ABRIDGED EDITION 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION 
 
 INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF THE GREAT- 
 EST REVIVALS SINCE PENTECOSTAL 
 DAYS, AND TELLING HOW 
 TO BRING ABOUT AN 
 
 OLD TIME REVIVAL 
 
 BY REV. S. B. SHAW, 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 GOD'S FINANCIAL PLAN," "TOUCHING INCIDENTS AND 
 REMARKABLE ANSWERS TO PRAYER," "dYING 
 TESTIMONIES OF SAVED AND UNSAVED,'* 
 AND OTHER WORKS. 
 
 "Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set." 
 
 Prov. 23: 38, 
 
 "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the 
 dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon 
 thine offspring." Isa. 4i:3. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILL., 
 S. B. SHAW, PUBLISHER, 
 212 214: W. CHICAGO, AVE. 
 
CX>I»YRlGHTEr>, X0O-* 
 BY 
 
 S. B. SHAW. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 Old Time Views of Sin and Depravity. ♦ . ♦ 6 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Old Time Conviction and Repentance. , , . 14 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Old Time Conversion 28 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Old Time Hungering and Thirsting after Righteousness 36 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 An Old Time Revival our Greatest Need . . . 53 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Preparation for an Old Time Revival ... 64 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Some Old Time Preachers . . . . . 116 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Old Time Revivals ... , . . 133 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Old Time Revivals under James Caughey. . . 148 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Old Time Revival in Ireland ..... 225 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 For many years I have witnessed, with a sad heart, the 
 great amount of superficial work done in the name of the 
 Christian reHgion. Even among those who manifest some 
 sincerity of spirit, what a multitude are found among the 
 "stony ground" hearers. In how few hearts is the fallow 
 ground broken up by deep conviction for sin, and thorough 
 repentance and complete forsaking of all known wrong. 
 
 This book is the result of much prayer and burden of 
 intercession for a thorough and general revival of pure and 
 undefiled religion — a revival in which all minor differences 
 of creed and opinion are lost sight of and the hearts of God's 
 children united in the work of rescuing lost souls by the tear- 
 ing down of the strongholds of Satan and the upbuilding 
 of Christ's kingdom among men. I pray that it may be 
 greatly used of God in helping to prepare the way for such 
 St *^time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord." 
 
 In the gathering together of material suited to my pur- 
 pose, I have found so much that was exceedingly valuable 
 that I have decided to publish this "abridged edition" — suited 
 to general and rapid circulation — to be followed by a com- 
 plete edition to be published in two or more larger volumes 
 which I believe will be found very helpful and exceedingly 
 interesting to earnest Christians who have not their 
 command the excellent works (most of them now largely 
 or entirely out of print) from which I have quoted. 
 
 Yours for souls, 
 
 S. B. SHAW. 
 
 Chicago, March, 1904., 
 
OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OLD TIME VIEWS OF SIN AND DEPRAVITY. 
 
 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and thdt 
 every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Gen. 
 6: 5. 
 
 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there 
 ■ were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are 
 all together become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Psa. 2, 3. 
 
 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 
 Psa. 51: 5. 
 
 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know 
 it? Jer. 17: 19. 
 
 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. 
 Prov. 4: 19. 
 
 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, 
 thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Matt. IS". 19. 
 
 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, 
 fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an 
 evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, 
 and defile the man. Marie 7: 21-1^3. 
 
 No language can describe the awful curse of sin. The 
 human mind is unable to realize the terrible penalty that 
 is visited upon this earth because of man's disobedience, 
 to say nothing of the eternal punishment of the wicked. 
 
 Well may this world be called a *Vale of tears." From 
 the fall of Adam, humanity has been born weeping and 
 crying; for we are shapen in iniquity and conceived in 
 sin (Psa. 51:5); and the inevitable consequences of sin are 
 disease and suffering and agony and death. From the 
 beginning, ''the wrath of God has been revealed from 
 heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of 
 men ;" and in justice he has declared, "Whatsoever a man 
 soweth, that shall he also reap." In all ages of the world, 
 in spite of God's offers of mercy, multitudes have sown 
 
6 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGI<3N. 
 
 to the wind and have reaped the whirl-wind, and millions 
 are doing it today. No ear but the ear of God can hear, 
 no eye but the eye of God can see, no heart but the heart 
 of God can comprehend, the pain, agony and wretched- 
 ness of desolate souls whose lives are today blasted by 
 sin. 
 
 Nor is this all. Millions of moral and physical wrecks 
 are floating down the river of death to suffering greater 
 tlian they have ever known, or ever can be known in this 
 life. Ten thousand times ten thousand more of broken 
 hearted sinners, whose lives have been blasted by the 
 drunkard, the harlot, the outcast — who are filling the poor- 
 house, the jail, the prison, and the insane asylum, are get- 
 ting ready for a rapid march to the lake of fire : and mil- 
 lions of unborn infants will take their place and follow 
 in their steps in the near future. And their names are 
 legion who are bewailing the wrath of God as revealed 
 by the pestilence, by the famine, by the flood, by the 
 earthquake, by the cyclone and the tornado, and by the 
 many wars, where humanity is butchered until rivers of 
 blood are flowing from the field of battle, and the cries of 
 the wounded and dying rend the very heavens. 
 
 And is all this suffering a merely arbitrary penalty 
 inflicted by an angry God for disobedience to arbitrary 
 law? Nay, verily. All this woe, all this misery, all wretch- 
 edness of body and mind, is the inevitable consequence 
 of the violation of the holy laws of a holy God, so inevita- 
 ble that God himself could provide no way of deliverance 
 from the power and curse of sin only through sacrifice — 
 sacrifice so great that the angels of God look on with 
 wonder and amazement, sacrifice that nothing short of 
 infinite love would ever have made. 
 
SIN AND DEt'RAVITY. 
 
 7 
 
 It was the knowledge of the awful and eternal con- 
 sequences of sm, that moved the heart of God with such 
 infinite pity that He was willing to sacrifice the bright- 
 est jewel of Heaven even his only begotten Son, the Lamb 
 of God slain from the foundation of the world, whose 
 suffering began when sin entered into the world and will 
 endure until sin is swept from the face of the earth, in 
 order that we might escape the awful suffering that sin 
 brings both in time and eternity. 
 
 Old-time religion has its very foundation in a scrip- 
 tural view of the sinfulness of sin, and all thorough re- 
 vivals have been characterized in their very beginnings 
 by a stirring up of the people to see themselves justly 
 condemned to eternal death. The acknowledged shal- 
 lownesss of Modern Christianity is, we believe, largely 
 due to the fact that ministers of the gospel have so sadly 
 failed to know and to preach the "terror of the Lord." 
 (vSee 2 Cor. 5 : 11.) 
 
 A sick man, in order to rightly value and appreciate 
 a cure, needs to understand the nature and danger of his 
 disease. Just so fallen humanity, in order to rightly value 
 and appreciate the plan of salvation, must have a knowl- 
 edge of sin and its consequences. No man can rightly 
 value the redemption of Christ who has not seen him- 
 self lost and undone and absolutely without hope outside 
 of the atonement of Calvary. The great results that fol- 
 lowed Jonathan Edward's sermon "Sinners in the Hands 
 of an Angry God" preached from the text "Their foot 
 shall slide in due time, for the day of their calamity is at 
 hand, and the things that shall come upon them make 
 haste," show how God will honor the work of a faithful 
 minister who in love, and in the Holy Ghost, fails not to 
 
8 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 declare the whole counsel of God. The sinfulness of sin ! 
 The depravity of depravity! Who can coniprehend them? 
 Would you see them in their true light? Then withdraw 
 from the world the restraining grace of God and all in- 
 fluence of the atonement of Christ ! In one hour you 
 would have a hell upon earth. Humanity without the 
 grace of God, is as corrupt, as degraded, as the inhabi- 
 tants of hell itself! Does the statement need any proof? 
 It is found in the incontrovertible fact that the seed of 
 all sin is found in every unregenerate heart and that seed, 
 when allowed to grow unrestrained, has made human be- 
 ings actually guilty both in thought and deed of the vilest 
 and most heartless and cruel deeds which it is possible 
 for mind to conceive. 
 
 SELECTION FROM FLETCHER'S APPEAL. 
 
 In every religion there is a principal truth or error, 
 which like the first link of a chain, necessarily draws 
 after it all the parts with which it is essentially connect- 
 ed. The leading principal in Christianity, distinguished 
 from deism, is the doctrine of our corrupt and lost estate ; 
 for if man is not at variance with his Creator, what need 
 of a Mediator between God and him? If he is not a 
 depraved, undone creature, what necessity of so wonder- 
 ful a Restorer and Savior as the Son of God? If he is 
 not enslaved to sin, why is he redeemed by Jesus Christ? 
 If he is not polluted,' why must he be washed in the blood 
 of that immaculate Lamb? If his soul is not disordered, 
 what occasion is there for such a divine Physician? If 
 he is not helpless and miserable, why is he perpetually 
 invited to secure the assistance and consolation of the 
 
^IN AND DEPRAVITY. 
 
 9 
 
 Holy Spirit? and, in a word, if he is not born in sin, why 
 is a new birth so absokitely necessary, that Christ de- 
 clares with the most solemn asservations, without it no 
 man can see the kingdom of God? 
 
 This doctrine then being of such -importance, that 
 genuine Christianity stands or falls with itj it may be 
 proper to state it at large : and as this cannot be done 
 in stronger and plainer words, than those of the sacred 
 writers, and our pious reformers : I beg leave to collect 
 them, and present the reader with a picture of our nat- 
 ural estate, drawn at full length by those ancient and 
 masterly hands. 
 
 I. Moses, who informs us, that God created man in 
 his own image and likeness, soon casts a shade upon his 
 original dignity, by giving us a sad account of his fall. 
 He represents him after his disobedience, as a criminal 
 under sentence of death; a wretch filled with guilt, shame, 
 dread and horror; -and a vagabond, turned out of a lost 
 paradise into a cursed wilderness, where all bears the 
 stamp of desolation for his sake. (Gen. 3 : 17.) In con- 
 sequence of this apostasy he died, and all die in him : for 
 by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and 
 so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned in 
 him, who was all mankind seminally and federally collect- 
 ed in one individual, i Cor. 15: 22. Rom. 5: 12. 
 
 The sacred historian, having informed us how the first 
 man was corrupted, observes that he begat a son in his 
 own image, sinful and mortal like himself; that his first- 
 born was a murderer ; that Abel himself offered sacrifices 
 to avert divine wrath, and that the violent temper of 
 Cain soon broke out in all the human species. The earth, 
 says he, was filled with violence, all flesh had corrupted^ 
 
10 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 its way — and God saw the wickedness of man was great in 
 the earth, so great, that every imagination of the thoughts 
 of his heart was only evil, continually. Only evil — with- 
 out any mixture of good : and continually — without any 
 intermission of the evil. Gen. 6: 5. 
 
 When the deluge was over, the Lord himself gave the 
 same account of his obstinately rebellious creature. The 
 imagination of man's heart, said he to Noah, is evil from 
 his youth. Gen. 8: 21. Job's friends paint us with the 
 same colors : one of them observes, that man is born like 
 the wild ass's colt; and another, that he is abominable 
 and filthy, and drinks iniquity like water. Job ii: 12, 
 and 15 : 16. 
 
 David doth not alter the hideous portrait: the Lord, 
 says he, looked down from heaven upon the children 
 of men ; to see if there were any that did understand and 
 seek God. And the result of the divine inspection is : they 
 are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy: 
 there is none that doeth good, no not one. Psalm, 14: 2. 
 Solomon gives a finishing stroke to his father's draught, 
 by informing us, that foolishness is bound in the heart of 
 a child, and not of a child only, for he adds. The heart of 
 the sons of men is full of evil, and while they live, mad- 
 ness is in their heart. Prov. 22: 15. Eccl. 9: 3. 
 
 Isaiah corroborates the assertions of the royal proph- 
 ets, in the following mournful confession: All we, like 
 sheep have gone astray — we are all as an unclean thing, 
 and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Isa. 53: 
 6, and 54: 6. 
 
 Jeremiah confirms the deplorable truth, where he says : 
 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with 
 the point of a diamond ; it is graven upon the tables of 
 
SWT AND DEPRAVITY. 
 
 11 
 
 their heart — O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wicked- 
 ness, that thou mayest be saved — For the heart is deceit- 
 ful above all things, and desperately wicked : Who can 
 know it? Jer. 4: 14, and 17: .1, 9. 
 
 Thus the prophets delineate mankind in a natural, im- 
 penitent state. And do the apostles dip their pencil in 
 brighter colors? Let them speak for themselves. The 
 chief of them informs us that the natural unrenewed man 
 receives not the things of the Spirit of God and that they 
 are foolishness to him. i Cor. 2: 14. And he lays it 
 down as matter of fact, that the carnal mind, the taste 
 and disposition of every unregenerate person is not only 
 averse to goodness, but enmity itself against God, the 
 adorable fountain of all excellence. A blacker line can 
 hardly be drawn, to describe a fallen diabolical nature. 
 Rom. 8 : 7. 
 
 Various are the names which the apostle of the Gen- 
 tiles gives to our original corruption ; and they are all ex- 
 pressive of its pernicious nature, and dreadful effects. He 
 calls it emphatically, sin, a sin so full of activity and ener- 
 gy that it is the life and spring of all others : — Indwelling 
 sin, a sin which is not like the leaves and fruits of a bad 
 tree, that appear for a time and then drop off; but like the 
 sap that dwells and works within, always ready to break 
 OMt at every bud : — The body of sin, because it is an as- 
 semblage of all possible sins in embyro, as our body is 
 an assemblange of all the members which constitute the 
 human frame : — The law of sin and the law in our mem- 
 bers, because it hath a constraining force, and rules in 
 our mortal bodies, as a mighty tyrant in the kingdom 
 which he hath usurped : — The old man, because we have 
 it from the first man, Adam; and because it is as old as 
 
12 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGIOI^. 
 
 the first stamina of our frame, with which it is most close- 
 ly interwoven; — The flesh, as being propagated by carnal 
 generation, and always opposing the Spirit, the gracious 
 principle, w^hich we have from Adam the second. — And 
 concupiscence, that mystic Jezebel, who brings forth the 
 infinite variety of fleshly, worldly, and mental lusts, which 
 war against the soul. 
 
 Nor are St. James and St. John less severe than St. 
 Paul, upon the unconverted man. The one observes, that 
 his wisdom, the best property naturally belonging to him, 
 descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, and 
 devilish : and the other positively declares ; that the whole 
 world Heth in wickedness. Jam. 3: 15; i John 5: 19. 
 
 Our Lord, whose spirit inspired the prophets and apos- 
 tles, confirms their lamentable testimony. To make us 
 seriously consider sin, our mortal disease, he reminds us, 
 that the whole have no need of a physician, but they that 
 are sick. Luke 5: 31. He declares, that men love dark- 
 ness rather than light. That the world hates him; and 
 that its works are evil. John 3: 19 and 15: 18, and 8: 7. 
 He directs all to pray for the pardon of sin, as being evil, 
 and owing ten thousands talents to their heavenly credi- 
 tor. Matt. 6: 12; 7: 11; 18: 24. And he assures us, 
 that the things, which defile the man, come from within; 
 and that out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, adulter- 
 ies, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wicked- 
 ness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, 
 foolishness, and in a word, all moral evil. Mark 7: 21; 
 Matt 15 : 19. 
 
 Some indeed confine what the scriptures say of the 
 
SIN AND DEPRAVITY, 
 
 13 
 
 depravity of the human heart to the abandoned heathens 
 and persecuting Jews ; as if the professors of mprahty and 
 Christianity were not concerned in the dreadful charge. 
 But if the apostoHc writings afifirm that Christ came not 
 to call the righteous, but sinners ; that he died for the 
 ungodly ; and that he suffered, the just for the unjust ; it 
 is plain that, unless he did not suffer and die for moral 
 men and Christians they are by nature sinners, ungodly, 
 and unjust as the rest of mankind. Rom. 5 : 6; i Pet. 3 : 18. 
 
 If this assertion seems severe, let some of the best 
 men that ever lived, decide the point, not by the experi- 
 ence of immoral persons, but by their own. I abhor my- 
 self, says Job, and repent in dust and ashes. Job. 43 : 6. 
 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, says David, and in sin 
 did my mother conceive me. Ps. 51 : 5. Woe is me for I 
 am undone, says Isaiah, because I am a man of unclean 
 lips. Isa. 6:5. I know, says St. Paul, that in me, that is 
 in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. Rom. 7: 18. We 
 ourselves, says he to Titus, were sometimes foolish, dis- 
 obedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, liv- 
 ing in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 
 Tit. 3 : 3. And speaking of himself, and the Christians at 
 Ephesus, he leaves upon record, this memorable sentence : 
 We were by nature the children of wrath even as others. 
 Eph. 2: 3. Such humbling thoughts have the best of 
 men entertained, both of their natural estate, and them- 
 selves ! 
 
 FROM JOHN ARNDT'S TRUE CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 (John Arndt was born in Ball Endstadt, Germany, in 1855, and died in 
 1621. His writings were translated jnto ail European languages and were greatly 
 UBcd of God.) 
 
CHAPTER IT. 
 
 OLD TIME CONVICTION AND REPENTANCE. 
 
 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: Matt. 3: 8. 
 
 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repeated of: bu€ 
 the sorrow of the world worketh death. 2 Cor. 7: 10. 
 
 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent 
 ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1: 15. 
 
 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name 
 among all nations, begining at Jerusalem. Luke 24: 47. 
 
 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, 
 when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence ot the Lord: Acts 3: 19. 
 
 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the 
 first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candle- 
 stick out of his place, except thou repent. Rev. 2: 5. 
 
 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and 
 repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, 1 will come on thee as a thief, and 
 thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Rev. 3: 3. 
 
 God is not pleased with superficial work on any" line. 
 He loves thoroughness and when He is given the right 
 of way in any heart, deep thorough work will be the re- 
 sult. Conviction for sin is the first work of God's Spirit 
 upon the heart. All knowledge of sin and all conscious- 
 ness of guilt and danger and all true sense of spiritual need 
 are^ included in conviction ; and whether present in the 
 heart in greater or less degree, are from God and designed 
 of God to lead the soul to true repentance. 
 
 God's Spirit is given to reprove the whole world of 
 sin and of righteousness and of judgment ; (See John i6: 8) 
 and to every soul held accountable before God, sufficient 
 light is given to point out a way of escape from the penalty 
 for sin: ''For the grace of God that bringeth salvation 
 hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying un- 
 godliness and worldly lusts, we should hve soberly, right- 
 eously, and godly, in this present world." (See Titus 2:11, 
 12.) 
 
 But it is the will of God that conviction should be not 
 
CONVICTION AND REPENTANCE. 
 
 15 
 
 only real but deep and pungent — that the soul should have 
 a deep and awful sense of its danger and need together 
 with strong movings of the Spirit to repentance and the 
 God-ordained means for bringing this about are the faith- 
 ful teaching and preaching of the word in the power of the 
 Holy Ghost, the Christ-like example of the godly, and the 
 direct moving of the Holy Spirit given, in greater meas- 
 ure, in answer to the prayers of God's people. Thus the 
 measure of light and conviction given to hearts, at least 
 generally speaking, depends very largely upon the faithful- 
 ness and devotion of the people of God. It is the duty of 
 God's people and ministers to so faithfully declare the 
 truth of God and so faithfully exemplify the grace of God 
 and to so earnestly intercede with God, that those with 
 whom they are brought in contact shall be compelled not 
 only to know but to deeply feel the sinfulness and dan- 
 ger of rebellion against Him, having clear views of the 
 teaching and requirements of the Word. 
 
 Where the church of God is free from worldliness and 
 sin, and conformed to all the will of God, the standard 
 of what a Christian should be, even in the minds of the 
 unsaved, will be correspondingly high; and thus even the 
 fully awakened soul will clearly see the evils of worldly 
 conformity and worldly allegiance and to such there will be 
 little need of especial exhortation regarding the evils of 
 worldly amusements or worldly conformity in dress or of 
 the card table, the dance, the theater and the secret lodge, 
 and of the evils of indulgence in tobacco or intoxicating 
 drink, or of exhortation to "provide things honest in the 
 sight of all men." Old-time conviction, to say nothing 
 of saving grace, would throw a flood of light upon the 
 worldliness and dishonesty of even so-called good society 
 
16 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 that would sweep away the refuge of lies and leave thou- 
 sands of professors of religion to see themselves still in 
 the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity. 
 
 Repentance is a godly sorrow for sin that will follow 
 conviction in every heart when the will is yielded to God. 
 It always includes the forsaking of every known sin and a 
 pledge of the soul to henceforth walk in obedience to Him. 
 How much this will be understood to involve, will depend 
 very largely upon the degree of light which was shone 
 on the heart in conviction ; so that "old time repentance'' 
 will depend upon "old time conviction." 
 
 Bishop Bull of the church of England, in his work, 
 Harmonia Apostohcathees, defines Repentance thus: 
 '^Now, repentance is not one work alone, but is, as it 
 were, a collection of many others ; for in its compass the 
 following works are comprehended: i. Sorrow on ac- 
 count of sin. 2. Humiliation under the hand of God. 3. 
 Hatred of sin. 4. Confession of sin. 5. Ardent suppli- 
 cation of the divine mercy. 6. The love of God. 7. 
 Ceasing from sin. 8. Firm purpose of new obedience. 9. 
 Restitution of ill gotten goods. 10. Forgiving our neigh- 
 bor his transgressions against us. II. Works of benef- 
 icence or alms giving. 
 
 If his definition be sound and scriptural, and who can 
 say it is not, what shall be said of the ordinary preach- 
 ing or lack of preaching on this subject? Certainly no man 
 can be said to have truly repented of his sin 
 until he is willing to confess that sin to the one he has 
 wronged and to make restitution so far as is in his power. 
 John the Baptist preaching the baptism of repentance for 
 the remission of sins, was declared to be "The voice of 
 one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the 
 
CONVICTION AND REl^ENTANCE. 
 
 17 
 
 Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be 
 filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; 
 and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways 
 shall be made smooth;" and his own explanation of his 
 meaning is found in his words, "Bring forth therefore 
 fruits meet for repentance" and "He that hath two Coats 
 let him im'part to him that hath none; and he that hath 
 meat, let him do likewise." 
 
 Zacchaeus evidenced the depth and reality of his re- 
 pentance when he said to Jesus, "Behold, Lord, the half 
 of my goods I give to the poor ; and if I have taken any- 
 thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him 
 fourfold." And to him Jesus answered : "This day is salva- 
 tion come to this house." 
 
 And if he who has wronged his neighbor in dollars 
 and cents cannot find peace with God until restitution i^ 
 made, or promised, what shall be said of those — even 
 though they be professors of the religion of Jesus Christ 
 — who have wronged their neighbor or their brother by 
 talebearing or by back biting or by unjust judgment and 
 false accusation, or by careless and mistaken charges, and 
 yet refuse to humble themselves and so far as possible 
 right the awful wrong they may have done ? Even Shakes- 
 peare said: 
 
 "Who steals m}' purse, steals trash: 'tis something, nothing; 
 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; 
 But he that filches from me my good name, 
 Robs me of that, which not enriches him, 
 And makes me poor indeed." 
 
 And it will but little avail for him who has thus wronged 
 another to say: "O well, if he is all right anything I can 
 say will not hurt him. God will take care of his influence." 
 Said not the Savior, "But whoso shall offend one of these 
 little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that 
 
18 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were 
 drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world 
 because of offences! for it must needs be that offences 
 come; but. woe to that man by whom the offence com- 
 eth! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut 
 them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee 
 to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two 
 hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And 
 if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from 
 thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one 
 eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire/' 
 (See also Luke 17: 1-5.) 
 
 Surely when the Holy Ghost is honored, the seeker 
 after God will not only hear the divine call but will be 
 enabled to understand it and to know what God requires. 
 "Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart," 
 that is, give God your undivided attention; hearken dili- 
 gently to all He says in his word, by his providence and 
 by his Spirit, for if thine eye be single thy whole body 
 shall soon be full of light (See Matt. 6 : 22) and you will 
 soon know that godly sorrow which ''worketh repentance 
 to salvation not to be repented of." (2 Cor. 7: 10.) 
 
 Godly sorrow for sin will destroy all love of, or desire 
 for anything that is unholy and create an utter hatred 
 for everything that is impure or unclean. The penitent 
 sinner that has been deeply awakened to realize his lost 
 condition will mourn over his wicked thoughts until his 
 heart of hearts will bleed at every pore and break with 
 grief. "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken 
 heart ; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." (Psa. 34 : 
 18.) "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken 
 and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psa. 
 
CONVICTION AND REPENTANCE. 
 
 19 
 
 51:17.) 
 
 Adam Clarke in commenting on the first of these scrip- 
 tures says that the literal meaning of the words translated 
 ''a broken heart" is ''a heart broken to shivers" and of the 
 words translated "a contrite spirit" is ''the beaten-ouf spir- 
 it" and then adds : "In both words the hammer is neces- 
 sarily implied ; in breaking to pieces the ore first, and then 
 plating out the metal when it has been separated from the 
 ore. This will call to the reader's remembrance Jeremiah 
 23 : 29 : 'Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord ? And 
 like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?' The 
 breaking to shivers, and beating out, are metaphorical 
 expressions : so are the hammer and the rock. What the 
 large hammer struck on a rock by a powerful hand would 
 do, so does the word of the Lord when struck on the sin- 
 ner's heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. The broken 
 heart and the contrite spirit, are two essential characteris- 
 tics of true repentance." 
 
 The broken-hearted man has lost all his relish for and 
 hbpe in the world. His former hopes and ambitions are 
 broken up and destroyed. The fallow ground of his heart is 
 broken up and he realizes that he has "plowed wickedness" 
 and "reaped iniquity" and "eaten the fruit of Hes" and 
 trusted in his own way, but now he begins to obey the 
 command: "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in 
 mercy; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to 
 seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you 
 (Ho'sea 10: 12, 13.) Fallow ground is ground left un- 
 tilled or but slightly plowed. It is the will of God by the 
 Holy Spirit to break up the great deep of the heart and 
 plow through and unearth everything that is unlike God ; 
 and this He will do if it is also the will of him„ that seeks 
 
20 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 His favorrAnd upon the depth and and thoroughness of 
 this preparatory work future results must largely depend. 
 He who would receive the rain of righteousness must pre- 
 pare the way of the Lord by forsaking every known sin 
 and, so far as possible, making right every wrong that 
 he has committed against God or man. 
 
 The good ground to which reference is made in the 
 parable of the sower. ((See Matt. 13.) was ground that had 
 been thoroughly broken up and made free from stones and 
 thorns, leaving the earth ready for the seed and for the 
 rain, with nothing left to hinder growth and fruit-bearing. 
 
 Just so the Holy Gh'ost prepares the heart of the true 
 penitent and helps him to forsake every idol and every 
 sinful practice and desire and every unholy passion and 
 seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness ; and 
 when he thus seeks God with his whole heart, He will 
 be found of him. (See Deut. 4: 29, and Jer. 29: 13.) 
 
 FROM TRUE CHRISTIANITY BY JOHN ARNDT. 
 
 ''To repent, is to feel and acknowledge the natural 
 blindness, corruption ,and detestable impurity festering 
 within us, as the very source of all sin, whereby we de- 
 part from God, the supreme and eternal Good, and deserve, 
 besides temporal punishments, his everlasting wrath in the 
 inextinguishable flames of hell. 
 
 It is to lament, and from the bottom of our hearts to 
 bewail, the deplorable crookedness of our nature ; and this 
 from an inward sense of the heinousness of our provoca- 
 tions, offered to so merciful a Father. 
 
 Let us now consider the manner of our returning to 
 God : ''With all the heart, (says the prophet,) with fasting, 
 
CONVICTION AND REPENTANCE. 
 
 21 
 
 with weeping, and with mourning." Wretched mortals can 
 weep floods of tears for empty and perishing goods, whilst 
 they remain unmoved at the miserable state of their souls., 
 and the loss of eternal goods: being therein altogether 
 unlike David, who sets a shining pattern of sincere repen- 
 tance before us, "For the Lord looketh on the heart, and 
 trieth the heart and reins." 
 
 FROM DISCOURSE BY JOHN BUNYAN ON "COME 
 AND WELCOME TO JESUS CHRIST." 
 
 Take two) or three things to make this more plain — to 
 wit, that coming to Christ floweth from a sound sense of the 
 absolute need that a man hath of him, as afore. 
 
 "They shall come with weeping, and with supplication 
 will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by rivers of 
 waters in a plain way, wherein they shall not stumble." 
 Jer. 31 : 9. Mind it they come with weeping, and sup- 
 plication. They come with prayers and tears. Now 
 prayers and tears are the effects of a right sense of the 
 need of mercy. Thus, a senseless sinner cannot come, he 
 cannot pray, he cannot cry, he cannot come sensible of 
 what he sees not nor feels. "In those days and at that 
 time the children of Israel shall come ; they and the chil- 
 dren of Judah together, going and weeping; they shall 
 seek the Lord their God; they shall ask their way to 
 Zion, with their faces thitherward, saying, Come and let 
 us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that 
 shall not be forgotten." Jer. i : 4, 5. 
 
