ. Yoa cannot dis^ns^ti* tl ^ aw "n ^r *"'"™' l"«'y' '-o«"l»»io^. devout:^ av^itingupon God. and«hepo.ssP^ion of th e HolyGh o st. 0^ ■ whh ^r^T '^''^ « « d-out man.!; maj; inTji^^", wilh the Deity,_a man breathing his thoughts, and thos. "\ 56 ASVIVAL MISCELLANIES. r ' '!» ('ill ' UY . . ■ '"■■■■.■ . ■,. ■» ■ ■• ■ ^ thoughts being^, taken up into the thoughts of • the great GM,-- a flBin on whom the gaze of Infinite Holiness is fixed with (Buprtine delight, -^ a man standing on the iftount of communion,' catchmg the warblings of ^e triumphant- church,, exclaiming, "iliear, or dream* L hear, the distant strain,' » "' ■\ l^eet to the soiil/ and tasting strong, of heaven." »Than a inan in' comgyinion with G^, th<5^ is no sight on earth, nofr in heaven, more^ sublime. A virtuous man said, a phi- iosopher is the noblest work of Godj. but we would rather say, a Chnstiaa— a4evout man — is the noblest work of GTod. Such a man'is God's jewel, his friend ;*'t is with him God delights to dwell; 'lis tohimGod-wftl tell his secrets; on him confer his richest honors. Simeon was such a inan ; God honored him by telling him the great fact,. that befote dAlh should close his eyes, he should see the Lord!sPlirist. * ni. — That though Simeon was aji eminently devoted MAN, #E HAl) GR^AT DISCOURAGEMENT IN,- OBTAINING A SIGHT OF THE OBJECT HE SO EXTREMELY DESIRED. , What Simeo;i wanted was to See the Lord's Chrjst. Unbelief would siiggest id him, " Simeon, you are ;in old man ; your day is almost ended ; the snow of age is upon your head ; your eyes are growing dim, yojiwf hrowjs wrinkled, your limbs totter, and death cannot be at a great dStaiice, and where are the signs of his coming? 'Yo,u are resting, Simeon, on a phantom of the imagination — it is all a delusion.'' . «• No," replies Simeon, " I shall hot se« death till I have se^n the Lord's (phrist. Yes, I shall see him before I die." • But unbelief would again suggest, " JRemember, Simeon, many holy men have desired to see the Lord's Christ, but have died without the sight; men quite as holy as^ou are, vvho did ser* vice for God such as you have never done ; and how do you sup- pose that you will b^ permitted to see the great Messiah ? '^ " Yes," says Simeon, * * I shall - see the Lo r d's Chri s t. Th ese eyes will not be dimmed by the shadows of death till I have seen |i PBIR OJP.bEAJS DE8TR0TBD BT CBBISTw 57 ■/i rLY DEVOTED /ji i^ A SIGHT OF 1^ i the signs of i^ mtom of the him God ha? aai^the word, «ind[ rahafl see hini for myself; .% mine eyes shall behold him, and iiot another." Iiinagine 1 ^ee Simeon wklkingf. out, on a fine rooming, along . one-ofthelovetyvales.ofPalestin?, meditating on the^ea* sab- ject that filled his mind. He is met hy one of^lhis /rierid»-- ' "Pea:e be with you; have you, heard the strange new< ?"«• ;• .., ^ What news?;' replied Simeon. ,: ' , .,-#■'' ,^ Do you not khow-Zacharias tho Priest ? " - . , ' ^ V •'-'"Yes, well/' _ . '■'■■'"" ° - .:. ;. '^- -:-^T^r^;7r:r:7:;r'''' , ''" According to the custom ofl the priest's oflfeei his lotWsto^ burn incense in the temple of the Lo^rd, and the ^^ole mul%iide ' ^ of the peq^e wer^ prayin^thout Jt was\he tipeWinceiis^ ^ -' andjhere appeared unto him, an apgel standing off the rightside ' ^ ofthe altar of incense, and told^im that he *ould bkve a son, ' ' \ ..whose name should be called M;i ; one vrho shnuld be great in ' ' " the sight of th^ Lor^,.,whp shbuld neither;drinli wiqe nor skong " < drink, and he ghquld be,fill,gd.with the Holy Ghbst from, Kis mfandy, and that he should go before th^ Messiah in the spirit V and power 01 Ellas, to imn mrfriy of the pcfdple of Israel to the' ' Lord, and make, ready! people prepared ibr the Loi^ The " - angel was Gabrfel/ th^at stariasin the presence of ^gd; atid - because he believed not the arigel, h^ was struck dumb."^^' ' ' ' " Ah!^' says Simebn, « that is an exm fulfilment of the ^ph^ • ecy of Malachi (4 : 5, 6).. This HI the messenger x,f theCd, , to prepare: the way- t^iis is the forerunner- thjs is the mom^ ' v ingstar; the day daiwn is not far off- the great Messiah i» on' his-WY-is liighatband. Ishall not see death tiU I have * ' seen tbj^Lord's Christ. Halleluiah • the Urd shatf suddenly ' come t)>his temple." V t- \;'V" ' „ Simeon ponders these thingsiii his he^t, and time rolls'^ - ' - I imagine i see Simeon again on his morhing meditdtive walk ' Jfe^is^ accosted by orie of h« . " have fou hfeard the news ? " , ^ • ^ * - "Whafnews?" .- ,,-:• '' :^^ \' ' '';"'''-^'-/ •-:\' /'" -\ ' ' . . " Why there'sa verjr singular story ^aimost in everybodv's ' mouth. A company of shepherds on the plains ot ^thlehem ' were watchmg their flocks; it was the ^m hour of^hrild SB BEVIVAt MrSCELLANIES. the mantle of darkness covered ihe world; a bright light shone around the shepherds, a light above the brightness of the mid* ' day sun ; they looked up, and j ist above them appeared an angel glowiig in all the lovely hues of heaven. The shepherds became greatly terrified* and the angel said to them, * Fear not, behold 1 bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. « For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, „ . _which is Christ the Lord ; and, as a proof of what I say, if you * will go to Bethlehem, you will find him vVrapped in swaddling " ' clothes and laid in a manner.' When the angel had finished the story, suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, •Glory to God in the Highest, peace > » on earth, and good will to man.' The shepherds hastened away tp Bethlehem, and found it just as the angel had stated.^ As they entered the stable, the rude oxen were feeding by the man- ' ger; and there stood Joseph, a quiet, harmless-looking young . man;* there was also a lovely woman, watching ^WFintense interest over an iijifant that lay in the manger. When they heaved up the cloth that covered the infant, oh, what a lovely face they beheld ! Never had mortal eyes gazed on so lovely a face as that before ! " \ ^* Ah ! " exclaiit^d Simeon, "born in Bethelem, of the line- age of David, — bom of a virgin, and, then, just at this time, — the very place predicted by the prophet, — the exact time fore- told by Daniel, — the exact fulfilment of the predictions of Isaiah, *— the circumstances all wonderfully agree ; and, then, the scep- tre was not to have departed from Judah till the^ Messiah should ■ ' appear. This is the Lord's Christ. I shall not see death till I f have seen the Lord's Christ." Then Simeon probably said tovas to see the Lord's Christ. Between Simeon ^nd an awak- - ened sinner there is one point «f*!igreement ; they l^h .desire to see one objectt-the Lord% Ghrist. . When aJinner is awakened, fully aroused to a sense of his danger, iound his ' mind the lightnings of divine truth ^ash; in the blaze of that ight (as the clouds break that enveloped him), he sees a bound- less immensity ; before him a bleak untravelled eternity ; abovq him, frowning upon him from a burning throne, a holy God; he sees himself sleeping on a precipice, on the crumbling edge of ruin, with vengeance pending ready to burst upon him, und flames roaring around; while beneath him, at his feet, roll the waves of a burning hell ; .within him, the stings of a guilty con- science. Hear him -^ « What must I do ? Whither can I fly ? ^ ly irom God, I cannot, nor from myself. Which yroy I fly ia hell -myself am helk— a weight; like a tremendous mountain, pesses me down -^ the very glooms of death envelop me. What must I do ? I want help— to whom must I lock ? " ' .A' Ti- to RBVIVAL MISCELLANIES. m- B«hold, a ray of light breaks in upon him — one single, bui bright ray. It keeps him from utter despair, it gives him a faint hope, it enables him tremblingly to say, '" Before I see death, I shall see the Lord's Christ,'.' Then, unbelief sag. gests, " How do you suppose that you will be permitted to see the Lordfs Christ? Do you think the great Jehovah, whose majesty almost confounds the cherubim and seraphim, — at least compels them to cover over their bright faces with their wings, and fall before his throne in deep adoration, — whose temple is all space,— whose arm is around all worlds, — who mhabits eternity^— at whose bidding the siin lights up his fire< — whose empire is s6 vast that were an angel, with the lightning's swift- ^ ness, to fly in a direct line from the tentre, he would not, in mil- lions of years, sweep the outskirts of his creation, — ' who siis upon t)ie' highest heavens, and sees worlds infinite dance beneath » him as atoms in the sunbeam, — you an atom,ra: shade, a moth, a worm, a flower of the iield to-day and not to-morrow, in the morning arid not at night, not master of a moment, not a match ,for a breeze, a dream, a vapor, a shadow,* a sinner born to die, how do you suppose he will showypu the Lord's. Christ ? " awakened sinner replies : " One thing! know— ^I dare not fill i have peen the Lord's Christ. 1 (cannot endure that id sting that gleams in, Death's uplifted arm, I dare-not face that grisly king of terrors in my sihs; I cannot plunge into the future, till my load of guilty woe is gone. Ah! 'tis the open Books, the terrible judgment, the awful unknown horrors that lie concealed in thefuture>— *tis those things I cannot endure — that death, so terrible without Christ. *T is true, I am insignifi- cant, a shafde, a blast, a worm ; and, what is worse, a sinner* *T is true,«pod is great, beyond even angelic conceptio^^; but he humbles hjmself to behold the things done in heaveil'arid on earth. He balances the planets in their motions ; yea, he tinges the wing of the little insect that bu2zes for an hour in the sun- beam, and then yields up its e xi s t e nc e . H 6 paint ; with l oveh;/ Hhues the beautiful little fldwer that blooms iti my pQtb;■ nOfl," -^ PEAR OF DlEAtH DESTROYED BY'-CHRUT. 61 ley, and numbers the hairs of my head ? Then, the bagiiitude of his engagements does not overwhehn hipi, nor theis- multi- tude donfound liim. While he is balancing the motions of the planets, governing the armies of heaven, and superintend ir?^ the vast universe, he can, at the same time, bend all that attention' to me as fully as though I was the only object of his care. }\e^ made me, and by some unseen, mysteriou's power, he bids my heart beat sixty times a minute, «nd my blood to course its way round my system, — he upholds my soul in life.- He'^ares, then, for my body. Will he he less concerned about my soul ? WiL ' be arrange all nature to minister to my bodily wants, and leave my soul to perish ? No ~ that is unlike him. Woiild he giire his Rible toguide-nie, his Son to die for me, and his heaven for my eternal homo, and then refuse to save me ? No^I would <■ rather believe that, were l?e creating a new system like the solar system of which we form a part, and were a sinner to send up, a cry for mercy, that, could he not attend to the two thili^ at once, he would stop the work of creation till he had saved the sinner. Me will not overlook me — he will not leave me to perish. Before 1 see death, I shall see the Lord's Clirist." • Unbelief again suggests, " Are not your sins too great in mag- nitude aijd multitude to be forgiven ?« Had you repented years * ago, — had you sought mercy in your youthful days, when thri» Spirit of God strove with you, before you h^Si^sinned away your day of grace, -r- you might have be^n forgiven ; but now is not ^our day of grace forever closed ? "' The sinner answers : « 1 know my sins are many ; I may as well try to number the hairs * of my head, the sands of the ocean, qr the stars of heaven, as number them; and as to their magnitude, when I consider the extent of the law I have broken, the circumstances under which they were perpetrated, thd Being ngaipst whom they were com- ' milted, — when I feonsider that conscience lifted up its warning Voice, that the blessed Spirit wooed, and strove, and flashed his hglit across my soul to^ check me, — that heaven closed up its doors tchthut me outj — that the holy God frowned upon mej — ^^atfhell seemed moved from beneath to meet me, — that the F fospel pat ft torch in my hand, and jed me up the hiU of Cal^ ^ < A 62 KBVnrAt MISCtt^AKlW. I!' pr iiM'. M^ rary to look uppn-lhe torn, bleeding, dying Redeemw, and though he cast a look upon me of the softest pity, and all his wounds seemed to have tongues exclaiming, • I suffered this foi you!' — yet I sinned on still ; — \alien I look at these thmgs, 1 see my sins like mountains rising before me, the summit^ jf which seem to scalo the very heavens. Their stains on my soul are olack as hell ; and there is one sin in particular that presses on me like a mountain weight— it seems to stand out as a nvafcter_ tin ; it is the sin of trampling on the precious blood of Christ- rejiepting for years the great atonement. This stamps my sin with a guilt tha^ outvies the fiends of perdition. J ' « But Ihough my sins like mountains rlM, And swell and reach to )ieaven ; Mercy Is yet above the skies —> ■ I still may be forgiven.' ^ ■ ,;' Jesus died (ot me, -r not for himself.but for all, — for me. Did ; not Isaiah seem to rush on over hundreds of years, and, as be ' walked around the cross, cry with a burning heart, • He was wounded for pur transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement gf our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we 'are healed'? Did not Zechariah say, • In that day there shall be a fountain opened in the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, foy sin and uncleanness ' ? Does not Paul say, • How much' more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to Qod, purge your consciences from dead works to serve the living God'? And did not Jesus reiterate the united voice of inspiration when he said, on the cross, ' It is finished ' ? And when he, the Saviour, bowed his blessed head, and died, did he not do all that was necessary — all that Heaven required ? Paul said it was for the whole world, and John said it was for all sin. If, then, he died for all men, he must have died for me ; if for all sin, then he must ha v e d jed for mine. Here 's a great fact, then, to which I will cling as with a death grasp. Jesus died for my sins. All the infidels'on earth, and all the devils in hell, cannot disprove thiifact. It waa for man he died. Well, I am one of that spe- ■^' / MVAtfpr l«ATII DESTROYED BY CHRIST. cies. It was for tbe lost — I am lost ; it was for sinners a sinner. Then I may boldly sing — —lam ' Who did for every •Inner di«, • ^ Hath surely died for me-' '^ ' " V ■ '^' ■ ■* ■ ' ■ -'■''■■ .;■ " But, does the death of Christ reach my case ? " It reachisd the case of a Manasseh, a Saul of Tarsus, a Magdalene, a dying thief. O! the blood, the precious bloo.d,^ of Christ! the blood of _ (he great atonement ! I fanqy I see its influence girdling the ? world. It can reach the case of every sinner in this chapel ; of every sinner in every hamlet, every town, every city, every nation, every continent ; and, I hod lik6 to have said, if every one of those r globes of light that gleam out upon us from the deep-blue heav- ens were peopled with sinners, as numerous and guilty as the sinners of the planet on."which we live, the blood of the great sacrifice is efHcacious enough to cleanse the whole from sin -« enough to cleanse me. "Did he die for me? Then he will not reject me — he will not cast me off forever. He has bid me look to him and be saved; then I shall not die till I have seen the Lord's Christ." But unbelief again suggests, "Bo you suppose that the sins of an age can be pardoned in a moment of time — sins that have spread over years of your life ? Could you, by deeds ot sacrifice, make some amends to Heaven for the deep wrongs yoy have inflicted, — could you repair the breach in the broken law,— could you satisfy offended justice, — make a rigiS^iefgrmation, — weep and groan out months and years to come, — then you ma) hope, to be forgiven." , "But," replies the pleading penitent, with his tearful eye und anxious soul gazing towards the Saviour of sinners, "ah! if that be true, if I am to wait years, ere those years shall have 2_ rolled round, my body may be slumbering in the cold grave, and my soul buried deep in the grave of a burning hell. But salva< tion i s not of works . — If it were , it would be a question of time — Ei^teen hundred yeare ago, on the accursed tree, Jesus said, II is finished. Then my sins were expiated; then the blessed Sariour heaved the load from this guilty world ; and, besides; *-.i^: A' • M 'M ■ 4 ' t yg*^'" ■ ^'»r»f M tlVnriL MlSCKLLAlflli. I • t;- thH« !■ n9 hint in the Bible that I must stop for tim^. Does h« not say, 'Come notv. and let us reason together, and-lhough your linr be as scarlet, they shall be as white at snow; though they bo red like crimson, they shall be as wool'? Then, amctf Christ has finished the work.-iince the Bible nevtr hints that I must ■top longer,-8inco salvation is by grace, not by works,-sinee everything is done that can be done,-! will dare believe. wiU go as I am ; I will look up to the bleeding Saviour; I will see him, or iierish in the attempt. I will make my way to him step ^y step;* and though it be through blood, fire, and death, — yta, .hough all hell shall oppose my soul, -^ I'll fight my passage through. I am a sinner, and unless saved must soon sink mlo hell. I stand on one planet, one world, but death will soon puslc'me off. And what will become of me ? I see before me two worlds. One of them is the burning planet of hell, and my sins are like weights to sink me down within the sphere of its gravitating influence. My soul is magnetized by sin, and on my sins it^ gravitating taws wiU act; and, as I leave this planet, it will attract me downwards towards the centre of that fearful region ; and as I near it, those shadouV.y forms of lost fiends and damned min will rise up. and, witijj withering sarcasm, exclaim, ♦Art : mm also become as one of i ? ' What shall I do ? I see also . -inother planet, girdled with a halo of light -light from anther aun. I see there a throne blazing with majesty and glory; 1 > lee myriads of shades of light, moving like beams of light, cir- '^cling that throne. I see on it the King of eternity-.ibe God I have offeSded ; but, there is a rainbow girdling that throne, and %ritteii upon it, in letters of light, ' God so loved the world that ; ho gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him ^^thould not perish, but have everlasting life.' This is the good news brought -me from that world. It is written in a book, ^'.•tord! from, that stupendous height, towards which the oheru- bim lifts up an eye in vain, bow* ^own thine ear, show me thy -- ' ^ ^ s oul s, let not Son! Thou give r , guide r , lover, y e a, buyer of thine anger bum forever; cast me not away, rfclakn; not destroy me' Thou didst look compassion op a denying Pefer, W did not reject disbelieving Thomas ;g««i didpt gather to r I ri|A OF DfATR DtMrKOVftD If Onift* )oe8 h* jh your . jh they r Christ. , I must; wiilaeej^ lim Mop passage nto hell, mshpitne ) worlds, are like ivitating sins it^ , it will I region ; damned lim, 'Art [ see also 1 another glory; I light, cir- tbe God I rone, and voM that ih on him > the good n a book, the cheru- iw me tlvy I s, let not , thyself in pamdise (where ft thief from the cross, is it possible for love to higher, and roach even me. their crowns at ih} feet) rful climax is this ! And r still? 01 let it rise ins not thy Iovq, like a great < . vw I ocean^ bvei:ilow the whQle creation? Then, add to thyothef!« :. wonders one wonder more, and so ve .even m^!* Yes, thou.. wilt; thy word is pledged; I shall see him; these eyes shaU i; jeast on him ; before the king of terrors shall strike the,, blow, ! ■«, y ihallsee the Lord's Christ. Then, let death hurl me from this planet, — let hell send out its gravitating influence, -^ let all the i^^ fiends of perdition throw their spell around mf, — a' sight of * Christ will save me ! Here, then, I am shut up to the faith, like * a ihan shut up in a castle. Break through the walls I/cannot; tp scale its summit I have jio power; but heaven has opened a door ! I see before me an open door, — I look th|j|^Mb it. YortdeT / . is a mountain ; and on that mountain I sec risi^^bove a dense crowd of beings, the form of a cross, The sight waocs aw^y ,»^« into darkness, darkness at noon. How awful t^at'darkness!*! "^ .. '*, feel the planet on which I stand trembling .'in fta flltbit. Hgw . '■*t V the earthquakes, heaves and swells, aroupd.m^!f Hurk! th^*" ■ '.', very rocks are rending asunder? Howi,deaf^il1ng thoMi peals of ? / ;^ -thunder! Those flashes of lightning, hoW fearfully vivid ! The .; " .''i storm rages on — the elements are all at war. Behold th^IUrid. ' lightnings playing over the graveyard ! Look! look !" the very jdead are rising from their tombs. Is the day of doom arrived t are the elements returning to their chaotic state ? is th0 jpreat white throne about to burst upon, our view? No; I feel the trembliilg of earth subsiding; those awful sounds are less loud,— - they grow fainter and fainter. Now, all. is quiet* — quiet, haw fearfully quiet! Surely the very winds are sleeping; surely neither man nor angel nor devil seems to breathe. The mad* dened cry, the blood cry, the death cry, the cry of crwc«/y Himt which ron^ so wildly around that summit a few minutes since, silence II •t' , oppressive tnis t4a- rJaim; not ing Pefer, gtther to silence of death. The death of winds, the death of ocean, the 4eath of angels,- the death of demons-— the quiet of universal death. Hark ' hark I r £eiiat cry — it comes down on the moan 6* ♦ v ,% Bi fi M ■ » , REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. me winds- EU. Eli, lama mbachthanir and, 'It is finisbed! See! see! a faint streak of light breaks- gl.mmers «.er the momtain. I see, through the gloom, ,he shado.vy oathne of a ^«,. I see a form, a human form, wr.thmg m agony on that cross. I see blood dripping over that brow- dr.pp.ng from those handsand feet fastened by the nails! O- what, a countenance is that, thougfe cbvered with dust, and sweat and blood . A heavenly radiance beams from it! How full of compasjn That is the tor#» Christ! See! my soul, the pardon of all thy sins is «ritten with pointed steel and streammg blood on his pierced hands a«d feet. He speaks to thee. H.s cross >s his pulpit, -his blood, his eloque«ce,-his death, h,s sul,ec^ He speaks to thee ; listen, <.h, listen tohim ! 'Behove and thou hast everlasting life; believe, and a graiS of fa.thw.ll remove mountains of guilt; believe with all thy heart, a 1 things a« possible to him that believeth. Tionha^t played with fiery irpents ; they have bitten thy heart, but I- have riready sncked ■ the mortal poison. Ifl the perilous attempt, my*oul was seized ■ with sorrow, even unOdeath; and an unheard of a^pony, attended "ith a blooiy sweat, came upon my body ; a rack.«g cross wa. the bed! was stretched upon ; sharp thor..s jroved the pillow on which I rested my fainting B^ad^l the Wtterest^ar^sms were ,„y consolations r vinegar and gall my cordials ; a fcind of bMy Jdiers the cruel wretches appointed to tear open my veins, Ips, nails, a hamrfier, and a spear, ** i"^f »f ' '"X!* them ; do the dreadful o,*ration. Fo, hou*I "led u«ier their „,erciless hands; and thy fearful curse, oil V^^ t Lther with my blood. , In the mean time, noonday light,was . fn dUthegUofnigb.,-adireemblemof,*^^^^^^^^ that overspread my agonizing sout:-r.attd,i>t fast, «h.le ear*- Ikes roLd me into the, sleep oV death, I gav* up the ghost " And now, sinner, despise no more such »»»"'« ''"'^=.'^«"'f'' with a believing look! By all that is^neaMind dear, afid^c^ to thecflyfrom eternal death -fly for^^tnal life. The to, frcm b( ■ at thy then, r not dvtf cross ! burst i out of 1 thee,- /Sodorr llnd es tht9U tearful My Lo:d, in the lujah! Wl presse l^isey ing p< is not "*'>^taten called .stairs and I air of room femal theti - pursues thee with te« thousand curses; pursues thee witn ten xao«=.«« .....», Th^Wijf^mae^ ^nTaames over thy devoted head. I>eatk l-t^P^'ed ^.at;l.y thoughtless or thrdbteng heart rMl it»^«mpved your you? 'i'h. i .. illl^ 'i'"'!^' ^t ^ ished ! ver the line of on that m those teriance od! A passion! n of* all )lood on ■ cross is subject, and thou remove lings are ith fiery y sucked as seized attended ;ross was pillow on sms were of bloody ly vein#; s allowed iter their ir, flowed light >was 5 darkness- lile earth- the ghost. ; requite it afid sacred The law % \ •i ^L,FEAB CF DiEATH llESTttOYED BV -CHRIST. 1! iivin e ven - bis pointed if iimpved 67 frcm beneath to meet thee at th^ coming ; and the p-a^t gapes 'at thy feet, ready to close her hideous mouth' upon thee. Fly, then, miserable sinner ! If thy flesh is not brass, and thou canst not dWell with everlasting burnittgs, fly for shelter to my bloody cross ! The Philistines are upon- thee ; instantly shake thyself; burst the bdnds of spiritual sloth; break, like a desperate soul, out of the prisph of unbelief; escape for thy life, — look not behind thee, — stay not in all the plain! This one thing do, leave Sodom and her ways behind, and press towards the little Zoar, Ihd escape to the mount of God, lest thou be consumed! Dost thfu at last yield ? — dost thou turn thy trembling heart and tearful eye towards me ? ' * Yes,' exclaims the penitent — ^ « I yield! I field! • *'I can hold out no more ; ■ I sinlc, by dying love compelled, And own thee Conqueror.* •• ' ',•..* '* ' " My one object now is to see thee. Yes ; *t is he ! 't is ht My Lo:d, that suffers there. Thou art my salvation ' " I will trust in thee, and not be afraid V I dare, I can, I do believe ! Hullo-,', lujah ! My Lord, andjmy God ! ' Now, Lord, lettest thou, &c.' " When we have seen Christj, the sting of death is gone. Simeon pressed the Lordjs Christ to;his fteart, and theri he nev^r wished l^is eyes to gaze on aught more of ear^h ;" and'whfn the belieV ing penitent has Christ in his. heai|i>t|ieh&pi?^^ glory, then he is not afraid of death. T?wo or thr^e Ifact^ will bear out thisf jjtatement. Some tihie since, a piin/ster of the Gospel was called upon to visit a dying woman! He ascended a flight of stairs that led into a miserable-looking garret ; for, tHough cleati and neat, there was scai:cely an article of furniture to give an air of comfort to the chamber of death. In fthe cprijef of tfje room there was a bed — a bed of straw! On it lay a djfing female, pale, and worn to a skeleton ; she was^itjear ihe'terge, the trembling verge, of etcniity^ The minister drew nigh, and saidrto>herv*f,Well. my friend,Tiow do you feel ? — what arp s your prospects for the eternity which is just about to o{)en upon you?". i '':tv'' '■■■ '*•"* •^.i i if; r^-:~/v ..qjf:;- '?IV. W i ■ Is' ■ !!'• €f iQ V «i BBVIVAI^ MISCELLANIES. •'*% ■ ■ ' ' ' ' ■ ' '■■'■"'' She looked up in tiie riinlster's face, With a countenance bright with heavenly radiance, and beaming with a brightness she had | caught gazing on the visions of God, and mid, " O ! sir, . -, j ■ii- " ■ , - ■ ■-.'■■ '■'-*■ ■ ' -,■ ■■'.'•''' « »T is Jesus, the first and the la Jtj Whose Spirit shall guide me safe home ; I »n praise him for all that is past, Atid ^rust hittt for all that '8 to com©.?^^'" ^ * Christianity can make a bed of straw into a bed of down; can M^rt a gloomy sick chamber into thejgtibule of heaven -illmber where the soul unrobes andrpllps herself for her Pigbt. Thatisonecase— J will give you another. / =» There was a young woman who had been converted to God, ihat lived in a family where Ghristianity was neglected and despised, espsli^Uy in the shape of Methodism. Shortly after her conversion* she was laid on a bed of sickness, and felt greatly theiieedofpiouscounsel— of Chfistianconsolation. But her friends siongly forbade the leader of the class to which she belonged to see her. The good man, however, was not to be deterred by difficulties; he made his way to her house, and, when denied the privilege of an interview with the dying suf- ferer, he knelt down outside the house, under the window of the * expiring female, and lifted up his voice in prayer to God that he ^ would support her. ^s the tones of the well-known voice in fervent prayer stole through her casement, and (ell sweeter than music on her ear, the eflfect upon her was so cheering, that hei , friends resolved to allow the man of God to see her. As he stood by her bedside, she said to gm, « O ! sir, I see before me a dark valley^*^ dark as the blackest night. How, oh ! how shall I get through it?" ; , V i, i «®!" said her leader, "God will Jgni thousands of holy angels to light up for you the dark valley of death." Some weeks passed away ere the leader hi^d a« opportunity hf visjtirig the young woman again ; and when he did come^ s he little. » »» had takenAer flight to the world of spirits. He inquired ot ner friends what the state of her mind was at the Iiout of death. *0 !'«id they, -we sclurcely know; she appeared to rave a WT ice bright 8 she had of down; ' of heaven jelf forhet ed to God, lected and lortly after s, and felt ition. But which she ', ; not to be lOuse, and, dying suf- ndow of thr 5od*thathe/ vn voice in weeter than ig, that hei , j" er. As he se before me L ! how shall nds of holy opportunity id come, she ^ quired of her \xt of death. 3d to rave a :■._.. ■ ... ..-...:.,-■ . :■-■..' •■ ■ ■■ rJ----:^ ' 7 FBAB OF DEATH DESTROYED BY CHRIST. 60 littlel Just as she was dying^^jshe was crying out, ' L.t up— lit UD '" ' "Aft! "sail the good man, "God had lit up the valley of death." Yea, the holy aij^s whispered her'^feappy spirit away She saw a light other ^ did not sie; she heird voices voic€i from eternity — ^ ** . " Hark ! "they \^8pcr, angels say. Sister spirit, wme away ! " . . ■^ ■ ■- . . ' ■ -0" " _ ' "'^ ' And they bore her happy «pirit up to the regions ^f immor tality. The righteous hath hop^ft his death. This is anothet testimony to the fact that at eventide of 'the Christian It shall be light—: that a sight of Christ 'ca* banish the fear of death, .and enable the dying saint tp exclaim, with Simeon, "KpW ■"^Lord, &c." .'- ■ - -■'■ ■;;» ' - ■ ' I will yet add one more testimony to this truth. In a cer- tain town, not long.since, live^ a widow ijfttnah, surrounded by seven children, and the most of them small. Her life had been ' marked by i)reemwient 4evotecfness. Seld^ was her seat "vacant at the preaching, either week«ight or Sabbath; and as sure as her^:lass-meeting night came round, she was there. HeJ ° prayers, in the midst of the little band with wifoth she assembled,/ were marked by great fervor, and often peached the point that may be called wrestling with God. The last night she attended her class-meeting, just one week before she died, her prayer amounted almost to agony, as she pleaded for her class-mem- bers, and the prosperity of the cause of God. Every person present on that memorable occasion, wh0 heard that memorable prayer, felt that they were in a heavenly place, on the verge, in the vestibule, the very ante-chamber, of heaven. On tt^e Thurs- day evening previous^ to her death, she came to the chfipel to hear the yrd of God. The preacher had been fed ou^of his usual course, to preach on iat beautiful passage, "O, that men would phiise the Lord for his goodness, and his woiii^ful works t: th e children of men!" There s . ie sat before the !t1 y > r preB:her, and the great tears coursed their way down her. cheek, till sne was com^etely subdued, and the tears gushed from hef <« ■■•' t'., ^ihjfi:- RBynrAt MISCELLANIES. m- 1 1 I "I, 1 r ' eve. whiWsfie ^ntemplatei the goodness of d*d.'^'V^e»^«- Xrea h.n.e in«. iheVboaota of Ker littlejamny, the ehU f It: \eti she' 1 children mce, fttid , I do not |rpen, but at proved ter. She TOle tbs r nGlpry/ ieath was iier dying given 'h^r rbed in tb^ iveHesself. iven ? will is my last *- "'■.,'.; ■ inlet you e about to tw« years tbeir fcind )i Qpnan bad a . jd fo* eter^ me, and th^ , merable old iting mother, child to the in the dying j^ suburbs of gth for the lore for her • in heaven, rom them to »m for, those PEAR OF DEATH tESTROlTED BY C|fIRI^« n-' ♦ she was leaving behind, she sjud to her parents, "Will you take care of my child^ren— wy IMe children V* # . They wept as though their hearts would break; the scene was deeply affecting. Her work was now done ; the last tie was now Severed — htr charge given up; her tabernacle was f^Ui^g down, but her spirit was rising up in majesty. Her hus- bancf bad died about two years before *- died in-the Lord. Look- mg' intently into one corner^of the room, as though she saw some object theyp, she called her husband b^^his n^me, ind exclaimed, " There are SimeoW/ftn^ the angels come for me 7- 1 shall soon be with you ! '* AV in a short time she clapped her glad wings and tciwered tivray, to mingle with .the blaze of day. Sne had seen Christ, and could now say, with Shneon, "NoW, Lord, .ettest, &c." "JPhis is another testimony tp the fact that a sight of Christy will .destroy 'the fear df death Cpm«, desponding beliQ^-er, and sing with the sacred Iwird — ^ ' ■ * - . ' ]" ' «* \Vhen JjBorvey th^bpydrous crO)i$' , • pn which the PHnce of glory 4led,. ^. My greatest gain I count bjt Ipii, . \^ . And ppur coil tempt 0*1^ aumT pride. ^ \ >. • • Were "the whole realm of nature mifie, ' ' That were a present far too 'in^aU I , I^oVe so amazing, so d.iiYiDe, - ' Peinand^ my life, niy soul, my all.* i"-" t '« •w r \ V ' ^. .11 Fi"*»: v- o' • 'f 4 * ' VOiplaffiofis|^el'sho»t,andGuid4|fe^ ^Of ^1 w<«o seek tbc lan4 above, ^L I • ^CM»ihthyshadowIabid<^. . ^ K* . * The olpud iif th# protecting ^^Sdji ' ' My Strength thy g?ace, my rule thjT W^ -^ Ir; .. My end Uie glory .of thet.ord.- •. . m%^ [ : „ -■ ; * / .;. By thy unerring 8|>irit,led, ' v %| " * . 1 shall not in the desert stray : ^" V - ' i shall «ft Wti directidh need, v j|fr.^ Nor mSs^-rtirVovideAtisa way >iBBi far ftoni danger a» from fear, . le Ibve, Almighty love, M|||^^^, . ■ wtys. an*Krf«'H*'«'=* *y K*f ^l^a in the first . wis textthat I to«'y°'''«»''''?'''-5f°T3K:™ .. For •.hapte, of the^pi«le tp ^^^^'^^^K^:' sk^ :ii phased the fatKeinhatmhm,,-""^ V^^^l:'' •. • eU fiihua djuxH:' J ' . '/■: i; "jt i wie come to - I have sometimes sat-onanr '™'"™'==\™'=' *.™^ ""^ A^ England, and I, have vouched *« f^";?^^;^^ western hills ; and as the sun ms^gomg^ ■g^f'';^^ „^^^ hills of E n gland, I have « iid. I^vti a M | ^ h^ W f- „ i hills of Eugland. 1 '"■7/°"! ' ,; ' "V^" I^Jnce i. the eas T^ liring, and have" cned oa^ ^""^IjJfeoaoSytelJt iW I WwHBBE.»n4 I do .not know whg.?5P»Mmy «*"»,: ,| ^ ab th ^f an fir:i .f 1 . A- •/. . V m: ■ *■ ■ BUMB U 19 gland, fo» return to ■ • Tv • <^^ «*•■-. Loirdi in the first jrse. ''Fbr fi ■''.41°' V ' "' ■ ive come to kn over .the : thjBrv^estern to gowavvay.* IHB ?ULNB8S DWELUNO IN JESUS CHRIST* 73 \ the'eaith goes about the sun; I cannot tell Why, •istfcnomew would call me a blockhead, if I would not believe it. Well r suppose, it IS so; but, after all* #e 's a mystery about the revolutions of the planets that I ^not understand. All I have been able to say. in looking at it. is, that I know^not any pnn- cinle in astronomy or philosophy which J would be w.lhng to trust my soul upon, in the present day. But between ^th^ . , leaves of this Bible 1 do find something I can jest my soul upon... . (have seen the sun; and I have seen 4he moon, dppeanng m -<; . . iM._ _ -:^« «« <• 1a>1tr'«i finjTRr. or. Tibro . I irf :* 4 I nave sem mc oui», »»— - • : ^ ^ the western heavens like a ring on a lady's finger, or. mbre prpperly. like a Turkisft crescent; and I hav? watched her rising in full-orbed majesty in the east; and I have said. •' There 's motion somewhere. But when I se^ m^iid m motion, when I see the poor sinner on his knees crying for mercy, 1 arti ,no^ at a loss abwt^ motion there; Ij^"«^^^^^^ IT* thec^tre; it origiSes with Christ; Jar z$. pleased the Father . ^ „ that in httn should all fulness dwell. \. ,u\'a > And 1 have sat by the ocean shore, and have watchedthe tide . , . coming in.: and t have watched it coding ip, and U has beaten . i me back ^om rock tp. r^fend it has demanded ^^^nch:^ . ' me. and tJp^||&P#o*"ing ^^^^ ^7°^' " ^^ ^ * ^ . go backf^^nd if l\^?l|a tl^nd my ground, It w L^rAe to beat me bad tihavesai^TttEREV tremeni)OUS ien,ek,e^erycre»ice along the shoje; and W«** f^"**"^ < ' j : f SiMEtoo™ MOTION soMEW.«t. TKey *J^ .fe«,.AM^l« ^ *Bt«.to*Wl*. There I stopped i^thgpj ha^ '*«0d^ ««*,^ *% all tlHyM^^^^'^ about the tides o^;«|^a>l^»|^ ° iunderst^ndllil^nnot iinde ; . ?iae,-<>r*nl^'tWo miles, three exiles oi. tide, - on the feh(^e| of EnglandlmNat^s six inches.van*lso on: why. 1 answer, V ' .^bt t^ t 'sWyItery ALL^And there 's asgreat a inyste i •"''I '-m 5 in the east- I , about^the tide«i the ocean, as some of ^e infidels talk about ;,^nd.,se^n#. iHJiUS MOTIOH mijr'ieUi iB« ' , T ■¥.'■■ .. the ttii^teries m^hristianity. But when I w^ched the tide, .^? aiS«Ud,How^^.this? Il^ednoliirownroyiel^bke-^ ;„H, •■ ■"§:.■ ■■'«! ^ •V" w i%;, Ih >\-: i^'K^ REVIVAL MISCELU^tBS* Cftuse I cpuW not fell the mystety of the ti(!e8. God ker,p tbe poor infidel who will seud his soul to hell because he con- not understand the myatefies of creation ! I have stood in a population of hundreds of thousands ot spuls, and I have seen a mighty mass of man gcing down, iii . one dark, black current, to the cataract of hell; and.'-oioRy be to God! I have stood beside the banks of that river, and have seen the tide parted backward, and running batkwajrd, colntirary to the course of nature, by a pou^k!^nd have ^..therefoivj.'sakiiig: ind that is the first step, the kingly jrity of- Jesus Christ, — "In whom' we have redemption "^ feugh his blood, even the forgiveness of i Through hi^ sms." blood ! " Unitarian ! stop there ! "" Forgivejiess of sins through Ms blood /." Some persons talk about the atonement, and about merit well, well, well, well, well, we ar« not going -\ Mi 1^. 0(3 ke^p he coo- iands ot down, ill HORY BE ind have, comtirary out, My hdve Tiqt- tide, f do^ ofmindi St nJ^t, itn in .a eashd the ight, the nade it a :entre of «cted,by, ieir orbs, d sun of Ije/dteices ,, indliim.' fet every ?^tifully, ig tb^nks' takers of ivisred ua into the cingdom! ' le kingly demption THB FULNESS DWELLINO IN JESUS CHRIST^ 75 r^ I nmgh-, t of sins tenement, lot going g^. :....■. ,.;: toqtiarrcl abojut tncrit ; Uut is not thi1i merit?— "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." Do as you JiUe ; discard merit, i^ you like ; there is forgiveness through blood, make what* you will of it. . That i* one step; what '8 the next? "Who h the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature." You will find out what ho mad^, Christ, before you have done with it. " For by him were I • till things created that are in heaven, and that, are in eatth, visible and invisible." Whaif'is Christ the crmtor ofthe worldf Yes, he is. "All things, whether they be thrones, or dominions, of principtilities, ot. powers,— ail tiling?! were created b/liin^." *\Ah! l/ut," says one, "Ac fidd a delegated power. *^ O, ^o; ' «• ALL,,THIN(SS WERE CREATED BY HIM AND FOB HIM." They WOrO \'- made /or him. Hie made them, and they were his bwn. "And he is beVore all things, and by him all things consist. Ajid h^ is the head- of ^t^e body,;— the church : who is the beginning ; the ficst*" born firbnt'thie dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence: • *|JFor'«V pleased the Father thai in him all fulness dwclt.*^^X ^ There is a fulness in Christ in many ways, but I shall promise no more. than one at a time; then I can stop when I think ydu are tired, «r when it is proper to stop. Lift up your hearts in prarn^ There is {^ jSSs in Christ, -r my text sayi it, — of l%fet, of ; mercy, of powJPJ'of grace, of everything the soul of man needs; Alness of benevolence, of merit, of intercession : fot it is said. "he ever liveth to, make intercession for us;" and, •' there is one .mediater betv4bn God and man, — Christy. Jesus." Therefore, in Christ all foBiess dwells. ..; '^ IN / The first thing I want to IBudi upoA if||this: ^i unle«s a measure of that fulness — take which pQii |Lof,jtl is cornmuiiicated to the sinner, hPipe fulness yoM self sA a sinner. That if God I hajdy^at to be an unques wfK^Plet the sinn6 | a| |^ 0*^al^ pn , bless" God i seek after hinjj than the devil. . But ^^ercesSor ; there >i% Christ ; atnd as long aH 'i^l^re and in gjkffy'— the friend of the human. no mom * race ere is an Christ is be U tiot C.o ".•,«.. f '1 • '■•'^"*^, «>.\ ^^^W" <^w .\" RtVlTAL IllSCttlllftIS or /woman of yw alone; and while there *• ar .irlieaven, there'll be an agitation on earth, God ^l^ot let the sinner alone. God begins very young with sin- ' nera ; and yet I have seen a cHise, in the course of my travel^ ilat rather slggered me. I happened to be pursuing my travels on Koraebftcll^ I was riding along M road through largejnoun- lairti, when I saw a howe galloping after me, with a li|^boy ■"■. , ..\.v. ■■ ' ''^.^^ •1 don't know, 'sir,? 'teid h|. ' **i "WpU, now, look, at il»t%iountain,'Jpnder'(it'was called ,. ^e camel's i:M«»ByipP^i^t^J5|;«^*!( 5^yonder; who made ■ that?*'-'" :■• - m -'w . ■■ -m^:" %,- ■% ■ ;-..: He said, " Indaitf^ I don't know, sir." ; \. ^ ^^ ., ; " .^aid I, " My tad^j^iyVu ever go to my pk^e of ^^ublic wor-s , ;;#-•» Yes, sir." .v , ' ■•'"'^ '-■■■•-■■ ,a^ml' ^^•" ' ' -'k/ ^'' ^ I • W. «rWlwre they^Tead,*^»a vijire , " ^'^'^ '^ letimeis s^king' and talk- -('^Vv i: ^ "Whiere they-Tead»*a»d wj ;vt.^'Ve^..sir,'v ., :., : : .^Aii*^dSn'>,yoii^h«ar a gl t.. \Well, anA.who is he talking to, with his eyes shut I " ■ ^ ;^ • /^"Indeed, I don'tUcnoW.!!'^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ? . ^ ",My dear," said 1/ "he was talking to the Almighty, fhe^^ j^' . ' maker of heaven and earth,^ that Ggd that piled up the moun-; - * tain : that is the God he was talking to, my lad." The littlo 'fellovu»fe'8 miiid, at ten years ofage, the idea of4he existenee of God ," htfd never entered. , i'%old this to be iin extraordinary case. 'Bless God for SSbbath-schooIs! Thfre are some lads know - more al>out st^ripture*t ten years of age than some gray-headed - ^sinners at sixty. But on*, great principle will hold out univer- ' sally.— -that no man can evarget into hell-fire withr his eyes shut jre *• or. h. God with sin» ly travel* yi moun* vas able. • ho inad»',, ns caficd irho made iblic wor-s , JW'-- -•■'■■ and talk- ^ ?>' -* -- Ligbty, the the inoun- The little sire you?" was deadi little crea nee of God inary case. 1ads~fenDW" ray-headed out univer-. 5 eyes shut .■■■'■»'■■■•■ ':•'■■ TBB FULNESS DWELLIMO IN JISUS CHRIST. It Thf Lord will make him feci and undemtand before he guet to the bar of God; for it pleas^the Father that all fulness of • light, and conviction, and awakening powers, should dwell in C5hrist. > That is the fiiat thing : the second thing our text suggests is. (hat, as all fulness dwells in Christ, no sinner can ever come ^Jc the true point of salvation, unless it be through Christ, who for him in^ho heavens. The true point of faith, whereby, justificithe sinner, is the last thing the sinner will come to he 's «onverted. As far as I have seen or read about it, it jpAe last thing the sinner will do to come to Christ for mercy th^M||^h simple faith in the blood of the Lamb. Nothing is more col|pon than that a sinner, when awakened, will leave off Sabbath-breaking, come to the house of God, and try every method „ to get salvation, except the true metfiod. And, after ev^ry method is. tried, "Should iiidden rengeance sejze my breath, I must pronounce thee just in death { And if my soul is sent to hell, Thy righteous law approves it w^lk" *m»fy And he will do everything before he comes, as a wretched, guilty, hell-deserving sinner, Xo rest upon the merits of Christ's blood. After he has done all that, we have seen such sinner$ coming, with their faces pale, and the flesh worn from their hones; and many a trembling; lip have I se'eri;" , Well, they ha?e come and Saidv 'i* Sir, it '§ no use; if ever a -man has sought God for mercy sincefefy, I have; it'A no use; I have tried every way<^o find .piercy, and God has' some exceptions against me." I have assured such persons, over and over againV >t 's no use , 'I see there 's a legality in youy. nature, and it will be the very best thing you will do to get rid of it. You want to bring sonve- thing with you. -Au^ th^ere's nothing more common than fbr a man tc come, anfeTwHfdonin^ God. IHiis is salvation by faith. It is the verflasyhing a sinner wiir do ; and this^is the main reason wh^ manfRsersons are deceived regarding their — ; : -^^-^ -*■ * ^ ■ B • ^ — : ' ^ ■ — - conversion. .. '- Keep lifting up your hearts to QoA. Take care, friend, you are not deceived there. You have offered all up; but I fear you will never go as a guilty, condemned sinner, trusting in J- ^(te. Christ f" faith il laking a putting len putt burgain ays one|, I, to God : there 'a it to be ie*«ever m, and it- tt : — ^^ it 'a ighteous- and thf; ' this self'- ing Godj he says, pdy, soul, upon mei I blood of ' hristsays, BJfeiold the Almighty pleading, host says es up, and ilvation by this^s the ding their t,-. TBI fmj«tt BWItflW m «•«• CfMllt. Christ at your only plea ; and I believe that, were it not fcl^^ the intorcwsion of Christ, I should have stopped short, and yott, ■ would have stopped short, and every other man. I was in the town some tirfl) ago, and there was a great report went about of our doings; and there was a very wicked fjirmer denied the existence of a hel : he was the next door to aft atlieist; and hit Iconduct Was just according to his principles: ho was many a time drunk he was a respectable farmer, though, a man of giboi - property, aid had a family. Well, he canie to see the goingt on in the chapel; ho got a sitting down in the middle of the. chapel, and in the sermon God struck him ; but hq would not t6me forward to be prayed for. After the service; I w«ftt with a ministeir home, and we were up in his libcaij, and W^lbwrd an uproar out of doors,— such an uproar! — arid then we heard steps coming up, indicating a heavy. heart, or an aged man ;— i it was the farmer. He came in, and looked like desolaticfn Said he; •' Sirs, . I am undone." " No,*r said I, " you are nol . undone; there 's mercy for yott:** . " • ' '" '*' " O, what a sinner I am ! " he said, and down he came upon a ' heap in the floor, and cried % J|i|Ef'- - ^® ^®P* Pleading with God for a long whfle, till aMSIpJOUt twelve o'clock, I said, "I am fairly worn out,".andt!ie*!n^ister said, " I cannot stand it any longer." We spoke to the^man, and told him so ; and he got up, and got his hatw There was another member of his fam-^ ily with him, and he took him by the hand ; and if he had been, goin^to.the gallows', he could not have looked more desolate. »Farewell,"iBsaid, "farewell!"— as if he thought he would be in hell before the next morning. ,, Really, I could nof stand <,' We went down to prayer again; but it was of no use, and he went away. At last' I saw him in chapel, a few nights after There was such a smile,— a heaven, upon the man's counte nance ! 1 went up to him) and said I, ♦' How are you ? ". > *^ Ah, sit,- 1 am happy'- But sir; Mr. Caughey," said he ^'-1\ .the devU nea r ly cheated m e , .after all ■riend you 1 " How, sir ? " . / hut I fear .1 "^ will tell you," he wplied. " Wh6n 1 went home; I cned Lrubting in f ^o' mercy, and went to bed, and got up in . the morning. ^I felt '•i :'^i^r^-' il it ' ''I A 80 >* BEVIVAL IIIISCEI.LANIE8. ■' ''f. L' ■ We just vifte, an that bea beareth- Now, y< y»u, .,1 .ftuifiri-^ "ye abidi iibideth. for Vi'nh comfortable in the morning; something was telling ni^,* ' You are converted.' Then some'lhing said, « No, you are not con verted alr^dy ;' and I did not know which to believe. But one of my neighbors came irf, and I aslced him what he thought of - my Etate. He sat down to read" the Bible to me. Y®^^*^^ ^^^ him read. I waited till he closed reading, andJ||a I went into my barn, apd made up my mind I «would haWmi^ voice set tied. One voice said, • You have done ;' littd [Something said, * You have not done.' I pleaded for salvation, and, in* pleading )mih God, hfrset my soul at liberty, and I>ade my barn ring ^^^ ^^^^ again. , Bless God, l ^oL saved ! but the devil nearly cheaited j ^ j^^ jg ^ ' me." l"ate care, friends, or the devi^ will get you into he^l-^ftre " ' .^^i^ ^ , yet. Examine the workings of your. ^ul. For Chri$t pleads 1 -™' " for you For it pleased the Father that' iji him shottid aUfvltiesi dwell. ^ ' X • .. , The next thing our text suggests is, that unless believer^ get ' fully united to Christ, as the branch becomes united" tq |^e vine they must wither, and droop, and die. -There can be no life without ^Cjirist, — no vigorous profession without him. If 'you are growing upon the old stock Adam, and are ,not ^engrafted. k»to Jesus Christ our Lord, your JfrofessioBj though made iil the '^ iame of Jesus Christ, is not the profession of .th& Gospel. It pleased the Father that in him should all ful<|j»si-djell,-- that, 'unless believers are united to Christ, they cannot be^true Chris- tja^ and if they get put of Christ, they wither,' they droop, the^ie. "Now, I do not -know how you ^ttle.that matter in this country. Says one, «^Vhat matter?" ^-TJj^ matter of the possibility of falling from /Christ, and ge^tin^^l^o ,heU, I Ao not intend Ig say much about it now; l.^JJDarUes ta;theii own controversial work. But I will^ tett|jf5Piow we dp in 'North America; ind I believe there is v^Tj^f^le. prejudice, in ; Nottingham against the other side of ttie. A^tic. But^then Jesus Gtfist is a Savipujr ;'Vho died fbf the sins tif \U whol* ^ world ; l&f there i^ a spirit of' liberality about religions principles wherever they have been riceived. We do it in this way. la ;it possible to b^ in Christ, and io get out of biro, and perish in hol|? Sope say No, some sny^Yesj— we settle it in this.wiy. ever .i; TBB FULNESS DWELUNO IN JESUS CHRIST. -fs: 81 ; itt^,^ ' You re not coa 3. But one thought of Well, I let I went into g voice set 3thing said, inf pleadings y barn ring .rly cheated into he^l^ftre /hri$t pleads ^dallfid7iesi_ ' believers get tq iie vine 1 be no life im. If 'you ot "engrafted made irl the ' Gospel. It well, — that, 5 true Chris- they droop, It matter in natter of the .hell; Mo 'Ueg ta;theii w we dp in prejudice, in L. But^tfeen «f th6 whoi* )tts principles his way. Is Mid perifih in inthts.wfty. We just turn to the following chapter, and read,— " I am the^rua ♦ifle, and my father Is the husbandman. Every branch in me that'beareth/not fruit, he taketh away; and every branch that bearetlv fruit, he pu-geth it, that it may bring forth, more fruit. Now, ye are clean ,hrougK the word which I hkve spoken unto ^ y»u. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear ..ftuir in itself, except 4t ^bide in'the vine^j no more can ye, except "ye abide in me t I'am the vine, ye are the branches. He that ' abideth:in me and I in him, the sj^me bringeth forth much fruit; " for without me ye can do nothing. If' a man abide not in, me, ^ he is cast forth as a Branch.^and is ^ithered; and^njen ^gather ,. th«n, anf:?casUhem in'io the fire, arid they are burned." ISqw^ is^ere a gartfl^er here? If I am not mistaken, \here is ot^e. I -«|k that gardener to decide and up'with you, and by and by you will see that»ivy at the top. Pluck- off one of the branches of the ivy,, and , then one of the oak ; — and go to any.of our American farmers, and^ say, V Well, what 's that ? '' -^'Oak." "I don't care wher^ll* grew, oak's oak all the world over." "And what's thatCJ^ " Ivy." "Well, but they both grew on the same tree ! I dA"* Ciwe that I (with my owij hands) climbed up the tree arid plVcke^ them both from the tpp branches." " WolVl don't care wha^ you say J it is not an oak, you cannoCmake it an oak^; you may go where you like with it." Now, I tell jou that there /s a fair example between a formalist arid a true Christian. ':There' are some persons that grow on their old roots ; arid seem to twine • iawut Christ, and twin.e about 'W"ii but, likef that ivy, if you untwist it,-^ if ypu can, but it 's a difficult thing,— untwist, un- Iwist, untwist, and get to the bottom, — you see, it gj^s on itaold toots it 's mejrdy botrie up. So there are profesMs of religion ' : Who grqw on their, old roots, but they will twist about God,: and twist about^khdtvvist about him, -May God waken you !— It is >vith many- persons ju^t as it %as in the days of old; like the i^ven Wbmen that to^^ htdd >F ori^ mttiVj anil said, " Let us dri^ our 6) there. By tie oak",at)d ,unus^ally I would say\ notof oafc- It the ,ifrunk call them? then,, begin see that»ivy y^,, and, then arm6rs, and re wher^'H'f L,t's thati:'^*; tree ! I d arid pliick^ t care what k; you may it there's a ian. ^^here' >em to twin^ t ivy, if you untwist.un- ivs oh itaold •s of religiori ut God .'and you!— -Itia Id; like the lid, "Let us be called by urt/a tender f i^ell, you li^plei them." lutiog ^em (v*.- YBB fXfCmm jiwsLi^iNQ nr jk^vs christ. S3 ■ Mo into the woods and tiil^e holi of a tree, and give.it a good shake; — by the by, take 'm- iriotiori among thfe private-banking companies and I do not know but that some of yptiVv^ lost by their breakir%; and some of you have taken very griod care since'What sort ©f a twink yqu have put your money in. Now, God' lodged the- whole bank stojck of rnan's salvation in onfe man'? hands; and t)»at „ Wa^s Adam. You all know that AdaM became a banl^rupt ; and it never pleased the Father any more to trust it in any inian'a hand again. And if he had, backslider ! you would have" been Ui^done. Vou hav^ yet yoW portion; and^MegttGod, thera'a 'I (? *> *r. m I" R ° -I :.>f>....,^' ■ '^■'-.- '■ ■'^"^■- REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. •.'■•; . '-■ ^ ■'■)];■ ^. ^ '*iiigi.. '-He has put *e BWek .f salvatfop fa the tank th„, V i^frSHn belie»e« present now have a ,hat6 ; and ye -.Sd»w from the ha«k, and ye »re drawihg nov, ; and ye ar^ „ ..roaya™ ^ ™henvei»nie into the chapel. And now — . ■ Ifuhe security I can, and I want you to g.ve n.e a cUcck foi .. ' ^;*^ ^'wel"you say, "I don't km,*; let me see. Have • J Jl. el/eV"' •' Yes sir; I come to you as my Hhtne-CwS ^yousay; and you write acheck on ■ ^ lL<£-V , £20 Hripes to the bank," and walks right m, a, the b.«r for ^0 He g6es to t ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^ ^^ S'^Jt tie -hieUL n'dt look M the m^n's coat ; h^Jo^. ,, «. 'the check. ■^i-^'^^t::'Z';T^yt^i likes; he has got his £20 Bless "J"" \-,te. a„d whati. ■ Boorest sinner in this chapel a check, if you imo , a theformofit. "Ask;andyesha«r^.e k»^^^^^ ^,rr Fru^;:ased':;:'F::.;r th; m chris. ai. fu.^ ''it/j; hour i. now nearly expired ; but there is- 1 sje.k ) Jh^grlt, solemnity.and preac. « ^'af EV^t ' ■ . i. in Qhrist «hat is not .communicable to all, .*»"^ J^^ i „„ -rmliicaMe fulness in ^^^^^st . .nd ^^ b^^^ -^ ■ Godhead i for the apostle-Sb PabV^ys, »" bima e. ^ ■ .. ■ Ues, df • ,h. Godhead bodily." S.y. ^^ " ^''^^^ ' f^ , :: ;, , cannotteU y»u^ istooj^^^m^^^^^^ ,, riu';" Vl 1« «o dust...* m, sbu. «.o *, S And ^toVam \:^\i in jndgroen. upon the conxj^M rien ^a feature of , 4- t«'>«>" ! >» . Co d i t .p ea k w ;tl > *iwe- ■ »l (."^ iff «', • - iS -'!• I .>.i'- ^ ^ i 1 ir^ 1 > L| I ■ « 1 > ** *' btink that "are in that ■6; and ye and ye are^ And now sy have upt tf^_got soi'iiie these ure ill Wive you a ^ck for see. Have (ydu as irty a .cheek on 5 right in, as oat, or a bsid I that he liai at ; he la^s t— unless he nay give the ; and what is k,iiii:d it shall d, he shall be iail ail fuinessi ^^■' ?'''■ '1 5 is— I speak j k awe*— there fiefe ia^a*:,p ^dvl^fe alltfcf iVHat'«t|at^ ^'itr'fef.'t^t^ 'ibtkX \nto ete^ the e0ti:i|selsi6[^ Buwe to' feth6| Ki m^ ' DWELLING m JB8US. CHRIST; 85 usincas is to believe the book. '♦But," wys one, the divinity of Jesus Christ is unreasonable." I a««wer, tl^at i| i^ more unreasonable to teject than to believe it. " Bat hpw^an you prove it?" I take it as the most reasonable thinj: ,to be. lieife the- revelations of my God. „ Nay, sir, I showld ddubt the revelation, if I could fathom it. But I confess to thas congrega- Vtion that there 's a mystery about ttie (wo natures. I cpnfess it, even in the hearing of the Unitalrian, that it is beyond my power of reason fully to comprehend r ttiough I do confess with my whole souirl believe thdt Jesus Christ was Goi as well as man. ^ I confess to this congregation, I cannot comprehend it with my reason, when! read, " Unto OS a ^hild is born ; unto us a sonit— given • and the government shall be upon Jjis shoulder, and his • name shall be calkd Wonderful, GounsellorKthe Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Now^ how a little child can be the Mighty Go I cannttt^ faithj^^ thiip^ I (ro«t- ' fess it, though 1 believe it r^'^Gifeatlsrtl^ n^|gtery; Ctflf odli- Jiiess<.God nMinifeatinthe^flesh, se^^^ ;V , j^ ? . !A;nd a^in, it is teidv'** And' wheiV h|^,^rb9^t 15^ |rat^b^gotr ' \,:.;ien>to tlite" w^d^ .;saM, jtet|lls^|p|j&li:4:#^:^^ . Jmn. 0»it unt^ th^ Son ii |^^y: m^ii JIEWWL M!SCEIXAWE8. 6 W\ i;t '•■., fet jfe^^chri^ #*»yv,''G<. ye tat i«^# *f;^ ■^. *?■ i #11. >ii .w«nViit into all the v^W.*"". .eTVice 9f^"f ^"^ J^^i-^ i^^ as ffefVor* infinity as. one. *nS>oHty^ J?s»fet ;.*ni I .m»* worship the^Fa^he^; , T ■ a R«/» «.avff one, " vou cannot undetstand it i^e it • u^d^«S^jHtis that .h, .po-de *ouia «;y.rThe g™« undersanaJivy „. ^ ,^. i„,;flt God our Fither, and the gl«rjr. I do not ^°°" J^y," . , ,ho^hdle calendar of pnm- -^ol. ^-^"t^tft^U'fe^ Antf «hy three. Why , .-Jtive^sasnts. ^o. b«Uhe^ » ^^ g .jl,^ Son see- ■•. ^/"jrHXa^^nlt-whenpronanneing a ble.H* .' ■;ond,and the Holy i^nost neK, ,. ,J,tWi„ of the apostle? - I SW- 1 «'"»^°'"^^7;„^. demanding like hotwge : L;^ .0 you apd^ate ajlolop, »"^ ''f ^^[^^^ ^^ ^ • Chrift united, wilb to manhood, and why_6e^^»^^^^^^ ' Wi.gre^ier*an;rand;ten_agam^^^ a t ) Ci , onp « il ■■- 'h ■ iWi«i» i h|t«., -^^^ *<'*'^'"''''''^' r "• 'hi n ihii^i^^MMtMiMM^Biiiiiii m^ ^- ■■*^*:- «•;?' f'-;.^'. it is to- pofld, and itfe thein, <• "baptize n4 in the \ id in t)ie n to the, hrist is a y as- one, rs? Icon- , , wits con-" Ghost, by le Father/ ptwerand t." Be it M cannot The grace »r, and the W% these l^vver and tace oC St Jar of prim- reeJ Why tJ^eSonsec* ; a blessiiifs ihe apostle? at they a|t ike hortiage antl while I it iaraUonal h<1 h VJ I »> .1' ilfln, m^: Vender's a mountain ; and on that mountain? there *s a kneeling in prayer. And it is the midnight hour." And lie's praying, and lifting up his hapds to heaven, and in the mid- pight hpur communing with the powers above. Who's that? It's Jtsus Christ. He 's kneeling in prayer. |^ow, yonder b« goes — watch him! There! he 's close to th««rater,an| he looks lilce a man. See yonder— ^ in dive q?idstof the Idke -^there's a . little vessel; and the rowel^re toiling away and they canlit make, an iiieh,^ and aie pulling hSird for life — poor fell«*^! ^ Who in the wotld.ate they"? •- They're his own disciples^^ And - -what can J^g do ? Who ean-lhetp" them ? The MiGftTV G^d can iiELf' THEitft-"*Ri€!ir, Master 's; gn . the shore, and he looks, through ,the'"ft4^t,.and: s^ee^lhem in their terror. Mark! tjie Q .fir* i^«»lU in, he put his feot^ it, and it bears -' \^: *ad he steps ;r%ht out frfem oneisristed>ave to another, \m solemn 'majes%,ip'|iee'^me8 ii^ a pa^lH line with the ' "iabQting vessel: ' ^ttith"^>eaMen,se^«ne like the Son of .Man wlllkjog onn eijd. ^^lU" said Jesus, iii am dad I was fiot tbere^ for your sakes :*l%vfiver, let us go M waSe him out of his ^leep."' And alofig they go. There 'Hiiv'^o' That's Christ in his humanity. And yonder s a lUtle house, the home of Jesus. And a couple of disconsolate sister^ are weeping as if ^eir hearts would ^reak ; and the very -Jews a^e weeping - they 're all: weeping. There a messenger goes in, and says, "Mary, the Master's come ;'' and Mary sit, ^1 my "did rtie not go with the rest ? But Martha was up, ' ^ always a stirring. And away she Went, Md met them ; and as soon as^she got to Christ, she fell down.'^fid in a storm of ' . emotion, ?he cried^nt. » Lord, rf thou hadst beenhere, my brother had not died I " She tells Mary, "Mary ! the Master's coming, , und^lleth for thee." vMary.got up.and the Jews said, " Se^ see, see, slie's going'!" Yonder Je as soon'as Mary came up, her heart ■fell down and poured her tears at his thou hadst heen here, my brother ha^n "Where liaye- ye kid- him.?'* and thef^si |ind the 1)ig tears, began to "trickle down :jews" said, " Beho|d, how . he lo^d him ! " own his ftianhood. He had feelings, ^n^ could feel the stomi oferooiiOh: "Where have'ye kid himl*^ "Come and see. _„ And as he wy g6ing,;Martha said to him. '? Lord, by this time he is wt fit to be seen." > Martha," sai4 he. "your brother tfiall rise again.^ « yes ! 1 know he 'tl rise again at the re.ui- ^ -^ ids in the place, and with grief, and she nd said, " Lord, if g^ed!" Says h«,; me and see ;" eeks, and the In these tears I I-, •- ■A- I QQ : REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. .^ wction » Stf'.l he. •'^I am the resurrection and the life : he that bclieve'th in me. though he were dead, yet shall he live • and whoso liveth and believ.th shall never d-'' ,f ^'^^^Vf^^ this ? . And they went on together. They go. till by and by they coma to the torubj'and they stood rv.^ar the tomb, and the Jews gathered abou^^aid he, - Roll away the stone ;" and the stone •was rolled gHWnd there lay Lazarus in his windmg sheet. Dale and^JHBeath, for the soul had been out of the body ' ioiix )kys^^»ere he stood. Now it is Jesus looks like a mfir His facelvas like a man ; he lifts up his eyes to heaven, and'looks like a man;. and the dead stirs not. But when you hear the voice, it is the voice of eternity -•' Lazarus, come FORTH ! '» and the dead began to stir ; and the man spnngs on h.s feet, and Jesus says. " Loose him. and let him go ! » I own his Godhead there, I worship him as my God. that canjaise the dead ; - the resurrection and^e life, in whom he that believeth. though he were dead, yet shall he live. - ^ Ay. there's another scene. 1 see a lake spread out before me ; in the Aiidnight hour there is a little vessel labormg in a tremendous sea. There 's universal consternation on board that little ship. The sails are torn from t»^«, "^'^^*«' ^"^ J^%f ' mendous waves rush in. Come, come.- take care ! Who s that lying there? Light in the forecastle.there ! It 's Jesus Christ, asleep, in tke midst of the peril. -and this is his humanity Hear ihe cry, » Lord, save us. or we'perish ! ' He's on his feet behold him nowk He stands upon the deck His hair streams ia the midnight ^Lds, and the waves are in fury, and his seam- le.s coat is spirted with the spmy : all is universal consterna- tion, and the vessel 's about to go to the bottom. "Hear.^ ^ir:ds and waves! Peace, peace ! te m! ^\ Tkeret^ ^^^ are ; will they hear that whisper ? " Peace, peace ! besttUl the waves crouch down l?efore his face,.^nd by and by there fe not a breath ; and a mighty power levels every wave, and the last breaks upon th^ shoje. and^here 's^ajimv^l^ca^^ And seamen i$r iirind and waves obey h(m ! " my soul bows down h\n atid confesses that ihefa God ai:W^l^s^^n^^ and adotes Halle- LT^JAH ! t Glory be O. pw ftod blet and see light. — would ti of the 1 would b Lord, a royal d the Fat I Well our tru heaven praisin every Lt3rd»- upon worshi adore supers ^ -^ Mood sfficai Cbria t »,.; tian. God- in sei^ our t ihem heali divin love that :-.-i_ THE FULNESS DWELLING LN JESl/g 91 : he that ive' and est thou d by they the Jews the stone ng sheet, the body ks like a heaven, vhen you RUS, COME tigs on his 1 own his I raise the believeth, out before loting in a board that id the tre- Who's that isus Christ, humanity, jn his feet ! • lair streams d his seam- consterna- " Heart ye i the wavA; ! be still!^ nd by there ave, and the calm. And hat the very and adotes Ein. Halls- fjMr., ■/.■/^r u?jah! he IB God! This Ood is mir God, for evi.T and t^itl Glorv be to God ! ' ";' O praise him! praise him! I- would say t6 yO». may my Ood bless you ! If 1 had tinie J would tftke yoi. -to the gytdpn a,^ see him there ; and I would shdw ycm him asc^djn^.up »m Lt, - up into heaven, and taking his throne as Med.aU, ; M 7m take UP that universal voine in l^pti-.-^:;^ ^^ 7the Father, and of thaSon. and.or the„Ho^ dhost^'^and would bind them all toge^|.er.,and lay thorn "^^ ^f ^^^ ?J * . Lord, a«l call upon yo« and ^.n all ^^^^^U^^^ royal diaiem, and «own my Jesus Lord of all. ^:^,|^«4ie*^ the Father that in him should all f^nm j^ell .f ,\ ^^ Well, then ; let Unitarians call us nijidmen ; ]et them ridicu • our trusting irt his blood, and adoring him as Ooi ;>t Whde heaven is praising-WKing, and all the armies of the .ky.are p praising him, attd while it is said that at the .nanuj o^ Jesus „ every knee >han bow, and %very tongue confess that be is ; Lml-withthe ,^t of li^aven-^ith all the„good t^mtestante^ upon th^eatth- let the Unitarians ^^y as^ they will^e w| vmship7e8us Christ as-idui^God, as our Savipur. W^ vvrfl adoreilim. for upon the foundation of his Godhead t^v^hole sljbetstructure ef redemptioa is jaised, ,# he^s notGod, hwh #ad is«ood for nothin^i itis t^e Godhead of Chnst that g.ves sffica^y to his blood. Tftke away the Godhead from Jesus Christ and mrfk^ him a m^re man, and 1 couldn't/trust m h.s. biWid, And therefore- 1 could iwjt .be. a New Testament Chr... tian. He was.man that he might have blood to shed ; he was God"that„Mood might obtain . the forgiveness of sms. Jom me in saying, with th« great prophet Isaiah, "He was wounded foi our transgressicws, he was bruised for our iniquities ; the ch^S tlsementof oUV F^ce was upc|^ him, and by his stripes we arc healed!" Itf the name of the living God, hold closely by the divinity of Jesus Chr.st oW Lord. And may God help us to love him. .^rye him, and adore him ;/dr i/ ^toed «A«Fa^Ae^ that in hin shouM all fulness dwell. ' ^ May God blasi you, throujgh Christ Jesgs! Amen» '.i-t m J 1 " ' ^^^H IIIHIIII ^^ •i „. ■ • 1 • ■ .,.ff . ' ^ " i . * /, } ' : ' ■> 1 1 V * • ■ ^ '■*' ■ t*^ , „■"'"' '• ■ '■%■ * * • ■' * m » * t A '. ■V. V* -, f, # .»-;« « ^ lb « ; ■ , ,- ■ #• . -- • » ■ • '■'•,; -. '.",.;■■-.-■ ri'^M.-?-/:. ; ,- f. ' I ■ • ■ ^.sr, ^ / t- -#<^ #^ 9^' ■W'-^- ■'■■ ^^,;-r- •« / IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGtT (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 2.0 lis-' •a I \\25- IHI 1.4 IU4 , N ' >■/;-_,: ."ii? ^-4to Sciences CorporaliGn -^- — ^ ' — - 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 1458(f . (716)872-4503 A , •^ ^;^> <^v ^ w c^ o^ V7,-_,-_ ■■->i .K.-I.. 3P y ■,- "> .5/^♦•i. ->a> i ■^. . *, !t ' ''■:.' ■»'. '# SERMON VI. : ■ Tire FEAR OF INCONVERTED MEN IN THE HOUR OP DEATH. For^AiJiih. then. a. th, children are partakers of ««fV"f """"''.^"X'L'rtll llk.wlielook part of the same ; that through death he might destroy h.m that had the n^e/of dealh, that Is, the devil.-HBBRBW8 2: 14. Many persons in this congregation will remember that I ^reached from this text last Sunday ; but the subject is of such l-emendoiis irhportance, — so closely connected with the weal or woe of }0ur souls: the sin of neglecting a preparation for death involves consequences of so fearful a nature, and leaves the soul to encouhter terrors so appalling: the sin is so preva- lent: the number of persons committing this soul-murdenng crime so fearfully great, - that I am perfectly justified in again lifting up the ^oice of warning, and calUng upon you to prepare to meet your God. ' ^ u- i. Look! loolcl at the end of the rugged passage along which y^u are walking, there is a dark river,— dark as midnight, black as the blackest night. See ! as the lurid lightning plays over^, how rugged its entrance! how frowning and terrible its preci- pices! see how. the waves swell, and the billows dash! Hark! hark! how wild the screams of this shivering wretches, as they step into the bitter flood! O! how needful a friend at that hour.— oie that can carry poor shivering humanity through the swellif g Jordan ! Our text points you to that friend. -, The first proposition is, that unconverted men and j WOME? ARE AFRAID TO DIE. That ydtfinust die at some time or another, in some place or another, in some state or another, is a settled fact, — is an • unalterable A c cre c o^ Heaven . When youthink abouibeing torn away i amussi the dae ness, t fearful graspir cations qucncl on the that, J • as, lil dark ' God V their 1 when haulei in the the 8 decisi intol ands — af youi W "Wl desii thes( peop Still that 'that life sacr ^^■h mall hun in fa A I TUB JEAE OF tJNOONVERTEl) MEN AT DEATH. 93 OF DEATH. , he also himself Him that had the mber that I >ct is of such ith the weal •eparation for e, and leaves I is so preva- ml-murdering ified in again rou to prepare e along which idnight, black plays over^, rible its preci- dash! Hark! itches, as they friend at that lanity through t friend. -^ . lED MEN AND j ■■■■ • ■ : ■ ' , in some place i fact, — -is an ibottibeing torn i^y from friends, from home, from your possessions, your amu"n-ents,— of being housed up in the coffin, and laid low in the d»ep grave,— you shudder. When you think about the pale ness,"'the pain, the fight for breath, the mortal cpniiict, -^ your fearful enemy rushing upon you at that hour of weakness, crra«*pin» bide the audit," — when you think of the Consequences of th^ decision, — that you will lose or gain heaven — escape or ru^ . into hell, — ah ! it is that future, that unseen world, t^ose grejlv ^ and aNvfil realities; that lie hid there, ^ you are afraid of God — afraid of the future ! You fe§l the truth of the proposition , you are a wicked man, and you are afraid to die ! When 1 was in Yorkshire, I heard a person ask this question. «« Which impels to seek salvation most, the fear of death, or a desire to be happy?" I think that is hardly a fair question; these two should not be separated. There are multitudes of people who have no idea that religion can make them happy. Still they think it a good thing to die with. Have you not had that idea yourselves, friends ? — that religion is a good thing, 'that I may die happy ; but not^a very good thing to get through life with. No wonder; that is what Satan suggests. The sacred writers say, there is a time to be born, and a time to die. What, then, is^^ere no time between ? Yes, there is ; bjit he makes no account of it, there is such an uncertainty aboiit human life. If a^man does riot think- ofv^ying, he is a brute in human shape ; he must have sera his judgrlurU away. \ * 1.1 \ V 5CS, and lose g^ BpVIVAtx itflSCELLANIES. I have heard missionaries, W tli^ missionary platform, exall the Bible, and say that it is a kessirtg. I say. men make it * curse. Don't misunderstand me.\ It is^ne of the greatest bless- in going \o lose loulc in^d out Ignorance atid pel is a double then, when he ristian sees he s. Whennear out him, " One s, brother sleep rhen a wicked one brother is delivering me ■- poison, and to ds only ^now." lel. You know crucified by the forgive them; ilcTh^ offer this ferenceN;^ your I to die. dressed his so ; and companion ng, naked, cold and trembling?" One of your owrTEnglish poets has taken up the subject very expressively— ^ ••Poor little fluttering thing, Must we no longer dwell ♦.ogctherl " ■..-■.♦ * ♦ ■ .♦ * *■ * Then concludes: " Thou hopest and fearest, thou knowest not ^-hat." A dying sinner in Christendom hopes and .ears, ha hnows what ! ; . The poet ia our land of Bible light svngs : •'And am I be rn to ^e, To lay this body down 7 And must my trembling spirit fly ' Into a world unknownl J' Sc far be appears on a level with Adfrian; but hear him «« Will *ngel bands convey Thei^rother to the bar ? Or devils drag my soul away, To meet its sentence there 1 Who can resolve the doubt That tears my anxious breast? Shall I be with the d^imned cast put, ir numbered with the blest? i. lUst from God be driven, Or^th my Saviour dwell ; , MustN^ie, at his command,, to heaven, Or else WRart to hell 1 'f \^ /■■■ ■ ■■ ■ ■■■ ■ • ■ The emperor Adrian did ndlthink of these things ; he had n't the light of the Gospel. Poor )r^mbling sinner ! don't let the devil make a fool of you. You *akv as well try to pull down the moon, or pluck away the stars, or H^ out the sun, as try to blot out^e light of the Bible. /You canhptUot it out, thou^ it condemns you. You do notiwrestle with tl^ in secret ; the Bible condemns you. You d6 not love Godj^e Bible con- demns you. You do not pray in your families ; thV^ible- con- ^ lemns yT)u. You are a whiiremonger, an adulterer, you have TO^gttse. The poor heaven, on w hose mind the lights ba a II ^. &•• ^M A^^' m m :ii 't\\ ' : III', ml;!;- I ! ! 'I H ■ iiliill!!!''!' li!:', BBVIVAt MISCELLANIES. 96 never shone, may find -me excuse ; but you have nana. There is light in the Gospel. Bless^od ! it would llgbt you t5^ardo»,-- It would light you to iiberty;*- It would light you to heaten. -;^ But that light, rejected, abused, and trifled wi!h. will become a " l^ht your feet down to the shades of a dark. dark. '' M -e of yoube indebt^^^u are at liberty^ b,t you are U^ to be arrested. There is a man there m debt^the "lie foUovOim along the streets of Nottingham, it may be.- tZLX-^' -^^^P^^^^^^T'tll^^lIm says. "You are ^ P^^^^^^r^^^^^ be the man s unwilling^ go, but Be musi. '■•';"b ^{ Nottingham, it may be, he takes him to the judgment-seat to t tti° d Dea h U God's fo\ic^lScer ; he may come and sem ™a"vhen you least expect him. He may say, " Come away to ,^/4eHgmen.-sea..-;ou are God's prisoner;"_a„d the po., ''oLrX averyshon A ago, fetched away an infidel i„?htti,rh:;o(nig\inthe.wnof_-.«hi^e^^^^^^^^ i..nts were vmpt in profound slumber. An mfidel felt his fcnai nf his ffuiltv. awakened conscience. "Uo, saitt ine uy b * toluchf local preacher, and beg him to com, and g..e n ^ J • oKnnt mv soul" The messenger hastened awaj, h« way to ^^^^ ,^^jj, hi„^ 1„ „p the room, the eyes "f *« *y ^ ^ ^^ gleaming m with an unearthly luswe , «" »" j j^ ..„„o mp ' " to eyes ; he cried, " O, sir. s«ye me, save me. do «ive me • X friend. I cannot save you; G,d alone ^ save you.- ^ 1^"^ • M cry to him for salvation. *« O, TUT, dio you lav© me I '* m have none. rill become t a daik, dark, erty, but you in debt ; the it may be, — the collar; he me." It may Digh the streets Igment-seat to ome and seize Come away to and the poot way an infidel hile the inhab- lei felt his final the upbjraiding? the dying man, ^ and give me fastened away, I a bad arm, he 3 silent streets, path, soon found As, he entered rards Mm, lit op ted gleaming in , do save me!" can save you,— * ■ ■■r THK FEAR OF UNCONVERTED WEN AT HEATH. 97- Said the preacher, "God sometimes makes man the instru. ,nent of enlightening a dark mind like yours, but he alone can save your soul." The preacher knelt down anc pleaded With God that he would save the man, — pleaded with um^ual lib- erty pleaded, read, and exhorted him for two hours. The expiringman listened with the deepest attention, and appeared to drink in every word that fell from the lips of the man of God. At length, the devil seemed to make his last effort, anti we are ^ grieved to add we fear a successful one. When the preachei expected symptoms of penitence, he roused himself up although fi^nd had taken possession of him; he began to swear m a jnost horrible manner, and to blaspheme the name of God. He turned his eyes"upon the preacher and said, " Out, out of my room ! If I could reach you, I would dash your brains out ! " The preacher said, " I knew he was too weak to leave his bed to reach me. I felt resolved, however, not to give urthe contest; 1 therefore knelt down again, and pleaded with God for his salva- tion. As death approached, — as the dimness of the grave began to gather over him,— as the room was growing dark to his fading sight,— he became, more and more furious. The tones of agonizing prayer and the horrible ravings of th« infidel blended in wild confusion, and doubtless presented to Tieaven tanAheU a scene of fearful conflict, of intense interest. The closing scene was evidently fast approaching, — the struggle was reaching its climax. The moment that was to fix him in heaven or hell was just at hand. The scene was intensely exciting. The quiet that reigned without in the street, the solemn hour of midnight, added to the solemnity of the scene. Nothing was hearJ now but the two voices, — that of prayer and swearing vieing with each other in energy. The fatal mo- ment now arrived, — the whole frame of the infidel was con- vulsed 4n the agonies of death. He fixed hil^wc elbows on the pillow,raised himself up in the bed, and, with a wild and fnght- ful scream, cried, 'O God, this moment damn my soul!*"^ he fell back upon the pUlmo, and expired. The scene or earth closed, and the eyes of another world looked upon the sequel. Such was the death of this infidel, and that too only a very short ^!l ..1. iji ii' ji I i life. Ill il'ii !!'!iil / Jig ItETIVAL MISCELLANIES. T Pt me tell vou. you sinners, that if you reject Jesus ZTyoXTnTX^ee that your death wil not he an «• Uwlone It may not exhibit all the tragic scenM TttJ o^e ^VhTch I have'referred ; but. if you neglect the it 0^1^ C^^^^^ will be as really damned as the ^" The case we have referred to above is another proof of the trul of o" proposition, that unconverted men are afraid to die S:lth. we sJid.Ts ^od's I.lice.office. ^^^^^^^^ ^ mav seize vou at any moment, and say, Oomeaway.y Kri-er!" andyoumustgo. O- if y.«. are not ready. The second pbopost-oh ». that x Chk»tui. b. not apb«. "Zth to him is a physical dis».lation; it is a spiral «■ U^V:^L vis Jd Lth.l«ds where the p«or f^o^ c^ ^hXa'^; Chief in Scotiand^^^^^^^^^ r*" "t:did^rlrrhe'r:utt arl: %he friena be seen ; he did not wani w ™,i.^rtu„a.e; ^^ ■»- ^^^^ JJi„ W. andbucWcd Tht "iTTsa^Ml SS and i^ down to die. The ''fdtn::h:nr:as about t. die. said .» a y.u„g,^^. IS I f«U of monuments. He dies vrctonou, ! HaUelaj<0>. ntL^i-«.n,etim«hardstraggUn«a.»u^^^^^^ Messed woman ahout «o die^y et s^v^a^a^ ^ A ft^nd^ ^ blessea wonmu ttu».*> ^ »>.-, j ^ replied . » I am to her. "Why, wkat are f V ™ ^.!^i;^^^^^ .i,i^. not afraid to die. But the death struggle. - wny. M reject Jesus not be an •agic scenes neglect the ined as the proof of the ifraid to die. abroad. He ray; yju aio •e not ready . tS NOT AFBAIB spirijll^l vie- fellows could He is going I. to one of the ! he could not •. The friend 5 must see me, d, and buckled a to die. The young man (a e how a Chris* fe, and on it aw Dus!" Ifth# 1 dies, the earth i\ Hallelujah! Alh. I knew a , A friend said > replied, "lam — " Why, »i«t*» THE PEAR tor VNCONVitBTED MEN AT DEATH. 99 your hands are cold ; the blood is going away from under >^ur iails ; you are just now dying I " She praised God, and , died peacefully and triumphantly. Bless God ! ^ . i Many chUdren in the Sunday-schools which are to be found in this land, as nurseries for heaven, are saved from the fear of death. The Sunday-school children can play with the lion's, mane Isa. 11:8, — " And the sucking child shall play on the . hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the -- cockatrice's den." Old men have been saved from the fear of death When the almond-tree flourishes, the grasshopper is a burden, desire fails, and they are afraid of that which is high, and of things that may be in their way. But they are not afraid to die; some of them die gloriously. In the State of Massachusetts there was an old saint. He _ had preached the truth for thirty years. This old servant o^^ God went to die among his own children. One day he looked very solemn. No wonder, — it is a solemn thing to die. His son came to him, and said, " Father, are you afraid to die ? " "No, Samuel," said he, "I have been prepared for death foi thirty years." When he was brought near to the verge, in the last conflict, foot to foot with the enemy, he cried out, " O glo-. rious! glorious!" J In Baltimore there was a physician — one of God's saints. He was not afraid to kneel down by his patients ; he gave medicine for the soul, as well as the body; and when he tey down to die, he said, " I am as happy as I can live ! Halle^ lujah ! hallelujah ! " The room was ringing with the praises of God. One of the physicians came to him and said, " Doctor \le know you are happy ; but we think you will shorten life, if yqu shout, — so whisper, whisper, doctor." " Let angels whis per ! Let angels whisper ! Let angels whisper ! But if I had a voice as loud as seven thunders, 1 would make the world hear." ..e ■ - Females are saved from the fear of death. Delicate and ner- vous females have had the mind braced up for the last conflict. l» One of them, when b r ought near the close of life, said , " I a m not afraid ; I see the grave ; I see the worm, but I see my Jesui I 1 t" . ^QQ EiriYAL MISCELLANlBi. I.»h.ppy= b,;»Goa..ny.o«n. happy VThnti. ho, .houghTtho Lord «ould »vo our pa..o , but oh . m p , .p.e:d-thep..tor«..«..^d.-'>b'"-f;'™;„.^„/„ho rKdr:e .f *-\»^tt r^phrrhT:;; of God wa. willing «» <>■«• ""-l ?'' ' .^r,'"™ Sg - they are He exclaimed, "They are eoming! they are coming. y coming! Glory! glory! glory!' .. „„„„,a ,„ be dozing. ..Is that he? Is that he? Is he gone ? They replied, " Yes. he is gone. ..When did he die? Was he triumphant ? ..Ye8.triamphant/V_^ ^^^^^ ^^^1, I « He is gone ! now ^m happy . i J^ ^^^^ will follow now," she cried, and died. Bless tne uo \ .->► .1 hat is how r ■PMI^ [nic. Som« ho epidemic For ft good ) those who ht live ; but L the servant tas he lay! ig ! they are to he dozing, e was saying, I my work , 1 jord • Amen. \ .-)» SERMON Vlt QUENCUma THE SPIRIT. Qu«n'ch not tha spirit. — I Tmim. tt : 19. " Don't kill yourself I ' once wrote a gentlerr.an to a minister who was laboring zealously for God; "don't kill yourself!" h« wrote at the bottom of a long sheet, in large letters. So yoii nTay say to me, " Don't make so much ado about religion ; don't kill yourself." But we must do the work of God, let the con- sequence be what it will ; and, if we should die a few years sooner, it will be all right, - we should be happy, and the work would go on. As Chafles WesLj|^er\cs, "God buries his workmen, and carries on his worW? But to the point. Every one of you has his own particular way of sinning^ Some are in the habit of neglecting the house of God ; you say you wor- ship God in the great temple, uiider the canopy of heaven. If you had been in Palestine, you would have objected to the buildi ing of the Temple. ' r I shall meet you at the day of judgment, and I hope you^li have to bless God that you and a stranger met together in Wes- ley Chapel. If you cannot go with me in my remarks aU the way, go with me as far as you can, and may God bless ybu. The passage I have chosen as a text has been impressed ou my mind this day with very solemn weight : — Quenc^ not the Spirit ! Quenck^ot the Spirit ! Quench not the Spirit ! I. The Spirit's OPERATIONS ARE TRUE. / ; 1 ^ now before my imagination a range of mountams thai I crossed a few months ago— the Alpine mountains. There are awful precipices dn that Alpine range. There is a sol- itary ^bout to cross that range of mountains. It is mid- ..^„., There is no moon ; there are no star3 to be seen ; it is pitehy dark. The solitary takes his lamp ; it is well trimmed ; g# -sfe- ^;1 I 102 EtTHAL MISCELLAmM. '*'XL, the «ay to hcvfen i. over She mountain. The way row. • Now, bockslider. you were converted about ten ye«» in it ,;av b^ and if ever anyWy was happy. yO« ««"! >»" 7o: vry^eYjcTto the devijand a«.ved the >i.hU0^^^^^^ " 1 .old yL this morning '"l"' P'-'-'^^'^J ;,°i n.yXm " Tr'o^rt;e^nhTXSnnts^^^^ ofGod. God»t™e inn „^„ his motions, eonnot I depend f«" ""* ll,rmv should 1 depend upon his motion, pto- i 'Im T^ ^" ™t .Id _r harveH and winter, and not depend • u I Sible There is no book professing to come. rmtdTuf ;r This lok is the oppression of his mWu r.; .re the words of God's mmd. There is norther book * ug^uUheTptellectual world that comes ftomtaod , and « S a certainty in the laws of nature, so there .s a certomty ■1 worf of G^. There is a.certain.y in the Sp.r. of Go • Shall Irelatetoyouapartof my ownexpenence,-not whutl u Wd^or read in dusty books, but what I h»T«ltnowp m my have ke"d 0' 'aid m ^us y ^ ^_^ ^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ • r;::rSLl^^tp.ssible , in prep.ringfor^ini«. — to get as mw. ^ ^^,°.,^ . ^^ — The Lo r d took m e asiqfl. m\ Sot 1 : U. I did not hear ->-• Ut^. .m^;^ •nu msde deeply wpon my mind. - 1st. IM »"»»« "|B1 m IKNCHINO THI SrillT. loa ■ J of praying more Znettly and con.tantly.-Sd. That, without the Spirit of 0.. dtraets ™ my souK without the smiles of ray Saviour In fact 1 . ZoUWe. h«t\«st wither away from the hoe oU^ ea„ without his comforting and satisfying presence. W th manj rri besought him to reveal again his face to my sou : that >t TyiXs-re crossing his, to show me ; and wha ever w to wUl I would .( once, by his help, y.eld my soul unto u must be wrong; for thine cannot but be right. Now, 1 cared "Zh^.rcommanded me to do, or leave undone ; I stood ready toWy I felt »=»«* "^l""' «ebt ftom God 0" »»•"%!»•"' lid Lh my soul; but I no more expected such an order a. It sr„ after, than I expected he would »m-nand rne to A upwiird and preach the Gospel in another plane ^S^"^ days I cri^dLGod, without any answer^ «V^*'^ht^;: .1 .....J.fter„oo„,IoJ,^^ :rTr:^tftrerX a considerable distance^™ Sab tations of men; U, tocks and mountams, deep for^^ Svenomous reptiles, surrounded me Here, an mara^^^^^^ thetollowingpassage was given me to P^*"? •-*«<' *J ''» descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and pro- eSit «.me of the Lord. And the Lord passed by beta • ht, .nd>ocl.imed. The Lord, the Lord God, merc^ul and .rjiom lons.safrering,and abundant in goodness and truth, , S me7y for th J^nds, forgiving inq-j^y -* ;-^- and sin and that will by no means clear the guJty. -'Exod. 34< 5 67 I t«,k hold of this; many of the """Is ""« " . fit td as a hammer-to break the rocks in piece, before * jr The foun^iins of teaT. were opened, and the great deep ' ^my heart- was broken up. I left the place, howeve'. -thj. firing any light; but my heart was fully »-ft.n«l •"»» '* '^J■^ '¥ ■■-4ds£ QUENCHING THE SPIRIT. 105 daed and I felt assured I had prevailed in some way with God I was confident light and direction were coming ; but of wha't nature I could not tell.^ This was on the 9th of July. im The same evening, abo^t twilight, - eternal glory be to God "-when reading in a small room adjoining my study, a Lt, as I conceived from heaven, reacheime. My soul was £ularly calmed and warmed by a strati visitation. In the Tment I recognized the change. The following, ,n substance • was spokefUo my heart, but in a manner, and with a rapidity I ^ cannoVpossibly describe. Eveiy ray of divine glory seemed to be a word, that the eye of «iy soul could read-a sentence which my judgmenT could perceive and understar^d:- These matters which trouble thee mupt be let entirely alone. The will of God is, that thou shouldst visit Europe. He shall be with thee there, and give thee many seals to, thy ministry. He has provided thee with funds. Make thy arrangements accord- indv ; and next Conference ask liberty from the proper authori- ties, and it shall be granted thee. Visit Canada first ; when this is done, sail for England. God shall be with thee there, and thou Shalt have no wii6*in all thy joumeyings ; and thou shalt be brought back in safety again, to America." The above is far beneath the dignity and grandeur of the impres- sion. It was like the breaking forth of the noon-day sun at mid- night I fell upon my kn^es before the Lord, and, oh 1 the sweet- ness of the communion I then enjoyed with God. My sky was cloudless. My rest of soul unutterable. I arose from my knees un- der the strong conviction that God had called me toiake this tour. The time for the sitting of Conference arrived ; I presented my request, and a resolution was passed that I should have liberty to visii Europe. The Spirit's operations are true. n. The Spirit's operations may be QTrE^•cHED. You cannot stop the sun in his course ; you cannot roll back the tide ; you cannot stop the raging tempest ; but you can quench the Spirit's operations. For God's government over, you is quite different to that exerted over mere matter ;i he does not govern you as he governs the sun, the tide, and the tempest : vM 106 REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. , i Ml m his govommcnt over you is a government of motives -a moral govemmeni Quench not the Spirit. You may extinguish this holy fire in many ways. Neglect to put fuel to the fire and it will go out;-cover it with ashes, that no air can get to it. -pour water upon it. -and it will go out. The Spmt o God iVeasily grieved. Do not quench it. « But." says one, " 1 have quenched the Spirit, for my heart is as hard as a rock" Are you willing to give up sin? Have you any desire to be saved from sin. from hell to heaven? If so, you have not quenched the Spirit, — you may he saved. There 's a backslider here ; you were once hanpy, — you loved the house of God ; 't is a mercy thajt his influentes are not totally quenched. There is an, importance about th^t uneasiness in Your mi^d. There is something about you with which you are not acquainted. Ah ! that may be the last uneasiness you may ever hive upon earth -the last time the Spirit may ever stnve with you, if you do not give your heart to God. ^ ^ ^ ^ A young man once said, « After I have been to the ball, I will cive my heart to God." The Spirit was making the last eflort with hift. He went to the ball, and died on the floor. As others have been damned, you may be damned. Take cart i take care! Quench not the Spirit. / . ,. ,. ,. There's a man who is a tippler ; l^e goes on tippUng. tippling, till he tipples into hell. Brandy, r^m, gin. and such intoxicat- ing drinte. are the devil's agents. Thank God for teetotalism! A man on the Hudson river was very vnhappy, under a con^ cem-for his soul. He said to his wife. " I am very unhappy. She succeeded ^n turning his attention away from his concern for his soul ; he died unhappy. A man came to chapel some time ago ; the word came undera lummous burning agency upon his souVwhich made him say. « I capnot-stand it." So out.he went to a dmm-shop, where he had some liquor; he said. « I think I can stand it now. He ' went to the ch%l again, but the word was too much for him. he went out again, got some more drink : m the morning lie was found dead. You won'C bum your bodies out. perhaps ; but you '■•^Ai lounttueau. x uu wuu v «.**» j -^ -. ii u,««nhfl inU swear, perhaps You wil^lie, perhaps; you wiU bieakthe QW CHINO THE SPIRIT. ^ 107 B8 — a moral Y extinguish* il to the fire lir can get to ?he Spirit of ' says one, " I i as a rock." r desire to be rou have not ■ •, — you loved are not totally uneasiness in Bvhich you are iness you may lay ever stTive the ball, I will r the last effort the floor. As I. Take cam Sabbath, perhaps; you will practise uncleanness. perhaps; you will neglect to pray, perhaps. In any of these ways yoli may quench the Spirit. What will be the consequences, if you gneve the Spirit? You will be able„ to disbelieve the Bible, — to be an Infidel, — to look upon hell as a scarecrow, — on heaven as a fairy-land, — the character of God as a fiction; — you will be able to launch forth into boundless Atheism, — you will be able to go quietly down to the grave, without any concern about it, — at last, you will drop into hell. Those who quench the Spmt of God do it at the peril of their damnation. Now, let every one in God's presence kneel down, let every head be' bowed before the Lord, and let every one that can say after me, " I renounce the devil and all his works. I promise, God being my helper, to leavq my wicked companions, and use every means in my power to secure the salvatim of my soul." I ppling, tippling, such intoxicat* for teetotalism! )y, under a con very unhappy." rom his concern ird came under a L made him say, i-shop, where he id it now." He much for him; morning he was perhaps ; but you ou will break the i;" ■■" -'^ y. U% r" SBKMON ■Vm. THE BTWVillQ OF THE SPBUT. TH» is a aecia^Uon Of God co„« ^^^^ ,,rid. Hewasabouttode^tro *^^^^ ,„, ,, drop of watet-one flash of l'g'"»'"S ,. ■ ^ij'the Spirit had Jd neither drown nor ^--J-;' *':1„ hundrei and. done ^^■'^^^^'^^:^JtX^^Z^^^ arkwas pre,«ring, twenty years,— the penooQu g th«.ark«T« _.he HolyGho^t "'"""'t^, *7'X window and ever, ^dy, God went roujd .t. "fJ^'tX^ ^^, ^ound of those d«,r:.nd he shut in N'^-Vrl^'As. announced n.eK, dosing doors, as U ^""^ "J^f^:!,' Then the fury of «ed and wrath begun- The door^ ^^, God broke forth; and rush ™»\™^»;"'"°, ,iU Ae last si. cataract n.et cataract, and tempest me e„p^s^^M^ ^^^^^ . „er cursed God -^,.-f ^rblke fo^r » one' wild »cene of f«y. : ^fT^^ ^'fu rfaid. My Spirit shall - boundless grandeur. . Ano ine always strive with man." , . . [ In my text we have two P»-°^'- ^^ „, „, gprn^. "^;:^cl"acts*..ed. ThereisaboutthUfacttwothine _. necessity and a ce« ^„^_ ^ , „ec«- * First-a nece*^^ Wh^ ^^J ^„^ .bout the souft ->!,, J^ ' THE STRIVING OF THE Sl'IRlT. \ ^nirit man is in darkness-^ in total' darkness He is^dark- LKfT there is not a glimmer in his soul He .s in death'. Td w; and when a man is in the shadow.the subsU^-e^is not faroff. He is as dark as a Hottentot ;,. yea. he is o;da^^ asa devU It is by the Spirit he is convinced - alarmed. It is by the Spirit the memory is refreshed - the conscience aroused Yea that unbidden tear, telling that all is not yet lost that Iftemng tendency, that melting down into contrition those hoes of agony in the soul, -a//, all are the work of the Spirit ufby I /spirit he is enabled to look to the Lamb of God that iketh away the sins of the world. Without the Spirit, no con. liction of sin. no contrition for the past, no so/tening tendency, no melting view of Calvary, no concern for th^ soul, will ever be ?elt These influences may be resisted, and/this resistance may be carried on to a point in the history, untily^onscience lays down Its functions. Then the heart is as ha/d as a stone, and the anderstanding as dark as hell can make it. Then the sinner is like a ship half foundered, in midnight darkness, on a stormy sea -masts gone, helm broken, and compass lost, left to the mercy of the winds and waves. Then, though he may drop a teat over the grave of some loved one, he will turn up toward. the God that redeemed him the brazen-front of sullen rebellion, the iron hardness will be on his soul, but an mfidel he cannot become, till the Spirit has given him up. Genuine infidelity can never take place till the Spirit has ceased to strive. See him - on, and on, and on he rushes ! The space between h.m and hell lessens - lessens every step. .The lightnings from^ the Bible flash around him - but, no feeling ! The thunder from Sinai roars - but, ^C^Bum ! ! The lurid fires of hell glare up in the distance-but, NO FEELING!!!-he is LET ALONE ! 0, my God ! of all the curses of heaven, save me and my friends from the curse of being let alone. I mean, secondly, there will be no success in the mmistry, withoiit the Spirit. There will be no real heavenly fire, without Divine influence. Whatever sparks of his own kindhng there maybe, the coldness of death and the chilliness of the grave wU be oa the minister's soul. I care not however eloquent, how. . 10 l\ •2».. ■■< v^* _> > JWVIVAL MISCELLANIES. i;l. no of Bible litetatun,, be master «f ""J™' ^ ,( (^ „, '„„„ int'Ucct the doctrines of revelation, and all will '" W^t :r;rbe^f:acC?^:Houta moving ^wcH ma. Jld J/ best n^lKvay engines do, *;'">;;- --tiC . rr£ Ohostp^:t;.-tL t.,e soul U „,ade to «, oa, " What must 1 do to be saved ? ^ . • • „ «f tK^ Snirit 11. .Wp« a certainty about the striving of the &pmt Secondly, there is^ ceriainiy ^.^^ 1 tell you, no man can g<> *« l^'^^^"^"^^^^^^^ strives Btriven with him, and given him up. inai u v p Susevidentfrom ^^-^ '^^^''^'^^^^^^TZ Jn^r^^ „fiest0 4t. 3-/2f™"„Vdge and condemn the wicked, on this glound that Ood can ]u b chaiactta He has been striving with y""; ""4*°'^^ Q^a "vou are i«> here that have been gr.eving *« SP'"« ^ «"*; „^,, , „,, ^;r oHrZrittts'rXS^v:^^ -^eel he . with me now. . ,, ■ .i,,i:,i„ You have , mi. lt_» ..lonMteT I name is the uacKsiiuer. »v 1. The Stst chat^t 1 n^ t „oaid not seek to atoos. been gtieviig *e Spirit of God I would ^ ^ y„urpassio|.sto«ci.ea„dfn^hUny^, to^^^^ ^^^_ dolmmitpdriwyotttodespair Whatametcyoi mg THB STRIVING OF THB Slimn. Ill itbthatyouarenotinthedeepsofhell! What a mercy it is tha . luareinthehouseofGodto-night! I cannot tell whether you Llong to this congregation, or to some other, or to none ;w^^^^^^^ you a^e rich or poor, old or young ; whether you (ell by httb and little, or whether you fell at once, into some awful crime ; whether you fell by tippling, by an act of dishonesty, or by whoremon- Lrinjr. - this, I know, you are a backslider, and you are }ufre. There are just two points about your case. You have been very miserable for the last three months ; like a wandering dove, you have had no rest. Now, I tell you, you will soon be m your winding-sheen or converted to God. It will be the one, or the other My God has sent me with this message to you. me devil'has hold of you, and the Spirit of God has hold 'of you. «nd both are striving with you ; one or the other will soon pre- vail 0, my brother ! it will soon be Christ or the devil, heaven or hell, salvation or damnation. O! is there nothing that can reach you? Let_ me call your remembrance to the time when you were happy — happy as a saint- happy in Uod. You walked and talked with God ; and around him, as the cen- tral point of bliss, your spirit circled. With what joy did you look up to heaven as your home ! Those were blessed days - but they are gone. I could say much to alarm you; but^one poor sinner ought not to be harsh with another. I know that 1 myself ought to have been sent to hell years ago ; but the Lord had mercy upon me, and pardoned my sins, and sanctified my soul, and has kfpt me for years. And now 1 say to you, with a lender heart, O, my brother, you are on the edge of 'the pit ' — on the brink of the burning lake ! Anotheij step, and you may pass the verge, and splash on the fiery Wave. Come away I Gome away!! O, COME AWAY TO jkSUS!!! ^ Your distressing case reminds me of dn affecting incident connected with the explosion of an AmeHcan steamer, a few. years a^o. The vessel was on her voyage from Savannah to New Vork. In a dangerous sea, and in j the dead hour of the nigl/the boiler burst, and about one! hundred souls were lau&hed into eternity. The vessel was torn to pieces; and, an a few fragments of the wreck, with the mast lying acrow 1 ■I , , J™. 112 REVIVAL MISCELLANIB9. M a number of hurtJin beirgs floated out to scq. They contin. ued to drift further and further from'' land, till nothing but aky and water met their view. During four days, the scorching sun poured his rays upon their almost naked bodies, till they were blistered. They Imd no food to satisfy the craving of hunger : their tongues were scorched with thirst ; and to drink the salt water they knew would only increase the dreadful feeling. A hint was given by one of the sufferers that they should cast ots who should die for the sustenance of the ftftt; but the idea of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of i^ fellow-being was rejected with horror. As they werg; guzj#»"t«"^"y »"^^ ^**^,^';' off horizon, they were cheered with ^yhftiat first appeared a dark spot, but which soon brightened into tt sail. They raised their little flag of distress, but it was unnoticed, and the vessel disap- peared. After some time another hove in' view, but the signal was pot seen, and she vanished way. In like manner two others appeared, but, to their anguish, they also passed out of sight. "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." After several ' hours had elapsed, another sail appeared ; it seemed as if it was pasted on the sky. Soon its shape altered; the outlines of a ▼easel could now be traced; and, to their trembling joy, seemed to be nearing them. Ah, the captain of that ship little thought how many eyes were fixed with a gaze of agony upon the white bail of his stately vessel ! They hoisted their signa} of distress once more, and uttered their feeble cries ; but, alas ! she also ' appeared to be shaping her course in another direction. One poor fellow, who had been dreadfuUy scalded, looked himself into despair, cried out, " She is gone ! " and laid himself down to die.^ The time of extremity was God's opportunity One eye from the vessel caught the signal; the word was passed to the deck, and resounded through the ship, — "A wreck! a wreck! " In a few moments she b T-TiyHgHfert-t. : THE 8TBIVIN0 OF THB SriBlT. 113 y contin* but sky hing sun bey were hunger : the salt iUng. A [ cast ots idea of K'ing was to the far- red a dark is«>d their jsel disap- he signal inner two ed out of er several s if it was tlines of a »y, seemed le thought the white of distress ! she also tion. One ;d himself iself down nity One 1 passed to wreck ! a wn towards re in their ng towards hin a short umpet rang K owr the wavt.^, — " Be of good cheer ~ I will save you ! " I need scarcely .ell you they were soon on board, filled with ador- ing gratitude to God, and thanksgiving to their deliverer. Your state of soiil reminds me of the perilous condition of these ship- wrecked passengers. You were sailing onward to heaven with a hj»ppy soul, and the breezes of grace were propitious ; but an explcaion took place, to the astonishment of Heaven, and you • made shipwreck of faith and a good conscience." Thank God, you have not gone down |o hell, like many other back- sliders ! You have floated out upon the mere fragments of your aopes, into the ocean of despair. You have grieved the Spirit; lad of you it may well be said — •' His passage Ilea across the liilnk or many a threatcninig wave, And hell expect* to see him sink, But Josui Uvea to save ! " Yes, "Jesus lives to save; " and it is written, " He is able to A .ve to the uttermost." The promises have been obscured from ij.e eye of your faith by strong temptation. Again and again you have found yourself unable to reach them ; and, like the vessels which hovered for a little before tRe vision of those dis- tressed personsi,j Ik... iliximbed vour character, — you. Know ii. vOpd^ I have descrioea yu VnuTeel — vou know you !U . witnea in yput own boaom. ^»"J'^^ , fc, Jed. I ,« not right i but It i. not too late, - y^ZJ MJ^'^ B^t when the Spirit i. gone donation follow . *|j|j^ I proceed to state the result, of reeistrng God I HIIIIIH 1 I i of tHE^HEADFVL EVENT PHEmCTEO, -THE WITHDHAWAL K^ - Under the Jewish economy there was a law LPre Je sins for which there was no forgjvenes, ^'^aalClambMti^crifice, no provision made. Is thc« ^W<1^"0 Jarn^ dispensation? I answer, there x.h!':;=s:fn:nL^^^^^^ .ot«me.uddenwork n ^^^^ ,;„ ^ Uessed the Spint,-a .ettiM Dr. Chalmer. otaerva, Spirit is -« irT-ilSto^e Holy Ghost is no^<«.-e ::r;rr;J^rd..^ndwhiehadi.^^^^^^^ I "AI rch; you itiei; but^ ope, — no b««n tan- lid it tnko ken place, when the itK you by And you ig on your r salvatvm. jnso of the n you from hero btfort w it. You n know you t be stivcd. I 4 WmiDHAWAli t] •e was a law 3 forgiveness, jle. Is thcw mswer, there undred years ner of sin and >hemy against This sin is 'quenching of ill the blessed [mers observes, 8t isnot sQ«ie lered- fairy has n deeffer terror ' by whicll it >» I "2^ ^VlABI ITftfflMO or THI SPUUT. . 117 o^l>a^d." No ; i| it resisting the Holy Wooer, till Ho hma ua.al»ne. Than l^Bing left alone by the Spirit, ther« if bat^ one thth| more awful can hap^n to a sinner, and that is tUMii4 TioH. 1 again say, nothing this side of hell-ftrt is so bad ai to be gitm up by the Spirit. Se:ondly, the consequences. 1. Left without feeling; nn the Bible aayn, past fuiing, 2. Ltfft*withoirt desire. 3. He will die very suddenly. t believe, in my soul, that tho cause of jmultitudes of sudden deaths is the quenching of the Spirit. " There is a sin unio death ; I do not say that he shall pray for it." 1 John 5: 16, 17. This sin may be of a two'fuld chamctcr, relating both to body and soul. ■ m Relating, 6rst, to thA body. God lays that young woman on the bed of death in tlM^ morning of her days, in the very bloom of li/c ; she has sinned a sin unto the death of the body. There, inidift me pain of a dissolving frame, ,she sheds tears of bitter repentance ; and there, in that last struggle, in life's last hour, ftnds mercy. She is just saved, — saved as by the skin of her teeth : the soul saved, the body destroyed. Take caro that some of you do not go to the gmve before your time. I hope, in intrpducang my own experience here,. I shall not be' thought guilty of egotinn. I have had, for years, a list of persons, to pray for ; and, when one dies, 1 strike off thot name, and put on another. 'Letter after letter cdmes, announcing the death of some one or other of them. O, how many has death struck off my list ! I hope you Christians have your lists. Whether you have or not, the great Jesus has you all on his list, ond he pleads for you ; but there is a limit to hie pleading. He ia represented in the parable of the barren fig-trec, as saying, " Let it alone this year also, and if it bring forth fruit, well ; but if not, after , that thou shalt cut it down." As soon as e'^er Jesus shall strike you off his list, the Holy Ghost will give you up : then, when the^ Holy Ghost gives you up, damnation, follows : this is the conseqi^ce, 1 lask, then, will^ you co^e out? Come out :-»= W Ml i «,>' ■ikii ,.'','11':"*' lit v^K»i' i. '"i"-.' j^jij^ ^;. ■*:\, 118 REVIVAL MISq^LLANIES. i W: holdlv and take your stand for God. Too. tackdidets; yon boldly, ana w«e j j. ^ conversion of who are undecided, who stand '" *« JJ ". „ „„eonvert.d your father «"* mother; you. pew-hoWer^y ^^^ rrofe«ors,-wm^you dec-d, - ^tatl J^c^^. ^^_^^^ ^^ you, you are '^'^'X^iH^^ 1-' &'«• ' Yes>on it fearful crisis approaches that ^*f '"^ ■.^'' , ^ „„« of you „m be with you conversion or^--'^-^ ^^^Iking in . Before earth, heaven, and hell, 1 proclaim, EFFECT. , -^u Q«?r;t Viis ceased to strive with • Now, I tell you, when the Sp;"«J'»^ «;?*„„i„^ ,p,,^d, respected religion, who had sa* m the house ot » r "f tt ::irrn*:L'rw-trrrper^<.ere he .. , ri:^h::':nlfreelyhe,douttoM..hep^^^^^^^^ ^Id him -lotion w*[ree - *-- J'';^re^n you s»„ his hand and said, Stop . stop, i c ^^ werelnoto/m..^/^^.^-.;^^^^^^^^^^ and Ae last words he was heard to utter were ^^ :„yousay,wereI„oto£eH.^^">.g» '"J'"^ «d^de years fly as days.. Again, a man is deep m debt f Z .hject I has before him ^"^1:1^^:^^ l^l.V:^ZZZ^X-^:^i^^' and toil - helTtX, The deep interest he feels in Ujeat^mmen.^ hi, object calls him to toil ere the sun has y«.'"^» •";;,„ Urn on through the whirl of business; braces h.s spmt, nerve . 11 t>;o labors piiTL calm evening onife.he ca» .it down and enjoy hB „-«' rflE STINO OF DfiATH. 121 ^■ on to perfection , J.— Hbb. 6i I. B object, le interest he ling it. It is etens the toil^ propositiona u- pervade the sven years for nd though the him by nighf, ndithey seemi jy;" The deep \^ings to time, 3ep in debt, and n anything,"- To accomplish borand toil will! \xe attainment of ' t risen ; hurries is spirit; nerves it from busirifesS' m and enjoy hil| aieat little :ountry seat; that is the object before him. The 'intere&t hei^ feels in its attainment gives zfest to his jaded spirit, and throws a charm over what would otherwise be, from year to year, one ddll scene of monotony. is ^ . The%am«? principle actuates the warrior on the battle-field. i^is object is military glory i a name in the aUnals of lame;,the , Rpplause of the bmve. To accomplish this, he will bid adieu to "^the loved scenes of home, the smiling babe, the heart-broken wife. He will brave the perils of the deep ; an4v in the face of tluj gleaming spear, the murderous battle-shout, the shower of death, the roaring cannon's mouth, he will rush to victory or to death ; and all to obtain the laurels of earthly, perishing faine And were I to say that every rei| Christian in this congregation was not laboring to attain an object, your exjerience would rise up and contradict me. You have an objeet^ore you, — a happy dying hour — rest after the storms ofXfe are past — rest now and rest hereafter — sweet rest in the calm of heaven — a crown, a brilliant crown, a crown of life, — " a crown of glory that fiadeth not away, " — heaven! heaven! _-- ; . ' - ■ ^ ., ■ \, .- . , «« Where flesh and blood hath never been, ' Where mortal eye hath never seen ; A mejital sphere — a flood of light ; . A sea of glory, dazzling bri§ht. last shore. TliMo^d and bitter flood lies between him and the better latiilxiaiid, from thence, he has to review all the road along which he has trav- elled. Memory retouches all the pist; and, in a few miuutes, 11 M' * (~. •fM^- i ^i in V .-■ BBV1VAL MISCELLANIES. f.,^«ej now. in '<■; ''/J^,^";-,;^;'^^; C.h, wUh .he ..art reality i «n "^'"™' " '^° "" " "" ^^' of God can cha6(.»- *e \, .„ ' ,i,v • the Woe an-h is cloud- Sec .ha. sun setting in the «'«^'"";„\'''J^°„ie, ^nature bath- • ,e.; everything seems hushed s.nejnd_^q;_^^ .^^^^, ^.^ i„g in his parttng l*"" ' °'jr.,3,.,„„ .,yi„g happy in God,- n,o,e soblitne is .he -S'^'f'J'^Xerei one piece of poct^- .f Vital spaik of heavenly toe, auU. ol^quU this mortal ftame.__ Trcn.Mi«e, hoping, lingering, fl> mg, O. the pain, the Uiss, of dying. cUse, fond nature. cea.e thy stnfc, " And let me languish into life. ♦n iViP bodv, " We have been com. wings of the minUtering spirits, it cries, .«Hark! they whisper: angels say, . ; - Sister spirit, come away ! What is this absorbs roe quite,^ Steals mysenses, shuts my sight. Drowns my spirits, draws my b^Ui^- Tell me, my soul, can this be death? ^ .« The world repcdes ; it disappears. Heaven opens on my eyes ; my ears^ - With sounds seraphic ring ! p^^^^l^^r^r^r^,* jv"- ■.- 'f^^''^^M:7 '^f^: THE 8T1NO or PEATH. 123 scenes long, '"trim in vivid ifilh the darl the very pet- cnt, shndder, but the grace , die is gninJC arch is cloud- ;^nature bath, scene! Sill) ppy in God,— piece of poetry ' close : have been com. rough road ; but i ease thy strife;' ring on the vei' ; rustling of tl '■"-■"' \ .' "But," she continued, "while life recedes, my hopes — my hopes — my confidence in God s^engthen. Peace, like a river pours its balmy influence over me ; eternity and immortal life open on my delighted vision j unutterable thoughts of Govl and heaven fill my already expanded capacities. I feel the assurance that God is my Father, Christ ray Saviour, and the Holy Ghost my Comforter. I shall soon have an unclouded vision of the glory of God's palaces. All that is now dark, or deep, ov highj to my present limited capacities, will be then unfolded and under- stood ; nature, providence and grace, will be themes for eternal research; the perfections and attributes ohGod an endless lilitel- lectuai feast ; redemption an eternal song. The resurrection has hilled away the stone from the sepulchre and ijlumined the dark enbiosure, — has swallowed up death in victory. My Saviour, jesui, the friend of sinners, is present, — is sweet -~- is s-w-e-e-t. * * * O, my son ! '^ r^— She would have proceeded, but gasped fof breath, and reclined upon the pillow. He\alled the family, but the precious mother had departed ; a smile >f hope, peace and joy^ rested upon her features. His father sank down 126 REVirAL JIISCEl.LANiKft. illf til I II t> ii 1 <■- upon the chair; and the pious sister, with a face beaming ^ith religious emotion, gently closed her eyes, and all was still. The young man stood awe-struck. He saw Wow the religion of the Bible could support in a dying hour. Ho felt himself a lost sin- ner, but discovered the Saviour of sinners revealed in the long, neglected Bible ; he was an infidel no longer. Such is the e^id of a holy Christian. Still, it must be confessed that multitudes within the pale of the churches of Protestantism,— yea, and even within the pale of the Methodist churches, — do not die like this — do not honor either God or religion much in their deaths. It is no good to conceal the fact; there are a great many painful, gloomy death-bed scenes, — a great number of persons whose sun Bets under a cloud. A great many professors of religion are so immersed in business, that, when suddenly called to die, instead of passing full sail into the heavenly port, they hold on to life like a poor wrecked mariner to the rock on which he is cast, till the last wave comes and washes him off into the ocean. The facts of the deathbeds of many professors are too painful to bring to light ; they are concealed,— they are hushed up. You must go to a second hand for the account of their death; their friends draw a veil over their closing hours. I worider not at their painful death; they could not bear in life the searching truths of God's word ; and, if men cannot bear searching truth a strict examination, the scrutiny of conscience in the hour ol affliction, haw can they do in the swellings of Jordan ? V „ « O, could we make our doubts remove Thbse gloomy thoughts that rise, / And see the Canaan that we love, With unbeclouded eyes ! But tim'rous mortals start and shrink To cross this narrow sea ; • And linger, shivering oit the brink, And fear to launch away." The same poet, in another place, says, ~~ ~~" ''0, what are 411 my suflTerings here, - — ;.r. . I^ Lord, thoucouiit'st memcet?" Ah I ii is the want of inectne8B, the glooniy doubts, the dretd .'=!£'' •^^T , ^t-'* TBI STINO OF DEATH. wr , saming iwith ts still. The igion of the If a lost sin- in the long, h is the 6|id t multitudes ea, and even die like this r deaths. It iany painful, [IS whose sun igion are so ) die, instead Id on to life ke is cast, till ;ean. :e too painful hed up. You death; their onder not at he searching irching truth the hour ol m? uncertainty, that makes life's last hour so unhappy. There she lies, lingering, shivering at the port, afraid to launch away. There she lies, enduring the sting of death. The heart is not puriticd, sin is not all gone, and sin arms death with power. Nevetr, till you are holy, will you be able to look upon death and not be afraid. Brethren, heaven is a sanctuary of purity; a sanctuary guarded with all the jealousies of the Godhead; and, were you tD iare to approach it without purity, fire would break forth from the throne, and, with holy indignation, repel your nppir:4ch. To a soul not purified from all sin, death is armed with a sting; and, oh! how it will harass, and goad, and sting the soul, in the hour of death ! I was once called to visit one of my congregation when she was dying. /As I entered the room, she fastened her eyes upon me^, and gave me such a look as r shall never forget. She cried out, " O ! Mr. Caughey, the sting of death ! death has a sting ! " Yes, it has a sting that tortures the soul in that awful hour. Ah, that was a striking comment on this text. And what is it that gives a sting, to death ? Is it not recollections, of misimproved oppor- tunities, abused mercies, indulged temptation" unfruitfulness, unfaithfulness in the work of God? Ah, the OhristifM^ looks back upon the Sodom he has left, and onward to the bleak, untravelled eternity before him. Death is life's lait chore ; and, as he lingers there, his mind retraces the journey he has trav-, elled, and all that seemed faded and indistinct is retouched by ' conscience ; those things that appeared, amidst the bustle of life, but trifling, now iseem awfully magnified; thuyare now viewed in the light of eternity. Ah ! it is the holiness of the law by which they are to be judged, the purity of the God with whom they have to do, that exhibits those imperfection5 in theii true colors. Ah ! it is conscience retouching the past, making all the little failings of life gather around the bed of death. It is the immediate prospect of going, with all these failings, to meet a heart-searching God. It is a sight of these things that makes death-bed purgato r ies, — death-bed hells ! How "re we to account for these gloomy death-bed scenes among progssois of religion? lanswerf-r 'I I tlVlVAL MISCELLANIEi: 129 First, a want of regeneration ; — m^ny of them have never been born again. . ^ * . Secondly, backsliding. "I was converted," says on»^"l <;ould tell the time and place of my conversion." Afi«'|ut you' are a backslider now. Satan was oiKe an angel ofJi^kt, , and raised the high hallelujahs of heaven, but he is now'a devil. "What comfort will it give you, in a dying hour, to remember you were once a Christian, but that you have cruel. fied your Lord afresh, and put him to an opeirni»a«ne ? This Is, another reason for these gloomy death-beds, "w; . V Thirdly, remaining depravity. I don't ?vish tb throw one doubt on your minds in reference to your friends who hayo gone to their graves. One says, "I have a hus^in^dne;" and another, " I a wife," and " I a sister," " a brother," " a dear friend ;" " they sought and found pardon, but we do not know that they ever professed to find Christian perfection ; and are they lost?" I answer, No, no; I would not lead you, for a moment, to dolfbt their final safety : but, ah ! you do not know ^ what they suffered in the first week of their affliction. You * thought it was bodily pain that gave them that piercing, shud- dering look, tind wore them to a skeleton ; but it was not that; it was sin stinging them. They did not tell you what it was that gave theiii such deep anguish, and no mortal can tell what they endured in^ that week's affliction. If you wish a calm hour in the last struggle, your conscience must be as clear as a difltmond; it will then be like a mirror, — it will reflect all the past. When passing by a house the other jday, 1 saw a mirror placed outside of th^indow ; another was also placed inside. V^hat, thought I, can they.want with these mirrors ? The fact ' was, the person sitting at the window, by looking at the one con- inside, could see all that was passing on the outside. Ah science will be a mirror; it will reflect the past; it will retouch Ufe, and bring it again i|?to distkct view. In the dying hour. eiinscience frig look back; it will force every Christian to review life. And what a scene does it present! Where is the man that can lay his haftd upon his heart, and say, I have kept mhrad lin under'during th« whole of my Chriitian lift ? U" i m THE 8TIN0 or DEATH. 129 i hi&ve never ♦ .' igel ojf^^ht, he is nowa ing hour, to u have crucU ne? This is. b throw one ds who have slMindgone ;" h^r/^a dear do not know tion; and are id you, for a 1 do not know Biction. You * )iercing, shud- iVas not that; lu what it was 1 can tell what wish a calm e as clear as a reflect all the 1 saw a mirror placed inside, rs ? The fact ng at the one deJ Ah! con- it will retouch he dying hour. y Christian to you «ay, I have never been envious at the prosperity of another, — never indulged in pride on the ground of your wealth, stand- ing, talents,— never felt the love of the world, impure thoughts, unholy desires? Can you say, I have been free from the slight- est touch of sin since I believed ? I don't think oru of you con say so ! The remains of sin in the heart are like powder; and only let a spark foil into it, and there will be an explosion. There has been powder enough in our hearts, and thjs world is full oP^ljpnrks. One is saying, " I contracted oh unsuitable marriage ; I was unequally yoked, and all has been wtong ever since." Another .s saying, "I formed an improper connection in business." " I,** jays another, " fell — gave way to bad tempers, angry passions, " ind, oh ! there arc a thousand witnesses in my own breast.'? Conscience bears witne$3 loud, distinct, and clear; but God has brought the wanderer back— "back to the throne of grace, and your language is, ^^^^^ " Though I have most unfaithful been ;,. Of all who e'er thy grace received, — . , . Ten thousand times thy goodness seen, Ten thousand times thy goodness grieved, — V Yet, oh, the chief of sinners spare, In ho r of my great High Priest! ^• Nor thy righteous anger swear To ex lude me from thy people's rest." You feel how true these words are, — how unfaithful you have been. If you harbor ond iiidtilge these enemies of God in your heart, what kind of a death ftvill you have Ah ! we know ! We have seen your brethren die; we know the whole race of you ; we tell yp^, there is before you a stormy Jordan. What, then, is to be done ? The past cannot be altered. •• What," say you, *«are you uming atj" I answer, I want you to be aroused, to be restored, to get this standing doubt removed, to be washed again in the blood of the Lamb, to get this sting of Where is the — » death tak e n away, t go on to p e rf e ction. Only get this sting I have kept B removed, and your nature purified, and then you will hrfve a iaa lift? Can ■ ^'PPV <*Bath-bed. Bless God, you may start for gloF^, and k ■^v ■r,F5|fi-; 130 •IVIVAL UlSCELLA^IiMI. ¥' If' I*' I' ii .if MTcr it.'iko A rock See ! seo ! iiat veiiel leaving the port ot Liverpool. She pucies the Pier-head , she joatlcs her wn) through the crowd of shipping .nat obstructs her passage ; she clears every dangerous point; she escapes the sand-bonks that ha concealed under the waters; she gets fairly out on the ocean; by ond by she gets an overhaul, dnd all 's right. Evt removed. 1 you must nature of Are you a you, there tick fast t0 peaking of ?' "Yes," opposite of iver is born n him, and lieve that ? have not ' I scene. 1 — ich a char- under the rinist, and m thought it was only in donth tho soul could 1m« cleansed from Mn ; but Bculah, however, was this side of (ho river. • When describing Christian and iro|)oful at entering the land' of Bett- lah, ho says, " In this land the sun shone night and day ; they wert got quite over the enchanted ground, antt Doubting Castio " wan clean out of sight ; the very air was sweet and pleasant, i»nd they heard continually tho singing of birds. Hero they ' were 'n full sight of the city to which they were going, and tht view became more and more distinct and clear. It was built of pcarU and precious stones, and the streets thereof were purt gold. As they drew nearer and nearer, there were orchards, and vineyards, and gardens, and their gates opened into the highway. And now the sun shining full upon the city, it became so extremely glorious, that they could not yet with open face behold it, for the city was pure gold. As they travelled on, they met two men in raiment that shone like gold. These men asked the pilgrims whence they came, and what difficulties, dangers, comforts, and pleasures, they had met with on the way. The men also said to Christian and Hopeful, • You have but two difficulties more, and you are in the city.' Now I further saw, that between them and the city jhere was a river, and there was no bridge to go over, and the river \ 132 * -flEvrtAl. MISCELLANIES. Hopeful had much troubll to keep his brother's heal above .ht waTl 1, sort^times he would be q«i<« f f /°™ ' »" Ten, e e^ While, he would rise up again halt dead. Hopeful *W 'firJher.I see the gate, and men slandmg by to rcce.ve ^,7 but Christian would answer. • It is you. t .s you they wa„ . for Ah. brother, for my sins he hath brought me into a s„a,c, Tn^ hfth left me.- Hopeful said. ' Be of good cheer.- Je»ns dUitmatl*ee whole;- and with that Christen brake „„, vh^ . loud voice, -O, I s,e him again, and he tells me. wher J^u passes, through the Waters, I will be w.th thee. Tl.; IkJourage and waded through; and as the:|, landed on h \Zr store! the two shining ones awaited them, and conducted them off to the New Jerusalem.- r ,• . If you would have a happy death, go on to perfect,™ A holy Christian will have a happy death ; this .s the rule; 1 know there are exceptions to every rule, and there are e«p. tions to this. You will -remember the closing scenes of John Smith and Walsh; their dying-hours were of a most d.stress.„. character; but I believe it was.not for any smthot rema.ned m them for they had been sanctified for years ; they had do h d'eW Veat dealof har^. and no wondeMh.t he sho^ make a deadly onset upon them in jhe last »^- ^"^ These instances, however, are the e.cept.ons; he other .»h rule • -a holy lite is followed by a happy death. If. i^ you "u'r^ of Christian duty, you "roll round with the year, a^ never stand still till the Master appear.- at Iht e^ l^ t «* ieUeht If you want to lay quarantine outride the port «l : Iry lik. the fever ships, then live without holiness. I V.m ' ,3od keeps some holy souls lying quarantine outs.de the port, - not, however; because there is any sin in them, but to she "hem to earth, heaven, and hell. God shows them to the ». verse as a proof of tlie JK.wer of the blood of the cross. S» see- those two vessels ^st heaving in sight of the port. "Uoi ahead ! - shouts the mffl. at the look-out ; they draw nearer ...id n ear er shore. See ■ s|e ■ those two little boats r^ hn^ ^ ■ the rippling wave.; they are the h«'«'-»«««: ""J^""'^' along^de,-aie.e,thev are .drawn upon the deck of the vessel. THE STING OF PEATH. k. 133 .Well,captam from v^hat port 1" "Fro.a the "port urJusufi- cation. We got. however, our papers signed at the iH)rt o Ho- liness," responds the captain. "Any sick on board? No. ,ir • no. sir. - all well and sound ! " Ah ! you who have been to sea, after a long voyage; you know what it is to lay ruamntine Lty days. "Well, captain," say th0 health o^cefs, "they are all in excellent trim -clean as a pin ; go in. go m -do as you .please-thewliole country is before you." The other v^el looms in sight; the officers go^on board.- " What port from, captain ? » " The port of Justilication." •; Any sick aboard ? » Whv. a few of the passengers are not very well The ofti- cers pass through the vessel, to see the' state of thmgs. Here. they find one stowed away in his hammock, with the fever burn- .ncr through his veins, as though it would devour: him; another yoW, sitting up^ his berth.pale. wan, and emaciated ;- in feet, sickness pervades the whole ship. ••Well," says the captain to the officers, "we have had a long voyage and bad weather; we should be glad to go in.': "Nay. nay.?' say the officers, "we cannot allow that— we cannot go beyond our commission." The^captain says. "Well, you dc not mean to r turn us back. I hope ? " " Turn you back i no, no — we '11 nei- ther turn you back, nor sink fou. We never reject a vesse. from your port; and, moreover, you shall, have, the best pro- vision the land will afford; but here yoj^ must lay quarantine forty days. There's the beautiful country open to your view, and when your sickness is gone, you shall enter it. Down with your sails, and cast anchor." There she rides on the tossing waves, while the crew often go and view from the deck the good land. Ah! God has to keep many poor sin-sick soul? outside the ports of glory, lying quarantine forty days, like the fever ships. There they are. tossing on the billows of the Jordan ; and. as they view the land through the mist and rage of the foaming waters, how plaintively they can sin^^^ "^ " Oa Jordan's stormy banks I stand, And cast a wishful eye To Canaan's fai r and happy land, Where my possessioxu lie. I -\\ 134 REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. •« O, thel transporting, rftpturous weu* , Jy That rises to my sight I Sweet fieWs, arrayed in living green, And rirers of delight. » ««Nochilling winds, no, poisonous breath Can reach that healthy shore ; f Sickness and sorrow, pain and death, i Are felt and feared no more. -. - !' ,M. When shalll reach that happy place, j . ; ^*^ And be^forever blest 7 When shall r see my Father's lacei I • '" ; And in his bosom rest 1 " They will enter at last. And, oh ! how interesting it is^o see a ship, after a long voyage, sail into port ! See ! see that crowd on the pier. A vessel is expected. '""Asail ! a sail ! " shouts one. Every eye is now peering through the dim haze. There she is, like a. speck, far ofP on the ocean. She comes nearer and xjearer she grows more and more distinct. Many hearts are now beating high with intense anxiety. ' See that aged woman inth« crowd; she presses now nearer to the pier edge ; her eye wanders not. How fixed that look ! — hbw intense that gaze! Her whole soul is in hef coun^nance. The little speck grows laifer and larger to her view. " Ye3,".says she, " 't is the ves- sel. There ^ the sailors are now pacing the deck. I see him. »X is Ac 't is ^— 't is my son. I had given him up for lost ; but here he comes — he comes once more ! , Blessed be thou, oh God of Israel, who doeth all things well." , Now, as the sight of home opens upon the view of the sailors, their hearts swell with joy. "Homf^ home! sweet home!" shout the crew ••Welcdi^e! welcome! tempest-tossed mariners, again to our shores! "* respond the crowd: On a spring tide, before a 6ne breeze, amidst smiles, tears, and loud acclamations of joy, they pass full sail into the harbor, Faiiilly, indeed, does thisishadow forth the scene witnessed when a ^ul is enteriig heaven - when it^ssesfidlsailinto the port of glory. «« Christian, behold! the land is nearlng, Where the wild sea storm's rage is o'er ; Bark 1 how the heaYenly hosti are chWlngx_ ■m ia "What thMpga 4h^ raag* tin akmn* THE JBTINO OF DEATH. *^ nCheerup! cheer up I the day break«>'er thee, Bright as the summer's noon-tide ray ; The star-gemmed crowns, and realnis of glory, Invite thy; happy soul away. . «« Away ! away ! leave all for glory ; Thy name is graven on the throne, — Thy home is in those realms of glory Where thy Redeemer now is gone." ■ Go on to perfection ; and may yoa all at last te e,..W«l * Aoai. "Victory, victory, in the Wood of the Lamb! _, iig it is^o see ee that crowd sail ! " shouts haze. There les nearer and ,ny hearts are t ajred woman jdge ; her eye se that gaze! ; speck grows " H is the ves- k. I see him. m up for lost; sed be thou, oh IT, as the sight ir hearts swell lOUt the crew , again to our e, before a 6ne ns of joy, they >e3 thisishadow riig heaven — N Bfff ;...■■■. ,■ ■ .■ V -. ■. ; ■;• - ^,: :- .:'; ■ ■-': ■ . . ^ ' ■ !■•■ '" ; ■ • .-■■;;' ■. -^ ■■. ^ . ■■■ ■/ ■• '■; ■■ ■■ '"■■ ' :-. » ■ I ■ ■■"■ ". . .• , I Ut 1;; i f 11 i ! a ' -.. . •1 SERMON X. A^ CALL TO DECISION H6w long halt ya between two opinions 7— I K.mqs i^: S. ' . .. J. ■ ; ■ C . ■'% ■ ■« . 1 1 ' Bci NI •i t\v< he« - ■■» IT- ___ .j-i../ ' If thftre be a God vho is almighty, and therefore is' able to* jwtie or destroy; who, by one volition of his wil), can raise you. up to heaven, or sink you down to the depths of hell ; who is infinite in wisdom, and therefore intimately acquainted with your whole history ; whose eye has marked every movement in your eventful course ; whose angel reporter has recorded in the reg- ister-book of heaven every moral action of your life ; whp is a God of justice, and vyill, therefore, one day call you up to the great universal tribunal, and award to you according as your ;*orks have been ; who is full of mercy, and therefore will cast out hone that come to him; whose favor is life, whose sj(nile ss heaven, wl;iose frdXvn is hell ; — if there be such a God, and if the giving your heart fully to him would secure to you honor, immortality, eternal life, and a position of equality with the angels, why halt between two opinions ? , . If there be a hell, — a place where .no good will ever come ; where all evil will be concentrated ; where the JRre will burn, the.- darkness affright, the chains bind, the deathless worm rankle ; where,' overhead and all. around, wind will war \vith windi .ight- ning flash to lightning, storm howl to storm, and thunder muttef to thunder, in sounds of sullen wrath: where "fiery waves will dash against thb rocks of dark dgjn^natiD'nf and music make of , melancholy sort;" where the .unhappy wretches will cutse themselves, curse each othepr, curse' the earth, curse the resurrec- tioii rfiom,! curse Almighty God, an^ seek for death, and find it t ■ f- -ficr;- not;; where their enemy -is an aroused and angry God, the, instruments of thl^ir tf tture a^ke of fire and a guilty conf , V ' A CALL TO DKC18I0N. lar science, their tonnejitors the devil and his angels, and ETER- NITY stamped upoii t)ie whole ; — if there be such a world before yDU,^,and if your course leads^irectly to it, why halt between two opinions, whether you will escape it or not? If there be a heaven- — a Und of pure delight, Where saints immortal reign ; •• , / ; Infinite day excludes the night, "" And pleasures banish pain i , «( . ■ " ■ ■ " ■ i "'Where everlasting! spring" abides, — — ^ ^--t^—- ■\\ And never-withering flowers ; , ■^ Death, like a narrow sea, divides ^ That Jieavenly laud from ours i" A heaven where you will wear the robe, wave the palm, occupy the mansion, sit upon the throne, joiii in the everlasting song ; where no wish will be left unsatisfied, and where hope will have realized her brightest visions ;— if there be such a heaven ofTered, why halt between two opinions, as to whether you will accept it or not ? But if there be none, — no GOD, no HEAVEN, no. HELL ; if you can disprove their existence ; if you can affinn that you have travelled through the^vast circuit of the universe, t you irould find no prints of the footsteps of the Deity; that heard no sound of his. voices that, everything came by chance ; or that soni^e creature first made himst If, and eveiy World that rolls in space, with ail the myriads of men and angels that people earth and heaven; that there is no heaven or hell; that you have searched evdry planet^ every nook and comer in ipace ; that you have wandered through the universal tempio, and that thei^ is no tracer of a world of bliss oir woe ; — further : if yotii are prepared to prove the Bibl^to be a lie ; that all the evi- dence from fjTophecy, from the long chain of miracles, from the harmony of the Scriptures, from th^ millions of dying-bed vesti- monies, from the united voice of the great ^rmy of mftrtyrs, who. .bailed dungeons, prisons, racks,, stakes, wild beasts, and the loss of life, Tather-than givc^ up oi deny the pi'ecious Bible,^ with all llie grand effects the Bibl^ ha^ produced in the world ; — if you are prepared to prdve 'that all ^ese sources of etidenot ar» 138 RKVIVAI' MISCELLANIES. -J mere d slusions, mere priestcraft, still we ask, on thii supposition, why halt between two opinions? If these things be so, then reject Christianity ; spprn religion ; convert your chapels into warehouses, and send your ministers home to some other call- ing ; erect a monument to the triumph of infidelity ; staijd upon the tomb of Christianity, and shout, Hail, thou profoundest hell! and revel in the thought that there is no heaven to close against yo4, no hell to burn yoi;i, no God to iondiemn you ; — but, if there • be a God, and Christianity be true, then, we ask, how long halt ye between two opinions? %twithstandirlg all the efforts infi- dels make i/i bolster 'themselves up in their creed, the truth of Gad will g9t Into theii' minds; and when Once the truth of -God has got into the soul of man, it can never be got out again. There are just two ^things we wish to sa} aboUt infidel no- tions. - . First, th6y can gain hothing by thera. If Christianity.be false, you gain pothing; you thenhave the consojatj^n of- takinga leap in the dark, — to launch forth on the boundless eternity, not knowing whether an^angel- or a devil will meet yo4 at your ^entrance, ^ ~ . Secondly, you are' in danger of losing everythirig. Should Christianity prove true, you are lost forever ! How long, halt ye between two opinions ? ' 1 "\ 1. What are we to understand by halting between two ' opinions^ ; y ^ .,:'■ Literally, how long hop ye about on two boughs ? This is a metaphor taken from birds hopping about -from bough to bough, not knowing on which to settle — balanced between opposing claims. To halt is to stop — lo hesitate between oppo, site ^interests. Paul was balanced between a life of usefulness ..on earth, and a life of enjoyment in heaven. The people, in >»^ the days of Elijah, were balanced between 'the worship of an. idol and the worship of the God of heaven. Multitudes in our t day are balanced between heaven and hell ; two contrary influ- ' » «nce5 acting upor. them, as though God, and heavfen, and holy I inouia ■^ i^^ALli TO DECtSlOM. 189 BETWEEN TWO rhs? This is i Scings, wen) pulling one way, anS'.the fiends of darkness and hell puiljng the other. They hall between the two claims. At ati early period I made choice of religion, and cast my lot in among the Methodists ; and I have not been hopping about from one opinion to another since. I considered well the mat-; ter, and fixed my choice ; and I praii^e God for settled religious ^ opinions and principles. I look upon it to be very important to have my mindYixed. Let me be a wanderer over this planet, ■^let me sail ovet the ocean, or range through -iBvery clime, r— but let me have settled religious principles. My heart is fixed, oh God! my heart is\fixed. But there are thousands just in the state of the people described in the text. Let us ascend Mount Carmel, for a moment, and witness the great controversy. Seo that dense crowd uponithe mount! ^he claims of idolatry, the • old religion of the country, are set forth by the priest; the claims of Gpd, who had brought thert out of Egypt,— who had wrought wonders in their behalf : and the people halt be- tween the ^wo claims. See! there rushes in among them the venerable old prophet, and says, "How long halt ye .between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him; if Baal, then ioUow him. And fiie people answered him not a word. Elijah "**" p a method to determine this great controversy. He pro- Ttat two altars shall be built, and the sacrifices laid on the ' Listen. to Elijah's proposals to the prophets of Baal. "Call you upon the name of jour ^gods, and I will call upon [the name of the Lord; ahd the god that answers by tiie, let him be God." The priests set to work ; the altar is erected, and ' the 'sacrifice laid on. there are the whole crowd of the priest* ►f Baal standing around the altar, ancl Elijah stands alone for jthe living God. Hark! how Ipud the priests are calling upop [their god, — "0, Badl, hear us!" See how frantically they upon the altar, — how they cut themselves, jUDposing this propitiate their god ! The vefy blood gusSjout upon 1} but no god answers, no voice replies, nor any one regards I. Listen to the sarcasm of Elijah ; — "Cry aloud, for he lis a gdd ; eithar he is talking, or he is pursuing, or peradventure, Ihe sleopeth, and must be awakened!" Ha A ' t^ir Bhout» lend ^ 'W" is,;.' ti i 140 REVIVAL JttlSCELLANlBS. the very lii. Now see Elijah standing beside the nltar. The sacrifice is repared ; the water, poured on, to prevent delusion See wilU w^at dignity he acts,-. what majesty about his whole bearing. LisieMf his addresses to God : " Lord Gold of Abra- ham, isa^c.^ni Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant. Heiir me. oh Lord! heir mc, tha* this people may know that thou art the Lord God." Soe' (here the fire of the Lord falls and consumes the sacrifice --the wooc, the stones, the dust, and the very water iti the trench Al the people see it, and fall upon their faces and cry, «. The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God ! '* The great con- troversy is ended, and the people decide for God. Again and again has alUhe convincing evidence of religion oeen brought before your mind, and you have been almost pet. suaded to be a Christian ; but you have halted. Your unde;- standing and conscience have been on the side of heaven, but your will and affections have been on the side of the world and sin In the chapel you have been serious and -given promise of amendment, but among the world you laugh as loud as any. You have trimmed between the two; you have tried to serve both God and Mammon; and, ^Vbea convinced of the impossi- bility of thaU you halt. wtf u You have sometimes entered the house of God, and whlTe t|ie> ministers have reasoned of a judgment to come, you have trembled, ^and yoii have seen, after all, that religion is the best thing, When the minister led you around t^e edge of the pit of fite, and you listened to the Wail of the damned, and then led you Vp around the mount of glory to hear the song of the blessed,- ' especially as you were made to stand on the hill of Calvary. and to view the agoiries of the dying Saviour, and as you thought •that is (or me," — you almost fell dbwn before the, cross, andJi : yielded your heart to God ; but the.world had its spell around * you, and you AaZ^cd. . i "Ah!" says another, "you have not described, my case. 1 have attended the house of God, it is true, but I never lelt much nnder the word. It seems as though 4he infernal fiends 1: ranged' themsslve* around me intha hoiwa of God, and tufr I V ' :■ r.tft ^OAtL XO DECISION. 