 This coming to Christ is called a running to him, a 
 flying to hirn — a flying to him from wrath to come. By 
 all which terms is set forth the sense of the man that 
 comes — to wit, that he is affected with the sense of his sin^ 
 
22 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGIOM. 
 
 and the death due thereto; that he is sensible that the 
 avenger of blood pursues him, and that therefore he is 
 cut off if he makes not speed to the Son of God for life. 
 (Matt. 3:7; Psa* 153: 9.) Flying is the last work of a 
 man in danger; all that are in danger do not fly; no, not 
 all that see themselves in danger, all that hear of danger, 
 will not fly. Men will consider if there be no other way 
 of escape before they fly. Therefore, as I said flying is 
 the last thing. When all refuge 'fails, and a man 
 is made to see that there is nothing left him but sin, 
 death, and damnation unless he flies to Christ for life, 
 then he flies, and not till then. 
 
 That /the true coming is from a sense of an absolute 
 need of Jesus Christ to save, &c., is evident by the out- 
 cry that is made by them to come even as they are com- 
 ing to him. (Matt. 14 : 30; Acts 2 : 37; Acts 16: 30.) ''Lord, 
 save me, or I perish;" "Men and brethren, what shall we 
 do?" "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" and the like. 
 This language doth sufflciently discover that the truly 
 coming souls are souls sensible of their need of salvation 
 by Jesus Christ, and moreover, that there is nothing else 
 that can help them but Christ. 
 
 It is yet farther evident by these few things that follow : 
 It is said that such are pricked in their hearts — that is, 
 with the sentence of death by the law, and the least prick 
 in the heart kills a man. (Acts 2: 37.) Such are said, 
 as I said before, to weep, to tremble, and to be astonished 
 in themselves at the evident and unavoidable danger that 
 attends them unless they fly to Jesus Christ, (Acts 9: 16.) 
 
 Coming to Christ is attended with an honest and sin- 
 cere forsaking all for Him. "If any man come unto me, 
 and hateth not his father and mother, and wife and chil- 
 
CONVICTION AND REPENTANCE^ 
 
 23 
 
 dren, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own Hfe also, 
 he cannot be my disciple; and whosoever doth not bear his 
 cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Luke 
 14 : 26, 27. 
 
 By these and the like expressions elsewhere Christ de- 
 scribeth the true comer, or the man that indeed is coming 
 to him ; he is one that casteth all behind his back ; he leav- 
 eth all, he forsaketh all, he hateth all things that would 
 stand in his way to hinder his coming to Jesus Christ. 
 There are a great many pretended comers to Jesus Christ 
 in the world. And they are much like to the man you read 
 of in Matt. 21 : 30, that said to his father's bidding, "I go, 
 sir," and went not. I say, there are a great many such 
 comers to Jesus Christ ; they say, when Christ calls by his 
 gospel, I come, sir, but still they abide by their pleasure 
 and carnal delights. They come not at all, only they give 
 Him a courtly compliment ; but He takes notice of it, and 
 will not let it pass for any more than a lie; he who said, 
 "I go, sir," and went not, he dissembled and lied. Take 
 heed of this, you that flatter yourselves with your own de- 
 ceivings. Words will not do with, Jesus Christ. Coming 
 is coming, and nothing else will go for coming with Him. 
 
 FROM BUNYAN'S PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. A 
 TYPICAL CASE OF OLD TIME CONVICT- 
 ION AND REPENTANCE. 
 
 "I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain 
 place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, 
 and a great burden upon his back." Isa. 64 : 6 ; Luke 14 : 
 33; Psa. 36: 4; Heb. 2: 2, 30. I looked, and saw him 
 open the book and read therein; and as he read he wept 
 and trembled; and, not being able longer to contain, he 
 
OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, "What shall I 
 do?" Acts 2: 37. 
 
 In this plight, therefore, he went home, and refrained 
 himself as long as he could, that his wife and children 
 should not perceive his distress ; but he could not be si- 
 lent long, because that his trouble increased ; wherefore at 
 length he brake his mind to his wife and children; and 
 thus he began to talk to them: "O my dear wife," said 
 he, "and you, the children of my bowels, I your dear 
 friend am in myself undone by reason of a burden that 
 lieth hard upon me : moreover I am certainly informed 
 that this our city will be burned with fire from heaven : in 
 which fearful overthrow, both myself, with thee my wife, 
 and you my sweet babes, shall miserably come to ruin, 
 except (the which yet I see not) some way of escape may 
 be found, whereby we may be delivered." At this his 
 relations were sore amazed ; not for that they believed 
 that what he had said to them was true, but because they 
 thought some fren?y distemper had got into his head; 
 therefore, it drawing towards night, and they hoping that 
 sleep might settle his brains, with all haste they got him 
 to bed; but the night was as troublesome to him as the 
 day; wherefore, instead of sleeping, he spent it in sighs and 
 tears. So when the morning was come they would know 
 how he did : he told them, ''Worse and worse." He also 
 set to talking with them again, but they began to be 
 hardened. They also thought to drive away his distemper 
 by harsh and surly carriage to him ; sometimes they would 
 deride, sometimes they would chide, and sometimes they 
 would quite neglect him. Wherefore he began to retire 
 himself to his chamber, to pray for and pity them*, ^nd 
 also to condole his own misery. He would also walk soli- 
 
CONVICTION AND REPENTANCE. 
 
 25 
 
 tarily in the fields, sometimes reading and sometimes pray- 
 ing; and thus for some days he spent his time. 
 
 Now I saw, upon a time when he was walking itf the 
 fields, that he was (as he was wont) reading in his book, 
 and greatly distressed in his mind ; and as he read, he 
 burst out, as he had done before, crying, "What shall I 
 do to be saved?" (Acts i6: 30, 31.) 
 
 I saw also that he looked this way and that way, as if 
 he would run; yet he stood still, because (as I perceived) 
 he could not tell which way to go. I looked then, and 
 saw a man named Evangelist coming to him; and he 
 asked, "Wherefore dost thou cry?" 
 
 He answered : Sir, I perceive by the book in my hand 
 that I am condemned to die, and after that to come to 
 judgment; and I find that I am not willing to do the 
 first, nor able to do the second. Hcb. 9: 27; Job 16: 21, 
 22; Ezek. 22: 14. 
 
 Then said Evangelist, Why not willing to die, since 
 this life is attended with so many evils? The man an- 
 swered. Because I fear that this burden that is upon 
 my back will sink me lower than the grave, and I shall fall 
 into Tophet. Isa. 30: 33. And, sir, if I be not fit to go 
 to prison, I am not fit to go to judgment, and from thence 
 to execution: and the thoughts of these things make me 
 cry. 
 
 Then said Evangelist, If this be thy condition, why 
 standest thou still? He answered, Because I know not 
 whither to go. Then he gave him a parchment roll ; and 
 there was written within, "Flee from the wrath to come." 
 (Matt. 3 : 7.) 
 
 The man therefore read it, and looking upon Evan- 
 gelist, very carefully, said. Whither must I flee ? Then said 
 
26 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 Evangelist, pointing with his finger over a very wide field, 
 Do you see yonder Wicket-gate? (Matt. 7: 13, 14.) The 
 man said, No. Then said the other, Do you see yonder 
 shining light? (Psa. 119: 105; 2 Pet. i: 16.) He said, I 
 think I do. Then said Evangelist, Keep that light in thine 
 eye, and go up directly thereto, so shalt thou see the gkte ; 
 at which when thou knockest, it shall be told thee what 
 thou shalt do. 
 
 COMMENTS ON THE ABOVE TAKEN FROM THE 
 SAME SOURCE. 
 
 The cry of an awakened sinner, who sees his own right- 
 eousness to be as filthy rags, his soul in a state of wrath 
 and wretchedness, exposed to everlasting destruction, feel- 
 ing the burden of his sins upon his back, he turns his face 
 from his own house, from himself, from all his false hopes 
 and vain confidences, for refuge, and takes his Bible in 
 his hand to direct him where he shall flee for safety and 
 salvation. The more a sinner reads therein, the more he 
 is convinced of the wretched state and ruined condition of 
 his precious, immortal soul, and of his necessity of flee- 
 ing to Christ for eternal life and salvation. As he reads, 
 he weeps and trembles to think what will become of him. 
 Reader, was this ever your case? Did you ever see your 
 sins, and feel the burden of them, so as to cry out, in the 
 anguish of your soul, What must I do to be saved? If 
 not, you will look on this precious book as a romance, 
 or history, which no way concerns you ; you can no more 
 understand the meaning of it, than if it was wrote in an 
 unknown language: for you are yet carnal, dead in your 
 sins, lying in the arms of the wicked one in false security. 
 But this book is spiritual; it can- only be understood by 
 
CONVICTION AND REPENTANCE. 
 
 27 
 
 spiritually quickened souls, who have experienced that 
 salvation in the heart which begins with a sight of sin, 
 a sense of sin, a fear of destruction, and dread of. damna- 
 tion. Such, and only such, commence Pilgrims from the 
 city of Destruction to the heavenly kingdom. 
 
 Conviction of sin in the heart, will discover itseff to 
 those about us, by the outward conduct and behavior of the 
 life. 
 
 When we begin to be wise unto salvation, carnal 
 friends pronounce us mad unto destruction; and admin- 
 ister carnal medicine for our sin-sick souls. 
 
 No soul was ever in earnest for salvation, till there 
 is a cry in his heart to be saved from the wrath of an 
 offended God. 
 
 Behold here the tender love and care of Jesus, the 
 great Shepherd and Bishop of souls to sin-distressed, 
 heavy-laden sinners, in sending Evangelist, that is, preach- 
 er of Gospel grace and glad tidings of salvation, to them. 
 
 A true confession of an enlightened, sensible sinner. 
 
 The convictions of the Spirit of God in the heart, make 
 a man feel the insupportable burden of sin upon his back, 
 and to dread the wrath of God revealed from heaven 
 against sin. 
 
 The Gospel never leaves the convinced sinner in the 
 miserable situation in which it finds him, without hope and 
 relief; but points him to Jesus for safety and salvation, 
 that he may fly from himself and the wrath he feels in 
 himself, to the fullness of the grace of Christ, signified 
 by the Wicket-gate. 
 
 Christ, and the way to him, cannot be found without 
 the word. The word directs to Christ, and the Spirit 
 shines intO' the heart, whereby the sinner sees Christ in 
 the word. This makes God's word precious. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 OLD TIME CONVERSION. 
 
 And I will give them one heart, and £ will put a new spirit within you; 
 and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart 
 of flesh : that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do 
 do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. Eze. 11:19,20. 
 
 Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except 
 a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Jo^hn 3: 3. 
 
 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons 
 of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, 
 nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1: 12, 13. 
 
 And because ye are §ons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into 
 your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a 
 son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Gal. 4: 6, 7. 
 
 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, 
 (by grace ye are saved:) Eph. 2: 5. 
 
 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness 
 and true holiness. Eph. 4: 24. 
 
 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have 
 received the Spirit of adoption, wherby we cry Abba, Father. Rom. 8: 15. 
 
 For ye are all the children of God by f«ith in Christ Jesus. For as many 
 of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Gal. 3: 26, 27. 
 
 Old-time conversions will naturallyi follow old-time 
 views of sin and depravity and old-time conviction and 
 repentance as described in the two previous chapters. "The 
 way of the wicked is as darkness, and they know not at 
 what they stumble." (Prov. 4 : 19.) But when God's Spir- 
 it moves upon their hearts, and they yield to His influence, 
 and turn unto the Lord with a broken heart and a con- 
 trite spirit, confessing and forsaking their sins, with works 
 meet for repentance — embracing the forgiveness of their 
 enemies, and restitution to the extent of their ability — 
 making straight paths for their feet, through faith in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ they are delivered from both the guilt 
 and power of sin. 
 
 The deeper the conviction and the more thorough the 
 repentance, the brighter and more glorious will be the joy 
 of deliverance. The more entire the sense of helplessness, 
 and need, the more natural and consciously real will be 
 
OLD TIME CONVERSION. 
 
 29 
 
 the faith that takes hold upon the promises of God, 
 through Christ ; and the soul that is (consciously) forgiven 
 much will love the more. (See Luke 7: 36-47.) 
 
 Conversion in a scriptural sense is understood to in- 
 clude four things: forgiveness of all past transgressions, 
 justification in the sight of God— through the atonement 
 of Christ, regeneration or the new birth, and adoption 
 into the family of God; yet it seems to us the latter two 
 are really but one, as he who is born of the Spirit, by vir- 
 tue of that new birth becomes a child of God — being made 
 by birth, a partaker of the divine nature. 
 
 To be converted, then, is a wonderful change — being 
 a translation from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom 
 of God. And these kingdoms are not similar, but the very 
 opposite of each other. The one is .evil, the other right- 
 eous ; the one is from beneath, the other from above ; the 
 one is the kingdom of darkness, the other the kingdom 
 of light. Hence conversion is described as a change from 
 the darkness of sin to the marvelous light of God. Well 
 did the Master say of these two kingdoms : "No man can 
 serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love 
 the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the 
 other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matt. 6: 
 
 24.) 
 
 By nature we are blind and are unable to see God. We 
 are deaf — not hearing or knowing the voice of God. And 
 our hearts are dead in sin so that we cannot love or com- 
 prehend Him. Having eyes, we see not; having ears we 
 hear not ; and having hearts, we understand not. But be- 
 ing born again, our eyes are opened by a miracle of di- 
 vine grace not only to see God but also to behold his won- 
 derful works to the children of men; our ears are un- 
 
30 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 stopped and we recognize God's voice; our hearts are 
 changed — so that the things we once loved we now hate 
 and the things we once hated we now love. For verily 
 "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
 into the heart of man, the things which God hath pre- 
 pared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them 
 unto us by his spirit." (I Cor. 2 : 9, 10.) 
 
 Truly the converted man is a new creature. He lives 
 a new life. He not only sees with new eyes and Hears 
 with new ears. He has new tastes, new appetites, new 
 desires, new aspirations, new thoughts, new affections and 
 is in very deed a new man in all that goes <to make up 
 true manhood. 
 
 Truly this being changed from bondage to liberty; 
 from the worst kind of slavery to the most glorious free- 
 dom, from the service of our worst enemy to the serv- 
 ice of Him who has loved us with an everlasting love, Jrom 
 being of our "father, the devil," to being made partakers 
 of the divine nature, is a change requiring the omnipotent 
 power and grace of God and can be obtained only through 
 the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet that it is 
 real and gloriously possible is proven not only by the word 
 of God, but by the experience and testimony of blood- 
 washed thousands who have themselves passed from death 
 unto life. O glorious possibility! O mighty transforma- 
 tion ! Well may it be the theme of men and angels and of 
 the song of the redeemed around the throne of God ! 
 
 CONVERSION OF JOHN B. FINLEY. 
 
 John B. Finley was a noted pioneer Methodist minister of great ability and 
 usefulness. His father was a devoted minister of the Presbyterian church. This 
 account of his conversion is given in his own words and is found in his Auto- 
 biography. We give it as a typical case of "Old Time Conversion." 
 
 % 
 
OLD TIME CONVERSION. 
 
 31 
 
 In the month of August, 1801, I learned that there 
 
 was to be a great meeting at Cane Ridge, in my father's 
 old congregation. Feeling a great desire to see the won- 
 derful things which had come to my ears, and having 
 been solicited by some of my old schoolmates to go over 
 into Kentucky for the purpose of revisiting the scenes of 
 my boyhood, I resolved to go. Obtaining company, I 
 started from my woody retreat in Highland county. Hav- 
 ing reached the neighborhood of the meeting, we stopped 
 and put up for the night. The family, who seemed to be 
 posted in regard to all the movements of the meeting, 
 cheerfully answered all our inquiries, and gave us all the 
 information we desired. The next morning we started 
 for the meeting. On the way I said to my companions, 
 "Now, if I fall it must be by physical power and not by 
 singing and praying;" and as I prided myself upon my 
 manhood and courage, I had no fear of being overcome 
 by any nervous excitability, or being frightened into 
 religion. We arrived upon the ground, and here a scene 
 presented itself to my mind not only novel and unaccount- 
 able, but awful beyond description. A vast crowd, sup- 
 posed by some to have amounted to twenty-five thousand, 
 was collected together. The noise was like the roar of 
 Niagara. The vast sea of human beings seemed to be 
 agitated as if by a storm. I counted seven ministers, all 
 preaching at one time, some on stumps, others in wagons, 
 and one — the Rev. William Burke, now of Cincinnati — 
 was standing on a tree which had, in falling, lodged 
 against another. Some of the people were singing, others 
 praying, some crying for mercy in the most piteous ac- 
 cents, while others were shouting most vociferousl}^ While 
 witnessing these scenes, a peculiarly-strange sensation. 
 
32 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 such as I had never felt before, came over me. My heart 
 beat tumultuously, my knees trembled, my lips quivered, 
 and I felt as though I must fall to the ground. A strange 
 supernatural power seemed to pervade the entire mass 
 of mind there collected. I became so weak and powerless 
 that I found it necessary to sit down. Soon after I left 
 and went into the woods, and there I strove to rally and 
 man up my courage. I tried to philosophize in regard to 
 these wonderful exhibitions, resolving them into mere 
 sympathetic excitement — a kind of religious enthusiasm, 
 inspired by songs and eloquent harangues. My pride was 
 wounded, for I had supposed that my mental and physi- 
 cal strength and vigor could most successfully resist these 
 influences. 
 
 After some time I returned to the scene of excitement, 
 the waves of which, if possible, had risen still higher. The 
 same awfulness of feeling came over me. I stepped up 
 on to a log, where I could have a better view of the surg- 
 ing sea of humanity. The scene that then presented itself 
 to my mind was indescribable. At one time I saw at least 
 five hundred swept down in a moment, as if a battery of 
 a thousand guns had been opened upon them, and then 
 immediately followed shrieks and shouts that rent the, 
 very heavens. My hair, rose up on my head, my whole 
 frame trembled, the blood ran cold in my veins, and I 
 fled for the woods a second time, and wished I had staid 
 at home. While I remained here my feelings became 
 intense and insupportable. A sense of suffocation 
 and blindness seemed to come over me, and I thought I 
 was going to die. There being a tavern about half a mile 
 ofif, I concluded to go and get some brandy, and see if it 
 would not strengthen my nerves. When I arrived there I 
 
OLD TIME CONVEtiSION. 
 
 33 
 
 was disgusted with the sight that met my eyes. Here I 
 saw about one hundred men engaged in drunken revelry, 
 playing cards, trading horses, quarreling, and fighting. 
 After some time I got to the bar, and took a dram and 
 left, feehng that I was as near hell as I wished to be, 
 either in this or the world to come. The brandy had no 
 effect in allaying my feelings, but, if anything, made me 
 worse. Night at length came on, and I was afraid to see 
 any of my companions. I cautiously avoided them, fear- 
 ing lest they should discover something the matter with 
 me. In this state I wandered about from place to place, 
 in and around the encampment. At times it seemed as if 
 all the sins I had ever committed in my life were vividly 
 brought up in array before my terrified imagination, and 
 under their awful pressure I felt that I must die if I did 
 not get relief. Then it was that I saw clearly through the 
 thin veil of UniversaHsm, and this refuge of lies was swept 
 away by the Spirit of God. Then fell the scales from my 
 sin-blinded eyes, and I realized, in all its force and power, 
 the awful truth, that if I died in my sins I was a lost man 
 forever. O, how I dreaded the death of the soul; for 
 
 "There is a death whose pang 
 
 Outlasts the fleeting breath; 
 O what eternal horrors hang 
 
 Around the second death!" 
 
 Notwithstanding all this, my heart was so proud and hard 
 that I would not have fallen to the ground for the whole 
 state of Kentucky. I felt that such an event would have 
 been an everlasting disgrace, and put a final quietus on 
 my boasted manhood and courage. At night I went to a 
 barn in the neighborhood, and creeping under the hay, 
 spent a most dismal night. I resolved, in the morning, 
 to start for home, for I felt that I was a ruined man. 
 Finding one of the friends who came over with me, I said, 
 
OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 "Captain, let us be off; I will stay no longer." He as- 
 sented, and getting our horses we started for home. We 
 said but little on the way, though many a deep, long- 
 drawn sigh told the emotions of my heart. When we ar- 
 rived at the Blue Lick Knobs, I broke the silence which 
 reigned mutually between us. Like long-pent-up waters, 
 seeking for an avenue in the rock, the fountains of my 
 soul were broken up, and I exclaimed, "Captain, if you 
 and I don't stop our wickedness the devil will get us 
 both." Then came from my streaming eyes the bitter 
 tears, and I could scarcely refrain from screaming aloud. 
 This startled and alarmed my companion, and he com- 
 menced weeping too. Night approaching, we put up near 
 Mayslick, the whole of which was spent by me in weeping 
 and promising God, if he would spare me till morning I 
 would pray and try to mend my life and abandon my 
 wicked courses. 
 
 As soon as day broke I went to the woods to pray, 
 and no sooner had my knees touched the ground than I 
 cried aloud for mercy and salvation, and fell prostrate.; 
 My cries were so loud that they attracted the attention 
 of the neighbors, many of whom gathered around me. 
 Among the number was a German from Switzerland, who 
 had experienced religion. He, understanding fully my 
 condition, had me carried to his house and laid on a bed. 
 The old Dutch saint directed me to look right away to the 
 Savior. He then kneeled at the bedside and prayed for 
 my salvation most fervently, in Dutch and broken English. 
 He then rose and sung in the same manner, and continued 
 singing and praying alternately till nine o'clock, when sud- 
 denly my load was gone, my guilt removed, and presently 
 the direct witness from heaven shone full upon my soul. 
 
OLD TIME CONVERSION. 
 
 35 
 
 Then there flowed such copious streams of love into the 
 hitherto waste and desolate places of my soul, that I 
 thought I should die with the excess of joy. I cried, I 
 laughed, I shouted, and so strangely did I appear to all 
 but my Dutch brother, that they thought me deranged. 
 After a time I returned to my companion, and we started 
 on our journey. O what a day it was to my soul! The 
 Sun of righteousness had arisen upon me, and all nature 
 seemed to rejoice in the brightness of its rising. The 
 trees that waved their lofty heads in the forest, seemed to 
 bow them in adoration and praise. The living stream of 
 salvation flowed into mysoul. Then did I realize the truth 
 of that hymn I have so frequently sung: 
 
 "I feel that heaven is now begun; 
 It issues from the sparkling throne — 
 
 From Jesus' throne on high; 
 It comes in floods I can't contain; 
 I drink, and drink, and drink again, 
 
 And yet am ever dry." 
 
 I told the captain how happy I was, and was often inter- 
 rupted, in a recital of my experience, by involuntary shouts 
 of praise. I felt a love for all mankind, and reproached 
 myself for having been such a fool as to live so long in 
 sin and misery when there was so much mercy for me. 
 
 At length we arrived at home, and I told my wife what 
 great things the Lord had done for me. While I spoke 
 she commenced weeping, and began to seek the Lord. I 
 also told my brother John, and soon the news spread 
 through the whole neighborhood that Finley had obtained 
 religion. 
 
 i 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OLD TIME HUNGERING AND THIRSTING AFTER 
 RIGHTEOUSNESS. 
 
 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see 
 the Lord: Hel>. 12: 14. 
 
 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, 
 even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect 
 in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved 
 them, as thou hast loved me. John 17: 22, 23. 
 
 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant 
 you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strenghtened with might by his 
 Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, 
 being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints 
 what 13 the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love 
 of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the 4ulness 
 of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that 
 we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,unto him be glory in 
 the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Eph. 
 3: 14-21. 
 
 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole 
 spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 1 Thes. 5: 23. 
 
 Now the God of peace, tliat brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that 
 great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 
 make you perfect in evry good work to do his will, working in you that which 
 is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever 
 and evei:. Amen. Heb. 13: 20, 21. 
 
 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his 
 people, and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant 
 David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the 
 world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of 
 all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember 
 his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he 
 would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, 
 might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the 
 days of our life. Luke 1: t58-75. 
 
 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and 
 some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the 
 ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity 
 of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto 
 the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Eph. 4: 11-13. 
 
 And they were all tilled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with 
 other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2: 4. 
 
 In the hearts of those who have been clearly and thor- 
 oughly converted and who walk in the light of God, there 
 soon comes a conscious hunger for deliverance from 
 
HUNGERING AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 
 
 37 
 
 everything that is contrary to the will of God and for 
 more complete and increased conformity to the divine 
 nature. 
 
 The deeper the experience already gained, the deeper 
 will be this hunger and the greater the hatred felt toward 
 everything that hinders communion with God and loving 
 Him with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all 
 the mind and our neighbor as ourselves. The Savior 
 plainly recognized this fact when in his sermon on the 
 
 . mount He declared : "Blessed are they that hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." 
 
 Matthew Henry commenting upon this Scripture says : 
 "Righteousness is here put for all spiritual blessings. 
 * * * We must truly and really desire them, as one who 
 is hungry and thirsty desires meat and drink, who can not 
 be satisfied with anything but meat and drink, and will be 
 satisfied with them, though other things be wanting. Our 
 desires of spiritual blessings must be earnest and impor- 
 tunate; *Give me these, or else I die; everything else is 
 dross and chaff, unsatisfying; give me these, and I have 
 enough, though I had nothing else.' * * * * 
 
 "Those who thus hunger and thirst after spiritual bless- 
 ings, are blessed in those desires, and shall be filled with 
 those blessings, (i) They are blessed in those desires. 
 Though all desires of grace are not grace, (feigned, faint 
 desires are not), yet such a desire as this, is ; it is an evi- 
 dence of something good, and an earnest of something 
 better. It is a desire of God's own raising, and He will 
 not forsake the work of his own hands. Something or 
 other the soul wilhbe hungering and thirsting after; there- 
 
 " fore they are blessed who fasten upon the right object, 
 which is satisfying, and not deceiving; and do not pant 
 
38 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 after the dust of the earth, Amos 2: 7. Isa. 55: 2. (2) 
 They shall be filled with those blessings. God will give 
 them what they desire to their complete satisfaction. It 
 is God only who can fill a soul, whose grace and power 
 are adequate to its just desires ; and He will fill those with 
 grace for grace, who, in a sense of their own emptiness, 
 have recourse to his fullness. He fills the hungry, (Luke 
 I ' 53), satiates them, Jer. 31 : 25. The happiness of 
 heaven will certainly fill the soul ; their righteousness shall 
 be complete, the favor of God and his image, both in their 
 full perfection." 
 
 Joseph Benson says regarding these same words of* our 
 Savior : " 'Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after 
 righteousness' — ^That, instead of desiring the possessions 
 of others, and endeavoring to obtain them by violence or 
 deceit, and instead of coveting this world's goods, sin- 
 cerely, earnestly, and perseveringly desire universal holi- 
 ness of heart and life, or deliverance from all sinful dis- 
 positions and practices, and a complete restoration of their 
 souls to the image of God in which they were created : a 
 just and beautiful description this of that fervent, con- 
 stant, increasing, restless, and active desire; of that holy 
 ardor and vehemence of soul, in pursuit of the most emi- 
 nent degrees of universal goodness, which will end in com- 
 plete satisfaction. 'For they shall be filled' — shall obtain 
 the righteousness which they hunger and thirst for, and be 
 abundantly satisfied therewith." 
 
 Thomas Scott thus comments upon the same Scrip- 
 ture : "They only are happy, who hunger and thirst after 
 righteousness : that is, after God, and his favor, image, and 
 the holy felicity to be enjoyed in his Service ; who know the 
 nature, excellency, and value of such blessings; who 
 
HUNGERING AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 39 
 
 choose and seek them in the first place ; who subordinate 
 all other interests and pleasures to them ; who will not put 
 up with anything short of them: who value everything in 
 proportion as it tends to them; who are dissatisfied with 
 every attainment hitherto made; and more grieved, that 
 they are not more holy, than because they are poor, sick 
 or neglected; and who long above all things for perfect 
 holiness and happiness in the favor and service of God. 
 The new covenant is so constituted, that persons of this 
 character cannot fail to seek and find the righteousness 
 after which they hunger and thirst : for the Holy Spirit 
 that excited this spiritual appetite will lead them to 
 Christ, that it may be satisfied ; they will accept of his sal- 
 vation, and receive from his fulness of grace; they will 
 obtain a measure of the desired felicity on earth ; and when 
 all others will be torn from the object of their choice, then, 
 and not before, they 'will be filled ;' that is, as firmly estab- 
 lished in the enjoyment of the divine love, and as entirely 
 perfected in holiness, as they can desire : and this shall 
 continue forever ; 'they shall hunger no more, neither thirst 
 any more.' " 
 
 Adam S'larke, quoting from both Alford and Lange, 
 thus explains these words : " 'They which do hunger and 
 thirst' — As the body has its natural appetites of hunger 
 and thirst for the food and drink suited to its nourish- 
 ment, so has the soul. (See i Pet. 2 : 2.) (Hungering is 
 a result of a healthy state of the system ; and so the desire 
 for spiritual food is an evidence that the soul has been re- 
 stored to health.) (This hungering and thirsting after 
 righteousness is the true sign of that new life on which 
 those born of the Spirit have entered. — Alford.) 
 
 Righteousness, here, is taken for all the blessings of 
 
40 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 the new covenant ; all the graces of the Messiah's king- 
 dom ; a full restoration to the image of God ! 
 
 ('They shall be filled' — That is, with righteousness. 
 This promise applies neither exclusively to justifica- 
 tion by faith nor to final acquittal in judgment; but in- 
 cludes both justification and sanctification, and final 
 acquittal; all of which are, indeed, inseparably connected 
 with justification. — Lange.)" 
 
 Philip Doddridge says : "Happy are they that, instead 
 of desiring insatiably the possessions of others, and en- 
 deavoring to obtain them by violence or deceit, eagerly 
 hunger and thirst after righteousness, and make it the 
 delightful business of life to improve in all the branches of 
 virtue and goodness ; for they shall never be disappointed 
 in these pious pursuits, but be abundantly satisfied with 
 the righteousness they seek, (compare Prov. 21 : 21) and 
 be competently supplied with every necessary inferior 
 good." 
 
 That there remains in the hearts of true Christians 
 — ^ose who have been born of the Spirit and are con- 
 scious of real love and faith and hope toward God begotten 
 of Him in the soul — an inherited evil nature or a corrup- 
 tion of the nature, what Paul terms the "old man" and the 
 "carnal mind" that is "enmity against God," and contends 
 against the life of God in the soul, is clearly proven both 
 by the word of God and by the experience and accumu- 
 lated testimony of the people of God in all ages. 
 
 Much that bears upon this subject has been given in 
 the selections furnished in previous chapters and need not 
 be repeated here. 
 
 All are agreed that the true Christian hates this inher- 
 ited evil which he finds within and strives against it and 
 
HUNGERING AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 
 
 41 
 
 instinctively yearns for deliverance from it. Moreover all 
 agree that this hunger — this thirst after righteousness — 
 this yearning for a clean heart is begotten of God and is 
 designed, through a d-eeper knowledge of itself, to turn the 
 soul unto God for help and deliverance. 
 
 But in their belief as to how and when this deliverance 
 is to be found, the people of God widely differ, even as 
 they once differed regarding the possibility of the receiv- 
 ing the witness of the Spirit that they were the children 
 of God. 
 
 Regarding this subject we have not the inclination, in 
 this place, to enter into any lengthy discussion. Many 
 books have been written regarding this subject and we 
 have not space here to consider the question at length. 
 In passing, however, we would call attention to a few 
 joints and ask a few questions that we believe may be 
 helpful to those that are in earnest to know and do the 
 will of God. 
 
 The religion taught in both the Old and New Testa- 
 ments is one and the same. From the beginning, God has 
 demanded that his people should love Him perfectly and 
 entirely — that is with all the capacity of their being — and 
 that no rival" affection should find any place in their 
 hearts. In the law given by Moses He said : "Thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all 
 thy soul, and with all thy might;" and Christ gave the 
 same command in declaring our duty under the gospel. 
 (See Deut. 6: 5 and Matt. 22: 37.) 
 
 If "the carnal mind is enmity against God" and "is not 
 subject to the law of God neither indeed can be," (Rom. 
 8: 7), God in commanding us to love Him with all our 
 heart must have provided for the removal or cleansing away 
 
OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 of everything that would make it impossible for us to 
 obey. And with this the Word agrees for to the Old Tes- 
 tament saints He promised : *'The Lord thy God will cir- 
 cumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the 
 Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul." 
 (Deut. 30: 6.) And to us under the new dispensation He 
 says by the inspired apostle that "If we walk in the light 
 as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another 
 and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us Irom 
 all sin." 
 
 Since God has declared that "The w^ath of God is re- 
 vealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unright- 
 eousness of men," (Rom. i : 18,) and that He loves right- 
 eousness and hates iniquity, (See Heb. 1:9); that the 
 fear of the Lord is to hate evil, (Prov. 8: 13), that He is 
 of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look upon 
 iniquity — that is to allow or consent to it— (See Hab. i: 
 13,) and since He commands us to be holy because He is 
 holy (See Lev. ii : 44 and i Pet. i : 16), and tells us that 
 as his children we may know that "our old man is cruci- 
 fied with him that the body of sin might be destroyed"i 
 (Rom. 6: 6) can it be his will or choice that the rtoture 
 which He has declared to be enmity against Himself 
 should remain in the heart — ^that is in the will and affect- 
 ions — of his children? 
 
 Could a true husband be satisfied to know that in the 
 heart of his bride there existed together with some degree 
 of regard for himself as real a love for another and that 
 other his own worst enemy, even though he knew that she 
 was trying to repress that wrong affection? 
 
 Would an earthly parent choose that there should con- 
 tinue to exist in the heart of his child, enmity against him- 
 
HUNGERING AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 43 
 
 self — if it were in his power to remove it? 
 
 And if we demand that human affection should be pure 
 and, in this sense, perfect, are the Heavenly Bridegroom 
 and the Heavenly Father satisfied with less, not with- 
 standing the infinite love they have bestowed upon us? 
 
 We believe that much of the difference of belief and 
 teaching that exists regarding this subject is caused by 
 misconception and misunderstanding of the use of terms. 
 
 If under the term sin, is included all infirmities of body 
 and spirit that result from the fall or from our own 
 previous wrong doing and all deviations from a law of 
 absolute righteousness that may result therefrom, all both 
 in our nature and actions that demand the atoning merit 
 of the blood of Christ, then may we well declare that no 
 one can live here in the body without the commission of 
 sin ; but if by sin we mean only that which is contrary to 
 the loving God, with all our heart and with all our mind 
 and with all our strength, who shall dare to declare that 
 God will not fulfill in the hearts of those who trust and 
 obey Him that which He has so graciously promised and 
 sanctify them wholly and preserve them blameless unto 
 the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ? (See i Thess. 5: 
 23, 24.) 
 
 And is not this the more scriptural use of the word sin ? 
 Does not the word of God tell us that "to him that know- 
 eth to do, good and doeth it not, to him it is sin?" (James 
 4: 17.) And if "Sin is the transgression of the law" (John 
 3: 4,) are we not expressly told that love is its fulfilling? 
 (See Rom. 13 : 10.) And are we not also assured that "the 
 end of the commandment is charity" (or love) "out of a 
 pure heart and of a good conscience, and of faith un- 
 feigned?" (i Tim. 1 : 5.) 
 
44 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 It is in this sense that the word is used by those who 
 teach that we may be saved in this Hfe from both the 
 power and inbeing of sin. 
 
 Edward Freeman, commenting in a recent article upon 
 the ritual used by Methodist and Episcopalian churches 
 in connection with the administration of the Lord's supper 
 gives what we consider a fair and candid statement of 
 what is known as the Methodist doctrine of Christian per- 
 fection or entire sanctification when he says : "We hold 
 that according to the scriptures, men may be saved from 
 all sin in this life, from actual sin in regeneration, and 
 from inbred sin in entire sanctification. When one is 
 born again he is so far saved that he no longer commits 
 sin ; and when he becomes entirely sanctified he is delivered 
 from the very being of sin within him. Depravity no 
 longer exists in his heart, and no longer manifests itsel! 
 in his life. This is full salvation, that hoHness which God 
 raised up Methodism to spread over these lands and 
 throughout the world." * * * * And where again he says : 
 
 ''We do not teaclTthat we can attain in this life a state 
 of holiness which exempts us from errors and infirmities 
 of mind, mistakes of life, and defects of character; nor 
 that such defects do not need the atoning blood of Christ ; 
 nor that it is improper to confess them to God and ask 
 him to forgive them. From Wesley down, ^lethodists have 
 insisted that entire sanctification is not a state of freedom 
 from involuntary transgressions, from many physical and 
 mental infirmities, and from many deviations from the law 
 of absolute holiness. Owing to the disordered condition 
 of our faculties of body and mind which continues through 
 this life, we must necessarily manifest many weaknesses 
 and defects ; and while we may be blameless now, not until 
 
HUNGERING AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 45 
 
 the resurrection morning shall we be 'presented faultless 
 before the presence of his glory/ 
 
 It is the teaching of Methodist theologians that these 
 infirmities are in some respects of the nature of sin, though 
 not involving personal guilt ; that is, they are the effects of 
 sin, they are moral imperfections, they are deviations from 
 the perfect law, they need the blood of Christ, and may 
 properly be confessed even by the entirely sanctified as 
 faults which God is asked to cover with his mercy. And 
 so far from sanctified people not being aware of their 
 failings, the writer believes that they perceive their faults 
 more clearly than others do. The inward illumination of 
 the Spirit reveals to them more fully both the ineffable 
 hoHness of the divine Majesty and their own utter nothing- 
 ness in his sight. They feel like humbling themselves be- 
 fore God, repudiating all merit, frankly confessing that 
 they have been transgressors of his holy law, and that even, 
 now they are conscious of defects in their lives, and that 
 their only hope of salvation here or hereafter is in the 
 free grace of God through the death of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, which they commemorate in the Lord's Supper. 
 Thus in view of remaining infirmities it is eminently fitting 
 for holy people to humble themselves before God, especi- 
 ally upon the occasion of the sacrament ; and in doing this 
 what language can they use more impressive than the sol- 
 emn and beautiful words of the ritual 
 
 Can God regard with favor or willing tolerance in us, 
 the very thing that changed angels of glory into demons 
 of hell? Will pride make us more humble? Will the sin 
 of worldliness make us more heavenly minded? Will sin- 
 ful affections enable us to love God the more? 
 
 Paul told us that he could "glory in infirmities," and 
 
46 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 "take pleasure in reproaches, in necessities, and in distress- 
 es for Christ's sake," but did he ever teach that he gloried 
 in sin and that God could be glorified thereby — only by 
 manifesting his power and holiness in its destruction? 
 
 An earthly parent can find untold pleasure in the love 
 of an infant child because it loves him with all its capacity. 
 Moreover he may find a constant source of joy in its de- 
 velopment from weakness to strength, but can he ever re- 
 joice to see in his child a spirit of disobedience or rebell- 
 ion? Even so can our Father in Heaven be glorified in 
 his weakest child that loves Him with a perfect heart and 
 find pleasure in our weakest and most imperfect efforts 
 if prompted by pure love and made with an eye single to 
 His glory. But can God rejoice to hear His children 
 truthfully sing: 
 
 "See how we grovel here below, 
 
 Fond of these earthly toys; 
 Our hearts how heavily they go. 
 
 To seek eternal joys." 
 
 unless it be by way of humble confession with a deter- 
 mination to seek and obtain something better? 
 
 Has the grace of God provided nothing better for us, 
 that his profesfeed children should quote such words as a 
 description of a normal Christian experence? 
 
 Rev. B. Pomeroy in a sermon published in Visions 
 from Modern Mounts, on Soul Hunger Satisfied, gives 
 expression to much practical truth. His text was the same 
 Scripture to which we have already referred, "Blessed are 
 they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they 
 shall be filled." From that sermon we give here some 
 brief selections : 
 
 In some connections of Scripture righteousness in- 
 cludes nearly all that appertains to practical and experi- 
 
\ HUNGERING AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 47 
 
 mental Christianity, but in the text it is limited. 
 
 H^re it does not meat rite, ceremony or worship; 
 neither does it mean an open confession of Christ, a cir- 
 cumspect life, or godly conversation, but it does mean the 
 root, or foundation of all these. Righteousness in the 
 text, if I understand it, is a dispensation, an impartation of 
 the Divine, an influx of spiritual life — the soul's native 
 aliment and element. What water is to the fish, in some 
 respects, righteousness is to the soul. The fish lives in 
 the water and his vitality is sustained by and through the 
 water. So of this righteousness. It is the element in 
 which a pure spirit moves, and the banquet of holy exist- 
 ence. * * * 
 
 Real hunger is not whimsical as to the style of serving ; 
 the greatest word in its vocabulary is, "Give me enough." 
 
 Then, hunger is an acute discerner of the difference 
 between a display of china and bread ; as this is the last 
 case to divide his feast between mouth and eyes — great 
 dazzle and little food. To mock the appetite by adminis- 
 tering to eyes is an insult to hunger. 
 
 So some churches in the land, for the want of some- 
 thing to eat, substitute ceremonies for soul-eating, cere- 
 monies of contrasts, and ceremonies of harmonies, to pa- 
 rade, and maneuver, and make-believe eating, like children 
 playing "come to see." 
 
 But when we come to the kingdom entertainment, we 
 find another thing. Here is righteousness and peace and 
 joy in the Holy Ghost — joy unspeakable and full of glory, 
 where the saints cry out and shout, because the Holy One 
 of Israel is in the midst of them. You may administer 
 common prayer-book and machine worship to mummies; 
 but if there are living souls in that church they know the 
 
48 
 
 Old TIM^ RELIGION. 
 
 fraud, and if they really hunger for the holy, you may 
 look out for uncommon prayer — prayer, too, such as never 
 yet was printed. You may entertain nerves and muscles 
 with empty sound, but when immortal hunger opens its 
 mouth, woe to the man who feeds chaff. 
 
 Finally, the promise : "Shall be filled." Glory to God ! 
 Immortal cravings can be satisfied! There is something 
 in the universe equal to the vast want of mind. "Shall be 
 filled !" This is the law of the Divine Infinitudes, to fill 
 everything that comes ; from high arch-angel down to babe 
 in Christ. There are no degrees, or limits, in the Infinite. 
 The seat and center of infinitudes are in Him. 
 
 Every one carries in himself the measure of his own 
 receiving. The question, then, is not, how much can God 
 give, but how much can we receive? L,et it be more or 
 less, fullness everywhere is the low water-mark of the king- 
 dom, and if we let the Spirit have his way in us, if we do 
 not interrupt this influx of righteousness and peace and 
 joy in the Holy Ghost, we shall be made to run over with 
 heaven before God says it is enough. 
 
 Now, my friends, are you filled? If so, you are satis- 
 fied ; there is no hankering for carnal pleasures, for the 
 leeks and onions of Egypt; from these we are only cured 
 in the taste of milk and honey in Canaan. 
 
 We close with one contrast. In literal eating, we 
 graduate the quantity by the appetite, and when the relish 
 ceases, we are through; no disposition to eat more. Not 
 so in spiritual things ; here the relish never abates by 
 eating, but to the reverse, it increases. The soul is never 
 cloyed with things heavenly, by the superabundance. 
 
 What then ? We are just filled — filled with an unabated 
 love for more, but don't want, because we are filled. 
 
HUNGERING AE^TER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 49 
 
 F'riends, are you satisfied in Christ, and with Christ? 
 If not, you have not yet reached the Divine fulness. 
 . Brother, I beseech you, don't be satisfied with present at- 
 tainments, while you are in a condition of unrest from 
 unsatisfied wants; neither be discouraged from this dis- 
 satisfaction; this hungering for righteousness is the best 
 evidence you have, perhaps, that God is with you. Then 
 the strongest hold and the best hope the Spirit has of you, 
 is in this same distress. 
 
 O 'my dear fellow pilgrim, cherish this groaning after 
 God, but don't administer cordials in your songs. Let 
 this groan go through to the great conclusion, where, 
 Hfting up holy hands, you exclaim, "I am filled !" Amen. 
 
 All must agree that God's plan for the soul is per- 
 petual and eternal progress in knowledge of and love for 
 and likeness to Himself. And surely just as fast as by 
 meeting the necessary conditions they become capable of 
 receiving the grace of God and using it aright, it is his 
 will that his children should have all that He has pur- 
 chased for them in the plan of salvation. 
 
 And surely outside of themselves, there is no power in 
 the universe that can keep them from their promised in- 
 ' heritance ; "For his divine power hath given unto us" 
 (hath provided for and offers us) ''all things that pertain 
 unto life and godliness." (2 Pet. i : 3.) 
 
 And since it is beyond question the plain and revealed 
 will of God that his children should grow in grace and in 
 the knowledge of the truth, since we are assured that "The 
 path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more 
 and more unto the perfect day," then no matter what our 
 theories concerning our privilege may be, whether right 
 or wrong, if we as God's children are not growing in grace 
 
50 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 — that is in all the fruits of the Spirit, in love, joy, peace, 
 long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and 
 temperance — if we are not increasing in love to God and 
 our neighbor — if we have not more and more of the mind 
 that was in Christ — if we do not feel more as Jesus felt 
 when He wept over Jerusalem and when on the cross He 
 prayed, "Father forgive them for they know not what they 
 do" — if we do not weep more over the lost and over the 
 desolation of Zion — if we are not more and more inclined 
 to self-denial and self-sacrifice in behalf of souls — if we 
 are not increasingly drawn out in prayer for all saints and 
 the work of God everywhere — if we ai% not reflecting in 
 our lives and characters more and more of the divine 
 image and yet continually hungering a'nd thirsting to know 
 more and m^ore of the love of God that passeth knowledge 
 — then there is surely something sadly wrong in our ex- 
 perience and practice. 
 
 Purity of heart can be found alone by faith in the 
 cleansing power of Jesus' blood. But he who would rest 
 satisfied with purity is like one who would be satisfied to 
 be well, though dwarfed in body and mind. 
 
 The psalmist declared that the righteous should be like 
 a tree planted by the rivers of water, that is never thirst- 
 ing (in vain) because always filled, yet continually drink- 
 ing more and more as it grows naturally and constantly 
 toward full maturity. 
 
 The work of the Holy Spirit in purifying the heart 
 (See Acts 15: 9,) is but a preparation for his indwelling, 
 (See John 14: 17,) that He may "guide" (lead by constant 
 continued progress) "into all truth" (See John 16: 13.) 
 
 But he that would grow in grace and in the knowledge 
 of the truth must welcome all the discipline that comes by 
 
HUNGERING AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS. 
 
 51 
 
 the trial of his faith, for we read : ''Tribulation worketh 
 patience ; and patience, experience ; and experience, hope : 
 and hope maketh not ashamed ; because the love of God is 
 shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is 
 given unto us." (Rom. 5 : 3-5.) 
 
 Grace is cheap at any price. Realizing this, the saints 
 of God gladly welcome the afflictions which will by the 
 working of the Holy Spirit increase their patience and so 
 increase their experience and work out for them a *'far 
 more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 
 
 Trials and afflictions are not given for the purifying of 
 the saints from sin, but for their perfecting in holiness. In 
 this Christ is our example. 
 
 Even in his human nature he was without sin — and 
 the Holy Spirit was not given by measure unto Him (See 
 John 3 : 34.) Yet, "In the days of his flesh, when he had 
 offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying 
 and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, 
 and was heard in that he feared; though he were a Son, 
 yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered ; 
 and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal 
 salvation unto all them that obey him. 
 
 And if the blessed Savior in his human nature learned 
 lessons through suffenkig that He could not learn without, 
 shall we hope or ask to escape ? Shall we not, the rather, 
 welcome anything and everything that may come to us/ in 
 the providence of God, knowing that all things work to- 
 gether for good to them that love Him and that only in 
 this way may we be brought into closest fellowship wJth 
 Him ? Surely he who has in his heart the old-time hunger 
 for more of God will be led to exclaim with the Apotetle : 
 "Who shell separate us from the love of Christ? shall 
 
52 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or naked- 
 ness, or peril, or sword. As it is written. For thy sake we 
 are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for 
 the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than 
 conquerers through him that loved us. For I am per- 
 suaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princi- 
 palities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able 
 to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
 Jesus our I^ord." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 AN OLD TIME REVIVAL OUR GREATEST NEED. 
 
 And it shall coma to pass afterward, thati will pour out my Spirit upon all 
 flesh; and your sons and your daughters Shall prophesy, your old men shall dream 
 dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon 
 the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit. Joel 2: 28, 29. 
 
 "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they 
 shall be filled." (Matt. 5: 6.) 
 
 •'For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry 
 ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine off- 
 spring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water- 
 courses." (Isa. 44: 3, 4.) 
 
 "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I vnll pour out my Spirit upon 
 all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall 
 dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants 
 and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit. (Joel 2: 28, 29.) 
 
 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, 
 If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, 
 as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 
 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: 
 for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) 
 (John 7: 37-39.) 
 
 By an old time revival we mean a "time of refreshing 
 from the presence of the Lord" — resulting in the thorough 
 renewing and great deepening of spiritual life in the 
 hearts of God's children, the reclaiming of backsliders and 
 in old time conviction, old time repentance, (including con- 
 fession and restitution), old time conversions and old 
 time consecration — yea in old time power and old-time 
 glory. 
 
 God's plan for each of his children is that from the hour 
 he is born of the Spirit he should continue to grow in grace 
 and in the knowledge of the truth but alas, how few are 
 faithful to all the light given and constantly diligent to 
 add to their faith, virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to 
 knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to 
 patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, 
 and to brotherly kindness charity, in order that they may 
 
54 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. (See 2 Peter i : 5-8.) 
 
 How few, like Paul, forgetting those things which are! 
 behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are 
 before, press (continually) toward the mark for the prize 
 of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And hence the 
 need of revivals ! To revive means to "restore and renew 
 life — to raise from languor, depression or discourage- 
 ment." "A revival is a time of renewed interest in religion' 
 after indifference and decline ; a period of religious awaken- 
 ing." A genuine revival is more than an outward reforma- 
 tion. It is a restoration of divine life and power, and re- 
 vivals are, primarily, not for the unsaved, but for the! 
 church. The very need of a revival is brought about byi 
 the coldness and backslidings of those who have once 
 been made partakers of the divine nature. 
 
 SPURIOUS OR GENUINE REVIVALS — WHICH? 
 BY J. M. BUCKLEY. 
 
 Every church not zealous and active, whatever its' 
 moral virtues may be, needs a revival that it may grow 
 in grace and save souls. There are cordials which nour- 
 ish, and poisons which begin by stimulating, but end by( 
 killing. So there are revivals which renew the strength 
 of the church, and there are revivals which depress and 
 deaden. Which do you prefer? All would say, "Give us 
 a genuine revival or none." For all that, many havel 
 spurious revivals, and get just what they seek. Some 
 churches can't tell what is the matter. They say, "How; 
 is it we have a revival every year, and yet are weaker 
 than we were ten years ago?" 
 
 Spurious revivals ape not altogether alike, but they] 
 
OUR GREATEST NEED. 
 
 55 
 
 resemble each other in most respects. There is first a 
 dead church. The leading members are absorbed in busi- 
 ness. If a few are devout and spiritual, the majority are 
 not so. They may be liberal or parsimonious, but they 
 have little time for religious work. What meetings they 
 attend are "official." The young people are fully occupied 
 with fairs, sociables, unions and reading circles or given 
 up to dancing and party going. In cities they often add 
 opera and theaters. 
 
 A general spirit of good humor prevails. The prayer 
 meetings are usually slimly attended and very dull. Some- 
 times they are well attended, but the singing, prayers by 
 the aged members, and long talks by the pastor, are the 
 main elements. Class meetings are defunct or dying. 
 The Sunday-school may or may not be flourishing. In 
 such a church there may be large or small contributions, 
 the members may be close, or they may have so much 
 means that mere surplus giving may make, in the aggre- 
 gate, a large sum. Various inconsistencies are common. 
 Discipline has been neglected for years. So long as a 
 member is either popular personally or wholly unknown, 
 anything which will not make a public scandal is winked 
 at. If the minister suggests the necessity of discipline 
 the answer is, "We don't want any trouble; we have not 
 had any for years." 
 
 This is the situation : this is a good preparation for a 
 spurious revival. It depends largely on the minister now 
 whether they will have no revival, a spurious revival, or 
 a genuine revival. If he is a well-meaning, consistent 
 man, but not much stirred up, there will be no revival; 
 if he is spiritually roused they will have none, or it will 
 be genuine so far as it goes, whether it be great or small. 
 
.^6 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 But if the minister simply feels that there must be a stir, 
 and additions must be had— if his moral nature be not 
 moved to its depths, or if he be superficial in his make- 
 up or experience, a spurious revival will be kindled. Per- 
 haps they may get an evangelist, perhaps not. A good 
 evangelist working in such a soil as this might produce 
 a spurious revival. It is not always just to blame the 
 evangelist. "Some good seed fell by the wayside, some 
 in stony places." But all evangelists are not good or 
 wise. Perhaps there will be no evangelist, but the min- 
 ister will go on. The young people have not been trained, 
 in true religion; having thought that at any time they 
 wish they can ''join the church," and having seen many 
 others do it without any great change ,and being sus- 
 ceptible and emotional, they are easily operated on. No 
 hymns on human depravity or guilt are in order now, 
 but smooth, sweet hymns to lively tunes — "Show pity, 
 Lord," "Alas! and did my Savior bleed?" "Vain man, 
 thy fond pursuits forbear." Even "Depth of mercy! 
 can it be," will hardly do. Pathetic stories must be told, 
 and told well ; just after the story the song must come in 
 very sweetly, indeed. Rising for prayer or coming for- 
 ward must be made easy, nothing said about "counting 
 the cost." They must all be assured that it is not "hard 
 to rise," "others have done it," "we are all your friends." 
 The cross being put out of sight, then they are tol3 to 
 take it up. Soon the ice is broken, and a wave of excite- 
 ment quite pleasureable and akin to good humor is rip- 
 pling through the community. The seekers may be asked 
 if they do not feel better. If the question be put with 
 the upward inflection, many will say, "Yes." If any one 
 says, "No," or "I can't see that I do," he is sure to be 
 
OUR GREATEST NEED. 
 
 57 
 
 asked if he does not feel ''a little better?" If the answer 
 be "Yes," the Doxology, perhaps, may be sung. No 
 reference to past history, no examination into Jthe moral 
 state, no careful questioning about habits, no instruction 
 as to things to be renounced, nor no confession and resti- 
 tution to be made. The name is taken, with the notice, 
 "Be present next Sunday; I will take you on probation." 
 "What class would you like to attend? "I don't know 
 as I want to attend any." "Well brother, I will put your 
 name down; do as well as you can." "All right." 
 
 Of such a work what shall be said? The ungodly un- 
 derstand it as well as, if not better, than we. Here fol- 
 lows an extract from an actual conversation : " 'Why 
 won't Mary come to the dance to-night?" "O, she has 
 been converted and is going to join the church next Sun- 
 day. She won't come while the meetings last, but she 
 says she will come next month.' " 
 
 We do not presume to say how many such revivals 
 there are. But the above is not a fancy sketch nor an 
 isolated case. 
 
 A GENUINE revival— the greatest blessing God can 
 confer upon any people — begins in the church. It shows 
 itself in increased earnestness in the godly. They prayed 
 much before ; they pray more now. . They felt the burden 
 of sins before; it is almost crushing now. From them 
 emanates a spirit which at first unconsciously rouses the 
 slumbering consciences of those who had lost their first 
 love. Soon they begin to see themselves as they are. 
 They repent, humble themselves, confess their sins, and 
 take their former places in prayer and exhortation. Now! 
 a real agony possesses the godly for the unconverted. 
 Business men begin to think at their stores of the peril 
 
58 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 of their sins; mothers find that they cannot sleep for 
 thinking that their daughters, so affectionate to them, are 
 not in love with Christ, and that, if separated by death, 
 there is no ground to hope for a union in heaven. So 
 the husband begins to yearn over the wife of his bosom; 
 and the wife, long travelling in the narrow way alone, 
 now feels this loneliness as never before. The pastor 
 knows what prayer and fasting mean. He cannot now 
 enjoy the social dinners as he could months ago. He is 
 absorbed. A feeling akin to awe fills the church. The 
 more susceptible among the irreligious begin to feel it. 
 An appeal is made to sinners. Nothing seems to come 
 of it but a solemn stillness. Those who have seen only 
 a spurious revival are surprised; they wonder that more 
 do not respond. But the scribe, well instructed unto the 
 Kingdom of Heaven, may be depressed, but is not sur- 
 prised. This work begins slowly; it is not shavings, but 
 coal, that is kindling. The unconverted are drawn to- 
 ward, and drawn from, Christ; they see that it is no! 
 light thing to be a Christian: that it means giving up; 
 the world, giving up many things that many professedl 
 Christians, and some ministers, love to do. They 
 are not ready for the sacrifice ; they hold back. Buti 
 the spirit of exhortation comes upon the church; prayer) 
 seems to bring together heaven and earth. Sinners 'trem- 
 ble; they yield. Men, strong men, women of fashlony 
 little children, fiery youth, all know that the Lord is inl 
 His temple. Now they need no one to tell them they] 
 are converted, to cajole them by asking them if they| 
 feel better. They receive instruction, consecrate them-, 
 selves to God, and soon they testify by word or look, or| 
 inarticulate utterance that they have passed from deathj 
 
OUR GREATEST NEED. 
 
 59 
 
 unto life. Every such conversion has more moral ^orce 
 to bring men to repentance than a sermon. Some can- 
 not believe for days; they struggle and pray, and see 
 more to give up, and give up all, and their "chains fall," 
 "their dungeon flames with light." 
 
 When a genuine revival is in the pause before the mighty 
 movements of the power of God there is danger that some 
 of God's people will be impatient, and transform the gen- 
 uine into the spurious revival. But the minister that 
 walketh wisely shall be delivered. If there be but forty 
 in this revival, most of them will be found after many 
 days. If there be a hundred in the other, but a few of 
 them will remain, and of the few who do, some will be 
 tares. 
 