141 eeeded% picting out of my heart every seed Of the kingdiim ; but I felt -deeply fe.t. I could take yod to yonder room, where my dear mother breathed her last. > While I Ite^ened to her dying charge! ah ! what were my feelings, my vows, my res-^ olutjons? Her language, her looks, her nil, were so-heavenly. Her last words were, • Will you meet me in heaven ? ' :^I sobbed cut, • I will try.' But my companions, the card-table, the the- atre, rose up again to my view, and I halted between the 4wo ^ opinion.*?;"^ But there U another here, who never felt much under the wordt and who ha 3 never had the warning of a dying mother. Still, /ou have had feelings of deep anxiety. " Yes," say you, "theie u one passage in my life, -- one page in my history, — that I shall never forget. I will take you back in thought to the spot. It was in a rooni where I had spent.most of the nights of my life, in the bosom of my family. Everything was neat and clean around me ^r— every earthly comfort glvCn to me. My sis- ters and jApther watched over me with a tendei?ness, a kindness, I sliall never forget. . How quiet Were even their footsteps, lest they should pain me ! How did they soften my pillow, and wipe the cold, clammy sweats, as they gathered on my marble fore- head! The fever rag^d ihrpugh my veins; the worla,and all [the gay scenes I had formerly followed, now seemed" utter van- . ity ; and there stood out distinctly and near at hand, just ready to gleam out uj^n me,^all the burning realities of eternity, in all the'ii majesty and solemn grandeur. I prayed — 1 we^ — I resolved to turn to God. I sent for Christians to talk and— ^ pray with me. Prayer -^ earnest prayer — was offered up for me. My life was given back ; I returned to health ; but my impressions were like marks on the! saad — the nej^l wave of ungodliness washed them all away. / Nji^ there were before me two great distinct objects. On the one side, religion— heaven — eternal life; on the other, the ball — the dance— -the wine — the giddy circles of fashion— -the path of worldly /ame ; and I halted oetween the two opinions." "" ~^ ~ "Ah!" says another, "you have described the characters of ptheir tut you jaye not described mlie 0, sir, I too had no t i 142 KRVIYaL Miser LLANIIS. II' ■<■ \' I ^ -y\ ■'-- 'v-'il dying mother'i wurning, and I never had been much afflicted; tut th6re is one scene I witnessed in my life which has ever since haunted me like a horrid nightmare. It was the death- bed scene of an unsaved sinner. Ah ! the scene is too horrible (o call to mind. There he lay tossing in agony. The summer's sun had gilded every season of his life ; but now the rigor of win- ter was upon him. , He was on life's last shore — on the very edge of the unseen world. His frame was bathed in the sweats of death ; hfs eyeballs rolled with wild affright; despair seemed indented in his very cheeks; his cries for mercy were enough ta pierce a demon's heart. He looked for o moment onward with a fixed gaze ; h6 seemed to see the shroud, the winding-sheet, the coffin, the yawning noisome grave, the tormentors waiting to receive him ; the closed gates of the celestial city, the flaming judgment, the open hooks, the great big fires of hell flaring up in the distance ; — he shrunk baek, and said, • I cannot face it — 1 dare not die.' Still, life ebbed out, and the space between him and eternity lessened every moment. For a time, reason reeled under the prospects, and oh, what were the horrid ravings of his mind ! " On life's dread verge there he lay. At length the fatal mo- went came; — with a ^roan, a shuddering groan, he passed away to meet his God ; but his pietcing "cries for mercy, the language he uttered about fiends of hell gathering around hii bed, and the sights he saw in the distance, the fierce glance oi his eye, the despair depicted in his countenance, all seems dis- tinct y to linger in my mind. His awful death was Pushed up as much as possible. I jittended his funeral; but, ah! what l| were my thoughts as the dirt rumbled upon his coffin, as the, grave was closing in upon his body, and the melancholy toll of the bell was dying away upon my ear? I thought, perhaps the fiery waves of hell are closing over his spirit, and the devils singing th'6 dirge over the funeral of his„ lost soul.. As I 'wit* n essed thnt srene, what did I thei. promise — how did 1 then pray ! But 1 mingled with my old associates, and was laughed at fjr my seriousness. I saw, then, that I must bej)ne thing or » • A CAIL TO Titd\a. N. U3 nuch afHtcted; rhich has ever ;va8 the death< I is too horrible The summer's he rigor of win. — on the very d in the sweats despair seemeil were enough to ; onward with a iding-sheet, the tors waiting to iity, the flaming ell flaring up in nnot face it — I :e between him ,e, reason reeled id ravings of his th the fatal tno- oan, he passed 3 for mercy, the ring around hi) fierce glance oi B, all seems dis* was <)hushed up ; but, ah ! what | lis coffin, as the \ glancholy toll of ight, perhaps the ;, and the devils soul. As I*\yit« • how did 1 then d was laughed &t ; beLi}ue thi ng or the otheo — that I must give up my companions, or give up all thoughts of religion, — and I halted lietween the two spinidnn^." And here you are halting still ! How long halt ye? The interests of your undying spirit cry. Decide; fleeting time calls upon- you to decide ; the trogic scenes of Calvary, as »t rocks the slumbering univene, cry, Dtcide ; a voice comes down from the upper sanctuary, anft says. Deckle ; the muffled groans of mil- lions of damned souls cry to you, Decide. You may refuse; I; you may for a while stifle conscience, and charm it to sleep r f but, by and by, ••like a serperiTwhich has coijed itself around >your heiirt, it will start up and twine itself around your shriet^ ,^ing soul, and there hiss, and stihg, and madden you throughout eternity ; and when, writhing in exciruciating torture, from the unceasing gnawings of this undying worm, you cry.out, inintoN erable anguish, oh ! shall I never have rest from this insupport<* able weight of woe ? conscience, lifting up the awf^jrl voice you had so long silenced, will cry out, Never I and memory, glancing beck at all your guilt, will echo the dismal sound, N^cer ; and a voice more terrible still will break through the dreadfuNlark- ness that is all around, — the voice of an angry God, — exclaim- ing, NEVER— NEVER ."' - ; n. What are. the causes of this halting? 1. The influence of the Spirit of God on the mind. This may Beem strange.but we think it \vill be evident to you. The [Spirit of God is not directly, , but indirectly, the c?iu$e. He pro* Iduces such efTects on the head and heart, by the doctrines of the jBible, that the sinner is made to see his position, to, see the iwful future, to see the cpnseguences jpCmoving^vi in that d)rec- tion, to see \)fi\\ at the end of the patji! He halts, stops to ponder Iwhether to go backward or fo'rv ard. I once heard a backslider, [who had deepjj^ fallen, say, " I have a father and a sister in leaven; and my faAer's advice, and my sister's death-bed,! Bhall never fo rget. A lso, the truth of God often flash es across ny mind, and I think it I pursue the course I am now in, my ieath will be a frightful one. If I am not left then in a state of ' "riwn or deep d«lttuoD« roy end will present n horriU* tMoc.** 144 BBVltAL M18CELLANIKS. t-i^ \i That was the confession of a backslider, who was trying t(i shield himself under the principles of infidelity ; and that is but a fair specimen of the experience of thousands of sinners who are thronging the path of hell. Wo look upon the arousings of conscience in this man as the Spirit's work, stopping the sinner for a moment, at least, — making him halt on his path to pcr« dition. , I r Man is a free agent. " What is that? " says one. I answer, he has a power to choose or reject. There is a consciousness within you that you possess this pow^jr, and all the reasoning in th^ world cannot make a thing more^lear to you jthan conscious- ness. You know that without holiness no roan can see God. You know that Jesus hath died for you, and that by his death he hath removed every obstruction out of the way of your con- version. You know there is now a mercy-seat to which you can go and find pardon. You know you must go there, or perish. The blessed Spirit has been pouring light into your understand- ing, refreshing your memory, touching your cdhscience, gently bending your will. He has been trying thus to lead you over the line to God. You have been using the tremendous power you possess, by halting, resisting, fighting against God. You know the contest is unequal ; and though you put yourself in a hostile attitude to the great and dreadfi^I God, he will conquer you. What are you, to fight against Qod ? He can shake the uoiverse into atoms in ft moment of tjnne, by one single act of his great povwer. We tell you, he will conquer you ; he will put you in the ivinding-sheet, fill your- mouth with clay, and hurl your soul irelo hell. You see there before you a throiu of mercy ; and you feel conscious you can go there, or stay away. You can say, *• If there be mercy in heaven I will find it," or, " Away with him, away with him ! I will not have this man to reign over me.'' The great Spirit, the glorifier of Christ, the thira person in the trinity, comes to you, not to drag and compel you to be saved, but he gently takes hold of your free agency, and/ leqds you up to Calvary to view the claims of a %ing Saviour, and saya, YIELD, and you know you have the power to refuse or obey. Ah ! it is this power that constitutes A CALL TO DECISION. 145 yoar respbnsibllity. Do you still plead your inability to acrept if iiiercy ? I nsk, whot is there in this process you cannot dof I dare sny you have a room, or some place of rclircinent. Though youf Saviour could say, " The foxe&have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of God hath not whoro to lay his head," I doubt not but you are in this sense better ofT thnn your Master. You have leg?!, and with those legs you could walk up', into your room, an^ kneel down before God. You have a mem- ory, and you can allow thiU memory to ron back on the yean gone by, and call up the deeds of inifity jpou have committed. You haven tongue, and with that tongue you can ask God, for Christ's sake, to forgive you. You ean say,/* God bo merciful to me a sinner." You can do all thip ; and I ask, do you think, •vere you ^o do so sincerely, would the bUised God repel you from his throne ? No, he wiU cast out wme. Now, this is just what the Spirit of God has been trying to do with you. This is the point to vvhich he has been trying to bring you — to bring you to Christ. But sometimes free agency turns rampanr, and cries, "Away with him." Poor sinner, take hojd of this power whkn the divine Spirit brings to you, and he will not rest till you art" a sinner saved by grace. This is a most important point. O ! that we could get sinners to use this precious power — a power Which has come upon them in virtue of , the great atoning death of Christ ! This power is a golden chain linked Xo the throne of God, and let down within their reach. The sinking sinner may seize it, and live forever. This power is a ladder, let down from heaven to earth. You msy step upon it, and ascend to glory. The ^rst round, at least, is within your reach, close at your foot. O, sinner, what mean you by your mad, reckless course, — to sit down and perish while help is at hand? See! see! that^or sailor has tumbled overboard yonder. " All hands #oy ! " shouts the watch,—" a man overboard." T^ere he rises qpon the waves, and again he sinks; o nce more he rises to the surface, --now tbey see him. There ! a rope is thrown out to him ; but some unaccountable stupor has come over hini,— though . the rope is within his reach, and he may be saved by laying hold of it, yet there he sinks and perishes, while every effort haa V- 13 ■. V :--=: S . fi . .(-r ■ r ! I 146 REVIVAL MlSCELLANIBS. been made to save him.. /That, sinner, is just your case • per- ishing while the golden chain swings by you. "But how may I know," says one, " that the Spirit is striving to lead me 1o decision ? " I answer, by tvvo ways. By heud weights and 'heart weights. Firstly, by head weights. The Holy (vhost shoots in -shoots in light into the sinner's dark 90ul,- until the. sinner makes tremendous discoveries. He be- comes startled, and alarmed for his safety, peep troubles heave and tos» in his soul. " O," says one, "I have none of those troubles." Stay, stay ! — you had them once; you had them until you grieved away the Holy Spirit, and now he has left you to sail on, wrapt up in your own d^usion, undisturbed, to move on right in the directioi^ of hell — untroubled — quiet Ah ! these dead calms are only the precursors of the storm, — the i?tillness that precedes the violent concussions of the earth- qualces ! These guilty calms will be followed by the hurricanes - of hell — the eternal storms thfit will rtx^e on the lake thai bum'eth for ever and ever. Ah ! one of tlie grandest events m your history would be the return again of the Holy Ghost to trouble you. «* Stay, thou insulted Spir.it, stajr, ■ Nor take thine everlasting flight.." Secondly, heart weights. Many of you know something about these heart weights; you have had. considerable expe- rience in these matters ; you have many a time been troubled by abstractions of mind, vacancy of thought, secret uneasiness, ^metimes that unbidden tear has stolen down your cheek's, and you could scarcely tell why — some unaccountaole alarm about the future — some undefined dread of some all-pervading spirit fixing a searching gaze upon you. Many a time yo,u,wished you had never been born, or that your station had been fixed among the harmless creatCires that browse in the fields ; avHo have no account to render up — no judgment day to face — no froumingGod to meet — no hell to be "terrified at. These heart weights have spoiled your pleasur e . — Now, I do not pietend to :?1 4 CMLL TO DECISIOlf. 147 things will happen to you ere long, — either y;>u will bo con- verted, or a sickness unto death will come upon you. Trifle with this, if you please, but remember the words of Him who has sa^d, "He that, being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed without remedy." Still, you refuse to take hold of help — to yield to the Spirit. What, we ask, will be the result? See, see, yonder mighty range of moun- tains. \ The ravines are deep — the summits are high arid ^^SSV' It is the Alpine mountairis. The passage across them is one of danger, of difficulty, of peril. Da you see that man on the summft of the first mountain there, casting a glance across the perilous passage'"? IJe is about to attempt that fear- ful journfey. See ! now his friends are gathering around him. See how earnest they are in trying to dissuade'Jiim from his determination ; but he is resolved — nothing can shake his pur- pose. The sun is setting hphind the western mountains; the shadows of night deepen fast around him. All is now night — dark, dark night. Scarcely a twinkling star is seen, to relieve the profound gloom. Part of the roa Seize thy blood-l;>ought crown,"* They havu then conducted you down around hell*s yawning gulf, and cried, "Behold its tor- . mented captives!" Gaze" oh its woes! Listen to its shrieks, d^ v ho\ylings, its thundets ! " — and said, " Mfein, escape t— escapfl fbr thy life!" The Father has called — the Son has jlfeaded-fi- -•?, ;ihe Spirit has striVeh— the ministers of God have stood in; jhe ■' temple, and cried, •? Repent!" and reasoned of a judgrpent to v .fconie. Angejs ha v^ remonstrated, mercy ^soijight, heaven has.-^ frowned and smiled, hell has foaredi time ha^.i|ed, dieath has / shakfin his dart, and threatened to n^ake repehtq^nce yain*,. In ;^ 'l-,t yopr'j^ath t«^eath^ the Crass rose up iikejinaming''l» tastop you, Jesus Christ lay across the road that leads Ito ^ell, '; •• and you have had to stumb^e^^^ver the CroOT., ^ lyo^ perishj' - '', you must make- the Son of. 'Gbd Ji stepping-stohe to a deejper '- V> damnation; aod,strAnge to say, you have 'closed yQpr,eyes;.yoiur ' *' ears, to all advice, all r^pfdo^ and rushed on bvbi judgment and mercy ; — or; If you have pau^ied for a itKMment' in your dovm- v ward cotirse, you haveloil(edat']|}€|aye|i,.and.thenatsinandpl^s^ Nre, and you' have halted. Y^ill»%)a have halted.. Amidst the • ' cryof thy the tljun- «*, ders of a dissolving world, by the wail of the da^nhed, decide^ ,.. ► decidf now for God; or*, if not for God, then decide for^ E^l. - ^^ Thai * then, is your decision, is it? .You. have iha^e up'l^f mina, hgiiVe jrou, to embnice the world 7^ to drirtk deep of its cup 1 1 ' The* w^ ^ive yoi^ a little advice : Sleep on now, and^ take your , rest. You have had no rest while you have been trimming between these tWo opinions; your conscience has been a rack; N - !5« j^ \ /'"v.. RBTITAL lMISCELLMlI«tf. thoughts of the future Have haunted your midnigl^t houra. ^eek, now, what little happiness thou canst from the \vqtl(|; seek for it in every earthly enjoyment; Walk in thfe way^ of thrae heart, and in the sight of thine eyes ; «^ratify every pas. sion ; deck thy person with everything attractive in the world's eye pettier every scene of amusement; select for thy compan. iont the\most jovial of the world; purchase every luxury of life; drink with the drunken; sing with the loudest ; never enter the hduse of God, or thy cpnscietice will be disturbed; forsake every means of grace, dose the Bible, and let the ^ust thicken on its covers; never let thine eye glance at a Teligiowf book; shun the people of God as thy greatest enemies j neii*er, listen to the Vbice otconscience ; drive the Holy Spirit from thy breast; never turnN^ine eye towards Calvary; banish all thoughts of heaven frdm thy mind; smile at death ; laugh at • eternity; look up to the\throne of the Great Eternal and cry, "Who is the Lord, that I sl^ould serve him ? "' stand on the edge of the infernal gulf, and shimt, "Hail! thou pr ofound est hell." If you have a good principle,^ through with i^"Kor sinner! get all the happiness thou ca^t, for it is all thou wilt ever have. Thou refusest the sweet f^t of religion ; — ^et.all thou canst from the world, Ipr the time is near when thou wilt never rest fora moment again. All thy W is on this side of the tomb. There is^one beyond for theies unless^'the yell of dev- ils, the groans of the damned, the roar d( the eternal stoini, \k teunt of fiends, the quenchless flame, the gnawings of.tj^e undy- ' ingworms, the fire-beds of hell, be rest, —>^nless recollections df having losta day of grace, trampled on the precious blood of Ghwst, and forfeited heaven, be your rest, -Annless the com. pany of lost.men and lost angels, God's eternalVnger, the Re- deemer's eteinaHrown, and the braving of the hdwlings o^aji eternal night, be rest. If these things canngt gi^you rest, 4 Awthere is no rest for you beyond the grave. Ded^e, then, #iitft for* heavep, for hell. How long, then, halt yo Ijetween two opinions ? ~ ^ ' " * 99^ ■ 4*- ■ S&RMON XI • AN INVITATION TO STRAITtaWa) SOIILS,/* ' Even 80 would he have removed theejpul of the Btrait Into thie broad place, ♦heit Ihen l«.no8tfaitiiesa,>aiidlhatJ¥hich should be set «u thy table ehduld be fiiU of fat Be«s."*-5o« 36:16. ' / J. 1 THINK I have seen, jferhups, as' much or more of Methodist [people t|ian the generality of this congregation. I have mingled with them in b3th hemispheres by hundreds and thousand? ; and frpm all I have seen of them I come to the conclusion that they [may be divided into two classes — those' who take high ground ii) I religion,— that is, holy ground, ---and those who take low ground. 1 Ispme will say, "But do you intend ta divide all into two classes ? " Yes ; there is a third class, but it-is not worth mention- , [ing to-night,— the unconverted class,— for there are unconverted [members of the Methodist chur^. tfs well as others. Metho- [dism is cursed with unconverted members,- as weJ| a^ other [churches, who live without salvation, who ftre just HWj the brutes that went into Noah's ark; — they went in brutes^ and came put [brutes ; — ^ they came among the Methodists unconverted, and they go into eternity in the same mannor. Perhaps there are'^thtee hundred persons on the secretary's books who, on this and the other side of the river, have obtained a clear evidence of the'; , [juatification, and who believe in God that they hj^ve found^ ssL 1 vation. Now, I ask you, and also those who hav|i,i)een recovered ■ from a blacksliding sta^e, what; would have become of you, il " you had died in yoir past state? You would have gone to tell ■ . :. ■■.:. ■-. ■ : :■■.-.-. *;' ■'■::/-■■■ " w .A- ■: . ... ... . ^ \ ■ , .^ .,,, * A ftrewellsermooi^ jpreached in Sans-sireet chapel, Sunderland (Eni{.) 154 I EVIVAL MISCElLANIES. Now, as to the second class, — thosafllvho ore on low ground in religion. How often, when it has been said in this sort, " Uy dear sister, how is it that you dq not enoy s6 much religion as this or the, other person ? " you have replied, '^If I Had as good a husband as that person, I should enjoy as much religion ;" or, "If I had a house as Well furnished, or as good a family; but in' ray present circumstances 1 can make no pretensions to having a high degree of grace." Or, if ^ne of you has been asked why he, like that good brother, had not always the smiles of Heaven on his face, he has replied, •• If I had a wife like tliat man, AN INVITATION TO flfiAlTENED SOUU. 154 of sea-room, and although the, very sails were torn into .strips; there vvas no danger of shipwreck on a Ite-shore. ' A strait implies a difiiculty of choice; hence St.^Paul^ said, ••I am in a strait Wtwixt two, having a desire to depart ;and4o be with Christ, which is far better." We say of a man, when he cannot pay his debts, that he is in straitened circumstances; and Ifind that in various coun^es they have terms to express the same Istiate. In Scotland thej say pinched or hampered : in America, that he has a^ haid row to hoe. This expression is in reference to the iUing of sugar or com. Sometimes one row is harder than another, and one poor fellow lags behind the rest becauso he has got a harder row to hoe; and so, wheaanybody is in great pecuniary trouble, it is said he has a -hard row to hoe. Wo say a inaii is in a strait when he has a large femily and a small income; ind many a professor of religion is straitened when he gets to cla^s and finds there IS no religion in him. His leader gets up and says, "Brother, how do you feel ?» He is straitened, and if not dis^»l»d to act the part of the hypocrite, he has scarcely a word to say. But if he has got religion,, he is not straitened at all ; his heart is full, his soul is full, he has a living spring of joy within himself; he IS in a broad place ; he^qually meets the demands of the law and Chri^ian love; "he rejoices evermore, prays without ceasing," and thanks God for everything. - ; t So much foT the literal meaning of the words. I cannot tell whether I have hit your views pn this point; but it is not par. ticular, if you understand that as strait places are unpleasant in temporal circumstances, they are also unpleasant in spiritual ' affairs.-' ':...'■' ^^ - ■■ '-,' #;'. ■ ■ "• „■ The next point is, why the Almighty Father uses these words to every professor of religion in this chapel. I wish to be unde^. stood that I takethe j^ssage in its evangelical hense, ?nd there- fore shall leave Elihu and Job, andapplyJttlirectiyto ourselves, a nd m e ntion some — ...- — ^„yy, auu appy.ii, uireciiyio ourselves, «..u ..icni.on some reasons why our Heavenly Father us0 these AS h^ words. .Qod Jfnows, you have had plenty of it,brethren ; . you have been stfaiteiied in your souls long enough, narrow a^d Contracted, always iii:a strait in fe«f ling,— as lean as Phaiaoh'* V;.. w ■ 166 BItlTAL lltl m tirSei ttlf^ANin. lean kin©, — a lean heart.. Many a time you have saii, "0! my leanness ! " When yoti have got down to pray, you hove said, " O! my leanness! *' You have been straitened for words and ideas, and have had a sad tij^e of it. My brother nnd sister, pray "Briflg me out of a strait place to-night,"'— I. wish you may do so. Amen. -^ The first reason is, that the grand designs of Christ may be "^ answered. You remember the shedding of Christ's blood had two ends in vieWj — the first to obtain pardon, and the second purity. •• Without the shedding of blood there can be po remis- •iofti" "The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth from all ■in." When you have obtained a remission of sin and a sense of pardon, if you are content with these, you go into a strait place, as sure as you are a man. Says one, " Why ? " Because if you go out as the Reubenites, and do not cross over -Jordan to Canaan, you will get into a strait place. So long as you are only justified and not purified, you are only half a believer; and do you think Christ can be satisfied with your being half a ' believer ? Christ pleads for you ; and much of your straitened feeling is to make you forsake the low ground, and bring )rou to a higher state of religion. Another reason why ouf Heavenly Father uses these words is to take us into a broad place out of straitness. If I under- stand any thing,, the Lord wishes us to be happy, and oh tife meaning of the words "Rejoice evermore,"— and "again I say rejoice." Now, brethren, happiness and holiness are inseparable companions, and sin and misery are wedded as close together. My brethren, in proportion as you carry in your breasts sin, you carry misery, — you carry a portion of hell in your nature, - you carry a little of the fire of hell in your nature, — you carry a little of the worm that never dies, that is the torment of the wicked in hell, — you carry the dread instrument that torments the damned forever. While you have sin, you have part of thr devil's mark in your nature, that will distinguish the sheep frorni the goats-; you have the sharpness of the sting, the hotte *^coals of hell, ^n your nature, and therefore your conversion mu be connected with unhappy feeling until God purifies yout he % 4 * ;■• I ^'«^a IflVITATIOII TO 8TRAITENKD SOULS. 157 So long as you are only partly renewed in hctH and life, and Qod and the devil divide your life, you will be inconsistent inside and outside, and inconaistency always brings with it unhappiness of mind. •• Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness." Again : his desire is that we should be contented with all oui iMrcumstances. Says God, ••Contentnjeiit is great gain." Now, in order to my being contented with my present state of soul, f must know first that I can be in no better state. If I have fell that 1 have been so lean and in such a strait place, is not God willing to remove my leanness, and to give me a broad place, or must I be content with my present state ? Have I felt that God him8e.f can make me no better by his Spirit, and that I am just aswellaslcanbe? Ah, this will not do I God can remove my secret trouble, and 1 never dan bfi content until the blood of , Christ cleanses me from all sfa). And hence, my friend, what has been the state of your soul for years ? Why, looking back and saying, •• I wa« very happy at such a time when God con- . verted me some years ago, and I hope I shall be so again in the " future, but there is a difficulty in my experience." Is that so brother ? You don>t seem to have a present tense to your hap- # piness. That is the difficulty with you. I recollect, in my read- ' ing, meeting with this remark, "Some people's good days are hke the verbs in the Hebrew language ; there is no present tense, * -all IS in the past or future." When 1 saw this, I was some thousands of miles from you, and' there was sitting Wde-me a young man from Scotland, who was seeking religion and desir- ing to be very happy. I saif •' My friend, hearken to this : — . Some people's good days are like the verbs in the Hebrew lan- guage ; there is no present tense, — all is in the past or future." "Ah, yes," says he. with deep emotiou," and that puts me in " mind of what the poet says : ' ,5^i:-; 'Hope hprlugs eternal ia iV hunan breast ; -^;--: ^ never is, but always to be blest."' Do you know that you English people sent over to America a recipe.to make people happy ? but I can tell you it never worked ■ >*■ ; 14 158 BKTITAL SnSCtLLAinM. in Am«rica; I don't think it ever mode man or woman hap()y Says one, " Wh^t was the recipe ? " Why, it was this. •♦ ThanI, God for the good things he has given you in this life, and prom- ises ypu in the life to come. If any one goes into a garden to ^iher cobwebs and spiders, he will find plenty of them ; but if he goes for flowers, he will return with the flowers of happiness blooming in his bosom.'' If you are in a strait place, you may think of the good things that God has promised you in the next world; but you will go into the garden of domestic comfort, and, instead of gathering flowers to bloom in your bosom, you will get cobwebs and spiders, — or plants to make you as lean as Pharaoh's kine. Never, till you carry a holy heart into thi shop, the parlor, and the market, or on the river and sea, — never, till you carry a holy heart about with you, — con you go into the garden of domestic comfort, and come back with flowers of hop. piness blooming in your bosom, — no, never till you graduate into holiness. • This sentiment oF^lhe writer relative to the Hebrew verbs does not apply to others^ Some of us have happy doys, — like our good old English vef|]^, our happiness hos a present tense, Hoppy yesterdoy, hoppy this week, hoppy this month, hoppythis year ; blessed be God, happy next doy, hoppy next week, hoppy next month, happy next yeor, ond, blessed be God, hoppy now. As regards us, this sentiment of Pope is not correct. And if we ^ have got religion, if the Holy Spirit has mode us a holy heart, we are exceptions. Blessed be God, those who ate converted to God, and enjoy holiness and perfect love, they are holy — they are blessed. Poor Byron ! how I have felt when I have read that sentiment of his, in which he says, "I hav^ been thinking over how many days I have been happy in my ife, and I have never been able to moke more than eleven; and I have often I wondered in my mind whether lean make the round do7«*n between thi? time and my death." Whether poor Byron made out the round dozen I cannot tell ; but oh, give me the Bible | give me religion, give me holiness, and, bless God, I shill have r better story to tell than poor Byron. I think if I can gather anything of the mind « Goa, it is M •^- f WVITATrOM T^, «TEAIT«iiflb SOlfLS. IW iihould be UMful. A. holinCTsnn^^MLi .>. .1 ^ , ,' pr,de .„d va,.,.y I wa, ..ruck, d„i„j .he fi„. y../?'™;,^ ..try, w..h a «„.,me„. con.ainid in p„eof Mr. Weaky'. C" ' and. Ie..crwm..„ ,„o,bcf«,,h, ^. «,„ver„d 7h kl '^^ • lege, wi8hingh,(l, to tok, a paruh in the Established Church- .« af er reading ,h,. .„*,, h„ replied a. follow,: .-My d^l . ■ mother, I ath persuaded of this, that the mo,« holy a m,„VZ ^ Lt Whilst o„;«r-,c°':firs'r holy hear. ,, one free frompride and vanity; and when diSi! -• ^ us wtthou. pum„, us up with pride |i nm^^S^ . There ore many local preacher, here. Bless God fo* ihi'-"; local preacher, - O ye local p...cher.,-,o,„etin^,a when I'tj ^"' 2 d«tant place, and take „ text, you' have liber.,^"or.W^ : hat you are a ft,™,, and" can .ay anything; but Whf™ v»« ' ' have m been long in the pulpit before the devran?vTJ'* ' " ^k,ng together, and you tjy yo„ ean^^ i" X^SS tf'^ your .nstrun-entahty, and you go home feeling rather bi»- Th- e, t.me you have gone, you have beep a, d^T. 'fk- y^ ' have had no power, no unction, and you have broke „n 1 ' Kyou had a holy heart, when God put Lblni^ufJ'^' ' t A". leaned to preach the G^U^' I^Ta^XZ "'' " ^ '»-nobu,ine,,in,,,,^./;„.^ j;^"^^ ^s^^^^ ■^m'^w^^^^^v^^ 166 BBHTAL MiaCBLLANIES. ...TVi « Woe is me il * pr?ach not the Gospel," and God has wanned your heart, sent you away happy from preaching, and converted sinners under yoirr instrumentality, you have no cause to doubt. The man who feels a yearning for souls, and power in preach- ing, wh6 sees God awakening sinners, is not required to go to'heaven to know whether God calls him; he need not go to the' depths to know whether he is called to preach the Gospel, his ratificatnn is in the' inward glow which he feels, the uhctiou. .and power; and, brethren, you have had it ov|f and over again. And God gives talents to those he calls, -^ whom he calls he qualifies; but many^ time God has called t6 the wotk a man in whom there have been Ipride, self-will, and vanity, lurking. Brethren, the Lord thej[i puts a curtain between you and useful- ness, and watches your operations. Take the'' purest glass of water and place dirt in it, the dirt will sink to the bottom ; but shake it, and it will come up again. So God shakes you to bring, outall your impe5fections. Parents do not place knives or sharp instruments in the hands of chfldreh, 'r v.: AN INVITATION IfO'STBllTENiD SOULS^ m wuiild be on behalf of those men of Odd, who, ^hout fee or reward, go east, west, ^prth, and south, to preaph the Gospel earning their bread by the sweat of their face-^uring the week' My dear brother, hoven tempted to g..e .„^ Th doot wr.3 strait. Now, I tell yo«, God .s wlUng t^at the place should be enlarged; fce only wants you to be pur-Bed, and th^ i„e will soon come when you shall preach. You n>«st te tanyai Jerusalem unlS you be endued with power from onl..gh. God v-ants you; there are plenty of sinners to •« -""-"'^'i^V Ij^ viU take you down to the docks yonder, and m.ake you a flame of fire, and Joui voice shall behcard even across the river. He does not wan^u to go into the pulpit. just n^M 1« will make yifm^me of fire aloirg the lanes and at %:eorners of streets, long before the clergy or ministen. »« f '""B" ; J™ might h*re half a dozen of the poor of Sunderland ^thered ttoundVou, and God might give you the souls of th« poor, who, TitorWthering ever)H«>tm of this world's vicissitudes, shall gather gloryardtindyo5?head forever. But you are notready; T«i, therefore, thoughte has called you, he has not given you anything to do. -■ mt' -.r ' . n ' u I believe/brother, you will never have prbsper.ty till you obey this call. I am speaking to A man who heats me and under, stands me. But God wHl not let you render obedience until vou are purified. Lord help me! I dare not give way to my feelings, but still Dike the man so well that Lmust say. "Will vou net get purified to-night -^ will you not get endued with LwerTrom on high ? " There are some here who ought to be dassJeaders ; you have nothitig tb do, and the reason is, you are not holy yet. Some of you aresunk low in your temporal affairs. The reason is, you have not giveUvyour heart fuljy^to God ; your business does not flourish, because you are not holy. 1 ' m one of tho^e who believe, with an English poet, that : .,:. . %' ■ - ■---- ' ' ^ ■ it God gives to every man the talents, temper, taste, . Then lets him fell into the niche ^. He was ordained to fill." V a There ar^ some men who have thousands of gold and silver, and .he will not aUiW them to enjoy it, bey of you wish to be removed from your present straitness intb a broad^ place? Thjn take the lesson with you, — "What thmgs soever you desire when - ye pray, believe ihat y|j»,recciVe tl em, and ye shall have them." n ire* rsi^'ri ■^^^' cf. / ■N, ..■ ■;' -i-s-':' ":«v-- . "W;- --.'V- yt^A.- a ^ ■■•■ 'y^^ ^:."^ f>S^ :f\ ■ » • ^ m-: \ *y- ■ ^ ':A KEtn AL ^MISCELLA^ lES. PART II % -I CHAPTER I. IS ^TfXM) SAifCTIB'iCATION A GRAD^TAL OB AN INSTAN- q'ANEOUS WORK? ' • " It is freijuently asked j "Is .the blessing of entire sanctifiea- tion graduaU or is it instantaneous?^* 'I answer, in three ^ respects it is gradual, andin one only is it instantaneous. )st It is gradual, from ,the feet that ^^^egins in the momen of justification ; and jso long as the new convert is faithful, the Worlc steadily advance!^ iir his seu1,-till he « sanctified entirely, throughout soui,.body, and spijit.; and, 2d. ^^^ong als he con« tinues faithful, ther^ is ho pause in his advancement to hi| degrees of love and holiness,'4Jntil he is released^frdm this egaacle of clay. This is what the apostle meant, I irnagm©, by ^^psrftcting holiness^. 3d. Noi- does the work pause in het^ven j ^ it is gradually progressive throughout eternity. In one respect j^ (Ally is entire sanctificationinstantaneouie,-—if/ie entire «epant^to/t of sin from the soid.% This'ihifst necessarily be in a monieni, . if the believer is purified, before he enters eternity. . The .argument "may, therefore, be brought within a narrow compass; nor ne^4 brevity induce obscurity. If you admit the following simple propositions^ a muliijAicity of tco^rifa Will be avoided, a^ they frequently only darken counsel. 1st. That justi^catjon Sind*' entire sanctification^'biTe two distinct bless- ings. 2d.^ That each is tb be distinctly apprehended ahd receieed by faith. THis you will not be inclined to doubt, if you have consulted Romans "5: 1; Acts 26: 18 j and Acts 15: 9. 3d. That justificr.iion implies the forgiveness of sins, and, conse-' jBEVrrAL |^$f JSLLANIEfll^ i vX". I,-, ii Ifrom condemnation/ l^inu^t include sanctifiqdtion,.-- j ^iii^tficatioif," — mc)i JW^that foi' fM'e^s&irutio^^f the Me map, to &o&2. The 4 {> that tH% %legii^l \tfilttifJB, ionj^ikt^l&m^ ecery power of body, soul, an^^^rit, to •^ willll^me^nesd^of^od. 6th. That this stiinda in*^|arably '^tjp^inected Vv^ a staia ^ purity, siich as is recogi>iz^d'|t|'that >d jcpnir^nd, — ** J^e'ye holy, for I the Jjord your (p^l^ a/w i^lnnd again, — '^Beye perfect, eiwjn as your 'FatHer in)ikaven ^^^;/«»;" such as tjtot wliicfa 18 so, beautifully expressed by fe?i^hn» ---" For every man that' hath, this hope in him purifieth hi^ff, even as he is jfure ;*\oki^ upon whic'h 'Christ himsell ^pron()irnce8 that blessing4; — **filessed are the pure in hmrt, fy gracious will, ^■^ Through every instrmnent of illi ' 'My Father's goodness ?ee ; | Accept the complicated wrongf «•* « • r ' Of Shimei^ band, or Shimei's:tongue,^V^ ^ ^^^ As kinAr^l&fcfrdmthee." : :\ ■.'; ^^'l^^^. i:f If they despised P^ficmmfff^rnate, shak yoTu^k<:a,pc? If. tbey spat upon the face'9f yW faster, shajl they be disinclined if °^®y^ontempt to his Jfeumbie^'and faithful servant? If the \fuiad wa crown^witb*4^*^hemember^eed not expect a i sprinkling o f ro se-buds . * '+ >^' M .r j^^ \ 'i% Vir ..m ■ i-i ^* % lioly a s night follows day, -aa' kertainly will that black ange^«cMi«m folljw holiness," av^s . |ttte true remark of one now with God, But who everblushed^^ wat be excelled in his profession ? See to it, my dear Wther/ ym you rtaUy ncdj and ramember that youz obligationi to bt % f f- ,1 1- \ REVIVAL MI8CELLAN11W. fibfiit multiply in the same proportion as yoa draw m/ ''attentions^' toward yourself. Mr. Fletcher tells u, that the purified believer has the simplicity of the gentle dove, the patience of the laborious ox, the courage of the magntlniniious lion, and the wisdom of the wary serpent, without auyof its poison ;-~all the above catalogue of virtues ydu will need, jf you would profess and retain this blessing. Earth and hell are arrayed against holiness; therefore expect the shatt)es| tnak- But do not forget that holiness must te^appended ip it some distingtiished privileges, as "a « set-off " to its sacrifices. Some of these glorious privileges you already realize ; you must die to hwuf the rest. ^ • "' .v.if|j A good man once said to an antagonist of , his, .'^It is ensiei to raise a dust than to answer an argument." k Of the former, there is no deficiency among the enemies of present holiness. 1 shall use the " besom '» of another to sweep away part pf it ; and after that, may possibly lay the rest with a sprinklmg of "the waters of the sanctuary." Traveller* inform us that vegetation is so quick and powerful in some aiimates, that the seeds of some vegetables yield a salad in less than twenty-fpur hours. Should a northern philosopher sa^, impossible, and ehquM^an English gardener exclaim against such mushroom salad.^ihej would only ^kpose their prejudices, .^s^-do those jho-^ej^ mst^ntantfous justification, or mock at the possibility o^he instantaneous destruction of indwelling ?in.\ ; \-^^ ' it has been asked, » Is not a total death to sin the argufPeiit Of th^postle, in the sixth chapter to the Romans ? " Certainly. « Is ni dying a gradud proeess ?"■ Not always.' S(ime die m i moment. Wheq I was in the city of Cork, some time since, I amin fell from the third story of d building; -a quiver was all; he was in eternity in a moment. A short tfme ago, ma io«J»here"I was holding special services, a man in good hcte^hile standing at the door of a hotel, 'dropped down dead ii a moment. John the Baptist, St. Jamhs, and SL FU were all beheaded; and this was the work but of a motnen "What, then, becomes of the gradual process, in such cases; ani dwy are very numerous? But is the term gradual, m tnej ;*■ . .U >>>,. 1 ENTIRE "tANCTIFICkxioN. m lense you mean, in any case strictly correct? THo sicic nian may, indeed, be gratlpajly approaching death; but he is not dead until his soul is separated from the body ; and this iakes place m a single instant of time. There is ti last moment, we all "allow, when the soul still holds its possession of the body, and a f.rst moment wheh the body is^^tenanekss" of the immortal guest: It is clear, then, that death- is imtantamous, althougI| the approach to it ii gradual. You.'rtust, therefore, prceivo that Ifce argument is gpod for nothihg; it is, in fact, " worse fhan-jwthing," in reference to.the question. / a |;Th^ apostle, in the sixth of- Romans, speaks^jof some, and of pims^lf nmong the rest, who had experienced a totnl death to sm ; and'inQuires, ^'HoM> sKdll we thai are dead to sin live ar9y longer therein?''' A last moment there was, in the history of these believers, when -the/ VTjere not dead to sin. There was a first moraenrwheh^theyw6re as dead to sio as the body is dead when- the soul is stfparated fronyt." '^"•« If sin cease before death," says Mr Wesley, "it must, in ie iiature of the case, be instan- taneous. There m.ust be a last moment when sih exists in the soul, and a first monoent when it does not exist.'" But a'l this, you will perceive, doe«' not preclude the gradual work. From the instaot that the peniten^nner js justified does the gradual work of mortification to.^pke progress in his soul. But, as in th^ case of: the dying pefion already alluded to, he gradually ' approaches fllarer and nearer the hour of deliverance; an instant ' arrives when " cruel sin sMsts no more.^ So true is that fims jsentimem of^pme writer, #• Tkeioor^ of purification i^ gradual m preparation, hut imtaiMneous in reception ; ai|f the more learnestly we long for this unspeakable Hessing, the mJf swiftl [the preparation increiises." --;^ik*''*f' It may be ^, "If there is not some unavoidabI?llce«iiy'^ |for the gradual destruction ||^ in our nature, ivhyb^itlhatj od does not at once accorH^liSIT that for us iMfei ncn4^ [iJmsetf can?" There is an error couched in the above q<|e lion, which^pridently embarrasses y6ur judgment. The piS,. Hement pfie destruction of sin does not arise fro^i any ^disposition on the part of God; nor, I may add, from M» '-■-■■'.''•::■-.' Va ■■■'.■::■ ■■'■'^ :'■■ .;■'■ '"^". •■■":, ".™ •:«^ I l!l- k [tf.^- i ■"^8%^ RE '^■ VlVAL MWCEtLANlBft. ^ nnalier^il^ilLnVrm lft# ot^ f«i4Te" vl.ich necei nitatenVgradual jiea^h to sin; but simpy from »he want oi faith cm/Ihe part of the Christian himself. Failh is the ctrJi. tion : v« Punfy'm0b their hearU by faith:' Acts 15 : 9. The blessing. 18 givei? in the moment thi^l he beliem; but it is ahvay; ^withheld fe the absence of fttitfi. Why this is so, is m m^ the Question, I only sta.te a Bcriptuml (adt ; and am f ncver^ls in dli*|Btian experience; We Vmw that the iides of •/Aeoctffln.jolloWthe>togreseK)f the waxing and waning moon but, by what secret springf^of nature the phenomenon js p'o- ' duced, or why Ood has'suspon^i^d these fluctuations upon a' law like ihht of gravitation, th^\vi%5{ are \inflSble to detertnine. Our Lord„expfesslf|iecti|^, " V^ tJnn^ksoet^er ye desire when ye jn-ay, believeMat; ye receive them, ^nd ye shall' hatt ^i4hemr Mark \l\UJ T^w directly toihe point.. F^^th has neverljeen better defitdfrlian in thi|giflflQriou^' ji|Drtiisg,^. It is h^re presented stripped .oTf all, dbscuriiy^^ that r|l^^^.sti^ ' , gtoist's veracity, as he 'doe^m his diglfftj^^can'have no^^ |v pultyhem'in beliavrng^for a clgtoeart,: Hero, we have, U ^ ^i)ifnl^ as 4i>ialil5cjfti«n: vJ^ 1$s is" sincere, ,ps crdesirc ' ggrt^mlljS iSit'brings vith all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all oui might, and our neighbor^ as ourselves? or make ourselves pjr- 'ect as our Father In heaven Is perfect? or purify and tran||irni ourselves into the holir»8s of God? Surely not. Sooner' may thie ledpard change his spots, |the fcthiopian his 'skin. Sooner may we cleanse hell of devijs. But'ihe commandment has gone forth; ability to perform must >ome from some quarter. Who shall qualify us thus to love ? Who shall make us thus holy, if we ourselves cannot? God himself will -do it. The apostle refers t^Ms whblft to him : •' The very God of /^ace s^nc- tify you wholly ^f^ I pray Qvd your whde spirit and soul and liody be preserved Mameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithfi^U ^ that callethjyou, who also will do it.** 1 Thess 5 23, 24.vB^t does God desire, us to be as holy and loving aa he has'colnmaiided us to be ? Yes, surely, for it is v> f.;« ><^*r- .-♦,* It/ *''''hi 174 J* REVIVAL MISCELLANIES.^ I * 'V-:r ■%■'-' f--\ ,>;^.-,^^:'.:':^- ;■:.;..■; '.lV- expressly declared," This is ' the will of God, even your sano-J^* Ji/ication." 'But i? it possible we can' be tfms holy, pnd love God and OUT neigli^r to such a degree? Certainly'it is; else 'he h^d never coifimanded it. Does he expect, does Jie desire, instant obedience ? Most surely; for, "for God to command,; with 3Ut the possibility of our obedience, or vvithout,a jjg|j[e sire we should obey, is (^Hitc unworthy of the* charact^Wr the 'supreme Govejrnor of the iniverse. That one scnttilfte, "in the V passage already quoted, is worth a yo\\ime.—**.Faithfi4is he thap^ callcth yotii whtxilso will do it.'" Well, then, so, suiely as .(Gfed- l^s commanded, ouf ;;er/cc^ love'&rk^\^rfect holtness-j $o surely, as we ctinnot;create;Within' U3 such a grpcicyis state; so'cSr* tainly^s God conimands, £tnd desjijes us to be holy, while none burhimself cat! niiake us so ; sp certiainly it is hls,,pleaisure that we should obey, and^nter wpi» into this state t)Jf perfect love and perfect purity ; ■*- so surely is tbte work of^ sifi'sf destntction, s^ hevirt puri^catioh^ instantaneous. ^ • ;« •• ,♦ ' • " But you will ask, "3*^hy, then, p nbt"*'^9in\iiftmediately exjpelled from our.nq^ture ? Why are we not iftstantjy purified?' J How is it that. w0 do not aV once love ^jlfe Lord our Gb^,'^ all our heart?" The reply is at hand ; -he.has rplanijed'^he method of our purification. We are, free ag'enfs^ and*jbie nas ordained that we shall be saved from all inwaM sin'^W^j^X^i, fronx all* outward, by our 6wn free will, cbns#t, a.n;d ^nc, however/favored me with tfce means of ottammg clearer l.ght, both as it regarded the doctrine itself, and my own expervence alVtanc^, not necessary to mention, demandedjl shoul re'ide^n another partof the State. " Here hohness of heart, and ^.U L G^ ahd man. were set forth with great clearness *%ri^ention was now awakened, and the doctrine became da% more and mo^ interesting. I th^ >eg.n to inv^'g^^ ; and to obtain light from every source of information. 1st. By searching the Scriptures, which I ir,ead throughout upop m Wes. Ind. Mr. WesleyV writings. 3d. TUe expener^e^o those around m. who affirmed that they enjoyed purity of h?a t. : 4th. By observing closely the exercises of my own inind. T e V result was, a/m determinatim not to rest unti I felt that tt Meod of Jesus Christ had cleansed me from all sin. 1 sougW the blessing earnest!/ by day and by night I -f ^ Prayed. , . and wept, and often entered into an agony of soul for the bless- 1 injr Months passed away Without m Q^^er benefit than a« increased spirituality of mind, accompanied by great tendernessj 16( conscience. Sitting one day in a private room alon^j|raduig I ' Mr Wesley's Plain Account of Christian Perfection, a heavenly - calm, with a consfiiousness of entire purity, over-spreadmy heart, and a light like day-dawn beamed upon my placid sOtU. i ; exclaimed, in s:«veet aihaze. «' Why, if this b^ Christian ^rlect.on, ^. ^hich Mr. Wesley describes,-if this be the true Scr^ptuia^ • view, -^ then I have it ; I do enjoy this very thing. The blood oi | ' *T«ie. but itt a v*ty different Mftse. Indivemng sin implies dcsk|_strM gliaglr gratiecalion. Temptr «on ia a holy hear^occasions .VJjcM^^^ Serfion towards the forbiddea object which it is solicited to Iregwd *^i ! ?■ ; . ^ yor. " fcpiT O B. 4S. JK ENTIBE . SANCTlFitlATION. ^<*^ rJ:-*>v Jejus Christ has cleans«d me \" In 1i moment it occuirfed to my mind,'' It i« notmwl have received tte blessing, biit at that-period n my past history when I obtained tkp witness of the Spirit to ny adoption into the family of Qod; - liben it was, God gave jne^ inofethftn I asked, — a dean heart. This which I begin now to enjoy must be the testimony of the Spirit, relative tg purity." , 1 Cor. 2 : 12; « Now we have received, 7iot the sph'U of the vmld, lutthe Spirit wMchisofGodJhat we nigM k>ww tke thingi \ that are freely give7i to us of God J** I held tl»«r blessing for some weeli's with a trewiM'^ hand, and confessed with a faHering^ tongue, in the asseiKK^ of lh*e " saints, what Go|.h|4 wrought in my-.isou]; The more fe<|UGiuly i^poke of this girejutblessiog, confessing it, and \Jtt^t^0jkt& to press after it, the clearer my evidence became, till I v^. , •'Bold to'dedate iTiy'hallWiof Gfld . . ^^ ' Hath wrought a perfect cure." • * % 0-Mf^- _^ ^■^;^ ■ ■■■ y '-^-•' "->.■ .- -■'•^ :■■■-»...: JWf \ ' •. ^ijhlce thejfi I h?ive passed through many 'fie^ trials and' sore . t^i"fit>tations; have frequently been unfaithful^ln^ thro,Ugh want ' of watchfulness, have been necessitated to COi^tfa'gaiii alfd again to the cleansing blood ; yet I have never had any reason to doubt, that when the Holy Ghost came to my heart as- a,w'-tnessing Spirit, he came as aTWfn/^i^^ Spirit also. * . Sujh was, % own experience. Pcrmtt me to say, that, allowing to this experience the most .extensive application of which the .rasecwill admit, it only goes to illustrate wh{|tfhive dsewhere admitted, that some have obtained entire purityjn the noment ofregeneration.r , v^ : ' i' . ^^ • ^ ^. ; Alio" ne to comment a little upo|v.rny hun.Me narrativ«, as, perhaps, I am the fittest person tor^m^Vk i>i)on the dealings of Uod with my own soul. Previously, to that memorable occasion; when I obtained a clear sense of pardon, I had enjoyed many gracious visitations from on high. A defective educ^gtion in ' theology had materially ertibarr^ssed my decisions respecting, rny religious state. : That I was regenerated, and enjoyed the influence of the comforting Spirit on my heart, &t the peri,^ in question, I cannot no-w reasonaibly doubt. But I lid not under- .: % s? i .9 \'. ':# '■^ HI ji<| never had enjoyed it^ cast- ing aside the «ntire of past expi^irlence* as good for nothing but felf-abasement and deep 'hum|iiEyiion before God. The Lord pitied my distressed jnind, arid, iia great mercy to me, conde- scended to hear my cry, and saved me to the uttermost. " Bless- ings came in clusters;" fltiore, indeed, than my ignorance or -weakness of faith allowed me to askj the toitness of the Spirit, purity of heart j and perfect /owe, which cast outfall torm^ntiqg fear; 1 John 4 : 18, -I then obtained a dearsSturt^g point for - *■ glory, honor, immortalityi, eternal life;" ttQt did I alter nvy course a /single point, but steered Straight/ on ward-' foV the pott of gl«nr. /Like a jse% jiiptain, who has ha4 his l^tifude and k)n» ^gjtode conjrmed. by lunar -obserplionSjW.ith the addition i^jf " / faireT'°and steadier ^bree^^j/.aiyi'anJ^^^^ greater ceW"aintyj ecwiseqtieritly . with a ,Ji^|^|»i<^ .'*l>^ii; ^ |»]iitsued - . iwy voyage to \he skies. ' ^^^ ^ * » *f ^ ' ■ :\ . • " Other objections to? this df ir>ste'nta<»eows .s4iictinca- y ion have j^een Aith|uUy ,niet t apd repli^ to by J^^fetc^ '. ' ShauW yott ask |ii|*^ Man^^ baptisms, i^^ ' ^ j^in^ Spirits rm naieeSSti^l^ -Itp c|e^^ * rejjljr/'th^t tht <5T« ct4f a saoctifyijoig tfup^jdependmg upoii) Au . "^(rfproi' the id\th by >rhi»h^ that'^^t^ and upon >■»-'. tf).' J > r iNfTlSB SANCTIFIC...TIO\, "TS*" Wlr 179 the powef of the Spirit with which it is oppfi^d, Ui^uU U'tmyjL want Qf modesty, if I brought the operations of the Holy Qhaet ^ nnd the energy of faith, under a rule which is not expressly laid *^ down in^he Scriptures. If you ask your physician hoWmahy'. . doses of phytic you must tak6 before all the crudities of y^r stpoiach can 1,e carried off. and your appetif perfectly re,tow»d, he would probably answer you. that tl^ is dc^pends upon the nature ' ' of those qruditjes, the strength of the medicine, and the manner in which your constitution will allow it to operate ; and ^et in geneml, you ^ust %eat the dose. ^ you can beiif ii the romedy has iuJIy answered the desired end. Ireturn a nmil.» an..jerr If one PC werfuJ baptism of the Spirit seals ^ unio ' A.rfayy:re^.;«^iow, and cleanses you from all (morale ,ie much the better. If two, or more, are necessary.the Lord c^ ^peat them; his arm is not shortened thatit.cdnnot save,- nor i^ h^,prorn.^of the Spirit stinted: He says, in geneml. • ^o^ e»h^ma,l^ htm take of the water of life freely: ' If ye, being eml hm>u. haw to gi^ good gifts unto yaivr children, L, mud, nmemU ^r Heavenly Father^ [who i/|oodne.s itself] • W^ his Holy[sancU{ymg] ^Spirit to therk that ash him!' Imav ' however, v^Mure fo say J„ general, that, beforeVe can rank : ' among perject Christians, we must receive so much of the truth' - and Spirit of Christ by fakh, as tp .have the pure love of.CJod , and man shed abro^^ i„ our liearts, by the Holy Ghost given ^ ^ unto us rai^ to be p^ with the n^ek and Jowly mind which » -■^■ 2^^^%.^^ ^ on^' outpouring of the Spirit, one hrigfef maii.feiatio«r^ the i^nctlfying truth, .Stfempties'us ohsefC^'^ r wdoubtedly ^timmm m the full sen^J^ of ihe woid " ■ * " - " K h:^^^.:j^::1^ye found, T^ust, f^ll a^ ^s^tiafaotoi^; . ^ I«|iM..do .comeViip t^. this fChtistiap .perfection) ; wto* then - ^iii^'ir-' M.;we,ley;;lie^^;;i^^^ .^ta^ - If they i ^an) P;d Q, - 1 yfi ^ My tb^ y ai fe sanctified, Jv^ . ■ i-t. ■■(, ssid" ) ' I I III I l!^' It BEVlVAIf MISCBI-LANA 4^ _.lNBin i/t tM^ moment liiU that tbey need never lose what ^a5 given them, ot feel 9in any ni^i«. Put,, certainly, th|^ ^je^inpt c^se. It is otherwise with Jie genefality of ^s0^ vi^5^jMs,tified. They feel itt t|ieoiselv«8, mofe or le^s, pride, an^,^f^will, anda heart bentto ha^^ they h^e gmdually mortified these, they ar^ ud^ f«iy rehewed in lovevttjodasi^lfy gives a eonsider^bk time for raeri to receive light/to grow in grac?, to do and sijier his will, before thi4 aro eithet justified or 8^pc|ifted, ,^ut he does m inv^pbly a/lhcre to this. 'Sonietwti^s Ac W^A«Jrr^w work, B&y^ea the/ work of lijany yeari ia a foww^kar perhaps »n a week, a d^y, an 'hour. He justices attd saR#^^ both t^se w^«^ have^one or^ suffore* nothing, and S^# %a^p tik hftd time foir'*a gradual growth, either in light' br.grace. AtM^may lie not do what he ^;: will with his ovi^n ? I? thine eye evir bfeeause he is good ? / |f , need not "therefore hp proved by forty texia of Scripture, eittier that Ihoat men are perfected in iov«^ at last, or that therb^is a gradual work of God in the soul ; nhd that, generally spes^king, it* is a long tune/ even many years, ^kre ^In is destroyed. "All this we know ; but we know, likewise, that Ood way, with man's good leavp ! cut short his work i|i wfiatever degree hp pleafses, and do the work of many years in a mortent. He does so. in many instances. And yet there is a gradiial.vf or}c, both before ' and after, that mome.nt. ^o that On© may affirm the work is ' gradual,— andther, it is instantaneous^---, without any manner of Gontr-adiction."* ■ " ^ ';'*,.. #ere I to add more, it would, perhaps, lessen the impression which the above sentiments are so wetl ■Hi* ■■ " , .■■ '^ ' . . .• ■' , . ■ " .' I. .Elite SAIl!5TtnC4T*Ipr A^^.ifilt^ ■>/■ '' So lar as I amja(%a||t|id willi^ihe^l^ Mti^n^^tificatjon: and ^ctificii({& If ^1' &niiv5&r, ijecai^C - J ' 1 ^^ ' distinGt; ;iiieaii|^% ahat^^Jhpr M^ m^ ' ^^rMmytns.^ .I*he .©n^' ' ■ 'r^r, '■ ■Ifcf Wlies what P©(Jvdoes^p/;^h^ otfier, ivha 27i m^' / ^,W JRlrd«il of sin is the sens? of the first ; pm-^/umtm fran* all;sin> ' the meaning, in f^li, e^ the l^ttej^ You s^^V" Am w^ liot :" regenej^tei t|^ moment we ti^ just^ed"? and ^hat> reg^ne^T; ? , ration but rmBng%mwcremiim}ti0^mC^^ Muring passed away,*nd ail i$i)^ fejme new? 2 Cor. 5 : l^i - A^is Ihis anything shoit of idnctification ? v Are we ^^ theiefere, eteansfed^om^-ali m f» tJ^ ^3 I rei)ly, If ypuj'ak at beiD^^Htic^J/*'yott,rn^^ found regeneration wilbjustificationy any j«or^ than with s^- : ^ ^ • ^ - tification. ^s^t^^^w^jg to acGug]^ foitji in ''f ' ^ -' ' ''^^l fte merits of;qjiyist ;;%e«mi«lo7Us t^'mie«?, o^^e- ,,€«,, and " i ^|| Hnplies,^he >%em#:/4'' OK a "-wew ^eo^wre,^ aslfeikpsessed^ by ■ :'- IWi Qorliotd and St.:^]Paul. , -'y ■:,..;:■' ''- ■'■''. ' - :'/*' , >^ ' '">■ v\ r^ha^ we are , regensrated the mpineni We ace jiistiified -is ' 5 '.l* ;79' -but. ypn^ill r e adily- perceive, one imports an act ^Qf '^^■'^r'x:^: \'iA: :i ,,; : - ■.. ^■' ■ . . x,!:.^^ ;; , V. J^ l-:" ■:■'•■"-:/ ' ■ ■ . - ■ • '''C irt^ EEVIVAL MI8CE1XANIE8. • ! ;\ God's sovereign mercy towards the sinner; the other, a teork wrought by God in the sinner. Each, then, Has its distinct meaning and application. •>. . " But," you inquire, "\vitl you persuade me that sancttfication / can be wanting when we are thus regenerated ? " No, no more than I would attempt to "persuade" you that day has not begun, although the night has departed. But, surely, I might ^e allowed the opinion, without contradicting my own admission, that there is a great difference between morning^awn and sun- rise, — between sunrise and the heat and brilliancy of noon-day Sanctification, I allow, is inseparably connected with j^istij^^ turn and regeneration ; it exists with these as the light of moip. ing coexists with day; but mfirc sanctification is usually an . ^, siUCe MiS;,^npyed tUt'^perfect Im ' xohich cmleth 0M/>^iVth8n,I shoijli I»ave nc» hQsitaiJcy. in sar^ : posing that suS^ an. A Avas'san^tifi6(l'entirely thi»ughout soul, bodyi-an^d ^rit, in t)ie rtiq^BeUt of his jeg^neration^^ut I wodd exhortliini'lo p^s af^». hig^r^^egrees both <^ holiness and : l^e'; as^urii% h5^ that this :is ^s ,i)j^^ U' %t f^jvi roaM of iSc^'sho^ .<^*^5^^ ^^^&leaiife you:fe : Di^l y^u'douU ?^■ ,:But do^y^u «ntei>- 1 ■iii^inanydciiib^^ ir iMJt, tl^eoi it is^^^^^ *^® ®"^ |ithc«t the iV,-.Vh.,v..B.ji|. "■..■, " .,'f .<» ■„ ,':i' ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION A DlSTtNCT BLE8S1N0. A' 183 .i^irie ill is wds not thecase<<"!n the moment" of your " i^genem* tiop-"? This, I am aware, is reducing the matter tlown to • qtieslion of personal experience , nor will- you, I hope, object t© . 0rift J i»JGjiM«e you ar^ too well acquainted with these deep thiftgg oj ^ed td suppose they are to be considere4, entirely apart ftom, ,, or {j^dependetit of, Christian experience. V^ou iiii|uire, "Can you give me any satisfactory reason why wo are not all cleansed from all sin, th« moment we nte justi- ■ ftstl?" I know not thyt I can. I only appeal to " plain mat Jei of feet." The cUuses th«iy be various, as are the education and :i*^'"P^'^"^^"* °^ "»6"- Much may depend apon the depee oil ; penitential sorrow or faith exercised by the "believing p^j^nt. I You gu on : " Read, my brother, Acts 4: 3l— 33,and^B|[ rtie ti'helther you doubt these happy primitive believers wei6 mada grfect in love just then. Do you pause ? Why not, then, at once almlt that e;itire sanctification coexists with justificatioa « H m thwr cfffe, why shoui4 it not be thus with all niw con- verts?!^ -^^ ;;,, ■■"-■'■ ^M. ,. * . , I dare not quibble, else I would perplex your questjon* bv - demanding proof. I, prefer, however, to reply : I have already admitted, in part, whit you claim ; — that it is not impMbablc some new converts ^and I think I have known some it^^lf) ' are entirely cleansed from sin i in the moment of justification. But I must beg leave to assert, that the experience of a vast . nijii^b^r of new converts, as well as that of old Christians, goes to show that this is not God's usual method. Hi^jj^fris and regenerates all who truly repent, and unfeigyie^mKieve the Gospels afterwards, he reveals unto them the remaiffl^^rrup tions of their natbre; when, atfter feeling a painful coVi<%n of want of conformity to God, deep humiliation for th^ai earnest desires after purity, th^y are enabled, at length, "tSi forth that faith by which the apbstle ^ys we are purified, ' cleansed from all unrighte^usneSsX 3. As it respects those bpl|evers of the primitive church to which you have directed my attention, I allow, with Mr. Fletcher, that ;^it is not improbable that God, to open the dispensation of the i rit i n » man ler which might fix the atteu t iru of all agei f ■,„a:' ■••.•.»• I' I f'l 1 ; ./-.. T' 184 BBVITAL MUCE1LLAK1B8. I k: iliLJ upon ts importance and glory,, permltttd the whole body of believers to take an,, extraordinary turn into the Canaan of pc^ Cect love, and to show t.ie world the adiiVirablo fruit which grows; there; as the spies sent by Joshua took a turn into the good land of promise befdrc they were settled in it, and brought from thence the bunch of grapes which astonished and spirited up the Israelites who had n^et crossed Jordan." Now, while I fully agree, with the phdl^Wiissions of this eminent divine, I also heartily concur 'jlsS^mt^ qualifying sentiments, which stand connepted ^ith^^Bie passage: "It may be asked here, whether the multitu^f thejn that believed; in those happy days, were all perfect in love. I ansWer, that, if pure lovp had cast out all selfishness arid sinful fear from their hearts, they were undoubtedly made perfect ifi love ; but, as God docs not umally remove the plague of indwelling sin till it has been discovered and lamented, — and, as we find in the two next chapters an account of Ananias and his wife, andpf the partiality ^n^ selfish murmuring of some bplievers, — it seems that those chiefly who before Were strong in the grace of their dispensation arose then into sinless fathers'; and that the first love of other believers was 80 bright and powerful, for a time, that little children had, or seemed to have, the strength of young men, and young men the grace ot fathers. And, in this case, the account which St. Luke gives of the primitive believers ought tt) be taken with some restriction, Thus, while many of them were perfect in love, many might have the imperfection of their love only cov- ^ered over with a land-flood of peace and joy in believing. And, m this case, what is sai^^of their being of one heart and mind, and of having all things in cpmmon, &c., and great grace resting upon them all, may only mean, that the harmony of love had not yet been broken and that none had yet betrayed any of that uncharitableness for which Christians, in after times, became so conspicuous." • ' - You should also remember, that the memorable occasion to Ifhich you havedirectedi my attention \vas the second great itpouring of tile Hily Spirit. The first is rircorded an the INTIBB SAKCTIFICATION A DMTlNOt BLSSSInS that upper room wore filled with the Holy Ghost, rund iinmedi- otely afterwards thousands were awakened and cmverted. Now :i is not stated that these wore all '• filled with the Holyahiwt.* But, shortly aft/ r, Peter and John wore going up to the temple to pray. Peter, beholding o cripple aitting at .i\m gate th?>t wai CQlled Beautiful, turned and healed him. The multitude, see- ing this, ran together; — all wfere astonished to behold the tnan upon wliom the miracle had been wrought. Peter seiaed thi*' opportunity of lonoring his Lord, and preached-unto them Jesus. The great po^ver of God was prgsont, and about five thQiisa^A^ persons "ie/i«i;prf;"-^thaV is, were justified, through faith in: Christ. But it is not stated they were, atlliat time, filled^itfi the Holy Ghost; that came as a second ^Imm^, quite idistin- guishabl^ from the first. The next day they assembled together ' to hear an account of Peter's |rial and acquittal. At the conclu- sion of the address of Peter and his companions, the entire church broke forth into thanksgiving .and prayer. Suddenly "the place was shaken Mere they were assembled together, dnd they were all Jilled with, the Holy dhpstr — a proof they were not all filled before. Alarge number pfjhe eight thousand .con-' rerts saved since the hour of the firsVoutito|iring of the SjMrit. in the upper room, on the day of Pentecost, were nowr-made per- ' feet in love, and filled with God. ."^ . * , '" The following passage is wortliy of note ; "Wherefore, laying i aside all mUice, and aU guile; dnd all hypderisies, and envies J and all emUpeakings^jis new-horn babes, desire the sincere milk of t/ieioord, that ye inay grow thereby:" Here, you will observe, the apostle calls thesQ persons "M€«;.ior7i^ai«;" — persons lately «« barn ofGod:'-^ Thes^ he exhorts to lay aside all nudite, giiUe^ypocrisies, envies'; and evil-speakings. Nawy they could not lay «de what they -did not possess. The , elements of all these sinful dispositions existed, it would seem, in t)ieir hearts, and awaited a fit occasion to develop themselves. Yet he calls these «aiM»ieM;.*or»; — really regenerated persons! St. Paul, when writing to a similar class of persons, calls them " mes in Christ:' in his means anything, it surely implies fhat mfwere regen- ' ^ate persons yet khese, it appears, were, in some deffreo, "mt I " , l( • * ft -■! J* « i* / / %^,f ^. '■ ■ » t (l • - 4 "W • "» ti o * • «» ' •© ^^ • m - ■^ ^ ' '■ ./■■ »<::* |- *■!*«' ■ /■ *^ IMAGE EVALUATION -TEST TARGET (MT*3) 1.0 "■■-i, m Ki2 12.2 1.1 11.25- 2.0 U 111.6 4" f Fholiogtaphic Sciences ,. ioii '4A w*. ^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. ItfSO (716)872-4S|f3 '^ V- T^ ,* ,7 .**» *■ ,.* t ^ ^ .m :&■ ■«■■ -./ V- - "y-- , • ., <;f-'. ■W- 186 REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. 1 ,i«/;"._that is, they were not wholly cleansed from sin. Though they were '• btibes in Christ,'* yet the iremains of the carnal niind had not been entirely destroyed. They had yet in tlieir hearts strong propensities to *^ strifes and divisiom,'' and manifested them, it is to be |eared, too strongly in their outward conduct. But these evils were held in so much restraint; that, in the opin- ion of an inspired apostle, these persons had not forfeited theip title to hekg'' babes in Christ:' I think 1 Thessalonians 5: 23 will set the matter in a yet clearer light : '* And the very God of pecice^Jictify you wholly ; and I pray God yourwohole spirit andjmd and body be preserved blaineless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."' Does not this imply, 1st. That the^,were then in the enioyment oifx jnstijied state 1 Without justilica- tion, you are a- vare, there can be neither regeneration nor sane- tification; — -no, not even in part. 2hd. That sfrjctification had commenced in their souls ? This is clear, .as he prays for its completion : " The very God of peace sanctify you wholly;" — you are yet but sanctified in part ; — in such a state, perhaps, as Mr. Fletcher supposes many of the Christian converts to have been shortly after the day of Pentecost : — '* Many might have had the injperfection of their nature covered over by a land-flood of peace and joy in believing^' iphese Thessalonian coriverts, then, were but partly sanctified ; —but ^^ new-born bakes ' He prays that they might be sanctified wholly ; and that their ' whole spirit and soul and body'' might *^ be preserved blameless unw the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." And adds, *^ Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." As much as to say, "This great work has not been carried to the highest state of perfection in your soul ; but it is the intention of God to perfect, i:i your soul, body, and spirit, the work which he has so gra :i(jusly begun." Consider also 2 Corinthians 7 : 1. "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from aUfUthirms of the fUsh and spirit, perfecting holiness in thefearofG^." ;. f .. " Dearly beloved," — this is" tender ; it shows, also, hpw confi- •Ipnt. thp npnstle Was that they were in the enjoyment of the toned in .''Let us spirit J " 1 Inward de defile the - the fear oj no man ( carry it fo: to arrive a I consid convincing tian exper . A passi Romans 6 brought fo after-work intention, designed U the " witiu penitent is tion. He I of adoption source of a sanctificati( with all his jnce of God. " Having these promises," such as tho«e men " He ena and thus, \ nessing an ness." , That yoi: following (] show : «« Tl and ast&tei eratiot^ we ENTIRE SANUTIFrCATlON A DlWl^NCT BLESSING. 18.7 koned in the three verses which conclude the previous chapter "ie/ us chanse omehes from alljillhiitess of the flesh am spintj^a state not at all consistent with eiuire holiriess;- inward defilement, or propensities, which, if yielded to, wouW defile the spirit, and pollute the body. " Perfecting ^lolincs? in - the fear of God;" having obtained that holiness without which no man can see the Lord, endeavor to pfr/ec< it; that is, to' carry it forward to as high a degree of perfection as it is possible to arrive at while in the body.' I consider theSe fevy passages of the word of God as good and convmcing asm&ny. They establish a plain doctrine of Chris- . tian experience; and the Bible does not contradict itself. A passage in the sermon of the Rev. Richard Watson, on Romans 8: 16, beautifully true, and well expressed, is often brought forward by those who ^eny entire sanctification to be an after-work : but it does not prove their point ; neither was it his intention, I ^ pefsuaded, to convey any such meaning. H#^ designed torguard us against^o/ye impressions, as substitutes 0^^- the -witmssof the Spirit," and not to teach that the believing penitent is always .wholly sanctified in the morpent of justifica- tion. He says : " Where the Spirit of God dwells, as the Spirit of adoption, he dwells as the great author of regeneration, as the source of all holy principles and feelings ; r- our justification and sanctification are thus inseparable. The Spirit of God dwells with all his graces, when he dwells at all. • ■• , ' ' ♦ ,^ He sheds abroad a Saviour's love, '^ ' - . J And this enkindles ours ! ' >i*: "He enabk: us to love God, by showing that God love^ js; and thus, when he comes t© the* heart of a believer, as a wiu nessing and comforting Spirit, he comes as the Spifit of hftd- ness." , ^ That you have misapprehended his'meaning is evident, as the following quotation from the works of this great divine wiil show: «« That a distinction exists between .