 Invitations, appeals, songs of different kinds, are com'' 
 mon to both; the fundamental difference is, that in the 
 spurious the fallow ground is not broken up ; in the 
 genuine it is. The one is on the surface: the other goes 
 to the depths of the nature. The one changes the pro- 
 fession only, the other the profession and the life. — From 
 Christian Advocate. 
 
 After twenty-five years of experience in evangelistic 
 work, largely with churches of various denominations, 
 we are clear to declare that many pastors and churches 
 neither understand or desire what is described in the above 
 article as a genuine revival. Many of them have never 
 witnessed such an awakening and have no comprehension 
 of the great need of thorough work. We have been called 
 to help in many churches where both pastor and people 
 were well pleased until God, in answer to prayer, began 
 to break up the deep of hearts, and professors began to 
 confess their faults and ask forgiveness of each other 
 
60 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 and of outsiders, and make crooked things straight. 
 Then, in some cases the pastor, and in many cases world- 
 ly-minded church members, and perhaps the leading and 
 official members, became alarmed and began to bitterly 
 oppose the work of God. 
 
 Is it not time to cry aloud and spare not to lift up 
 the voice Hke a trumpet and show the people of God their 
 transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins? Sure- 
 ly the need beside which every other need sinks into in- 
 significance is an old time revival, a deep and wide-spread 
 old-time revival. 
 
 We are no pessimists. We do not for a moment lose 
 sight of the fact that the foundations of God stand sure. 
 We do not for a moment question that God has his thou- 
 sands that have not bowed the knee to the world, the 
 flesh, or the devil, nor been swept from their mooring 
 by the present floodtide of false teaching and doctrine. 
 These unite in declaring that the only remedy for the evils 
 we deplore is an old time revival — a revival brought 
 about by the mighty working of the spirit of God in 
 awakening and quickening and saving power. O for a 
 revival that will turn the professed people of God back 
 from their idols of sin and worldliness to serve the true 
 and living God — back from their ^'broken cisterns" to the 
 "Fountain of living waters." A revival in which the 
 Word of God will be preached without compromise or 
 apology in the power of the Holy Ghost sent down from 
 heaven. A revival that will overthrow sin of every kind, 
 popular as well as unpopular. A revival that will take 
 every desire for worldly amusements and abolish every 
 ungodly scheme for raising money for the support of 
 the gospel. A revival that will sweep away the pride 
 
OUR GREATEST NEED. 
 
 61 
 
 that prompts all worldly conformity and extravagance 
 in dress and manner of life, and melt the millions of dol- 
 lars worth of gold that is now used to adorn the body, 
 into coin and dedicate it to God for carrying the gospel 
 to the heathen. A revival that will take the people out 
 of their worldly clubs and societies and secret lodges and 
 put them into the ''secret place of the Most High" where 
 they will "abide under the shadow of the Almighty." 
 
 A revival that will save the people of God from covet- 
 ousness and love of the world and all uncleanness of spir- 
 it, mind and body. A revival in which professors of re- 
 ligion will have their eyes opened to see and feel their 
 responsibility for souls and in which they will confess 
 with broken hearts their former backslidings, their care- 
 lessness and indifference, and in thousands of cases their 
 actual transgressions of the horal law. A revival that 
 like a flood will "sweep away the' refuge of lies" and 
 "overflow the hiding places" of all them that would hide 
 away from the light of God's Spirit. A revival that will 
 unearth and uncover every device of Satan for deceiving 
 souls, whether found in the church or outside of it, "For 
 the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him ; and 
 he will show unto them his covenant." A revival that will 
 make both the church and the world to reaHze the short- 
 ness of time and the importance of eternity. A revival in 
 which judgment light will shine not only on the unsaved 
 but in which God's people will see their duty and realize 
 their opportunity as those that have lost sight of the 
 things of time in the light of the coming Judgment. A 
 revival that will make heaven and hell, Calvary and the 
 resurrection, salvation from sin, cleansing through the 
 blood, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, living realities by 
 
62 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 the revelation of the Spirit in harmony with the Word. 
 A revival in which the sinfulness of sin will be so 
 revealed that instead of excusing and pleading for it, souls 
 will turn from it in utter loathing and cry out "O wretched 
 man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of 
 death" (See Wesley's notes on Rom. 7: 24) and refuse to 
 find comfort in any thought of imputed righteousness as 
 a covering for sin but cry out for deliverance from every 
 wrong affection and from every evil thought and desire and 
 rest not until the old man is crucified with Christ and the 
 very body of sin destroyed. A revival that will sweep away 
 selfishness and narrqwness and all sectarian spirit and 
 bring those that now spend their time in criticism of each 
 other down on their faces together before the Lord, crying 
 out for the salvation of lost souls. 
 
 A revival that like a tornado will sweep away all the 
 old dried up sermons and all the cold formal prayers 
 and all the lifeless singing, and like a whirlwind will carry 
 every one that comes in its path heavenward. A revival 
 that will fill the hearts of saints with holy love and so 
 burden the hearts of God's ministers that the word of 
 God will be like fire shut up in their bones. (See Jer. 
 20: 9.) A revival that will help the people to honor 
 God with their substance and so have their barns filled 
 with plenty. (See Prov. 3: 9, 10.) A revival that will 
 open the windows of heaven by bringing all God's tithes 
 into his storehouse. A revival that will so fill the saints 
 with love that they will rejoice in the opportunity to give 
 their time and money and if needs be their very lives 
 for their brethren and for the salvation of a lost world. 
 A revival in which the presence of God will be so revealed 
 that multitudes will fall under the power of God and cry 
 
OUR GREATEST NEED. 
 
 63 
 
 for mercy as they did on the day of Pentecost. A re- 
 vival that has so much of Heaven and so much of God's 
 glory in it that all the world will be compelled to see and 
 feel its mighty influence. A revival that will gloriously de- 
 feat the powers of darkness and hell and make earth and 
 heaven ring with shouts of victory over a multitude of 
 souls snatched from the eternal burnings and won for God 
 and heaven — yea a revival that will never need to be re- 
 vived, but that will sweep on like a mighty wave of the sea 
 that nothing can hinder, until time shall be no more ! 
 
 For such a revival our heart cries out to God ! For 
 such a revival we are ready to watch and toil and pray. 
 For such a revival we believe the blessed Holy Spirit is 
 interceding in many hearts. Such a revival God is able 
 and ready to give. But for this He must be enquired of 
 by his people to do it for them. (See Ezek. 36: 37.) 
 
 May God grant it not for our sakes, but for His own 
 name's sake and for His own honor and glory! Amen 
 and amen. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PREPARATION FOR AN OLD TIME REVIVAL. 
 
 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew 
 us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation. I will hear what God the 
 Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but 
 let them not turn again lo folly. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear 
 him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; 
 righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the 
 earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give 
 that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall 
 go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps. Psa. 85: 6-13. 
 
 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may bo meat in mine 
 house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open 
 you the windows of heaven, and pour j^ou out a blessing, that there shall not 
 be room enough to receive it. Mai. 8: 10. 
 
 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably 
 to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniq- 
 uity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her 
 sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of 
 the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley 
 shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked 
 shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord 
 shall be revealed, and all fiesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the 
 Lord hath spoken it. Isa. 40: 1-5. 
 
 0 Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: 0 Lord, revive thy work in 
 the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remem- 
 ber mercy. Hab. 3: 2. 
 
 Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal 
 us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will Tie revive us: 
 in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall 
 we know- . if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared aa 
 the morning; and he ^hall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former 
 rain unto the earth. Hos. 6: 1-3. 
 
 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, 
 when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the I^ord. Acto 
 3: 19. 
 
 Genuine revivals are not gotten up nor worked up by 
 merely human effort. They *'do not come that way." 
 They are ''born, not made." They are from heaven and 
 of divine origin. God is their author and the Holy Spirit 
 is his executor and director. Human instrumentality is 
 needful but only in submission to the divine will and pow- 
 er. He who would be a co-worker with God in the salva- 
 tion of men must needs be, so far as perfect submission 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 65 
 
 and dependence upon divine power and energy are con- 
 cerned, like clay in the hands of the potter. 
 
 Those who would be greatly used of God in the salva- 
 tion of souls must be dead to the praise of men, dead to 
 self importance, and self-seeking, dead to everything but 
 the glory of God and the value of immortal souls, seeking 
 the honor that cometh from God only. All the old leaven 
 must be taken out of their hearts and lives that the new 
 leaven may have full control and that they may have no 
 other desire than to glorify God in their spirits and in 
 their bodies that are his. Everything in their hearts that 
 would incline them to be satisfied with shallow work 
 must be cleansed away by the blood of Christ. Where God 
 has his way, Christian workers will not be satisfied with 
 anything that does not satisfy God, and working in har- 
 mony with the Spirit and under his direction, they will 
 have a faith that "laughs at impossibilities and cries, It 
 must be done." 
 
 Those whom God honors in bringing about a revival 
 are those who have taken to heart the desolation of Zion 
 and have poured out their souls — not in criticism and 
 fault-finding, but in confession and tears on their faces 
 before the Lord, because of the abominations that are 
 done in the midst of her. They realize that in a genuine 
 revival, sandy foundations must give way, and everything 
 that will not stand the light and fire of the Judgment Day 
 must be thrown aside in order that the true foundation 
 may be reached — the foundation that God has laid and 
 against which the combined powers of earth and hell can- 
 not prevail. 
 
 From the human side, true revivals are born of in- 
 tense desire and prevailing prayer — wrought by the power 
 
66 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 of the Holy Ghost in the heart' of one or more of God's 
 children. Reproduction and increase is the law of life 
 whether vegetable, animal or spirrtiial. God designs his 
 spiritual church to be fruitful and multiply and replenish 
 the earth with spiritual children. As consistently might 
 we expect God to perpetuate the oak by the direct crea- 
 tion of acorns as to expect children to be given to the 
 church without travail of soul. "When Zion travails she 
 shall bring forth," is as much the law of spiritual life as 
 that human life is the result of human parentage. God 
 never forces this spiritual travail upon an unwilling church, 
 but the Holy Ghost at all times intercedes in the hearts 
 of those who live close to God and who sufficiently com- 
 prehend and desire this intercession of the Spirit, for an 
 increase of the power of God to be revealed in the salva- 
 tion of souls. 
 
 Generally speaking, the more direct and visible means 
 used to bring about a revival is the strong faithful preach- 
 ing of the Word, resulting in a manifestation of humility 
 and repentance on the part of God's professed people. 
 
 Some looking at the sovereignty of God, have said, 
 ''When God's time comes to revive his work. He will do 
 it. We can neither hasten nor hinder it.'* 
 
 Others looking at the freedom of the human will have 
 said in their unbelief, "God will do nothing until the peo- 
 pie are willing." BotTi are wrong. The truth lies between 
 these two extremes. God has plainly declared that it is 
 not His will that any should perish — but that all should 
 turn unto Him and live. He has also declared that "Now 
 is the 'accepted time and now is the day of salvation." 
 With these two plain statements, agree the entire word 
 of God ; and they prove beyond all question that God wills 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 67 
 
 the salvation of every responsible human being and 'that 
 the time when this is His choice for every creature is the 
 present. God wills all men to be saved; and H©- wills 
 all men to be saved now. Yet all men are not saved. 
 Why? Because mankind by the power of choice, which is 
 essential to character, stand in the way. God's plan of 
 salvation recognizes first the individuality of every hu- 
 man being; and secondly the necessity of atonement and 
 sacrifice and intercession — both divine and human. 
 
 If the church of God waits for a revival until all con- 
 ditions are met, she will wait till time is lost in eternity. 
 "God's good time" is now; and everything that hinders 
 just such a revival as that described in our last chapter, 
 is on the human side. God works just as mightily as He 
 is able to work in full recognition of man's power of choice 
 and slowness to believe and obey God. The Holy Ghost 
 is at all times striving to bring about a revival; and will \ 
 use for this any and every heart that is ready and willing 
 to be so used according to its capacity. And for this, 
 Gjod can use large hearts coupled with small intellectual 
 powers far better than large powers of intellect, coupled 
 with little faith and love. 
 
 PREVAILING PRAYER POSSIBLE 
 
 Some degree of influence over human hearts, God 
 holds in his own hands. The Holy Spirit is in the world 
 to reprove men of sin and of righteousness and of judg- 
 ment. Whether the church is right or not — whether she 
 does or whether slie does not do that which God demands. 
 God's spirit brings to every responsible soul sufficient 
 light to make possible his salvation. 
 
 The condemnation of every lost soul is going to be: 
 "Ye would not come unto me that ye might have life." 
 Yet this does not imply that the choice of many such souls 
 
68 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 might not, by better influence, have been turned in the 
 right direction for Christ, who knew the hearts of all 
 men, declared that if the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 
 had had the opportunities given to Capernaum, they would 
 have repented in sack-cloth and ashes. 
 
 It is, then, beyond question, the fact that the destiny 
 of souls very largely depends upon human instrumentali- 
 ty — that in spite of God's power and willingness — in spite 
 of his infinite love and mercy — in spite of the prayer and 
 intercession and sufferings of Christ, souls have been and 
 are being lost that might have been and might B^e won. 
 
 What is lacking? On God's part, nothmg. A full 
 price has been paid. Mercy is offered. Redemption is free. 
 ''The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared 
 to all men." To take in lost souls, hell has had to be 
 enlarged. God never designed it for them. What, then, 
 is lacking? We answer, men to stand in the gap! — hu- 
 man hearts that are ready to be used by the Spirit of 
 God in toil and sacrifice, in wrestling prayer and loving 
 intercession — hearts so filled with divine love that they 
 cannot and will not be denied. We are taught in the 
 Word of God that sin makes a gap in the hedge of pro- 
 tection round about nations and individuals and through 
 this gap, God will come in judgment unless there be found 
 those who by prayer and intercession prevail to secure 
 mercy instead of justice. So wonderfully does God de- 
 light to have mercy that in a time of gross sin and idola- 
 try in Israel He Himself declared : "I sought for a man 
 from among them that should make up the hedge and 
 stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should 
 not destroy it ; but I found none." (Ezek. 22 : 30.) 
 
 Abraham interceded for Sodom and could have pre- 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 69 
 
 vailed had there been ten righteous to be found in the 
 city. And who knows but had his faith been stronger he 
 alone might have prevailed? Moses, alone interceded for 
 rebellious Israel when the justice of God demanded their 
 utter destruction and God granted him the desire of his 
 heart. Samuel "cried unto the Lord for Israel and the 
 Lord heard him" and "the Philistines were subdued, and 
 they came no more into the coasts of Israel; and the 
 hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days 
 of Samuel." Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah prevailed for 
 Israel in their captivity and God opened their way and 
 brought them back to their own land. 
 
 In Jeremiah 5:1, God commanded: "Run ye to and 
 fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and 
 know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find 
 a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seek- 
 eth the truth ; and I will pardon it." 
 
 John Knox, with his soul stirred to its inmost depths, 
 cried out "Give me Scotland or I die." He lived, and 
 Scotland was not only miraculously delivered but mightily 
 influenced for God and^ righteousness. O thou church 
 of the living God! Nothing but the infinite merit of the 
 blood of Jesus can deliver you from the blood of lost souls ! 
 O individual Christian, God saved you, not for your sake 
 alone but that He might, through you, save others whom 
 He loved as well as you ; and if you had walked in all the 
 light given and the added light that would have come to 
 you, if God had had all his way in your heart, He alone 
 knows what your life might have accomplished in the sal- 
 vation of others. So far as God is concerned, every lost 
 soul is without excuse ; but so far as the neglect and the 
 
70 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 faithlessness of God's professed children are concerned, the 
 blood of lost souls is upon them ! 
 
 God's power and willingness to revive his work in spite 
 of great obstacles is clearly pictured in the thirty-sixth 
 chapter of Ezekiel. The absolutely necessary condition 
 on the human side, in the beginning, is shown to be not 
 that conditions should be favorable but that there should 
 be some hearts so given up to God that the Holy Ghost 
 can use them in intercession, strong, constant, and persist- 
 ent. 
 
 In exposition of tiie Scripture referred to we quote the 
 following : 
 
 SERMON BY MRS. S. B. SHAW AT HOLINESS ASSEMBLY 
 HELD IN CHICAGO MAY, 1901. 
 
 Dearly Beloved ! If there be any reason in the provi- 
 dence of God why I should be here to-day, you know^ as 
 well as I, that it is not the mere preaching of a sermon. 
 There are too many here that can do that better than 1. 
 If there be any reason, it is that I might bring to you 
 something of the lesson that I believe, in my inmost soul, 
 God has been writing on my heart by the power of His 
 blessed Spirit, during the last three months. 
 
 I invite your attention this afternoon to part of the 
 thirty-seventh verse of the thirty-sixth Chapter of Eze- 
 kiel; ''Thus saith the Loi'd God: I will yet for this be 
 enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them." 
 
 The "this" referred to in the text was a deep, thor- 
 ough, wide-spread, searching revival — a glorious, revival 
 in Israel, promised and described in the chapter from 
 which the text is taken. I invite your attention to a study 
 of this revival for God is an unchangeable God and if we 
 can learn what He did for His professed church and His 
 
PREPARATION FOR A , REVIVAL. 
 
 71 
 
 professed people under certain circumstances and con- 
 ditions in the olden time, then we may know what He is 
 willing and able and waiting to do for His professed 
 church to-day. I say His professed church for I as^ you 
 to notice that Israel in this chapter and in this connection 
 meant not Israelites indeed in whom there was no guile, 
 but the professed people of God — those who had been 
 known and were called by His name. Here I believe 
 as Holiness People we have sometimes made a mistake. 
 We have sometimes seemed to think that God cared noth- 
 ing for His professed church as such ; but I believe that 
 this is a sad mistake and that the Scriptures abundantly 
 confirm me in this. All of God's dealings with His Israel 
 of old show that in spite of their rebellion and hardness 
 of heart they were precious in his sight. When they 
 were disobedient and rebellious He chastened them and if 
 they returned not, He suffered them even to be carried 
 away captive into the land of their enemies — yet because 
 they were called by his name, He was jealous over them 
 and when thejy- enemies rejoiced in their downfall He 
 visited them in awful vengeance because they rejoiced 
 over the calamity of Israel. Nor did He give Israel up 
 because of their sin — nor has He given them up ; for Paul 
 plainly tells us that they are to be grafted in again and 
 both the Old and the New Testaments promise that Israel 
 shall be restored. So I beheve God cares for his professed 
 church today and as it was his will to grant a sweeping 
 revival in Israel in the olden-time, so it is his will and He 
 wants us to ask for and expect a sweeping revival today 
 — not outside of the church but in the church — and that 
 for this end, in spite of difficulties, we should labor and 
 pray and believe. 
 
72 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 In Studying this revival promised by the prophet I 
 call your attention to five things. 
 
 1. Prevailing Conditions. It was a time of desolation 
 — a time when the church seemed to have no cause to ex- 
 pect favor at the hands of God. For disobedience, God 
 had chastened her and because of her continued disobe- 
 dience and terrible idolatry she had been carried away cap- 
 tive into Babylon. From the human standpoint, she had 
 no claim on the mercy of God — no right to expect His 
 favor or a gracious' outpouring of His Spirit. Yet in spite 
 of her unworthiness God declared that He was for her and 
 would turn unto her and that He would take her from 
 among the heathen and bring her unto her own land. 
 
 2. God's Reason for Promising a Revival. What 
 moved God, then, to make this vow? What moved God 
 to declare He would send to them the heathen round about 
 and bring them back, and that He would build the waste 
 places, and the land of Canaan should no longer be des- 
 olate of souls ? Not the worthiness of the church ; not the 
 spirituality of the church, but the glory o^ His own name. 
 God values us for His own name's sake. This is plainly 
 stated in the twenty-first and twenty-second verses of this 
 same chapter. ''But I had pity for mine holy name, which 
 the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, 
 whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, 
 Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, 
 O house of Israel but for mine holy name's sake, which 
 ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went." 
 God promised, then, a revival not because of the worthi- 
 ness or the faithfulness of the church, but for the glory of 
 His own name. 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 73 
 
 3. The Source and Beginning of this revival. This 
 was not in Israel, but in the mind and purpose and plan of 
 God- God saw not the worthiness of His people but the 
 reproach brought upon His own name by their unworthi- 
 ness — even the profaning of His own name among the 
 heathen. In other words He saw the terrible need and 
 declared that He had hfted up His hand in behalf of Israel 
 and against her enemies. 
 
 4. The Thoroughness of this promised revival. This 
 thoroughness was to be shown, first, in deep repentance 
 and humilty. "Then shall ye remember your own evil 
 ways and your doings which were not good, and shall 
 loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and 
 for your abominations. (Verse 31.) Moreover this re- 
 vival was to be a holiness revival. Its thoroughness was 
 shown in the second place by the thorough cleansing of 
 their hearts and their restoration to their own land, the 
 land of Canaan. ''For I will take you from among the 
 heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring 
 you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water 
 upon you and ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness and 
 from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also 
 will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you : and 
 I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I 
 will give you a heart of flesh." (Verses 24-26.) Its thor- 
 oughness was also to be shown by its permanent results. 
 ''And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to 
 walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my commandments, 
 and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave 
 to your fathers ; and I will call for the corn, and will in- 
 crease it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multi- 
 
74 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 ply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that 
 ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the 
 heathen." (Verses 27-30.) 
 
 5. The Condition upon which this revival was prom- 
 ised — as shown in the text itself. "I will yet for this be 
 enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them." 
 Prayer, then, was the only condition named "on the human 
 side in the accomplishment of the will of God in the re- 
 vival of Israel. 
 
 Now, beloved, in harmony with these points to which 
 I have called your attention, I would bring to you the 
 lesson that God has, as I said before, been deeply im- 
 pressing upon my own heart, during these last few 
 months. 
 
 We noticed first that it was a time of great desolation 
 in Israel, and her faith had no claim to the mercy of God. 
 She had gone away from His service. She was cold and 
 indifferent, bowing down to false gods. By the chastening 
 of God, all her lands were laid waste and her people were 
 carried away captive into Babylon. We read that the 
 prophet was to speak to the mountains of Israel, as if 
 they alone were left to hear the word that was spoken. 
 
 0 beloved, you may draw the picture as dark as you 
 choose of the need of the professed church to-day — of her 
 coldness, her indifference her worldliness, her idolatry. 
 Still, the word of God gives you ground for confidence 
 in a revival, — a sweeping revival in Israel. 
 
 1 say it was a time of desolation. God always has 
 chastened His people, when disobedient. I presume He 
 always will. When the church grows cold and careless 
 and indifferent to any degree ; when to any degree she loses 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL.. 
 
 75 
 
 sight of the glory of God and His salvation — her one object 
 and cause of existence, — ^just to that degree God withholds 
 his blessing from her. This was a time of famine — a famine 
 of souls. Beloved! What is this cry we hear to-day? 
 What is the message we read in nearly every Christian pa- 
 per? It is the cry that we need a revival. This cry comes 
 from the Episcopalians, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the 
 Methodists, the Congregationalists. We read this mes- 
 sage in denominational and undenominational papers. 
 Ministers in their conferences and their presbyteries are 
 asking, "Why is the church with all its power and all its 
 wealth and all its carefully laid plans and all its multiplied 
 organization making so little real progress ? Why is her 
 membership not increased? Why is she not accomplishing 
 greater results? Why are her members being carried 
 away in captivity to worldliness and sin? Why are the 
 thousands round about us unmoved? Why will they not 
 attend our services ? . Why can the Christian church not 
 accomplish in the evangelization of the world what she 
 accomplished in the first two or three centuries of her 
 existence? Beloved, what is all this but an acknowledg- 
 ment that God has laid a famine upon us ? And there is 
 a cause. God has not laid a famine upon the church with- 
 out cause ! Loving her, the church, as we do, we are com- 
 pelled to acknowledge to some extent — and may I not say 
 to a large extent, she has her eyes off of one thing: God 
 demands the salvation of those about her at every hazard, 
 at every cost ! 
 
 I would not ignore the good that is being done. I 
 would not question the faith of the weakest of God's chil- 
 dren, nor fail to encourage every spark of grace in a hu- 
 man heart. I believe there never was a time when I was 
 
76 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 disposed to break the bruised reed or quench the smoking 
 flax. But are we to be satisfied with weakness"? Are we 
 in our love for the church to overlook her worldliness, 
 her backslidings ? By no means ! But on the other hand 
 let us remember God's love for His people of old, and 
 that God has said that He is married to the backslider. 
 Let us remember God's infinite tenderness and patience 
 with us and let us bear in mind that it was at such a 
 time as this — yea, truly at a worse time than this, that 
 God declared by His prophet, moved by the Holy Ghost, 
 that He would send a revival. So I believe to-day that 
 God has given to many who are taught of the Spirit a 
 promise of glorious and sweeping revival in the professed 
 church of God. 
 
 And that our faith may be strengthened, let us look 
 on the right direction. Let us remember that this revival 
 had its beginning, not in the mind of the church; not in 
 the minds of God's people; not in the minds of those sanc- 
 tified and true, but dn the mind and purpose of God, Him- 
 self. Let us remember, too, that God's purpose to grant 
 a revival was not brought about by the faithfulness and 
 spirituality of the church but for the glory of His own 
 name and because of the great need. God had laid a famine 
 upon Israel but that famine did not bring glory to God ! 
 On the other hand, the heathen only profaned His name 
 the more because of it. They did not comprehend that 
 God was able and willing to bless and prosper His people 
 as of old and was only chastening them for their disobe- 
 dience : They only mocked and said, ''The God of Israel 
 is not able to deliver them out of our hand." 
 
 So all around us today the name of our God is pro- 
 faned and souls are hindered from yielding their hearts 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 77 
 
 to Him by the spiritual famine that is upon us. They 
 do not see that we are being punished for our sin and 
 unbehef but they say, ''There is nothing in the rehgion 
 of the Bible." ''Christian experience is nothing but imagi- 
 nation." "God has no power to save and keep from sin 
 and build up His people." "Our lives are as good as 
 theirs. Why should we seek after their God?" 
 
 O, beloved, this is the saddest part of all ! For the 
 church to suffer is only just ; but through this famine the 
 very name of our God is reproached. The name of our 
 mighty Redeemer is profaned in all the heathen world 
 'round about us, because of our sin and need, and be- 
 cause of the famine God has placed upon us. 
 
 O, Beloved ! There is too much excuse, there is too 
 much cause, there is too much reason; when the men of 
 the world 'round about us say, "I do not believe there is 
 a man that lives without sin." The church of the living 
 God ought to be a living contradiction to such a state- 
 ment as that! Surely the same motive which led God to 
 make His declaration to Israel, will lead Him to declare 
 in this day that He will send a revival. It is the glory of 
 His own blessed name that is to be accomplished in such 
 a revival in the church of the living God! And ff we 
 ask for it and plead for it and believe for it on this ground, 
 we shall find our faith increasing and God will answer our 
 prayers. I remember at one time being greatly burdened 
 for a poor, proud, wilful backslider — a man whom God had 
 once called to preach the gospel and had used in the sal- 
 vation of souls ; yet he had wandered so far from God that 
 he had gone into spiritualism and sin of almost every kind. 
 For about two weeks a great burden of prayer was upon 
 me ; but as I saw his awful pride and rebellion and hardness 
 
78 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 of heart my faith would have utterly failed had not the 
 Holy Spirit prompted the cry in my heart, "O Lord, for 
 Thine own name's sake, save that precious soul." I saw 
 the evil he was doing — the awful reproach he was bringing 
 upon the cause of God and how God might be glorified 
 in his salvation and with that cry — "For Thine own name's 
 sake" I was enabled to prevail and that poor hardened, 
 sin-bound soul was brought in deepest humility to the foot 
 of the cross; every sin was confessed and abandoned and 
 deliverance and salvation came. And was not God glorified 
 in his salvation more than in his bondage and condemna- 
 tion ? O brother, if you cannot prevail for the salvation of 
 souls and for a revival in any other way, plead the name 
 of God Himself — that His Name may be glorified. 
 
 We noticed also that while this revival was to begin in 
 the mind and purpose of God, it was to bring, what every 
 true revival always brings, heart transformation. We have 
 been saying, "If the people will only repent, God will have 
 mercy; if people would come to the fountain, God would 
 send His blessing." God proposes to bring His people to 
 repentance! I believe in the free-will of every soul that 
 God has created; but I believe this revival is to come 
 to Israel not because she is worthy, but because God pur- 
 poses and wills it. He says, "They shall be wilHng in the 
 day of my power." Sometimes you preachers say God can't 
 do anything until people are willing. I say, if God had 
 done nothing for me until I had of myself come to a point 
 of voluntary and unconditional surrender, I would never 
 have been saved. But God for His own mercy's sake 
 wrought in my heart to bring me to heart-felt repentance 
 and submission to Himself. 
 
 God can and will, in answer to prayer, work mightily 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 79 
 
 Upon human hearts and hear and answer the weakest long- 
 ing of a hunfan soul after Himself. My case is but the 
 experience of every soul that is converted. God will not 
 forgive you until you repent. But, if you haven't grace 
 enough in your heart today to repent, you have a right 
 to call upon God to move your soul to repentance, and 
 God is willing to answer that prayer. I know I prayed that 
 prayer and He answered it mightily. I remember when 
 my heart went out after God. I knew I ought to realize 
 my lost condition. I knew I ought to come, above every- 
 thing else, to seek the salvation of my soul, yet I was 
 still cold and careless, until, from the depths of my soul 
 there came a prayer prompted by the Holy Spirit that 
 God would help me, and He, by his own power, hum- 
 bled my proud heart and brought me where I could seek 
 Himi from my very inmost soul. He answered the pray- 
 er and even the very longing of my soul. When a revival 
 comes to Israel, the depths of hearts will be broken up 
 and they will be moved to repentance. 
 
 God doesn't visit Israel with His chastenings, and 
 leave her in that condition. This is not God's way. He 
 says, after He comes and brings her back into her own 
 land, then she shall remember her own evil ways and her 
 doings that were not good and shall loathe herself in her 
 own sight for her iniquities and for her abominations. 
 Let us not say then that when the church, as a whole, re- 
 pents, God will revive his work but that when, in answer 
 to the prayer of those whom God can use, God pours out 
 His Spirit and revives His work, the church will repent. 
 Then repentance will come. God will see that it does 
 come. God alone is able to break up the deep of hearts 
 and bring them down in the very depths of humility and 
 
80 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 sorrow for their coldness and their indif¥erence and their 
 lack of faith and love and devotion. 
 
 As we have seen, this heart transformation included 
 heart cleansing and restoration to Canaan. As of old, 
 the rightful inheritance of the church is purity and pros- 
 perity. He wills that His people should dwell in the 
 
 •'Land of corn and wine and oil, 
 With every blessing, blessed," 
 
 and in working and praying for the revival God promises, 
 we must be satisfied with nothing less ! 
 
 A result of that promised revival that we did not par- 
 ticularly mention was that the waste places should be 
 built up. O my brother, my sister, are there any waste, 
 any desolate places in our land to-day — places that ought 
 to be built up and occupied by the church of the living 
 God? Have we any waste places in Chicago? Are there 
 any churches in Chicago, where on Sunday morning there 
 is a congregation occupying a few seats and thousands 
 all around them going down to an eternal hell? These 
 waste places are not only in Chicago, but all over this 
 land we find them — the waste places, the desolate places. 
 God says these waste places shall be builded up. 
 
 We have been limiting the power of our God! We 
 have been looking the wrong way. God says, "I will build 
 up the waste places." There are none so waste but that 
 God is able to build them up again. There is no wilder- 
 ness so desolate, but that, under God's blessing, it will 
 blossom as the rose. 
 
 God help us, and send us down in confusion to-day, 
 because of our little faith and love! O, beloved, if youi 
 faith is small, is it not because your love is so small ? 
 
 Some of you may have heart-aches because of loved 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 81 
 
 ones out of Christ. For many years my heart has never 
 ceased to go out for a loved one back-slidden from God. 
 I have cried from the very depths of my soul for God to 
 bring him back. I never think of him without praying 
 for him and I have never given him up. I have never 
 let go of my hold on the throne of God in his behalf. 
 I know he is fighting against God. I know he is (so far 
 as I can see) going farther and farther away, in the re- 
 bellion of his soul, from the God that once saved him. 
 But I have only pled for him the more earnestly, "For 
 Thine own mercy's sake ! For Thine own name's sake,'* 
 spare that blood-bought soul! I cannot give him up! I 
 will never, never give him up so long as God in His mercy 
 does not utterly withdraw the Spirit's aid in intercession. 
 I don't expect to give him up, until God brings him back, 
 — a broken and a contrite soul, to Jesus Christ. What 
 has given me that faith ? It is the love back of it I We 
 have given up people too easily. We have given up pas- 
 tors, when they fought*holiness. We have given up broth- 
 ers and sisters here and there. Why? Because we didn't 
 have faith; because we didn't love them as we should, 
 had we gone down in humility at the feet of Jesus, and 
 cried to God as Christ did when He said : "Father for- 
 give them, for they know not what they do." But some of 
 you say that those cold-hearted men knew what they were 
 doing, and that they had the light, but they drove in the 
 nails, and crucified him. In a sense they did know , ana 
 if Jesus could say what he did in behalf of that mob, the 
 Holy Spirit can come to our hearts and say it in behalf of 
 such as those we have mentioned that seem to fight against 
 the truth. Then before you cease to pray for any soul 
 be sure that that soul is worse than the members of that 
 
82 
 
 6LD l-IME RELIGION. 
 
 cruel mob that rejected the Savior and cried out, ^'Crucify 
 him, crucify him," for doubtless many of them were after- 
 ward converted in answer to the prayer of Jesus. 
 
 But there is a condition. I said that this revival start- 
 ed in the mind and purpose of God. Glory to God! I 
 believe God speaks, sometimes, to the hearts of the Chil- 
 dren of Israel, as He spoke in olden times <to the prophets. 
 I believe He has been telling his children up and down 
 •our land in their places of prayer that He will build up 
 the waste places and send a revival to the church; but 
 He says : "I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of 
 Israel, to "do it for them." The very first thing God does in 
 bringing about a revival is to grant an especial spirit of 
 intercession for such a revival to souls that are moved by 
 the burning love of Jesus. I said to you, beloved, I be- 
 lieved that God had promised it. I can't tell you how 
 God has moved my soul the last few months. I have 
 been just a little worker in His vineyard for a number of 
 years. I love the holiness movement, and holiness people. 
 I want to live and die with them, but while I am praying 
 for the holiness work and the holiness people I am praying 
 for more than that. For months an agony of prayer has 
 taken possession of my inmosit being. I have been pray- 
 ing for this Assembly but not for this alone. I have been 
 praying for the denomination of which I am a member 
 but not for that alone. I am praying for a revival in Israel 
 a revival like that described in our lesson that shall be- 
 gin in the church and sweep through the church and 
 reach ouit to the uttermost parts of the earth. 
 
 God has brought us together for a purpose. We are 
 here in obedience to the calling of God and the leading 
 of His Spirit. We are here, many of us at least, because 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 83 
 
 our hearts have been led out. in prayer for a mighty out- 
 pouring of the Holy Spirit, — not for our own sakes but 
 that we might be better fitted to be used of God in bring- 
 ing about such a revival as we have been talking about 
 and prayer is the condition God has given. If God has 
 sanctified our hearts, it is not because He wanted to do 
 us some special favor. Jesus said that it was written that 
 His Father's house should be called a house of prayer. 
 If our hearts have been made temples of the Holy Ghost 
 iit is that the Holy Ghost might find in us a place to pray, 
 — might find in us instruments that He might use in inter- 
 ceding with groanings that cannot be uttered for <the ac- 
 complishment of God's will and purpose in the salvation 
 of others. 
 
 God will hold us responsible for this opportunity ! The 
 very heart of our God is going to be grieved if we do not 
 get down lower before Him than we have ever been in 
 the past! Great responsibility rests upon us as holiness 
 workers — as those that know the power of the blood of 
 Jesus and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and God will 
 require much at our hands ! God wants to use the holi- 
 ness movement and to use it gloriously in bringing about 
 a revival that shall take away the reproach that is upon 
 the church and bring eternal glory ito our Redeemer. O 
 beloved ! God commands us to go down ! down ! ! down ! ! ! 
 in the unsearchable love of God, until God shall lift us 
 up and move us out and carry a deep and glorious re- 
 vival of pure and undefiled religion all over this land. — 
 From Echoes of General Holiness Assembly. 
 
 Where are the conditions so forbidding as to limit 
 the power of God ? Would he not have saved even Sodom 
 and Gomorrah for ten righteous ? Were not the four hun- 
 
84 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 dred and fifty prophets of Baal slain in answer to the 
 prayer and faithfulness of Elijah? Surely God is the same 
 yesterday, today and forever and in spite of obstagles, in 
 spite of coldness and formality, in spite of hindrances, God 
 is able to break up the fallow ground and rain righteous- 
 ness if there be those who will continue to plead with God 
 until they prevail. Many times it can be done speedily. 
 Who has not read how Mrs. VanCott, when engaged in 
 evangelistic work at Stone Ridge, Ulster Co., N. Y., shut- 
 ting herself alone with God in an agony of prayer was 
 enabled the same day to prevail for the salvation of two 
 hundred souls?- 
 
 Bishop Fowler of the M. E. church once wrote: 
 "We know, a preacher, still living, who was appointed 
 to the charge of a church in Springfield, 111. The church 
 seemed very much depressed. Its life was at a low ebb. 
 It was in the midst of the harvest, in the hot weather, when 
 things seemed most depressed. The pastor, a holy man 
 of God, announced on Sabbath evening to a small con- 
 gregation of a score or two of persons, "There will be a 
 prayer-meeting in this church to-morrow morning at sun- 
 rise for the revival of the work of God and for the con- 
 version of sinners." The people wondered at the notice, 
 and went home. The pastor went up into his study, which 
 was in the parsonage by the side of the church, and gave 
 that night to prayer. Just as the east began to lighten 
 up a little with the coming day he had the assurance that 
 his prayer was answered, and cast himself down on a sofa 
 for a little rest. Presently he awoke suddenly to see the 
 sun shining on the wall over his head. He sprang up and 
 looked out of the window to see how late it was, when 
 he saw the sun just rising above the horizon. Looking 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 85 
 
 dov/n into the yard by the church, he was overjoyed to see 
 the church crowded with people, and the yard full, and 
 teams crowding into the street for a long distance. God 
 had heard his prayer, and had sent out his Spirit into the 
 community, and there had been no sleeping in Springfield 
 that night. People in the country who knew nothing of 
 the appointment got up in the night, hitched up their 
 teams, and drove into town and to the church to find out 
 what the matter was. A good man had taken hold ofT^od. 
 The prayer-meeting began, and was closed that niglit at 
 eleven o'clock. Several souls were converted. A gracious 
 work broke out, and the community was greatly blessed. 
 The foregoing we certify to on the highest authority, hav- 
 ing it from the lips of the man himself, whom every body 
 knowing him believes as soon as anything outside of the 
 Bible. We greatly need earnest, persevering, believing 
 « prayer. One night of such prayer kept by all the Church 
 would startle the nation. We sorely need a mighty bap- 
 tism of power. We have all the other elements of suc- 
 cess. We lack no machinery. We have truth, and the ex- 
 perience of its saving power and the appliances. What 
 we now need is the outpouring of the Spirit upon us as a 
 people. We must rekindle our fires. We must make our 
 churches centers of saving power. One hour a day spent 
 by the church in earnest prayer for the revival o! God's 
 work would make the coming year the most memorable 
 in the history of the church. If you do not feel burdened, 
 ask for the spirit of prayer, and that shall be given you. 
 'Forsake your sins and leave yourself with God, and give 
 yourself to prayer, and all over the land God will hear 
 and answer, and pour out his Spirit, and bestow his pow- 
 er, and make this year a revival year," 
 
86 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 One of the most remarkable experiences we have had 
 in seventeen years of evangeHstic work, occurred in the 
 spring of 1890. It will be remembered that at this time 
 the United Brethren Church was sadly divided on the se- 
 crecy question, and in many places two pastors were em- 
 ployed- — one by the "Liberals'' and another by the "Rad- 
 icals" of the same congregation. In our travels we stopped 
 to visit an old friend, who was the "Radical" pastor in 
 such a place as these to whom we have referred. We had 
 no thought of stopping only over the Sabbath, and never 
 did we get into a place where the people had less antici- 
 pations of a revival. Much hard feeling had existed, an^d 
 many unkind, unchristian things had been said and done. 
 
 Sunday evening our friend invited us to preach for him. 
 God gave us unusual liberty in prayer and in preaching His 
 Word, and opened the very windows of heaven, and show- 
 ers of blessing fell upon that dry and barren land. In spite , 
 of circumstances so utterly forbidding, in one short hour, 
 the people found themselves in the midst of a powerful re- 
 vival. We never witnessed so much confession in so short 
 a time. Many in tears asked each other's forgiveness, and 
 then came to the altar together, and prayed that they might 
 regain their first love ; and God heard and answered their 
 prayers. The "Liberal" pastor was not present, but the 
 "Liberal" presiding-elder was; and he and the "Radical" 
 pastor had had little confidence in each other; but under 
 the mighty power of the Spirit, their hearts were united, 
 and they embraced each other in tears. 
 
 Thus did God manifest His power, and get to His own 
 name glory; and to Him alone be praise, both now and 
 forever, for in His hands are the hearts of the children of 
 men. 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 87 
 
 At a convention of Christian workers, held in April, 
 1882, we witnessed a spiritual cyclone. Forty or fifty min- 
 isters and laymen of different denominations had come 
 together, for prayer and counsel, concerning the most 
 important doctrines of the Christian church. Great dif- 
 ferences of opinion were expressed, and the controversy 
 became so sharp that some seemed offended, and the 
 spiritual influence of the meeting sadly hindered. In fact, 
 the powers of darkness threatened to come in like a flood, 
 and overthrow the good that had already been done. 
 
 But some there were in that little company who knew 
 the mighty power of prayer, and in that hour of need went 
 on their faces before God with strong crying and tears. The 
 Spirit interceded with groanings that could not be uttered, 
 and soon an indescribable sacredness came over the meet- 
 ing. A sister, who is in general opposed to what are 
 termed outward manifestations, was so pressed in spirit 
 that she began to groan aloud, and then to exclaim: 
 "The Lord shall have His way! the Lord shall have His 
 way! the Lord shall have His way!" Others began to 
 weep. Then a minister, who had come to the meeting 
 strongly opposed to the views set forth by the leading 
 workers, jumped to his feet, and shouted the praise of 
 God, and began to tell of the mighty baptism of the Holy 
 Ghost, he had received. And sooner than we can write it, 
 a veritable cyclone of God's power and glory swept over 
 the place, carrying everything before it. Stubborn hearts 
 yielded, and, in a very few moments 6f time, many were 
 saved and filled with the Spirit. 
 
 Of this convention and closing service, a minister who 
 (was afterward a presiding elder in the United Bet'hren 
 Church, wrote: "The interest increased steadily from first 
 
88 
 
 OLD i-IME RELIGION, 
 
 to last, closing up in a tornado of divine power. None 
 who were present the last evening can ever forget how, at 
 the first shout of victory, nearly all of the congregation 
 rushed out of the house, only to return and gaze in speech- 
 less wonder, as souls being brought under conviction for 
 sin, cried for pardon, or shouted their praises at being 
 brought from nature's darkness to God's marvelous light. 
 Others, groaning under the conviction for holiness, wrest- 
 led until the carnal mind was cast out; when some leaped 
 for joy, and others were laid prostrate under the weight 
 of glory. Eternity alone can tell the blessed results of 
 that closing service." 
 
 God does not thus reveal himself to the children of 
 men for naught, and already thousands have been influ- 
 enced for good as a result of that Pentecostal outpouring 
 of His Spirit. 
 
 As an illustration of prevailing prayer, 'Bro. H. L. 
 Hastings in his work Records of Prevailing Prayer, relates 
 the following: 
 
 "In a certain town there had been no revival for many 
 years ; the church was nearly run out, the youth were all 
 unconverted, and desolation reigned unbroken. There 
 lived in a retired part of the town, an aged man, a black- 
 smith by trade, and of so stammering a tongue that it was 
 painful to hear him speak. On one Friday, as he was at 
 work in his shop, alone, his mind became greatly exer- 
 cised about the state of the church, and of the impenitent. 
 His agony became, so great, that he was induced to lay 
 aside his work, lock the shop door, and spend the after- 
 noon in prayer. 
 
 "He prevailed, and on the Lord's day, called on the 
 minister and desired him to appoint a conference meet- 
 
PREPARATIOM FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 89 
 
 ing. After some hesitation the minister consented, ob- 
 serving, however, that he feared but few would attend. 
 He appointed it the same evening, at a large, private 
 house. 
 
 "The people gathered from far and near, doubtless to 
 the surprise of the unbelieving and faint-hearted. A sol- 
 emn sense of the presence of God seemed to oppress the 
 assembly, and feelings too deep for speech were welling 
 up in many hearts. All was silent for a t^me, until one 
 sinner broke out in tears, and said, if any one could pray, 
 he begged him to pray for him. Another followed, and 
 still another, until it was found that persons from every 
 quarter of the town were under deep conviction. And 
 what was remarkable, was, that they all dated their con- 
 viction at the hour when the old man was praying in his 
 shop. A powerful revival followed. Thus this old stam- 
 mering man prevailed, and as a prince had power with 
 God." 
 
 And then Brother Hastings adds, by way of com- 
 ment: '^And thus may we prevail if we will tarry by the 
 cross and gather near the throne. There is a God; and 
 if the time spent in pleasing, and amusing, and disputing 
 with, men, was spent in urgent, fervent supplication be- 
 fore the Ivord, we should see such a wave of blessing roll 
 over these moral wastes, as would make earth smile, and 
 heaven rejoice, and Satan tremble at the conquering pow- 
 er of Jesus Christ. 
 
 "How many churches are to-day arid and parched, as 
 was th^ realm of Ahab, when ^it rained not on the earth 
 by the space of three years and six months;' but let the 
 lone Elijahs lift to God the effectual fervent prayer of th^ 
 
90 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 righteous man, which availeth much, and the heavens 
 shall give rain, and the earth bring forth its fruTts once 
 more. 
 
 "One fact is worth a thousand arguments ; and a thou- 
 sand facts, certified by inspired Scriptures and by living 
 witnesses, testify that God heareth and answereth Reliev- 
 ing prayer. And experience and observation bear con- 
 stant witness that the real victories and triumphs of the 
 church of God are born, not of boast and shout, of tumult 
 and self-laudation, but of self-abasement, poverty of spirit, 
 humble faith, lowliness and contrition of heart, tears of 
 penitential gratitude, and inarticulate groanings before the 
 Lord Most High, whose strength is made perfect in our 
 weakness, when that weakness is known, and felt, and 
 confessed before the throne of grace." 
 
 In illustration of the means used by God to bring about 
 a revival, Evangehst A. B. Earle of the Baptist Church, 
 says in his noted work Bringing in Sheaves; "A revival 
 of religion, like a fire, must begin somewhere : ^'Behold, 
 how great a matter a little fire kindleth!" A fire often 
 begins with a little match, and works its way through the 
 combustible material about it until it has swept over a 
 wide region. The great fire in Portland originated with 
 a fire-cracker. So a work of grace commences with a sin- 
 gle Christian — never with the whole church. As soon as 
 that one Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit, he goes af- 
 ter others, to lead them to the Savior, or to induce believers 
 to join him in efforts for a revival. Jesus fulfills his prom- 
 ise, "Lo, I am with you ;" and others are soon moved and 
 melted, and the work begins to widen. 
 
 '*So that whoever would promote a revival of religion 
 should begin with his own heart, and pray, and confess, 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 91 
 
 and believe, until he feels his heart all subdued and melt- 
 ed by the Holy Spirit, — until his love to Christ is glowing, 
 fervid, burning, — and until he finds himself groaning over 
 the lost condition of men, and^ like Jesus, being in an 
 agony, prays more earnestly. 
 
 "Then, when his heart is in this state, let him get a 
 few, if he cannot many, to join him in special prayer for 
 the outpouring of the Spirit. Let that little company 
 hold on in united, persistent prayer, ^nothing wavering,' 
 until the windows of heaven are opened." 
 
 God is never at a loss for a way to answer prayer. A 
 peculiar illustration of this fact Is related by Rev. George 
 E. M. Maniman: 
 
 Early in the present century there traveled over the 
 hills of eastern Ohio, a Methodist minister by the name 
 of Rogers. He was a man who had remarkable power 
 in prayer, founded upon an equally remarkable faith in 
 God. He had likewise a number of wonderful experiences 
 in answer to his prayers. 
 
 On one occasion he gave out an appointment to preach 
 in a community nestling back in the hills of Belmont 
 County. It was a very rough and godless neighborhood. 
 A distillery erected beside a large, never failing spring of 
 water, the only one in the vicinity, was the source of the 
 sin and debauchery which cursed the community, and had 
 driven all religious life into hiding. In spite of all this 
 Brother Rogers made an appointment to preach. 
 
 Some friends came to him on hearing of it and said: 
 "Bro. Rogers, it is of no use to appoint preaching in that 
 community. They will not listen to you, and, if you per- 
 sist, they will do you injury." 
 
9^ 
 
 Old time religion. 
 
 "Why," asked the preacher, ''are they any worse than 
 others ?" 
 
 "Much worse," was the answer; "that distillery makes 
 them worse. It was built by that great spiing without 
 which it could not run, and it is cursing that neighbor- 
 hood." 
 
 "Well then," said the minister, "I shall ask God to 
 dry up that spring and stop that distillery." 
 
 The time set for the preaching service arrived. A 
 goodly number of people, mostly from a distance, gath- 
 ered at the appointed spot. After the services were opened 
 by singing two or three hymns, the preacher fell on his 
 knees and began talking with God. As he prayed, a mighty 
 pleading pathos crept into his voice, an aspect of holy 
 unction grew upon his face. He seemed to enter into the 
 very Holy of Holies. Finally he sprang to his feet cry- 
 ing: "Glory to God! I have the answer. Within three 
 days that spring will dry up." 
 
 Some of the people shouted with him. But the cau- 
 tious souls were there also, and at the close of the services 
 they cautioned the preacher not to talk that way; "for," 
 said they, "if it does not happen they will make fun of 
 you." 
 
 '^ut it will happen," insisted Bro. Rogers. 
 
 And "happen" it did. In less than three days not a 
 drop of water was coming from that spring. 
 
 The distillery was stopped. In a mighty rage the own- 
 er swore to have revenge on that meddling Methodist 
 preacher. Learning appointment had been made, he way- 
 laid the minister and ordered him to dismount, that he 
 might give him a thrashing, 
 
 "What for?" asked Rogers. 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 9S 
 
 "For drying up my spring," said the distiller. 
 
 "I did not dry up your spring," said the .minister. 
 "God did that." 
 
 "You asked him to do it," said the angry whisky deal- 
 er, "and you must take the pounding." 
 
 "Do you believe," asked the preacher, "that God would 
 dry up your spring because I asked him to do it?" 
 
 "He did it anyhow !" was the reply. 
 
 "Well then," said the man of God, throwing himself 
 on his knees, "I shall ask God to strike you dead right 
 now if you don't quit your wickedness and stop fighting 
 his cause," 
 
 "Don't do that," cried the affrighted distiller, "don't 
 do that, and I will let you alone." 
 
 This distiller was afterwards converted and became an 
 elder in a Presbyterian church. 
 
 Under the influence of this godly minister, that place 
 was redeemed and noted for its religion. Brother Rogers 
 lived until about two years ago, when he died in the tri- 
 umph of faith. 
 
 All the leading facts in this narrative are true, being 
 vouched for by numbers of citizens in the immediate vic- 
 inity of the spot where they happened. — Union Signal. 
 
 During the winter of 1885-86 we were called to hold a 
 revival meeting in New Haven, Shiawassee county, Michi- 
 gan. During the first few days of the meeting we found 
 many difficulties, and the powers of darkness arrayed 
 against the work. Keenly realizing our need, we went to 
 God in earnest prayer, and soon experienced a wonderful 
 travail of soul for the desolation of Zion. In less than 
 twenty-four hours from the time this wonderful spirit of 
 wrestling prayer was given us, the work commenced to 
 
94 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 move in earnest. The pastor, in sobs and tears, confessed 
 that he was backsHdden, asked pardon of some of his mem- 
 bers, and came to the altar seeking forgiveness of God. 
 Many professed Christians followed his example, and in 
 a few days the whole country was in a flame of revival, 
 such as had never been known in that section of the coun- 
 try. The spiritual condition of the community was so 
 changed that for years sinners were converted at almost 
 every pubHc gathering of God's people. Never elsewhere 
 have we witnessed so sweeping and thorough a work oi 
 grace, and such wonderful manifestations of God's pres- 
 ence and glory. Over two years after the commencement 
 of that wonderful awakening, at a camp-meeting held in 
 the same community, a paper was drawn up endorsing 
 the work, and signed by several ministers of the gospel 
 and forty or fifty others ; and from that paper we clip the 
 following statement in reference to this glorious revival, 
 known in all that sections as *'the big revival:" 
 
 "When Brother Shaw came, great division and lack of 
 harmony existed among the members of the different 
 churches in the neighborhood — Methodist Episcopal, Free 
 Methodist, Wesleyan Methodist, and German Evangelical. 
 Bible Christianity was at a low ebb, but he preached the 
 truth of God faithfully. He condemned sin of every kind. 
 God honored the message by a mighty outpouring of the 
 Holy Ghost. The truth went home to hearts. The whole 
 country was stirred. Scores who opposed the work bitterly 
 for a time, were brought under conviction, saved, and be- 
 came its warmest friends. Under the mighty power of God 
 souls were humbled, confessions were made, wrongs were 
 made right, and sectarian bigotry melted away. Hearts 
 were united. Several ministers of the gospel knelt at the 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 95 
 
 altar as seekers. The work was so thorough that no 
 dif¥erence could be discovered among the members of the 
 different churches. All were equally separated from the 
 world, and equally baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire. 
 During the meeting, lasting in all about seven weeks, 
 between two and three hundred souls were gloriously con- 
 verted, reclaimed or sanctified. Never has there been 
 known in all this community such a revival." 
 
 During the spring of 1892, we held a five-weeks re- 
 vival meeting in the Methodist Episcopal Church, in Har- 
 vey, Illinois. A series of meetings had closed but a few 
 weeks before, and the church was divided, and some were 
 doing all in their power to undermine and destroy the in- 
 fluence of the godly pastor. From a human standpoint, 
 it looked almost like presumption to commence a pro- 
 tracted effort under such unfavorable circumstances. Yet 
 in spite of the discouragements, we felt the call was from 
 God, and were given an inspiration of prayer for the town. 
 We prayed especially for help, and God sent two devoted 
 sisters from Chicago, and one from Rockford, to our aid 
 
 After a few days of great burden of soul for the work, 
 the Lord moved in power among the people, and from that 
 time they came in great crowds. The work done was thus 
 reported by Evangelist Sarah A. Cooke (one of the work- 
 ers mentioned above), in the Highway and Banner of Holi- 
 ness : 
 
 " 'Harvey has never had such a shaking up as this be- 
 fore,' said the janitor of the Methodist church, as we 
 looked on the display of the Lord's power moving on the 
 people. Night after night the altar has been filled with 
 seekers, and deep conviction has taken hold of many, long 
 hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. In one of the fac- 
 
96 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 tories they have commenced a noonday prayer-meeting, 
 and another in the Academy; the Principal of which has 
 been gloriously sanctified during the revival, and, like a 
 fire in his bones, the love of God has burned. *I belifeve/ 
 he said in a testimony, a few nights ago, *I can claim the 
 whole Academy for Christ.' Twenty-three the other after- 
 noon professed they had found the Lord. 
 
 "No church is preached, no creed (save the apostYes'), 
 no dogma, just, 'All have sinned and come short of the 
 glory of God;' 'Except ye repent ye shall all likewise per- 
 ish; and the faithful saying: 'J^sus Christ came into the 
 world to save sinners, even the chief ; and God, as ever, 
 honors His own word. Brother S. B. Shaw, of Michigan, 
 is in charge. Weeping between the porch and the altar, 
 ^ realizing the awful responsibility of standing between the 
 living and the dead, and by faith taking hold of God 
 by the mighty arms of faith and prayer, he leads the work 
 on gloriously." 
 
 Of the same meeting. Sister Abbie Mills, author of 
 "Quiet Hallelujahs" and "Whispers of the Comforter," 
 wrote to the Christian Witness : 
 
 "I am here beholding the works of the Lord. In this 
 place, known to all that are afar off, as well as to them that 
 are nigh, the people of God are getting clear titles to the 
 reserved inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that will 
 endure when Harvey is no more. I came here on Thurs- 
 day, thinking to make a very short stay, but found the 
 people engaged in a holiness meetmg, under the leader- 
 ship of Brother Shaw,- of Michigan. The interest is grow- 
 ing, and some are getting clean hearts, and being filled 
 with the Holy Ghost daily. Yesterday (Sabbath) was a 
 day of much blessing. The class-meeting at the noon- 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 97 
 
 hour was glorious. Several crossed over into Beulah- 
 land, one aged brother leaving his tobacco behind. At 
 3 P. M., Sister Cooke, of Chicago, held a children's meet- 
 ing. In the evening the church was very full. After the 
 sermon by Brother Shaw, the altar filled twice, while first 
 on one side, then on the other, the cleansed would arise 
 to testify and give their place to others. Far out in the 
 congregation also, there were some on their knees, seek- 
 ing a God who was not afar off. 1 had thought my work 
 for the winter about over, but am constrained to tarry here 
 this week, and hope to see an increased outpour or down- 
 pour of salvation." 
 
 For five weeks the work of God swept on gloriously. 
 Hundreds claimed-victory and much of the work has stood 
 the test of time and promises to endure the test of the 
 Judgment morning. The same God that held back the 
 Philistines in answer to Samuel's prayer and stopped a 
 distillery by drying up a spring can remove other hinder- 
 ing causes that are in the way of a revival. The church 
 of God should prepare the way of the Lord by putting 
 away all things that are not for his glory but when they 
 fail to do this, God can get such hindrances out of the 
 way in answer to prevailing prayer. This is well illus- 
 trated in the following incident. 
 