^regenerate state anjastgteof entire holiness, will bege nerally^owed. Regen- emtion, we have seep, ■« concbmitant with justification ; but tli«^ -> -1 ''3 -.* . ' -. ^'' ■■ \ ■ • 188 ■ *• /«.^ ' BKVIVAL MISCELLANien. . '^M apoftles, in addressing the body of believers in the Chiistmn r church, to whom they wrote their epistles, set before them, 'b^th in the prayers they offered on their behalf, and in the J exhortations they administer, a still higher degree of deliver- ^ ance irpm sin, as well as a higher growth in Christian virtues. Two passages only need be quoted to prove this : 1 Thessaloni* ■ ns 5: 23; 2 Corinthians 7: L" . ' Your objections to this doctrine, dear reader, only prove that ■you yOyriB^f do hot enjoy purity of heart. Yet you make adm^mons which are of no small importance to my argument. ;" ^ YjSvL allow that the blood of Christ has- not cleansed >you from %n sin ; that, neither at the time of y6ur conversion nor since, ^ have you been perfectly \;onscious of such a Stat© o^oul ; and yet, you*" have no doijbt that God, for Christ's.^JHfhas par- doned all your sins," and that your " present sta|^|^ that of justification." Surely, my brother, were you W " reason from , ^alogy " till doomsday, the voice ofymir ami experience must ever cry down your V refasonings," evei1p<ed t/iee ; hnn, glorif; The lept a particulai if thou wilt "IwiU,l request of J The won i)ehind him, whoJ^.» 1 reached oui - was that h hem of his -in^ment; ai and quieted thy fai^ ha Lord, to tho lieoe ye that can think of cm able to dt sible to him particiilar fa quired, and exercised for apostle savi/i, Ephes.2: 9. obtaining of of &ith requ iJhiistiftn re them, 1 in the deliver- yirtues. essaloni* •ove that 3U make rgument. you from or since, pul; and phas par- it that of son from 'nee must )ftiest cli« n without 3. moment hyfaithr: (Acts 15: Aypardm -the jjnly . In that ave those is truth." 'd by faith ruth : that i state of ionable tc ief of the 1. Hence ngs soeteT id yeshd ENTIRE iANCTIFICATlON A DISTW^T BLESSINO. 189 h,^ themr Mxrk 11: 24. The^Tis no justification but by faitt — no sanctification or purity without faith. Faith is not a pass, e but an active, state of the mind. Active faith is always effectmd. When genuine, it is always distinct, and put forth for some particular object. Bartimeus cried, -Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me! " Eyesight was what he wanted, and his faith was fixed upon Christ for the gift. « Lord that I may receive my sight." * "Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight ~% /ai/A Wl ta»..d thee; and immediately he received his sight. and followed hnn, glorifying God." The leper, who fell down and worshipped Jesus, had faith for a particular blessing-to be cleansed from his leprosy: "iorrf V t/unc wut, thou canst ?nake me clean."' ^ ''I^^hetkm clean," was the voice rf mercy which met the request of faith. The wonwn who had an issue of blood twelve years came oeh^l h,. sayn.. " Ifl^ay but touch his garment, I shall be reached out her^trembling hand; but so jostled and pLsed .^s that hand by .he crowd, ibe could but Just tou'ch the hem of h.s garment. It was enough _ she was healed in a -«?ment; and the approving voice of her Lorf fell upon herir *y fa.>h hath made thee whole." A favorite question of „„ Lord, to those who desired any distinguished\ercy, was, " Be l«^ye that lam aUe torfo ™,sj»_„„, e^eryfti^ng ,u{Z eaa think of, for that is not essential to the cure' \LCZl in ° 1™'!: ."'-^"^ "^' '^"^^'- "" *i»e' »« pos- sible to him hat beheveth," was anothersaying of our Ldrf A particular faith for a particular blessing ias what Ch^^ ro quired, and that which he honored. This sort of faith wiS. S""^ '"'"••""- '■"i* through which we are saved- «1» • , ■'^°'''''"' *"''?»'■% are two distinct thinifs, for the 'Ifiuth reqmred In other words, faith is the candUi^i .nd '^-fi^-^'^f.'^-' 190 REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. where the condition is not compHl>v ^th, the bless.ng is with, held. More might be said, but I know not that I could set this matter in a clearer light; and there is a danger, you know, of darkening counsel by a multitude of Words. Please to observe further: The state of mind which usually accompanic^s that faith which obtains pardon, differs widely from those feelings which genemlly attend purifying fljitli. The contrast, in fact, .is as great as what is observable in those two finei hymns in the Wesley m Hymn Book : — \ •* Father, — if I may calj thee so, — Regard my fearftd hurt's desire ; . Remove this load tirguihy. woe, 7«f or let me in my sins expire ! V I tremble lest the w/pth diTine, Which bruises now my sinful iov\, Should bhiise this wretched soul of mine Long as eternal ages roll. " To thee my last distress I' bring: The heightened fear of death I find: The tyrant, brandishing his sting, Appears, and hellis close behind! " I deprecate that death alone, That endless banishment from thee I ' O save, and give me to thy Son, Who trembled, wept, and bled for me ! ** \ ■\ '" Come, Holy Ghost, all-quickening fire, Cocie, and in me delight to rest ; Draw 1 by. the lure of strong desire, O come and consecrate my breast! The temple of my soul preptflre,- And fix thy sacred presence ^jjlit^r^ ' If now thy fnfluence I feel. If now in thee begin to live. Still to my heart thyself reveal ; Give me thyself, forever give'} A point my go od, a d ro p my i t ti m . ENTIRE 8ANCTIFICATI0N A DISTINCT BLESSING. 191 " Eager for ihce I ask and pant j So strong the principle divine, \ - ^*"'e» me out with sweet constraint/ • ' \ Till all my hallowed soul is thine ; \ Plunged in the Godhead's deepest sea, \ And lost in thine immensity." A sense of the vengeance "^due to tin, and an interne Jesire for. fol'^iveness, are, as ^ou will perceive, the predominant feel- ings of the one ;a consciousness of present pardon, attended by an- eagei^ desire for purity. 'prevails with the other. The faith of the former looks towards the Lamb for pardoning mercy .lie that 6S the latter longs for perfect purify, and graTps ai ill the fulness of God. j. s jia ai ^ ^any are th\, anxietiesand sorrows wj,ich distract the peni- tent sinnet. -Ia;^„s, oases, it ,s quite as much as he&h do to rely by faith upop-ih^ merits of Christ for pardon. Faith exercised for purity, is rafld, less embarrassed, in the case of one seeking u 11 salvat.oA. Heibe, it is no, onreasonable to sup- pos . that If the faith by which> are pur.fied requires a di^ tmct exercise of the mind, it is theWore not confounded with the faith which obtains pardon, but ikrather an after effort. Hence, perf » , ;, „^, x ^.^^ justifeaaon. If salvation frem indwelling sin becomes th^appy experience of any one, he is bound, I should suppose, ,o & i.^ on aU proper occasions. But if the blessing has been reeved a, dis. tone, and separate from justification, he is enabledN ENTIRI SANCTirrCTION A DrSTINCT BL^SINO. 103 not on.y perplex your mind, but much retard the wortc of Ood ,n your «oul. " Constant experience shows." says Mr Weslev "the more earnestly believers expect thi.s. the more swiAly nd steadily does the gradual work of God go on in their souls' the >ore^vatchful theyare against allsin; themore careful t eyare to grow m g«,ce and the more punctual their attendance on .^1 the ordmances of God ; - whereas, just the contrary efTel-ts are observed whenever this expectation ceases.' They a're s ved by (^ope.-by hope of a total change, with a gradually increasing .lvat.nn Destroy this hope, and the snlvftion s an : ^ , of rathe, decreases da ly. Therefore, whoever will advan the ,ndual change m believers, should insist upon the instantaneoul I remember reading another passage in the writings of this emment divme. which I think may be of u.se to yo^ at his juncure of your Christian experience: " Does God work h great work m the soul gradually or instantaneously ^Pe^ht^^^ •t may be gradually wrought in some. I mean i^ thi™ -they do not advert to the particular m<^eJ2^^2^ GoTh : ^k"S \" -«--^«»y^--ble,were it the" i , o? &^^, that It should be instantaneously; that the Lard shoJd est«^sm by the breath of his mouth, in a momenLHe twmkling of an eve AnH «« k« ^ i ^ *""'"eni, m tne , of which ihaJl ^ 'A ^ generally does, - a plain fact, ^rson Ttrr'f"'? w"^' to satisfy any unprejudiced person Thou therefore look for it every moment, in the wav above de^nbed ; in all good • works, whereunto th^u art Z ated anew m Christ Jesus.' There is no dnn«.r^ '"°" *«<='«. worsp if trnn - L / ^^® '^ "<» ^^"ger J you Can bo tto «orse, ,f you are no bette;, for that expectation; for. were you Tou sh rr^H '' '' " ';^' ^'" ^^^ lose 'nothing Z wll no tat. .^TT'*'*^ °^ y^"^ *^°P« ' 't will come, and me t Wh7' . r^ u" '' '^'^ '^y* ^^^^y »^-'. -very mo IvinnW ^. ' '^'' hour-this moment? Certainly you hy look for It now. if you believe it is by faith Anrbv tZ ^yo.may sorely know whether you L^y^X u are sanctifi e d. You think, I must first be or do thus o, ^W. Tl>en you a^ belong it by work, unto thk Uyll I .'SI ■*;fr4 f IM IIYIVAL MISCELLANIW. ■eek it by faith, you expect it as you .re ; tna if as you are, then expect it now. It is of importance to obscrre that thew is an inscporable connection between these three points, — expetl it by faith, expect it as you a' e, and expect it now. To deny one, is to deny them all. To allow one, is to oUow them ah. Do you believe we ore sanctified by foith ? Be true to your principle, an(Hook for the blessing just as you are, neither better nor worse; as a poor sinner that has still nothing to poy, nothing to plead, but Christ died. And if you lo6k for it as you are, then expect it now ; stay for nothing. Why should you ? Christ ia ready; and he is all you want. He is waiting for you ; he is *i^e door. Let your inmost soul cry out, — • Come in, come in, thou heatenly gueit, ., "* Nor henco again remove ; But iup with me, and let the featt Be everlasting love.'" You believe, and very properly too, that we are pardoned ins moment ; because, if a sinner is forgiven before death, it must he ''in a moment:" oir, if I moy use the term to which you object, "instantaneous:" there must, \nihe nature of the case, be a last moment when he is still unpardoned, and a first mo- ment when he is pardoned. But we claim the same for the believer, with regard tp the instantaneous work of sanctification. The argument is short : If sin cease before death (and a mo- ment after would be too late), then it is clear it must cease imfan/- aneously There must be a last and a first moment^as in the case of a justified person. This is bringing the matter within i . very narrow compass, as most controversirfl points should be but it is most plain. The approach to holiness may, indeed, be gradual, tut its establishment in the soul must take place mi moment, whether in the article of death, or years previously to that period. If God can cleanse the soul a moment befoie death, why not an hour, a month, a year, or fifty years? That we are justified by faith, and sanctified by faith, you have already seen. If, then, the instrumentality be the same, why not th e e ff e cts? If we ar e p a rdoned ty fa i t h , and in a momert why not porifivd by &ith in a momaot ? Pcrha tkat 80 fi blessing than in t see the n or bccaus erable. when the If they I believe tt; tufw is tht of God, i their inhf that the may love degree of themselve instant i also, they method,, a the opera! their obsti want of p< fruit; so suaded to them inst besieged resemble storm." J specificati( drances. In relati tification, '. Scriptures m order to nizftd in t you are, hat thera , — expetl To deny them all. ©to your ;her better y, nothing I are, then Christ is rou ; he is ddned In a ^h, it must which you r the case, a first mo- me for the ictificatioD. (and a mo- aise iTistaiA' ^as in the ex within i should be , indeed, be place in if reviously to nent before f ars? Thai , you have same, why I \ a momertj nrriBB sangtipication a distinct blbssino. 195 Perhaps the reader asks, ** How do you account for the fact tkat 80 few of the Methodists profess to receive, or enjoy, the blessing of entire sanctification f" I cannot ansWor this better than in the words of Mr. Fletcher : ** Ist. Because they do npC see the need of it ; because they still hug ^ome accursed thing • or because the burden of induxlling sin ia not yot become intol* erable. They make shift to bear it, as the3r/do the toothache, when they are still loth to have a rotten to^th pulled out. 2d. If they are truly wiFling to be made cl«4n, they do not yet believe that the Lord both can and wiU miLVe them clean, or that mw is the day of this salvation. And, as fiiith inherits the promisee of God, it is no wonder if their unbelief misses this portion of thfiir inheritance. 3d. If they have^omo faith in the promise that the I/ird can and will ciramcise their hearts, that they may love him with all their hearts, yet it is not the kind or degree of faith which makes tKem willing to sell all, to deny themselves, faithfully to use th^ *V^i» tole'nt, and to continue instant iri prayer for this /very flfePing. 4th. Frequently, also, they will receive GodVblessing in their ov\^ preconceived method,, and not in God'SyAppointed way. Hence God suspends the operation of his sanctifying Spirit, till they humbly confess their obstinacy and fals6 wisdom, as well as their unbelief, ami want of perfect love, /it 'may bo with the root of sin as with its fruit ; some souls liarley many years befoi^ they can be per- suaded to give up^; tjjeir outward sins, and others part with them instantaneoitsly. You may compare the fornier to those besieged towns/which make a long resistance, and the latter resemble thos«s fortresses which are surprised and carried by a storm." Res^d the above over and over again; perhaps the specifications may include some one or more of your own Wn- drances. : . ' ' ■ In relation to the depth of conviction necessary to entire sane tification, I know of no particular standard laid down in the Scriptures, as to « the depth of our convictions of indwelling iin, in order to obtain deliverarice from it." One thing only is recog- n iz ftd in the New T e stam e nt, as absolutely necessa ry fo r the attainment of purity, — and that ia faith: * Vunfying their .r- > if mm 196 BIVITAL ^^MISCELLANIES. knarti by fAiTn." Ants 16: 9. ** Sanetijied by rAiTii." Acts 10;. 18. If there be time and op(K)riuniiy, Mr. Wesley ihitiki there may bo many " preparatory ffe/higt ;" olherwiie, (JikJ may sanctiry without them. Faifh u the only receaied condi- tion i but that must Ij sincere. Foiih fdyn hold of the prmnnet of Gody and puts undotlh*ing cortfidence in his veracity. Christ has said, " What things soever ye desire when ye pray, beliete that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Markr ll:*.i4. ' Observe, " desire;** this is an indispemabU conditioti, and gen. * uine faith certainly implies it; without it^ ih^ mind is dead atrd mo'.ionless, and in this state saving faith can have no existence. "Desire^ nis some one has said, is to the soul as vpufs tq the horse, as sails to the ship Desires are, among k\\ classes of men, the sails of the mind, J^. which they are carried forward -to 'tliat which they like* best.* When " drsir*-'' is Wwc^rr, it includes much, — all, in fact, that a sanctifying Crod requires. It*- is like thunder and rain, it aUyays comes in clouds, — clouds of prepatation. If you have desif-e, you are prepared ; leave al! the rest to the Holy Spirit ; — I mean as lothe " depth, painful ness, softness, and earnestness,'^ of your heart-convictions. Tlicse may not .come at your bidding; ihey are diepcndent upon wwwAfr- less circumstances ; and frequently they are quite independeni of anything of the kind, but are wrought by the same Spirit, immediately and independently, as it pleases him. Only show the sincerity of that "desire," by renouncing and forsaking everything that you know to bo contrary to purity. For, be assured, the Holy Ghost ne\cr sanctifies a heart that gives indul- gence to sm. To this desire, in accordance with the promise, add prayer, — whatever •• ye desire when ye pray." To this add faiih; that is, '• believe that ye receive ; a better defmitiori oL sanctifying faith you couliMiot find. Then, he who has prom- ised, and who cannot lie, will fulfil the '* desire** of your heart, and will honor your faith, -7- "an^i ye shall have.** Christ will honor h s own vrraeity, and \Vill stand by it, to the very uttermost claims of faith, -^"that is, till you are cleansed from all sin, afid 'JUed with all the fulness of God. ' ^ever forget xhvii faith is the only absolute condition jf obtaining all that Christ purchased for 70U on Calvary ; and that you may now be saved to thetUtermott* Many d I know f^n vithout th J remen vast army soldierq ; r eatr<--to J the swdrd, ingly, but like swon powerful, 1 to the divi itiarrow, a heart." 1 alv«fays at edges, fra may chooi cf soul ai with an e requires a by repeats Dones so t are as poi penetrate: citadel of This is will ntfrc F#. t» Acts (hiiiki i, UikI condi' Clirist leliete 1:24. ' (J gon« " nd aird istcncc. • • lioree, en, the to 'tjiat icludcs Oft, It^ luds of avo nl! Kliftful mmbcr- )ondeni Spirit, yr show rsaliing For, be s indul- iromisc, [his add tiofi oL I prom- r heatt, ist will termost sin, lynd '.h is the ased for •w -t 4 CIIArTER III. REVIVAL PRIi:ACniNa. -jf Manv desire & revival, but they ore unwilling to labor fur it. I know an anirhat that la very fond of fish, but would rathri do vithout them than wet her feet. • J remember reading of a certain man, vvho, when vicwingf thi» ^ vast army of Antiochus, said, " There arc many men, but few loldicrq ; many mouths, but fpw hands ; " " many mouths," ^ to eat,-— to speak well, — to boast ;•• but few harjds," — to grasp the swdrd, —to fight, -r to conquer! Many that.could talkdar- ingly, but few tc fight bravely. Words will not break bones, like swords. It is written, " The word of God is quick, and v^^ powerful, and sharper than. any two-edged sword, piercing even • * to the dividing adu-nder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerncT of the thoughts and intents of .the heart." Heb. 4: 12. But why is it that such effects do not always accompany it? Why is 1t that this swftrd with two edges, framed so that it may cut every way that the' preacher may choose %o ttirn jt, does not pierce to the dividing asunder of soul aifei^ sfiryi? Is this sword, think you, wielded usually with an energy sufficient to do-such execution upon souls t It requires a skilful hand to divide the joints at a single stroke, or by repeated strokes ; and a decided aim to break or perforate the oones so as to reach the marrow. The hardest parts of a sinner are as powerless to resist this sliarp sword as the softest ; and it , penetrates into the secret recesses of the heart, ^ — into the very , c-itadel of sin, and slays it there with irresistible power. '» This is the sort of preaching you require in England. Vou will ntfrer have a general revival ovw tha kingdom, till ik% ^*^{h ■^ 198 -BEVIVAL MISCELLANIES. preach^ ixre brought universally -to wield the Gospel sword 'thus. "Many," said a good ipan, " flourish like fencers, heat- ing only the air ; but few fight jn good earnest this 'fight of faith." It was not "after such a fashion" St. .Paul wielded these spiritual weapons, which he jpyfully declares were "mighty through God to the pulling down of strong-holds ; cast- ing down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself ngainst the knowledge of tJod, and bringing into captivity every tliuughll; (of the sinner) "V) the obedience of Christ." 2 Cor. 10 : 4, 5. Unless such weapons are " levelled" with precision, and applied with determination, they will make but little impression upon the strong-holds of Satan. * A few days since, I receiv;ed a letter from an aged servant of God in Ireland, — one well acquainted with revivals, and the sort of preaching.calculated, or not, to promote a revival. Hear him : -— " We go through blank motions here sometimes ; but we only use powder; this, you know, will do no execution. 0, what might n6t be done, if we would do it I May the good Lord nity Ireland, and raise up more who will prove^ their love to souls, by doing all in their power to save them ! ", That senti- ment of one now with God is also mournfully true*^" A man is soon enlisted, but he is not soon made a soldier. He is easily put iftto, the ranks, to make a show there ; but he is not so easily brought to do jthe duties of the ranks. We are too much iimsLXifXTmy of Asiatics : they count well, and cut a good figure; but, wben they, come into action, one has^^^ht, another has no oirtKidge; the arms of one are rusty, and another has not iea-rned to handle them. This was not the complaint equally at all times. It belongs too peculiarly to J^ present day." Ybii say, " It is one thing to speak^loquently. in favor of revivals, in the hearing of a religious party r'^^g^und the tea- table, — in the circle of the drawing-room, — or even in the pulpit; but it is quite a diflferent thing to come dowix into the tug'"of war.' -^ the laborious matter-of-fact work in a revival." self do\{ were all and gooc of relig\( times, w sity of spirit-stii nation w cry.- Tl morning als;" th< regiment i( Theht with the I of letters poetical c tern^s of i ties of \vi his old St field. A the " one him {^rour fight it ou Ibetter pan fron him, • tug Ul Wm, —-HIP mUVIIVMO UBail.\.M.-Vl-KtA^„ ..W..> ... — .~ iTef ! and thf?/e are too many whorin this respect, imitate Lepi- dus Major, a loose Roman, of whom it is recorded, that when •k Gomxades were exevzising in the camp, he used to lay him- I knew I'* things abo copies of h wvivalof . z ■1^ KH"-:' REVIVAL PREACHING. 199 P'^, self down under a shady tree, yawning. "Would that thU were all the duty I were to do " Would that my good wishes and good opinions, well expressed, could bring about a revival' of religion. I have read somewhere of a philosopher, in ancient times who wrote powerful and eloquent articles upbn the-neces- sity of a "declaration of war " upon the part o^ countrymen : spirit-stirrinr and bulling were his appeals. The Spirit of the nation was arous^. « To arms^! To ' arms ! » was, the geneml cry.. The philosopher was made a/i officer. Instead of his morning gown, his study companion, he shone in "regiment- als ; the sword was put into his hand in* place of the i)en : a regiment of men to command, instead of a regiment of words : '"' ' ' ' L' ■■' • ' ' • "Morn on the mountains, sunrise on the main, And battle's red array upon the plain ; Touched with the orient gleam, each line appears, ' A wall of fire beneath a hedge of spears ! » The hostile armies charge. The shouts of warriors mingle with the clangor of trumpets and the clash of arms. Our man of letters learned soon, to his dismay, that nice speculations, poetical descriptions, flourish of metaphor, and high-sounding tern^s of national honor, differed materially irom the stem reali% ties of war. Therd was a wide contrast between the quiet of his old study and the din and desperation of the bloody battle-' field. A war of words, « black with ink," differed widely from the "one red scene of human butchery" which encompassea hmi vound ; so he prudently formed the resolution to "leathern fight It out ; "— an exit from the scene of conflict appeared " the better part of valor." Whether he kept his sword, or flung it iron him, ia not material,— ,.*■'. ..;:_:: "He ran away. And lived to fight another day."^ ^I krfew a minister once, who wr ote some glorious and stirring things about revivals, and very eCoquently too. Thousands of . copies of his appeals were circulated far and wide; but, when a wvivalof tVie word of Goc burst forth like a flai^ie, in hit own 1 ' ,' . >^ • '1 K '4 11 .,^1 1 "l", 1 >»1 111 'It 111 2QD REVIVAL MISCELLANIES, neiAboAood, his face m. «Wom seen .n one of tho meeting, STorthe vilest 8in.,e« in town were gettmg convetted, and jTnumbe^were under the deepest concern '^"t^eir «te,. ™, : " " » ,.™ bodv of faithful men— men who had '„ln"^kaain:'^n ^eUject of revivals -ente.d m. "ewoA" heart and soul;" while our gentleman of thpen^, *^h is not i be Wondered at that there are men to be foun''- >" ff Methodism is to retraoe.hj.r steps back agam ^/" f°™^ ^?Ci«r^*fWHiciansof his day. is strikingly apphcabfe tothX^andirk heroes and wordy carpet knights " of he t„t tTme with regard to revivals, and consequent iogathenng ffie^^ tltSfAodist church: "Let, the^fore. the pen IfriS to the sword i arts to arms, the shade to the s« , r:iletrat virtue have the preeminence in jhe state, by w cK ■^^^Jtt^^^^atever^...^^ .■"\~> — wise not only in running the Uhristian yow own salvation, but to winning souls to Christ. winneth soils is wise," ^ „ ^^ ffifee, and in securing "He that -X. ,..-',«S-'" '.^^'V Christ i eur. In : . ilag m nd where tas ature ma} Th^t ther the mind, tions," I ( also to gn are folded have beer are totaHy which are risk of ha^ an unfav( stranger." "With writer, " ii understanc be easy to with a reli not easy t nature, or stitutional history, oi and thing! acy, or to overpower emanating [Nor sho of the sev sives to're and wicke mend relig BRVITAu PSEACHI.fO. 201 w4 tings. 1, and ■ eter- had d into e pen, I ••short ijoying , while to the I ower. iind, in L owes xtraor- ance to jntality. " formei ong the of these requires ►r action, ordinary it advice ipplicable } " of the gathering , the pen the sun; by which Let that dominion ir eternity, n securing "He that Chrisiianify his her subjeos of beauty, harmony, and grand- eur. In many instances, she would seem to invite th« inquir- ing mnd into the investigation of "truth in the abstract;" where taste may be regaled, and where {he lover of polite liter- ature may luxuriate in-the wide field of her boundless wealth. Th?t there is I luch in such intellectual disquisitions "to soothe the mind," as you say, "please the fancy, and move the affec- tions," I do acm'it; but I do not forget that there may be much also to gratify human vanity. Could you see my papers, which are folded up and put away, you could not believe such subjects have been by me "always and wholly disregarded; " but they are totally unfit for the present services, and those great truths which are adapted to them I conscientiously prefer, even at the risk of having "certain persons of an jntellectuj^character form an unfavorable opinion, of the mind and education of the stranger." , . ■ ^ "With a religion so argumentative as ours," says an>legant writer, "it may be easy to gather out a feast for the human understanding. With arellgten so magnificent as oure, it may be easy to gather out a feast for the human imagination. But with a religion so humbling, and so strict, and so spiritual, it is not easy to mortify the pride, or to quell the strong enmity of nature, or to arrest the current of affections, or to turn the con- stitutional habits, or to form a new complexion over the moral history, or to stem the domineering influence of things seen and things sensible, or to invest faith with a practical suprem acy, or to give its bbjects such a vivacity of influence as shall overpower the near and the hourly impressions ^that are evej en^nating upon man, from a seducing world^' > [Nor should the sentiments of ope of yoj^wn great divines of the seventeenth century, be overlookedT*' General persufii stves to* repentance and a good life, and invectives against sin and wickedness at large, are certainly of good use to recom- mend religion and virtue, and to expose the af>fnrrY)if y and dan- ^er of a vicizus course. But it m-M be acknowledged, on the .other hand, tuat these/general disccarseS do not so immediately l«*nd to reform the lives of men, because they fall among the 'II ' fill m I /■ 1! OQ2 BEVIVAL MISCELLANIES. Lri^rt'US of Goa. and fro™ *e na.u. of p.. 't:::Z^:trJLuU >.^, « .» cas* away fro. me -— **y r •" .f , ^„u serve to ritord *e great purposes Tl Sn a„X p^ Mh"se,«.ight, truths of the Gospe, of my mi^ion, anu lu jn ^ heaters do r wrma;^"-:!-. auring » reveal, as HeCo, ^idr^ris: "It is not your golden harp, nor curt d ha, . rifsrL the -jf vt"ir::^?'^"K d„t helpeth in danger, and ""f * *;;^;7„^y Ae scat dear sir, drawn the sword, and have thrown away vTI 1.1 iesters and speculators "have their say, -16" " the king's enemies ; and before I »a j~ ^ *"n:^'":rsiy^Sut:'f:!i.TrrnT^^^^^^^ n« '"■^St-If *- «ligious.^ten.en«,whia ,J^ are of God, if they are really -produced by the My ^* hy, 1. a; *ey Lmo. frequent andn.ore geneM ■ among <& denominatior,. of ^^{^^^^^ „«.» ot4, , Orfinarily I should suppose it « '^''^f^^,..! ex] The r regenera by the g not becai of faith, chiefly, f version^ a soul, be i ness to a ity overt unconven immedkUt . the doctri into the d a link in out, and t and becor ' ^ence it ;;; the efibrt hard, imp ployed, bi sibl^. I mons} ap introduce! sentence, tain othe: among h£ ody; or, a relief and just as m sinner, as ner. The rea in all the uer as to i > ■■ ■ persons it upon 3on the y argu- of par- rom me purposes 3 Gospel iarers do mot help 9 Hector • led hair, »b8tr4,J»t have, fny the scab- . ^^»_-.thkt )st, among •el, I hope lOSt of wcw ^l These thousands ir, perhaps, 1 some call f the Holy )re general, treat truths artiaUy and some degree twqd up by tinct resultsl BEVIVAL FBEACUma. T'-r,n«5?9"r.'»|f 203 The reason why the important doctrines of "reptnttnco and regeneration" are rjot realized vividly, and experienced clearly, by the great mass of Protestants, of various denominations, is, not because they are not laid down and defined in their articles of faith, and ably defended in their theological books ; but, chiefly, from the fact that they are not distinctly, fervently, fre- qitHntly, and experimentally Tpre&ched. May not the words con- Persian, a change of heart, or the influence of the Spirit upon the soul, be introduced merely to grace, a sentence, impart smooth- ness to a period, oj to throw a hue of orthodoxy or of spiritual- ity over the sermon, arid not from any deeply felt desire that the unconverted should be brought into this safe ahd happy state immediately! Not unfrequently it is with the above,; as with ,^ the doctrine of an eternal hell; the word "hell" is incdrporated into the discourse, because it cannot be well avoided. It becomes a link in the chain of high-sounding argument. Ledve that link out, and the chain is broken ; the argument would fall to pieces, and become disgraceful to the preacher. (A word in the sen- '^ce it mttst be, because necessary to the sense ; and Without it the eflfort would be stigmatized as " meaning nothing.") The hard, impolite, and unfashionable little word is, therefore, em- ployed, but in such a inanner as to give the least offence pos- sibly. I have heard some men use the term kell in their ser- monsi apparently for no othfer purpose than as a Thetorician introduces a solecism, -.that is, a want of fitness in a word or sentence, in order to distinguish, with more peculiar grace, cer- tain other figures of speech; or, as a musician uses a discord among harmonious notes, to impart to the latter a sweeter mel- ody ; or, as a limner employs dark color to throw out into bolder relief and beauty the brighter parts of a picture; — but with just as much concern for the awakening and conversion of tlie sinner, as is felt by the rhetorician, the musician, or the lim- ner. ■ .V ■■- -'/^ ?•' . .:-■-,. The real hell, as described in the Scriptures, is liot uncovered in all the terrific horrors which belong to it; nor in such a man- ner as to render inapplicable that satirical ccnplet, — III./ fir ."'* :'l!t1 ■.m. K g04 RBVn 4L M1SCBLLAN1B8. •« Smooth down the •tubhorn text to ears pcUte, And snugly keep damnatioa out of sight." Hell is not unfolded so as to make the heart and soul i of tht many sinners in that congregation quake and tremble before thi Lord God of Hosts ; extorting, if possible, the awaken|;d anu agonizing cry, — •« What mu«t he done, ; To save a wretch like mc ? ' How shall a trembling sinner than That endless misery 1 " ^ Or. in the language of the terrified jailer, "What must I do to be saved?" In this way did an eminent man, now with God, open the horrors of hell before the eyes of an appalled audience. -^ His text was, Rev. 14 : 9-11. And what, think ye, must the sermon have been, when the following is ^ut a scrap from the exordium, or introduction? "Great God 1 suspend for a few minutes the small still voice of thy Gospel. For a fewmmutes, let not this auditory hear the church shouting, • Groc^, ^roce unto it ! ' Let the l^lessed angels, who as/sist in our assemblies, for a while leave us to attend to the misej/ies of the damned! ^l speak literally. I wish these miserable /beings could show ydu for a moment the weight of their chair/s, the intensity of their flames, the stench.of their smoke. Ha/ppy, if. struck with these alarming objects, the sinner may imbib^ a holy horror, and hence- forth oppose against all temptations, ^hese worths. The smoke oj their torment ascendeth up for ever And ever. In such a man- ner Cecil preached, when he said, / Hell is before me; millions of souls are shut up there in everlj/sting agonies— millions nioie are on the way. Jesus Chpst sends me to proclaim his ability ^^nd love. I jvant no fourth ilea. Every fourth idea is a grand impertinence ; every fourth idea is cbnftnptible." ^ ^ , I write to a candid, observtlfg man. Tell me,.^ hell thus ielineated in the place of worship where you usually worship Uol . /f hfll be^ rea itv,and is believed to be so by the pri^acher, is it safe tokeetf iMut of the sinner's view, or to represent it less ter- rible than/it is? When the Rev. John Wesley began to preacti ^,» .7 '■•*v' i-t* ' ir ."4 BIVIVAL PHBACHINO. 205 thu^he raised a storm of persecution around him ; but he wa» soon surrounded with thousands of penitent and alirmed sin- ners. And when compelled to take up the pen in self-defence, he eaid, " You put me in mind of an eminent man, who, preach- ing at St. James', said, 'If you do not repent, you will go to a place which I shall not name before this audience.' I cannot promise so much, either in preaching or writing, before any audience, or to any person whatever? * * # For, to say the truth, I desire to have 4)oth heaven and hell ever in my eye, -while I stand on this isthmus of* life, between these two bound- less oceans; and I verily think the daily consideration of both highly becomes all men of reason and religion." / I cannot pursue this thought further ; but allow me to inquire, How has that deeply interesting phraseology of the Holy Ghost been treated by your minister ? — " Bom again. — Repent and l)e converted. — Passed from death unto life; — from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins.— Who hath delivered us from the pc wer of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. — In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. — The eyes of your understanding being enlightened. — Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but, according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. We have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. — The Spirit itself beareth witness wi^ our spirit, that we are the children of God. — And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." . - But this language may be explained away, so as to mean nothing beyond a stricter attention to the duties of religico tHan may have hitherto marked the/conduct of the hearer; or the putting off the immoralities behinging to the irreligious, and put- ting on those external deceni^ries which should cha.'^cterize the servant of God. / ~ -.X ■ ■ _ The above-quoted language of the Scrip.ure is aefined l>y a regenerated minister, not as including a mere attendance upon 18 ■I tf, H' 806 REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. ihe ordinances of religion, nor a mere c|inge in the n.ora.i (which are indeed the fruits of " the nexoWth unto rtghtma. «*«"). but the forgiveness of all the sins whic^ are jiist (Rom. 3 • 25), and the regeneration of the soul ; an entire and radica. change of the whole nature ; a complete renovation of the heart, as well as of the life; and a full and satisfactory assurance, by the witness of the Spirit, ofrthe adoption of the believer into the family of God, and the earnest of his right to the heavenly inheritance. Such a minister will not rest satisfied till he sees the unconverted in his congregation brokeadoMra,mto repent- ance for sin. With many tears, and with a he^ri^earning for the salvation of sinners, he will scatter, wit^inn tt»8paring hand, the living coals of eternal truth upon the'n*lM^onsciences of his hearers, till each is compelled to cry for hithfielf, " God have mercy upon me, a sinner ! Save, Lord, or I perish ; heal my ■oul, for I have sinned against thee ! • I must this instant now begia Out of my sleep to wake ; And turn to God, and every sin Continually forsake. '■ i ' ■ I must for faith incessant cry, ^ And wrestle, Lord, with thee ; I must be bom again, or die, To all eternity.'" X Nor will he rest until he hear many of these agonized sin- nprs joyfully exclaim, " Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name ! Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits : who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseflses; who redeemeth thy life from destruction ; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and^nder Wrcies;,*who sa^sfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth i? renewed like the eagle's !" ^^ . Alai! sir, there are ministers within the circle'iSi||^' who, instftft d of using such scriptural mc Ai» fo' ncqugmtance , „ the Conversion of their hearers, • ridicule the idea," and pro- nouice such effects a fanatical excitement, to be deprecated and «T^d«d. it would appear, 'from the wtpressions of some, that KBTHAL PRBACHmO. ?07 r^OHLI ^hteous- t (Rom. radical e hcait, ince, by into the Leavtnly he sees > repent- :ning for ng hand, ences of rod have heal my lized sin- id all that I my soul, niquities; life from ind'tender that thy " and pro- •catcd and some, tfiat father than witness such a movement amon^ hitherto lifeless sinners belonging to their charge, they would prefer to see their congregations bearing all th^ marks of deep spiritual slumber* and hot a single vestige of the true character of godliness un- folded in their experience or practice. That there are some honorable and noble exceptions, I am ready to admit ; but that I am not overrating the matter, as it regards several within the circle of your acquaintance, you know very well. Instances have come under my own observation, where a reviecU has com- menced and spread among multitudes who had till then lived in the total neglect of. all religion, and that revival bearing all the marks, and presenting the most convincing evidence, of its being a real work of God, — the cries of penitential sinners mingling daily with the triumphant shouts of new-bohi souls. Acts 2 Yet such men have taken the alarm, and from their pulpits have warned their people against "this imported fanaticism." A town in America was -visited, at a certain time, with a pow* erful revival of religion. Multitudes of sinnera were brought into great distress about their souls, and very many were made partakers of the pardoning love of God. There was, indeed, a great shaking among the dry bones. Ezek. 37 : 1 — 10. There were the piercing cries of penitent sinners, and the heavy groans of others, who dared not so much as look up to heaven ; ind the loud supplications of th^ faithful servants of God, wno knew and felt all this to be the result of an outpouring of thjb Holy Spirit, and that nothing short of the power of God could have brought about such a sudden and wondrous change in the feelings of so many sinners at the same time. Sinner?, high and low, rich and poor youth and old age, — from the child oHen to the grand- fiither of seventy, — were supplicating togeljfk at the throMb of grace, for mercy. Christians, who had lodg prayed for a revival, were now weeping aloud for joy; and new conveiCs, whose numbers were daily increasing, were rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full glory . \ proper +^^-' -^rn .tl nected with the anecdote, that it was, a winter of extreme cold in that part of North America ; the ice was on the lakes and rivers, rom two and a half to thiee feet in thickness Not far " « ..iifl i ■'■' ■ fi X-'^: n m^u ll II 208 mihriL MltCILLANlBi. II > It'll w Hi 1> I ■ lil) fron the icene of the revival, one day, stood two men in close conversation. They belonged to different churches, and the fol- lowing was tl»j substance of their discourse : " What is the state of religion in your church?" inquircdf «ne ; a very important inquiry, ty the way, and I wish it were more frequent aniong Christians of every denomination. The other, who had " tasted of the good word of (Jod, and felt the powers.of the world to ccme," had sufficient di8cernTO«»nt ind spirituality to reply: " Very cold, indeed, sir; it is as far below the freezing point at present, as the temperature of the atmosphfere ! " Very express- ive, and applicable to more churches than one. ^ «* And what is your minister preaching about ?" was the next inquiry ; and a very natural one, becatfse such a State of extreme coldness in religious feeling, while , iieighboring congregations were receiving such gracious visits from on high, and when the wilderness and the solitary places were, being made glad, and were rejoicing and blossoming as the rose, would naturally call forth some expression from the pastor, from which it* nyght be inferred whether he was satisfied with such a state of things. The answer was: 'Ole is laboring chiefly to show the dangler of animal ejicitement." This was the theme of the poor man's preaching; whp evi- dently preferred that his church should remain in a state of liold indifference, and he himself enjoy his leisure and his bdoks, while a great mass of the sinners belonging to his congregation were asleep ip theit sins, »nd exposed, ^ery moment, to the torments of hell; and all this fot the ft vowed and plausible ' reason, — lest, they should incur tnhe/danggr of animal excite- ment." The' conversation close.d with' the amusing exclama- tion, "The dariger of anirftaL excitement! Why, surely the man's sermons woiild be better adapted to the state of his con- gregation, were he to preiich on the danger of being spiritually frost-bitten! '7 ^ hag, in mer cy to N;3 W , w e will suppo s e that th e Spirit of God had , in mercy that chtirch, descended tipon the souis of sinners, while the min- later was ii the act, perhaps, of uttering some great truth of Christianity • and this he could not wefl avoid doing sometimes although principle straining nwakene as were ( thdU wt I Probably down thi indeed, fi A few .n the Ui success it day conv( io the un could alv -people wl 'deny ; ms -. under his hd pleasa friend, an connectioi reply : " C ent. I ai would sec similar ef Seeing th deeply cor my sermoi The sermc of preparii his heart, the sernioi it began to +■ - n close the Tol- fie state iportnnt among " tasted irorld to reply: point at express* the next extreme egations 'hen the [lad, and -ally call QJght be f things, e danger who evi- e of iiold is books, ^regation It, to the plausible al excite- exclama* iirely the his con- ipiritually 5 the min- truth of Dmetimes K8VIVAL PBEACHINO. 209 although W might be mingled with much that was erroricoua in principle We will suppose that, under the pow^r of l^at con- straining influence from above, many had been instantart^uily awakened into the deepest distress, on account of their sina,— ., as were the th»-ee thousand on the day of Pentecost, who were «pr^*«f in their hearts^ and cried, '^Men and brethren, what shall toe do f" Alas for the man, — what would ht have don^ ? Probably he woud have taken the most direct' methods to put down tha noise, and check this "animal excitement." Unless iadeed, fear had induced him to pause, not knowing what to do! A few years ago, a circumstance, somewhat similar, occurred .n the United States. Two ministers, whose method and whose success in prciching were the antipodes of each other, were one day conversing together. It had long been a matter of surprise to the unsuccessful preacher, how it came to pass that the other could always produce such a powerful excitement among the people wherever he went, the good effects of which he could not 'deny ; inany sinners having become reformed and truly religious under his preaching, as if by miracle. During the conversation, h6 pleasantly expressed his wonder at the achievements of hit friend, and alJuded slightly to the absence of any such thing in connection with his own ministry. He received the following reply:. "Our objects in preaching, my brother, are quite differ- ent. I aim at the conversion, of sinners to God ; but you aim, it would seem, at nothing of the kind; and how can we expect aimilar effects, when we aim at results so widely different ? " Seeing the good-natured man pleased with the renjarks, if not deeply convicted of their truth, he continued : « Here is one of my sermons; prodch it to your people, and observe the effjts." The sermon was accepted, as it probably saved him the troUlt ' of preparing one for the coming Sabbath. In the simplicity of hJS heart, he entered the pulpit, and, at the proper time, ^sgai. toe sermon. He had not proceeded far with the discourse/before It began to move the cohgreg ji tinn ; but , having his cygs obnfin e d ^ly to the document, he did not at first discover tl^ effect When sinners became alarmed, he felt embarrassed; but con tinned the wrmon to the end. Upon descending from the poK 18* ■■■ .. ■ii ;« v'* ^^WS 210 KgVtVAL MIBCELLANlfS. |i r M- (i;. I HI pi,. 1.. w. met by . .inn« in gr..t di.t««. .nqu.ring, WW .hallldo!" The unh.ppy p«.cher wa. thro«T.. ml. oofu- To., .nd b.p.n .0 .pologize. _ " O M .n, .orry I h.v. h ar, yo„, ,_ feeling. ; indeed, U «a. not my intention to do .o . How i. it po..ible .uch . men eould have . re.i..l f or enter Inu, one .»rc.rry it forward, .hould it commence under h,, ZZ » And, ti refer again to that n,ini..er who warned h,. rl ag.in.t "animal excitement." would it not have bee-. ZTJL.^ had he admonished them of the danger of/«/^, into Hell t a catastrophe, thi., of n.ore ^'/""Tm"^" ,\' ^ ,he mere excitement of animd pa..>on5|t/H.d that man 5 heart b^n right with God, instead of frequ'ent .attempt, to prejodce .inner, against the revival, he would have been in an agony for ■ ;r"onTer.ion. "weeping between the porch and the a a, ; and pmyingfor hi. guilty brethren, a. d.d '"« "oly p»phet. Lord, I have heard thy .peech, and wa. afra.d : O Lord rev, • thy wo4'ta the midst of the year, make known, .n wrath remember mercy." ■ , ...v.. Pardon me for referring again to the clergyman and thft bot- rowed Mrmon. Had that man, ere hfcbegan to preact* ..'the wormwood and the gall," from theT-itter cup of r»PL_ , had hi. soul been carried through all the stage, of aTWTOed and- pe"iiilt:«.A,cie«ce. till, by faith in the ^^ooi '[^J^"'^ ■ he bid eHweea relpission of sins ; had ho then beefi prompted Move t^lt-fcfiSi'Wni.inner.. and impelled forward » ^ K .h^lH^yim, by\ e — Bat the man who ha. never fel t the .. .. .. .... _ . ^ ».,ed it. bittemes.,nor .uffered the agonie. of the ' new b.rth <»„ have but little .ymp«th«^i.ft the «.rrow. ofa pen«-^ BK ii ft to b* Bfected that .u* a ma« wiU pieach .ktrlj 1 J- 11, n 1 1 1 '. ■7- 1" Ari ItAL riKACHlNO, -111 wwi^t^fl^Jn&clirfully. the doctrines of repentance, f.ith. m 7K1 r K*^" "" •^"''' ''"''' *•'*" '° ''^ ~- A r^* »»«• 'S^M. ^'^ "nvo iiiiio n( w4tlj|gpb«. - ' \J!11a ■^"?^^ °" ^?^"f "<^^' ^' is likely, he Would b e mo r, g arded m his pulpit phraseology. -. the suie method Z avoid ["••yAr&uble 0. a similar kind; and. of course, an effective pre- JgiiiMt a revival. But a secret conyictioy, not to bt '" I ri t '-A ■*r ' ■A •- • \ . f:*'^^ m r^ '-*'■,!■>',;,■ , 'i-*':.f,:j,.,y, h J * K .A- l--f.i «;;,;-, ■ *»'.. ■ 1.1 ■ ii. h ■ II. . ■ P : iUiii- I,- . - 212 ' REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. ,-n,A of the danger of his own soul, may f«ten upon hi. con- :*„;: whtch'if' it do not result in his convers,on. m.y en,b>.. ter many an ^'".f^^^^'^feWrm^ since. 1 wasninch interested m a «ork laiciy following anec oeeeding .hroug . e V W ^^^ tr«:^tr::!CL truths of the Gospel afl^et the .nne„ of that country. "« „„n nnd not far from his The author. stated that, some y^^^^^,^ ,,,, he placed ahode, there ^^t^J^J, earnestness, and preached the doctnnes o the Cross ^ith gr ^^^ L that ac'ount was violentl/ opjgosed. Une oi nis opp ^ . on that acouni w K^/for i lonff time absented him- would go and hear the gloomy man onco more, and see Z prelhing was -^r "'^^^^T^:^ and that morning the preacher ™^ J^^^'"; ^,„^j,,_ ,h,„ way,., which he did not make -HT^---. « .„ Christ, o, the „H of God descnbes ,t. A^"J"^^ ,. ,„d he eternal ''-"»''™.'' yi ^t/tXld - o-r. The n,»n spoke with power, and not as a 1«»™^ ^ .^„ f„,,,a • heard him patiently; and, durmg the e„non,thq ^^^^^. itself upon his consaence How .s -^-^ > ^ ^^,^ .„,. „,an declare the reatru^h Irt do^s.^ ^^^ hold u^n hi™, teWe consequence? ^, '/."?.,.,„„ „f his engagements, that he could not get rid of U afh.dst any "J ^« J°^f „„; ^^ but it became -re and more trouWesome and P n «^ ^ . threatened to emM.ter ^^ -'';^^ ^^ ^^ ^ trus:.duri,s ■ . just what we mean by the terms we a ^ ..„,„,i„ced of sin i' .he progress of this rev.val: such a . J^™™ ^ ^ ^^ "brought. under a concern for the soul. tne aw - : J^Zr:^ intruded upon his ^^^^^^Z if he were n preached. S who had beei said, with gr you spbke, a corQeis to yo I cannot refn yjur consciei it was an u prised at this what he hac consequently, God was abo instrument o never be6n ci way." "Wl -/The last^ thoughts^ and quirer, and tc But the la preacher had repeated, witl it be truth, sii Terrified, t "what means uneasiness an advice. Tea 'lis hands lik might have rr bjst and undo The preacl overwhelmed :Vulsiv3Sobbin l et ui* pray ar ^kl!!'' REVIVAL PREACHING, 213 *■.( ■*ii am his tiat he ss, and onents, ;d him- that he vhether e went; ' narrow er, than hrist, or and he 'he man on forced Does this the ineti- p'on him, igements, tting, and it, this is se, during of sin;'' tened sin* losiug his if he were realy convinced )f the truth of what he had lately preached. So, e.nbracing an opportunity, he addressed the man who had been tl e mc ms of creating all this trouble. ♦' Sir," hq said, with great ;arhestness^ " I was one of your hearers, wheri you sp6ke, a short time since, of the oily way of solvation. I coi|fea3 to you that you have disturbed my peace of ipind, and I cannot refrain from asking you solemnly, before God and upon yjur conscience, if you can prove what you assertecl, or whether it was an unfoundetJ: alarm." The preacher, not a little sur- prised at this address, replied, with convincing seriousness, that what he had spoken was undoubtedly the word of God, and, consequently, infallible truth. And now it was that the Spirit of God was about to make the awakened sinner, in his turn,'the instrument of convincing the clergyman that he himself had never be6n convertecl tojiod, and therefore not in the " narrow way." *' What, then, is to become of us ? " replied the visiter. VThe last word, us, startled the preacher; but he rallied his thoughts, and began to explain the way of salvation to the in- quirer, and to exhort him to repent and believe.. But the latter, as though he had not heard a syllable the preacher had said, interrupted him in the midst of it, and repeated, with increasing emotion, the anxious exclamation, " If it be truth, sir, I beseech you, what ^re we to do ? " . Terrified, the preacher staggered back: "We," thought he, "what means this we ? " But, endeavoring to stifle his inward uneasiness and embarrassment, he resumed his exhortation and advice. Tears came into the eyes of the visiter. He smote ['lis hands like onfe in despair, and exclaimed, in accents which I might have melted a heart of stone, " Sir, if it be truth» we are 1 bt and undone ! " The preacher stood pale and speechless, and trembled. But, I overwhelmed with aston 'shment, with downcast eyes and con* jvulsiv 3 sobbing^, he exclaimed, " Friend ! down upon your knees ! jl et ui* pray and cry for m e rcy ! " Th o y kn e lt down and prayed, ^^ :.■ .i.%m 1 was con- ! concluded cpnsciencei [and, sjiortly after, the visiter retired. The minister shut him- Jself lip in his stuiy, and sought the salvation of his soul with iwho.e heart. The Sabb'ith anived, but the congregation t'.'f' ,/-'^" , ■"'S ff m :1 iil I it- i 111 m Hi I'M 'p. 2H BEVITAL MISCELLANIES. was without a preacher. *e had, it wouldseem, «>««*»««>';• dasion to preach no more, till he knew that God, for Chmf. Mke, had forgiven his sins. Word was sent to the waiting con- gregation that the minister was unwell, and could ^jot l,re»ch The same thing happened the Sabbath following. On the third Sabbath he made his appearance before his congregation, worn with his inward conflict, and pale, but his eyes were beaming with ioT He commenced his discourse with the ifTectrng^dec laration, that he had now, for the first time, passed through iho " strait gale." Matt. 7:14. ™ ■. Perhaps the following may not be uninteresting.. There is a story related in the town of Northampton, State of Massachu. setB, United States, of a young minister, of the name of Sod- dard,who. many years ago, was pastor of a congregutMn m thai place. Although his learning and talents could not be ques- rioned, yet some of the pious of his church seriously doubted whether he was a converted man. Why they entertained such a suspicion, I have, not seen stated in any accounts of the cir- cumsLce. It arose, probably, either from his carekss mannei of livin», or from the style and matter of his preaching, ^ per- naps from the cold risception he may hav^ given to persons who were in distress W their souls, as well as from ^^^^f^f assertions that none could possibly aseertam by their feelings whirhertheyVereinastateofgmce. However, the convc "on tcame riveted upon the minds of his. sincere and hones ^Tpl^Tthat the great question of their minister^ '=''"XiI« . Tet'^nsettled ; and that he could never preach the S^^^ of rlpentance, faith in Christ, and regeneration, with .eal «* . an pon from above, and with 77-»g "^.^f, :, ceskif he had never experienced such things himself. The e^n^ pled that they had been correct m their ="™>^^- /''^ kJew tam to be a young man of talents and learning, and weB Xh^v, useful hen^ghtbecomcifpreparedforitbyasounJ conversion. They co.ld not conscientiously ^ef ' *« h* 4 God, nor .mpt him '.o withdraw from preaching the Gos^ U r-^'ha ps. throw his ulents int. the service of tlie denl, m N • ' "s to a con* Christ's ting con- ; preach, the third on, worn beaming :ting dec- rough the 'here is a /lassachu- J of Stod- on in thai be ques* ,y doubted ined such )f the cir. ss manner ng, — per- jrsons who s repeated sir feelings the convic- and honest i^ersion was fufeoeljanes 1 zeal, with ss and sue- The event ses. They g, and were t by a sound ; the house ithe Gospel, f the devil; HEVIVAL PREACHING. 215 •.Vi '.I J- I I MM bttt they agreed to set apart ai day for special fasting and prayei for the conversion of their pallor. • ' Many of the people, going to the house of God on that day, had, of necessity, to pass the door o( the minister. Mr. Stod* ^ dard observing unusual numbers passing by, hailed a plain man, _#omhe knew,and inquired, '• What isallthis? Whatisdoing ;i^y ?^ The individual replied, "The people, sir, are. a' «|s8f"S^ *** meeting to pray for your conversion." :^ This piece K)f information went to his heart like an arrow, and he silently exclaimed, " Then it is time, surely, I prayed for myself." He was not seen any more that day; and while his people were praying for him in public, he was ardently seeking salvation m private. While they were yet speaking, God^ answered, and set his soul at liberty. It was not long before the people of God obtained evidence, most unquestionaUe, that he had indeed passed "from death unto lifo!" That man labored among them nearly half a century, and, it is said, he was ranked among the most able ministers of the age. You have probably read the memoir of a clergyman of the Establishment, who was, in his pulpit labors, very successful in the awakening and conversion of sinners — the Rev. R. Mayow. If so, you will recollect the following sentiments, from his owii ' pen, and they are the best apology I can ofTet for myself : " The occasional abruptness of my sermons is not owing to inattention, but design. Were I previously to show the manner in which I intend to carry on the attack, I should act like a general who should publish all his plans to the party he wishes to overcome. Through the whole of my life, I have been of the opinion that the poor, and, indeed, that all ranks of people, are best taught , oy tales and parables. Not to be affected by the marvellous, is an irrational and false refinement, which the poorest of the peo- ple never arrive at in any age. It is on this principle that I encourage myself to say, in the pulpit, what often appears uncommon and extraordinary, and what, by many people, is token for a useless and wild eccentricity. But, to a mind free ttonot refinement, everything said in this manner comes with i - "Me weight It approaches to the nature of the marvgUom, ^^ . ' . ': f '^Fi t m t 4* *!' t ' 9 3* ' 4 « ,iSi* a * "■M m Pi. if I p; li 5' I; li ti % ^m 216 REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. III.. which is the 8tronge.t power by which the human mind i. go» *^'to me, it appears not to be enough considered h*w much harm is done by being tedious and tiresome It .s this that makes empty pews in so many churches. Of my own sermom, I feel perfectly certain that they have done more harm, by femg wearisome and by setting people asleep, than they ever d,d by being uncommon. I certainly allow that in my mode of preach- Ing it is very easy to go too far. The very attempt itself to ,^te a striking sermon unavoidably exposes one to the danger of writing a bad one- for it is a verythin division that separate. wh"t is very bad from what is very good. This division ,, .ometimes so'very slight that it cannot be seen at all. It a ways occurs to me, that going too far will "^'f'*.''''™'"** ''.>'*' greatest part of my hearer., if I cannot find it out myself i and is to the Judicious few. I always give them credit for being sat- isfied with my intentions, though* not with my judgment. '■■ You inquire, "Why call persons forward to be prayed for! Why make such, invidious distihctions in your congregations? Could not God ,Wert them in any other part of the chapel, m well as at the communion-rails?" . j l, 1 Because there are "distinctions" in reaVty, produced by the Spirit of God, before we make them by separation. -^ 2 If God has told us to pmy one for another, that we maybe healed, is it not reasonable that we should know who they .d« — — — — -^^ — -"^ 5. Fre they aie J jir partiC' may have ction suit- :ase before ying men. IS for theii out having lut sympa* iosely con* '» * It' i* 1: " -4* «• 'a ~.i^ SI / •• • / ~-, ( CHAPTER IV. f »■ METHODS OP PEOMOTINQ A BEVHAL \, You say, " Your extwriefice has been far more exin cive ihnn mine. I should like to inquire whether all these extraordinary movements begin and proceed in the same way; I mean by such protracted efforts, and by calling people forward to be prs^ed fp^, and so on ? " No, not always. I witnessed a revi- val, several years ago, when they did not call penitents forward to /be prayed for at all. The truth was preached to the people inja very pointed manne-, and, after each sermon, the congrega- tion was requested to kneel and pray to God as the necessities o< their souls demanded. The work of God broke forth, in p6wer, and witnesses wrre raised up on every hand that Jesus Christ had power upon earth to forgive sins. We were com- ^lled, however, to take such a course, on account of having so ^w brethren to help in vocal prayer /a revival commenced in a certain place by the following /means : Two or threr pious young men agreed to meet in the /chapel, at a certain time, to pray for a revival. They had never i seen anything of the kind ; but almost the entire population were " lying in the arms of the wicked one," and they consid- ered this a proper and scriptural method for their rescue. Their minds, also, were greatly distressed on account of the low state of religion. The society Jiad dwindled down to a few; and it ^ was so long since the place"' "had 1)een visited by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that the leaders knew little, if anythmg, about a revival, and of course felt indifferent as to such a Divmo man- ifestation. The young men continued to hold their meetings. Their tipiidity forbade them to ask a light (for their time of prayer was in the night), but they knew that darkness and liglit 7:-^> i «ive thnn iiotdinarj mean by ird to be ied a revi- ts forward the people congrega- iiecessjities e forth, in that Jesus ivere com* having so following eet in the had never population key cpnsid* ue. Their e low state w; and it outpouring bing, about ►ivine man- ' meetings, lir time of I and liglit -KiTBODS OF PSOMOTINO A RBVI7AI.. 219 msre^ih uiko to a prayer-hearing God. In that dark chapel, night after »ught, did they pour out their aouls in prayer Xor the inhabitants of ,he place. Two months had nearly passed away, and sinners appeared quite as indifferent as ever; but they were not discouraged, and continued their meetings. About the close of the ninth week, on the night of a public prayer-meeting, two yourig men, hithe'rto carelew and wicked, were in great distress, and disturbed the few present with their spbs and groans for mercy. This was a new thing, but n6t sufficient to impress the old professors, They *c re upon the eve of a glorious revival] and knew it not. The |)e.ple were dismissed, and no further attention paid to the inci- dent. The praying youths, however, hud prayed and wept too (ong to. be indifferent; but there was no meeting for public j^rayer till the following Thursday nighl[ "Oh!" said the per- .on who related the circumstance to me, and who was one of he party whiqh composed the secret prayer-meeting; "oh! it appeared to be a month till the next meeting." TTie official men, in the mean time, foreboding some disturbance, became "ner! vous,"and exceedingly afraid of excitement. Thursday night arrived, and the place was crowded. No one coiild tell why there was such an unusual stir; the secret was with the young men. Information reached the preacher stationed on the cir- cuit. He came, and recognized it at orice as the beginning of a great work of God, and entered into it with the usual zeal of aX Methodist minister. He adjourned the meeting into the chapel The official members followed, curious to see the results, but in a short time God touched their hearts, and opened their eyes, and they were compelled to exclaim, "Surely God a in this^ place, and we knew it not." It was not long before scores of converted souls were added to the little society* I could ndme a place where a revival began, afew yeais ago, under the following circumstances : ^ The society had long been in a low state of religious feeling, although additions, from time to time, had been made to their numbers. The previous preachers had been successful in "win- Mng p^opte out of the world into the chmch; but it wnnM^ . "I' I '••i*.. ^m. Mttl 4< V i ** m 'Hi p, .';i-n t , t »i * I - i "^k -W >■«♦ »M Jl™!s" ■ 820 REVIVAL MISCELLANIEti. •eem they had had little success in converting them to Christ Whether it was on account of the generally dead state of the K.embers, or the indistinctness of their method of preaching jus- tification by faith and the witness of the Spirit, or that they did not bestow sufficient labor to have such awakened sinners actually saved, the great day must declare. A new preacher was sent to the town by Conference. Like a faithful mc^n of God, he entered immediately upon a close extmination of the classes, and was surprised and distressed, as we may suppose, to £nd upwards of two hundred persons, who, from their own admission, had never experienced anything more than mere amviction for sin. Afterwards he met the leaders, described to them the mournful condition of the church, and entreated them to exhort those whom they knew to be in an unconverted state to press into the liberty of the children of God. The local preachers of that circuit were a numerous and respectable body. God at this time began to awaken them, in a deeper manner than formerly, to the necessity of mental improve- ment. They formed themselves into a theologic^ society, and met once a week for the discussion of subjects of divinity. Two objects were constantly kept in view : 1. To obtain a better un- derstanding of the doctrines of the Gospel ; and, 2. That they might be qualified to preach those doctrines in a clearer and more effectual manner. These "conversations" became increasingly interesting, and resulted in a deeper conviction than they had ever realized .of the necessity of preaching a present salvation to their hearers and, moreover, that it was their duty and privilege to expect ai immediate effect. From this time, the style of their preaching improved with tlie clearness of their perceptions of truth, combined with more fsxpanisive and enlightened views as to the great design of the Gospel to bring sinners at once to Christ. One, and then another, got out of l^is " old beaten track," and aimed directlj at the conversion of sinners. In the mean time their congrega tions inireased surprisingly. The spirit of prayer and expecta- tion came down upon believers. Faith, ia reference to a general METBOM OP PBOMOTINO A REVIVAL. 221 > Ghriit. e of the ling jus- lat they sinners }. Like a close essed, as ms, who, ing more leaders, irch, and )e in an Idren of Toiis and lem, in a improve- iety, and ty. Two )etter un* hat they arer and iting, and !alized.of hearers ixpect ai )ved with vith more jn of the and then d directly congrega 1 expecta- a general wrifal of God's work, increased daily. Many sinners were "pricked in their heart;" and this took place so rejieatedly in the ordinanr services, but certainly under extraordinary preach- ing.that they could conceal their disquietude no longer, and cries for mercy became of frequent occurrence. Additional meetings were now appointed. Crowds attended the meetings for prayer, as well as for preaching. The local preachers cool emted with their pastor, gave up their theological meeting, and, in their turn preached the Gospel with great power. The ser- vices were c. ntinued every night for a considerable length of time, and nearly five hundred sinners were converted to God from nine years of age to ninety. ^ * An account of a revival now lies before me, which occurred in another denomination. The minister of that church, whom God has greatly honored for his faithfulness, in giving an account of the revival, states that his church got into a very low, despond- ing condition, and matters became so gloomy that he was uiK,n the point of asking a dismission. Unlike some, he could mt Bit down at his ease, knowing that his labors were not blessed careless whether poor sinners were saved or damned. No ! he could iwt bear the thcght of staying afiy longer in a place where he was conscientiously convinced he was useless The time of extremity was God's opportunity. One Sabbath night, the Spirit of God arrested a young man. He desired to see t^ie pastor, and opened his mind on the subject of his distress. A meeting for prayer had beSn appointed for thai week; and when the time for beginning the prayer-meeting arrived, to his aston ishment, the place was crowded. A large- number of persons were there, deeply distressed on account of theii sins. ' From that hour the revival advanced in power ; and, accoi'd- mg to the last account I heard, the number converted and added to. his church was above sixty souls, and many more wera expected to unite theipiselves to it. _ In preaching, facts are my materials, and not theories. Not — insensible of the benefit of theories; they are very '■felt' ... .V V ilia-: '■■;*;•:•■ 11- good m their place, nor do I neglect them. They may be 19* toa w ^ v>; V ii22 BETITAL MMCELLANIBt. disconne what a foundation if to a building;. A fuiMd&tion answers na purpose, unless an edifice be raised up)n i^ ; but we » wa'nt more than the fourtdatidn, in the constj^uction of a seemly specimen of correct architecture. A sermon, all theory, is nei- ^ ther pleasing, profitable, nor effectual. I consider a theorenifi^^ pf course, in the sense of a religious truth laid down as a pri«tf|^ ciple, and treated in a speculative manner, without any illUstA-* tion whatever. Our Lord never neglected first principles, but * he never speculated upon them. He seldom advanced a theolog- ical principle, in the absence of an historical fact ; nor the sim- plest moral truth, without aa illustration lof some kind, real or supposed. ; — 7—^ ^~ — ^i^-^--^^^ ' 'l^- The world is calling out for 'illustrated scienee,'' In every department of literature. There is everywherp a dissatisfaction with dry definitions and vague speculations. In a lut^-London , periodical there is a very severe critique upon a certainrWofk entitled "A History and Geography of Central Asia." The, reviewer tells us that it is a very learned and a, very useless work. After inquiring. What matters it to us of the present day where imagin%iy rivers ran through doubtful provinces, watering apocryphal cities some centuries ago, belonging to hordes of barbarians, shifti;ig as the sands with which they are surrounded, and often overwhelmed ? he asserts, that all these should give way to actual observation. " The world," says he, " demands facts, and facts only, and tum» aside with disgust from mere speculation. A few pages, from the latest travellers wht have explored tho^e regions, are worth more than hundreds of volumes of mere controversy." With the above work I have nothing to do, for I have never seen it ; but the remarks of the critic are just. ^_ It is a remarkable pei^uliiirity of the scientific lecturers of the present age, that they are universally fond of illustrating their nrinciples by facts. A few years ago, I was invited by a surgeon to hear a medical lecture, in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in the city r»f New York The platform was honored by the presence of •ereml talented physicians. W ? had been seated but a few min olTS.whe •n:e on 1 itu'ents. ence o( t nerves." . . moment, were laij theories, 1 to the ni facts, un( . observatio for contri the onimi to some, n but his fac I here, r be forgotte tjBrms very their convi make' then * heart is ri, fiearers, ho t3iligible, a done our 1 they may b statements both classes iblit^rated ; the coming ber them, t Like a 8t(r md stamp i which has observed, — fated, make they enter 1 • 1 leoremikZ . ». "> •« es, but * " leolog- )e sim* real or METHODS Of PROMOTINO A REVIVAL. 