 Revivals vs. Fairs — Wonders of Prayer. 
 
 The Methodist Preachers' Meeting of Boston was well 
 attended last Monday, and Rev. W. N. Brodbeck, D. D., 
 the pastor of the Tremont street Church of this city, thrilled 
 the brethren with an address on "The relation of the min- 
 isters to revivals," during which he pointedly referred to 
 church fairs and festivals as barriers to revivals. 
 
 He declared that some ministers and churches would 
 
98 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 never have a revival, because they would not do the hard 
 work, and make the sacrifice essential to secure said re- 
 sults. At Urbana, Ohio, he began revival services, but at 
 first only doubtful characters came to the altar, in whom 
 the public had no confidence. Many were offended, and 
 some said: ''Do you know those people that are coming 
 to the altar?" 
 
 He replied: ''Yes, I know them; they are immortal 
 souls for whom Christ died." When the meetings had 
 run three weeks, one of his leading members came to him 
 and said : "I think it is time these meetings were stopped ; 
 we have held them three weeks, and we want to hold a 
 fair, and have some entertainments." 
 
 The- pastor firmly and promptly replied : "You may 
 do as you please, but these meetings will not stop." 
 
 His heart was broken, and so was the heart of one of 
 the devout women members. They expressed their feelings 
 to each other and parted. They both spent the night in 
 prayer, and at ten o'clock the next morning, the pastor 
 gained the evidence that his prayers were answered. After 
 dinner he went out, and met the devout lady on the street, 
 her face shining with the glory of God. She said: ''The' 
 victory is coming." 
 
 "How do you know?" 
 
 "I got the evidence at ten o'clock this morning, after 
 spending a whole night in prayer." 
 
 This was the very time that the pastor gained the evi- 
 dence. That very night, while the pastor was preaching, 
 a young man arose and came to the altar ; others followed, 
 so that the pastor had to stop preaching. God was among 
 the people in power ; the church was quickened, backsliders 
 were reclaimed, hundreds of sinners were converted, Places 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 99 
 
 'of amusement and saloon were closed. The face of the 
 community was changed, and 275 converts joined that one 
 church, and the fair was not held. All because they refused 
 to have the fair. Oh, for more nights of prayer ! Oh, for 
 more agony of soul for perishing sinners ! Oh] for more of 
 the mind of Christ ! Then would revivals prevail and thou- 
 sands would be converted to God. — Christian Witness. 
 
 Great are the promises ! Great are the possibilities of 
 prayer! Who has measured their heights or sounded 
 their depths? Has any soul wrestling with God in the 
 Holy Ghost, for the salvation of others come to the point 
 where God said : Thus far shalt thou go and no farther ? 
 
 True, for some individual souls, the Holy Spirit may, 
 refuse longer to intercede; but were there not other souls 
 that that very hour might have been won in answer to 
 prayer ? 
 
 Prevailing prayer will bring a revival in any community. 
 It cannot always be done in a day or a week or perhaps 
 not in a month or a year, but it can be done. The battle 
 with the powers of darkness may be long and hard but the 
 victory is possible. In order to bring about a revival in 
 Elijah's time it was necessary that God should humble the 
 people by three years of drought and so for three years 
 Elijah prayed and for three y^ars it rained not. So to-day 
 at some times and in some places the hindrances may be 
 great and the struggle severe but if courage and faith 
 fail not, God will find a way to answer prayer. 
 
 FASTING HELPFUL, 
 
 Many times the burden of soul will be so great that all 
 desire for food is taken away. Fasting and prayer have 
 
100 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 brought deliverance to God's people in times of great ca- 
 lamity when all other resources have failed. This world 
 is a fierce battlefield between the powers of good and evil, 
 between light and darkness , ''for we wrestle not against 
 flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, 
 against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against 
 spiritual wickedness in high places," and because of this 
 conflict, we are exhorted not only to put on the whole 
 armor of God but to ''pray always with all prayer and sup- 
 plication in the Spirit." And in all ages fasting has been 
 recognized as a means of grace when rightly joined with 
 a spirit of supplication. 
 
 Commentators are agreed that the affliction of soul so 
 positively commanded in Leviticus 23 : 27 in observance 
 of the day of atonement, included fasting and so essential 
 was this that the soul that should not be afflicted on that 
 day was to be cut off from among the people. Thus fast- 
 ing was made, under the law, one of the conditions of re- 
 ceiving the benefits of the atonement. 
 
 Surely the greatest victories ever witnessed by the 
 people of God have been the results of fasting and prayer. 
 Moses fasted forty days before receiving the law from the 
 hand of' God and . after the first tables were broken he 
 again fasted forty days before receiving the second. Je- 
 hoshaphat's great victory over the Moabites and the Am- 
 orites was the result of fasting and prayer. (Read 2 
 Chron. 20: 1-28.) 
 
 In answer to the preaching of Jonah who cried : "Yet 
 forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown," "the people 
 of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put 
 on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least 
 of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 101 
 
 he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, 
 and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he 
 caused it to be proclaimxcd and published through Nineveh 
 by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neith- 
 er man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing : let them 
 not ^eed, nor drink water : but let man and beast be cov- 
 ered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God; yea, let 
 them turn every one from his evil way, and from the vio- 
 lence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn 
 and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we 
 perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned 
 from their evil way ; and God repented of the evil, that he 
 had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." 
 Jonah 3 : 5-10.) 
 
 Ezra in a time of great extremity proclaimed a fast 
 (See Ezra 8: 21-24) and the great reformation under Ezra 
 and Nehemiah was the result of fasting and prayer. A 
 little later when the Jews who remained in the land of 
 captivity were about to be utterly destroyed, they were 
 delivered in answer to prayer and fasting. (See Esther 
 4:16.) 
 
 Our Savior fasted forty days and nights before enter- 
 ing upon his ministry and to the disciples who were un- 
 able to cast out the devil from the child that was a lunatic 
 the Savior, after rebuking them for their unbelief, de- 
 clared*: ''Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer 
 and fasting." 
 
 PREACHING OF THE WORD. 
 
 We have already said that one of the more direct means 
 used of God for bringing about a revival is the strong 
 
102 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 faithful preaching of his Word. God declares his Word to 
 be the sword of the Spirit and that it is "quick and power- 
 ful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to 
 the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints 
 and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and in- 
 tents of the heart." Great responsibility rests upon 
 those who claim to have been called of God to pro- 
 claim his truth to the people. For after that in the wis- 
 dom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased 
 God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that 
 beheve." 
 
 Only failure and confusion can come to that rmn who 
 hopes to win souls by substituting for the sword that God 
 has provided, an instrument of his own choosing, when 
 the plain commission given him from above is : "Preach 
 the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, 
 rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine." He 
 too, will fail who uses the weapon God provides but wields 
 it not in the power of the Holy Ghost. The Word is the 
 Spirit's sword and can only accomplish its mission when 
 used in the Spirit's power. Paul could truly declare as a 
 minister of Christ, "For our gospel came not unto you 
 in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, 
 and in much assurance; as ye know v/hat manner of men 
 we were among you for your sake." (i Thess. i : 5.) 
 
 "To whom God would make known what is the riches 
 of the glory of his mystery among the Gentiles which is 
 Christ in you, the hope of glory : whom we preach, warning 
 every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom ; that we 
 may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus : whereunto 
 I also labor, striving according to his working, which 
 worketh in me mightily. (Col. i : 27-29.) 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 103 
 
 *^For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of un- 
 cleanness, nor in guile": but as we were allowed of God to 
 be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as 
 pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. For neith- 
 . er at any time used we flattering Words, as ye know, nor a 
 cloak of coveteousness ; God is witness : Nor of men sought 
 we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might 
 have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. But we 
 were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her chil- 
 dren : so being affectionately desirous of you ; we were 
 willing to have imparted unto you not the gosepel of God 
 only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear 
 unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labor and 
 travail ; for laboring night and day, because we would not 
 be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the 
 gospel of God. Ye are witnesses, and God also, how 
 holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves 
 among you that believe : as ye know how we exhorted and 
 comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth 
 his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath 
 called you unto his kingdom and glory." (i Thess. 2 : 3-12.) 
 
 If all ministers were as faithful there would be no 
 need of ^'preparation for a revival" for the church of 
 God would be already mighty to the pulling down of the 
 strongholds of Satan. 
 
 God always has and always will own the faithful loving 
 preaching of his own Word. But alas, how few are the 
 ministers Who, like Paul, cease not to ^Varn everyone 
 night and day with tears." How few have the courage, like 
 Peter, to declare to men that they have denied the Holy 
 one and the Just, and have with wicked hands crucified the 
 Lord's Christ. -How few are the watchmen that hear the 
 
104 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 word^at the mouth of God and warn men from Him ! (See 
 Ezek. 33 : 7.) How few are the shepherds that take heed 
 to themselves and to all the flock over which the Holy 
 Ghost hath made them oversure. (Acts 2 : 28.) 
 
 Many times a faithful preacher, in going upon a new 
 charge, will find out more about the spiritual condition of 
 the people on his new circuit or station in a few weeks than 
 his predecessor had been able to realize during his whole 
 pastorate. The same is true of evangelistic workers. They 
 go into a town and after a few plain talks to the people, 
 realize better their condition and have a better understand- 
 ing of their needs than pastors who have lived in the place 
 for years. Should not God's shepherds be quick to recog- 
 nize the disease of sin and all of its complications? Should 
 he not know how to apply the remedy for this disease? 
 Should he not know the condition of his flock and how to 
 help them out of their difficulties? Should he not know 
 how to warn them that are unruly, how to comfort the fee- 
 ble-minded, how to support the weak, and how to feed 
 those that are in health so that they may grow in grace 
 and in the knowledge of the truth? 
 
 And what shall be said of those pastors that really care 
 not for the flock — that at heart seek only their own ease 
 and convenience and pleasure? What of those that by 
 their harshness drive some away and by their neglect leave 
 others to perish? "Woe be unto the pastors that destroy 
 and scatter the sheep of my pasture ! saith the Lord. There^ 
 fore saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that 
 feed my people. Ye have scattered my flock and driven 
 them away, and have not visited them. Behold, I wilt 
 visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord. 
 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 105 
 
 countries whither I have driven them, and will bring 
 them again to their folds ; and they shall be fruitful and 
 increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which 
 shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dis- 
 mayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord." 
 
 Our Savior declared: ''The good shepherd giveth his 
 life for the sheep." To enter the professed church of God 
 as a pastor or an evangelist with a worldly motive is not 
 only displeasing to God but will bring an awful curse upon 
 the one who thus makes merchandise of the gospel. All 
 of God's shepherds that are of any help to the flock hold 
 their position by divine authority and have entered the 
 fold by the blood of Christ. They are new creatures in 
 Christ and have no selfish or worldly motives. Their whole 
 aim and ambition is the glory of God and the salvation of 
 souls. But how few are they who knowing the terrors 
 of the Lord persuade men, and being constrained by the 
 love of Christ act as becomes his ambassadors pleading 
 with men to be reconciled to God! (See 2 Cor. 5 : 11-21.) 
 How few give no ofifence in anything that the ministry 
 be not blamed ; in all things approving themselves as the 
 ministers of God "in much patience, in afflictions, in ne- 
 cessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tu- 
 mults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings ; by pureness, 
 by knowledge, by longsuflfering, by kindness, by the Holy 
 Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the 
 power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right 
 hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report 
 and good report : as deceivers, and yet true ; as unknown, 
 and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, they live; as 
 chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoic- 
 ing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, 
 
106 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 and yet possessing all things." (2 Cor. 6 : 3-10.) 
 
 The sainted John Fletcher, in describing lukewarm 
 ministers of the gospel says : "If the primitive church was 
 disturbed and mislead by unfaithful ministers, it may be 
 reasonably presumed that, in this more degenerate period 
 of its existence, the church of God must be miserably over 
 run with teachers of the same character. There is, how- 
 ever, no small number of ministers who form a sort of 
 medium between zealous pastors and false apostles. These 
 irresolute evangelists are sincere to a certain point. They 
 have some desire after the things of God, but are abun- 
 dantly more solicitous for the things of the world; they 
 form good resolutions in the cause of their acknowledged 
 Master, but are timid and unfaithful when called upon for 
 actual service. They are sometimes actuated by a mo- 
 mentary zeal, but generally influenced by servile fear. They 
 have no experience of that ardent affection, and that in- 
 vincible courage with which St. Paul was animated. Their 
 wisdom is still carnal, 2 Cor. i : 12, they still confer with 
 flesh and blood, Gal. i : 16. Such was Aaron, who yielded, 
 through an unmanly weakness, to the impious solicitations 
 of his people. Such was* Jonah, when he refused to exer- 
 cise his ministry at Nineveh. That this prophet was pos- 
 sessed of a holy confidence in God, and a desire for the 
 salvation of his fellow creatures, we have every reason to 
 believe; but we find that neither the one nor the other 
 was sufficiently powerful to engage him in a service which 
 appeared likely to endanger his reputation among men. 
 Such were also the apostles before they were endued with 
 power from on high. To every pastor of this character that 
 expression of Christ, which was once addresed to the most 
 courageous man among His disciples, may be considered 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 107 
 
 as peculiarly applicable : 'Thou art an offence unto me, for 
 thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those 
 that be of men.' Matt. i6: 23. 
 
 "Lukewarmness, false prudence, and timidity are the 
 chief characteristics by which ministers of this class may 
 be distinguished. Perceiving the excellence of the gospel 
 in an obscure point of view, and having little experience 
 of its astonishing effects, they can not possibly discover 
 that religious zeal which is indispensably necessary to the 
 character they affect to sustain. 
 
 "The pious Bishop Massillon gives the following rep- 
 resentation of these unqualified teachers and the ill effects 
 of their unfaithfulness : 'Manners are every day becoming 
 more corrupt among us, because the zeal of ministers is 
 daily becoming colder; and because there are found among 
 us few apostolical men who oppose themselves as a brazen 
 wall to the torrent of vice. For the most part, we behold 
 the wicked altogether at ease in their sins, for the want 
 of hearing more frequently those thundering voices, which, 
 accompanied with the Spirit of God, would effectually rouse 
 them from their awful slumber. The want of zeal, so 
 clearly discernible among pastors, is chiefly owing to that 
 base timidity which is not hardy enough to make a reso- 
 lute stand against common prejudice, and which regards 
 the worthless approbation of men beyond their eternal in- 
 terests. That must needs be a worldly and criminal con- 
 sideration which makes us more anxious for our own glory 
 than for the glory of God. That must truly be fleshly 
 wisdom which can represent zeal under the false ideas of 
 excess, indiscretion, and temerity; a pretext this which 
 nearly extinguishes every spark of zeal in the generality 
 of ministers. This want of courage they honor with the 
 
108 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 Specious names of moderation and prudence. Under a 
 pretence of not carrying their zeal to an excess, they arc 
 content to be entirely destitute of it. And while they are 
 solicitous to shun the rocks of imprudence and precipita- 
 tion, they run without fear, upon the sands of indolence 
 and cowardice. They desire to become useful to sinners, 
 and, at the same time, to be had in estimation of them. 
 They long to manifest such a zeal that the world is dis- 
 posed to applaud. They are anxious so to oppose the pas- 
 sions of men that they may yet secure their praises ; so to 
 condemn the vices they love that they may still be ap- 
 proved by those they condemn. But when we probe a 
 wound to the bottom, we must expect to awaken a de- 
 gree of peevishness in the patient, if we do not extort from 
 him some bitter exclamation.' 
 
 " 'Let us not deceive ourselves,' continues the same 
 author, 'if this apostolic zeal, which once converted the 
 world, has become so rare among us, it is because, in the 
 discharge of our sacred functions, we seek ourselves rather 
 than the glory of Christ and the salvation of souls. Glory 
 and infamy were regarded by the apostle with equal in- 
 difference, while he filled up the duties of his important 
 ofifice. He knew it impossible to, please men, and to save 
 them; to be the servant of the world, and the servant of 
 Christ. Nevertheless, there are many among us who are 
 seeking to unite these different services, which the apos- 
 tle believed to be irreconcilable.' 
 
 "Mons. Rogues agrees with the pious bishop in con- 
 demning those ministers who neglect to copy the example 
 of St. Paul. 'The little piety that is to be found among 
 ministers,' says this excellent writer, 'is the most effectual 
 pbstacle to the progress of the gospel. By piety I mean 
 
PREPARATIOX FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 109 
 
 that sincere and ardent love for religion which deeply in- 
 terests a man in all its concerns,, as well as in every thing 
 that respects the glory of God, and of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ.' If this divine love were found reigning in the 
 Iicarts of those who proclaim Christ ; if every preacher of 
 ihe gospel were enabled to say, with the sincerity of Peter, 
 'Lord I thou knowest all things ; thou knowest that I love 
 thee,' (John 21 : 15) thou knowest that I have no ambition 
 but for Thy glory, and that my highest pleasure consists 
 in beholding the increase of Thy kingdom — w€ should then 
 perceive the word of God in their hands like a two-edged 
 sword, cutting asunder the very roots of sin. But as the 
 gospel is preached more through contention, through vain 
 glory, and through the desire of getting a livelihood by 
 serving at the altar, than through an ardent zeal to 
 advance the glory of God, hence it is that ministers 
 fall into several errors, giving evident proofs of that in- 
 dolence and unconcern which afford matter of scandal rath- 
 er than edification.*' 
 
 Every minister who would see a genuine revival will 
 do well to take to heart these words of faithful warning. 
 He who. like Paul, has been made to feel "Woe unto me 
 if I preach not the gospel" needs also to feel. Woe unto 
 me if I fail to preach that gospel with the Holy Ghost 
 sent down from heaven ! Woe unto me, if I fail to declare 
 all the counsel of God ! Woe unto me if I do not so 
 preach that God shall be glorified and souls snatched from 
 eternal burnings ! 
 
 The history of revivals is a history of plain faithful 
 preaching both of the terrors of the law and the glad tid- 
 ings of the gospel. As in the olden time the law must be 
 made a schoolmaster to bring men to Christ. Rev. E. 
 
110 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 Wigle in his work Prevailing Prayer says : 
 
 ''Frequently, under the ministry of such men as Heze- 
 kiah C. Worcester and Benjamin Abbott, men fell as if shot 
 in battle. There was a holy unction attending their preach- 
 ing which seems to have dropped out of the pulpit. Speak- 
 ing of Worcester, Dr. Bangs writes : 'The grace of God 
 wrought mightily in him. Oh, what awful sensations ran 
 through the assemblies while Calvin Worcester and others 
 of Hke spirit were denouncing the just judgments ofGod 
 against the impenitent sinner.' 'Such was the unction of 
 his spirit,' says another, 'and the bold, resisless power of 
 his appeals to the wicked, that few of them could stand 
 before him, they would either rush out of the house or fall 
 to the floor under his word.' It is recorded of this holy 
 man that when so far reduced as not to be able to speak 
 above a whisper, his whispered utterances conveyed by 
 another to the assembly, would thrill them like a trumpet, 
 and fall with such power on the hearers that stout-hearted 
 men were smitten down to the floor; and his very aspect 
 is said to have so shone in the ^divine glory that it struck 
 conviction into the hearts of many who beheld him.' Dr. 
 Bangs further says : 'At a quarterly meeting in the Bay 
 of Quinte circuit, as the preacher commenced his sermon 
 a thoughtless man in the front gallery commenced, in a 
 playful mood, to swear profanely, and otherwise to disturb 
 the congregation. The preacher paid no attention to him 
 until he was in the midst of his sermon, when, feeling 
 strong in faith and the power of God's might, suddenly 
 stopping, he fixed his piercing eyes on the profane man; 
 then, stamping his foot, and pointing his finger at him 
 with great energy, he cried out, "My God, smite him!" 
 He instantly fell, as if shot through the heart with a bul- 
 
PHEi^ARATTION FOR A REVIVAL. Ill 
 
 let. At this moment such a divine afflatus came down 
 upon the congregation that sinners were crying to God for 
 mercy in every direction, while the saints of God burst 
 forth in loud praises to His name. Similar instances of 
 God's gracious presence were not uncommon in those 
 days.' " 
 
 CONFESSION AND HUMILIATION. 
 
 We have mentioned heartfelt repentance and humili- 
 ation on the part of professed Christians as one of the 
 direct means of promoting a revival. We have known the 
 public and detailed confession of sins known only to God, 
 to be carried too far ; but the danger is far greater on the 
 other side. 
 
 Many times in our experience have we seen the Lord's 
 work hindered or destroyed by a refusal on the part of pro- 
 fessed Christians to humble themselves and acknowledge 
 to God and man their true standing, while on the other 
 hand we have seen the hearts of the unsaved reached and 
 influence gained for God when the Lord's professed fol- 
 lowers frankly acknowledged whatever was wrong in their 
 hearts and lives. , 
 
 During the winter of 11878, which was soon after we 
 first entered upon evangelistic work, we were engaged in 
 a revival effort with ,an uncle who was pastor of the M. E. 
 church at Lakeville, Indiana. The church was cold and 
 formal and but Httle interest was manifested. For several 
 nights we plead with sinners but saw no move. But. one 
 night the Lord came in melting power and gave the mem- 
 bers of the church grace to humble themselves, and fifteen 
 or twenty came to the altar weeping, acknowledging their 
 backslidden condition and heartily confessing their faults 
 
11^ OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 to each other and to the world. This moved the whole 
 town, and from that time the revival swept on in mighty 
 power. 
 
 Another sudden break took place in a revival at Frank- 
 lin, Missouri, which we held a year or two later. The 
 meetings were held in the Presbyterian church and the 
 members were so spiritually dead that we could hardly 
 find anybody to lead in prayer in public. We wept and 
 prayed and preached night after night but saw no break 
 nor move until one night while we were preaching about 
 Lot in Sodom, the Lord came in power. The people were 
 melted down before God and a large number of the mem- 
 bers of the churches came to the altar and cried for mercy. 
 From that time the work went on in earnest, and within 
 two or three weeks a large number gave their hearts to 
 God. 
 
 Again, some years ago, while holding a meeting in the 
 M. E. Church at Morocco, Indiana, we had a hard strug- 
 gle. The Lord greatly blessed and helped us in preaching 
 but seemingly with little efifect. Thus the meetings went 
 on for several days and the searching light of God's truth 
 Vv^as being thrown on the hearts of the people, until, to the 
 surprise of everyone, one of the leading members of the 
 church, who w^as also one of the most prominent citizens 
 of the place, a physician, Sabbath school superintendent 
 and class-leader, and who was certainly one of the most 
 zealous members in the church, and was honestly believed 
 to be the best, got up one night, and with tears running 
 down his face, acknowledged that he was backslidden in 
 heart and had been a hypocrite ; then declaring that he was 
 not fit to go to the altar, he fell on his face on the floor 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 118 
 
 and began to cry to God for mercy, and after a hard strug- 
 gle found peace. 
 
 Soon after, a sister who was also a prominent member 
 of the church publicly confessed thafj the people had too 
 much confidence in her and that she had been guilty of 
 secret sin and was not worthy of the narne of Christian. 
 Everybody was confounded at her confession but God was 
 in it and many others were moved to humble themselves 
 and confess their faults and their sins and weep in heart- 
 felt repentance before the Lord. Restitution was made by 
 many and for two or three weeks Qod worked in such 
 powsr among the people that not only the village but the 
 country for miles around was greatly stirred. Many were 
 saved and sanctified and everywhere people were talking 
 about the wonderful revival, and though years have passed 
 away the fruit of that meeting can still be plainly seen. 
 
 We have already referred to a revival we held in New 
 Haven, Shiawassee Co., Michigan, seventeen years ago. 
 The meetings commenced in the Wesleyan church. For 
 the first few days everything seemed to be bound up — so 
 much so that we were tempted to close the meeting. But 
 in answer to prayer, God got hold of the pastor and he 
 saw that he was not right and after a severe struggle he 
 got up before the people and told them in tears that he was 
 backslidden and wanted them to pray for him. Then he 
 went to the altar and plead with God till victory came — • 
 then still weeping he went to some of the brethren that he 
 had not loved as a Christian should and embraced them. 
 It was a melting time. Many wept and cried to God for 
 mercy and the weeping and pleading did not stop with that 
 night, but lasted for weeks and months till several hun- 
 dred were gloriously saved or sanctified. So far as we 
 
114 
 
 OLD TIME RELlGlOlSf. 
 
 know there has never been another revival in Michigan 
 where so many were so thoroughly saved and that bore 
 so much lasting fruit. Hundreds, we believe, are to-day 
 walking with God as the result. 
 
 Shortly before w€ went to New Haven, while we were 
 laboring with the Free Methodist pastor at Kalamazoo, in 
 that state, a Baptist minister came to the altar and con- 
 fessed that He was not right and was blessed of God. The 
 pastor and myself went home with him and remained over 
 night. In the morning before we were up we heard him 
 confessing to his wife and children his neglect of Chris- 
 tian 'duty and his lack of manifest love and sympathy for 
 them. After breakfast, confessions broke out anew. The 
 wife and mother began to weep and talk to a daughter, 
 twelve or fifteen years old, of her little sister that had gone 
 to heaven urging her to give her heart to God and be 
 ready to meet her there. At the same time the father had 
 his arms around his son, who was already a young man, 
 confessing his faults and lack of love. The son's heart 
 was touched by the loving words of his father and he 
 too began to confess, saying, father, I am the one to 
 blame; I have not treated you as I should; will you for- 
 give me?" They forgave each other and God forgave 
 them both. We set out some chairs and called for ai^ 
 altar service and within a few minutes the balance of the 
 family including the mother and four children, were glori- 
 ously set free in the love of God. 
 
 At another place where members of the church who 
 had not been as friendly and neighborly as they should, 
 broke down and confessed to each other, God came and 
 united their hearts and a glorious revival was the result. 
 And just now there comes very forcibly to mind a scene 
 
PREPARATION FOR A REVIVAL. 
 
 115 
 
 we witnessed at the home of a Brother R — , a JBaptist dea- 
 con now in glory. Both this brother and his wife were 
 seeking the blessing of holiness. There had been consid- 
 erable hard feeling between them and a son-in-law. He 
 came in one morning and under the softening influence 
 of the Holy Spirit confessions were made, forgiv)eness 
 asked, they embraced one another and God came in power 
 and gave them clean hearts and a wonderful experience in 
 His love that they had never known before. 
 
 We might continue to illustrate from our own experi- 
 ence but there is no need. Nor are confessions profitable 
 only when wilful or conscious sin has been indulged. We 
 readily call to mind several instances in which the editors 
 0'6,'religious papers have under the light of the Holy Spir- 
 it seen that, though their motives had been pure, they had 
 been taking, in some respects, a wrong course, and in a 
 spirit of deep humility confessed that fact to all their read- 
 ers. In every case we believe that instead of a loss of in- 
 fluence over the hearts of the people, their influence was 
 increased and the confidence and love of their readers won- 
 derfully strengthened. If God's people everywhere would 
 honor Him by humbly acknowledging their feults just as 
 far as the Spirit enables them to see them, we would soon 
 see such a revival as has not been witnessed since apos- 
 tolic days ! 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 SOME OLD TIME PREACHERS. 
 
 The following la taken from the Autobiography of James B. Finley, a noted 
 minister of the Methodist Church, an account of whose conversion we have 
 already given. 
 
 . The following graphic description of backwoods 
 preachers, furnished me by a friend, serves not only to 
 illustrate 'the manner in which many preachers were manu- 
 factured in early days, but will convey some idea of their 
 character and talents : 
 
 A Presbytery of the Cumberland Church had assem- 
 bled in one of the valleys of the Cumberland range. It 
 was a season of spiritual drought, and the Churches had 
 suffered from famine. The members of the ecclesiastical 
 body then collected in their semi-annual convocation were 
 mostly weather-beaten veterans — men who had braved 
 the earlier dffficulties of the denomination to which they 
 were attached, when, about twenty years before, it had 
 seceded from the parent stock, to erect a banner in Zion 
 with a new device. They were in all about twenty per- 
 sons, of whom a little more than . half were preachers, the 
 rest ruling elders of congregations, who were there to 
 represent the local interests of the Church sessions 
 
 This meeting was. at a solemn crisis; for the Church 
 was troubled, and the way before her was shrouded in 
 darkness. The love of many had waxed cold. Defec- 
 tions had occurred. Some who were once masters an 
 Israel had withdrawn, carrying off weighty influence and 
 leaving perplexities behind, 
 
SOME OLD TIME PREACHERS. 
 
 117 
 
 Others were threatening to dissolve the Church unless 
 radiical changes were made in doctrines and polity. Alarm- 
 ing coldness prevailed in regard to candidates for the 
 ministry, none having offered for several sessions, and 
 those already in charge giving but little evidence of a 
 disposition to advance or an ability to labor in the work 
 which they had professed to love. Presbytery, however, 
 was unusually full, nearly every Church session being 
 represented, and not one of the ordained ministers absent. 
 T'he deliberations were opened, as usual, with prayer by 
 the moderator, an aged servant of God"; and it was ob- 
 served by those skilled in such things, that there was 
 great liberty given him when he entreated "that the God 
 of the harvest, in infinite mercy, would .send more labor- 
 ers into his harvest." 
 
 The usual formalities being ended, the opening sermon 
 was preached by the same person. His subject compre- 
 hended the character and importance of a call to the 
 Gospel ministry, and was treated with much earnestness. 
 The morning hour being ended, the body adjourned to 
 early candle-lighting. A considerable crowd had assem- 
 bled upon this novel occasion, and it v/as under their hos- 
 pitable roofs that the members found welcome reception. 
 Few, indeed, of the mountain cabins in the vicinity but 
 what received one or more upon that occasion, glad to be 
 permitted to talk of the Savior to those who rarely had 
 such opportunities of hearing the Gospel. Night brought 
 them all back again to the house of gathering. It was a 
 singularly wild and startling scene to one who ihas not 
 mixed in the different phases of frontier life. The build- 
 ing in which the meeting was held was a plain log-cabin, 
 the dwelling of one of the elders, and only selected on 
 
118 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 account of its being the largest in the vicinity. There 
 were the beds and the furniture of the whole family, no 
 unproliific one at that, stowed around a room but twenty, 
 feet square. I 
 
 Upon those beds and upon seats made by laying split 
 puncheons upon crass logs, was seated the company of 
 men, women, and children, ministers, delegates, and all, 
 each glad to endure a process of compression for a few; 
 hours, in the expectation of an intellectual reward. j 
 
 It had been before arranged ithat this night's meeting 
 should be devoted to candidates for the ministry. A call 
 was, therefore, made "to all who had felt impressions to 
 preach to come forward and converse with Presbytery on 
 the subject." Every one must undergo this peculiar or- 
 deal who inclines to enter the ministry; and there are no 
 traditions in the Church more entertaining than those 
 which tell how the ministers who are now burning and 
 shining lights made their first awkward and unpromising 
 exhibit before Presbytery. i 
 
 The call being made by the presiding officer, three per- 
 sons arose to their feet. Of the first and second it will 
 be unnecessary here to speak. The third had stood partly 
 concealed in a dark corner of the room, while the others 
 were relating ithe particulars which induped the Presby- 
 tery to accept them as probationers ; but now he stepped 
 forward and faced the moderator. His appearance ex- 
 cited a universal start of surprise even among that unso- 
 phisticated audience, accustomed to great peculiarities of 
 dress and rudeness of manner. L<et the reader imagine 
 a person dressed in what is styled copperas cloith ; that is, 
 a cloth home-spun, home-woven, home-cut, and home- 
 sewed, dyed in that bilious hue which is formed by cop- 
 
SOME OLD TIME PREACHERS. 
 
 110 
 
 peras, alum, and walnut bark, and made into coat, vest, 
 and breeches. 
 
 To this add brogans of home-tanned, red leather, tied 
 with a leather thong, covering immense feet, made — both 
 feet and brogans — for climbing hills, and you have the 
 portrait of a mountain boy; able ait full run to scale a 
 bluff, to live upon the proceeds of his rifle for support, 
 and to whip any lowland fellow in the state. Such was 
 the person who left his dark corner and came into the full 
 blaze of the pine-knot fire. He was weeping bitterly, 
 and, having no handkerchief, the primitive arrangement 
 for such cases provided was necessarily adopted. He 
 stood silent for a minute, every beholder awaiting with 
 intense curiosity the announcement of his business, then, 
 clearing his throat, commenced, "IVe come to Pre'sby 
 
 but a new flood of tears impeded his efforts to 
 
 speak. The moderator kindly remarked, "And what did 
 you came to Presbytery for, my good friend? Take your 
 own time and tell us all about it; don't be alarmed; be 
 seated; nobody will hurt you. Come, now, tell us what 
 you come to Presbytery for." The stranger was em- 
 boldened by this to commence again, even the third and 
 fourth time, but could never proceed further than I've 
 come to Presby ," and the storm of his soul prevailed. 
 
 Here one of the members suggested that he had better 
 retire with some one, and communicate his wishes pri- 
 vately; for as yet no person imagined his true errand, 
 but rather supposed that he was laboring under some 
 spiritual difficulty, which he would needs have settled by 
 the meeting. But to this hint he resolutely demurred, 
 replying "that he'd get his voice d'reckly, please God ;" 
 and so he did ; and he rose up, straightening his gaunt. 
 
120 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 awkward form, and then such words as passed his lips 
 had never before rung through that assembly. 
 
 I shall not attempt — nor could I do it, for want of a 
 report — to quote his own words ; but the oldest minister 
 present declared, years afterward, that they scorched and 
 burnt wherever they fell. A sketch of his subject will be 
 sufficient here. It seems that he had lived all his days 
 in ignorance and sin, without an hour's schooling, with- 
 out any training either for this world or the next, with- 
 out any knowledge of the affairs of humanity, having 
 sprung up like one of the cedars on his own mountains, 
 and with as little cultivation. Thus he had passed more 
 than twenty years, laboring in a humble way for support, 
 and at times pursuing the pleasures and profits of the 
 chase. , 
 
 A few months back he had accidentally fallen in with 
 a itraveling preacher, who had lost his way among the 
 mountains, and, by several miles travel, had put him on 
 the right track. ; 
 
 The minister, interested at the oddity of his appearance 
 and his intense ignorance of every thing relgious, devoted 
 the hour to a sketch of this world's condition, buried in 
 sin, his own perilous state, and the value of his immortal 
 soul, and concluded by kneeling with him, at the root of 
 a tree, and pleading with God for his spiritual regenera- 
 tion. They parted, and met no more, but the influence of 
 that meeting parted not. The Spirit which dictated the 
 good man's effort, abode henceforward in the temple of 
 his heart. A voice began to whisper in his ears, "Re- 
 pent, repent ; why will ye die?" A load, a weight of moun- 
 tains, pressed upon his soul. Sleep forsook his eyelids. 
 
SOME OLD TIME PREACHERS. 
 
 121 
 
 His ax rus'ted by the pile ; his rifle hung, dust-covered, on 
 the wall. 
 
 The simple-hearted neighbors, ignorant as himself, 
 pronounced him deranged ; the younger portion called it 
 love; a few, not slanderous, but suspicious, thought, in a 
 private Vv^ay, it might be liquor. The man himself sought 
 religious meetings, but they were few and distant, and he 
 heard no echo to the voice within him, and he still returned 
 hungry and dissatisfied. 
 
 The people of a certain town will not soon forget the 
 apparition of that awkward and ill-dressed man who vis- 
 ited their churches, to plant himself in front of the pul- 
 pit, and to hsten to the exercises with all that attention 
 which the criminal upon the gallows bestows upon the 
 distant horseman, who, perhaps, brings him the expected 
 reprieve. It was in the midst of a camp meeting fervor 
 that he at last found peace ; and there his frantic ejacula- 
 tion, "I've got it, I've got it !" was like the world-wide 
 Eureka of the Syracusan, when his grand discovery first 
 electrified his own breast. 
 
 Then he came home to tell his neighbors what the Lord 
 had done for his soul. Forsaking all other duties, he 
 wandered from cabin to cabin, and, wherever he found a 
 hearer, he called upon him to forsake his sins. His ardor 
 increased ever}r day. 
 
 Soon his rude but forcible illustrations began to tell 
 upon the hearts of those simple mountaineers, as the 
 words of a second John Baptist, crying out, "Prepare ye 
 the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." 
 
 And yet he seemed to have no idea that he was called 
 to preach. Such thought as that of entering the ministry 
 did not enter his breast. Although his heart overfTowed 
 
122 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 with the one subject, and he declared his determination 
 to speak that subject to others, so long as he lived, yet it 
 was only as a friend counsels friend that he expected to 
 do it — no more. How could he become a preacher? He 
 couldn't read a hymn or a text; he hadn't means to buy 
 decent clothing, or pay for a session's schooHng. But he 
 was guided right, for he fell in with a gentleman who was 
 botanizing among his native hills, and had the good for- 
 tune to spend a Sabbath in his company. This man, a 
 profound observer of human nature, and a friend o'f his 
 species, was struck with the peculiarities of the case, and^ 
 although no professor in a religious way, yet he felt con- 
 vinced that the hand of might was here. He, therefore, ad- 
 vised him to apply to some religious association, before 
 which he could lay open his heart, and be understood. 
 
 The result of this counsel we have seen in his coming 
 to Presbytery, and presenting himself, a stranger to all, in 
 the manner before described. This history, much elabo- 
 rated, he gave out with a volubility that took away the 
 breath. i 
 
 The pine fire blazed low ; the dipped and shapeless can- 
 dles simmered themselves into torrents, unobserved by the 
 hearers, while all sat spell-bound at the recital. With un- 
 couth gestures, words barbarous as the African's, alter- 
 nately crying and laughing, as he wandered from his first 
 agony to his final triumph, and shouting till his voice rang 
 back from the hill-side, the mountain boy enchained each 
 heart, till its very pulsations might be heard. There was 
 not a dry eye in the assembly. The gray-haired mode- 
 rator sobbed aloud. The more excitable joined, from time 
 to time, in his shouts, as the words of victory rung in 
 their ears ; and when, after a sentence of great length, he 
 
SOME OLD TIME PREACHERS 
 
 123 
 
 declared that "glory was begun in his heart," and that 
 '*God alone had done this work within him," not one who 
 was experienced in such announcements but declared his 
 conviction that it was even so-^he hand of God was there. 
 
 A brief consultation ensued, and then, by general con- 
 sent, George Willets was duly received as a candidate for 
 the holy ministry. The next event in his history will carry 
 us more than ten years forward. 
 
 Much may be said about camp meetings, but, take 
 them all in all, for practical exhibition of religion, for 
 unbounded hospitality to strangers, for unfeigned and fer- 
 vent spirituality, give me a country camp meeting against 
 the world. 
 
 It was not many years ago that I was traversing the 
 hills in that vicinity in search of some rare specimens of 
 crinoids, that could only be found thereabouts. My wallet 
 hung heavily by my side — for the crinoidea abound all 
 through that range — and my steps were perceptibly short- 
 ening as I toiled up the hill which separated me from my 
 boarding-house, when I was overtaken by a horseman, 
 who, as soon as he approached abreast of me, dismounted 
 without a question, and asked me to ride and tie with him. 
 The proposition was so bluntly made as to leave out all 
 possibility of refusal, and I at once acceded to his request. 
 On we jogged together, and before I knew what I was 
 about, I found myself giving him a somewhat tedious 
 report of my day's labdt, even to the preciseness of spec- 
 ifying the peculiar species gathered. 
 
 He heard me patiently through — I laugh at myself now 
 when I think of it — and then, with the most singular earn- 
 estness, inquired if I thought such labor redounded to the 
 glory of God! Although taken all aback, as the sailors 
 
124 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 say, by the oddity of the association, yet I was not ill- 
 read in the arguments of Buckland, Silliman, and Paley, 
 and I replied that divines of the greatest eminence con- 
 sider the study of nature as the study of the first revela- 
 tion of God. He was struck with the remark, hackneyed 
 as it was, and labored to draw me further out; but, feel- 
 ing some diffidence upon this branch of my profession, I 
 declined further debate, and changed the handle of the 
 conversation into his hand. He took it, and it was then 
 all about Jesus Christ and his religion, and how much 
 that religion is needed in the world, and how well every 
 kind of talent fits in the spiritual temple not made with 
 hands, and a great deal more to the same purpose. Ar- 
 riving in sight of my boarding-house, he asked me, in a 
 most humble and winning tone, if I would join him in a 
 wayside prayer; and as I could not, for the life of me, 
 refuse, we kneeled together, and he prayed for the 
 ^'learned and interesting stranger," that he might be led 
 to the foot of the cross in an early day, and find, with a 
 vision sharpened by faith, that the ^^revelation of grace" 
 far exceeds the '^revelation of nature," in its displays of 
 the wisdom, power, and love of God. We parted then, 
 neither having inquired the name or residence of the other. 
 
 A few days afterward the Bethel camp meeting com- 
 menced, and I did not fail to be there. I arrived just 
 before sundown Saturday evening, and before any relig- 
 ious excitement had commenced. The meeting opened, 
 as usual, on Friday by a senmon at night. On the next 
 day the custom requires a morning sermon, and another 
 at candle-light, while upon the Sabbath not less than three 
 are expected by the crowded audiences that cover the 
 camp-ground on that day. 
 
SOME OLD TIME PREACHERS. 
 
 125 
 
 The scene, as I approached it, was highly interesting, 
 and my note-books are crammed, page atter page, with 
 memoranda thai fairly sparkle with such leaders as — vivid 
 rare — contrast of colors — clear heavens — solemnity, 
 etc.; but it has been better described in the series styled, 
 "Needles from my Needle-Book," in M'Makin's Courier, 
 than I could do it ; so I desist. * * * Long before eleven 
 o'clock on Sunday morning I had, seated myself at a con- 
 venient point to see and hear — to see the audience and 
 hear the preacher. 
 
 The blowing of the horn called every one, young and 
 old, to the stand, and by their eagerness it was plain that 
 something was expected beyond the ordinary ; and I con- 
 gratulated myself upon having secured so favorable a 
 location, to gain the full advantage of it. 
 
 The opening services, which are usually short at camp 
 meetings, were soon passed over, for it is plain that this 
 class of preachers look upon them as lightly as Napoleon 
 estimated the Tirailleur service, and they hasten up the 
 artillery. 
 
 The text was announced in a voice that I immediately 
 recognized as that oi my traveling friend of a few days 
 previous. I rejoiced at the omen. His subject of dis- 
 course was embraced in the single word "Consider," and 
 led ofif by the odd remark, that if we would read the Bi- 
 ble diligently we could find it there, so he thought it un- 
 necessary to point out chapter and verse! It is immate- 
 rial for me to follow him through his divisions and exhi- 
 bitions of the subject. ^My purpose is simply to show 
 what the mountain preacher-boy, for it was he, had done 
 with himself in ten years, during which he had been de- 
 voted to the calling of a minister. His first half year had 
 
126 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 been spent in school, and although his educational prog- 
 ress had hardly been such as his friends anticipated, yet 
 by preaching nights and Sundays, and exhorting all the 
 time, he had got up a revival of religion in the school 
 which swept like wildfire, and brought in scores to the 
 fold of the Church. 
 
 At the next Presbytery he came up to beg leave to oc- 
 cupy a circuit, and despite of his limited acquirements — 
 for as yet he could barely read a text or write a copy — 
 that body had regard to the peculiarities of his case, and 
 licensed him. That constituted the true commencement 
 of his career; from this hour he was a man in the Mas- 
 ter's work. It has been often remarked among the Meth- 
 odist denomination, that the circuit is the true college of 
 the young preacher. It proved so in the case of George 
 Willets. His idiosyncrasy was to tell a thing as soon as 
 he learned it; and while he could preach at night the 
 Scripture that he had studied through the day, he made 
 unbounded improvement. His memory proved retentive; 
 his ideality was highly vivid; perseverance attended him 
 as a shadow, and unlimited love for the souls of the world 
 kept him up, and kept him going. There was never a 
 better combination of native talent for the pulpit, but liter- 
 ary training was wanting. 
 
 In sheer desperation the Presbytery concluded at last to 
 ordain him, and did so, although by a breach of the 
 Church's rule as to literary qualifications. It happened 
 that the occasion on which I first met him was his first 
 sermon since his ordination, and that for the first time in 
 his life he was to officiate in the administration of the 
 Lord's supper. 
 
 The whole tenor of his discourse was to show sinners 
 
SOME OLD TIME PREACHERS. 
 
 127 
 
 where they stand, and where they might stand. There was 
 much eloquence, remarkable originality, even to coarse- 
 ness, for I recollect that one of his comparisons intro- 
 duced fighting-chickens and their owners; powerful ap- 
 peals to the human heart, which he had read as a master ; 
 but best of all, a vein of tenderness so pure, so gentle, 
 that hundreds of us were lost in tears. The peroration was 
 tremendous. How such a voice could come from mortal 
 lungs, I am not physiologist enough to explain, but it 
 raised us to our feet like a trumpet, swayed us to and fro, 
 to follow, as I suppose, the directions of his hand; and! 
 at the closing appeal *^for mourners to come forward and 
 be prayed for," such a rush was made that I could not 
 have withdrawn from my position with less than Amalek's 
 strength, and was compelled to endure such compression 
 as I never before experienced. 
 
 At the hour of communion-service I heard him depic- 
 ture the scene "on that dark, that doleful night," 
 
 "When power of earth and hell arrayed 
 Against the Son of God's delight." 
 
 and truly I had never before seen the face of the Man of 
 sorrows, nor heard Him speak. Will the reader forgive 
 the personal allusion, when I say that, cynic as I may be, 
 or may have been, that effort brought my inmost soul to 
 declare that "almost thou persuadest me to be a Chris- 
 tian." At night that mountain voice again spoke upon us, 
 and ere I left the next morning a large accession, in the 
 way of new converts, was joyfully announced to the con- 
 gregation. 
 
 Since that period I have often sat under the ministry 
 of George Willets, and never but to admire the inexhaust- 
 
128 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 ible fertility of a soil that lay fallow for so many years. 
 Maturity of intellect is upon him. The vagaries of his 
 youthful exercise in the pulpit have been conquered, but 
 the eloquence, the originality, the gentle vein of Christian 
 love he retains. 
 
 I have been furnished with another sketch of a back- 
 woods preacher, which I will give. 
 
 Immense was the gathering at the ^lethodist camp- 
 ground near Springfield, on the second Sunday of Sep- 
 tember, 1832. A powerful magnet had attracted this 
 great mass of people from their homes in many counties 
 a hundred miles round. The new presiding elder, a late 
 arrival from Kentucky, an orator of wide-spread and won- 
 derful renown, it was known, would thunder on that day. 
 The glittering prestige of his fame had lightened be "ore 
 him, and hence the universal eagerness to hear one con- 
 cerning whom rumor's trumpet tongue discoursed so 
 loudly. 
 
 Morning broke in the azure east, bright and beautiful 
 as a dream of heaven ; but the ex-prodigy had not made 
 his advent. Eleven o'clock came — the regular hour of 
 the detonation of the heavy gun of orthodoxy — and still 
 there was no news of the clerical lion. A common circuit 
 preacher took his place, and, sensible of the popular dis- 
 appointment, increased it by mouthing a miserable failure. 
 The vexed and restless crowd began to disperse, when an 
 event happened to excite afresh their curiosity and con- 
 centrate them again denser than ever. A messenger 
 rushed to the pulpit in hot haste, and presented a note, 
 which was immediately read out to prevent the people 
 from scattering. The following is a literal copy of that 
 singular epistle : 
 
SOME OLD TIME PREACHERS 
 
 129 
 
 "Dear Brethren, — The devil has foundered my horse, 
 which will detain me from reaching your tabernacle till 
 evening. I might have performed the journey on foot; 
 but I could not leave poor Paul, especially as he has 
 never left Peter. Horses have no souls to save, and, 
 therefore, it is all the more the duty of Christians to take 
 care of their bodies. Watch and pray, and don't let the 
 devil get among yon on the sly before candle-light, when 
 I shall be at my post 
 
 "Your brother 
 
 At length the day closed. The purple curtain of night 
 fell over the earth from, the darkening sky. God's golden 
 fire flashed out in heaven, and men below kindled their 
 watch-fires. The encampment, a village of snowy tents, 
 was illuminated with a brillancy that caused every leaf 
 to shine and sparkle as if all the trees were burnished 
 with phosphorescent flame. It was Hke a theater. It 
 was a theater in the open air, on the green sward, beneath 
 the starry blue, incomparably more picturesque and gor- 
 geous than any stage scenery, prepared within walls of 
 brick or marble, where the elite of cities throng to feast 
 their eyes on beauty and their ears on music of silvery 
 sound*. 
 
 Presently a form arose in the pulpit, and commenced 
 giving out a hymn, preliminary to the main exercises, and 
 every eye became rivited to the person of the stranger. 
 Indeed, as some one said of Burke, a single flash of the 
 gazer's vision was enough to reveal the extraordinary 
 man, although, in. the present case, it must, for the sake 
 of truth, be acknowledged that the first impression was 
 ambiguous, If not enigmatical and disagreeable. His fig- 
 ure was tall, burly, massive, and seemed even more gi- 
 
130 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 gantic than the reality from the crowning foliage of lux- 
 uriant, coal-black hair, wreathed into long, curling ring- 
 lets. Add a head that looked as large as a half-bushel, 
 beetling brows, rough and craggy as fragmentary gran- 
 ite, irradiated at the base by eyes of dark fire, small and 
 twinkling like diamonds in a sea — ^they were diamonds 
 of the soul, shining in a measureless sea of humor — a 
 swarthy complexion, as if embrowned by a southern sun, 
 rich, rosy lips, always slightly parted, as wearing a perpet- 
 ual smile, and you have a lifelike portrait of Mr. , 
 
 the far-famed backwoods preacher. 
 
 Though I heard it all, from the text to the amen, I am 
 forced to despair of any attempt to convey an accurate 
 idea of either the substance or manner of the sermon 
 which followed. There are different sorts of sermons — 
 the argumentary, the dogmatic, the postulary. the per- 
 suasive, the punitive, the combative, "in orthodox blows 
 and knocks," the logical, and the poetic; but this speci- 
 men belonged to none of these categories. It was sui 
 ' ' generis, and of a new species. 
 
 He began with a loud and beautifully-modulated tone, 
 in a voice that rolled on the serene night air like success- 
 ive peals of grand thunder. Methodist ministers are cele- 
 brated for sonorous voices; but his was matchless in 
 sweetness as well as power. For the first ten minutes his 
 remarks, being preparatory, were commonplace and unin- 
 teresting; but then, all of a sudden, his face reddened, 
 his eye l)rightened, his gestures grew animated as the 
 waftures of a fierce torch, and his whole countenance 
 changed into an expression of inimitable humor ; and now 
 his wild, peculiar eloquence poured forth like a mountain 
 torrent. Glancing arrows, with shafts of ridicule, sparkled, 
 
Old time revivals. 
 
 181 
 
 flashed, and flew like hail till the vast auditory was con- 
 vulsed with laughter. * * * This continued thirty min- 
 utes, while the orator painted the folly of the sinner, which 
 was his theme. I looked on and laughed with the rest, but 
 finally began to fear the result as to the speaker. 
 
 "How," I exclaimed, mentally, "will he ever be able 
 to extricate his audience from that deep whirlpool of hu- 
 mor? If he ends thus, when the merry mood subsides, 
 and calm reflection supervenes, will not the revulsion of 
 feeling be deadly to his fame ? Will not every hearer real- 
 ize that he has been trifled with in matters of sacred and 
 eternal interests ? At all events, there is no prospect of a 
 revival to-night ; for were the orator a magician, he could 
 not change his subject now, and stem the torrent of head- 
 long laughter." 
 
 But the shaft of my inference fell short of the mark; 
 and even then he cornmenced to change, not all at once, 
 but gradually, as the wind of a thunder-cloud. His fea- 
 tures lost. their comical tinge of pleasantry; his voice grew 
 first earnest, and then solemn, and soon wailed out in the 
 tones of deepest pathos ; his eyes were shorn of their mild 
 light, and yielded streams of tears, as the fountain of the 
 hill yielded water. The effect was indescribable, and the 
 rebound of feeling beyond all revelation. He descanted 
 on the horrors of hell, till every shuddering face was 
 turned downward, as if expecting to see the solid globe 
 rent asunder, and the fathomless, fiery gulf yawn from 
 beneath. Brave men moaned like sick infants, and fair, 
 fashionable women, covered with silken drapery, and be- 
 decked with gems, shrieked as if a knife were working 
 among their heart-strings. 
 
 Again he changed the theme; sketched the joys of a 
 
132 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 righteous death — its faith, its hope, its winged raptures, 
 and what beautiful angels attended the spirit to its starry 
 home — with such force, great and evident belief, that all 
 eyes were turned toward heaven, as the entire congrega- 
 tion started to their feet, as if to hail the vision of an- 
 gels at which the finger of the preacher seemed to be 
 pointed, elevated as it was on high to the full length of 
 his arm. 
 
 He then made a call for mourners into the altar, and 
 five hundred, many of them till that night infidels, rushed 
 forward and prostrated themselves on their knees. The 
 meeting was continued for two weeks, and more than a 
 thousand converts added to the Church. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OLD TIME REVIVALS. 
 
 "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Matl. S: 3. 
 
 "Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old 
 paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your 
 souls." Jer. 6: 16. 
 
 "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in 
 mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not 
 open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall 
 not be room enough to receive it." Mai. 3: 10. 
 
 In the very beginning of the nineteenth century this 
 country was blessed with one of the most glorious outpour- 
 ings of the Holy Spirit known in the history of the Chris- 
 tian church. The work broke out in Kentucky and is often 
 spoken of as "The Kentucky Revivals" and as the ''Great 
 Revival in the West" although in the immediately succeed- 
 ing years it was manifest to a great degree over the entire 
 land. Foreign Missionary Societies, The American Bible 
 Society, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, have 
 been recognized as a part of the blessed results of that 
 "time of refreshing." After that revival Dr. Baxter declared 
 Kentucky to be the most moral place he had ever seen. 
 
 Rev. B. Helm, in his recent work, "Allie in Beulah 
 Land" tells us : Rev. David Rice, one of the pioneer Pres- 
 byterian ministers of Kentucky wrote of that revival : 
 
 "It has made its appearance in various places without 
 any extraordinary means to produce it. . . . The first 
 symptom has been a praying spirit in a few pious people 
 among them. They prayed, incited others, organized pray- 
 ing societies, that they might meet, encourage and assist 
 others. The revival appears to be granted in answer to 
 
134 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 prayer. (2) As far as I can see there appears to be in the 
 subjects of this work a deep heart humbling sense of the 
 great unreasonableness, abominable nature, pernicious 
 effects, and deadly consequences of sin; and of the abso- 
 lute unworthiness of the sinful creature of the smallest 
 crumb of mercy from the hand of a holy God. There ap- 
 pears to be in them a deep mourning on account of their 
 own sins, and the sins of their fellow professors, and of 
 the careless and profane, espcially their ingratitude to God. 
 (3) There seems to be deep and affecting views of the 
 condescension and love of God in giving His Son 
 for the redemption of man ; and of the love of the Redeem- 
 er in redeeming them. (4) They have a deep longing for 
 the conversion of souls, and of their worth, and of love to 
 them. Perhaps the ardency of their love sometimes hur- 
 ries them into indi'Scretions, which excite the prejudice of 
 those for whose salvation they are pleading. (5) A great 
 num'ber of individuals seem to me greatly reformed in 
 their morals — yea, some neighborhoods, noted for their 
 profane and vicious manners, are now as much noted for 
 their piety and good order. (6) Family worship is estab- 
 lished. (7) The subject of this work seem to be very sensi- 
 ble of the necessity of sanctification, as well as justification, 
 and that without holiness no man shall see the Lord: to 
 be very desirious that they themselves, and all who name 
 the name of the Lord, should depart from all iniquity, 
 should recommend the religion of Jesus Christ to the con- 
 sciences of their fellowmen A heaven of perfect purity, 
 
 and the full enjoyment of God appears to be the chief and 
 ultimate desire and object of th^ir pursuit. Now I have 
 given you my reason for concluding the morning has come, 
 and that we are blessed with a real revival of the benign, 
 
OLD TIME REVIVALS. 
 
 135 
 
 heaven-born religion of Jesus Christ, which demands our 
 grateful acknowledgment to God the Father, Son and Holy 
 Ghost." 
 
 Of this great work we give two brief accounts. One 
 Df these is taken from ^^A Century of Revivals," the other 
 from the ''Autobiography of James B. Finley." 
 
 FROM "A CENTURY OP REVIVALS." 
 
 "From about 1790 to 1800, religion was at a very low 
 ebb in the United States. There was only about one 
 church member to thirteen of the population. French in- 
 fidelity had over-run the land, undermining the faith and 
 morals of the people. Many of the church members were 
 unconverted, and the dry doctrinal preaching of the pul- 
 pit had no power to arouse the church from its lethargy. 
 In fact, the pulpit was thought to be largely unconverted. 
 From 1792 to 1798 Methodism had been losing ground. 
 In one year it had lost one-tenth of its membershp from 
 the U. S. Conference, owing, in part, to the O'Kelly con- 
 troversy. In 1796 official calls were made for fasting and 
 prayer by presbyteries, synods and the General Assembly. 
 Ohio presbytery held a monthly fast day all through the 
 year 1796, to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 
 Written covenants were drawn up in Pennsylvania to pray 
 for a revival. The revival began, as might have been ex- 
 pected, in the church that had so sought. McCready, a 
 revival Presbyterian preacher in Logan county, Ky., drew 
 up a solemn covenant for his congregation. Every Satur- 
 day evening, every Sabbath morning, and one whole Sab- 
 bath o'f each month, for a year, were to be observed as a 
 season of special prayer for the outpouring of the Holy 
 Spirit in Logan county, and throughout the world. In 
 
136 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 May, 1797, in Gasper River congregation, in Logan coun- 
 ty, Kentucky, the grand work began. For a year Mc- 
 Cready's members had been coming to him about their 
 spiritual condition. The preaching of the most of the 
 preachers of his denomination was dry, formal treatises 
 on doctrines. One writer says that during fourteen years 
 that he sat under Dr. Craighead's ministry, he never heard 
 a sermon on repentance, regeneration and faith that either 
 tended to awaken a sinner, or teach a penitent how to find 
 peace. McCready had been a revivalist in North Carolina, 
 and his preaching awakened his people to their condition. 
 