223 al«. When a., active Httio man. aged about fifty, made hlsappcar- .n:e on the platform. Professor # # #, and was cheered brth, ■tu.ents. He announced his subject immediately: -The influ- ence of the nerves upon the mind, and of the mi„d upon the nerves. • Br.sM.vely. and eloquent, he had our :uienLn i,. a moment nor did he lose it d ving the entire lecture. Principles were la, J dou-n ct once; but. instead of supporting theories by . theories, and d.8.:uss.nff them in the dry technicalities peculiar to the medical science, as 1 expected, he came forwaVd with Mts, undeniable facts, drawn from his own experience, and the observaticm of others. Real life and histoiy vl^re called upon for contnbuticin. without apology, fevery eye was fixed upon he animated sj^aker. every mind ^vas interested. Principles, to some might have been unintelligible, to others questionable, but his facts were irrMi*^/^/ Jesus Christ hath purchased for him by his most precious blood. ' A few of the above remarks will apply to some of your " pro- posed views " upon revivals. We may theorize and philosophize upon revivals for years ; but a minister will leai;n more on ^he Bubjtct in one week, when the Gospel is taking effect upon sin- ; ners, producing its distinct and positive results in their conver- aion, than he could by many years of mere theorizing. We may say of a certain kiniof revival speculations, what i writer remarked respecting a review wh6n compared with the actual scenes peculiar to the real battle-field, — " It has been truly said, that nothing is so unlike a battle as a review ' "The « I. There were times," says an intelligetiV. friend of mine, "when law* - were chanted, and Orpheus and Amphionwere both, it is believed, poetiqal \egislators, as »ere almost all legislators among barbaro as people, whoH , bw addtcissed thrmigh the medlam pf the imagination.'* •ft of « theory o UKich; i •nothcr «dheren( I hav( but an a observer, •nost sail preva(en( periodica Thesp pc of the na of six, 8( God has the rema by many is thus m revival flj which ha the them( mg and p thrown in ing the a they are a counling-I ft not? la iiterests c stars befo inquiry g( we have a may not w a respectt revival ne' preachers other that with othei "^rv- .iiBf : not the fnftthema* chor only . *»)ProY. •(1,1 think (1 proc«pt grammnr, fr it for a ifRculty in t and iti refreshed t in Cliria* proving a influenced th having of Chris* I ingenious 1, for facts away, till everything t precious your " pro- hilosophize ore on ^he ; upon sin* eir con vet" )nSj what I ;d with the t has becD BW ' "The ** whtfn lavf eved, poeti(;«l people, whoH ition." A lUtllOM or PJIOMOTINO A ■EViVAI«. *" 'I- • • •rt of »-»r," «yf another, "it one of tho«e tciencfd which no theory or application of fixed and establithed rules can poMibly Ujflch; it ii one thing to write from experience of (ho past, and ^ another to acquire a facility of directing operations by a st'rvile idherenco to the maxims of^othen." I have known places, however. wHlera they had no revival J but an account of arevival at a distance, given by an intelligent observer, who hnii engaged in it himself, has there produced the .nost salutary effects. Indeed, this may in part account for (he prevalence of revivals throughout the United States. Popular penodici^s have what they term '• The Revivol Department " Th-sp papers circulate through all the cities, towns, and villngci, of the nation. It is seldom any of them appear without an account of SIX, seven, or a dozen revivals ; the instrumentality which God has been pleased to acknowledge and honor, with most of the remarkable peculiorities of each, are there stated, and read by many hundreds of thousands. The population of the country IS thus made familiar with revivals. Such descriptions fan the revival flame in the heart? of ministers and people. A revival which has occurred, or is going forward, in such a place, becomes ^ the theme of general conversation. Often the effects are thrill- mg and powerful beyond description. An entire church will be thrown into a state of sanctified excitement, after reading or hear- ing the account of a revival in some city or town with which they are acquainted. " The revival in » is talked of in the counting-house, work-shop, parlor, and kitchen ; and why should Unot? Is It not a mighty and a glorious event; before which th» iiterests oF science, commerce, and politics, should disappear, v itars before the sun arising in his glory? It is then that the inquiry goes forth with emphatic meaning, — "Why may not! we have a revival, las well as the people of such a place ? Wh> may not we use the means which they used? IsGodanymoro a respecter of places than of forsons?" Frequently such revival news produces great "searchings of heart," both amonp preachers and people. It is impossible, now, to persuade each other that they are doing as well as they might, or equally well with other parts of th.3 church. They now know to the con- m ?' i ! ' 4^ n "TwaP' ■:'A . 226 BEVIVAL MISCELLANIES. trary ; and facts cannot be put 4own, nor conversation hushed Fine preaching, I mrned and ekquent preaching, will not satisfy the church. The people of God ask for effects ; they inquire for results. There is deep humiliation in certain quarters, and a provoking to love and good works ; nor will they rest satisfied till their ministry and town are honored with a similar out-pouring of the Holy Spirit. In the course of a few months, their prayers are answered"; their ministers preach as they never did before ; sinners are broken down, and are turning to God on every hand ; so that their town appears, in its turn, in the Revival Depart- ment, with all the circumstances of a gracious visitation ; and similar effects are produced upon pther declining churches. It frequently happens that these revivals, published in the papers referred to, have occurred in towns and circuits where certain preachers labored with very little success. The effects upon tkeir minds are, of course, peculiarly stirring; leading them to deep humiliation before God, and to earnest resolutions to be more faithful and zealous; many of them, in fact, hev« rest tiU simila,r re?ults attend their preaching. The successive accounts of ^ such revivals never lose theit interest. Nor have lever known the people express a want of confidence in such communiqjations. The periodicals bearing the revival news are circulated, generally, in th0 very places where the revivals are stated to have occurred, and are read by numerous subscribers, who certainly would contradict the state* ments, if untrue. Besides, such articles are never printed unless sent by a responsible person; they are usually written by the preacher in charge of the circuit, and thus the veracity of the narrative is considered as unquestionable. This secures the religious public from exaggerated statements; they are, there- fore, read with all confidence, and held in undiminished reputa- tion. I am sorry the religious periodicals of England have not, generally, such a department ^n their columns. Is it because revivals are too numeroiis to be thus noticed, or that their rarity • renders a Revival Department unnecessary ? For majay reasons, I sljould ;onsider it a serious disaster to the church of God i«» America if such accounts, of revivals were suppressed; ~ # , ■ • . - - on hushed . not satisfy hey inquire Liters, and a satisfied till out'pouring lieir prayers did before; every hand ; ival Depart- tation ; and irches. ihed in the cuits where The effects ig; leading t resolutions 1 fact, hever r lose theu 33 a want of cals bearing very places are read by ct the state* rinted unless •itten by the racity of the secures the y are, there- shed reputa- ,nd have not, [s it because t their rarity lajay reasons, ih of God in e37 ■ - -. METHODS OF PROMOTING A REVIVAL. 227 The «one case of conyersion » you mention may stand in the same relation to a revival as the first drop to the coming shower* When twenty, thirty, fifty, or one hundred, get con! iTi H- T'l ' !'^ ^°""' ^'^y^' '' ^««^«' *»^'" H is that the divme glory has descended upon the tabernacle, and the arm of God ,s being made bare, in an extraordinary revival of pure rehgion. Th.s is the sign between God and his pmig people; this is^the visible token that he has come down into^he midst of them for purposes of mercy,- thatis, for the revival of Zn fif^ "T' 5'' ^'" '°"""'^*^^ ^» their assembly, as when fifty are pardoned; and to be assured, that if he Le Zt T/ r T ?^ ^"^"^ *" ^^« *^""^^«d^ and thou. happen that his peop^ recognize the token of his presence, nor Uie indications of hlTwill. There is now the sound of abu" dance of ram ; one drop is frequently the forerunner of as heavy a shower, as the descent of fifty in a moment. • It is thus the Lord usually sigmfies to his ministers and people that he is «ady and willing to work, if they will but cooperate. He has now come down, they mjy depend upon it. io make them and the places around about his hill a blessing. Ezek. 32: 26. dl^'' TTfu"" ^ *^"^P^^' " *^ ''^'y '^^ house of hi, f nlir .ft A u^ "T ^"*" ^' ^"^^ ^"^Sns, the time s near at hand when the Lord shall inquire of that church. 'Who are these that fly like a cloud, andas the doves to thei; ^.ndows » Let her ministers and menders reply." These a^e ^rne. oh Lord God. souls but newly found in theeV^ther:" and f?fi""lT..*'7 ^'""'' *'^' *^^y W obtain a'^repatatic, nheir final flight into paradise." Let them answer thus ; and ^will^oqnhave it impressed upon their hearts by the Lord 6^ of hosts. "Therefore, thy ga^ continuall^ they shall not be shut day nor night." Jsaiah 60ru. U Zy ♦At the first meeting we held In Sheffield, May 12th 1844 in whloh « ^ ml ''■ mi' *4r*i. rl tmn i .•' , It. 1 li, If*,! m 1 228 REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. now throw open the gui^ of Zion ; have preaching every night w day and night, fof weeks, as they do in many parts of the United States; visiting from house to house in the intervals of the services, and urging the sinners of the .entire population to abandon their sins, and return to their offended God, who has ccme down to save every sinner in the place; -then will God shake the trembling gates of hell; they shall see Zion in great prosperity, and multitudes of converted sinners added to the, ranks of the faithful. ^r . , . . e It may be because of the close connection which exists often between the conversion of one sinner and that of hundreds, that our Saviour tells us, " There |s joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." The Lord, my brother, may have manifested his power fn the jehalf of that one soul, in answer to the cries, perhaps, of one or - «,ro devoted members of your chuwh. And, if the effectual fervent prayer of one righteous man avails so much with God, how much mcire the united prayers of your entire church 1 "If one sigh of a true Christian," says an old divine, " wafts the bark to the desired haven, or stirreth Zion's ship, how much more a gale of sighs, breathed by hundreds of. believers ! If one trumpet sounds so loudly in the ears of God^ow much more a conc«rt of all the silver trumpets in Zion soundmg together. '^ Where so many hands are lifted up, how many blessings may they not pull down from heaven ! " ^ § We must do God's work in his time. But, if we content our- " selves by saying, « We have had a glorious meeting, — a revival has begun, s«r«Zy/" and ye\ appoint no additional services for the week, in order to fan the flame already kindled the next Sabbath and the nel, we may find that he is not with us in our time. Itmay be with us as with the Israelites who murmured* a Having seen their error in the former instance,tliey resolved now to improve this victory' to the utmost. Opposers of tic first ef&rt entered fully into the work, and the revival effort;' were continued several months, and the saved of the Lord yrero very many. ' / • _ _ ■ . Be assured your re8|)onsibility is very great. . Kealize, t entreat you, in what position yoju are placed. I 7iow under- stand all you describe. At one period of my mmistry, this would not hhve been.the case; I should have united with otheis in saying, "You are on the eve of a glorious revival." Be notV deceived ; the sinners of the nineteenth century are well versed in the art of procrastination. There is not a faithful minibter in England who has not learned this to his sorrow. My opinion is, you will looV in vain for an extensive re vi vial, unless you ^y follow the blow'' with a succession of sermons and prayer- meetings. "The heavens ar? big with tain," but neither one peal of thunder nor half a dozen may sufficiently shake them; a score may be required to bring down the "teeming shower.' ■ Often have I observed such clouds of mercy -gather over the s eople of my chargi; but they have passed away," and the thirsty land has remained unwatered. How many times have I seen a congregation, on a Sabbath night, moved as if the breezes which are wafted through the streets of the New Jeru. salem hftd swept over the audience, and only five or six out of . the affected multitude . went down to their houses justified. After such a season, I have heard some good people prophesy, " Surely a great revival has commenced !" But here the mat- ter ended; month succeeded to month, and na general revival # took place; and very few were gathered from the world mto the fold, during all that time. And-why ? Either because we were too slothful, or ignorant of the call of God, or too busily* engaged in other matters to enter inlo tbe designs of |he Holy Spirit and do God's work in liis owhAtime. It wou l d a ppear as »f IN contidered our only duty, to be\,to t«itf , and be stiU, and smite it ■ *^ METHOOa OF PROMOTINS 4 RETINAL. 831 expect to see sinners coming by .cores, of their own accoid. inqumnff what they should do to be saved; and all tlia without ,ny extra effort on our part, 6t any additional meetings beyond tj.e ordumry ones. Bat, to our surprise, sinners becaine as hard . and careless as ever, and we were doomed to the disappoint, men which our supineness deserved. You see. my brother^ we , must/offw „p and .mprove upon a victory. One whole wU "' Ta' r° " ""^«.'«'»«l".«>f »pecial services, should hav^ mcceeded the scene you witnessed a few Sabbath nJEhts since Depend upon ,haAyo5 done so, y.„ would have seent g^rf: Z S'' " t' P°"r^ 0°^ among sinner. I. has1«e« «d of the great geneml, Hannitel; that he ki,ew how ttf „«tem a victory, but not to mpro« a victo^r. Let heaven and eartT my brother; never have cause to say this of you again ; that is.' Wities. Bemember the saying of the old Greek poet. -iVhall . g.»e.,.youm plain English :" No wise man wUI ie taken . second t.me m an error hehath suffered for;" rather should it not be the glory of , Christian minister to compel all hell to . »»y 'fh"". "sdM the enemies or a certain Roman general, "B he obtan a vc.ory over us. he fiercely insults us and pu^ue. , It, It he be repulsed, he returns afresh "? T^r/rf """"u*" *' ^^'''S Elisha comminded King Joash to. take a bunch of arrows, and smite the ground with ■ Aera^ ?Kmgs 13= IS, w: " And he smote thrice, a'nd stayed" the dymg prophet was deeply grieved in spirit," and «id, • Thou • Moulds, have smitten five or six times i'-the„ thou hadsi smit- ten Syr,a,,Il,h„„>dst consumed it. wheiias. now, thou .halt .m.te Syrm bat tfence." He finally obtained only three victo- ries over the enenjies of Israel; but it ™„|d appear that G,^ Mended to havej|^enhim fiveorsixs,/al victories, -qnite^ ^*e overthrow _of Syria. But his th.ee..trokes; peiha,^ i,^ ,. ated h« constuutional tendency to slackness or.indofen^, and we« an .„t.ma«on that a few victories over'the enomi« rf «,. God would safsiy ^ soul fo,>d of eme and -putt ; ani thit when inst umm t he «..)„. „f -A;--.;.. _ .. » "T,' ""■ ""t | wl«ai just upon the point of achieving other splendid victories ' ■■•I I A. i ' .ili ■ ill ;'/ i /A mi n M ■ * n^ ^ •I \ . t k B MH ■J32 BBTIVAL MisOELtANlM. ■ the hm wonld altare him mt« retirement, there to eijoy "in 'thUborran of Go;, why'didst thou not'rop^a. .he .troUe, Now boa hast obmjned but one small vCorj-i whe«»'».«"J . mav have intended thee manyi and nmy have purpo^^o.1, by., - 'ZyLve., to ha,e sbalfen the trembling gaje, of hell, ,«ue to the overthrow of the devil's kingdom, in * * * • . Perhaps the Captain of your salvation may soon fa™r yo.. . .«„t Ja' a„otber%>play of his po^ver^ If so. ^^^^^^^^^ „;rDOse? As you resdlve, so execute. Sbould God bono you S a I beUeve be will, confer no, with flesh antl blood r '„^ri not what any man^ay s.^= improve the vic^^^^^ . itt the utmost. .Consider Judges seventh and eighth chapters . See how Gideon improMd .be advantage given b.m by God The first victory resenflrfed the beginning of some rev vals Inder-rl -^/sermons, that God might have all the glory, utis^hou. sword or spear^or the '"'f ,-' *« ^"fj- . Although one hundred and twenty thousand men of the eneny fhS the sword had fallen, that day, yet Gideon pusbedTlf. *cm4 to the uttermost. " He came to Jordan, and passed ove 3s .hr,e hundred men,/ain«. pt pursuing ;".ni w ent u TNobaK and Jo»bchah,> and smote a second host, "for the K J^s sSe ••° He pursued Zeba also, and Zalnm^, .be •:: W^;s of Midian, a'a took .hem, and discomii.edaU the Ct. Gideon linew ho™ to.improve a ^'^m_^^^ ^ of his mighty achievements, there were some fault-finders, rnur IrL fhe men of Ephraim; and there were wV'- ""■ ^ Ts^Ztk" Gideon, it seems, had as«ld iread of ETor hi 'rly ; and tbiswas bis plea,- -E^^^^ f • . «n^ T ^.n nursuing." He received a rough reply- bideon, ■■ t::^lZ Cr .han .0 waste P-ious «me in ^J^^^^^^^^ ' but ,0 tb% men of Ephraim, who complained 1""'^^ *» *;J had,not been called out at the beginmng of the ^"t M ' Might have shared in the glory and .he spoil, Gideon ^phed • -.What have I now done, in comparison of you? Is not tl. Iv L ot the inapei. of Ephroim b e tter .ban the v-ntege o :j' »n=rpy METHODS OF PBOMOTINO A REVIVAL. 233 njoy an stroite 1 »as, God ascfl, by., -' ill, ijUite nvor yot ^ • ; do you onot you d blood ; ry; push chapters, by God: jevivals ' he glory, le Lord's, he enemy ' iushed~Tne issed over d went up , "for the qunna, the ted all the { the midst iders, muT- vs^s, " the 1 bread of iofi-they be y.. Gideon, parleying;" ly that they e, that they ton rephed: • Is not the e Vintage of Bplwed,and Iliut be w»» now giring Aem credit for their noble and rk-onu, mprovemento( ,h^ ™tv There is much of Ihi, kind of "..fical perfumery," about the p,4aching of some men 1 vras amused with a writer, the other day who whaiL.~»l, zvt r-rv>»'*- -perficiai^;;:hr^ro^; who go deeply into the meaning of the Holy Ghost cr»« m whit, fowen from the .ui&ca of tit. water; «ut the !,«„ i '^t.\X: ' .i\ X"' "■;« ' 234 ^* KEVITAL MISCELLAKIES. - to .rco.vpli.hcd di»e«, who bring up preciou, peWs from th.' ""'^lt;'ire„«rsay,,hoM divine. ;.b.r«e.^ i„g the face J a discourso clean, and paint.ng u = 'he f."ner „ ZlnX .„d^c,mn.eud.M6!J».e latter, sinful and abom.naWe Mto«s must mind the ^^.^e^ of their auduones. and no. nut iiat meat into their moutha «hich their teeth cannot chew To fhe aLLh concoct. Their sennon, o! s soul- falhnrr«d gospel-dishonoring preaching: "Indeed, what ,, mruntecomingrminister of Christ than to was.e h.s an.mal Zr a" « doe, his bowels. U, spin a web only to catch Ef'to «:. ™in applause, by a fooUsh pleasing .^ e ,^ Lt? And what cruelty is> it to .he souls of_men!. I. .s ™: ded as an ins.a„ce of Nero's savage temper, that, .n a gen- . Z famine, when many perished by h»"ge^ ^^T -^ '■^ ^ ship should co.ne from Egypt(.he granary of Italy) 1«<1«» *'^ Vlr the use of the wrestlers. In such extremity, to pro- "de St del ght. that there might ^ spee«.cles at the .hea- :; len L city of Rome was a specie of such m,se^ « ITmeU the heart of any b.it a Nero, was most barbarous cruelty. IT i. mi of a heavier impuU..ion. for a minister to pr^ !1~ hr. sT.n«ns to please the foolish curiosity of fancy, and STbii c n^Tits ; nay! such light vanities *at wouU s«rce ^ ^nZ in a scene. whUe hungry soul, languish f,r want rf r-'^rlyr:^ I can glv. to y^r^loMng ™,^^;^; . We must not only strike the iron u,hemt uM. but str ke . Ju i. mad, M. fi»>«t oecasi''-^ -"""t;""* '"^"^ J^ mu«t make use of ordinary opportunitiea as they may ofiei^ f »./■. rroni the' I'll wash formar is tniinable. , andl not [)0t chew, ind sthool heir own rhen their )ke them,_ iver teach they may seoldgy, is ' this soul- A, what is his animal y to catch ; the igno- en!. It is t, in a gen- ered that a laden with ity, to pro- Bit the thea- ti mise^ras ous cruelty, ster to.p^e• ^ fancy, and id scarce be fprwant of uiry is this; but strike it .ited for, but f may offi^ »IJTHOD« OF PROMOTINO A BEVIVAI.. 235 Should a gre^ occasion again ofTer, mak^ the best use of it wiihin your pojyef; - it is easy to hammer m iron when hot; but if ■JH$ 4 ; ■;?.k V* "im f ■«. ."iv ■''% S38 BIVITAL MtlOlLLANiKt. that of his moral conduct, and thoao deductions which be it at liberty to draw therefrom. I have no doubt, whatever, that multitude! j(in the various churches of this iond, live and die in union with them, without ' laving been born again ; and what have they gained by it, but \ a deeper damnation ? Such unhappy persons may be fitly com- paried to the beasts which entered Noah's ark; neither their embarkation, nor the terrors of the deluge, — the mercy of tho ; Lord, displayed in their preservation while other trutes perished, ~-ayt iae voi:e of prayer and praise by Noah and his family, — wrought any radical change in those onimals. They went in brutes, and they came out bmtes ; they entered the ark wild and . unclean, and they departed wild and unclean. Be it so ; they were only brutes, and the God that made them n^ver designed diey should be anything else. This ia not the case with the tinners in Zion ; they may be converted, aqd become saints of the most high God ! But a vast number of both cla^s, already described, enter the church of God, and remain theie unchanged in their nature; and leave it for another world with an un- changed nature, and with as great a distaste for God and godli- nesa( as characterized their carnal mind through life. We have Be6n some of them stretched upon the bed of their last sickness, — even those who have led a moral life ; but now, unexpectedly :»illed to die, they have realized the inefficiency of all their past performances to'bring tranquillity to their conscience, or to sustain efTectually the confidence of iheir departing spirit, or to inspire them with courage to meet the decisions of their Supreme Judge. And there have been cases, not a few, in which the Tarious acts of rebellion against conscien;(;e have terrified the soul; "Life has been all retouched agairh," and with a finge ' of fire ! If such have not sunk into the suilenniefll of despair, i has been quite as distressing to the minister of God to see then gather up their onei^ies to die with something like manly forti tude, in the entire absence of any religious comfort. A few solitary cases, it is true, have come under my notice •c where, after a severe struggle, which has appeared to render the 4 ut sinknesR as the agonies of a "doub t death," tibe pexsoot with ITTICT or MIVITAL ITrOITt. 23tt I I have Tonturad at last uponthe atuning blood of the Son| oi God * nnd we hare wen the languid eye brighten, with the eiiprenion, " My Ood is reconciled," and thus, at the eleventh hjbur, they have *' escaped with the skin of their teeth." Job 10 :j UO. Such death-bed scenes, however, have not been the oMy piacea where I have learned the dangerous state of many deceived soulsi reacts the most startling have come before me, in the course of my ministry, of persons who had been living long jn chui^h. Vllowship, without any internal religion whatever; but who, unler the searching truth of Ood, applied by the ttoly Spi i were brought ii.to a state of deep concern, and, after Beekihg sal* vatiou with many tears, found it to the joy of their hearts. I have conversed with vast numbers, mho have declared that, though Tthey^had long sat " under th# sound of the Gospel," they hod never bten "borri again," — never had known their sins to be forgiven ; that they |iad / , > " Heated lit tb« outward law, . ^ w-^ Nor ko«w its deep deaign." Such cases have not failed to awaken my attention particii* larly to this class of my hearers. God has impressed deeply upon my mind the necessity of dealing foithfully and plainly with professors of religion ; and that, at the peril of my future account, such must not be overlooked in my appeals to the sin- ners of the world. And thus have originated those disci;imin»ting and pointed appeals to the consciences of those who have been intrenched for years within the ramparts of my own and other denomina- tions; and results of the most startling and impressive character have occurred. To their surprise nnd horror, many have dis- covered that they had not only never got out of the road that leads to hell, but positively ihey had been for years slumbering on the very brink of damnation ! ' W^n such persons were converted, they have generally returned e himself has received it.-seeing it is w r itten. ^God is no r c sp o cter of p e r. sons ' » " It so happens, however, m whei^ the Spirit of Ood ' is probing the heart of an awakened ^nner, such unscriplurai dedara^ons generally feii to satisfy his Wscierte. Such pe^^ ions, n< ler, reti of findii a short and onl given f( nearts, And sion ha fhtir a( their vi would 1 where again? were hi God ha where i ,■ themse ' has cor Ifotl peopla likely! made f they cl their i author! possibl; ^ And si such ai mil hi the pai I hi new jpl dwell usuall] you n( nifiilei s- EFFECT OF BE VIVA L EFFORTS. 241 ed, also [ ill thei: the state •ned, and rch. Nor ' anothei . Q any of les, leave ination. ;onin»uni- j^puld not embers ot J are wil- I of othjgr congrega- heir souls, - ces where e state of »b of God, t, by any eir danger, , and they and again, as assured individual nust be the Ltirers after never been in his own ively denies ibj^ct; else, he himself cter of per* pirit of God unscriplural Such pep ■If luns, notwithstanding various prohibitions from the ab^ve quar ler, return to the place where they have been wounded, in hopes of finding out the means of a cure for the "wounded spirit.*' In a short time they learn the way of faith, and after resting simply and only upon the merits of the atonement, they are freely for- given for Christ's sake, and the Spirit of God is sent '* into their Hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Ga1. 4:6. And noWi sir, after the great and scriptural change of conver* sion has taken place, with a full 'and conscious knowledge of fhtir adoption into the family of God, what do you suppose are their views -respecting their former minister ? Is it likely they would leel very comfortable to |fetum and sit under his ministry, where the same things would be repeated, no doubt, again and again ? What sort of a reception would such a one receive, were he to call upon that minister, and relat(^ what great things God had done for his soul?^ There have been cases, not a few, where a sense of duty has led such new converts to " go show -,■ themselves to the priest ;" btlt a sense of duty, quite as strong, ' has compelled then, to withdraw from his teacmng. If other denominations oppose these services, and hinder their peopla who are unconverted from attending where it is most likely they would be converted, then let vigorous exertions be made for their salvation in their own.place of worship. But if they choose to neglect^ this imi>ortant duty, and will still use their influence to prejudice their minds, or interpose their ^ authority to prevent them from hearing the truth, wHich migh possibly result in their conversion, to God they are accountable. V And should these persons lose their souls, in consequence of such an interference, I have no hesitation in sayftig, that they will have to account, at the great and dreadful bar c£ God, for the part they had in their destruction. I have been charged with "smain preaching." This is a new jphrase to' me, but I suppose it means my condescending to dwell upon those " minute pmnts " of Christian experience usually taken up in a more florid and eloquent style. But hkve you never read that striking sentiment of G&\ety In medicina nUM exiguuml ." In physic nothing is little." A little error ': -■■■■^■- ;..:-.: .-21 r ':^-:.'"- ;■^^■^■■^ ■.^"■■- .^■■^■■• -. la -:-rift,.:;ii #1 ■ m 242 BBVIVaC Bf ISCELLAm^S thete/' said another, " may occasion fearful mischiefs so a small mistake in souls' concernments may occasion everlasting ruin." An iN:'rar respecting conversion is ruinous, — damrtdbli, if the person die in it, " Except a man be bom again, he can- not'S^e the kingdom of God." This is a decision of tremen- dous import. Now, the object to be attained by faithful piaaching is, to tekr Jiway the veil, so that the deluded conscience may be enabled to look the deceptiopf fully in the face. It is. not, how- ever, that kind of preaching which yo^i call « eloquent^" that is adapted to accomplish this. ^ ' As to the charge that revival preaching " has a tendency, in nine cases out of ten; only to disquiet and torment sincere minds," it requires better proof than that which often accom- panies a mere assertion. That a person maybe sincere in etrcr, I freely admit j but I cannot allow this to be a state of safety. It may be nothing more than a treacherous calm before a disas- trous storm: "The word hypocrisy ,".^ys a writer, "is origi- nally borrowed from the stage, and" it signifies /%,ac»■ 2U ^"'' lEVlYAL MISCBLLANIfeS. js- ',> ,^ f- land, many, in lonseqwence^of yoiir ihovements, have withdiawi, from their resp^ciive churches, and have joined the Methodists." A few liive dcnp fio; buj^the majority of those who havebeen - <:onverted to God; during the revivals to which you refer, wore sent l^ck to the cluirches to which they belonged, and irt a- safer and happier state of mind than when they first visited the J^thodist chapels. ^ ''When Jesus Christ^ healed the afflicted. ^; his constant advice was, '(Jo show thyself unto the p^i^st." T ^ teply, not always. "Why riot send thein back, to their own ministers, if they have reeftived good? f by jpt let those Whd nave labored so long for their conversion, as they who must give an account, hear from ^heir own lips what God, has done for them? Why not send such conveite bacK to their own* churches, and let them-declare to their fellorvv-Chrikian» what they have received?" I can assiire you, dear sir, we have frequently attended to this very thing; indeed, it is our general rule. That there- have been cases in which we hav6 beAl compelled to take a different course, I freely a^dsTjt*' The following sentiment, of a particular friend of mine, J consider . a good apology ; "Jt wilLbe conceded that circumstances must, in every cas6, deter- mine'ilS to the. propriety of this. In some< instances, it would be compelling the defenceless lamb to approach a roaring lion ; while in others^^it would resemble the sending of arnew-born infant to a mere "unparenial anatomist, whose only solicitude would be for the gust of its.dissectbn." 1 Kings^S 26, 27 ; Deut. 27: 18;lThes. 2:7,8. ^* \ . a "During your proceedings, congregations have been deserted by a large number of regular hearers, and I learn they have never returned." Severe, lest you color too highly. Where there has been anything of the kind, thfe ministers connected with such congregations have had rion? to blame but themseives. They ma^ thank their own conduct, and their injudicious rail- ing against the revival, for such humiliating results. People wiL,in such cases, jo:^ge for themselves 1 and when they hear inen reviling whot they consider a real work of God. and giv- ing credit to reports which they know to be utterly false, it is nz*. likely they wLl sit patiently to hear it; especially, when »t tf hear BFFB9T' OF BKVIVAL EmBTS. 24» IS known, that their tJiinister has not been at one of th' f ^- 246 \ REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. • 'r ■ his beams Ihr^iigh thote tax-avoiding imitations which an. use one in every street. ' \. You say further, "A le iden pipe may convey the ' water of ' life' to the souls of the people, quite as welUs a golden 6ne.» Yes, but let It be a pipe, and not a mere mas^ of lead. If a pipe, let it U connected with the fountain ; else it may as well be no Ripe at all ! Do you understand me ? A sheet of lead may be converted into a pipe, and so may a minister ; but let him ^ be converttd "A man may see himself in a plain glass as wejl as in one with a gilt frame." Just so, and I have seen my Ulce. ness quite as well in one that had no Yrame at all. But let it be glass, and let it be a clean and pure mirror; else it will show no. likeness at all, or, at most, a felse and incorrect one. The soul of a regenerated and sanctified minister of the Lord Jestis is like his sermons, — a transparent mirror of eternal truth. I , . dare not enlarge upon your figure, lest my letter would extend bjByond your patience, and the time I have at my command, I remember reading the following sentiment, which I very much admired at the time, and which, I think, applies to what * you consider an imperfect mii^istry : " A pearl mi(»iB«showea forth by a weak hand, aS well as by the arm of a giant." True ; but that hand should be governed by a discerning and well- informed judgment; else it might display these gems in a very improper light, or present worthless pebbles, instead of pearls. Beware, my de?itNsir, how you encourage men of whose c«i- rersion you stand' in doubt. " It is a doleftil thing," said an old , divine, 'to fall into hell from under the pulpit; but, ah! how dreadful to drop thither out of it ! " It is awfully possible for ministers to coast the land of promise^ like the unbelieving spies ; and, like them, have no inheritance therein throughout eternity ! ^ He whchas taken upon himselfithe office of preaching the Gospel, through sordid and imparc motives, has not the chanq^ for salvation which other mejji enjoy. He may be, at ope and the s ame tim e , an inamb t ^&nd a cumberer . — A sp e c u l a iar in preaching hje may be, and s6rve the church of God; but throw 3ff the letter s, as a quaiift man said, and you have his true tkaracter,—,* peculator, ii^ may lie capable, by hit learning EFFECT OF HEVItXl EFFOETS. ' r 247 and talehts, orstringing together a number of clever predictions ; but, in the "judgment of God," the man mayliave no other design than the accomplishment of hig own favorite pre^atitms upon the church of Jesus Christ.; It is at the imminent peril of his soul's damnation, that.au tihcc^iverted man casts ^ covetous eye towards the gown and surplice of a dying minister, who has been faithful to his God; oir, that he clothes himself therein, either for ease, honbr, or to earn with w(6rldlir credit a piece of bread. -You have read how JEneas, though he had purposed to spare the life of Turnijs, yet, when he espied the gij^le of Pallas about him, changed his mind, ftjid turned the point of jiia 8\Y«fd to his h^rt. v V " * .. It would, therefore, appear, frtm your own letter, that some churches in the nineteenth centiiry are yet cursed with what was cpmplained of so earnestly in the seventeenth century: • They by whom th^streams of heavenly doctrine flow to us are of such superabundant charity, tUt they desire to epipty^them. selves before they are half full; nay, many, before they havo any drop of saving knowledge and divine learning, are most ready to deliver that which they never received, and' teach What they never learned." M^ave you never read of that Bithynean,' whom Lactantius seized for taking upon him to.c> re dim aoU dark eyes, wh Ji h^ ^ iraself ''as stark Blind? ' ^ .11 i ■'\: . ♦' ». ■ » " J un- it throw his true learning / -f •\^- ; # CHAPTER VI. ': "itEV^^ THE TERRORS OP GOD. - ^ • 1- i,«« anJrl "I constder the state of terrot,** , ^" ^ ^ , .,,-piv vou will allow this ^,2. H i, likely .hey will fall inU. .he oppo.,.e exUeme. Thi. may be trae. and ye^.. « P^~„,y ,„, ,„ ,he •1 ri:"trBSTi u^i::^u jhat .hey a^ .,„d o( »h«" >^e. »^^' ^„ ^^,4 ,h, 4„e.nne and lety^ne of the* *.nkUo y ^^ ^^^.^ ^._^^ ..._^,^ ^ d^S-^r WnTsfcPa,! declare, .ha, knowing the ^ life V _^ .. pereuaded men " ? Should you, ot . tetroB of .he Uid. h^ 2, If Aousands bf toe einners .„y «tvan. of Goi'>'J2 ri^' " .t them very vile, we« V who encom^"^ ». on ««7 "^•; ^J f„„ the «nice of «ated out of tor oxf,^" f"8?'f^* . ^^,^, j^ a ,i„„e, • ,he denl, Inu, ohed ence ^l^^^^^T I freely ad™iV ta broagh. to repentance. >( '' ^X ^«^ -through &i.h in . th e merits of Christ s aeaw, u ^^ ^ KWr^a-ft^ Focfa are r .itn a concern for his soul in one way only. awakened to a. concern lor ^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ s* '-'*- V , ^" ^'A state of state of < llow this ;hat little DUst take extreme." jonverted ; ast to the It they ah, i )CtTine and IS "into a lowing the aid you, 01 ese sinners J vile, were ,6 service of no a i^innet " leeily admit, igh faith in , ir he can be : — Facts are imong those but it is nei I rites, •! BBViy4L8 AUD the T«BB0B8 ,oy GOD. 249 or meditates," says Lord Bacon, " without being well stocked wit^ facts as 'andmarks to the ur derstaiiding, is like a mariner ' who sails along a treacherous coast without a pilot, or ,Qne who adventures in the wide pcean without the rudder or compass." - Weigh well tnat beautiful passage in the epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. Lest you should be indisposed to tum to it, 1 shall quote it for you : " Now, there are diversities.of , giftsi bui the same spirit. And there are diflferences of administrations but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same Qod which worketh all in all. v^ut the manifelf- ationof the spirit is given to evefy man to profit withal." 1 -Coir. 12: -4^7. This is a striking and singularly expressive piece of composition, ar.d allows great latitude in tl^e operatiohis of the Godhead, in bringing about the salvation of man. 1 glory in this, that the Gospel of Christ, assisted by the influence of the_ H^>ly Spirit, is tiie revealed instrumentality 'from heaven for the conveji^idn of sinners ; but this does not exclude the Lord from awakening men to a concern for their souls, by his provi- dences, a pd by his judgnrients. Tha(t they are regenerated by these, no spiritual man will assert ; but they may learn i;)ght- eousness (Is. 26 : 9); they may be aroused^fc— " frighflSied," if you please, — into an agonizing concern for their soub by theni., And far more terrific 'may be their sensations, under these, than if a living preacher were thundering "hell and damnation "iti their ears from the pulpit. It is not an eas'y matter to terrKy a sinner^ilting in a comfortable chapel^ in good health, a xid with no certain prospect of dying soon ; it is, indeed, utterly impof^i- ble, unless the Spirit of God, which can alone reach the con> science, take hold of the man ; then the thing is done, indeed, and effeofluary. Now, if " a manifestation of the Spirit is given to , EVERT MAN to profit withal ; " and if there are " differencls of administrations, and DiVERsrriEs of operations;" and "all theso ° worketh that one and the self-same spirit;" would it not, be wrong to limit the beginning s of the s e divine manifestation s I or to deny that the Spirit of Qod may use the iostrumentality of various provi-lcnces and judgments, wielded as they, may be by ike omnipotence of God ? May not such an adrntTiktraiioii ;■■'-■"■- :.': . '■ ,* - ^ .' ,:■: .■'!'l ■#■ !• 250 KEVIV^L MISCBLLANIM. f ,. ofterrt^ oe subMnrient to < prepa-atkm.for diveraity of gifts; among which are ♦'righteousness, .nd p^ce» aod joy in the Holy Ghost"? - , " * ^ How can you be ignorant of .the fact that the elements of terror are frequently ured by. the Ahnighty for the coaversioik of sinners; that these are often rendered all-powerful, : _ L 1 ( " To fofce ?he conscience to a stand, • And dme the wanderer back to Ood " 1 „ 1 was present in the awful and important hour when a most fowerful revival commenced, under the following circumstandes - *flnd instrumentality: Jn the town of Burlington, State of Ver- mont. United States, we had a small Methodist society. It had been in existence several years ; but, having no •' house of wor- ship,'i' and having to hold their meetings in school-houses, and in private dwellings, their influence with the community was very limited. A few brethren, assisted by several of the inhab- itants of the place, resolved to build a house for God. Aftft many painful struggles and sacrifices, the church was completed and dedicated. The pastor and his little flock, entering into coifversation respecting their depressed state in such an import- ant town, came to the conclusion, now that they had a church, that something should be done towards filling it with regular hearers, and also to increase the tiumber of converted members, h was resolved, accordingly, to hold a "protracted meeting." The prospects of a revival were very problematical to their feeble aith The pastor secured the assistance of several ministers, imong whom was the writer. Many said, "What can these - feeble Methodists do?" We felt the force of the remark, and humbled ourselves before God. We had preaching every night, but could tiake no impression upon hardened sinners. One night, after i sermon from Romans 12: 1,-^"I beseech you, thoRfor?, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present y.at • : — ^" = s : % — 1 1 ^ aSSK ■ j«*i 14 God, Which is 1 oyff?' bodies f living sacrifice, hdly, acceptable unto your reasonable service," — and just as the congregation was retiring, and before we knew of a single case of awakening^^^x^ 1 fhpuM think before fifty of th^ audience got out,> nii^st tre- , .^ r -fP . BBVIVAtl AND THB TERROBa OP OOD. 2fll of gifts; yin the w !iients of :)avenioik in a most iinRtandes * e of Ver- r. It had ?e of wor- )\ises, and unity was the inhab- jd. Aftft completed ;ering into an impoTt- l a church, ith regular I members, meeting." their feeble I ministers, ; can these emark, and jvery night, ners. One Bseech you, jresent y vJi d, which is I oyff?" A f e w did so; but a la r ge majo r i t y are atill living in jgation was mingp^n^ 1 thef^fenjoyment of that grace which "the terror of the storm" drove them to seek, A few did, indeed, "measure back theirfl_:. *teps to earth a^in." But if this argument be allowed to make % I. I! "'l : i mendous storm of thunder, lightning, and rain, bunt ovtr the town. The' windows of the church were unusually I. rgp, and they appeared all in a blaze, from the effect of the lightning. The mass of the people were ajrestcd in a moment It was at a season of the year when thunder is very seldom heard in thut> country. The storm raged in fury; and one of the preachers, i| plain young man, began to exhort, and wielded with power that passage in the eleventh Psalmf—" Upon the wicked he shall ^ rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and an horrible tempest ; thi» shflll he the portion of their cup'* Thus, while God thundered and lightened outside, his minister did the same within. It was a scene of terror and awful grandeur. Some began to tremble, and weep, and pray. At length there was a movement towards the ministers, where they were standing at the altar; not to take vengeance upon the fiery exhorter, but to cry for mercy from that God who was thundering through the heavens, and to seek an interest in the prayers of his people. Still the storm continued, with peals of loudest thunder, which wlpre retichoed by successive bursts of the most impassioned appeals to the consciences of ter- rified sinners. Nothmg was heard but, — ^ #* See the storm of vengeance gathering O'er the path you dare to tread ; ■» ., :^ ■i} Hear the awAil thunder rolling, Loud and loader, o'er your hea4 1 " And all this attended by the deep and subdued groans of sin« ner^, slain by the sword of the Spirit. This was help in time of need. .Victory, from the Lord of hosts, was on our side from that hour; and the victories achieved hy a preache'^vUbsp^, during the three or four weeks following, amazed the whole •* But," you will be ready to inquire, »' did not many of these ^ , go back to their former course of life, after their /n^fA* was " 11 i.r 'I I ■^*1 w. ^ K'l 860 BBTIVAL lOSCBLLANIBft ■ & -^ against the results of this citraoHinary providence, It m%y^K wielded equally against the /r«^i of the "ordinary and sober services" of the ordinary ministry of the Gospel. How many are constrmined to a serious course of life, by all that is mild, enlightening, and softening, in a "quiet and peaceful delivery" of the Gospel message, — are €ven converted to God, y and yet afterwards relapse into a wicked life I . * Several of the subjectd of the above revival have since passed into the eternal world. I visited some of them on their icath-beds, and the scenes of holy triumph I witnessed there vere sufficient to convince the most abandoned infidel of the truth of religion. That revival is yet remembered by the people M Burlington with great interest; and Ood has sinc©^ honored them wiih a succession of revivals, into which thtft chiltch has entered with increased confidence. Such have been the results o< these divine visitations, that Methodism has arisen to such a point of mipoitance in that town, as to enable its friends, a few monttis since, to entertain, during its session, the Troy Annual Cmfereuce of the Methodist Episcopal church. I remember aru>lhci revival, which occurred in the city of Montreal, Canada, in ti\e winter of 1836; but its commence- me.U sho\'ed a diffcreuce of administration by the same Spirit. I had not the piivilege 61 beu*^ present during the hour in which was displayed this manifestation of the power of God over mind. Those who wJtnessed it intoiwed me that it was a scene of overpowering interest. During more than one week they had preaching every night. On the evening in question, the dis- course was more than usually pointed and solemn. A death- " iike stiHuPss pervaded the large assembly. At the close of the sermon, an unexpected influence came down upon the people. ;fr But, instead of two or three persons manifesting a desire for sal- -^ vatlon, the entire congregation seemed to be moved at once, like a forest bending beneath a heavy gale. There was very little noise; no shouting or screaming; but many tears and bighs ameng the multitudes ; and strong men bowing themselves, in penitential sorrow, before the Lord God of hosts, with earnest prayer; but evidently restraining the deep emotions whieh agi- tated Ihc and the) people, t commun f cannot • within tl (K)nverte with rev tion of I drea sou God. I these th Spirit, tl preacher that did each pre In a c ister of A Strang iiig the cariosity ered by heard, it and he 1 reflect u ing. Tl forcible t as one d tell ; but ing char sweet CO He was for his h and sighs | in whicl found th property ing: \« nd sobct •w many is mild, delivery " rand yet ive since i on their sed there ielof the :he people y honored iiltch has he results to such a nds, a few »y Annual tie city of ommence- me Spirit, r in which aver mind, a scene of : they had [), the dis- A death- lose of the the people. }ire for sal- t once, lilie very little and sighs (iiselves, in ith earnest agi* -^ '«■«*;, 1IT1VAL8 AND THE TEIBOIS Or 001 toward the inij together. pposcd that sinners were Q,i\an been visiteil ^ted Iheir souls. When an invitation was given to penitents and they were exhorted to come forward for the prayers of Ood't people, the aisles were speedily filled, o comnuinion-rails ; rich and poor were r cannot enter into all the particulars ; ^] - within the short space of four weeks four converted to God. That city, several times with revivals of religion. In the year 1827» there was a vlsita-^ tion of this kind, which resulted in the conversion of two hun- dreo souls ; and again, in 1841, two hundred found i»ence with, ^ God. I hod the delightful privilege of being present during 1 these three revivals. In all these outpourings of the Holy • Spirit, that noble and blessed people, with their ministers, locul preachers, and class leaders, entered into the work with on ardor that did them credit, while it showed how highly they estimated each previous revival. , In a certain part of America, surrounded with woods, a mir ister of Jesus was preach h^ the Gospel to a listening c A stranger, on horse-back, proceeding through ^e forest, K ing the sound of a human voice, paused ; and then, through cariosity, approached sufficiently near to hear the truth d^V r '■• ered by the earnest preacher; but did not alight. Who| h/^'^^i^ heard, it seems, made no impression upon his mind at the time» and he continued his' journey. As he rode along,>-he began to reflect upon the importance of the truth he had just been hear* ing. The Spirit of God accompanied his meditations in so forcible a manner to his conscience, that he fell frorti his horse, as one dead. How long he lay Upon the ground, he could not tell ; but, upon coming to his senses, he perceived that a suTpri8« ing change had taken place in his mind. Love, peace, and sweet communion with God, had taken possession of his heart; ^lie was a new creature in Christ Jesus. Upon looking round for his horse, it was gone, and had carried oflf his portmantenu 1 ■4 ^^ ' "«i I £■• his track, he in which was all his money, etc. Returning upon found the animal entangled by the bridle in a brake, and jctll his property safe. He remounted, and proceeded on his way rejoic< ing: When he arrived at a certain town (a^place, by the way, ...... r:-:\ 22 .-;. ■ . . . v..-- 41 Q> „ «v „ / 264 BEVIYAL MISCELUNIB§. notorious for wickedness), he began to procairt what great things God had done for hiasoul, .The people weie astounded, ^ and considered the man i/wawe, And were about to confine him. He told them, with heaven beaihing in his countenance, that he had never been in the right afrcise of his reason till, a few \ours before ; but that now he was in his right mind, and rery hap'py in God ; and that they need* nol 'give themselves any uned^iness about him. Heth^n related the circumstances if his conversion, and exhdrted' them to flee froin the wrath to come. The power of God attended his exhortations, and mfiny gave heed to the things spoken by the stranger; a revival began frpm that day, and a great number of people were the saved of- the Lord. .*^ - • , _. i^' -^ The particulars connected with the above reyival may serve as a further answer to the question, "Do all revivals begin^t; the same way ? " Had I time', I could bring forward many cither remarkable revivals, resulting in the conversion of ^hundreds of Sinners, yet all di|R}ring in the "phenomena '^ of their begin- nings. I cannot, however, conclude, without referring t^^ your "particular views" upon such"^ matters. ^ If you are for tfklms by sea, I am for storms. Tbatyou have also "seen some ]ovfely scenes by river's brink or. sunny dell, iri waving, woods and groves watered by crystal riUs^'^anjJ that^ou, and wany^hers, have felt the power of God there, and rejoiced in the evidences of his goodnessi amidst these scenes of tranqniMQvelinp«,-f.I' • wishnot to question ; for I have felt the Isame, a thousand times, myseE Nor shall >I dispute, that jou have had your^ ip:tellec| ual feasts," and some rich foretastes of 'heAvenv wh€* listeninf to your favorite minister. You desfjibe sea scenery very weU; with all its'"<;onstant,8ymp8^thies,wit^ yonder sKyrc^^^ ■miles, bxuriant heayings, and, sweet >rhisperin^r ■. J^r/ "Hail, splendid picture !"inoltei|i -print I , j. "^ ^ ■; ■'"'• — ' M e dal of majesty divine ! — — ^ ",' \. . ': ..' ' ■ '" ' — - ' Coinage of heaven's iMustrious "mint. Perpetual curreacy is thine.: >" '■ :'' . vti^ "And why haUi JehoTab"nVo|ming:mft '*«*f^ ' . ' Wiih waters 4ivid«d,th« Unci t,, ■4- fiat l^ai stounded, fine him. B, that he till, a few and rery »lves ony stances ^f wrath to < and m&ny ival began 9 saved of. may servei s begin it; [iany cither m'dreds of leir begin- ig t^ your f ^v&& by »me ]ovfely woods and any^hers, 5 eyidences . ?linpts,-r^I ■ sand times, -" intellecfc' ft listening^ very.weili; y; cispied BEnVAI'S AN1^ THB^^faKSOBS OF OOD. ':-*ftl ^5 t IS rampait of rocks ronnd a cbntin«nt hurUid,\ , ^ Aod cradled the d«eR in his hftir*^ ?•« - ^^ Bur why did you ndt add that otl^ veW i— ^ , "Whintcan.thy angry siren jthresijraln? , Deep, rolling, huge, circumfluous form, } ' SvCnging in graTitatiou's chnint, Boiling ajid foaming in the storm l" ^ / 1 dotiibt' whether you have evier been W sight of hnd, to «iy , nothing of witnessing the effects of , a §ltorm at sea on the minds of sinners,' as much as I douU yoiir theory, that " suqh exhibi- tions pf'djfmental wr^th" are ipcapable of making those religious impressions* that are lasting, and which "tend directly to the conversion of the soul.*^ f question whether. you havefin the course of your lifo, been able, from cl6se observatiojg^, to philos- ophize upon such a scenes a^ I doubt whether, iintil very lately, you have seen the " elements of termor," within tte grasp of any minist^»;pf G<^d, wieldeni?7iife nrQse."' 2!^hen"the might of' the tempest is let Ifibse upon the oceali, and its surface is belling into foam; when W ■ waters are being scooped to the deejjiest abyss, and the billow^jl are heaped to t^e tlouds; " (^dnfounding the deep, jferpW " i6g;^tJj«.jjky;"^\yhen .the re Uing vd^^l iaitossirig to andjro, otf ' ' hanging kstralghteftjngf -suspense uport the billowy pr&iipice,/ and again descending, like att^arrow, into ^he yawnmg gult^^ " u I H ill '''flHl'j _l^;i ;l ■\ % f i i ^; t. m "m .rvi OKA * REVIVAL MISCELLANIBS. • ■■ ■• ■■■■■..;■■■ '^ .. ..... ' r.,. ' ^hen J^aails are rent froM the spars, a^id the waves have obtaiipfeclear passage over the deckhand the masts are shiv- ered from the itboring hull, as if shattered by a thunderbolt from heaven, — behold the terrified crew and passengers. " They mount up to the heaven, the^ go down ag without may have become more endur- able than that which is felt within. The fiercest uproar of the angry storm may not equal at this time the alarmmg accents of an awakened conscience. The inflictions of that vicegerent of God within^ strip and wreck the soul with m^^nfaiU W ajrtainty'twRhe repeated onsets of the howlin||^pest, which have left the ship sailless and rflastless. The impendmg death of die body; its descent into the wide, insatiable, and unsearchable grave of the sea^^and the close contact with the mdiisters of the deep, stjttkrg through the troubled foam at this ftesh cargo of htfmanity^lowly descending to the profbundest floors of this dreary cei*ietery, — ocean's shambles ; vvKere mon- Bters indescribable, whif i|evej seek the upper wateis, arfe fed ■with ample supplies of human beings, driven from the regions afar;— -alas! all this may not be so horrible to the soul, at such an hour, as the appalling probability of dying in sin, and of a descent into the blackness of darkness; an exchange of^ del- -uge of water for one of fire and pain; a downward progress in^o the pit that isr bottomless ; ^ismal and immediate fellow- ship with the monsters of hell, the vilest beings that ever vyalked our planet, and a dreadful acquaintanceship with infuriated devils ; a full kifowledge of the torments of the damned,from per- - sonal experience ;- atf identical conjunction ^vith the « worm that neveidies;" and a sehsime immersion into the *'fire that never shall be quenched." In a word, the foaming billows, " running mountains h\g\X^' which encompass them on ev^j^f^d^jmon- acing every moment their removal from the wave-washed deck, . in»y pi^sent no aspect of terror, compared with the waves' of domnatibrird-sc^ibed by the eye of feith. - ; s^r ^ -^ . Behold tha.Hjirors^nf the wreck ! Imagine the c.imai of the« : V . / . . . ■ ■ . ..... - . ..' *,. ^P-r ires have are shiv- "bolt from "They I depths; the con- . But the re endur- )ar of the g accents vicegerent unfail- f|l^pest, m pending i'able, and with the im at this rofoundest Here mon- Gs, ate fed ve regions al, at such , arid of a e of^ del- d progress - iate fellow- vervyalked infuriated d, from per- 'worm that that never , " running ^d^.mon- ished deck, ; waves' of aai of theii REVIVALS AND,.THS TEBBORS OP G0|| 2^7 wijes,— the termination of the appalling catastrophe^ The terrora of the storm increase. Deep call^ unto deep. The waves seem as if lifting themselves to the skies^ and the skies, i^n their turn, as if let down into the abyss. The vessel staggers and plunges from wave to wave. A nail starts, a seam opens, the l?ak increases; wbjn lo! a bleak androcky coast is discovered to lee- ward, from tHe Toamiqg brow of ari^ impetupUs billow. Hark » Hear the agoni2injg:cryj^'XiOiil,tiave. mercy upon us ! Save, Lord or wc perish ! " ' , . Here, dear sir, is a scene of ex||tenient far beyond anything you have witnessed, in theise revival meetings. But tell me if the Spirit of God may not be there; and whether this scene of terror and despair, by his almighty a|^ftcy, may not work that repentance, which is unto life " just as efTectualiy as under the fcear^hing appeals of "the Sabbath a^gulent"? May not a dread of hell, and sorrow for sin, apd a desire of forgiveness, and supplications for .mercy, and faith in t£e blood of the atone- ment; be just as genuine, though excited by these terrific cir- cumstances, as at a tinie when the storm is^mished, and the glassy surface of the ocean is mirrorinjg its heavenly counter' part, and the gallant vessel, under a sweet and gfRtle breeze,/ in full sail, is speeding her way to the port^of her destination ? / May not the promptings of conscience to " flee from the wratjh to come," the Sjiirit's ihfluences, and the intercessions of ChVi;^, and the invitations of pardoning love, b^ just as. available, through the mercy of God, during such a' season of peril as 1 have described, as when nature, in iier softest loveliness, is encompassing him who' in the mc^t quiet seclusion is earhestly reeking salvation. , / Take another instante. Think of a tiihe when tha 9torm is abroad over the landscape, bleakened as* \t is by the reign cf winter ; when it advances' to the fury of a hurricane, b^ring«bn its wings the hail or the snow. The night has set in with th^ tjcumiilating s tq | lh, and th e family ar e hous e d from the car ee r- ing elements. Sheltered as they are from the stf>rm that is abroad, is it t&^t natural that they should think of the abodes ojf pov3;rty the fireless hc«rth»fnd scanty covering; 6t thtt th^ m I i f yu J -A- 258 ilfiVIV^L MISCELLANIES. C. should sigh for th(5 sailor on the foaifiipg deep; or pify trie benighted traveller, whom, in imaginatiorl, they see exposed to the relent -ess fury of such fearful elements ? Supposing the storm to augm3ht, uprootin'g bfty trees, and shaking to its founddf^* tions the hitherto secure mansion, how easy it is to con- ceive a transfer of their concern for others to a cohscipusness of their own immediate, danger-a and a rapid ti;^ning of their anxiedes for their persoi^l darjder, to the more ^wful peril of their unprepared *Bul8r^?a|ii^,ilt the uproar of contending elomenU» awaken fears quite: as exciting as those called fortK, by the alarming accents ?of an ekmest preacher t Are you certain that a class of seiisatipns, irising from a sudden , view of the evil jiatiire of sin, and the hill to which it has exposed theni> — a desire besides fer pardoh from that God who is now wieldil§ these tremendous eleriients, — may not be quite equal to all you think may be felt under the searching truth of God in the sanctuary ? And are you Wepared to deny that the Spirit of God, on such an occasion, may lead sucK persons to the 'Upentance and faith which are essential to u change of heart ; and all this » quite as evangelical," too, as when a sin- ner repents and believes in a meeting where you might hear a pin fall, or alone, and surrounded by the charms of a summer's landscape I Nor are you, I would presu^ne, prepared to come brward, with arguments and facts, to show that conversions, which occur under such alarming circumstances are not quite as permanent as those you contend for as occurring in ,a more quifet way. If not, away with all this " cant," that these '•ffrensiied .sermons," and " appalling ^exposures of hell," and ^ "Verrific appeals to the passions," can accomplish "nothing m0re than a fright and an excitement, which terminate with the ^v4 pcdasion, without resulting in regSpj^ofj or ftpy permanent ^^■if|^'-t5t''the. subjects of it ! " 2 ■ ■ ''--^^^'r:- .rVr:/' '■ . . v^?rj c/liif^not a |ict."that, during the awful visitation of the chole 4(ni multitudes were " frightened " into a reformation which wjs lasti^ who, but for a fe|r of the consequences of that dreadml ppstilei' :e, would, it is most4ikely, have continued in their sitifis ? .[could name citiwjvhere congre'j^ions ind churcb*3S r»c€* ■'■v.? i. BEi;|TALS AND THE TEBB0E8 OF OOli. 259 , laige^ accessions, and where proofs the most convincing were given that the cholera had produced an excit^menji whi(^ resalted in reyivals o( religion. The cholera was a revivalist, then I It preached some trementflSus truths, which the Holy • Ghost condescended * as/ also, such element^ ary visitations and'silarming judgments as those to whii^ Ihav© ^ referred, and which he himself wields to alarm a world of, wick- edness. I need fiot turn your attention to all the declaratioiis of wrath he faa| uttered against the -sinner; but consider that great decision from the volume of inspiration, — "When th^ judgments are ip the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." Forget not that it is " the Holy Spirit of Ood' that gives significancy to those "elements N»f terror,' 1 4 li ■1 11 s ft ,:-.* •7 ■ ' 1 :;jn m .:♦.*».; v./- at Wsteth ^■j i)d shall" the Ipiptf tiijacfely his wonderfu%ork ^'andcounteractec^ He b»i|' he is vferyffoMrom beri^Wl^iiS of the itti^T^P^ik. ■ ^i:'Wi ^^:|i^,itt:;h|^i^^ ■u- ^r^ :|f ipi|l^ of rfulftrork iS^- He ■ ■ ibiitrorft ' »< * -■ ■ 'i\ ■\\\ ■ ^ *^^ -?**"« *' ■)« ■* ff'i' ^>^ * ^•^ ,' < « \ iil CHAPTER Vn. iREVIVAt^* EXCITEMENTS. ■•i ■f . . - ^ In reading the Memoirs of the hte Mr, Willjam Dawson 1 met with the following anecdote : , Mr. Bawsoh, if; seertis, was oneway accosted by an individual, who ssTid he had*>been present at a certain meeting ; that he liked the preaching very well indeed, but was much dissatisfied with th^ prayer-meeting, adding, that he usually lost all the good he had received during the sermon, by remaining in these" noisy . , meetings. Mr.^ D. replied, Mt he should have uniteit with the people of God in the prayer-meeting, if he desired to retain or obtain good. " O ! " said the gentleman, " I went into the gal- lery, ♦where J leaned over the front, and saw the whole. But I could get no good ;-I lost, indeed, all Jthe benefit I had received ■ iuringUe8ermon.'^^^^^''||l^;i::;."y--^^^ ' -•;.• -.^ " It is easy to acfiWrit for t!pit;V^e| of Go? »»" • A-* eyes ! A few years ago, a m the United States was e^^d in a mighty gtruggle fer th e sal - ' vati^n of sinners,,-^ wfeen she was grappling witb:the powers of .:•. j darkness, aiif* wittt^Siii&oiife]^ thous^ds, with tremendottt ^-^i enejgy and amaxing sucqgjg^^^ aa ingenious dialogue cam© pjtt -.-m-f'^'. ,. » „ \ 262 lEVIYAL MISCELLANIES. from the press, which had a v^ry good eflfect upon the pubfic mind* ";;_'.. ; ^ ■ ■-?».,^, .. ■■ I am soiry Tdid ndt presenne thiSS article. , It have forgotten the precise language, but I can give you the substance of it. Some of the sentiments uttered by one of the characters are indeed, most foolish and irrational ; nor would I insert them, but for the necessity of meetiifg those unreasone^ble objections 'proposed by the opponents of revivals. It was a supposei^ dia* ^ logue between the Prophet Elijah and an old Carmelite. Th^c scene is laid upon the top of Mount Carmel. AH around, as far^ as the eye can reach, is desolation. During three entire, years and six months there had not been a singie^sKo3yer of rain. ^ The streams and fountains are ail exhau^ed and dried up, The hills and mounuiins, and vales and woodlands, trees, fields, and gardens/ are withered, -^ scorched as by the sweeping fire or|#^ western prairie. . -v *' ■ ; ■ ■ i> ■ j, . - '■..■•.. ■ - ■ ■ *Thee«rth was made of iron, — heaven of brastj ./".:; And fissures in the soil were gaping wide ; For the fresh rain that came- not ; faiirbs and grass ' ;*^ ' Fell sear and dead, and strewn on cvety side Were, jreilow leaves ; and buds and blAssoms died ;\: And spring to autumn turned, grajr witliout iruit ; And uight and day went rpund as wont, yet brought ,. X „ '^<* cheering interchange for hopelesf thought; . No dews the eve, no mist the morning gave, ^ To slaito the craving of the fiery drought. Mildew, arid delth, and desolation wave > ' O'er parched h£i and dale, like cypress o'er the grave ; T^e wells and mountain springs were dry and dank,, - And Canaan s face became a chaos,^nd a Uank I " '■V f-'.*.. V l[he l-jerds have perished from the field, and multitudes of th« iDhabitants have slept their last sleep ; the land is full of orphans and widows. This is a very bleak picture. Behold yonder mountain ! Near to its summit Js a man ; but he is prostrated ^ [The prophet is much fB^W, and addi in earnest a|id prevailing praypr,] isf^ 1 m "'I I m ■ I -.1 I "I 1\ Am K;J^ /> 4' 1. ■ W i 1 ll i .■■¥ -*> J. 3 V ■,fs*^ ♦y ^ *-^H tm. I' ft 264 iivrr^i MiscKLLANnaT , «{ -zr^" Car I wi4>*'you to undeTstand ii^fmi i\ec\4e^)f^fM, of rain [a rev j^if and tliat I have no desire to see these scenes of wreteliec^nS-protracid, nor that my co«ntnr or my fellov.- men .houl»ain a^ longer in jeopardy ; but I wan «uch rain as oiv^Slgft had, I wish it to come exactly m the wme wayriPo. and **»«*'»' "^^"^'^ produce the same^dehghtfu effects, tong experience has taught me to deplore the ev.ls of exLssive-rain [revi*s]. For this cause. 1 have been gr.^ •usly persecuted by )he ardent and enthu^st.c creatures around ,„e as if I were an enemy to rain [revivals] ; just because l|f Tave. en4«^vored tiyhow them the evils which proceed from ceftoin kmds'of r^iri. %^ , J : Va« »,^e been '^ EUiah, Deploring le eyfls of fam! You have been rtrangely empoyed. these thiri?e ye*« a^d six months me servaat reta^n«;an^ ''^^^ »«.;«^J- .ng:" •^Go U^in/'^wa^ !##. «s^n times; and the prophet falls 4ov^nagain^re«d«iniAyeT,] ^ £arll sLhowanxiDUS th^ people were for tain Iwas m* witKlth? disgusting !i^— conduct net unlttti that of some during vigbrous cffoits for a revival, If the minister says, " I am doing d great work, so that I cannot hile I leave it and will then endeavor to weaken thlJaith, or to perplex and annoy the zealous leaden «nd members of his church.] come down ; why should the work ccasOj come down to you I " — Neh. C : 3, — the' syv Car. Servant, your master is praying for rain, and you^gfi looking ^r the evidences of its coming; but we want such rains frevivafsjfl they had to th« days of Abraham, Moses, and Sam- iiel [\V^esFHkWhitefiJld, &c.]. If he would only pray for such liln, I coului^ee with him. ^^„.^ Servant jp|||^in come from heaven at all, ipuBt it not be of the very -sarile kindJ^that which fell in the days of these ser* vants of God? BeiVe bow you eulogize the dead prophett, while you persecute the living one. Car. I can show, in a dozen instances, where modern rains [revivals] differ from'lthose in former times, in their efiects and in their consiliences. Serv. Stay; let me go again, and see whether my master prevails jBvith God. Car. Stay, hear me : I. We want smiling hea^vdns-with the rain, to inspire mett*i8^hearts with joy; but should your mastei succeed, black cloud^^jvill overspread the whole sky. The ^ gloom will be dreadful ; nobody, in fact, will have a heart to do anything, for looking after this raitliy U< It absorbs all attention; nothings firommornin,g.tpl„night, IS talked of But p^i», rain. . I have not been able io h"ave a pleasant conversatioi-^j^ • i wild enthusiasm ; and, 3. 1 want to philosophize upon tnis rail, and its results, when they appear. III. I have s6me particular friends who think exactly as 1 do upon these subj^^cts. All'the little sociable parties, which for- mexly made society agreeable, are broken up. I ha^e no wish the coUintry should be destroyed, for want of good inin ; kiut I ^ want the people to act like rationol beings. Nor do I wish to see society split and rent by these commotions. But » see what the f nd is to be ; all cannot see alike, nor be equally enthusias- tic obout rain [a revival]. This mania.r^I can call it nothing else is bringing about divisions, very fast. It has begun its operations in families;, wives ^nd husbands, parents and.chil- dren, masters and servants, are divided upon this matter. These hot'hcaded fanatics will rend the nation in twain, as they ore splitting the society in our neighborhood into pieces. Such (kult.finding, and charging people with sins they, have never committed, — just as if the heavens could not have a dry sea- son without its being occasioned by the hins of the people ! Your ^master, It seems, has converted King Ahab himself to be as wild about raii: as any of them. He is preparing to return to his capital, post haste, expecting abundance of rain, when there is not a cloud to be s6en, and the heavens are blue and bright; — no more. signs t( rain, except an increased^proa^ a:mong the people, than there w^ this time last j'ear. It is a sad -thing when great men len/ their influence to such fanaticism. 'Ahak • ' was once a wise kingV but Jezebel, however, still retains her good sense. And behold the prophet ! He .is about to kill him- self, in his efforts for rail 'n revival] ; as, if be could bring it before the appointed season ! - / ^ 'y IV. Agaiii: In seasons of extraotdinary rain m>»ny clouds dii- * charge themselves at once f^ivers are suddenly swollen, leave "their channel, and overflow, thfs hitherto pleasant vale ; indeed, they often sweep avm^rio?»»<^ ai'd herds and grain. It is .even dff ngprniis to live in lu' vi^itv of Carmel at such times, owing to the higher la •• t.viuiQ§ -tnd slid'ng dov^ftn upon the rich postures beneath. . ■. ^X. EEVIVAL nCITBMKNTI. 267 UiM nil. y as I do trhich for> no wish in ; tut 1 ^ I wish to 8ce what >ntKusia3- it nothing begun its and.,chi)< t. These I they are es. Such ave never a dry sea- le! Your be as wild irnto his (1 there is bright'; — imong the sad -thing rft. 'Ahat "etains-her ;o kill him- Id bting It. clouds di^ )llen, leave 3 ; indeed, It is even luch times, Strv. I think you hav^ had little trouble in that way, during the last few ycart* # ' \ . Car. I am speaking now of what We may expect, if the prophet obtain his re{uest. But I must proceed. Oustn of wind )ittend modern rains ; indeed, such tornadoes, that houses are unroofed, and trees overturned. Frequently, the I ightr^ing and thunder are terrific. Many a tall and handsome tree I have seen shat- tered to piedsn. But this is not all. If tenements have not been thro^vn down or unroofed, they |»ave been so rent arid torn as to become leaky, greatly to the injury of the health and comfort of the inhabitants, indeed, I have known people who have been killed outright. Families have hcen broken up. 1 cannot tell you bno half of the evils arisiiig from late' rains [irevivals], with lightning and thunder. I have said nothing about the During summer, rain will fall upon the ripe fruit and. mfwngrasi<, and upon the hay when nicely dried, and upon the grain, as well ai^upon th^ pa$ture*field. If it would rain wherie it was rnost wanted, I should not have a word to say; but why give tho^e places a superabundsknc^ which have enough alreadyl '• w 808 mSVIVAjL MISCELLANIES. ing ; 1 wish fle were of "my mind, and he would take, the ratt. ter. more easily, ' ' , " .^ ^* Serv. I question lyhether you are much at edse itt^r own * min^, any more than the prophet. . ' -^^ Car. It is not t6 he Wondered at. t jiave seen so many, evils arising from these things, that I cannotvliok i^dn th(r' prophet without Concern. ThioV; for instance, of the ci^ pf . rain [revivals] upon tho 1)601. I have knovyiV manymmg ., men kept within doors \y rain,>hen their f«ttnilies h|^.Tefn ^^ ttlmosi; starving. Others, not a few, have spent thejrevenmgsm^ ; doing nothing but talking ahout rain. Ay! an4 When^t|pr- ; should have Wen asleep,, too ; then they would ha've been better ' prepared to worker their masters^^;^*; and pay 'their.,awfu^^ debt$. Even you, yourself, would be much be«er employe?!, if ; you wete about other work, than thus'running yourself out, of breath, up and down 4bis mountai?), looking for min; fthd >'t>u^ . might, in my opinion, be doing more goodin the world. Serv. lam aware hard climbing does not>uit ymi,/ Alla^.. -meThoweveri to say, I am in theemploy of a good mastej, wh^-'' pays me liberal wages,; nor will he ask you or your party to . assist him in defrayiVig expenses. • • . .- ' ' Car. These rains [revivals] nourish noxious weeds,, th^jms,.. . thistles, and brambles. Behold, how cleafi the; fjelds are no^ ! ^ ^ " Serv. Yes, but the ivheat also hasbeen all 'parche(||ii and • destroyed! - * i Car^ ' I am^ot speaking of wheat now ; but, as you are < on that. ?ubje4^vill>ll you wkt.I have seen in relatiop to wheat. \ - '- ^« ***«;* n • Serv. But c^ wheat grow, if tt)!hlly deprived w i]^^*^^;, wheat no dependence' upon moisture ? Can the m(^\^^jMmm ' ^ the fields, unless redtuited by rain?' Is there anyjMj^f the » Rind in the weedless and-gminless field* which ' no%vJ#^ your admiration? ^ '' '^ -^^ ,' Car. I cannot answer all your objections ; but in ramy.gea • sons [times of re^liill havf noticed that there is chaffy-: much chaff, l^iow, if it be ?ood rain, why not riiake the Vjh^at grow without ^haff. Bu. the chaff-wonhW«s ingredient^ ^hai I I our own * REVIVAL EiCl^EM^NTS. 'i<$A . always, since the beginning of my oliisiervations up6n suc^trii ters, been. in close cpjinection with nyheat; Have- you -..cvei ^ ' found.a grain of wheat [a new\ V . . <• , '-^ jCar. '.,,Ayf X^W* is what I wanti4o imprps? Jjpon ^our If .. n^u gttjhis accounj^ I pitied then^," because I kne\V jthere was no' ' fotin^HA for .sfuch self^congratuldtioris. ^ And when^I warned ^ . them oT the ^'^ception, Hnd fpretoTd_ that the heao w^oujd be [ veduced more th.an ofie^half at the icimmoiiig atid siting timQ ^ , .' [reaction after » the revival]* some paid no att^ion, others set I ' ' me doWiK.a^ ehviotis at the successes of others, and a 'few whis- ,,. »,'pfyed^ that'I'''wa^J*«/6M«, of my own- 'Credit as a- farmer; and sonn^ insinuated th^t I was an energy to good \|'heat altogetlier, which was itiost unreasonable. However, {was patient, and 'he si|(ing.se^son^didr:£orti^f. BjBcause you'.^rtow therii is always, after these tnqltem fains, a ^innotving time ; whjen the chaff and the wheat ape both .held up iil one sieve, artd then to see ' ho\y dissimilar 'their 'fall, -^ the wheat re&ching the floor, and but very, littlft of it, while the chaff was carried) quite away. ^ , Ay ! nit ^S^ tlie time fo)r me ! Then I could talk with my enemies in th^ gate, and prove my discerii^entuand prudence by ', facts the molit' undeniable.' i "' d *■ |\ji ' ServJn^lt is well if you did riot rejoice at the humiliation of ' yout indugjtrious n i ^j jgi hbors. — T e ll m e , had ypu any desir e that — 1] Mil I. H t ;! 4^ i there should have beei^ fess chaff in the day of trial Cavi There may be pride m the activity of a farmer, as in .any other employment; and I like to see proud, positive, and ■^%: ^,1 270 .BEYirAL MISCELLANIB9. ■i ■ -.,■:- ■.•■'. ■ - ■ sclf-wilied people humbled. Farts, too, are worth knowing ; an J I always 9tttie them to those who seem anxious for extraorui- pary raim ^rt. It is well, however* to remind you, how little business you have had of that kind during the last three years. The threshing-floors of Israel have, of late, I «m sorry to say,^ afforded little chance for such speculations. There is not a ' farmer at .present in Israel, I venture to say, who would not be willing to have a" heap " upon his floor, although the thil-dpairit ^ of it were; chaflD ^, ■ ''■^"'- .-.r^---::::. ^^.,/ ' )■' ■■>■■:. .■ ; Car. Hy remarks, of course^ apply to past years, before we were visited with this clfe^ir, invigorating weather, v^hich you denominate a. dangerous drought. Besides, you cantiot deny that the farm|prs have been far more industrious in- ploughing aftd sowing than when we had such torrents of rain ; and I may •add, they have had access of late to very low lands for agricuU 'ttural purposes. Serv. They have sowed much, but gathered little ; th^re ha^ )^n no parade of harvest labors of late years, nor, indeed, &m period distinguished as the harvest. " , .a < ^^ ; Car. .Modern rains [revivals] are transient in their influence ; in a few days or weeks, the ground is as'dry as ever; ^V S&it. In that case, another shower is needed.^ [Here ih^ servant is^n the tip-toe of expectation, looking very earnestly toward the sea.] -p- i. :^-^^ ^. 1_ ^._ _^^^^^^^^^ '. Car* YoU have been speaking of ^e necessity of another shower; but there you fall into a great mistake. Had we rain of the right kind, the benefits would not pass away so soon. The healt^ of the citizens, too, would be improved. There are m|tf widows, of late, in Israel. . , Sero. But nineteen oM of iwenty haveJiespme widows since rain has ceased to fall. - • : Car. If men could only be persuaded tp dwell upon the top of Gilboa, where there s neither dew nor rain [no r e vivals of religion], what health ar.d vigor would thejf enjoy i and be freej alsoj from all this din and persecution abo t ra'Ti! But v' ' i ,h; iS tlS}ti ti. ■ ■•■jO. ^ Ca fisioi Se ofabi El oldC [reviv Th '^ttlscei vKB \' "*■ ' i^atiin bloom t% eir.l Th( rejoic] We like a tlie re the ol( with I notice feetste appeaj .. SB fields :heeiful f many (Sod Oi" hg over : »in placi . ; hoaxes W persona [flight-' ■ ; isensions;.a ibject of ' atibii fbi aUhough I >qibject, '■'■ lie results :he farms ndly hints le i?eis»lts •d so tbn- [irectidnsi the disap^ '*%.'. theiritifer' s all ' >»" <***« ^* 1 ♦ .V '^ ea^ con- ^heat iiad ji'jCOP^^., Ii^ Botb'in^ ^•Tjis ciPiumstarce rather perplexed tfee oil' CarmeKte; btti;. ; , ^pre^udice is an ingeniousjeeling. :He suggested that, by th# tinjeibe ttext harvest canie round, there would be little of thit* . kind of wheat left. But the agriculturist^ assured him that tbe -wWt'was of the very first quality j that some, it was likely, V, ' -would be sent off to supply deficiencies on other ffirm« [churche* '^' "and' classes at a distance], and sopne would be shipped off tb-^ other cour^tries ;. but that it vvas not their intention; by the i^elfi of God, to let three years pass, as duririg.th* last drought, wilfe- dut a harvest. They informed him of th[eir intentioa to plougjli and sow^again, and that ^Ireatdy they had.begun to make larger- *. preparation than cyeurYor anotlrer liarlr^t ; that they hsA better ' ^ wlieat, to be^in with,—; niore| experience, also ; and Gbiwas npw " propitious; h^ would,^hey were sure, give tft^m the^etttly and . latter rain [a successionopxevivalsj^ and the appointed weekrof ,j. jbarvest. The old Carmelitei convinced in himself ihat they were incurable, left thfem in their glory, and returned to Jiis cave,' mourning over the delusions,' stubborn prejudices, and '>4niseriet ~ • 4^f manfeiiid. And now, dear air, you cannot fail to see yourself in; the charw Bcter of theoldCarmeite. i^l have|4ne<)rporated In the abovw dialogue sbme of the raost prort>k>^nt objecUons' agafinstrevir* .alsj and I wish you - could as clearly see their worthleslsness, and M heartily disapprave^of them, as you do thgse of \th^ old Carmelite against raiit.,^ »* * \ ' '' " ' V ■ ^|ter9are a tew other objections, which I might, perhaps, have ..noticied.had it been eirident you had studied thatfambusi veyae- :''"fH«la.5e.:;. . . ■■ --^ "• ■ ' "X " - Z" '^ • \'*'"" ' f,- ■. . Whh tomh 90 ioft, to tender of his irfend, - ff". t-jt- < " \ ,..'•>,,' H« har died every fault which t^e would mend :• '*•" *•* • 1 ";>/ «/^ -^^^tatf th6 cairn patienry '^it^ " "■' \ ^" .;." T^epiayfeVhaiWl,. which »featies WKile it culres.*' ' '• (orafTHrt^isefrr-n — . ■.,;^ -.>i I' hi I '< I^ ie r o is one whj^h jtAat e S ^o'^yg^elf, x f ^ V Thk: kb9t i*]ply i ha«e'?Lt.^1^Ai il ^«'foUoW»n^, once,' 'giy&% ' I -J' ^f. ^. '. ; ■■•■ . -•».' ,/^ gf .. .'■'.* '11: ■• "" * If,;' ^ REVIVAL MISCELLANIES.' ged aivine : "• Better one excell^t sermon,' says an V' than many mean and ordinary, j One border of true jp'wortfi more than a' thousand glas*^r sophisticasl^tones ; ic^re drawn' with true' 'and rich ccflors is more valuable HMvv' miiny slubbered over with slight wa^i colors.' I grant ^ ^diVwero to oe wished, that they who Ueach but seldoi^idil it#wVX^ more accurately, and with poWer, that the. defect in tbuBHlumber^|nlght be supplied in the weight of theiV .sermons , but certainly ^xpe"«"<^^ ^^**^^ *^ (jontmry. Water, you ' know, dbrrupts^h the conduit, if it be s(f stopped as eithertp run not af all, or but sparingly ; the golden fspouts, my friend, which adorn the temple, and whicl|^ run m'6st frequently and fully, yield the sweetest and mY>st wholesonib. supply of water ; and, SW Basil observes the like of ^ells, —teat they grow better, the more water is 'drawn out of them. (However, considering tht dulne^ of hearing, mean dapacity, an^ brittleness of memory of -n. I wish those that are of most em4ent gifts to dispense the mysteries of salvation were to preach m>re frequently .than they-, usually do, with all due respect toth^ir plea^- «CMre»/e prepat- tf/ttm; because Cato spoke truly ^^en defend mg himsej/ for distributing silver nmong his soldidrs, when^ ^c^Jier captams bestowed gold em :hem,-' It is betl^r that man f ^)uld carry :' , »f»jf silver -thar 1 few only goi^'^" '> , >^ M \ It is tri > me truV ^8 not a^ fusi on *f'.'l/J . ?:,: ' says an r of truo lljitones ; I valuable grant k^i^^ jldom dil defect in -Sermons , ttter, you her to run nd, which and fully, iter ; and, better, the lering thi iemory of spense the than they> vte prepar- limse]^ for ^r captains irjuld carry V: 't. CHAPTER Vin. OP CONFUSION IN \ Bim VAL PRAYER-»IEEilNaS, \ |j>> you remember the^ntiment ol a certain boronet respect* ' i^gthe Rev. Geo. WhitefieW? Said he to a friend, " Mr. B.* ' ater all that has-been saiduhis Wh'tefield was trufy a great man, — he was the founder of a new religion.'' " A new religion, sir ! " exclaiihcd Mr. B. IS," said the baronet, " whatdo you call ii?" ' " Nothifigi*Hre3oined the other, "but^ th^ old rdigwn repivid with energy, and heated as if the minister teedly mecff^ what he said.*^ ._ ■'•' 'V ■■.■,..:■. ■■: . ■■■■.■\ ::-/.'\'-, Please procure the printed Journal of tlfeK^VV John Wesley and compare what is there recorided, as having occurred under, his ^wn ministry, with the revival of religion, now in progress in this town. When you have done thisi then inquire of your own conscience ; and if that be asleep, ask your memory " whether the stranger from America has introduced a "spurious kind of Methodism into Hull." Be candid j and I have no fears that the decisiprf will be anything else than — This tt old Methodism revived with new energy. Mr. Wesley did not, It is true, approve of all the scenes which to>k place in some oC .♦ \is mecting;s; neither was he '"surprised" that the tremendous truths he had uttered produced eflfects so powerful ; but he did not absolutely attempt to put down what some considered con- fusion aM enthusiasm; he »Ma^5'cd and controlled it, as did also his presitjhers, so as to retain the good, and avoid, as fair aar possible, the eyij. That letter, -written from Manchester, to Mr, Wesley, by one 6]Nhe preachers, i^as nothing more than an ccAo 9f the sentiinents gni|r. Wesley htnseE " lo&el, vre have had sometimes mof noise th^n I liked; but I diiTStnotpluckj^t]^ th« M ■hm «l ."»»*•' ■■ J ^. 'I ■■>-: ^79, 1 \-> ^ 7^*Vr '■i\i.K: „■;.., W:-':' 276 iBiritAL MWCELLAmES. :'Tf ■ nil 1- , 'l.- •>* if. -■■ tares, for fear of destroying the wheat. I have, therefore, thought it best to leave the whole with God; thinking it muoh bettec to have a litlie faUe fire miwd with the true, than to have none «i ' '/ aiK"*. ■-• .■■■ ' -■■:;:• ^ ■'.■. ■ ' : -. ^'■"v: You say, " I certainly thought they were engaged in a rcw.or fight, in the band-room of ■ " ' ■ chapel, the other night." So did a father, on heanng a great noise as he approached his -7 homei *a tho«gbti"«id vl»% aft«iwarda, "my family wore fighting and killing each other; " btit, on going in, he found his daughters, upon their knees, pleading in agony for the salvation. of their souls. He also prostrated himself before God, and joined them in prayer, till one of them* wa« filled with veace and joy, " through believing. Didyott ga in ta see what th^matter was ? , and ^hen you . d^edvered the real ^cause of " the ' uproar," did V you sympathize with distressed sinfters? did yoi| fall down before God in the mWstW thern^cmd pray |br the opeoingor- ;." the prison to tb(ii?e who were obrtnd? that those whiii were moiirning in 2ion might b»ve beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the gtirment of praise for the'spirit of heaviness? Isaiah 61 : 3. If you did not thus pray, when you had an "-^opportunity, — and if, iifiiteadv you Walked away, despisii«g in yottr heart those Who, did, — I c^^not consider, you worthy of the -name of "a Methodist."^ I thi«k an old American Quaker ^ii a proper aiwl scriptural view done, and ^Mut vety m%ny sumeni w^ converted, " an^^^a- ht^ tMwnber ^€^ returning to God as true penitents; * ' 6tot most ftf tfie f^rty iepfobatefit ti^^noise and ecinfusion which "' ' : attended it. i«ler a fcfV^rhad'feXpreSBea th.w disapprobation, in ". terms stfeien^y strong/ tt^^^ appealed to the Quaker, not - doubting that h* would ^^iniaidiB witJl their sentiments ; .bal, to ^Vtheir surprJ^e, he told i^o^'h^' "«t»d nor ponder at all at the s' J, nAfee, blowing ikit tb»v!ja^ol|l|^ '•'■■■*■■:•■'„■ ■•v^.Jr- re, thought 1 bettec to ve none nl i a rcw, oi ler night." uached his mily; wore 2 found his B salvation . and joined e and joy, " latter was ? proar," did fall down opeoino^of " who were oil of joy heaviness ? ou had an espisiijg in orthy of the Qtiaker had ival' noise." tbein rettip of religioD. lurned tipon much real 5 converted, ; penitents; usion which )robation, it) Quaker, not t all 9iX the iWit^ dop OF CONTUSION IN REVIVAL PKAYEa.Mi£tl!«08. $tf sinners, and preparing them to take their plaeis in the iplrituil Wmple. "Now," he continued, "you may remember, when ;jii9|lopnon began to build a temple to the Lord, timbt^r had to U • l|iswn in the forest, and sUbne quarried out and chis6le4, ac{:ord- inrto the form required. Was there no noise during this pro- cessji Ihink ye ? Ay ! and it must have Wen tremendous, when -thiliofty pines ami other trees were prostrated to the ground by th0 i«pe«ite4 blows of the axe ; — and in such great numbers, too, in 411 piitt^ of the forest. What a wonderful noise, too, when they were getting out^he stone, and when hundreds and thou- oands of workmen were imparting to them their proper form anil polish by hammer and chisel! 'All this, you are aware, .my friends, was ohly the Work of preparation ; but, when they came' to erect the temple, there was no nois^, — no, ftot' ftven the sound of a hammer; — all was quietness piiid silence thMiL'' Now, ipay dear sir, had you been present at the selectTHbeting for rtie new converts, a few weeks since, vvhen all tlfose were eoUected together who had been converted several weeks pre^ vioBsly, and overwl^om there had been so much nois^e at the tme of tljeir'conversidn, you would have enjoyed a fin^ illustni' tion of the old Friend's sentiments. There "was, indeed^,/' quiet- ness and silence ; " and it presented a wide contrast to that storm of human voices, and* loud q|Ucjries of agoniaed sinners, of which you so bitterly compkin. P^ Jt 4t IS said there is a great deal ^ apparent confusion m ^outh America, in those places'where the negroes -are engaged in scoop- ing up sand from the bottom of rivers; which a stranger, not unoet^tanding, would be ready to jWonounce 1% worthless employment, and a scene of ]^sitive confusiMWttjet him, however, be informed that there is much- gold miMpwith these I sar.ds ; and, in the course of a few weeks, let him vjMt^e same place, and be shown numerous little heaps of gold,Jvh5 b^en separated from this worthl(?ss sand, by the lal 10 nts; .Iju^ '" I of these hard-working and industrious men, — and you question tfiat a great change must take place in his opii [We had, I am glad to say, very many " heaps of pure gold," on ithe nig^ht referred to ; as inahy, in fact, as encompassed the altat IH 84 ■ (nv il Wf fl :|, 1 '•1 1 — t-^ ■ ^ 4 : "J \ , i ■ r ■ 11* fe. i^>i;:i ' ■ f' « t • ■0t*~ 879 BETIYA). MISCKLANlMi »^~ urnin and again, many timM. But you wet. not thm I .up^ ;r»" .heref!«, no. having »en .he gold. -only .he dart. a„,l meaninglew »nd. - " much noise and disorder, proceed.ng from r;confu.ed m... of excited people." -your opm.ons ^ema,n ""whefl'wa. in the city of Cork, a foWmon.h, since, we h«. .verygmcious outpouring of .he Holy Spirit. Man, snmon were deeply awakened; and were found upon the.r knees plead. ing for mercy a. .veor meeting. A. such tnnes when th. peniKn.ial *orro>rf|(Mome was .urned into joy, and they wer. ■ Liiing Ood, JEirul voices, for deliverance rorn consc.ou. LiU. others d|»ms --loud by reason of the d^.etM» of their Jart.^m 38: 8. Consequen.ly..here was a gre. 4i«,i and some, iJe yourself, were much offended. One of • these gentlemen came, on a certtin day, .o an aged^class-leader who, fi consequence of liis infirmities, was no. able .o .pp.a, wi.h his brothreri as formerly on the field of conflict The visiter, perhaps, interpreted his absence from the meCmpJ. dislike, or wan. of confidence inthe movement, and, therefore ■expected .ha. his own prejudic* would certain y mee. w.A 8vmpa.hy. To him. .herefore. he went, and made h.s complaml, including wUh the remark, "I believe all these Amer.cs» : preachers like abundance of noise." The foUowmg was th. reply, i a substance : , ., , i. -„j j "Suppose, my friend, you were about to build a house, an 'you should employ me to quarry stone sufficient for the iptended i edifice. Well, I and my men go to work with crow-bars pvct lixes. wedges, arid hammers. -all are employed; but. find. n the rock very h;rd, and scandalized with such a small heapof ' .tone,after all our Ubor, I consult with my men whether we had not better adopt some more effectual measures to sepanite the rock. The result is, -and we are all agreed. -that it « gnin /to be a losing concern, unless I would permit them to tr]^ Veff^cts of gunpowder. To this 1 agree and, after .e.^ da^ys'hard boring, we succeed in getting o^f. g^^^^^^^f ' H >thea anotlier.-in short, a succession of th^m. At leng^ who should appeal but yourself, in great agitation. exclaimi|«, ll. or C0NFU8I0H IN BIflTAl' PtAYBlt-H ext I tup dark and eding from IDS i^emain ce, we Kac [iny sinncn neea plead, when the 1 they were m conscious disquietness was a great id. One of class'leader le to appear [iflict. The meetings to id, therefore, f ineet with is complaint, se American ing was the a house, and the iptended [)w-bars, pick- ; but, finding imaU heap of I whether we w* James' Field ! wh«|t menne all this ? I insist up put an end to this unearthly noiso; neither my! ...,.^^^ can bear it. It is, in fact, most outrageous. The ^^^^BHl^V ;; borhood is in a stir. That I want stone for my house, Wdmit;V but 1 don't want it at the exponse of such ahocrible uproar.* • Now, what think ye would be my.ansyver? Whatj bul thief • You have Employed me, sir, to quarry out stone for your b«lM* , ing. You have no right to interfere witK me, so long-as I ipjur* no ono, nor damage any person's property, and wjjile I procii't^ you first-rate stone. " I have- had, indeed, to rdsort to powder, m ;, consequence of the hardness of the rock, and wo have ha^l ji shaking time. Behold the execution! examine the material. These ten or a dozen blasts have dofie m^re than my m^p coul4 have accomplished, in their ordinary operations^ with icjowi-bAiCf^. , &c., during six months; and we have only been & fevt 4^p iRt the work.' Now, my friend, you hnve^good sense ^ixm$h %,-. apply this illustration "to the present revival of puro religion,, in Cork. That there is a noise, T shall not question ;. but look a^ the results. The great end of all preaching is now being realized ; the.Gospel of Jesus Christ is producing its distinct and appropriate effects, in the awakening and conversion of sintiersv That these powerful blasts aile attended by a corresponding noise, is not to be"d6ubted ; and it is equally true, tbflt not a feipT are offended and do grumble y^edingly; but a tremendov^ execution is being done in the quarry." The fault^nder, if /jie was not convinced, was sil^i, 8ind made hia;e3|ft. 4 ft I understand the design' of such appellatives as «»/a;w^i«, enthusiasts, madmen," &c. These narpes are fastened «pon eoihe of the.zeatbus servants (yf God, for the same purposo that the 8"kins of wild beasts were put ugon'the primitive Christians by their persecutors, (hat they migh^ the more jeadily be'tom m piecfes by the hungry liqris. in the arena of the amphitheatre, but they were Ghtistiarjs still, notwithstanding these deforming after several W ^kins; and so are We, though he and his friends cover us from ood blast, andH ^ead to foot with the hideous imputations of /awa^iwm, &c. . At lenglhtH An individual once said, that there was a gentleman me^ »n» exclaimingiB tioned in the" nineteenth chapter of Acta of the Apostl**^ ta whot ;,. !■ res to sej I,— that it is I Lt them to try m- J\ . K f ■«v,-< te-.i V €» ■'▼ ^S^"^-' :'■ ■'. -% IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // •x %: ' « 1.0 I.I " m U 11.6 I :-'•* JS o^ ; V FhotDgFophic ScJences Corporalion iV 1 \ ^ •S5 '^^1^.^ ^'t^ ^^^ 23 WEST MAV4 STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 '^ ^ t . ■' " .. ■ ■ ' f ■■■ ■ ■/'■ ' ■'■ ■ * " ' ■f- ' **'■■•■'■■ • _■ , ' » K ■ . t 1 • • " ■■'^ **- ' V9 %^'' ^ 6^ 280 BEVWAL MISCELLANIES. he was more indebted than to any man alive; — the town-clerk of Ephesus, ^hose council was, to do nothing rashly. It is also stated of the sieinie person* that when any proposal of consequence was made to him, his usyaf reply was, "We will first advise with the town-clerk of Ephesus." Hasty sayings and rash doings may, perhaps, be followed by a tedious repentance. To al the enemies of fc^vivals Have said, I Appose the sentiment^ contained in the following story : William II., when standing upon some rocks in North Wales, saw the coast of Ireland, and exclaimed, " I will summon hither all the ships of my realm, and . witli them make a bridge tf ?ittack that couptry." This threat, it seems, was reported to Murchard, Prince d"ljeinster, who paused a moment, and then inquired, " Did the king add to this mighty threat, tj God please ? " Upon be|ng a^^^ed the king made no mention of God in his speech, he replifflt^* rejoicing in the prognostic," says the historian^ "Sure that man puts hig trust in human, np$ in divine power ; I fear not his coming.'^ But, some time after, William was shot by a Frenchman, in the New Forest, Hants. ^^"^ - I always feel myself quite safe in a revival. I am doing the . Lord's work with all my might; let them injure me in that employment, if they can or dare. As for this species of persecu- tion I do not value it a straw. If our zeal is but enkindled, it may be raised into a btighter blaze V/ these blasts of contradic- two A A *%*\ ■Ity"' CHAPTER K. > ADVICE TO AN INQUIRER. You are really ingenious in ferreting out difficulties in the way ol giving your heart to God. The poor heart is •• divided and siMirided" upon many things, and subjected, too, to so many " aiatomical dissections,'* and agitated by such a variety oC' contraHes," that the owner of it is at her wit's end, not knosving what ta|^. Now it is Aari,— again it is deceitful; it [siting now, — then again untoiUin^; at one time upon the point of yielding^ and at another there is a reserve that is insur- mountable ; it must be mbdued first, and pride cast out, and tt thousand good properties infused, before it is fit to be offered wholly to the Lord. And so di^^agements crowd upon the eofll, and difficulties tread upon iiftie heels of di^culties, and what will become of my friend, for she is quite incapacitated to make the surrender ? God asks the whole heart, and requires ner to .bring it to him in true simplicity. But poor Martha is careftd and cumbered about many things-; but one thing is need' fid — to offer her hard, tossed, trmdled hi^t to Him who asks it.yurf ?iott>, even to God her Saviour. LordTKelp her ! O woman ;why tarriest thou? See, thy Lord is just now ready to help thee, and to receive thy offering, and pronounce a blessing upon thee, althongh the heart which is offered be only worth ttoo votes, which fnake a farthing. Only say, as you offer it, — / ( ' ' ". ■ ^- - , ■ * - "Small as it is, 'tis all my store; j More shouldst thou have) it I had more." « The. Master is come, and caHetK for thee.^, Arisei Thy Lord is just how ready to help thee. His hands aie'^fall of blessings; his heart is full of love. In him all fulness dwells , enough, surely ,^t 'ce," before 1, by order iding soon e difficulty i till then. my ready isy in the s in morti< f." Often coin ; and I moment, It money a Ignorance 3 to much I freely of rit. 1 Cor. at? or to rhe latter, be able to Spirit in e piece of also with ence to one or more of those graces or " fruits of the Spirit," recorded in Galatians 6 : 22, 23. By this important passage examine your heart. Suppose you enjoy peace, but this implies faith. Lore, but faitli' ia included in love. Only be faithful, and that sweet peace or confiding love may be "changed " into conquering faith in the time of trial. Joy in God may spring out of peace, or faith, or love; but when your heart is thrilTiAg with delight, your exulting soul is far above such nice distinc- tions. This is proper. Who but a simpleton would refuse the pleasure of sunshine arii a pleasant walk, until he had first, to his own satisfaction, analyzed a sunbeam? Enjoy the sunny hour while you have it. Love, peace, and faith are surely there in this triumph of the soul, but joy carries the palm. When a great hero returns victorious, all eyes are fixed on him, and the subordinate j)fficers who contributed to the victory, though present, are overlooked; but when an account of the battle, comes before the public, these officers appear very conspicuous in the engagement. You have love, but tfeis is a piece of gold and it may in time-^of 'iiecessity be discounted into " long-suffer ^ ing, gentteness, meekness, temperaflce." You desire my views as to what use we are to make of ou^ past experience. Very Httle indeed, unless our souls are in safe and happy stat6 now. We may employ it for purposes of repentance, or humiliation; but if we have backslidden from God, we must not entertain hopes of heaven on that ground ; no, not at our peril. Ezek. 33 : 13. .^ One day last winter, while in Limerick, I called at the house ofan aged man. His daughter was present. I asked hci whether she enjoyed religion. The old man remained silent for a few moments, to give her time to reply, for he knew it was not with her as formerly. There was no answer. "Sir, he said, "when I was a bpy, I lived with my uncle, and I had plenty, — good biakfasts, good dinners, and suppers,— but," pointing to some potato-cakes -vhich were over the fire, t>re, paring for their humble meal, he added, "these cakes are bet- tertomenotr." _^ , Th is waa a hanely, but a striking iUustiation. W6 can no *if. it ..f^. $ ■ 5*4 ■^iif i i m m 286 lb I!! it: •EVIVLL MISCELLANIES. more subsis. upon grace rdceived years or months ago, than that * ma- could .ive upon the ineals he received when a boy, at his rich uncle's table. A few pitato-cakes were of more importance to him in his old age. I Would not, however, advise you to write your experience ^pon jthe sand. We are not to throw away the past dealings of Gdd with our souls, as we do our almanacs when they are out of date#«» /h< As these calendars are of use to the end of the year, so is the record of our past religious feelings to the end of life. Who would cast away his almanac when only the half of the year has expired ? • The calculations laid down in the moment of the " new birth*' are in force all the days of our life, if the grace be retained, — from the first hour of our second birth to the last hour of our connection with the body. ^ If ever God pardon a sinner, Jj^e is a last moment when his sins are unpardoned, and a first.Ti which, for the sake of Christy they are all forgiven him. It is a matter of no small conse-' quenae that he should be able to distinguish such a period iu His past history. A Christian has great advantage in all his conflicts, when he can confidently refer to the precise time and place of his conver- sion. The sea-captain is much assisted and encouraged, though tossed and driven by winds and waves, by a reference to the ^'reckoning" he has kept since land disappeared from his sight. Allow that he has lost his reckoning, or never had a correct one ; it is no matter how well the ship is managed, he has no assurance he shall ever reach the port of his destination ; nor will he have any comfort till, by some i^aeans or other, he shall obtain his exact latitude and longitude. / iBut the hour die mat- ter is settled is that from whieh he reckSis. Th^-fllistration shows the state of that man who has lo^t the grffceof the second birth, or who seriously doubts whether the mighty change tias been accomplished in the history of his mind; ^ ^^' I told the congregation, the otheif night, of a goiid man m Dutchess CO inty, New York, who said, " I know the time and pla c e of my sonv c rsion. ^ w as in the corner of a certain field ADTICK, TO AN INQUIRBB. 287 "o, than that * boy, at his importance vise you to )t to throw we do our ir, 80 is the life. Who jf the year the " new le' grace be to the last It when his e of Christj nail conse- i period in s, when he his conver* jed, though nee to tho 1 his sight. I a correct he has no ation; nor r, he shall r jhre mat- illustration the second hang%/has where God Hiid mercy upon my soul ; and there I drove down a stake. The devil often assaults me; and, when he dees so with violence, I walk down to tho spot, and I hive thought the devil fool enough to accompany me. I point to the stake, nnd'W^ say, Now, devil, do you see that post ? Well, there, at such a ^^ time God converted my soul ; and I enjoy the evidence yet.' This is an argument Satan has never been able to stand, and he gives the matter up as a lost case." But we have something more substantial than such a dead corruptible witness. Please read Romans 8; 15, 16; Gola tians 4:6. When such a cry as is mentioned in tho last pas ^ sage comes into the heart, it is loud enough for the soul to hear; nor shall it ever be forgotten. Has the intelligent friend for whom you desire th6se remarks read the works of Dr. Paley? If soj^he will recognize the following striking sentiments. His •• Bliknces of Christianity," and "Moral and Political Economy," afe in high repute in all places of learning, and secure him from the imputation of being an "enthusiast or a fanatic." "I do not," says this great " writer, " in the smallest degree, mean to undervalue or speak ligntly of such changes, whenever or in whomsoever they take place. Nor to deny that they may be sudden, yet lasting. Nay, I am rather inclined to think, that it is in this manner they frequently take place. Nor to dispute what is upon good U testimony alleged concerning conversion being brought about ' by affecting incidents of life, striking passages of Scripture ; by impressive discourses from the pulpit j by what we meet with in books, or even by single touching sentences in such discourses or books. I am not disposed to question such relations unneces* sarily, but ratheV to bless God for such instances; when I hear of them, and to regard them as merciful ordinations of his providence. Now, of the persons in our congregations, tc whom we hot only may, but nrnst preach the doctrine of conversion plainly and directly, are there, who, with the name, indeed, of Christians, have hitherto passed their lives without any internal religion whatever. These are no more Christians, as to any •ctttal benefit of Chriitiamty to theii souls, than the most hwd- A Hi nm i H M 288 KIVIYAL MISCELLANIES. I • !' ill ened Jew or the most profligate Gentile was in the age of the Qospel. As to any difference in the two cases, it is al! against them. These must be converted before they can be saved. The course of their thoughts must be changed ; the very principles upon which they act must be changed. Con- ■iderations which never, or hardly ever, entered into their minds, must deeply and perpetually engage them. Views and motives which did not influence them at all must become the views and motives which they regularly consult, and by which they are guided ; that is to say. there must be a revolution of principle. The visible conduct will change, but there must be a revolution within. A change so entire, w deep, so import, ant as this. I do allow to be conversion ; andTno one who is in the situation above described can be saved, without undergoing, it ; and he must necessarily both be sensible of it at the time, and remember it all his life afterwards. It is too momentous an event ever to be forgotten ; a man might as easily cease to recollect ^ his escape from shipwreck. Whether it was sudden, or whether it was -gradual, if it were effected (and the fruits will prove that), it was true conversion, and every such person may justly both believe and say for himself that he was converted at a particular .assignable time. It may not be necessary to speak ^ his conversion, but he will always think of it with unbounded thankfulness to the Giver of all gr^ce, the Author of all mercies. *■ , " The ' next description of persons to whom we must preach conversion, properly so called, are those who allow themselves in the course of any known sin. The allowed prevalence of any one known sin is sufficient to exclude us from the char- acter of God's children ; and we must be converted from sin. in order to become such. Here, then, we must preach convei^.on. « In these two cases, therefore, men must be converted, w wmain unconverted and die ; and the time of conversion can te ascertained. There must that pass within them, at some ^ • tu^^lar asHgnabU time, which is properly conversion, and will all their lives be remembered as such. This description ^ oat aU doubt, comprehends great numbers, and it is each pe^ ADVICB TO AN INQUIRBB. 289 . ton's business to settle it with himself whether ho be not of the number ; — if he be, he sees what is to be done." But, to refer more immediately to your own experience. It is your duty to keep in memory (Jod's gracious dealings with your soul in times past. The Israelites were commanded by the Lord, Exod. 16 : 32, 33, to fill a pot with manna, and lay it up before the testimony as a memorial of the bread rained down from heaven when God brought his people out of the land of Egypt. The stohe which the prophet Samuel, raised between Mizpeh and Sher was a remembrancer. He mmid it Eoenezer saying, •• Hitherto hf th the Lord helped us ' " 26 . I !■■: i i< * "•it m ll * ■ CHAPTER X. I: ." ^ rap CONVERT UNDER SORE TEMPTaTIOK. . I DO not wonder that,. instead of peace you hove ^row^/ In 141 your "borders." When a prisoner has escaped, th« • hue ani cry '* is immediately raised. So long as he remained safe in the tyrannical and gnlHng ^oke of Satan was rent ofT from your' soul, and you left bis service an4 'l^ritories in triumph. Th« old tyrant, the devil, it seems, tjfat^sed ; — (tilt hell'* legioAi are oat in pursuit ! " And the J/tH said unto Mosex, IVherefore erittt thou unto rhef — Speak unti the children of ImtmI^ that they go frrward*^ Exod. 16 : 15. Cr«i| forward^ my dear friend ; and that God who intcrpoftehe was in the ,right \«ray. A good man, maiiy years ago, foiled the. devil with the . following ' weapon : " I am now, In Christ/ a. new creatufe ; ar J that is w^at troubles thee, Satafr. I might hdve continued iu my sins.; long enough ere thou wouldst have beeit vexed at it \ but noHtr 1 ■ see thou dost envy me th§ grace of my Saviour." The tempter, finding.Jiimself discovered and resisted, retreated from the field! . As to your fear of backsliding, I can only say to you at did an aged Christian to one troubled with a similar apprehen* sion : * So long as you /mr, and are humbly dependent upod-, God, you shall never fall,. but certainly prevail.' The indi- vidual, I believe, till the end of life, realized the truth of the remark. Satan is a shrewd and -crafty aniagohist. He haa; encountered many a Christian, and has even " meastired >wordt*' wiUi Jesus Christ hinuelf. Whatever the wetpt^nt v^ J ,. ■ 'V". \\ M I 292 BBVIVAL MISCELLANIES. \. ara you chose to fight with, he will liever fail to try what metal they are made of. I well remember, at a particular and some- what trying period of my Christian life, one who hadrmore faith and courage than myself said : " The glorious splendor of the Christian armor in the^ sixth chapter of Ephesidns is able, my brother, t<^-dazzle the devil's eyes, daunt his courage, and drive him from the fie[d." •' ' I repliid, mournfully, " Perhaps so ; but I think the devil is determined to examine mine pretty closely, as if to ^ of whatsort of metal it is made." That advice of the apostle is particularly applicable to you just now : " Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, toanting nothing." Neither fret nor mur- mmr ; quietly wait upon God, and endure to the end of this tHal, and those graces of the Spirit ivhich are as yet imperfect ■hall be brought unto a state of complete perfection. " Patient wait in sore temptation, . Let no murmuring thought arise ; ' Firm in deepest tribulation, Breathe thy wishes to the sicies ; ^ When afflictions all surround thee, -^ Calm attend thy MaJter's will ; . Pain nor death shall e'er confound , thee, Only Icnow him and be still." » If faithful, you will lose nothing, but be an infinite gainer by fhese trials. If they 4rive you to seek J?urity of heart, all shall (^ well ; you will then be safer than noW, because not so liable to depart from God, nor so easily corrupted by the devil. In- ilweUinI sin is his faithful ally, but a most treacherous and dangerotis foe to the soul. " A holy Christian," said a. good man, ** is like gold. Now, cast gold into the fire, or into the water ; cast it upon the dunghill, or into the pleasant garden ; cast it among the poor, or among the rich, — among the religious, or anx)ng the licentious} yet still it is gold,-:- still it retains its pon^and its excellency. Holiness is conurwUive ; it is the pce s enn s r- of the s oul . — I t w as h oline ss t ha t en a bled St . Austii \n thank Goi that his heut and the temptation did not mecS ' •'>*•. t . THE CONVERT UNDER SORB l^ntPTATJON. 293 together. " As things are in their ijiiture and principles," says Flavel, '• so they are in their operations and effects ; fire and watei are of contrary qualities, and when they meet, they effectually oppose each other. Sin and hdliness are so opposite, that if sin should cease to oppose holiness, it would cease to be sin; and if holiness should not oppos^ sin, it would cease tolra holiness." When hollne^||as charge ^f the soul, every bqd thought in- jected by the oefil js. repulsed with a holy indignation. There "is a great difference in the effects of a spark falling upon a viar- hUfloor^ clean and^ white, and a floor sprinkled with gunpowder. Nevertheless, ifiiy dear friend, if you are faithful to God, though youL hfive to contend with indwelling sin, and '* various tempta- tions," God will never forsake you, so long- as you magitain the contention. The Tyrians bound their idol gods withi chainst lest, in the time of danger, they should desert tl^etr old friends; but our God has bound himself with^the^ chains of his promises, that he will not leave nor forsake us. Consider the following comforting promise: "For he. hath said, I vdn never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Heb. 13: 5 An old writer comments upon the above passage thus : " The Greek has 'five negatives, and mi^iy thus be rendered: • I will not, not leave thee, neither will I not, not forsake thee.' The precious promise, you will perceive, is renewed five times, that we might have strong consolation and vigorous confidence." The words were originally spoken to Joshua ; " As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee : I will not faU thee rwr forsake thee** A blessed promise this; and it may be righteously cUimed by every spiritual warrior in the army of Jesus Christ, it was afterward quoted by David, for the encouragement of his son So'omon : " Be strong and of good courage, and do U ; fear not nor he dismayed: for the Lord Crod, even my God, will be with thee; he u/tU not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the ujork for the service of the house of the Lord." I Chron. 28 : 20. It Is repeated again in the book of Psalms " My loving kindness will Tnat utterly take from him, nor tuffet ny faithfulness to fail." . ' / , Any one reading the Creek of Heb. 13 : 5 cannot &il to : 8B» . I y; m X ^' 294 REVITAL MISCELLANIES. ^e truth of the old divine's criticism, with regard tothe nega tives. The promise wascoincluded by the apostle, in additional strength of language, that it might harmonize more fully with the superiority of Gospel privileges, when compared with the Jewish. The promise had passed the cross of Christ, hence the propriety of its peciliar strength. It is impossible to con- ceive how word? could be better arranged to express the un- changeable friendship of God toward those who put their trust ID him. Dr. Doddridge renders it : "I will not, I will not leave thee ; I will never, never, never forsake thee." O ! my friend ! nil hell cannot prevent the virtue of this promise from wielding iin influence upon your present and eternal well-being, so long as you are faithful. Has |ie not also assured you, •♦ When thou passest through the water* I will be with thee ; and through the nv^rs, they shall not overflow thee : when thou walkest through the fire, thou shah not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle upon theej'' ? Many t|mVh&ve I joined the Ameiican Christian* in singing the following DBautifut4ines, which will serve as a sort of com- ment up6n the aboye passages. Often, very often, have we fcjoicel with joy unspeakable while we sang : — • tlow firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, ' is laid for yoar faith, in his excellent word 1 What tnore could he say than to you i^e has said - You who unto Jesus for refuge have fled ^ '* In every condition, in sickness and health, la poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth. At home or abroad, on the land, on the sea. At thy day may demand, shall thy strength ever be. " Pear not, I am with you'; oh, be not dismayed,— I, I am thy God, and will still i^ive you aidj 1 'II strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to ataad, -i _ Ijpheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. -^ ■ ] ** When through the deep waters I call thee to go, • The riverti^ woe shall not thee overflow; }i^^: ■'...,, ' F or I will be w ith thee, thy troubles to blew, —^ — — 4|i4 sanctify Mhse thy deepest distress. •,^r-« I THK CCNVERT UNDBR SORE TEMPTATION. 296 nfidence and spiritual joy- I have frequently had th© perception you speak of, — of the presence of angels. But I have told to very few my ow i experi- ence with regard to such manifestations. Few, except those who - walk very closely Avith God, would understand. It is wiitten, the angel of " the Lord encampeth round about those that fear him* to succor or to deliver. I was reading, the other day, an acV count of one of the primitive Christians, who suffered for Chrst the extremest tortures; — a young man, if I remember aright: When doing their utmost to torment him oft the raf.k; he seemed very happy ; and so overpowering were the comforts of the Holy Ghost, he declared that he himself was unconscious of the suf- ferings of his body, — that his pleasures were unutterable! Tired, at length, 6f tormenting him, they to(||)c him down from the rack, j^t which he complained, saying*, now they were doing hinftSrong. " For," said he^ " all the while I ^s on the rack, and you were venting your malice against me, I thought there was a young mun in white, — an angel that stood by mc, who wiped off the sweat ; and I found a great deal of sweetness m my sufferings, which now I have lost." Nor need we wonder ftl lljis, seeing ihat the word of God expressly -Keclares that they Me ««a mimattring spimts tent forth to mnittet for them who ' ■ t;l s'ii i«i;j| / . 296 REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. ,HaUheheir,ofsaI.vatian:^ Heb. 1 : 14. We may not, indeed, be at all times sensible of their presence ; but they are always near us. and. in k greater or less degree, as the case may require, exert their influence for our comfort in or deliverance frona temptation. You will do well, however, to meditate much upon that fine promise: " There hath no temptation taken you but such lis colon to man; hut God is J^hMy-^f^-^ not suffer you'to be ten^ted abo^e thai ye are able; but wtUmth the temp ^^ Zion also make a way to escape, that ye may be <^ Jo hear tt. The "««iy of escape*^ you must leave t o him. Pferfia^, you . may yet have to 8in||, — - / «« Thine ann hath safely brought us 'A way no more expected Than when thy sheep W»«d t'^'ough the deep, By crystal walls protected." * Before long. God will bruise Satan un<^er your feet. Is it not written. " For he thai tmcheth you toucheth the apple of his eye ? « And." said a good man once, " And whosoever is bold enough to touch the apple of God's eye, shall dearly smairt for it. Was it not udon this principle Christ declared, in reference ^to any who should dare to offend one of these little ones who believe m him, that rather than be guilty of such an offence, and the hazard which attends it. it would be better for him that a m^- stone were hanged about hU neck, and he were cast tnio the seal If the displeasure of the Lord is so severe agaihst a human p^r- : secutor, how much more against a A:«oi«n^ and «ia&^«^ devil . ; Thedfevil hazards more than we are aware of. when he attacks the 8aint8.^especially a new convert. The value of the prize, and some great and infernal pnnc.pler involved in the matter, overbalance the risk, possibly, in the estimation of the prince of darknee«. We «hall»^now moje about these things hereafter. It is sufficient for us to know hat ii^eresistthedetnl^hewiUJUefromus. James 4: 7. irwe parley, he wiU bid defiance to heaven, and pursue our track as Ae sLk the ^ndering and fat e d ship. Whe n i n the city o : Code Ireland,^ was coi^rewing witl an old Wdi classJeader, on ■f?" THE CONVERT UNDER 80BB TEMPTATION. 297 the severe mental conflicts with which some good people are particularly harassed. He said, he sometimes told the tempted ones m his class that the devil is just like a dog; — the dog will stay with you, and lie under the table, if you will only give him bones to gnaw ; and when he does obtain them, he will keep snarl' ing and grumbling still. Doubts, fears, evil reasonings, and sur- mises, are such bones as the devil loves to pick, and they i|re never sweeter than when given by a human hand ; the more of these you give him, the closer he will press upon you, and the more steadily will he pursue you, and wait upon you in all your rest- ing-places. The more bones you throw him, the louder he wi.\ snarl, and the more annoying will he become. Let him have no more bones. Starve the devil, and he will leave you; he will go elsewhere ; he is the last being in the universe that will spend his short time to ho purpose. The illustration is homely, but it unfolds a great and solemn truth, ' But I must hasten to a conclusion. Forget not that you Aave a Mediator in heaven : '* We have an Advocate with the Father, Jetui Christy the righteous.'* The devil may accuse, but /ou cannot be overthrown while you commit your cause into the hands of such an Advocate. Heavy were the accusations against JEschylus, in the old story, and some of them, indeed, were too true ; but his brother, who had received many wounds in the ' battles of the Cohimonwealth, rhoved the magistrates in hisluvor. Every scar was an argument, -^ an advocate ! Gome, my friend anter now into your closet, kneel down^and sing that fine verse \ < Entered the holy place above, "■ Corered with meritorious scan, The tokeqs of his dying love, Our great High Priest in glory bear ■ He pleads his passion on the tree, He shows himself to Ood for me." "He is come " cried a martyr, clapping his hands, on the way to the stoke. But he had been greatly dejected before, and luid suffered much from that cause. " He i& come I He is come ! " told that t)-e presence of Jes^s had banished all his sadness, and tamed hii tonN»r into joy My jnayer is, that you may b« li 298 I.EVIVAI. anSCELLANIES. , enali ed to exclaim, " He is cdme ! He ia come !" before you aru» from your knees, u j v u- That vms a fine saying of Augustine, when reproached by his persecutors for his past wicked life, - " The more despemte my Zse was. the more I admire my physician." This sword has *wo edges : you may wield it against the devil when .he assails you with those weapons which your past .ife has furnished him; and,' should your mourning be turned into joy, you may lay about you with the other edge. "The more desperate my case was, the more I admire my physician ! " Let Jesus and h.m crucified, be your only plea. Trust simply and sin^y m the merit, of V^s blood. Resolve to do this in life, in death, and forever; This, too, is a mighty weapon. It was wielded, a few years ago, with great effect, by one of our local preachers, m America, «hen dying : " I die," said he, " wrapped m the merits of Jesus J and I shall lie down in the grave wrapped in the merits of Jesus; and I shall rise in the morning of the resurrection wrapped in the merits of Jesus ! " The devil trembled and fied before itv.and the saint entered into his rest with glorious joy. An old writer says : " As corn is beholden to the flail to thresh off its feusks, or OS the iron is beholden to the fil4 to brighten it so necessary are temptations and afflictions to tfie people of God " An hour of affliction, or a day of sore te^ptation,>a8 often been more beneficial to my soul than many c^ays of sunny prosperity. There arc herbs, you know, whose virtue con^sts chiefly in theii fragrance, but some of them are quite scMless and uninterestiS^ till bruised ; then they shed their perfume al around. Thus if is with many a Christian. The fragrance of his piety is never diffused abroad untilhe is weU bruised ;- -.;.*^ :>■>>..■ ■■''■. ■ "Hell has won its will. To wring his soul with «gony." "Our prayers and meditations," said a good man, " l.k^ M spices, ait most fragjant when our hearts are bruised, in Gods mortar, an^ broken with afflictions and troubles." When such « oae. afto a day or week of trial, speaks in a ckiw or a love- THB CONVERT UNDER SORB TEMPTATION. 299 feast, an influence from heaven descends upon all Around. I have frequently observed' this, and have felt, with the poet, •• 'Ti» e¥*n as If an angel shook his wlngn, — Immortal fragrance fills the circuit wide ! *' Such mental trials are thus overruled, usually, for the gootC if a priv-'eged few, but the influence often extends to rrjiny. Jiike his Lord and Master, the tempted one may terminate hii *brty days of trial in thct Wilderness, and then return in the power of the Spirk into Galilee ; and, if God ordain it for his glory, the fame of the humble and zealous man may spread through all the region round about. Luke 4 : 14. Miracles pf grace and mercy may resdlt from such an instrumentality. But a dispensation like this is as great a mystery to some carnal nrofessors as was Samson's riddle to the Philistines : " Out of tJ'tf, eater came forth meat, arid out of the strong came forth noeet* tiess." Judges 14 : 14. Who could ever have imagined that the carcass of a lion should havSe become a bee-hive ? " What is stronger than a lion ? what is sweeter than hqj^ey ? " Samson had, a tremendous conflict, no doubt, with the lion. When he came out with a roar against him, it is jjdt unlikely he appre- hended peril ; but, when the Spirit came mightily upon him, he rent the furious animal as it had been a kid, and, leaving him dead, went on his way rejoicing. Sometime afterward, when passing that way, he turned aside to see the carcass of his old antagonist, when, "lo and behold," he found therein a s\^rm of bees, with plenty of honey! So he took' thereof in his hands, and went on eating, till he met his father and mother; and ha gave them, and they did eat. You can dpply the above to your own case, and cany Uie ide^, if you please further thaii time will permit me. I am persuaded, however, the Lord will overrule for your good,' sp long as you are faithful to his grace, every temptation which raayasiiiUyou. A poet has given that interesting circumstance recorded in 1 Kings 17: 6 an ingenious tuiu:-^ \*t 800 BBTITAL MWCELLANIM. "Thui S«twi, tht* f»t«fc anclewi, V WhocroakilntS>r«ofWsMlnU, *^ Compelled by a Wfer un«een, AdmlnUter* oft to their want*. God teaches them oft to find food, From all the temptations they feel » ' This raten, who thirsts for their blood, Haa helped;hem to many a meall " Ihaverf«« thought of Aat "»'!»™* '^''^^^^^^^ i .'•> f • J *.f VioM • "T believe botn our soua ih x uciic»c w'uU^Sd ™. .he rough wind ,o,ne.in.e, a.so .. Mow I^y I^*feo,n our bmnche. ." Had not d.at terrible ten,- ^^^ the d»ciple. on the lake, they won d not hav. CnX aliring wHne»e. of that .tupendou, m,«^^«h. humbled int. .ilence the wind, and the. waves "^'"^Z Z great, when they cried: " Master. care.t tlun. n«t «toj« X" But how ^t was their joy and , confidence whe» ft^excUimed one Tanother, " WuU «ia«n«- »/ man .. A- Uis r«duty..t this time, to look fordivne .ntererence^ ,f t"for entire ddiverance. yet for more abundant comfortj^ ovin the Holy Ghost. "When," said I good man on«, Iwhenlould the torch be lighted, bat Jn the dark n,^ When should the fire be made, but when tAe weaAer . coU! ^ when should the cordial be given, but ^-^en thepaUen.B w«kT" A poor man, in a certain place, was heard to «>y, ZVe was o'l^ce rich, and had learned ~-*.;"g "^ /"^^^^^ rtht^r^s g^ng to dest^y me, ^^^^^^^ thing I had. but he gave me what was of i^Bmteiy mo eveJ. to know more of himself and Jesus. I ^ _ _ ^^ H.W often, when standing on the sea-sho re. " ^^'le he mn^ Li^on the sea its continueus blast, and myriads of b ill o^n > l^itTedt irtrack.ani wave rolled ^^v^io — ^ fu.ion.t have I watched the motron. of A. h^y ^ A^ | ■« •. • "r*".-; ^■'7::!. THE CONVKKT UNDBB BOBB TEMPTATION. 301 )Ut only for a: moment ; Sgajn it appeared riding upon -he tops - jf crested billows, — Inaintaining its position steadily amidst ;he restless and frowning elcmentti, nor departing an mch beyond the prescribed limits, because attached to a rock which ould not bo moved. And I have seen the Christian also, en- compassed with warring temptations ; as if the strength of heli had been mustered to overthrow him. And one wave of trouble has followed upon the track of another,' yet he has remained firmly stationed amidst it all ; because anchored upon the Rock of Ages. He could smile at the tempest, and laugh at the ^{ives; — his heart was fixed^ trusting in the Lord. Thus cir- cumstanced, I have heard him repeat the following lineF^, and with an energy that might make a devil tremble : •• Led by Gtod, I brave the ocean J ;, ■ , ' / Led by Him, the storms defy } '/ Calm amidst tremendous mptioft^' ' Knowing that the Lord is nigbu \1" Waves obey him, y And the storms before him fly." ,/ And, after the storm was over, I have seen the same individ- ual *' emparadised in joy," and not a cloud upon his sky, nor a single ripple of tie late commotions passing over his composed breast, and remejtibering his troubles only as waters gone by. Gifts and gracep from al)ove have I known to descend upon «uch an one, with an unction which enabled him to carry every- thing before him among the ranks of sinners, while to the saints of God it was *' as if an angel shook hit wings" These varieties in our spiritual pilgrimiige, like the various changes wfa^koccur in n^tuy^, are, though painful, best for us doubtles^'; el^ our Heaven^rather would not permit them. They are overruled for good, and why should we comf lain?— " Perpetual sunsnine wastes the lovely green, . And spreads disaster o'er the wide terrene ; Perpetual storm impedes the tender growth, — And r obs the fields of com e lin es s and w o rt! : ; — By frequent changes yon extensive plain \ Is made to yield its golden sUclts of gr^ } ' — ^ - — |Po scenes unvaried nature stands opposed,' - -^ ^^- By clashing processec tre htr charms disclMcd.** , 4 Mm, !iSl f-m 102 EBVIVAL MISCELLAlVItt. I The h«tn.n. th.n,.cW.. h.U .ome pcrceylion of the|««i,efit. plmdox, .h... •• None U «. unhappy a. hoyiho ha. never Known "'SJL .Vo/M. Z.re.l wan ■ HilU i«epA'er liifli, .nd Alp. o'er Alps .rl««. Voori ate" /!.^ «"•<.&;" and they are .he .more severe on .IrrtheV^ling principally »«« ih^ mind art much more afflic.ive. and harder. 1 heheve, to be ' Wnra-nS «.f the body. 1 remember an apologue, ™h,cfc .■!^:e;t.1/«rle year. ago. from Per.ia. i.lus.ra.ive of .h.. • IT A Z and his minis.er, of ...te. by «.me mean., wc« dmwn Vl a discussion, whether menml or corporeal .uffer.np .-"hZverest. The dispute lasted some time, and resulted .t rdEr of ..pinion. .One of the ministers propped .„ exJViment. which was agreed to. He took a l-f /'^^ ™ S broke its leg, ^h„. it up. and placed plenty of food before Z^^'tn z^ «;::.h:;in;b. a;;d .hj; i. up wjd. a ^. The tiger was bound, by a strong chain, .o that the bea.t co.^. ;^ »L the lamb v..i.h.». d.e po-ibUity of .o.ck«>g... b THE CONVERT UNOEIl 80RK TEMPTATIOM. 303 lorable known Rather erita of idge of le nin«* 18 writ- • >■. y 80? . Not to have such a friend is an evil ; and. such is th^ deceptive nature o( friendship, in this world of ours that most people before they arrive at twenty years of age, have learned to act upon that'adyice of the Scotch poet: ^ I •« Aye free, aff hand, your story tell, When wi' a bosom crony J But still keep something to yoursel, ^ ye scarcely tell to ony. Conceal yoursel as weel '8 ye can V Frac critical dissection ; ^ But keek through every other man, , * , Wi'. sharpened sly inspection." It i. . phy, however.- when the case is of such a natiie a. might b;-divalged. even to a "common friend," without r»i, that the perplexed conscience should be left to straggly w.A it in secret and alone. The advantage, in such a case, is all en the devil's side. . . /• • a 2. By restraining prayer. God in Chnst « dur friend. ^»/n everything hy prayer a , d supplicatim, with thn iksgiving. mn tht nvoiii\Bt i^ Id yncr requests be made knmim untoi^oi* .■f^ii :■*, ■ >^ ■ 'Jirt^wsK'?''^:; THE CONYBRt UNDER SOBE TEMFTATION. 307 past 01 rsation lusion ; tate of le devil I, if he circum- conceal- lossibly, faithful mind, is ;r heart reposed •i\'%i and the peace of Ood^ which, passeth understanding, skaU keep your heart and minds, through Christ Jesus.'* To this friend you tiay tell 9U |^at is in your heart, without fear of being betrayed. The apostle says, " unto God" because there may be cases which it would be, perhaps, improper to divulge to a fellow-:reature. By prayer we may obtain light, strength, or direction, while we engage Ged in our behalf;— just as we gain a true friend to espouse our cause, when we make him our confidant. Prayer is the, devil's plague. He cares not a straw for yr)ur reasoning, if you \yiil but keep your cause from God. 3. By neglecting the Scriptures. If prayer is our method •){ opening our mind to our heavenly Father, the'BiUe is his T^thoA of opening his mind to us. "Therefore," said the psalnHst," " I esteem all thy precepts concerning all thingsf to be right. I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold." The word of .God is " the sword of the Spirit." And " if you.fetch this sword out of God's armory," said a good man to another, " the devil will run, like a odi^rd." The Leviathan, his name-sake, is kore afraid of thd suxird-Jish, I have heard, than of all the fi^h of the ocean. Jesus Christ gave him such a wound with that sword, ^ — J* It is written," — that he feels it to this day. Nepotian, whose heart Jerome named Bibliothecam Christi, Christ's Library, because so well stored with Scripture, had a great and manifest advantage over Satan, when compared with less favored minds. It was on this principle that J^obert, king of Sicily, said : *' The Holy Books are dearer to me than my kingdom ; and, were I under an^ necessity of quitting one, it should be my diaidem." And it is on this principle the devil will try every method to keep the scrupulous conscience front obtaining \ knowledge of those particular Scriptur^ which would set it right, if applied by the Holy Ghost, in a few moments. 4 By adopting hasty and unjustifiable measures for deliver' ance. Sudi as, Ist. ImprudeTtt vows. These afford Satan a fearful advanti^e. 2nd. Yielding to sin. I have known per sons strongly tempted to, commit sin, supposing positive condem r^o Gai I *M<*on to bo more tolerable than the harassing efiects of uncer leceptive t people, id to act natiire as iiout nsk, le with it , is all OD UT friend, ksgiving," 306 EBTITAL MISCELLANIES. .r[- ■ jL. This is a dreadful alternative, and an^ abominaWu device of Satan, from which the sincere soul should recoU with horror. Better sav, i • iUther I would In darkness moarn The absence of thy peace, v Than e'er by light irreverence i^g^ ' % > ■ /' Thy grace to vantonness ; ^,*' ;!%Pfy. ' ^ Bather I would, In painfiij^^j^l' ■ ' ; R«n«nth thine anffer mofe^ 1^(4, /■■•■.'■ Beneath thine anger mofe^ '^^ Than sin against the Gospel law Of liberty and loTe;»* i ' 6. By indulging a fretting and repining Spirit. Ihis weakens the soul, and grieves the Spirit of God. John Banyan tells us, that, yielding to impatience, he tempted God to grant him a sign of the truth of hfs omnisci^e; that, if all things were, indeed, known to ^tn. with the very secrets of the human heart, he would prove it. by removing that particular thing that afflicted his mind. It was removed suddenly, but a worse temptation arrived immediately in its place. He confesses that, in his anxiety to get clear of one trouble, ho did not de.recate or pray against that which rhight possibly follow. He does not teU us the nature'of this second messenger of Satan; only, that it left a sting in his conscience, with intolerable bodily anguish; and that he considered it a punishment for his presumption. Perhaps he suffered for his impatience more than for anything t^' By reasoning and contending with the devil, and a ^ceak wnsdence, with a deaeth biith of faUh and lave in the heart. This places the soul in circumstances most disadvantageous. A baptism of love would go far to silence the devil ; it certamly would heal the soul, and procure its triumph. Satan can bear anything better than to see a Christian, against whom he is waging war, rejincing with jay unspeakable, in the midst of his ficrciJSt assaults. When such an event takes place, he usually leaves the field. The sooner, therefore, my friend, you obtain such a baptism, the be t te r . Nothing but this can ever heal your coDSf iff icofor XEise you above the particular troubto / THE CONVERT UNDER 80EE TEMPTATION. 909 wfai3-i have so painfully annoyed ytDU. " Make haste, mako haste to love," sai4 a good man in Spain, to one of a scrupulout conscience, "Make haste to love; and the scruples will fall away, which rise but from a fearful heart; * for perfect love casts out fear.'" I have always admired that saymg of the Rev. John Newton: "Love and fear are like the sun and moon, seldom seen together." Love is what ^ou vwint, then, — perfect love. This will not only " cast out^lf^lt that has torment" (1 J^hn 4: 18), but it will iihpart a power to this soul, by which It wiH be enabled to render a cheerful obedience to the precepts of thif ' royal Gospel law, as well as to the dictates of a sound and rnlightened conscience : i ^' Inflame our hearts with perfect lore ; . In us the work of faith fulfil; ^ ^ So not heaTen's host shall swifter move ■ Than we on earth to do thy will." . It is Archbishop Leighton, I think, who defines the labor of love to be the labor of rest; — rest even in the motion it com mupicates, because such motion is so ruaural and stoeet to the soul that loves. True love to God, he says, loves the labor of love, as it is a service to him that is loved. Love has its motions, but they are heavenly and circular;^- still in God, beginning and ending in him;. — yet not ending, but moving still without weariness. He compares the motions and labor ci love to *,he revolutiai cf the heavens, which is motion in rest, chang- ing not place tiogh runnr tig still. :ji*> •V ;■ / r-*,. CHAPTEl. XI. THE INSUFFICIENCY OF INFIDELITY. ^A8 my infidel reader never read the story of one Arutoxenus, th3 musician? So greaVwas his admiration of his profession that he defined the haman soul to be nothmg mare than a harmony. You. from a baser motive, love o/ .in. define your soul to be "a part and parcel " of materialism. i " This ardent hope, this fonia desire, This longing after immortality," I consider 4 be the universal feeling of our mce. with the exception of an mfortiamte few.- those to whom, by « «««^*«J caufse of life, immortality has been rendered undesirable. Look .tt the inferior animals ; there is not one desire in their nature for which a benevolent Creator has not made a provision. A desire for immortaK.ty is one of i\^e Headbig pof^ o man. Has the Author of our being left this wholly unprovided for / Do you think, my friend, that 1 misunderstand your character? I never can lose sight of the fact, that there is nothing in infidel. ity for which any intelligent man would seriously contend a .ingle moment, unless necessitated to do so by irregular morals. If it be the fact that you desire "to live on terms o am.y with vice," then, in order to sin without disturbance, « till not- ing moves your consistency in ill." the readiest way is. to "Lrden your heart in the forge of bad. principles.'Vand school o n "the anvil of despair," till it bids defiance to the strokes of conscience. . , . x* « a. I feel inclined to apply to your lengthy lucubrations the sentiment of a witty individual : " The burning of a httle straw inay hide the stars of heaven, but the stars are stiL there, and will pres* by a spa] smoke ; threatens Lest you of your '. ings ",.of the smol eternal bl you woul lines, wit Upon 1 character plainings never reti that he te death has like a dres me like a and gates mirth and this thouff 1 have tu approach t 01 *^- THE iNSUmCIENCY OF INFIDELITY. 311 will presGiitly reappear." Your bundle of iofidel straw, kindled by a spark from your own forge, has, indeed, raised considerable smoke; and it aspires and spreads along the heavens, and threatens to cast into eternal obscurity every st cred star of truth. Lest you would increase your sin by cavilling at the declarations of your Maker in the Bible, I shall employ "the dying breath- ings "..of one of your repenting brethren to blow away some of the smoke. May God make his sad and mournful end iin eternal blessing to you ! The thought has just struck me that you would not be offended, if Jt preface i^with the following lines, with which I dodbt not you are familistr ; *; ■I I •'Sure 'tis a serious thing to die, my soul! What a strange moment must it be, When, near Thy journey's end, thou hast the gulf in view 1 That awHilj gulf, no mortal e'er repassed, To tell what 's doing on the other side. Nature runji back, and shudders at the sight. And every life-string bleeds at thought of parting t ' For part they must ; body and soul must part '; ; ^ Proud couple I Jinked more close than wedded pair. , . This wings its way to its Almighty Soiree, The witness of its anions, — now its Judge; ~^~~~-~— ~-.-__^ That drops into the dark* and noisome grave, Like a disabled pitcher, of no use." Upon the bed of his last sickness lay a^ymgsirnrer. His character may be best learned by attending to his bitter com- plainings when approaching that "aw/w/ gulf," from whence he never returned : " My physician tells me I must die, and I feel / " that he tells me the truth. In my best hours, and in my worsts death has been perpetually upon my mind; it has covered me like a dread presence ; weighed me down like an oce^n; blinded me like a horrid vision ; imprisoned rny faculties as with bars ' * and gates of iron. Often and oftehf when, ii^saloons, alive with mirth and splendor, I have sfeemed the gaye&t of- the inmates, ihis thought and /car of death have shot through m^ mind, and I have turned away sick and shuddering. What is it, then, to approach the reality ? , to feel it very near, ^ nay, dose at hand ? Wealing on, and on, and on, like the tide upon the ihoie, not ta J^ •."^ fi-»k ■■*#'; g|2 ' y REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. be driven ba.k ill U has engalfed its P«y? What is it to «,^Li the approach of the time when you must be a naked, ZuytremblingTspirit..U memory, and all conse^usness, neve, •Sfl;" sinie moment to deep, or know obhv.on from he cSing buXnIof tbe. deeds dom, in tteWyt The dy,^^ . ^Tindeed^be in a place of torment,-m hell.-Wfore the T^^Z the Uembn^nce of past life, stripped of all ,., J !ir. shrivelled into insignificance, may appear, m con- t ofj^* et«S. »« " a°tiny shell tossed on the Wd bSHurface of an L.,,^ then, again the mtense n^por^^^^^^^ of that very insignificant fragment of time, and the mtense 01 tnai ve , s Mcunied it:— its s ■ /■ admk. that real repentance may not visit the deathbeds of /■your chaifecters ; but I cannot allow you to say, without contra- diction,, that remorse and terror never pay such a visit in theii last hours. There is no necessity to go back to hardened Nero, j.who cried out, in desperation, "Have 1 no friend nor enemy to lid me out of my pain?" Nor to Julian the Apostate, who is teported to have taken into his hand some of his own blood, and flung it into the air, exclaiming, " Thou hast conquered me, oh Galilean!" — meaning Jesus Christ. The conduct of pagan bravadoes in extremity, given by a heathen writer, is quite illustrative of that of ypiir modem infidel heroes, in the hour of death. Hear the testimony of this heathen : " When the Grecian forces hotly pursued us, and we roust needs venture over the 'great water Strymon, frozen then, but beginning to thaw, when a hundred to one we had all died for it ; with mine own eyes I •aw many of those gallants, whom I had heard before so boldly maintain there was no God, every one upon their knees, with eyes and hands lifted up, begging for help and mercy, and entreating that the ice might hold* till they got over." It is not to be denied that some o£ your sort die in a calm ; but it only |roe8 to prove that sentirpent, "Their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost." Job 9 -.-20. " They retain their hope to the last,?^ys a commentator, ** and tbe last breath they breathe ia the finai and eternal termination of their hope. They give up their hope and their life together." Conversing one day with a missionary in Quebec, he told me the following well-attested fact : In a tavern, a^ nuinber of men were standing, talking upon various subjects, among whom was a n infidel of the foule s t character . A gentleman of his acqu i»i nt- ance, turning to him, said, " 1 have he^rd, sir, that you deny the aiitttticaaf aG<4<^adiiva,aDdof ahell. IsitiiQ?' The THl INSUFriClBNCr OP INFIDBLIIT. 81ft man replied, " I believe there is a place of rest, ani that pUce if ' the graye ; but do man, while I live, shall ever persuade mo there is a hell." These words had scarcely passed his lips when his head dropped, and, reclining upon the shoulders of one of bitt companions, all was silent! When they kiid hold of him, ,h« was a corpse! . , The dying hours of a certain great poet of the present century entreated his physician to kill him. Receiving, of course, a prompt refti^l, he tufned to some a his neifrhbors, bo8eechii.g •hem to despatch him/ But he died i* . ___ TritH" '■ SB'F^"*^* ' 7 / THE INSUmcltlfCT Of nvnSELITT. 817 The teeond caie was that of a itirgeon, a man of talenti. Ht had not, it sojms, the cold privilege allowed such a character b) a poet : • '*Re that will b« cheated to the laat^ Deluaiona, atrony aaball, ahall bind him Taat." That guilt, which had stood its ground so long agamst th« threatenings of God, was arrested suddenly by death ; and, with rery little warning, he foun/d himself on the very verge of time* just on tjjie point of appearing before his justiy-oflended Maker. The frequent gleams of remorse — transient, it is true— which he had experienced when in health, had now kindled into a flame of mental agony. He had by some means arrived at a certainty that he must not entertain any other prospect than that of spend- ing an eternity iu hell. The scene was one which cannot be described. Visiters fled in terror from his room. Only one wicked Universalist had the courage to remtiin with him. Bat he could not, after the surgeon's death/be persuaded to relate the terrific utterances connected with his last breathings. Ah! sir, your principles should yield you much advantage, with a great deal of comfort through life ; for I assure you there is nothing in them to afford you consolation in a dying hoflr. That was a true saying of an old divine, that God was longer in destroying Jericho than creating a worlC When Adam and Eve had sinned, it was not before the cool of the evening that the voice of the Lord God was heard in the garden. But it was the voice of God "walking," not running, affording, even then, an illustration of those attributes of ^is nature, " Merciful, gra- cious, long-suffering, atid abundant in goodness and truth ; keep- ing mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin.** An old writer has somewhere raid that "Justice pursues the enemies of God with leaden wings, but that it will lay hold of them sooner or later with hands of iron." A few yeare ago, in the winter, a large sleigh-stage started with twelve persons from Hoboken, opposite New York, for the city of Albany, on the Hudson river. Among the passengers was a most interesting young Isfdy, deeply devoted tb Gixl, oq ■m ~\ *'/ r* sxm^ IBVITAL MISCBLLAN1M. her wiy to b* rMrried to a miiiionary in Penis. There were also an elderly gentleman, from the State of Ohio,#nd a young man ; but all strangers to each other. Sloigh-riding, in that country, is a very pleasant and animated metliod of travelling. All wer«^ in a pleasant mood, enjoying the scenery. Passing through several towns and qmall villages, jt was remarked, " What an inspect of comfort and respectability is evident in places which are graced by the spire of a church ! " The elderly person alluded lo said that he had travelled and seen much in his time, but he would give it ab a fruit of his cboervation, •' Wherever there was a church, and stated minis- ter, the people five or six miles round were more orderly, sober, and circumspect, than were those who did not enjoy such a pri"ilege." 1 his brought the young whiskered gentleman fully out. He was just returning from college, where he had been preparing for bne of the learned professions. As the old friend had in- truded religion, he would give his opinion. " Priestcraft, witch- craft, and all the crafty doctrines of Christianity," said he, " were only devised to scare the ignorant. The laws of Lycurgus arc far superior to those of. Moses. Thpre is nothing to be feared from death ; at the most, it is nothings more than a leap in the dark." The weather set in vary bod, with rain in abundance, during several houfs. At every tavern, while the horses drank water, the driver helped hirpself to rum. The winter road led them unto the bosom of the Hudson, covered with iCe j and when upon ' its surfac^e, they discovered their danger. Late rains had affected thoJce,,and the horses wereiipto their knees in snow and water. A deep and powerful river ran .beneath them, with bold and craggy shores on either hand. A heavy snow-storm came on; the risk of plunging into air-holes was evident to all. The heads of the horses could scarcely be seen through the storm ; and the roan of thb whip drove on, declaring he neither feared death nor the devi,. All felt, should the ice give way (and it was becoming worse md worse), iheir destruction was inevitable. . * • \ . THl INiUTflCimCT or WriDlLITy. 819 The diitrcM of the yiung infidel wm not to h/ concealed II ) trembled from hcod to foot, but wne ailont. / ^ The young My appeared pale and thoughtful/iii ahe opened a imall travelling bosket, and took out u little red book, turned ever a few pagea, and fixed her eye upon a pMsage. After a few* momenta, phe cloacd the book» and shut her eyes. •• The secret df the Lord is with them that fear him." The paleness dia- appeared from her cheek, and a glow of heavenly peace and con- fidence suflused her beautiful countenance. / -^ - ^ ^ God was gracious to them; and, as they proceeded up the river, a way of escape from their peril opened. While change ing horses at the hotel, one of the party asked her, very politely, but with an interest she appreciated, what it was she f^und in the little book which seemed to have such a happy effect upon Her mind. "The book, iir,'/ said she, " is named 'Daily Food for Christiana.;' being a text for every day in the year, the one which gave me so mucK comfort wds the text for this day : "ili the mountains are round about Jerusalem] to the Lard is round about his people, from henceforth, fven forever:' Pa 125:2. ' . . • We may say of the infidel, and alt who travel in the paths of wickedness, "The way of transgressors is hard." None who have ever faithfully walked in those of righteousness have found them contrary to that other declaru'ion of the Holy Ghost: "Her *ayi; arj ways of pleasantness,' and all her paths are peaqe." He that has light within his own clear hrehsi '^'May in the centre sit, and see bright day} , • But he that hides a daric soul, and foul thonghts, Benighted wal cs, under the. mid-dr.y siD I HUnielfishii own dungeon 1 *' I* I ;->. CHAPTER Xn. INFIDELITT AND PATTH CONTRASTED. DouBtLiss you have rea^ Ephesians 1 : 18, — " The eyes of your understaading being enlightened." This implies that the mind has a looking faculty, as well as the body ; and that our Creator has provided light as admirably adapted to the wants of the mental eye8,as natural light for those of the body. The Ephesians, h appears, had been blind. Total darkness renders the eyes use- les8„while it continues. St. John speaks of a sinner walking in - darkness, not knowing whither he is going, "because the dark- ness hath blinded his eyes." Now, a man may dose his eyes • against the lights and place himself in circumstances as if sur- rounded by darkness, or he may destroy them altogether. 1 have read of an old philosopher, who put out his own eyes that > he might not be disturbed l^ light. Would it nbt have been very iwational, had that man denied the existence of light, and affirmed that those objecM, said to be discernible through such a medium were all imaginary ? Suppose he had been present at a lecture, in which the sun, mtjon, earth, sea, and colors, were Ihe subjects of discussion ; but, on returning home, should enter- tain his friends with the absurdities of the lecturer, showing all »o have been nothing more than a mere tissue of falsehood, — that iich things had no other existence than as the brain-creations of him who desired to secure their money. " I can only believe what I see," he might say, "and, therefore^ it is, all fabulous." Which would his hearers say he had flung away from him, his .^ philosophy, or his reason ? " Both," you will reply. Are you not aware, my dear sir, that this is the ridiculous position in which you have placed yjUrself? By a sophistry peculiarly infidel, you have either put out your mental eyes, or closed them io fiimly that iha light of truth ihines no mora into your wd; INFIOBUTT AND FAITH CONTRASTED. 891 5 eyes of that the that our intsofthe Sphesians, eyes use- talking iu the dark*^ se his eyes as if sui' jether. 1 eyes that [lave been light, and )ugh such }n present olors, were )uld enter- hewing all K)d, — that Q-creations nly believe fabulous." m him, his Are you position in peculiarly thenr losed or, you have let the devil do it for yoi ; 2 Cor. 4 : 3, 4. But, is ■ it rational in you to deny that th^ light of truth is still in existence, or assert that those subjects made evident to the mental vision by faifii's " realizing light " are as " unsubstantial as a dream " ? Had the old philosopher insisted that all other persons were blind, because he had chosen to make himself so, would men favored .with sight have believed him ? You have read of foolish Harpaste, spoken of by Seneca, who, insensible of her own blind- ness, alvrays complained that the sun was down, and the hous e ^ dark; but'who, ih daylight and sunshine, could have believed Harpaste? It is thus that infidels now talk; and shall those vrho live under the full blaze of Gospel day believe them ? - j^ . . ■•■ • • -^^ .. /. ■■ . . . ■■ .-■ . -1 " Infidelity, gro#ti bold with joy, Forth from his dark and lonely hiding-place, ' Ow^ike comes forth, sailing on obscene wings ^t: Athwart the noon, and drops his blue-fringed eyelids, y And holds them close, and, hooting at the sun, High in mid'heaven, cries out, ' WBere is it?'" To revert again to the philosopher : admit that he and Madam - Harpaste had been once familiar with light, and all the delight- ful varieties of visible things, which was really the case, — they must have become the yeriest dupes in the worlds had they affirmed that light was fabulous, and all the glowing descriptions given of the beauties of our world the " visionary creations of heated ienthusiasts." Though the philosopher was much to blame for destroying his eyes, because light annbyjed him, I shall not insult his memory by bringing this unfounded charge again&t his understanding. There. is, however, no unmerited contempt oflered to your character; nor am I preferring a false charge ^ against your judgment, when I asrert its applicability to you in matters of religion. Once you were as familiar with the lights of the Gospei as with that of day,* nor were you any less certain^ of things invisible than of those magnificent aspects and pleasing features of the spacious landscape spread around your dwelling oy the hand of your Creator. Now that " the light has become ^btikness," and that iayisiUe woild a blank (only to ywrtdf your soul; : -3 322 BEYIVAL MISCELLANIES. observe, for others see and believe)^ allow me to .say how greatly it affects n e, to perceive you either the dupe of your own imposi* tions, having permitted the devil to swindle you out of principles which were at once your honor and your wealth, or basely not- ing the hypocrito, in denying the existence of those things you once believed, and which your secret conscience may wh;sper still exist. The feeling is deepened by the probability that the last conclusion is the correct one,-:— that the impression of their reality has not. as yet entirely faded from your mind. What was said of another xoi-^t^ant infidel, not improbably may apply to you: ;■■ '. 'K ; . ■■ :'■■: ■:■■;■ ■ ,;■■;■.■■ :; .-. ■ ■'■■.';.. " He almost thinks h^isbeltoves, indeed, .^ But only thinks so ; to give both their due, .-- ' . iSb/an and A« believe and tremlile too.'* ,^ was made he heard ceased, he crying, " » me. I mi nance was forever aa You sa ony.faithfi else than 1 dangerous As 70U have closed your eyes, beware lest your doings are agaii.st the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory. Is. 3:8; and lest, that should come upon you which he has threatened in Ezekiel 5: 11. Upon the bed of his last sickness lay one of your brethren in.infidelity ; he was askea a question, to which his countenance replied, before he had tigered a word : " Are 3rbur principles sufficient to sustain you in this trying hour?" He answered, sternly, "No;" and, after a pa^se, unable to restrain his feeling, he exclaimed, " Surely I am the^greatest fool in the world to have become the dupe of wicked and design- ing men ; I am justly consigned to that hell, the idea of which I once laughed at." Offers of pardon through the blood of the Lamb were freely presented, but sadly and sullenly put away. He heard the exhortation with patience, till "penitent sinner" Was mentioned; when he cried, "P^itent sinner! I am not penitent. It is the fear of eternul damnation that is at work upon my guilty soul ; this is nothing else but a pledge and fore- taste of the misery of the damned. Eternal fire! eternal fire! who can dwell with everlasting burnings? My bpdy cannot live, anfl my soul dare not die. O that I had another day ! but this vrould be of no "lie; I must perish, and reconcile myself to my lot as I can ; I ai* dying I I asi dying ! " A second attempt %■ ■/ «1 INFIDELITY AND FAITH CONTRASTED. 323 was made to turn liis despairing conscience to the cro&s, which he heard with more than usual patience.' When the inditridual ceased, he became very restless, and at last shrieked fearfully, crying, " See ! see ! do you' not see them ? They are come for me. I must go to my own place." The horror or his counte- nance was infernal. His last words were, " Damn3d, damned, forever oamned ! " You say, " Christianity is a fable; "have you ever read of ony.faithful believer dying thus ? Surely were it for rothing else than to avoid the terrors of a dealh-bed, the comfortlooi and dangerous system of infidelity should be abandotied. *' ')l' w » ; •■■ ■ 1 ... ■' . I 1 •1™ ■ '*'"^ft<;i ^^ Jxa H -■' 111 .■;l:^'j iinl ■:k ' a \ --s*; f \J^' ■■ ■ i' V I «■ . CHAPTER Xm. INFEDELS NOT SINCERE, My persuasion is deepened, as I become acquainted with infidels, that there are f€?w of them honest in the sentiments they pretend to entertain. A wicked course of life necessitates most infidels to espouse and contend for such principles. The following is a correct illustration of your poskion, as well as of many others: Two gentlemen, infidels, often held free conver. sation before an illiterate countryman. One of them was after- wards converted to God. Fearing that injury had been done to the poor man, he, on a proper occasion, expressed a concern on the subject in his presence, and inquired wheOier their opinions had left any bad impression upon his mmd. " By no means," said the peasant, "it never had any -eflect upon me." "But yoia must have knqwn that we kne^jf more than you ; having better oppo^unities both for reading and thinking." •"Yes," he rejoined, "but I was ^ware of your manner of living. I knew that, to maintain such a course of conduct, you found it necessary to renounce Chrfstianity." ' , ' . _ Were it not for this, no rational mind could find anything charming in infidelity.* It denies everything, but what does it affirm i and what but a vicious niind could find pleasure in a •ystem of negatives ? There is not a moral light under heaven that it does notattempt to extinguish. :* If successful in blo\^ing it out* nothing but a blank is offered instead, and a fatal n^es- ;i fity of stumbling onward inW deepen dai;|£ness^ " If your system^ be true," said one to an infidel, "yoil have a bleak and comlbrt- ■ less, lot J biit if false, forever miserable is your fate, because you are making no preparation for it.'» , ■ . ,'" , It i| easy and pleasant to reason with a miri4 sincerely search- ing ibrAl^>«id wiUiiig to abide by it whan found. Bat it ii V ted with sntiments cessitfites es. The veil as of e convex was after- n done to mcern on ' opinions [) means," ." "But t ; having •"Yes," living. I a found it anything lat does it asure in a er heaven n bloy^ing ital lilies- >ur system i comfort- cfluse you niFIDBLS NOT gWCERB. 325 i difficnit affair to break d>wn a conscience embarrassed in ito operations by passions enslaved to vice. ■ / " Against experience he belieTei, Argues against demonstration ; Pleased when his reason'he deceive!, And sets hisjudgmeat by his pa« That man can act against the truth he knows." The hell awaiting you isi terrible, if you pereevere n your pveaent wicked in^ inconsistent couurse.. 1'- " ■\ li tw those ic nothing, unable t angry V please), what it ♦ "Sev< f|ot belie Quite "The With « Witl to say n( That "Ine Then "The V ple8(?)I trouble." So di< whole, da •tick. ■ "ByT them?" 1 shatt large pai prove thi tthreawi ^, ■^-- h f- M - -■,'■ y X baiDor o( se scenieife seless for BCtS. r. h|tbit^ to >u a little, no more al causes iful senti* ) n your '1 , /' ■ f ^CHAPTER XIV. . INFIDEL OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. *» two Kspeits, I perceive, the infidels in Eui^ tesemble those in America : 1st. Rejecting everything. 2nd. Affirming nothing.' You consider Christianity false, but you seem quite > unable to give us anything better. Why, then, sliould you be angry with " the Christians," ignorant or intelligent (as you please), if they are tenacious of what they have, till they know what it is they are going to receive in exchange ? ♦ "Several of the doctrines of Christianity," jgpu say, "I ctn* ||ot believe." _ • . ; Quite likely. Why not? ; ^ "They are inconsistent." • - v With what? ' « With reason ; I cannot comprehend them, and I will yentoie tosay no mancan!" . « That is not unlikely. J "I never will believe what I do not understand." Then you will never become a philosopher. "The following are my arguments in support of the princi- ples (?) I have 'advanced ; ihey have cost me much pains and trouble." „ I So did a broomstick the Dutch painter; ibr he spent ihi«>e whole days in painting one, and aftej? all it was only a brooms •tick.: -V^^>-V-'.-: /■-:,,,■■,-■./■:, y ■■:■■■ ■ )v.. ■/ ■- - "By wha^mode of reasoning would you undertake to lefutd them?"-;; ;■. ■; - ■ ^ ..^..-^y. ■ v:-' ■"^'V- '■:.'■.,■ ':" ■■v;^\-; I shall an s w e r you as a lady did one of you r b r ethren. — Iha. large party, he had been repeating a number of absurdities to prove that men had no souls. The cOmpafty cohtented them- L^ ithm with stanng at him, kutead of " aiuwexiiig the fool aeeoid 328 BBVIYAL MI3CELLANIES. t: ing ti) his folly." Addressing a lady, he asked^ with an air of triumph, what she thought of his arguments. She replied, •• It »ppeoTS to me, sir, you have been employing a good deal of talent to prove yourself a beast! " , < You go on, " I know I am a sinner, nor is it likely I shall die anything else, according to Bible notions ; but* I object to dn eternity of punishment for a class of sins committed by a^finito l^ing. Infinite for finite is too/much." But is it fitting that you should dfecide upon the penalty, your- self being the transgressor, and God the injured piar(y? .Sup- pose th» courts of justice in these kinfi«doms should let every criminal determine the degree of punishment he should suffer; would there be any adequate penalty in the lan^? Such deci- •ions'come from a Higher quarter. Thus the majesty of the law 18 upheld, and human rights secured. Most capitaLcritoes are committ^ in a few minutes; yet for these the wisest law-given •f all ages and nations have inflicted the punishment o^ dealt or privation of liberty to the end of natural life. 3^hy no* attempt a reformation in the' civil law ? If your principles arc right, all governments, divine and human, are wrong. If there be a God in heaven, and this earth belongs to him, he governs it. If the creatures upon it are accountable, he has given them laws as a rule of conduct. Sin is a transgression of that law, and a penalty is attached to its violation. Pardon is offered during natunl life^ on the conditions of repentance, and faith in the(atonen»e U. Here is mercy, which reaches every sinner's - case. Who can object to this ? The soul is eternal in its exist- ence, and therefore cannot die with the body. The monarch ol haaven and earth has decreed the penalty of " eternal punish- ment" upon every soul thAt leave^ the body in a state of sin. He who wan receive this doctrine of revelation, let him do so, and live accordingly ; but whosoever cannot, let him prepare to abide the consequences in eternity. Are you able to set limits to the hcinousness of sin perpetrated against the laws of an infinite God? If sin merit punishment for a moment, are you fure it demands it not through eternity ? But you will inquire, * Upor what jffinciple ? ** On that of its continuance* A sin* '''>■/ ■■■ A air of ied, ••!! deal of ■■< ■. shall die :t to dn r a^finito ty, your- ? .Sup. let every 1 suflfer; ich deci- f the law iidxes are iw-given 0^ deatt'. VVhy no* :iples arc If there I govcmt ^en them that law, is offered I faith in r sinner's its exist* )narch ol 1 punish* » of sin. im do so, prepare to set limits Lws of an , are you 1 inquire, * Asin- ■#v ^FIDBI dlirBCTIONS ANSWERED. 829 ner dy ihg a sinnar, Continues on through etetnity. If he remaini a sinner always, shaU not . the penalty coexist wi.h the crime? The torments of hell cj^n no more put an end to the soul's sin- ning, than'a pump in a river could dmin it dry. It may throw out some water, but the soWce is exhaustless— the river remains. The argument, therefore^ atands thus: •'^Endless sin creates a never-ending hell; a puni^ment, one would think, quite suf- ^ierit to warn you away ftom an 'experiment' that may be everlasting." ; — 1" — rfr -*-.— - —^ — - — "I cannot believethere is a hell; who, alive, has ever seen it?** . ■ ,. , .:; . !■ .^ - This is a very foolisli' objection, but it is not original. An old American sinneB, usedr nearly the same words; but his little grandchild, hanging o^his knee, looking up in his face, said, " But you have never been dead yet, grandfather ! " You go on, " I onde had those horrible ftelings about my soul - which you describe^in your declamations, but since the adoption 'if my present views I have been quite easy." To this I reply : Some years ago a Soci'nian was travelling in Wales, and, meeting with an unlearned Welshman, broached his Christ-degr^ding doctrines, affirming that Christ was a mere man, and Kis blood of no more value than that of any other human being. The peasant, gazing steadfastly in his face, said, " Sir, what did that opinion -cost you ? I 'II tell you. 11 cost you many a hard battle ! Long have you fought hard con- tests with your own conscience, a\d in many engagements have been overcome. You have at len^th-«r triumphed over youi foe, that you have become' the dupe of your own imposition." Is this not applicable to you, s;r ? I wish it would affect you a» it did the Bocujian, who confessed that he never had a blow oiual to tha't fjife the Welsh peasant. *. But let us proceed. "I attended closely to the operations ot my own mind. I philosophized upon the subject thus : < I have^^ srepped a l i ttle out of th fe b e aten track of th e olog y , and my hor- rors have subsided. This is the result of entertaming views of God different from those taught by men who hare been earning - their bread at the^jcpenw of 017 happineM. fiat 1 ban mj Bil'.i i ■Mi 330 /^.^ BEVIVAL MI8CELLANIK8. \ doabU upon other points of tho Bible. If ft silght deviation frcm popular opi'n'iona has relieved my mind so much, why not throw the remainder overboard ? ' I tried to do so, and at length suc- ceeded. I became confident, or • wicked,' as you would say, in proportion tc my quiet, and all uneasiness has long since departed." ' • • Yes and the course you have pursued may prove quite as fatal to your soul as the following to the life of a young woman in oi|e of the States of America. The treatment dispensed to your poor soul is so similar to the dreadful experiment practised upon her, thai I think it worth the trduble of writing, although it may hr.ve no serious effect upon your minow She wu taken ill ; so much so, that a phy^sician was sent for. After a careful consideration of her case, he prepared two classes of powders, carefully folded and labelled. One of them was a preparation of opium, and the other a nauseating powder. When she tooklhe former, she became quite easy ; but the latter made her very restless. A convention of the women of the neighbor- hood was called, and one of them addressed her neighbors thus. " You see how it is ; the doctor musi have a living, and have it by his trade, too. One kind of powder makes her better, — the other worse; if he gave her only /the bad. kind, you see, he would soon kill her; and the good would speedily cure her; so that in either case he would have a' small bill. This is why he gives two kinds. N6w, let us act according ^o common sense, in disregard of the doctor's orders, whose interlest it is to keep her ttill an invalid. Let us give her bnly the good powders." The proposition wns well received, with an amendment, by EL8.. Aj73(tri, some years ago, when commenting upon the con- eiudmir article of the infidel's creed, •• I believe in all unbelief," . remarkod, that it might have beefT better expressed ttius- "I believe in all absurdity, that I may justify my unbelief In the Scriptures." Your ingenuity reminds me of. the sentiment of another :•»' If a man will l,ring me arguments against the Bible. 1 will thank hiin ; if not, I shall invent them." If you are satisfied with, your principle*, why Such anxiety to liscuss thejn ? Surely you cannot imagine I should become a Mter man by believing as y^udo-; nor can I well conoeivkhow you could suppose that my soulVould, improve the safety of its condition, by adopting your opinions, /in no way^could they be essential to roy happiness, unless a coUletq change should takif- pjice m the honesty of my mind, and^in the character of my aorals. I feel perfectly willing to walk inthe paths of right- 3ousnes8. There is nothing in sin desirable. Wbuld it«ot. then^ quite foolish in me to throw up my hopes of immortality, which iflake me cheerful and happy ? Na^, it would be mad- nes. to jeopardize my?oul„for nought; post to hell without excuse ; and jlace myself under the possible necessity of being daigned. pis not to %e wondered that moles and bats love theii d*r|c receptac fes, and bate the light and the siin. It is their -^ nature to do so. Bvitisnhis' a good reason why the innocent ' and happy birds of heaven should hate the suh and his beams, "^ and forsake t h e cheerful atmosph e r e to bur r o w in the earth, or flap their little wings amidst cobwebs and darkness! ^ i^gentl?man in America, who had escaped from this snare of toe devil, remarked to me. one day* « Two things n^y be said 332 RKVIVAL MIMCELLANtBB. of Jnfidcliey : 1. It ia certain we can gain nothing by U; and 2. We may lose eTerythi;jg through it." «* It it not a fact that you have serious misgivings as to the truth of your system ? An anxiety to gain your point in an argument is not agoinst my surmi?e ; in this feeling there may be much of pri4e and selfishness, if not infernal malice. Is it not easy to conceive how^ man may desire a thing to be tme, although at heart he may doubt its truth ? I remember hearing of a case which happened, it was said, not lar from where I had charge of a congregation. An individual, who, by 1 course of sin, had rendered Universalism, or a disbelief of futurj punishment, essential to his happiness, was driving a ydxe of oxen along the highway ; a neighbor of his, coming up behind him, overheard the following^ soliloquy : " I believe tint Universalism (another name for infidelity) is true. I do believe it is true. Yes, I do ; and yet, I would give that yoke of oxen "to be assured of its truth." - You say, " From whence but from the Bible originated tho8#' ttrifes and contradictions of opinion which have distracted Ohristendom ? " . . ! But a writer some years ago insisted that dissensions in relig- ion flow from nothing else than ignorance of grammar! Would ft be wise in you to assert that the sun is the cause of all the wickedness and misery perpetrated beneath his beams, because he aflbrds men light to work out the disorders of their nature, while he renders their infamous condjict visible ? Is there a man in theae kingdoms who would agree with you in saying that vVe should be better off Jithout the sun ;' therefore, let him be blotted out of the heavens ^together ? If an individual miss his way in «» broad day-light," is it likely he could succeed any better amidst the darkness of night? Ancient and modem paganism have long since answered tliis question. Petmit me to inquire from what quarter the dissensions of infidelity have arisen, —I have never yet foiind two of your writers agreed. Each has a ■ystem of hij? own, widely different from all the rest. Christians differ, il is true, upon some minor points; but they perfectly «gfee in all the • Meniial doctrines of Christianity. Tojfou "Thej I wondf «« I hav( Pp)babl I prssume ipon yom from the similar ei long reno .parts, vfw mourning greatly efl was takei were emp request, tl religion of document letter retu another, (^i "These t^ the tomb.' other in i irresistible I did not convlctioni I wept, an You sa without a Accejrt m Amerki as hfris •!ofttobel A THB AlCXIITT OF INTIDILfl. 335 To your otliei objections againat the Bible, I sball let a poet i^)ly: " What noM can prate a forgery, may b« trr« | What nona but bad men wish axplodad, muM • »■ '■ ■■,. ■ ■ • . . " The greater part of professors of religion are hypocntes." I wonder you have not branded* them all. ^ »^, " I have seen none that I could trust, — nerer." -^-^ — — -^- Pp)bably not. Your father and mother were not Christiaiu|i> I presume ; if they were, what a sad impression have they left ipon yo4ff mind ! Perhaps you had forgotten- //i«m. A message from the death-bed of either might aflfect you as much as 'a similar event impressed one quite as ba4 as yourself He had hng renounced .Christianity, and, while wandering in foreign .parts, was the victim of infidelity. His pious mother was mourning and praying for her deluded son. Her last days were greatly embittered by reflecting on his dangerous errora. 9ho was taken with sickness unto death, but hcrr dying moments were employed in repeating his name, and dictating h^r last request, that he Wbuld abandon bis infidelity, and return to the religion of his Saviour. After her death, hin sister, to whom the document had been '« nimitted, forwarded it to her brother. TfaiQ letter reached h i ' :;"rM the se,as; and shortly after that another, containing • v«v ii'ews of t^e death of that lovely sister. "These two voices ca^e upon me," he sai4, "as it w^re from the tomb." One death seemed to be the interpretation of the other in such a way as to atrike him with a force that was irresistible. But hear his own words : '*Jt^ became a Christian. I did not yield, iallow, to supematuria illuminations ; but ray convictions of the truth of Christuinity sprang from the hejut^ I wept, and I believed." ■ ; - -^^ ' " You say, "I never look down upon one of your Christians without a feeling of contempt . mi ■ ■■■Vw n Acce]^ die reply I heard a good nan give to a similar.hravado in America : " Lodk dowii upon a Christian ! were you to look as Ijifr as hell, you could not see a Christian. .Ycu must ^ook t!oft to behold him : he k abovt 700.** ' . '.. 1: ,.. t-.- 884 BKVITAt MISCELLANIES. ..\ ** I have not, it is true, associated much with those who have made my great pretensions to religion.^" ^ i I thought so ; and I doubt whether you have ever been undei circumstances to test, the honesty and piety of a real Christian. ''VBut, I have been an observer of the great mass of your good CKristians." Nomiiud Protestants; ^lat I presume youvdo not know the difference : you are not careful about nice distinctions between nominal and rieal Christians. -^ " Appearances or pretensions tp religion vl^ys put me on my guard. The garb of Christianity is generally put on for the sake of advantage, < — to cover some dark and viUanous design. Were I a lonely traveller, I should be suspicious 6f the stranger whose mouth was full, of Scripture. A sudden acquaintance with one maintaining silence upon such subjects would not so much alarm me.'V # Sir, I cannot follow you through all your dark insinuations. The last few sentences confirm your own adnussion, thal^ou have never associated much with Christians. They tend, also, to confirm my assertion, that you have never bt^n. placed in cir- cumstances adapted to prove to you which you„ would prefer,— a man "whose mouth was filled with ^orpture," or one who maintained a sul^Ien silence upon suci.,' "'i* "^ctr If you have not had experience upon .such matters, it i.. ...>,)ed you will profit by that of oqe of .your brethren in America. The circumstance was not without its effect, when made known to the public. Two men, be.onging^o one of the States of New England, were travellii;g together into the "western country, on business. " Ofle was an Jnfidel, the other a Christian. The sceptic on almost every o^asion intruded his injurious opinions; aa if to prove , himself the very character described by the poef : "^ T '«^The sprtghtlleHn ^ , .- , . Fires off the next idea in his way ; The dry fag-ends of every obvious doubt, " — ~^ JinA puffs and blows for fear they should go out } — Boldly rejplved, against conviction steeled, Nor inward truth nor qu ward fact to yield; When so — to den erites; a " pany of < ' when the They t . their situ otiiir pro to the in persons, t forest. V flighted, comfortle: preposses! the famil welcome, thought, ' off our gu and blood, travellers was great last night lessen the appartmer weapons watcd, an( iis possible at*' supper, requested said that tmued it i lest, in on itnpgenl who have een undei hristian. jrour good know the J between me on my h for the OS design. i stranger uaintance lid Dot so inuatiohs. , thal^ou id, also, to ed in cir- prefer, — one who I have not I profit by ;umstance ilic. Two md, were ess. ^- Ofle on almost to pyove \ * TH^ ANZISTT OF INFIDU^. Urged with a thouwnd proofs, he stands unucVed, Past by hiniself, and scorns to be out-proved ; To his own reason loydly he appeals, No saint more zealous for what GJod reveals " 835 Wheii sorely preasedi he had still one resource always at hand, —to denounce religion as an impostuie, and professors as hypo! crites; asserting that he felt "particularly exposed in the com/ pany of Christians, and took especial care of horse and purstf ' when 4he saints' were around" him. ^ They travelled westward; for into the wiilderness. One night their situation Was^ very trying; and, for a time, they had no otuM prospect than toride on till morning, or sit down, exposed to %e inclemency of the weather. Having money about their - persons, they dreadH robbers more than the wild beasts of the forest. Riding onward, they discovered a poor little hut; flighted, went in, and looked around. The house was -as comfortless within as without; and the inmates were not at all prepossessing. An elderly man, his wife and two sons, were the family; hard^, rough, and sunburnt. Although made welcome, they were suspicious. « These coarse people," tht y thought, « seem kind, but this may he to deceive us, and put us off our guard. The place ii lonely; just fit for scenes of robbery and blood, and no help at hand, in case of extremity." GUI' travellers communicated their feah to each other. The sceptic was greatly acitated, and expressed fears that this might be the last night of ffieir existence. Aware that to proceed would not lessen the danger, they agreed thus between themselves : "An appartment has beep offered us ; we shall secure the door, have weajwns of defence reaHy, one shall sleep whHe thtf other keepa watcH, and, inpase of extremity, we will sell our lives as dearly •as possible." Having settled their plans, they joihed the feiiUly at supper, after which they proposed to retire. The old man requested them to wait a little, * * # and after a short pause «id that It had been his practice in better days, and he con- tinned it still; to call hi s fa m i l y together b e fore th e y r e tir e d to iwt, m order to cominend them to God in prayer ; and, iJT the ■^'^^'J^Jwd no objections, he should attend to it before they 896 I BKTITAL MlffCELLANIBS. ■epiiTated. The .Christian rejoiced to find a brother i:i the wilderness, and the sceptic could not well conceal his satjsfaction with the proposal. The family Bible was brought forward, and no dust, had gathered upon its lids, although age had set its mark upon it. The old man selected a passage for the night, read it reverently, after which, they all prostrat»d themselves before God, when the aged man's voice was raised in eam^ •application for divine protection. ' ■-.*■■ ~ ^ «« When iuch a man, familiar with ihe skies, _ i Has filled his urn where these pure waters rise. And once more mingles with us meaner things, »T is even as though an angel shook his wings, — ,^ The balmy influence is diffused around, And tells us whete his treasures may be found;»» - He was evidently a man of prayer, and it was quite as plain that his was a cottage where prayer was wont to be made. The travellers were not forgotten. He prayed that they might be preserved on their journey, and at the close of life's journey they might have an eternal home in heaven. After prayer they retired, and, according to previous arrangement, the infidel was to. take the firet watch; but, instead of priming his pistols, and bracing his nerves for an attack, he was for wrapping himself in his great coat and blanket, as quietly as if he had never thought of danger. His friend reminded him of their dismal apprehen: sions, and inquired how he had come so suddenly to lose thein. - The infidel felt the force of the question, and of all that it implied. ^He frankly acknowledged the cause,— that he felt hinjself as safe as at a Ne\* England fireside, and should do so in any house o forest where the ^ible w^s read as that old man read it, and prayer oflfered up as the old man prayed: Now, my dear sir, unti you are placed under simiktr circumstances, or until you ca explain satisfactorily to yoiirself how such a change could take place In ?'• r ia the tisfaction raid, and id set it» he night, lemselves a earnest i as plain ide. The might be iracy they ayer they afidel was istols, and himself in 31 thought apprehen-; lose them, it implied, self as safe y. house o >ad it, and ir sir, unti 11 -you ca could take ;knowledg' [e, I cannot ons agaimt CHAPTER XVI, "" INFIDEL PEFENCEQ DEMOLISHED L»nDELS of the present day are greatly at# loss for some original rigorous spirit,— one who coiild skim off the old discol- cred froth, and dive deeper than his predecessors into the stag- nant pool, in order to raise a new scum, wherewith to bespatter everything that looks like religion. "I never gathered from infidel writers, when an infidel •myself," said a good man, "any solid difficulties, which were not brought to my mind by a very young child of my own." « Why was sin permitted ? What an insignificant world is this, to be redeemed by the incarnation and death of the Son of God Who can believe that so few will be saved ?" Time will not allow me to go through the whole of ypw "negativing sentimentalism." Seldom have I seen a production 80 illustrative of the sentiment of a modem writer: "One false principle will lead to a hundred false conclusions.'* Were it not that I know you were not in the world when the follow- ing was written, I^should incline to believe you had helped tl>e poet to the idea : '•As rlTera, though they bend and twine, Still to the sea their course incline^ Or, as philosophers, who find * Some faTorite system to their mind, '. In every point to make it fit, Will ibroe all nature to submit." ' I shall, therefore, beg to be excused from "entering the liate* ■gaihst fancies so ridiculous. There are, however, other senti. ments wort h y of a pa ss ing r e mark. "If all the w orld "weie^ b. fiee-thmkers,— that is, free from the trammels of religion, and the I«ejudices of an education peculiar to itself."-- -i^i Atnf %■ >■;.■ ■XW'' "■*■ .>*■' 338 BKVIVAL MISCteLtlNUte. "We should have quitd a different world frorairlijit At haV^ now." ."■... V- .;.*'■■>•;, v.;' V „■-■ ■■■ ^'- '/:.■■■■■'.-■' '' •\-'.l-'^ ^There is not a doubt of, it. Suppose we call up Fnjtice.^iih^ her witnesses. The experi*nent was tried theie; she had a revolution in favor of infidelity ; but it clothed her ii.'Sackcloth, and irenched hei* in tears and blood. The civilized \YorId stood ■ghast: Anarchy and cruelty, 'assassinations and wholesale murders, were the order of the d«ty, {• It turned," says a writer, "the hand of every man against his neighbor, sparing no age, j^or sex!!;.nor fenk,' till, satiated with the ruiti of greatness, , the distresses of innocence, and the tears of beauty, it,, terminated Its <^ree^ ill thAosI unrelenting' desj^tism." Infidelity had its ' r^ign ; —•thank Qod, it.was short, and -confined to that unfortu- nate country.- It \Vai sufficiently long to allow ^^einfiuitfe God to burn a mighty lesson into the heart of Jthougl>tles§ JFrance,'^ never to b^ forgotten ; long 'enough to- set its bloody type iipon e jwige .of histbry. All civilized nations were compelled to' denominate it " The JREiGif of Terroe !" deprecating its. return in one Universal voice: *^0! never, while time rolls onward toward etefnity, let us again see the crowded prisons, the„ head- less trunks, the spouting life-blood, the. jnaniacfeatures^^ of |i jcevolutionin fii^ror of iSidelity 1" • ^ '■''■ P- You stumble oh: *fi see nothmg to hinder men from bei?^ upright arid honest, who are infidels in principle." '■.■^■ButXdo...'-.-.^/A ■.■:"■:.-■"•■ >• ■ v^ -'■■;■■;■);•: '--■'^. ^ / ■ •. ••Why should th^y nott; Pray, tell me what is there in iafi- delity so pernicious- to sound morals ?" * * / ; ^ • lask you, \v return, what one* principle of infidcjlity cian you point out^ that has not a direct tendency to foster^mmorajity? What law, w at threatening, what ojbligation, or penalty of Christianity, coes not infidelity attempt to repel? But take these away, and what rampart is left to withstand the oyerflpte-* ings of wickedness ? Has not infidelity renounced every safe* guard thrown around I ife,. property, chastit^s and c,haracter, by ChristianitylS A-nd what is offer e 4 to the family of man, in 1. Quite li vetum ? Can you point me to a single principle of infidelityi not inv< infidels, . , Unde' ifiimoral ' aipund •sound effects to brethren ' from the ha$i been 'Infid I neve ' •♦^hei > ^ ' ' ' fiety afea . You 1 tdbile Jroi jfust thee avowed i ac^uaintc the most . found am in0dels? ''. noticing i wildest fa selves' xup character wnritinffs c ansettled ■ ibove cha "Your + H INFIOKl' defences DEMOLIbHED: 889 not involved a ; . Und^fetiind me; I do not say tkat All infidels ate glaringly ' inimoral, though most of them aifefand you krtow^it Look abound ybur circle, and give an honest reply. To ^ttnbjlte f= sound moral? '.' to infidelity^is asunpfiilosophkral as to impute effects to causet which nevei: can produce them. Some' olf your brethren, I allow, ~ ai^d it is a, stretch of charity,— may spurn from them all that is mean" and jdi^honorable. If so, the practice ha^ been derived from prlnci^ies which* ibfidenQr. ridicules. ' ' Infidels are willing 0;thinki and fet think." I never yet l^yRvefouwi one bflhat sort* ! '♦•They are mtionai; mm mfen. Th^ ll^ve uon^ of that fiety jeal an4 8tulJboi;h bigdlry of thr €{hris< " J^ **f^e»th^ lost ydW 'senses, or yoa mean one thing- t,1iileJrou.^xqjBS» another:. . Ytiu m^st know that the facta are ; f St the contrary. But one, who jwas once of yodrparty,— an avowed ii^cfel,^ thought 4iflferently>oV you. He'^as well ac^uamted with Jn^el wrifera of all kinds, Und especially with the most literary^of the tr/be, The folidw|ng testimony was . found among, bi^>pers, after death: "What sort of men. are infidels ? They are l^ose, fierce,, overbearing^ men. Thei^ is . nolHmg in them like? sobrr, serious inquiry; They are the wildest fanatics upon eattL. nor have they agreed among them- selves .upon any schem^f t|ruth and felicity. Contlrist^ the character of inlfidek witHfhat of real Christians." Let the ivrump^of infidels, and the hard siyings, wild imaginings, and onsettled notions, ^f your jicquaintance, bear witness to ^e Above charge. ; > • v'f ' ;/ "Ybur/Bible c^lls^itself ulamp% ou^feet,and a^^I^^^ ^r pith.' But fidir .what purpose has the Ifghl of nature.b^n Kiven u^? By t^is I mear^e light of reason. IJbis, |t k inie/is butlikejnoonlight,'S5i,y it We caii see aJlwe^vEnt to see.** *■■■■■■•; * :': ' ■■ ' ' J.': At hafb nce,^iih^ le had a sackcloth, >rld stood wholesale a writer, g no age, ness, , the ;rminated " ty hi|d its ' I unfortu- iuitb God jl JFrance,' type iipon ipelled to' ife. return s onward the head- ures^of a om beir.g ire in h&- y cian you morajity ? enalty of But take oyerflptf'* I very safe- . »racter,by >f. mao,in |, Quite lik e ly. infideli^i \ "And jC what use is a lamp in moonlight ? J' /* Tiyif 5rou cannot gather a reply out o^thte following ind^ ■■y^; ••*..■ ),»••• M^- •^ J*. I' 840 BBTIVAL MISCBUANIBI. *-:i dent I shall iusist you by a hint or two in bracl^Qts. Some years ago, a gentleman aiccustonled to walk the streets of Phila-. ielphia, U. S., brought a charg^ against the corporation of that city. It 'appea|8 that economic body regulated their gas by the almanac and moon. [Reason, or the light of nature.] When the almanac said " there is a moon," they did not light up. The complainant, returning home one night, had a stumblhig" time, jeoparding neck and limh. The moon was where ^he ought to be, but muffled up in thick clouds, and he had to pick his way by flashes of lightning. [Gleams of light from eternity upon the conscience, — -flashes pf terror fropti the violated law ,of God.] Getting into a better temper, as he proceeded with his complaints, he advised, that as moonlight or lightning was such a species of celestial dependence, as not to suit our terrestrial circumstances, better, rather than run the risk of breaking offt necks [stumbling into hell], to keep the lamps lighted hereafter, [the Bible], whether we have moonlight [the light of reason] or not. Do you understand me ? |- You proceed, "ipfijifis should be men of integrity, as much 80 as any class of men in the world*JU * '' Yes, but are they so ? S)iould I not father inquire whethe vou are in your right mind ? Is it possible you can be eniirely urnorant of the facts of the case? What is there, I ask again, in your system, calculated to make and keep 'them such? ■ .,- .'■/■•■ ■ .- -. ,. -^ .;/V'- :• .■ KThey are free-thinkers and free-speakers, and what are they the worse for that ? " Why did you not fidd free^oers ? Perhaps y6u have read the following, as it has been published to the world; but facts will bear repeating, t A certain gentleman, whose name and place of abode I need not mention, as they are not necessary to the moral of the story, was a great free thinker, &nd & free tpeaker, too, of his free thqughts. Being an infidel of the first i t'lank, he made no scrUple to disseminate his sceptical opinions w he r eve r he could introduce them. — W e ll, his fre e thoughts, — with those of his lady, were so freely and frequently diacussed, that the servar.'^ became quite as able disputants as the heads of the { the sen for any , accdtfnt as he cc profit as upon hii which h whateVe ments p back wit Wy. ^y li and wou for his 1 ' ofte,werful conviction of the risk of such, or more dan '^en they had d.»*aredfron. the riom. he apologized 1^ When «, ihfidd •'MtBeopiniwof to American statestk ' iX.^^^ '"*'"• ^""■" What a horrible whemi to »eqMre such precaution. ! There i, no iecessfty for ,nythin« « the bud, with the i»li«,„, »«• .i.. i>!i.i: ^r. ' "nymmg religion of th e .Bibl e . Who can deny im.. ..J ^~, . a — -. ui » ,mui e . — W HO can deny it. Vm and m.„l tendency I Perhaps you have never rend thrt ..^^ :«■ 3|a ,,■ ■ BiTiTAL MisciLtAiriii. ■• hirngxrwl^: 8., surely, -ir. y.u »«> not un.cqa.m.ed ^th th. l«,nendo«» doctrine, which call for such .pun. and devated mommy. But could we expect k lower .tandard than the .bote, if we are tolook for any harmony between prmcpk. Ind pntctice J Take a>v.y a single item from the above oata- Z.e of moral virtue., and a defection from Christian pnnc.. pi!, glaring and Inconsistent will immediately appear. Wh„ but the dread «mcti.n. of the d»™''7 ^^ e«V.y life? A course of conduct this, which must be .»™«7rf by men. and also by a holy God. «ho -"ch^'" *e.- Zl I shall not further contrast infidelity with. Chr«,.a„iy. I^ould be a loss of time t., com[»re night with day, or winter % summer, g«rely to show th.t there ..a vast difference .between them.* , , i There is an abundance of sophistry in what yoah.ve advanced «.i„st the resurrection and day of judgment. P^^'P' y";* "" „« aware that, centuries since, the same ideas were recorded ,n .Jewish Talmud, of which the following is thSsutetance. A crafty manendiaJored to perplex a rabbi, thus =The day of Hg- roentiromes. aM the soul and body appear before the greattri. ■ ^nkl/ The Siipieme Judge is about to pronounce sentence „p.;„ both, for sins committed in time. But the ^^>^^^ ^ry . d«.h; it ha. been flying like a bird through^ the air vntta sinning is formerly. -The body charges past «" upon hj sou^ ,„ the ground that, since the bonds were broken whrch led Aem r \^-,, had slept quiedy in the earth. -^■ft';f;:':^';ig ^^.^ 4^-.;eh.eles. as. stone. .. Tto i ^M," .-d the .^h»t , M r^n^Me thafboth soul and b»^ may free themselves from pun- — ^j^ment on that resorted tc f-uit, and bkind man eat a little they enteri man/gettii fruit, and 1 inquired fo and chargi he had no roan said 1 king, knov irount on tsned then put the s( together." Forget among tbo shall arise great day» holy Scrip not must a You pel a poor nioj But if; inspiration sophistical your soul i the d^yil lS;2;Jol Th« labbv in order to^show the. feUacy of auch tetEonins A very The;feUt f- ■ ji« fl - '■.' ..--* -It ttmtL DKPENOBS DVMOLIfflBD. 343 tesorted to a parable: A certain king had a garden of ripe f'uit, and appointed two nien to watch it. One' of them was a bkind man, and the o^her laine. Having a desire, not only to cat a little fru't, but to gather much and share it between them, they entered Into a partnership in the business. So the lame^ man,'getting on the shoulders bf him who was blind, plucked thd fruit, and both partook of it: After a time, the owner came, and inquired for his fruit. - The watc^en vtBte called to an account, and charges were brought against- thenq|^ The blind man said he had no eyes, and therefore could'^not see the fruit; the lame man said he l.ad no ieet, and therefore could not reach it. The * king, knowing the gutlt of the parties, ordered the lame man to irount on the shoulders of the blind man, and judged and pun- isned them both at qnce. "Thus," said the rabbi, "God will put the soul into the body, and judge and punish them both together." . '■■- "''^■^'h.r ."'■;:■; ■-'■''"■# Forget not, dear sir, that the proceedings of that day stanJr among those things whit^h have been revealed* That the body shall arise from the grav e^and be reoccupied by the soul on that great day, and Doth pun isned together, is clearly sfiettled in the holy Scriptures. He, who can receive it, let him; he that can- not must answer to the God of the Bible. -» , ° ' You perceive how flimsy are your argi^nftents, now, even \fhen a poor mortal like myself touches them : >» 9 • - ■.'■■■■ ■■■' ■■• V PraU &!< tho gossaioer, whose fibres span From shrub to shrib ; which lightest zephyrs fao ' . w^ ■ :" Away, away— - — V\ ,_ - .^ But if, on a future day, God shall acknowledge the- divine inspiration of that bodk which you affect t*» despise; all your sophistical cobwebs must be swept away. Aloae ? No! but' your soul must go down with them into that fire '* prepared for the devil and his angels." Please read, at your leisure, Dan lSt2; Johh6; 2S-^-29, Rev. 20; 11—13. / ^_ A very short reply will 3,0 for your conchiding sentiments The;Mx>wing ep'taph, written by a witty mian, for tht tomb* II If;' »^ sJ J-i!'''' W ' 344 BBVnrAL MISCtLLANIKS* t I. ■I rtoM of one of ywr MlSen/I would nK»n»inend for yott»* wlnil your body is bid in the duat « .. . i< Hart Um a dicar, lonr In doaht J If death could kill hU soul or not I ^ BtN ends hit doubtfiilncM, at iMt qe«fl»o«i, but, oS, tlvedlaliCMll" . ^ ■1 .^■ . * • Ai: thi COUTSe 3f 1. not say bU( but the "; tory. Bui do with in ter answer to yourself to a friend The ingen spurious fi and, I thir tempers mi and advise likely to b< standing, r pci^tion by a vegetable is, then, ns good. An forbid!." " Apnihj stand the t its appallin ever nothir extinctioH -%: ■ M--' Eternity ! quite from thug tees :f- % ■; \. % 1. W- {■ ~ CHAPTER XVn, AlTNimLATlON. pci^tion by irreligious opinions. I^he medicinal part of his advice; a vegetable diet, at last cured my dreadful bodily distemper. It is, then, natural to tbinlMhe spiritual part of his advice equally good. And shall I neglectitroecause I am now in health ? God forbid!"- , r.;., ,-: ■:■. ";,. ■■;•-/%.., / ; ■' -^ ■';■■■ -.r^'-. . " Annihilation ! ** But what is that ? Do you properly under- stand the term, think you ? Have you a right conception of tA\ its appalling import? Is it pot to be reduced to nothing, ^ for- neter been ? a deprivation, an utter ' Ai: thitt in hei) th, my fHend? Bad hefiltli, or an improper course 3f l;fe, mustViave impelled you, surely, to espouse, — I shall not say such' principles, for they are not worthy of such a title, -«> but the ** probabilities'* of a blank so fearful, in your future his- tory. But you may be ready to ask, " What has bad health to do with my opiiiions?" I know not that I can give you a bet- « ter answer than in the language of a character somewhat similar to yourself, but just emerging into a happier belief. In a letter^ to a friehd, he says: "I will just speak of another reflectionJP'' The ingenious Dr. C. reckons all gloomy wrfing-headedness, and spurious free-thinking, as so many symptoms of bodily disease! and, I think, says, * The human organs in some nervous di»> tempers may, perhaps, be rendered fit for the actuation of demons,* and advises religion as an excellent remedy. Nor is this un- likely to be my own case ; for a nervous disease, of some years' standing, rose to its height in , and I was attacked in pro- "Mi ,1 11 -€ nothing you exPinctioH of b e ing? a loss of e xistenc e throughout ete r nity? ETERNrry ! Unmeaning toord ! you Jiave, it seeifiSj discarded it quite from your vocabulary. But do you find it quite so easy a tbing t« expel it from your understanding, or to Ek>t it from yoni •» •»^"- '«.•'' 840 1..:: IIVIYAL MISCtLliNtii; !■' • memoTf t I mHll Tontur* %>* a«B«rt, it lives there ■tiH, and bid* defiance to \\\ the ezorcismt of infidelity to Ijiinish it thance} it abides therp still, with a swnse of ell that it in||^Iie8. ^ I am not willing to allow that ** Christian mtKusiasts'' nn the only persons who "are constantly poYittg over eternUyr There are few, perhaps, who think more apout this important term than a certain class of infidels. The difference between them and *-ho«j you call enthusiasU is, the former are neceasw teted to dwell upon the darkest and most terrifying aspect of the question. I think we may rather say : ^ . " Atheiits mrt dark enthutlasiDl, lnd««d, , .--ft. v' WhoM fire enkindles like th« smoking w««d I ■ > |,l|hlIeM and dull the clouded fincy burne, Wild hopee and ftare •till fisihlng out bituws. j , ,^ • ^TMM to heaTen, amid the horrid gleam,^ • . They trace annlhilation'Mnonftrouathemt I. ' On gloomy depths of oothlngneaa to pore, .,/ ■< ♦ Till sll be none, and being be no mow." It is, certainly, a dread alternative for the mind to be in a "State of poise*' between an eternity of misery, or annihUatim You have, it seems, renounced the former, while you retain the latter as the most tolerable of the two. Your predicament quite resembles that of one of your fraternity, some two or three hun- dred years ago, well expressed thus : •• When death's dread form appears, she feartth not . j ■ / An utter quenching; or eztingulshment | She would be glad to meet with puch a lot, > \ That ao she might all future ill prereirt." Annihiiation ! Death s last moment ushers in a blank which » to be everlasting! — ' eternal! " for, although you profess to have excluded from your thoughts an eternity of existence, you do not seem shy of the term when applied to a state of mm- existence. But it expresses your meaning, doubtless, better and more strongly than any other word in our language. 1 wonder, however, why you venture to use it so freely, as you haaird ^ '* being tilted ovet" hy it mto the other side of the qiusstion. Dtpend upon it t^ word is coraagiouss therefore be advised, .i" ' S" „--^, ; I SEt-. K • 847 m, ON it .■pttriQ|jiau- Annihilation ! — Consider ! The lun shall riiNr and set; J|^|MMi«hail present her varied face to. the earth; nature "'k^M^PB ^^^<'' <^<^''" through the seasonajaf countless years 'tWMH|^PtU roll through the heavens^iAd the light- nings fiu^ j(Se}!ce shali continue its march, acllSving its won- deifKiuid triumphing ^lorioOely over all the difHcultieq of maten* lilani i hfstory shall continue its annals, while generation suc- ceeds to generation, as the leaves of the forest ip the revoWing veap Your own particular tircle of friends and acquaintances shall have disappeared from among rnen ; the house in which you live roust be occupied by^ others ; and the trade, if you have one, in which you are Engaged, shall'be " carried on " by strang- ers unknown and unborn Ji |;ities,,now in existence, shall hav^ ceased to exist; their very fit^ be no longer known; while others sbaa lift their shining pinnacles ahd lofty domes in the sunshine. Tke mightiest empires which|^iv throw their ample shades over millions of subject^ shall haWi^ssed away, — their names maf ^ be lost, or dyopped, as apocryphal, fjrbm the pages of history; and other empires, whose names are not yet recorded among the nations of the earth, shall be ,<8waying their sceptres over On- numbered millions : But where shall you be ? I mean, by too, ^ thinkmg^ tTUelligent mind, which, through organs perishahle as the grass of the fi#ld, is perusing this letter, aihd judging of its contents^ Where, what e^all you be? Be! according to your sentiments, you shall hatve 7to being, — extinguished as the "vital spark of heavenly flame," swallowed up and lost in eier- nal oblivion. How can you dwell upon a prospect so bleak and comfortless, without a chilly horror creeping over your frame! "Is annihilation," inquires one, *'so«mall a matter, that a xm^ ■onable man can look upon it Vith complacency ?" , ' -^ ' *' 1 %at mntt ce our cai^ |. To be no more ' ltd care t for who would Jbsei "^ Though full of pain, this ibtellectual being W HI V '♦ 'ft I Those thoughts tha^ wander through etemitj, To perivh rather, swallowed op and lost In the wide womb of uncreated night, Devoid of saiue and motion 7" -^r~— ■-"f- X'i'Ji' ^^TSR" 848 BSTIVAL MISCELLANIES. !./ ■ 1^\ •: Which horn of the following dilemma are you inclined to^ feke ? '"If your system be true, you have a bleak and comfort. less lot; but, if false, forever misemble will.be your fate, because you are making no preparation for it." What reply could you make to the following inquiry and conclusion ? " Who among us could be cheerful while he entertained the thought of, not being at all after death, which must be the atheist's Iqt, il his system be true ; or, of being forever miserable, which will be his case, if his system should be false? On a persow of this cast, it should seem needless to inflict ahy other punishment than that of leaving him to the horrors of his gloomy imagma. tion, till he feel himself to want tho^e joys and'ftomforts of which he hath labored to deprive others," The Sheffield bard has, I think, well described the bleak and lonely feelings associ- ated, at a certain period of human life, with the opinions.alluded to by the above winter. I shall give you the passage to which I refer; requesting. you only to observe how ingeniously he lets in, at the close, a flogd of |eavenly light upon the drooping omd ^ cheerless'mind ; would t^ God it may irradiate yours also I , 'w . «*So I pass. The world growB darker, lonelier, and more silfe!rt> i- *'■ ' As I go down into the vale of ye%rsj - *- , ^Tor the grave's s^ows lengthen in adv&Bce,^ And the grave's loneliness appals my spirit. And the grave's syjuce sinks into my heart, • y Till I forget existence in the thought * 7 Of non-existence, buried for a while - >, Inthe still sepulchre of 1^ own mind, ■ # Itself Impejrafcable: ah nhat word, > Like the archangel'* tqjimpet, wakes me up . To deathless resurrection. Heaven and earth , - ' V, Shall pass *wfty, buf that whicji thinks within me V ;^ |fust think forever ilhat which feels must- feel t • VK-'_ >\. lam, and lean never cease to^be." ^^^.^^ ^ • ■; J -<• , I CANNOT lationa* «o you have r would ask, the existen thinking ^ Kind reason: then, deny notperceiv ployed agai immortality «rho conter by this ver of " an em But he had be incompl there is n( avoiding, of a foci f was good f , "Lore Whi Whc ■Sjj_^,= r An ingei clear and h as distingu original or %^ ^\ ;i ■■"«■ ^,/ -.♦ >■ % ■^ >'■■■; V .Px c .. ■;« ^ r CHAPTER X^^ra. ■ THE SOUL NOT IkfATERIAL. , , I CANNOT now find time to enter "minutely " into all your sf eca'".«(■> i under any giyen form of organization, — cannot Uiink ; that it b equally impossible for matter to derive thought from attenuation ; that is, that minute particles compounded, refined, and extended, even subtilized and etherealized, when thus modified, cpritinuo matter still, and must remain matter ; — it cannot think. He shows, with equal clearness, that thought cannot be the result of »ny chemical proprieties inherent in matter; chemistry never Aaving been able to discover, in any of its processes, that atoms can be made to think. In all experiments of this or any other kind, these particles of matter, in collection, great or small, are still absolutely tW^o/irc; nothing resembling thought having ever been discerned. H^ prpves, also, that those two grand operations of the elem^^of m&ttet.aUractum and repulsum, are equally inefficient in producing the phenomenon of Ihought. Motion 'may opeirate upon matter j" one particle of matter, may .draw or repel another; but neither in the capacity of drawing or being drawn, repelling or being repelled, can we 'find anything - that bears a single resemblance to thought. He argues, most forcibly, that thought cannot be the result of "motioni in the abstract;" that matteu in motion is as destitute of thought as matter at rest ; the same in the cannon-ball, flying at the rate of four hundred* arid twenty mifes an hour, as wheri safely lodged in the chamber of the cannon. Neither can matter be rendered cogitative by adding thoughftoit thought, or con- sciousness, may be joined to, but cannot be inherent in matter. lynay be appended to matter, but it is not, it cannot be, a prop- el^ or attribute of matter. Thought or consciousness, whea added to matter, cannot, by;mny method of Reasoning, be shown to become a property of matter. They may be separated, and yet leave ma^r as perfect as before ; not having deprived matter of one of its essential properties. It is possible you may inquire, "What does the authcf to whom you refer |n§ftn- by » adding to and sej^rating thought fro^ matter'?" I arawer, were he alive, to reply, for hin^llf,! think it likely he wouJ turn your attention to Genesis 2: %- "And tl» Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground." Btra M. lit, matter in its aeijarate partidei, ,"dust of th« ground tion: ^l formed, t les^r, as i perfect si propitiei second ai conscious yet neces into exw life," or, life,spiirii 8. Atde ated froQ originally immortal "^M What To m somethin 'mmateri Be^it reason, \ an imrric whole vi call it i theentir the natu substanc iuperfec remain,! isswallo J ■-. ■'■V^' that it lb nuatioi>; (xtended, CQiltinue nk. He result of ry never lat atoms ,ny other imall, are lit having vo grand repulsion, •Ihought. itter. may rawing or anything- rues, most mi in the bought as \ the rate leri safely matte? be at, or con- m matter, be, a prop- less, wheo be shown irated, and ved mattei authcf to ng thought hinillf,! is 2; 7,- e ground." ust of thi THE BPUL NOT HATEBIAL. .361 ''"-'" ■■■.■■.. ■ m ' ': ■ - ground." but without thought. 2. Matter in a ste te of organiza- tion: ^He FORMED man of the dust of the ground." 3. Thuf formed, Wr modelled into the shape of man, it remained thought les^, as it Vvas nationless. 4 Here yoii behold matter in a perfect state of organiz|^tion ; jperfect as it could be in all its propiities. 6. Thought was 'still wanting. 6. This required a second act of the almighty power of the Creaf or. " Thought and consciousness," though not essential to matter, ais matter, were yet necessary to the perfection of the being he was about to call into ex^nce. 7. " He breathed into his ne^strils the breath. of life," or, a#lhe original has it, " the breath of lives," —r natural life, spiritual life, eternal life,— and " man became a living souL" 8. At deatlj^jtlie soul, which was si^yperadded to inatter, is separ* ated from it, without robbing it of any one single property that originally belonfed to it; hence the origin and nature of an immortal and ynmaterial spirit are inferred. Voi} inquire "^w What is an immaterial spirit? Why call it imijia'g^?" To thi^ {reply: Because it is not material, npt m^^^put something widely di^nct from it. " I can form no idea Van 'mmaterial ^j(rt»tance." • ;, B^it so; butthis is Hie principal reason, perhaps; the pnly reason, why we Employ a negative to express this peculiarly of an immortal soul. It ^ because Ve know of nothing in the whole visible wo^d t6 which we caiti compare the soul, that we call it immaterial It resembles not any knoWn thing within the* entire range of our acquaintance. We ^re, therefore, froni the nature t)f the case, compelled to say, "It is an immaterial substance." The phase is, indeed, an impetfect one. It is an imperfection which ^eems decreed to our present state, and mu9t remain till we know even as also we are known, and iQOital ty is swallowed up of life. ^^ , ' W- ^ ,'4>> -■vt -* CHAPTER XIX. IT OP BAqKSLmKE^. ^ X ..-•■■- » . ...-.'. .-,.; . I ciimot tbmk "of youksad case, dear ^ck8lider,>withMt reeiinring td the folio Ving manful lines ; cadences,, which, if 1 am not mjtaken, will find aXjechoingjresponsein the wild workings of your own. sorrow-stric^l heart: ' '- <* When will pass away from thiir^d histrt ^ The cloud of grief, the tempest p^emorse 7 , When will the wing6d hopes, that panced and iang In joy's melodious atmosphere, return^ To welcome back the gladness of the acM 7 *' I tremble when I realize how dreadfully the infinite^ Go<|l has fulfilled his own declaration in your unhappy soul^." Thine owb wickedness shall correct thee, and thy bacl^slidjngsVhall reprove thee ; know, therefore, and see that. it is an evil thing' and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy Grod, and thatWy fear is' not in thee, saith the Lord God of Hosts." Jler. 2i>J9. Yoti now see, when it is too late, the joy and p&tce yQnlh&^e lost. Wjiat an amount of r^l and solid happines^ hay4 yo)i cast away ! ^ Fi^e^y cast away ! And for what? Let your own hekrt answer. - Is it a secret f Not at illl. The Unlig is known.^ But you startlingly inquire, "What! does any human being knovi^ the letter, bat yourself? " Yes ; it is fearfully known and spresfd iibt9BAM :^fa atoribr^^ Are you not aWre that you caiiy within yoii/own bosom; maiiy witnesses, witnesses which can- not let z,seciretsl€i^ I They will ring it t^iigh the conscience^ and the crowded' halls of the mind mV/reccho with the whde agiiir. You have probably read the.^gular declaration of - ^"^'f ^^itaA efery,t0ngue bring^^ a several tale, jbid every tiUe tondemn* me a* a tillafyi." iVH "The teerecy,) laseactu light wit and jhal ^abou hii But a Itich is I ritui^3: demnatiia ;, fbinted r ness of g the' seed The gair tion of fe hrngsuffi swept aw bitter am , »Dd the tl the labQri applicable An old tbough tl of each i unlike* ih gold on tl like unto ence; Ii passage q *y V w vf: s^- lUSISr Ot BiOKJ^UDSlL IT* w « There Js no jfuch thing/* says^:! elegant writer, "as perfect uerecy.p encourage H rational mind to the perpetnOioo^aby ' iase aditon;/or a man must first extinguish and put out the grir light withij/hirti, Am conscience; he must get atoayfrom MmsSf^ and jhake 'off the thousand toknesses which he always carries .abou him, before he can be o/one." But a greater tban either has said, " Knowing that he thatis nich is subveftedr and-iinneth, being condemned of himself; i ritui^3: 11 ; el peccat, ekistens, sponte condemnatus. The con- demnation he (eels is spontaneous; it requires no effort, no Ibinted rebukes nor exhortation^, in order to produce a conscious- ness of guilt. It is there already." In the moment of sinning, the" seed df remorse vras sown, thickly jo^m' over the heart. The gain ot guilty pleasiire was quiickly followed by a percep- tion of fearful loss. Tiie fruits of the Spirit, " lover joy* peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith" had no sooner been swept away from the heart, flian ,thev wefe succeeded by the . bitter and abundant fruits of sin. Wsarfbe of condemnation iprang'jlj^And overspread the soul, as^ontapeously as the brier »nd the thorn raring up in the uncultivated field, which ask not. ' the labpriou? Efforts of t)ie husbaiidii^an to producf them. How applicable to yoj^ the lines qfthft old poet, * ■.^- ■ ■■■; ■'"■''' V "" What bH^iiii ■■ . :\^Wgk^, ■ '•^v r • " • Composed of real ill«, ^ ^|P A * Men swallow down to purchase on^ false goodl '» ^^, , /* An old writer once coxnpBired^ sinful pleasures to bees;1[«eh though they may have a drop of honey in their mouth, th§ tail of each is< armed with'a sting. The .pleasures pf sin are no^ unlike* the Ipcusts described in Revehtion 9; "Crowns like V gold on their heads," tljey promised much, but "they had tails like unto scorpions." this you have IStand out V^detperji^^ ence. I am not sure, but that the above poet had ap eye to the * ■ passage quoted, when he exclaimed, " " - • . ■ , ;■.. ■" - . •^ ' ' ■ ■ ■ ■ - ■■' -'■ ■ ^--■ ■? "A l a s! thy gains Are only present pains^ ' T^ gather scd^pions for ajfiitare wound { *T is thus the worl^ her votaiiea beguiles With fiOr aFMuwcM, and kilU with 1*1- •■;■■■, ;Jfe ^1 mh . injess have, yoji '*; y*'¥ ■ :-^ ■■■■ - noTe/'fullof , ,._ ^ ^ _^ _. , . , ij^^ ..'1 ivplientabltf, thit #lfe^J^ h^ve loit, in one nngU , Ifeut of all the tdi^sfnd faithfulness of seTeial yeajwl f^piay- welt tey* ^k uM 'V '<• I JQi^pc^-je^i^ from my guardian rock, .< « , . ABdl»eadloni^»ng«din»ln'«»by«il*^ i 'S^ Save now fdi^^ & with that of vMiichitwas y ■f' ■*■■ V alFew iin^ct ed-side, 970uldst forthiB an ui but my jpirit,!*. t which of an American ajthor upon this subject: "There is no manli- ness P'T fortitud* :an bear up under the horrors of guilt. The thing is done ; yet it rises in all its vivid ploring to the soul that has incurred itjbvetwheln ing it with remorse and despair. The reproaches oj^nscience, once thoroughly aroused, can never be silenced nor M&rne. They Come, bringing with them the frown of God. They bring with them recollections of the past, wliich pierce the soul with anguish ; and terrific forebodings of the future, which overwhelm it with horror. No human spirit can sustain its energies under such a burden, when it really comes." I recollect meeting ^ith the following sentiments Wh?n perui- ing a French writer: "The painS of the mind are &8 lively and as a3nsible as those of the body. It has smitten the knees of a Belshazzan It has rendered the voluptuous insensible of- pleas ure; and has put many a wr6tc)ti upon the rack. It has forcfed lome, who, upon scaffolds and wheels, h&ve denied their crimes, «i»%* release to confess them. It has compelled them to feid out a judge, ttf give evidence against themselves, and to implore. the mef^y o( a violent death, more tolerable than the agonies of their guilty souls." _ j But, should you not be thankftil to God, Aat such feelingi fe^5 ^^IjpSf^^?" y*'" "Pon . yo»ir death-bed ? that, when you !»5J^ni^4|Ju were n^t iibandoned^to hopeless remorse an4 despiir,>t td^fothl insensibility? ^TKi? has been the case witlr Bot|ieviri Ybuwa|:Frbtebjy^)ly/>Ini^^^^^ stupe- fiictibnD^rquld hafe^Blen iri^j»ossiW# 4 have e^yed too mu: as,I a< You are mistaken, my dear friend. He is oWe to teW you.u„ta the tJtterr^osf| and if you co^e unto liira in tS name of Jestis JfuSting in hi* atoning blood, ^ou shall fin^hvitmamg also to heal your Uch •lidings, and to restore unta you the joy" of hi? salvation. / I do not wonder that a tecollection of^the inward heaven yoi 'once enjoyed greatly heightens the bitterness of your distr^j ; aor ^m I furprised: that you shouW painfully fie^l r 7: '' '* Pa« *^^i^* Aioment of deliberate thought, ^ .nfS ^«_ DUld« tb* nJf *»». '^l "'^ <"" tlwoghl* to h«»T«. Ihfl ,*•. iUl th*i€ 1liJ:^>Mi^ ^0 heaven »» f ««f«"fi|" ^ ^elettb. hosts of th^ dread intelligence of Adams fall^ ^ And the elem.nts,-were they imn^iately chan^d I M.l on ^ught so^^hen he tells us thatno soonet h ad E ve plucked lid eakn the fwbidden fruit thai|(^^ ■^^^^- ','.. j» ''Wk •» Eitth felt t1i« woBn>, •nd nature |ifom her •el Sighing through all b?r worke, gaff eign* of ' ^ % iJS^^ SL'r^'i*;'.™. ri^A fuLexposUion -,«=*>' ti^r^- .:y lflbelP«aven«* on tn»* uiF»".«. -e-^ ,. . , j ui cload..I.if th. fo*ed lighting and the nttUng thunderbl _ _, „ging..nd the d«k temi«.t ««. let lo«« »po« *e .»ce ,e.e^ ^lEU-wh.thon£j»n»sih.»e Mi«f the|:«J«y f >'"• ™ «r. . ' A=- ^4,fi,„ bi«>»t8 would, no doulrt, give » failh- , Illeiiaiiin#*f ttot*ngty etorm. Pe*ap»lhe «^h- wafting elciMntawa. Uttle, needed The to*tion-rf«uiUTOS present. ConKience, doubtless yice^lr the AWghiy wa. far ■»*■« .f-«''f»' ^J^ "j Aah the I» ^ ' ' , Mer we are tight itv all our «onj.S«t*. ^"!*««'»lt «« lim parent.. ..noi,l apprehend, material. Bu^tpv« me^ opporwnity of «ying. that it iKem. to me you 1»" P"^* Sgh ^ne.J.ment.1 anguish ■ i "^'"^:".^^ "I^^. •SXt now. through the He«ea Spirit, you are pre,»u^ ^ivo the b«n of »lvation. .You have no «1«P«"«'^'»2 'S L pre^Sc. of God. You «em rather t, «y. «* P*^ IT who wa. «-ely .fflicM both in body «»i mmd. - '• 0. ** I kiiev w seat ! J ^ with argu and bock where he self on th attempt t yourself;: and can signs of ] am as cer will be foi -your bad manded y saith the ] chapter ? mine ange and I will ing declan sip(i! botti Lord, for 1 knees fron Fear no his temple God will 1 mercy, to ] forgifeth ii condemn^ I have an ad and he is" but also foi Be^^ tioas for n Mnr, the kj •\ 3 •%■■■ Milton plucked ■%■ MISKBY OF BACKSLIOIBt. 359 4 ^4 srblaflp ds were e peace- ir! m ( a faith- haps the 'd. The loubtlcss, e of lh«l the soi4 lere were IVil visita- , in order 1, and to' laddetii^" -.■^'^■■*'' Bcting cor res mean ,ve passed respects; fre ition to fly , with poor ^(•Othiit I kiiav whew I might find him ! that I might come even to hm seat! I would order ihy cause before him, and fill my mouth with argum|ptH. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backw^, but I cannot perceive him: on the left handp where he doth work, but I cannot behold him • ne hideth him- self on the right hand, that I cannot see him." Neither do you attempt to palliate or excuse your sin, nor blame any one but yourself; the justice of your condemnation you readily confess, and can never forgive your apostasy from God. These ar« signs of real repentance. They cannot be mistaken. And 1 am as certain as that I have an existence, if you persevere, God will be found of you, to the joy of your heart. He will " heal -your backslidings, and love you freely." Has he not com- manded you to return, saying, " Return, O backsliding Israel, saith the Lord ! " And what is his positive promise, in the same chapter ? Hear it for your comfort : " And I will not cause mine anger to fal] upon you; for I am merciful, sahh the Lord, and I will not keep mine anger forevflfe^JIear also the follow- ing declaration from the Lord thy Gj^M^ infinit<^ condescen- siop! boundless love! " Turn, O bamming children, saUh tha hard, far lam married rmto you.'' Read the chapter upon your kuees from which I have made these extracts, — Jeremiah 3. ^ Fear not, «* The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple." In the cool of the day, the voice of the Lord thy God will be heard in the garden of his promises, proclaiming mercy to your tfoubled sjbuI. He is near who justifieth. who forgiveth iniquity, transgression jind sin. Lo ! he comes not to condemn, but to give, life everlasting. "If any -man sin, we have an advocate with the Fatherfjesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for ottr sins; and not for ours onl| btttalso for the siiu of IheyHic^ world."; " O believe the record true, . ; U V ' - ; <9od to you his Son hath fivien." -^ Be^^^Bwf ; r« ■ and his billows go over thee, -the Lord will yet command his ^loving-kindness in the d*y-time, and in the night his aong shaU be with thee, and thy prayefr to the God of thy life. ■.- ^ ^ But " Why is it tbat I do not obtain the blessing for which 1 ' .crying to God day and/ night ? *l The reasons "aay be ;^"; «^ To impute the delay of the blessing to any arbitp..y ifetemihation or secret purpose of God is dangerous, and con. triry to the general tenor of Scripture. Whenever an mdividiol kmMy reSents, a^d unfiignedly MietM the Gospel, he is m» : ;.^ %',._ MTtllT or BAOKSLIDRRI. 961 r kneei, iWatioL I of the entiment in a soul at fire, if when be S8 you,-^ * lich I am with my ^rist died nenf with , tie. The no salva* 16 thou in lleth unto^ his vfVKi [tnand bis long shall )r which I ly be vari- arbitrary , land con* individual e is Jhadt ■■\ Mat moment, the partaker of God's converting grace. Pardon is then and there imparted ; and the lovt of Uod is shed abroad Ih the heart, by the Holy Ghoit given unto him. I could imagine ciftumttanctt which might seem to render necessary a procrastination of salvation on the part of God ; jui. 1 alwovs feel afraid to utter a single sentiment thot would seem' 10 contradict tho universal applicability of that beautiful and conclusive declaration of God himself, " Behold, i' '*■> BEVITAL MISCSLLANIW. . -y^i,' ■■ ■■■■'■■ ■•"'''. ^- 'a - . -*■ V ' ■ «« Haste, my Lord, no more dela"^ , ' pome,i^jiy Samur, conae avraj »' lu, • See!, the arms of your ^r^ssioiikte Saviour arc >ulsttetche(J to receive you. Fly^fi^fly into those arms of everiasting love ! He Will not, he cannk, spurn you away. Can you dpubt the sincerity of his invitation^' Gome unto i .e, all ye^that labor and are heavy laden " ? Jtare jou suspect tne veracity of his sacred' promise, — " And I will gjiji|ou rest ;" •' Him that cometh to me, I will in no wi^ cast ouW^ It is enough, my Lordi , Ho does believe ! 'He cannot ^publt llHe comfes to thee as^'helple^s, guilfy sinner! 0^ let him see thy fs^ and live! • . *" . Your distressing' case reminds me of in Ifiiffecting, mcident connected With the explosion of the American, steamer Pulaski, a f»yr years ago.v The vda^el was onijfer vtfya'ge fj|m S^wnnah, to the city of New, York. In it dangert)us sea, iani in tfie.deffi tJ0ui^ v#ould:,^fj^ increase the dreadful feeling. '■* ■ A hint was given by one of the sufferers, that, in ojrder to s^ve themselves from death^tjiev shojild cast lots who should die for ;' ^. l/p |»-i*y.- .- -■■, fi* €'' * '•a ^ ' ■ ', ' . >' . "- ,>^ ■& " . ' . ^ ■ ^'' i:^i:■^■■ ■ ■".■■" ' -" .-. '--S.!)-^ "■■"' '.,-^v;...V.=.- ■".;"«•>'> ■■•" '■'■-'■"> ■'-'f'x- ■ i .■•- ^ «k herewith me the pth WSci^tu V Saviour; t eyes twice any tied tjli twice disp "4j >*1 .:j^' *• .tTNiEUEF w ever itigenioiis in the indention of instrumerits . v^herewith to iorture the soul, You say. "It was. suggested to methe^pther day, and It ^ng my soul- to desperation. We find mv Scnpture many who -wer^ desperately sick, cured by our Sav,o|ir; bt|t wh^r^ do jve , Jad> ^11 the^.Gospel of any ^nV eyes twice enhgtoedr^# any deaf ears twice openecUirf any tied tongues twice lo^ened ?.of any possessed with cJevilf- tmce dispossessed ? No doub^rist* could have repeated these miracles; but where do^w^^^hat he ever did so?" ' ; This may be con^ct-^ugh, and, it is m improper, perhaps, to m^kejt an alairinin^ argument against returning to sin; but 1 r^ T' ^ -^ ^r" '"^ ^ ^'"^ '^^ -corded of Christ ra.hearf«g-any #0 had relapsed into affliction, there*' .ore th,re is no hope for the backslider. 'is a mei^ assump. tion. If none had a second miracle performed upon their perso.^ It was probably because none had fallen again under the^owe, of disease,, during the remaining period of oul Lord's minisir.v or. that circumstances may havej,re6tuded t^irse.ond applica ^ ^)n; but It remains io be. pfoted that Christ would not have'' « been gracious a second time to a wretched invalid? To - rea«-on t us, ,s to serup a Jicfective supposition in contradiction to the plainest^arationa and pmmises of Scripture. Jeremiah, 3 V JS - 4; Ho3ik ^^: 4. tt is. also, against matter of fact; and the history of the chuit:h. frcim the day backslidden Pef^r was restored to Ihe favor of hi^Lord. down to our own times, in which instances to the cenl message of ioveW.* conveyed to Jus ear^.^ V^end, a f^lfow.s«i^cwa*^-one ^^1?*^^ |^ "«^^^ f ^ l^l^k^^ftiiodship^otica so d^lk^te^kiti^wo^en «^ h^ S',. -, :»«ryt«| recollectf the reme friend ha A yas€ country I and tier i associatiic burning mipd, hai the mour darkness the glorio pened to and his li his cold I bloodless repeated^ ,^ .And as sioQ, she 4>rayer,(e :^i#ttt^|hb S inents, an totally^ I w(sh/ io sorifie Ji #ich s«9g .festwir-^ ' #hicL c^ Ifliit a'Ki-| tfected e| fl <» I-' 5<^ O0RIST A BACKSLniEB's 8AVI0UB. 367 orGo4 er ; but . ' r thrice, s lately and the » This e body, lious of 2 ofjho with the heinous 5 Ohiist* 3 GU have power (a list said" e set the O, think ■eadinga . i'th some »nei4er it it hoping or a fei» iressi^, i > Bf4Wm» the WMk jettons 61 rs f»nd be re4. "fHe jod by hii 5 eartFom Itedbythfr y. Tcry beifigr had alt been !m>ken. She endeavored to restore his recollection ; but, alas* a grealt giilf was between his mind and the rememibrance of the fMst. Tbe name and the image of his friend hkd fledl frowi his memory, and could not be recallei. ■ A vase tf inassy silver wtfs broughf before him, on which his country bid caused to be sculptuftd^he record of hit servicer and her gratitude. He gai^d vaifigiitly upon it, but no clwrd of association vitrated. The ]o#e of honorable distinction, so iong burning likeji perpetual Incetise-ilame on the altar of a great mind, had (forsaken its temple. H^er eyes filled as she gazed at the mournful, wreck of mental power; feeling, doubtless, that m darkness is so great as th^ which overshadows and extinguishes tbe glnripus light of mtiif An individual at that moment hap- pened to mention the njfliie of (^od, "the God of all grace;" and his lips, till now;^ still and motionless, began to tremble; his cold bhie eye sparkled through the frost of death; jiis tliin, bloodless hand eloped hers ; and, with a startling energy, he repeated the, following linea; l '•When by the whelming tempest borne High o'er the broken wave, ' I kne\r thou wert not slow to hewr, t\ Nor impotent to save.**i ,^ , And as she passed down the avenue from the patriarchal m4,n sion, she said, the voi6e of this aged saint of God, lifted up V 4>rayer, (eU npon ]ier eat; and she learned the fwither Wesson, 4^t-^fespirit of jprayer may survive when «iteltectual. endow- ments, and the consciousiies^ of higlr renpwn, have been n'ikc ■ totally ^aced from t^j&biet of^ithe' i^ ' ' I w{sh,^my dear frtfend, if th^ thingoWe^ p&Ue,' you could in Mtne \i;uy be sepaja!^id'#^^ thtlV ^ememlh-ance o( the past " Jrhich sefemSjjQl dnly%teftffy.ypu>"but to 'drive you away from Jesji^;' I - AwrocATE ; but there is salvatim in no other name under heave^^ "^ btttthenameofJESCS." Acts4rl2. oK AkW months befb:ie I left America, I ha«l ihevprivil^^SP^ witnes^inga very extensive revival of religion, in a ceri^o place K Oue nigh^ I was peciuliarly interested in t6e case or^rai individ^: ual who waa^t. th^ altar, ^ith many others^f^ ihe Instruct W and pra|ers of tb^ servants oi God. Her crjes and tciirs%eito very afiecting^ and Jfeally alarming. When;;Si»|^^|^es4id;c tiwt iuriiig twenty years 8^ Imd be«v iipd^ 6oiicWo;for W ii'ii \>^ ■" ' "Mi i«'"" 1 ^'^M /' \, "A Is,, 'if- III'-:: 870 ■ V- 1^ •oul but had never yet been converted tO God ; adding, that sh« waj'noi^ determined, if mercy were to> foun4, not to rest till the oblaivied it. The meeting ao8ed,.iirid «he i^ft the house in ^ great distress of mind. No soor.er had^s^e arrived at home ' than she fell down upon her knees, weeping in agony, and plead- ing for salvation, as if she would not b^ denied- A dear brother, who was happy in the love of God. went tt» her at the ...oment when she was saying, "Lord, here ismylieart, I gnre it to thee this night. O. have mercy upon me, a sinner!" She repeated the words over and over again, ^hh the deepest emotion. The brother saw there waa a deficiency, both in her faith and prayjr, and immediately supplied the defect, -^oringing Chri^ cructM before her mind. -^ and insisted that Jesus should be m her sup. Dlication. '• Say, for Jesus' sake." urged the brother. This, for some time, she positively refused to do. " Say. for Jesus- sake " he again reiterated ; bat, driven oA by a senae of her sius, she appeared firm in the determination to avoid *at name "S^y. for the*«ke of Jews," he again urged, "and God will ble« you." At last, almost suffocated mth sorrow and distress, she feebly said, »tt»ve meroy upon me, for the sake of Jesus." "That is tight," said the brother; "repeat it agam." "Have Mcy ' " &c " Pray on," said he, " for Jesus' sake." She did to,»nd, in a few minutes, unbelief fled away; faith triumphed; the peice k God, which passeth all understanding, filled her ^PP3^ and 8he lejiHced ^A joy unspeakable and fuU of * *^ 1^ you inquiwV " Have ^ou ever kio^ a case so despemU ' M n^ine which resulted in salvationl" Yes. many. Vastnum- beta of those I hate sJfen brought to God were pr««>d with their ^Biii** like a catl4>etieath its sheaves, until they aespaired of "inetty rot.ktline; and the Lord Jesus, by faith in; his mighty iWtti?* aaved tfeertv , _ „ :;;, v Coiae. then. mV unhiippy friend, come to Jesu^i. Say m youi 'ufifl^ andjBi t the action of your wri to tbg words, ^ * <\. i' ^ a • r III >i vy ,0? Forget Jesus, ~ upon his II until your says the ; jmrpose, y bitten Isra he was he Jesus. S( may not t your sins, i onhapp y. "/':%''""■ .J?'. ' t^ 1 M JLii ^■ X From sla and. fear, from grief and shame, : *JUde me, Je«w, ia^y oame.", i ^ i^i^^^ ;4:V') I I 4- •:, ir'-/:>jj;.-xfr^.-- ." :.:■■■" tip-"; »;-rtJ^ .-. * fRftlST A BACK$LiDSiC'i f^flOOl. lii. that shot rest till house in ^ at home ' [id plead- r brother, moment it to thee repeated m. The d prayei, 1 her 8up> r. This, !br Jesus' f her siiis, lat name. God will \ distress, af Jesus," • " Have She did iumpbed ; filled her nd full of \ despemtt Vast num* with their .spaired of lis mighty Jay in youi Forget all. Leave all you have and are behind; think of Jesus, — of his atoningf blood ;--. think of nothing ehn; dwi(U upon his name; repeat it with energy; do so again ani ^W^^ until your soul draws virtue out of him. .««XKKiki»g unto Jeau*^ says the apostle. When you thm th^ik of him, and fo^^^ yux^it, you are then looking unto him. When the lerjiertl. bitten Israelite looked at the brazea serpent erected ^y Moses, he was healed immediately ; so shall you, if yqa thus !look to Jesus. Soon he will kindle a^ flame in yoarjieart tW all HbU may not extinguish. When this is, done; ypu may think of your sins, and be humble ; but the retrospect sha 1 liot make yo« anhapp][. ••'.;.'!,,;-. ■■^-^- -■..— - • ■ ••■ -^^ r" :"- * An eminent writer inquires, »• Can they imagine tliat GgA has therefore forgot their sins, because they are. not willing to remember them ? Or^»vill they measure his pardon by their own oblivion?" If tliey do, it is a rmt dangerpus mistake. Our oblivion may not be God's pardon, ^r our forgetfulness (if the thing were possible under some circurastancesj, the oblivion of our sins from the remembrance of the Almighty- True, God has said, by the prophet Isaiah, " I, even I, am he that blotteth oat thy tranigres^io,ns, for mine pwii sake, and will not remeii «r thy sir jirophet Jei remember firmed in words in 1 femembor i this in}p6rt known untt ■man is pr^ nnother plo remission o jion,"thro'ug the remissi( oar sins pi vre have tal of the soul pordon, woi soul eternal of your sins of thinking little of thei 'sins Mfhi^l commission kwk unto J eceived inji mast surel) bargo nlust prohibit you edly. You my thought! by theiti to without for repose." I ( drowned in them into c circulate, w Empby th e i ■•!?' »plied to is flying remorse ceased to . e cannot, he throat ' ft mvest.^* lectual in die dim- t is upon n to say^ he mind, ospediou, forgetful- that God (villing to by: theif mistake, lilness (if ) oblivioD Prue, God t blotteth )t nmeii IBI^ f' ' • ,^# declaraitlicfi «r thy sins." 1 jirophet Jeremiah. " For remember their sin jnp moi lirmed in two places by the apoatle. §iid-^ Usej ii|fe w|bk« words in both : '• And their s^hs, and theif iniquities^ will l| ftmembcr no mora." Put,.then, the t<» me apostle tella u» rf ■' *' • > ■. ' * fJ*'. % ..„ ..^. .♦. *. ,.,-^'" ■ '■ •■;.- . **• -s ' ' ' 1 k 1 , . • y ■■; '• * '.\ i '■ \ * . .»■ ' ' ■ * ■• ' . ' 'l - ■.-'■' '.*« ... ,' « • . ■ ' *' ' ' . ,^ 1 ■ • ■■_ ■,, ■ ', • ' •' K. ' ; - s ! ■' ' ■-. 7 'Sfe'^ " ^' ■ ' ■■„ ,.';.■» »-'/»*% ^•'fi^A: ^ / - ' ■ M HHjHHJI HBJI ■■■■■ ■■^■1 ■■■■ ■■■[ wgjmmm ■■■•'.' ' *' V 1 ^^^1 ■ ^^1 ^H ^H ^1 ^H ^^M I |bL ^ ■■•■■ ] i ■ 1 ^H 1 ^H H H H H ^M 1 H ► ^^". " ', :• :'■ !■■ ■',■/ ■.' t;. '< ■^^r^-;; i^ 40 O # 1^. w IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) A r/. ■«-^ l^:.- •• - ;- i X .. " t ^ 1.0 1.1 lii|28 ■fs Uii |22 .£ lift "^ 2.0 us 11-25 III 1:4 I ihui Fbotographic Sdences Corpopalion * - / 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 374 EGVITAL MISCELLANIES. an equal perception of that blood by which it is to be intished away. Let those untiring operations of your mind spend them* selves in fathoming the love of God in Christ Jesus We may indeed, say of this, as of the depths of the sea, no human sound- ing-line has ever reached the bottom ; yet, you wil find it much ' more profitable tp let thought, in its sleepless energy, travel tliis fathomless profound, than explore the dark abyss of your sins. Better, at every landing-place in that descent, to be. forced into the exclamation of an apostle, " O, the depth ! " than with the awakened sinner (Romans 7), sinking in " the hoirible pit, and miry clay," crying in anguish and despair, " O, wretchird man that I am ! who shall deliver me? " Had the poor serpent-bitten Israelite li -^, Mm ■v... i^ ' %|| 'i: if! 1? i^k\ ' i (II 1« 4 / ■ % ' . . ' ' ^ '■- Xs.*. " ,, 1 * ■V „ :M r m BBTITAL MISCELLANIES^,/ Si; ' I think 1 hear you there ; the fountains of the great deep are broken up. The windows of heaven are opened ; the woundf d breast is discharging all its grief into the bosom of Jesus. The cry is ascending, " Save, Lord, or I perish ! " It is enough; by faith I see the Lord passing by and proclaiming himself, " The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in g*)odness and truth." I think I hear Jesus saying to your fcDrtured heart, " Peace, be still ! " and there is a calm, a sweet, baavcnly calm. Sunshine, glory, and heaven, descend from God iiitc<^ your k rart. O, my Lord, let it be while he is leading thia paper ! ^■; BACI yoUR 8 (trance mi tiins agai 01 immoi Broken-h( is the san in * * * with us 'i not be a I of a verse X That bar fused, per unwilling the absen follow fail is, ventur pardon an upon the c\erlastin hold here Now, 1->")1 yoK ask, ii£::s^-..-zi,~ii-j.L :-S :. •M CHAPTER XXn. BACKSLIDERS MUST TAKE RIGHT VIEWS OF GOD. youR state of soul surprises me. I feel persuaded the hin- drance must be in yourself. I verily believe God has no exeep- tims against you. He is as willing^to bless you as the scores 01 immortal souls who are now finding pt^don in this city. Broken-hearted penitents are obtaining rnercy every night. God is the same everywhere ; and he is able an^ willing to bless you in * * * *, surely he i?. I could, it is true, wish you were with us 'n this poWierful revival ; but, a^ this cannot be, it need not be a bar. O, no ! Ldo think you may adopt the language of a verse in our hymn-book : ' » " In me is all the bar, Which thou «oul4st fain remove." That h&T may be unbelief, or impatience, or indistinct and con- fused, perhaps erroneous, notions of faith. There may be an unwillingness to venture fully on the merits of the atonement, in the absence of peace and joy ; not knowing 'that these always follow faith, but never precede it. You must fir^t belioe; that IS, venture freely and fully upon the merits of Christ's blood for pardon and acceptance with God now. When you thus repose upon the merits of Christ's death, by faith, for the present and c\erlasting salvation of your soul, saying, •• This all my hope and all my plea, For me the Saviour died," — , ^' hold here. Remain fixed on this ground. It cannot fail yarvu- Now, l->")k up ; honor the Father, as you-honor the Sqn. Perhaps yoft ask, "Wha< do yog mean by this?" — By what ? " You ■|i iiiS M: i , *vV, ■#^i 384i< %.>y^--;(.-. ■ 378 REVIVAL HISCELLANIES. tell me ti nono. the Fathei as I honor the Son." I will explain It. You could not trust in, the blood of Christ, unless you believed that his blood wag an atonement for your sins Fur ther, is it not the oelief that Jesus loves you and makes you welcome to trust in his blood for salvation, which encouraL , you to come to hnn, confiding in the merits of that blood ? But IS It not a fact, tha% as often as you have ventured thus upon that atonement, you have felt that if there were no other hmarancd than Jesus you would soon be happy? At such seasons you think of Jesus as the only person in the adorable Innity who has any kindly feeling for you; Your unhappy mmd cannot think of "the everlasting Father," without the idea b^ing associated that "he is a consuming fire: "and Jesus is considered as a rampart of defence between you and him This must be the state of your mind surely, or you would not refer to t lat verse in the Wesleyan hymn-book : *> ■ . . "I trust in Him who stands between Tlie Father's wra^h ond me I ' * Jesus, thou great etiilpal Mean» I look for all from thee.'» The Mntimentof the verse ui jorrect, when applied to the .late banners out of Christ It is wrftten, "The wrath of God » re|«aled from heaven against all unrighteousness of men " Another pasMge teaches us the solemn lesson, "God is anRr'v thing to faU mto the hands of the living God, for our God is a eonsummg fire. ■ And the reason why this wmth is not inflicted jttk fury,.- the reason why this " consuming fire " does not break for.h m scorchmg flames upon a world of sinners, -is, that we have an "Advocate with the f'ather," and "he ever liveth to make mtercrasjon." Jesus Christ is "the propiti«ion for the «ns of Ae whole world." The word pr^L Lns to rende fevorable; to concluite an oflended person, «, as to lead,him to ^ " The indulgent God, — • Bwift to .reliev e , uu w illing to deatroy ^r^ ~ ./■ ill explain nioss you ns. Fur- lakes you ncouragcs od? But hus upon no other At such adorable Unhappy t the idea Jesus is m. This •t refer to d to the \i of God )f men." is angry a fearful rod 15 a inflicted lot break that we iveth to for the ) render , thim to >fiended -BiOKSUDEM MOST TA« „0HT HEW, OP OOD. m tree. As long as mei rontinue to sin airainst Onrl *k • and the divine forbearanrp ho,.«r«„ l " "^^ wjcKeaiy, of G«, breaw, (onZ: T:zzTT:t:'''' ";":r messenirerj nf r,.A j j . written, ihey mocked the •ill there was no remedy "S^t "°^« »«»■"»"'■» Wle. »..i.e.u of .he «.. .::tea fff LirvZ' i Z Zi,"" God's We. .he«tm s or^xter ''^'^' '°™'' "'■'■ .Which coh,e„.m,e i„ a f us I «v, of The"' '"""". «'""' •unices are kindled in., . « I ^ '""• ^^ '•'=' S"'' God must believe that he is " XltV • ?• ^'""J""'^"* ">"' G«l .p „ the mind. A U.' saj.?'"' " *""• ** -«-" "FaLh lends its realizing ligljt The clouds disperse, tbe shadow, fly, The invisible appears in sight, ^ •■ " ■ And God is »;en hy morlal eyt ." ^ - — km kSii- '^A 886 REVIVAL MISCELLANIES. ir . f il Faith sits upo.i the/soul, and realizes the glory of the Almighty. God shines on taiA Faith discovers that God in Christ is love, love beyond degree. Faith becomes the burning-glass to the soul. It collects, as in a focus, the rays of love issuing from God. This kindles our hearts intp a flame, and our souls blaze jack again the holy flame which God's love originated. Then »vo can say, as one said upon a different occasion, "HimeanimaminJlaminitqfeTO,ChrUte,tibi.'* In flames of fire I offer this soul of mine to thee, oh Christ." Until you thus realize that the moment you thus trust in the merits of C.irist you are loved of the Father, and with a love as ardent as that which is felt by the Son, you never can honor the Father even as you honor the Son ; and, in that case, you cannot be converted to God. The bar, therefore, is all in your- self. God would willingly remove it. O, permit him to ddffe, by thinking rightly of him. You say, ♦• I do not consider God as a consuming fire, when I ^rust in Christ. This is not my difficulty. It is this : when I thus trust, I am unable to view God in any other position than as removed to an immense distance from me. I feel I have a iays-man with the Father ; and, that infinite as the distance is oetween me and God, yet he lays his hand upon both to effect a reconciliation; but I cannot consider the Father in any other state than cold and repulsive, and ununlling to be reconciled. Though 1 endeavor to trust in the merits of Jesus, conscious that I can do no more, I am unable to think otherwise than that my Mediator has hard work to persuade the great God to look with compassion upon me." How insulting to God is this cursed unbelief! How it wrongs him! How injurious also to the soul! With such thoughts you never can be happy nor accepted. Were your views of God the s?ime as noticed in my last, " that God is a consuming fire to the approaching penitent, although ve.nturing i) trust in Christ,'Mhenr should cqnsider you as standing iri dread before " the God of all grace." It may be well s aid o jf t he soul, when realizing su c h elements of terror, that peaoi mu8^/be as absent from the heart a^love. But if a notion BA •0 emne* certainly ( which ar( which is 8 In the abo Father. . with the g bondage a; shall I do the very el God ban'sh tion, drive cannot, per powerless i your mind may accom reading a : Power of a sive power ; which I ha abdicate in i of the mine shall long c( the ideas yi I will give hitherto swt wherein is should hono passage prov #rinity, upo; equally with of our bless( right to divir evident that Father, IS it therefore, is c Alt the Fat BACrSLIDBRS MUST TAKB HIOHT VIEWS OF OOD. 381 IK> emneou. as the above does not fill you with fear, it must certainly chil I your soul into dLiermtimt and dutrust; both of which are psiti^e enemies to that warm and confiding love which IS so essential to a religion which makes the soul hannv In the above sentiment you honor the Son, but you dishonor the Father As long as you do this, your mind will be overcast with the gloomiest clouds, and its abiding state "the spirit of bondage again to fear." Perhaps you anxiously inquiry " What shall I do? How can I change those views which seem to be rVu^t?"^'"/'"^ '"'"''' I rnay wish these perceptions of God Imn shed ,f they are wrong ; but I cannot, by dint of resolu- t.on, dnve .them from me." No; probably not. ,The mind canno , perhaps, act m this case wi'nout motives. It may be powerless to expel wrong ideas w thout assistance; but what ' your mmd may be unable to do under certain circumstances, it may accomplish under others. I recollect, some years ago reading a sermon, the title of which was the "The Expulsive Power of a New Affection." Now. may ther^ not be an expul- sive power m a new class of ideas?^ If those are usurpers with ^Wiich I have, been finding fault, may they not be forced to abdzcate m favor of those whose right it is to wield the sceptre of the mind ? If the former are but visionary, (s it likely they shall long contend with realities ? Do you inquire. " What are the Ideas you. wish me to entertain ? Let me know them, and I will give them as welcome a reqeption as those which have hitherto swayed my soul." The first passage I shall quote wherem ,s a leading idea, is John 6: 23,_.MThat all meu should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father." This passage proves that Jesus Christ is a proper Person of the Holy trinity, upon an equality with the Father, and to be honored equally with Him. This is the evident claim. Now, this claim of our blessed Lord was not only designed to guard his own nght to dmne honors, but tho^e of the Father also. It is just as evident that he does not claim more honor than is given to the Father, as ,t is that he does not admit of any less. The passage, therefore, is calcula>ted to imprRsa t hi; " *- b » impress th is sentim e nt upon the mind, ^1 LI M ■ r4i4 .L,. .. — ^TT ^ ^ — ■ '^iinm e iu upon tnc muiU, tliit the Father iMiot to be honorei jss than the Son; this is ■■>' mi *'#i^ i: I II Elltyil. MM0EULANIB8. just »8 clear aa that the Son is not to receive any leas^onor than the Father. But is there not an infringement upon this rule when, under certain circumstances, you suppose the Father loves you less than the Son ? The sentiment that Jojus is all love, when you endeavor to trust in the merits of his death, but that the Father is cold and distant, with respect to you, is dishonoring to the Father. Yoii ore then unquestionably wit.uolding from him an .honor whidi Is justly his due. It is quite plain to me that you and \\w Socinians are in opposite extremes. The Socinians give God- head honors to the Father, but offer to the Son an honor infinitely less, because they consider him a mere creature, though a created being of the highest order; yet what proportion can magnitude, however gr^at, if only Jinite, bear to that which is infinite; seeing that * . "A million U full as far from it\flnite as one ! " In the estimation of the Socinians, he is a creature still; and that places him at a distance infinite from God. Thus they refuse to obey the requirem,ent of our Lord Jesus- Christ. You go to the other extreme. Christ stands forth to your faith as the Second Person in the adorable Trirtity. You adore him as God. This is right. In the merits of his lilood you feeUt to be your duty to trust, singly and alone, for salvation; an^ your faith anticipaterChrist as full of compassion and tender love towards you. ^ow, this is perfectly scriptural, so far as Jesu> Christ 'ja csnc^rned ; but your faith is sadly defective upon another point.! f vital importance, — that the Father is cold and repulsive, and tWt, were you to cast yourself fully upon the atonement, he would frown you away from his presence. Hence, yott asperse his character by impeaching him with, aflTections which he has never felt towards any penitent sinner who has renounced every other plea for mercy, and trusted sincerely in the merits of Christ's death for pardon and acceptance. The Socinians dishonor the Son by denying him th e h^prg of the Rternal Godhead.'and that on an equalitj wth i e Pyther; you BA< iiishonor tl and that o |nrt in the OS well as rpprobatioi sent was g cold, unwil lowing dec world, and and the V same was i by him ; a made^ But you self, a decli of the Fatt the incaroE that he ga^ him shouljd therefore, \ him in the the accepti reserve f 1 sinner, or incpnstanc) fan tl^e flar time exting he of whom shadow of to him; an of his rebel entreating ] the conditio lo be propit Consider Trinity in I ^ J^^ so lovkd the world, that he gaf^his only begotten Son, thalSlosoev^r believeth in him should not perish, but hav^ everlasting life." Do you not, therefore, wrong a(id dishonor the Father? Was there love in him in the bestowing of the gift; and shall there be no love in the acceptance of it ? Can you assign any reason for such a rmrve ? Shall we impute it to the believVig act of the penitent sinner, or tax the Everlasting Father with capriciousness or inconstancy? Strange, that the doings of the penitent should fan tl^e flame of love in the bosom of the Son, and at the some time extinguish it in the bosom of the Father! Strange, that he of whom it is said, "In whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning," should beseech the sinner to be reconciled to him; and also continue his entreaties during the many years of his rebellion ; and now, when the sinner is reconciled, and entreating pardon on the part of God, fulfilling at the same time the conditions of reconciliation, that he should, all at once, refuse lo be propitious ! Surely such views of God cannot be right ! Consider: was not the plaii of reconciliation laid by the Holy Trinity in heaven, and c a rried into effect when th e whol e world *M in a state of rebellion ? Reflect upon the declaration of the If/ ,;^: Ill ^■|!l i i% w- i 384 BITIYAL MISCELLANIES. tpoatle : '* When we were enetniee, we were reconciled to jQod ly the death of hia Son ;" and is it poniiiblc, when tho sinner msts awny his wcopons, and accepts of the terms of rcconcili. 'ition, that Ood will then put on an altered look, and be less wil- ling to be reconciled to the penitent sinner, now that he is sup plicating for mercy at his feet, than when he was an enenny ? (a it not evidcfnt to yourself that the ideas you have entcrtahicd, %i stated at the beginning of this letter, nrp viiionary and unjust I Do not those which I have suggested appear scriptural and ratibnal? Certain I am, that if youlgive them a place in your belief, those imaginary phantoms shQil, as a dream in the night, vanish axvtiy before the light of God's reconciling countenance. Say rkot a word respecting any trouble you may imagine me to be at in writing "so many letters to onre so unworthy." You are worthy of all this, and^a thousand times more, especially from a fellow-sinner like the writer. True, my sins are for- given, my soul is cleansed ; but then I «we the more unto my Lord, and to the precious souls for whom hi died. I shall feal- myself abundantly . compensated, when 1 learn that God ha« visited your soul with his pardoning love, — when \ learn that, '* The winged hopei, which glaoced and tang In joy's melodious atmosphere, returned have, To welcome back the gladness of the soul." .-k^' y /^ \ jm: I AM n changed fo Heavenly '. to entQ;rtaii 'have been ever, that again to fe have some light of rel is often col tatnty as ti aspect and ascends the things hay< from the et raya; a sui tion appean glowing vai joy, render There is a my name si his wings," the surface a winter's d not snrprisii cdness and < are §f miica ENCOUR/QED. I AM not at oil surprised the^..you( feelings „ .....^ changed for the better. The cause^s^in ; your views c f yoor Heavenly Father are materially inrw^oved. Had you continued to entytain those wrong thoughts/f -God, your soul would still 'have been involved in clouds ancl^darkness. I perceive, how- ever, that the state of your mini i» yet "the spirit of bondage Bgamto fear/' .You are more ettcou raged than happy. You Jiave some light, but no heat, no love ; I think you have the day- light of religion, but nbt tlie sunshine. Day-break, yoju know^ is often cold and cheerless. Sometimes there is quiteirfl uncer-' tamty as to the indications of the heavens, as well as to the aspect and identij^ of surrounijling objects; but when )lhe sun ascends the horizon, uncertainties vanish; the appeamnces of things have changed wo!>derfully ; ^ flood of day conies forth from the east f the heavens ^ai^dllfe earth are showered with rays; a sunny glow spreads JitelfdW all nature; a new crea- tion appears werywhere to the admiring eyes; all i»-soft and glowing variety; light, heat, aniriia.tion, bustle, and surrounding joy, render a doubt of d^y impossible. Thus it is with the soul There is a promise which funs thus : "But unto you thai fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise, with heaung in his wings," Until this takes place, the sky of the mind, and the surface of the heart, shall be, like the heaven and earth on a winter's day-break, black and cheerless. At such a tone it it n ot s urprising if th e unhappy sinner is compelled, by hia wretch — tdness and dread uncertain^, to say, irith Aibuthnot, 33 -4,- -. > ^^.-iM 386 BEVTAL MISCELLAKIEB. " Almighty power, by whose most wise commanti, "Helplets, forlorn, uncertain, here I stand ; . ' * Talie this /o»n<5'Km"mer»na' of thyself away * ▼^ Qr bretk into my soul ^ith perfect day." • "' ' i . . ' Light may htive come, and faith have recogniftd it too, bwl uiiwliet is notfisleep ; the voice of the demon will be ne&*d frcvn the murky shailes of the sopl. Unbelief will say to glirrmering faith, as Zebu, to Gaal, when he reported at such an hour, " Behold, there come pe)ji^ down from the ♦x)p of the moun- tains." " Thou seest the shadow of the mountams as if they were men." increasing light may silence unbelief on this point, but the comfortless state of the soul shall invite it to others just as annoying. Light may encourage, but it is only love which can render the soul happy. "There is no fear in love," says ^ St. John. Love is the sunshine of religion. God's love towards us produces love in us. What but love can beget love ? " We love him, because he first loved us," says the same apostle. Cotifidence is the daughter of looe. A poet might well term it " love-born confidence." But this can never take place till the command is applicable to the spul : "Arise, shine, for thy light 'is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." Ther .shall the "Sun of Righteousness" arise upon the soul "with heaHng in his wings." All then shall be real, conscious sun -^ine. God's loyely countenance beams friendship upon the Radiated mmd; the soul, through all her powers, feels the glowing influence; or, in the language of the apostle St. Paul, " Jhe love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." How expressive is this language of the apostle! And yet some will tell us that a converted person cannot enjoy this in such a measure as to remove all doubt whether he be a child of God. But what is that to thee or me, seeing that it is^ written : "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him- ^ self" ? As in nature it is not long from the break of day till sun- rise, 80 I trust the period is no0ur distant *when you shall sing '^ib. a glad heart apd free, THB BACKSLIPEB ENCOURAOBD. too, btU *d frcvn mering n hour, i moun- if they is point, , lersjust « which e," says ^ towards f " We apostle, teen it till the hy light ' Ther il " with )us sun ipon the feels the 3t. Paul, he Holy And yet y this in child of written: r in him- '^ r till sun- ihallsing "The Sun of Rlght««ou8ne8« on in« " Hath rose, with healing in hig wings ; Withered my nature's strength, from the« Mjr soul its life and succor brings j ^ My help is all laid' up aboye : « Thy Nature and thy Name is LoTe." As you wish me to enlarge a little u||| a subect which tppears to have afforded you « much light, dnf some comfort "-1 that IS, thatiye should honiJr the Father even as We honor the Spn. — I shall offer you a few additional thoughts upon the sub- ject. I do this the more willingly, because I do believe your faith isyet quite defective upon this point. It is not to be won- deipd at that your Wind is continually lapsing into''" the spirit of bondage again to fear," when there is such a frequent recur- rence of the unhappy sentiment, that God the Father stands at such an infinite remove from reconciliation. When your w:eak ^ faith, or rather wnbdief, represents the Trinity as divided, and disagreeing in their desires to save and bless, your soul cannot but be confused, as well as unhappy. Were it even possible for you to honor the Son of God with love in return for love, your chilhng and alienating views of the everlasting Father would speedily destroy the affection. Love would soon give place to fear. The probable impotency of Jesus to bring the Father to a reconciliation would very soon displace the pleasurable sensa- tion; and others, such as distrust, disquietude, perplexity, and despair, would, ere long, succeed, and sway their sceptre over a heart in which a single tender emotion could not be found. Allow me, therefore, to correct the evil by carrying ybur mind forward to a set of just and scriptural notions upon this impoi^t- ant subject. When Christ had made the atonement, the point was not really then to be settled whether the father was on reconcilable terms with the world ; but whether the worid would a:xept the terms of reconciliation, and be reconciled to him. Every particular connected with the incarnation of Jesus Christ implied that God was desirous of a reconciliation between him- self and the creatures who had revolted from him. Observe further ; the whole phraseology of the New Testament goes to show that the very first overtures for a leeonciliation were mad«4 %\ f •»l ■im I .1 ^ 888 BBVIYAL MISCBLLANIBS. by the Father ; and that these proposals were offered under cir- cumstances, and from affections, which should forever enthrone the Almighty Father in the grateful hearts of his redeemed creatures. I might quote a variety of passages from the word of God, to illustrate and prove this point, — passages which shall be everlasting witnesses between God and us, whether we aie finally saved or damned. Perhaps two or three may, in this letter', be as good as many. Consider the following: *vBut God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet •mners Christ died for us." Here you will observe the circumstances as well as affections referred to, and brought forward in a very condensed form. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." "iWe," our whole race, are represented as in the attitude of hlstility,— direct and glaring rebellion against God ; the omniscient eye of Jehovah beholding us in this state, throughout the entire of our generations, to the end of time. At the same time, he himself is the insulted monarch. And while nothing was heard but the cry of rebellion against his eternal throne,— nothing seen but the polluted exhalation of our various abominations, coming up before him like the smoke of the bottomless pit, if I may use the ex- pression, — the ffeart of God warmed into love for our race ; and this, too, when as yet there were no signs of returning loyalty, or softening penitency, on the part of a rebel world. St. John might well say, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Love is not an inactive passion in human beings ; neither was it in our Almighty Father. Love prompted' the effort to save, and wisdom contrived the means of saving us. Hence it is said, '^ He hath abounded towards us in all wisdom ; " and again, "The manifold wisdom of God." Christ, in another place, is called the " wisdom of God." The plan was devised, that the Son of Gt)d should die in our stead, and thus make an atonement for the sins of the whole world. " While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." If our world had suddenly become penitent ; had the cry iplsi^nded from millions of weeping suppli* ea.its, (Uid the burden of that cry, " Mercy mercy ! " as it hap< -•^ M. TBB BACKSLIDER ENCOUItAGE*. 889 pened at the conclusion of a certain (iivil commotion, when a considerable number of young men were about to suffer for their !a««urrectionary crimes; but they had cast away their weapons, irA approaching the throne of their highly offended monarch, •Mercy! mercy!" was the one-anii universal cry. Hearing their imploring voices, he was moved out of his indignation, and, melting into compassion, eiclaimed, " Take them away, — I can- not bear it ! " that is, show them mercy. Ah, had' such a scene «s this taken place before the costly plan of our reconciliation was laid, we never could have had such an exhibition of .the unmerited love of the Father! This, however, was not the case. And, at the period in the history of our globe when the Btandard of rebellion was proudly waving under the whole heaven, — when the nations of the earth had, as if by common consent, ceased to fight with each other, that they might have the more time to carry on the war against the laws and government of God, — it was now that God loved us. When rebellion was at its climax, G,od's love was in its noonday splendor. I speak after the manner of men. When the fulness of time was come, and the measure of our iniquities was full to, overflowing, the love of the Father was a boundless ocean. When our transgressions had reached into hell, and mounted as high as heaven, God's love became so immeasurably great, so inexpressible, so incon- ceivable, that description was an impossibility. Human or an- gelic minds could not grasp it, nor language declare it. Christ iimself did not attempt it, but just said: "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son." It will require ?temal ages to fathom the meaning of that little word **so." fiow, had it been said, the Father lovdd us, i but refused any oken of his love, then there might h^ been much room for k)ubt; but when he gave such a dem^bation of it as to pan ▼ifti his own Son, delivering him up for us all, that he might (aste death for every man, and in a manner with which you are •erfectly familiar, then, I will assert, there is no room for a ingle doubt of his lovej and not the least foundation for such views as have infested your unhappy mind. 'If the Almighty lni:%t had madaus a free donaiton of heaven, and all itfi un- . . 83* . " 1 1 « f hi "Mm I, M m 390 REVIVAL MISCELIANIISS. utterable glories, it could not liave been such a conriniing demonstration of his loye as that which he has aflforded us in tue gift of his own Son. It might well be said, " God com- mendeth his love ; " manifests it, and sets it forth in the highest possible manner " to its." Our salvation was dearer to him than the life of his Son. And has God ever repented of this redeem* 'ng act ? Never ! It was, indeed, said on the eve of the deluge, that it repented him that he had made man ; but nowhere can yoj find it writte i that it has repented him to have redeemed man. Can yo*! fail, therefore, to be convicted of this great truth, that thef point to be gained by the Gospel mini&try is to bring about the reconciliation of sinners to God ? Has it ever occurred to you that there is not a word in the New Testament about 4ic reconciling of God to us? I know not that the word is used in this sense in any part of the New Testament. Everything, therefore, necessary to a perfect reconciliation, has been prepared by God the Father; and nothing is wanting but a believing acceptance upon our part. Can anything be more encouraging to a penitent sinner? How unjust, therefore, have been your past conclusions ! St. Paul, in 2 Corinthians, 5 : 18, calls the Gospel ministry "The'Yninistry of« reconciliation;" and again, that the " word of reconciliation " is committed to the preachers of the Gospel ; and in verse 19, he fixes upon the very point for which I have been contending, that the sum and substance of the Gospel is, that " God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ;" "not imputing^* that is, not exacting the penalty due to our sins ; because the peralty has already been suffered in the person of Jesus Christ for us. That the suspicions and the jealousies so closely connected with guilt may depart from your soul, together with the; enmity of yqur heart toward your recon- cihng^^md Almighty Father, is the sincere prayer of your afiec* tionate brother. "^ - ^ It is sin^lar that you have so long overlooked that remarka- ble expression of the apostle, respecting the part the Father has sustained, and does sustain, in our redemption by Jesus Christ: 'A:1 things are of God.** 3 Cor. 6: la That is, he ir ths ^' THE BACKSLIDER ENCOURAGED. 3(11 Author and the efficiint Cause of the plan of our salvation. Nothing can be plainer than the Scriptures upon this point, together witli the unity of the Trinity in the redemption of our lost race. The plan of redemption is imputed to the boundless love of the Father, the working out of it to the boundless love of the Son, and its succ?S8 among men to the efficient agency and love of the Holy Ghost. Thus, there is an, unbroken har- mony among the Persons of the Eternal Godhead in the work of saving our lost world. If it is Written, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son," it is also stated in another place, "Christ also hath loved us, and hath given him- self for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smell- ing savor." And again, as if to render the harmony of the holy Trinity complete, the apostle, in the last chapter but one of the Romans, secures the same to the Holy Spirit; "the love of the Spirit." I deem it unnecessary to multiply passages; but how surprisingly has our gracious God provided for our faith upon such an important subject; that .if there are three Per«ve Jesus, her; and 10. Does irt of the lave been n all that tassage to irned my 16) : •♦ At . into you, ) say, this ihip; this my proofs equire no B ye have I." [ hope in , and that lice in the r CHAPTER XXIV. THE BACKSLIDER RESTORED. # You may iideed. well call upon heaven and earth to assist pu m celebmting the high praises of your pardoning God. How clearly do you now see that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, were united in the great work of saving ypu out of the hands of all your enemies! " Now, unbelief, stand forth, and tell . What is too bard for Qod." How peculiarly awful has been your case!.. Through what . »en. of mental conflict have you passed! You have, indeed. «1^^ •' r' ? ' "" " " '"''■y y™ "'» o™' »I-* i«. « «.ythmg ..n^ilar , the penalty is too great.- ybu have l«med wBdon. from what you have suffered. -should you again back- .hde from God, the suffering to be endured is now Tl^u, youi conscience ft is not. therefore, likely you will hazard W. as ,u. with the damned in hell. Hell begin, u^„ earth. »d therefore we majOook for a similarity ii some respects. •Kh as self-reproach, self-torture, and unavailing regret The finite. nd mfimte; and therefore the ^- >r» ";'», i-i, r r, /(M 396 BIT1TAL MI8GBLLANIU. m Ki< *' will driT* you to extwrnei, if he can. It ii highly proper thai you should learn some important lesson from what you have suflfered, for the guidance of your future history. But I must close. Be watchful. Lire much in the spirit of prayer. Live a life of faith pn the Son of God. ! ''PowTer her4 my reit shall b«, •.^ Close to tby bleedlnf side." If yott wish to ward off " the spii^t of bondage again to fear," keep the love of God in your heart; but this you never can do unless you keep /ai/A there, — faitn in the blood of Jesus. Pre« after holiness; rest not till you lov^ Gpd with all your heart. i\ A / i ' IS J *A 7 CoNCERh pray coniin Mr. Wesle; (he life of bare his w tlways usii ihould be ir oe always u tie, " with a thereunto w somewhere to be foiled letter which Spirit, when fine saying c much on the on the geom( sincerity of (hould alwa] Holy Spirit, As to "Ian needy beggar Qecessities of 1<^ to the ] i^ Yorks] Igotawakaned CHAPTER XXV. OF PRAYER. » CcNCERNiNG pmyer tho Scripture phraseology i«. pray aiwMVi praycanttnually, pray tait/umt ceasing, pray with perseveraZt. Mr. Wesley describes it aa "a spiritual respiration, by which (he hfe of Opd IS kept alive in the soul," The soldier may have h,8 weapons, and the bird its wings, but they may not be ,ways^sing them in the fighting and flying sense; there 'hould be m us a gracious aptitude to pray, although we cannot tie, with all prayeir and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance." I remember reading a remark |omewhere equivalent to this, - that, when the saint is likely letter which he sends post to heaven, for fresh supplies of the Spirit, whereby he becomes more than conqueror. That was a . fine saying of a good man, now with God, " God looketh not so much on the elegancy of our prayera. how neat they are, -nor onOie geometry of our prayers, how long they are,l-bu; to the n\ o"' Payers, how hearty they are." The heart Holy Spint, to discourse in the eary.4,f God the sweetest music. .,'♦ O may my heart in tune be found, Like Davld'a harp of iolemn sound I »» ^m^rl , ""' "Jf' '" *" ''«'«• "d *« deep «e«.ue. of the «,»1, never fall t. « «. off." .nd «„de, ngj^ 2^ Y^wt ', " mo.t hindering hng^ge. Whefin l-wl^ Yorkdiire, I vma told of a poor unonDt neunnt -l,„ .-.w^ri-to a »„«„. .bout hi.'LuI.'d^.t! 34 • «w 'I 1 1 f 398 BBVttAL MISCILLANIBS. treM He was nt work, one dnj.upon th« t6\ A a -»lg<» Hill, which tncoumgea his hoart much, Uvuubo ihc ckd man .hcught " Surely, I mn now n«oror hohven than in tho lowlandu, and therefore I must be nearer God." Wut he waa aorely exerc,»,d ind buffeted by the devil, notwithatnnding; and on this account partly,— that God seemed, to his apprehension, to be still a great way off; and, being surrounded with a bulky material, he raiwl ft irreat heap, clambered to the top of it, and considering that it was not possible to get any hi«h^ he steu.lied himself upon hit knees, and cried with a loud^o, "Ood Almighty, and hii Son, Jesus Christ, baith [both] pn yst'nc^i,p regard to a praying brother; but with (IK^ can be^l uncertainty, however wt may be deceived. If rtiany " Christians of taste " would but allow such a consideration to weigh with them, they might obtain much more good from the prayers of the poor, who are often rich in faith and love. ; ■.. Prayer must be «7iccr«. Jacob said to his n^other, " If 1 d* temble, my father will find me out, and I shallj receive a curse, instead of a blessing." It is written in the seveiity^ighth Psalm that backslidden Israel ^|att6red God wita their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongues," and nc doubt made jnaM long and e^enf jirayert. But it is said in the and forty-fiftlt Pwdm, "Tha Lord m nigh unto etl|i^p<3 *i !si(l to pray b Almightj a sharp Drnther!' War r dour and 29, 30), « tiunary r< heart, the Prayer " is like thing is a heart." . prayer of words: " and do ; c aaMny \ Po'Uus A donians, v until he ir is here fi Hall, " kni prayer pie I have 1 actively ar even thus penitent, - "Prayei sought \ object, it ii [|jans 6 : \i f desire of tt answered,- a lilent aifi ligh hill, I .h.'ught bikIn, and exerciimd IS account ill n grcQt ,he raiiid \ng that It iflt'ir upon y, and hit I supplica> ed sinnei devotion Ht Jesus. .•red to the wondered •ceive that ay be none It, however 'hether the mind may rother ; but toe may be allow such btain much iften richio r. " If ! d* •ive a cnrse, ighth Psalm mouth, and madejmai^ roe buMJiedr U them ilVl^'UlJ >, '1 \ ^ » ' ' • ' . • i n ^ _ -3 J" • 4 •■■■ '■••; ■■)' . ,"v-,,. ■ s ... '■ ,' ■' / ■ •» * ■t * '■*'\, 400 ItBYIYAL MISCELI^ANIES. with the comforting promise, " My grace is sufficient for thee," Supplication is prayer continued ; it follows God up and down, as it were, diy and night, hegging, crying, entreating, and will give him no rest,— will not let him go, until he says, "Be it unto thee even as thou wilt." The great and good Mr. Cecil used to say, when one of his children cried, he Would remtjin in his study, thinking that some toy or other might probatily satisfy it ; but wh^h it conftnued to cry, and nothing would do but his presence, then he came to tk^hild immediately. This is supplication. 1 , , You may probably remember the anecdote of Demosthenes and the client, pne came to him in a court of law, where an important case waljj^dinjg-, and whispered in his ear that, unless he undertook his caiise?, hT^eired he should lose his suit: "fam already beaten," said the client. The orator replied, "I don*t believe you." At last the man cried outj in great dis- tress. " Ay ! now I fed your c^use," said Demosthenes. He only whispered before, and the statesman could not believe his cause was so desperate, and consequently had no feeling for him; but when he "cried," the effects were of quite a different character. Have you never observed the motions of a mother tbfard her child ? When it whimpers and wjiines a little, she ^11 not run to it immediately, although she may cast many an anxious look in that direction; but when it cries outright, ?he drops all, ^nd is with it in^oment. We lose muchfor want of earnestness. James 5: 16J "A low voice," says one, "ddfeV not cause a, loud echo ; neit aer doth a lazy prayer procure a /tieraZ anmer. Sleepy requests caus* but dreams, — mere /aw eud returns. , When there is/ a cushion under the knees, and a pillow of idleness under *.h^ elbows, there is little work to be done. A lazy prayer tires before it igoes half way to heaten. When Daniel was fervent all day, an angel was sent at night with the answer." Prayer must be according to the charter in i John.5: 14; nor need we desire a krger . "iif ire ash any thing according^ to his mU, he hearethusr etC. Player, like a building in course of erection, must keep on the fouudatlon of the w!-rd aad promise ol God, else the whole fabric must come OF PRAYER* 401 tu tA« ground. The psalmist understood this when he said, "Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope." "God," in the language of another, "like a wis^ father, denies us liberty to cry for the candle that would burn us, and the thorns that would prick our fingers;" though .the hedges are in the bloom of spring, and every «. U . And turns mere fire at last, — % * So to the furnace of thy lore ,,' May my cold heart aspire, ^ ' Till, all transmuted from aboTe, ^^ It glows a heavenly fire ! " ^ ' ' ■ ■ ■ ■" ■ \ ' ■ » t mmm ■ ■ * * ■ i ■ . . V^ ■ * ' The sentiments of an old divine, which just now occur to me r may perhaps be more satisfactory. "Why doth a father, whcr T": he seeth two boys fighting in the street, correct his son, and not |^ ' the other Why doth the schoolmaster take a stricter arcmmt '[""^ ol the scholar he brst affecteth, than of others, whom he suffereth ^ -^V to play the truant Why doth the husbandman let the unfruit. >''" « A 404 Bl^VIVAL MISCRI^LANIES. ful and unsavory trees gprow out at lengtlii without pruning, but pruneth the fragrant roses, and pricketh the fruitful vines til. they bleed ? Why, but because the former are designed lor fire- v^ood, and the Ifttter for fragrance and fruit? Why doth the physician, wiien Jie seeth his patient desperate, give order to them that are about llim to deny him nothing that he hath a mind to; but if he hath any hope of the recovery of any patient of his, he keepeth him in di^t, forbiddeth hin^-such thirigs as he most desireth, and prescribeth for him many meats and potions Tvhidi go against the stomach ? Lastly, Why doth a caJVain set the best soldiers in the fore-front of battle, and appointeth them to center in at the breach, with apparent hazard of their lives? Why, but that they may get the greatest honor?" "Better," said a good man, " weep in Christ's school, than sport at the devil's games ; better to want all things, and to have God's love, than to have all things else, and want it. If it had not been bet- ter, Moses would never have chosen to suffer affliction with the people of God." Heb. 11 : 15. I have read of an ancient nation, the nobles of which consid- ered it a great honor to be corrected by their prince ; and, though painful, yet they seemed to rejoice in it, thanking him for tak- ing such pains with them as to minister the correction to them himself. Read, at your leisure, Revelation 3 : 19 ; Deuteronomy 8: 15; Proverbs 3: 11, 12; Hebrews 12: 9 to the 13th verse, inclusive; also, Genesis 4 : 13; Job 31 : 3; Hebrews 10: 29; Leviticus 26: 18. These -passages, though they belong to sep- arate classes of Scripture declarations, and refer to very different characters, resemble so many glasses placed opposite to each other; they reflect a mutual and harmonious light. And surely you cannot deny that the wicked are also afflicted ; their afflic- tions, however, are penalties inflicted by their sovereign Judge; but there is a difference between chastening and punishing ; the /former implies a father, but the latter a judge; in the one we have love, but in the other satisfaction to justice. "God as a Father," says some writer, " inflicteth with grief and compas- ■iiap, Moderateth with meruy, and directeth by providence all the Strokes laid upop his children." " Is noC> that elegant speech ot St. Austii he loves, reply, "f brother, ii he do it, Perhap that the c affections embraces, may I be in love ? " canst thoi HAMT AS Let he] love him severely ; I know nature, I real subm sideration seem to in from it. to show," of will, w and not s natural fe to the wil for itself, i saw the si to drink 'i pleasure, Go! ha Mrs. * THB BBUEVER IN AFFLICTION. ing, but nes tilt loir fire- oth the )rder to i hath a ' patient ^ as he potions )l'ain set th them r lives ?^ Better," t at the d's love, )een bet" with the 1 consid* I, though for tak- to them ;eronomy th verse, 10: 29; g to Sep- ■ different I to each nd surely leir afflic- n Judge; ling; the e one we God as a t compas* ice all the 405 St. Austin a riddle," said an individual, — " God chastens whom he loves, yet loves not to chasten ? " " Not at all," was the reply, " for a surgeon lances the flesh of his dearest friend or brother, in love, yet he takes no delight in lancing; nor would he do it, but to prevent the festering of the sore." Perhaps ycur friend is saying, with one of old, "Show me that the countenance of God is not changed tawar^st me, nor his affections estranged from me, and it sufiiceth ; surely, kisses and embraces, not blows and strokes, are love compliments. How may I be peTsuaded that God layeth this heavy cross upon me in love ? " "Nay," was the reply to the discouraged saint, "how canst thou not be persuaded, seeing he himself hath said, 'As MANY AS I LOVE, I HEBUKE AND CHASTEN ' ? " ReV. 3 : 19. Let her consider the case of poor Benjamin. Did ndl Joseph love him better than all his brethren ? and yet he suffered most severely ; for the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. ^ . ■ - "Afflictions oft bat serve to hide Some good as yet unjinown." I know riot that we are called to have a liking for affliction nature, I think, may recoil, where there may be the elements of real submission to God ; Matthew 26 : 39 is worthy of her con- sideration : " If it be possible, let this cup pass from me," would seem to indicq^e an unwillingness to suffer, — at least, a shrinking from it. " Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt," " seems to show," said a good man, •» a resolute will. Here is u consent of will, without a will of consent; a will against a will, or a will and not a will; non mea, sed tua. As man, our Loid had a natural fear of death, and a desire of life, yet with a submission to the will of his Father. It was not his will to take that cup for itself, ai i antecedently, and as he saw wrath in it; yet as he saw the salvation of man in it, and greater glory, it was his will to drink 't off consequr?ntly, l)ecause such was his Father's good pleasure, io which his will wal^tlways subordinate." Goi has said, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.,' Mrs. * * * , then, is one of the many. It is her privile^ ^Wi ►»' ■i* '' ■■ speech