 In 1898 a more general awakening occurred. Secular 
 business was forgotten. Men spent days alone in the 
 woods, praying. When there was no preaching, godless 
 church members spent much time talking of the startling 
 discovery of their unsaved state. Such was the case all 
 over McCready's field, without any protracted services. 
 
 In 1799 the interest was still deeper, especially in Gas- 
 per congregation. The sacramental meeting was a time of 
 victory to some. Men overwhelmed by conviction fell to 
 the floor, and though they were entirely conscious, as they 
 afterwards testified, yet they remained prostrate and mo- 
 tionless for an hour. When they arose, there were shouts 
 of. victory on their tongues. This strange exercise drew 
 vast crowds to McCready's meetings. 
 
 One family, just from North Carolina, came in their 
 wagon and 'camped.' McCready seized upon the camp- 
 meeting idea from this ^first camp-meeting of Christen- 
 dom,' as Rev. John McGee, of Methodism, styled it. Mc- 
 Cready now published far and near that the sacramental 
 meeting, July, 1800, of Gasper would be' a camp-meeting. 
 Som€ members of the Shiloh, Tenn., congregation carrie 
 
OLD TIME REVIVALS. 
 
 13? 
 
 home from the former meeting converted, and shouting 
 the praises of God. Elder Robert King said he would send 
 Rich, a son educated for the ministry ; they could not fool 
 him with 'fox-fire/ But Rich came home converted ; and 
 *Fox-Fire Rich' spread it till twenty were converted ere a 
 meeting was held. Then a camp-meeting was, ordered, and 
 over one hundred were converted in the face of his anti- 
 revivalist father. 
 
 In 1801 McCready invited the Methodist preachers, and 
 especially John Page, powerful in the pulpit, and popular 
 among Presbyterians, to attend. 
 
 It was three miles north of Peter Cartwright's home. 
 The meeting was in a grove. They camped. Men slept 
 under the wagons, women in them, while some stayed with 
 the neighbors. Peter Cartwright was there, a guilty sin- 
 ner. He says, ''I went with weeping multitudes and bowed 
 before the stand, and earnestly prayed for mercy. In the 
 midst of a solemn struggle of soul, an impression was made 
 upon my mind as though a voice had said to me, 'thy sins 
 are forgiven thee;' divine light flashed all around me, un- 
 speakable joy rose in my soul. I arose to me feet, opened 
 my eyes, and it seemed as if I was in heaven ; the trees, the 
 leaves on them, everything seemed praising God." 
 
 Such was the conversion in a Presbyterian camp-meet- 
 ing of this remarkable character in Western Methodism. 
 For the Holy Ghost submerges denominational channels 
 wherever His overflow occurs, and if the disciples were al- 
 ways filled with the Spirit there would be no schism in the 
 body ; but the ecclesia, or church of God would be one, as 
 Jesus prayed it might be. 
 
 During 1801 and 1802 the revival fire spread over Ten- 
 nessee, the Carolinas, and the Northern States, In Yale 
 
138 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 / 
 
 College of 230 students, 182 were converted. Said Dr. 
 Gardiner Spring, ''From the year 1800 and 1825 there was 
 not a month in which we could not point to some village, 
 or town, or seminary and say, 'Behold what God hath 
 wrought.' 
 
 Yet there were opposers. In Kentuckv there was the 
 anti-revival party called Old Side, while the revival party 
 was called New Side. Says Dr. Spring, ''I marvel not a 
 little that, after all our eyes have seen, and our ears have 
 heard, there should be a good many among us who look 
 with suspicion upon these days of mercy, and who do not 
 rather hail them as the harbinger of that predicted period, 
 when 'the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, 
 and the light of the sun shall be seven fold, as the light of 
 seven days/' 
 
 In Western Pennsylvania, after several sacramental 
 meetings of great blessing, a greater concourse of people 
 than was ever seen at such assemblies gathered at Upper 
 Buffalo meeting house, in the congregation of Rev. John 
 Anderson. There came about ten thousand. Many came 
 in wagons, or with tents. Fifteen ministers of the Synod 
 of Pittsburg were there. Extraordinary divine power at- 
 tended the services. Preaching, exhorting, prayer and 
 praise continued alternately throughout Saturday night in 
 the meeting house, and also part of the night in the tent. 
 The Lord's day sav/ communion service in the house, and 
 preaching services in the tent for sinners. This nig'ht was 
 spent, as the former had been, only more were visibly 
 pierced to the heart, and made to cry out, 'what shall we 
 do?" Between midnight and daylight, after a short inter- 
 mission of services, an exhortation was given the dis- 
 
OLD TIME REVIVALS. 
 
 139 
 
 tressed, pointing them to Christ and His grace to meet 
 their needs. 
 
 On Monday the whole assembly was addressed by one 
 speaker. After the benediction many were smitten down in 
 all parts of the congregation, and many more sat silently 
 weeping over their sins and misery. Rev. McCurdy deliv- 
 ered a most powerful exposition of the second Psalm from 
 a wagon. Said Rev. T. Hunt, who was with him in the 
 wagon, '^it was like the close o'f a battle, w^hen every tenth 
 man was wounded." It was called McCurdy's War Ser- 
 mon, for after its close men fell on every side as if shot. 
 
 I find the revival fires were kindled in Upper Kentucky 
 in 1801-1802 when McKendree was the Methodist presid- 
 ing elder in the West. A Presbyterian minister, McNa- 
 mara, heard him preach on the extent of the atonement, 
 and salvation by faith. He said to himself "This is the 
 doctrine calculated to do good." So he began to preach 
 on these themes, and the mighty power of God came down 
 on him and his congregation. Many fell to the floor, 
 among whom was McNamara. Some of the Methodist 
 began to talk to those in distress : but some of the Pres- 
 byterian elders still on their feet said, "If it is the Lord's 
 work, let the Lord do his own work." But they persisted, 
 sa3ang, "The Lord works by means." As there was some 
 crowding among those that were down, one said, ''Don't 
 tread on Mr. McNam'ara." He heard it, and cried out, 'Yes, 
 let them tread on me, for I deserve it. Oh, if I and my 
 congregations had been carried to judgment a few weeks 
 ago what would have become of us ?" 
 
 Peter Cartwright wrote of this revival: 'In the year 
 1801, in the upper part of Kentucky, at a memorable place 
 called Cane Ridge, there was appointed a sacramental 
 
140 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 meeting by some Presbyterian ministers, at which meeting 
 the mighty power of God was displayed in a very extraor- 
 dinary manner. Many were moved to tears, and bitter, 
 loud cryings for mercy. The meeting was protracted for 
 weeks. Ministers from almost all denominations flocked 
 in from far and near. The services were kept up by night 
 and by day. Thousands heard of the mighty work, and 
 came on foot, on horseback, in carriages, and wagons. It 
 is supposed there were in attendance, at times, from 12,000 
 to 25,000 people. Hundreds fell under the mighty power 
 of God, as if slain in battle. Stands were erected in the 
 woods, from which preachers of dififerent churches pro- 
 claimed repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. It was estimated by eye-witnesses that from 1,000 
 to 2,000 were happily and powerfully converted to God 
 during the meeting. It was not unusual for from three to 
 seven preachers to be addressing the listening thousands 
 at one time from different stands. The heavenly fire spread 
 in almost every direction. It was said by truthful witness- 
 es that at times more than a thousand persons broke out 
 into loud shoutings all at once, and that the s'houts could 
 be heard for miles around." 
 
 Since P&ntecost, says a writer, "there has seldom if 
 ever been such a revival. It kindled a flame that spread all 
 over Kentucky, and throughout many other States." Says 
 one, "I have seen a hundred sinners fall as dead men under 
 one sermon, and I have heard more than five hundred 
 Christians shouting aloud the praises of God at one time. 
 I venture to assert thousands were awakened and con- 
 verted at these camp-meetings, where Methodists and 
 Presbyterians worked together. They held such camp- 
 meetings every year. Sinners mocked, old dry profesisors 
 
OLD TIME REVIVALS. 
 
 141 
 
 opposed, some of the old starched preachers preached 
 against these exercises, but still the work went on, and 
 spread in almost every direction, gathering additional fire, 
 till our country seemed all coming to God." 
 
 FROM AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JAMES B. FINLEY. 
 "GREAT REVIVALS IN THE WEST." 
 
 In the spring of 1800 one of the most astonishing and 
 powerful revivals occurred that Has ever been known in 
 the western country. This was also the most extensive 
 revival that perhaps ever was witnessed in this country. 
 It was marked by some peculiarities which had not been 
 known to characterize any revival in former times. The 
 nearest approximation to it, of which I can form any con- 
 ception, was the revival on the day of pentecost, wheru 
 thousands were awakened and converted to God under the 
 most exciting circumstances. 
 
 The commencement of the revival is traceable to the 
 joint labors of two brothers in Cumberland county, Ken- 
 tucky, one of whom was a Presbyterian and the other a 
 Methodist preacher. They commenced laboring together, 
 every Sabbath preaching, exhorting, and praying alter- 
 nately. This union was regarded as quite singular, and 
 excited the curiosity of vast multitudes, who came to the 
 places of meeting to hear two men preach who held views 
 in theology supposed to be entirely antagonistic. Nothing 
 was discoverable in their preaching of a doctrinal charac- 
 ter, except the doctrine of man's total depravity and ruin 
 by sin, and his recovery therefrom by faith in Christ. All 
 were exhorted to flee from the wrath to come, and be saved 
 from their sins. The word which they preached was at- 
 tended with the power of God to the hearts of listening 
 
142 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 thousands. The multitudes who flocked from all parts of 
 the country to hear them, became so vast that no church 
 would hold them, and they were obliged to resort to the 
 fields and woods. Every vehicle was put in requisition; 
 carriages, wagons, carts and sleds. Many came on horse- 
 back, and larger crowds still came on foot. 
 
 As the excitement increased, and the work of convic- 
 tion and conversion continued, several brought tents 
 which they pitched on the ground, and remained day and 
 night for many days. The reader will here find the origin 
 of camp meetings. 
 
 In the spring of 1801 Bishop M'Kendree was appoint- 
 ed presiding elder of the Kentucky district ; and being thus 
 brought in contact with this wonderful work, he was pre- 
 pared to form a correct judgment of its character. That 
 there were extravagances that constituted no part of relig- 
 ion, he was prepared to admit, but that it was all a wild, 
 fanatical delusion, he was very far from conceding. Nay, 
 he believed that it was the work of God's Spirit on the 
 hearts of the people, and that thousands were genuinely 
 converted to God. 
 
 These meetings began to follow one another in quick 
 succession, and the numbers which attended were almost 
 incredible. While the meetings lasted, crowds were to be 
 seen in all directions, passing and repassing the roads and 
 paths, while the woods seemed to be alive with people. 
 Whole settlements appeared to be vacated, and only here 
 and there could be found a house having an inhabitant. 
 All ages, sexes, and conditions, pressed their way to the 
 camp meeting. At these meetings the Presbyterians and 
 Methodists united. They were held at different places. 
 On the 22d of May, 1801, one was held at Cabin creek; 
 
\ 
 
 \ 
 
 OLD TIME REVIVALS. 
 
 143 
 
 the next was held at Concord, in one of my father's old 
 congregations; the next was at Point Pleasant, and the 
 succeeding one at Indian creek, in Harrison county. At 
 these meetings thousands fell under the power of God, and 
 cried for mercy. The scenes which successively occurred 
 at these meetings were awfully sublime, and a general ter- 
 ror seemed to have pervaded the minds of all people within 
 the reach of their influences. 
 
 The great general camp meeting was held at Cane 
 Ridge meeting-house. This house was built for my father, 
 and here was my old home. I have elsewhere described 
 this meeting, or rather, attempted to do so. Language is 
 utterly impuissant to convey any thing like an adequate 
 idea of the sublimity and grandeur of the scene. Twenty 
 thousand persons tossed to and fro, like the tumultuous 
 waves of the sea in a storm, or swept down like the trees 
 of the forest under the blast of the wild tornado, was a 
 sight which mine own eyes witnessed, but which neither 
 my pen nor tongue can describe. 
 
 During the religious exercises within the encampment, 
 all manner of wickedness was going on without- So deep 
 and awful is man's depravity, that he will sport while the 
 very fires of perdition are kindling around him. Men, 
 furious with the effects of the maddening bowl, would 
 outrage all decency by their conduct ; and some, mounted 
 on horses, would ride at full speed among the people. I 
 saw one, who seemed to be a leader and champion of the 
 party, on a large, white horse, ride furiously into the pray- 
 ing circle, uttering the most horrid imprecations. Sud- 
 denly, as if smitten by lightning, he fell from his horse. 
 At this a shout went up from the rehgious multitude, as if 
 Lucifer himself had fallen. I trembled, for I fear«vi God 
 
144 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 had killed the bold and daring blasphemer. He exhibited 
 no signs whatever of life; his limbs were rigid, his wrists 
 pulseless, and his breath gone. Several of his comrades 
 came to see him, but they did not gaze long till the power 
 of God came upon them, and they fell like men slain in 
 battle. I was much alarmed, but I had a great desire to 
 see the issue.. I watched him closely, while for thirty 
 hours he lay, to all human appearance, dead. During 
 this time the people kept up singing and praying- At last 
 he exhibited signs of life but they were fearful spasms, 
 which seemed as if he were in a convulsive fit, attended 
 by frightful groans, as if he were passing through the 
 intensest agony. It was not long, however, till his con- 
 vulsions ceased, and springing to his feet, his groans were 
 converted into loud and joyous shouts of praise. The 
 dark, fiend-like scowl which overspread his features, gave 
 v/ay to a happy smile, which lighted up his countenance. 
 
 A certain Dr. P., accompanied by a lady from Lexing- 
 ton, was induced, out of mere curiosity, to attend the 
 meeting. As they had heard much about the involuntary 
 jerkings and falling which attended the exercises, they 
 entered into an agreement between themselves, that 
 should either of them be thus strangely attacked or fall, 
 the other was to stand by to the last. It was not long till 
 the lady was brought down in all her pride, a poor sinner 
 in the dust, before her God. The Doctor, agitated, came 
 up and felt of her pulse; but, alas! her pulse was gone. 
 At this he turned pale, and staggering a few paces, he 
 fell beneath the power of the same invisible hand. After 
 remaining for some time in this state, they both obtained 
 pardon and peace and went rejoicing home. They both 
 
OLD TIME REVIVALS. 
 
 14^ 
 
 lived and died happy Christians. Thousands were affected 
 in the same way. 
 
 These camp meetings continued for some time, the 
 Presbyterians and Methodists uniting together as one in 
 the army of the Lord. Some ministers had serious 
 doubts concerning the character of the work; but its 
 genuineness was demonstrated by the fruits. Men of the 
 most depraved hearts and vicious habits were made new 
 creatures, and a whole life of virtue subsequently con- 
 firmed the conversion. To all but Methodists the work 
 was entirely strange. Some of the peculiarities had been 
 witnessed before by the preachers, and they were enabled 
 to carry it on. 
 
 These meetings exhibited nothing to the spectator un- 
 acquainted with them but a scene of confusion, such as 
 scarcely could be put into human language. They were 
 generally opened with a sermon or exhortation, at the 
 close of which there would be a universal cry for mercy, 
 some bursting forth in loud ejaculations of prayer or 
 thanksgiving for the truth ; some breaking forth in strong 
 and powerful exhortations, others flying to their careless 
 friends with tears of compassion, entreating them to fly to 
 Christ for mercy ; some, struck with terror and conviction, 
 hastening through the crowd to escape, or pulling away 
 from the relations, others trembling, weeping, crying for 
 mercy; some falling and swooning away, till every ap- 
 pearance of life was gone and the extremities of the body 
 assumed the coldness of death. These were surrounded 
 with a company of the pious, singing melodious songs 
 adapted to the time, and praying for their conversion. 
 But there were others collected in circles round this vari- 
 egated scene, contending for and against the work. 
 
146 
 
 OLD TIME2 RELIGION. 
 
 Many circumstances transpired that are worthy of note 
 in reference to this work. Children were often made the 
 instruments through which the Lord wrought. At one 
 of these powerful displays of Divine power, a boy about 
 ten years old broke from the stand in time of preaching 
 under very strong impressions, and having mounted a 
 log at some distance, and raising his voice in a most 
 affecting manner, cried out, "On the last day of the feast 
 Jesus stood and cried. If any man thirst, let him come 
 unto me and drink." He attracted the rriain body of the 
 congregation, and, with streaming eyes, he warned the 
 sinners of their danger, denouncing their doom, if they 
 persevered in sin, and strongly expressed his love for the 
 salvation of their souls, and the desire that they would 
 turn to God and live. By this time the press was so greaT 
 that he was taken up by two men and held above the 
 crowd. He spoke for nearly an hour with that convincing 
 eloquence that could be inspired only from heaven ; and 
 when exhausted, and language failed to describe the feel- 
 ings of his soul, he raised his handkerchief, and dropping 
 it, cried, "Thus, O sinner, will you drop into hell unless 
 you forsake your sins and turn to God." At this moment 
 the power of God fell upon the assembly, and sinners fell 
 as men slain in mighty battle, and the cries for mercy 
 seemed as though they would rend the heavens, and the 
 work spread in a manner which human language can not 
 describe. 
 
 We will now try to give something in reference to the 
 manner and the exercise of mind of those who were the 
 subjects of this work. Immediately before they became 
 totally powerless, they were sometimes seized with a gen- 
 eral tremor, and often uttered several piercing shrieks in 
 
OLD TIME REVIVALS. 
 
 147 
 
 the moment of falling. Men and women never fell v/hen 
 under this jerking exercise till they became exhausted. 
 Some were unable to stand, and yet had the use of the^r 
 hands and could converse with companions. Others were 
 unable to speak. The pulse became weak, and they drew 
 a difficult breath about once a minute. In many instances 
 they became cold. Breathing, pulsation, and all signs of 
 life forsook them for hours ; yet I never heard of one who 
 died in this condition, and I have conversed with persons 
 who have laid in this situation for many hours, and they 
 have uniformly testified that they had no bodily pain, and 
 that they had the entire use of their reason and powers 
 of mind. From this it appears that their falling was 
 neither common fainting nor a nervous affection. Indeed, 
 this strange work appears to have taken every possible 
 turn to baffle the conjectures and philosophizing of those 
 who were unwilling to acknowledge it was the work of 
 God. Persons have fallen on their way home from meet- 
 ing, some after they had arrived at home, others pursuing 
 their common business on their farms, and others when 
 they were attending to family or secret devotions. Num- 
 bers of thoughtless, careless sinners have fallen as sud- 
 denly as if struck by lightning. Professed infidels, and 
 other vicious characters, have been arrested, and some- 
 times at the very moment when they were uttering their 
 blasphemies against God and the work, and have, like 
 Saul, declared that to be God's work which they so ve- 
 hemently persecuted. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 OLD TIME REVIVALS UNDER JAMES CAUGHEY. 
 
 During the seven years of James Caughey's ministry im England and Ireland, 
 
 nearly twenty-two thousand persons professed conversion under his immediate 
 labors, and nearly ten thousand entered into the rest of full salvation. We 
 quote from Showers of Blessing — one of several works reporting that wonderful 
 revival and consisting largely of selections from his journal kept during his 
 ministry in the cities of Macclesfield and Birmingham. 
 
 And now here I am in Sheffield. We spent only a 
 couple of days in London. This is a precious spot to 
 me; memorable, as being the scene of one of the great- 
 est victories my Lord Jesus ever achieved by my min- 
 istry; where, in something less than four months, up- 
 wards of three thousand persons professed to obtain the 
 forgiveness of sins, and nearly fifteen hundred sanctify- 
 ing grace! 
 
 I do realize the sentiment of that Scottish divine, who 
 said, "Sweet are the spots where Immanuel has ever 
 shown his glorious power in the conviction and conver- 
 sion of sinners. The world loves to muse on the scenes 
 where battles were fought and victories won. Should 
 not we love the spots where our great Captain has won 
 his amazing victories? Is not the conversion of a soul 
 more worthy to be spoken of than the taking of Acre?" 
 Let Matt. i6: 26, set its seal upon the sentiment, and 
 upon my heart for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 A year has passed away since that great work of God, 
 but the glory and power of God have not passed away. 
 They are still revealed among the assemblies of his peo- 
 ple in Sheffield ;— no reaction. Blessed be Jesus for that 
 work of holiness which accompanied the revival! Much 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 149 
 
 of the permanence is traceable to that. I preached twice 
 yesterday in Brunswick Chapel. We had a high day in 
 the courts of our God; seventy-six souls were justified, of 
 whom thirty-five were from the world; thirty-three per- 
 sons besides, obtained purity of heart. — Matt. 5 : 8. To- 
 tal, one hundred and nine ; — so report the secretaries, and 
 they registered with conscientious care, having conversed 
 individually with each subject of divine mercy and good- 
 ness. All glory be to God on high, and on the earth 
 peace and good will. Amen. 
 
 Chesterfield, Derbyshire, October 27, 1845. — After a 
 few days I became restless at Norton, and longed for 
 action. This call to preach is an intrusive thing; — like 
 the conscience of Shakespeare's hero, it "mutinies in a 
 man's bosom, and fills one full of obstacles." The re- 
 flection of what might have been done in rescuing souls 
 from Satan, while one has been loitering, becomes an- 
 noying, and weighs heavy; — 'the call lies heavy on the 
 heart, when one is out of action. But, O, how light and 
 pleasant amid the battle for Christ and souls! Well, I 
 hastened away to this town on Saturday, and gave bat- 
 tle against the Devil and all his works, yesterday. The 
 Lord of hosts was with us indeed, "as an armed man, 
 and a mighty one;" to kill and make alive, to rend and 
 to bind up, to wound and to heal. There were forty- 
 two sinners converted from the world; and twenty-seven 
 church-members justified; and twenty-three believers 
 sought and found full salvation. Total, during the day, 
 ninety-two saved. Of these, a dozen were backsliders. 
 Surely the fields are already white unto the harvest! 
 
 A pleasing letter from the Rev. D. Walton, the sup- 
 erintendant of Wesleyan Methodism in the city of York. 
 He tells me the revival is still progressing, and that no 
 
150 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 Sabbath has passed since I left without souls being saved. 
 That was a noble work in York, during those three or 
 four months I spent in that city, when over nine hundred 
 were converted from the world; three hundred members 
 of the Wesleyan and other churches were saved, and be- 
 tween seven and eight hundred behevers were sanctified. 
 Memorable months to me. 
 
 Oct. 29. — Chesterfield must be the battle-ground some 
 time longer. Crowds upon crowds listen to the word ; 
 and scores and scores are slain and saved by it. Tho 
 scenes are becoming sublimely awful. My joy, in behold- 
 ing these displays of the power of God, is mingled with 
 an adoring awe. The human soul is a fearful thing, when 
 aroused to a sense of its danger. To behold the tears, 
 and hearken to the bitter cries and wails, of despairing 
 sinners, pierced by the word of God, and torn by their 
 own consciences, gives one some idea of St. Paul's mean- 
 ing, when he says, "The word of God is quick and power- 
 ful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to 
 the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints 
 and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and in- 
 tents of the heart." — Heb. 4: 12. Extraordinary lan- 
 guage that. Such is that living and powerful word when 
 preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. 
 It then penetrates the heart, as a sword does the body; 
 reaching the inmost recesses of the mind, as the sword 
 the marrow of the bones, and conveys life or death to him 
 who receives it. 
 
 Nov. I. — The work of God here, like a river, deepens 
 and widens as it proceeds, and with increased rapidity 
 and power. There seems to be Httle or no opposition as 
 yet. It is as if it had stolen a march on Satan, and fallen 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 151 
 
 Upon his kingdom before he was prepared to cope with it. 
 The people have been taken by surprise, and neither 
 sinners nor Satan seem to know how to resist it. 
 It is not the first time I have seen it thus ; may it not be 
 the last ! About one hundred and fifty souls converted 
 since Sabbath -morning last, and many sanctified. Now 
 hath the word of the Lord free course, and is glorified of 
 all. This is the Lord's doings, and marvellous in the eyes 
 of all his people hereabouts. 
 
 The Lord did great things among us yesterday (Sab- 
 bath) ; ninety-seven souls found mercy, of whom fifty- 
 seven were from the world; an'd twenty-six professed en- 
 tire sanctification. Of those justified, seventeen were 
 backshders. Yesterday was a day long to be remembered 
 in Chesterfield; such as has not been seen here since it 
 was a town. Hallelujah ! O, what amaze and sweet sur- 
 prise filled my soul! Such scenes as we beheld yesterday 
 stem really necessary to make one realize the real gran- 
 d^ur and omnipotent power there is in the Gospel. And 
 (if all the evidences our world affords, that Jesus Christ, 
 the Son of God, lives and reigns equal with the Father 
 over the universe, these scenes of power and mercy seemed 
 to me to be the greatest. To tell a poor, misei^able sinner 
 that Jesus Christ hath power upon earth to forgive his 
 sins ; to have him believe this, so as to risk his all for time 
 and for eternity upon it; then to see how instantly his 
 sorrow is turned into joy, his darkness into day, and not 
 in one or two cases merely, but scores and scores of in- 
 stances in a few short hours, the evidence of the truth of 
 that mighty fact becomes overwhelming. 
 
 "Law, the dictate of infinite wisdom, is the rule by 
 Avhich man is to act towards God ; but forgiveness is a dis- 
 
152 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 pensation, a reason, issuing from a deeper recess of his 
 mysterious nature, and by which he chooses to act to- 
 wards us. But this prerogative, essentially divine, this 
 high and incommunicable right, Jesus exercised, and vin- 
 dicated his competence to do so." And so he did yester- 
 day, blessed be his name! Nearly one hundred sinners, 
 saved by grace, were enabled to *'set to their seal" that 
 Jesus Christ hath power upon earth to forgive sins. Hal- 
 lelujah to God and the Lamb! 
 
 The population are in a state of amaze. This amaz- 
 ing work of God has evidently taken them by surprise. 
 They seem as if stunned. Sinners know not what to say. 
 Those who understand the Gospel ask for no explana- 
 tions or apologies, and they get none; only more and 
 more of the same great. truths which have been thunder- 
 ing so at the door of their hearts, followed by the ani- 
 mating cry of 
 
 "Behold, behold the Lamb!" 
 
 Nov. 5. — There were thirty-nine saved last night. A 
 great move among the people. The cries of penitent 
 sinners like the wailings of hell; only full of the hopes of 
 mercy, — a thing unknown in hell. Sinners fly or fall 
 beneath the strange power which so mysteriously assails 
 their feelings. When the Gospel becomes "the power of 
 God unto salvation," who can stand before it? 
 
 Nov. 6. — Over forty found mercy last night, and seven 
 full salvation. 
 
 "The heavens are big with rain." 
 
 O, what a "teeming shower" is this ! and such multi- 
 tudes, — thirsty multitudes, — to draw its life-giving tor- 
 rents ! 
 
 What a pity to leave such a work ! And yet my en- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 153 
 
 gagements elsewhere must sever me from it soon. May 
 these new converts stand fast in their glorious liberty. 
 The wicked are beginning already to prophesy their down- 
 fall, assigning this, that, and the other reason, but they 
 forget the mighty God. They have not studied Rom. 14: 
 4. — "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? 
 to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall 
 be holden up; for God is able to make him stand." Nor 
 are they well versed upon the nature of the foundations 
 of Christian character; — that, if some build upon the 
 sand, others dig deep, and lay their foundations on the 
 Rock of Ages. But they know not this Rock, nor the 
 guarantee for stability a conversion has which is founded 
 upon it, no matter how unfavorably circumstanced I 
 Brother Savage, my host, is a practical builder and archi- 
 tect. He told me, to-day, that many years ago he was 
 employed to erect a large mill, upon a very treacherous 
 soil, being of an alluvium nature, upon the banks of a 
 river, subject to frequent overflows, one of which oc- 
 curred during the progress of the work. 
 
 The mill was to sustain massive and powerful ma- 
 chinery; which, after immense labor and care with the 
 foundations, was completed, all but the great chimney, 
 which was the greatest difficulty, in the estimation of 
 those who pretended to know all about it. It was in- 
 tended to be thirty-five yards high, and it was asserted 
 that such a quicksand bottom could never sustain such 
 a structure, suffering from the vibrations of machinery 
 in full operation. But, said Brother S., took care to 
 dig deep, in search of a foundation; but, to my sorrow, 
 the deeper I went, the softer became the bottom. But I 
 had my plans, and spared no pains, deeply aware of my 
 
154 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 responsibility. At a given point of depth I lowered great 
 stones, from three to six tons weight, pile upon pile of 
 them, leaving to them and the law of gravitation to find 
 or make a solid bottom, and my success was complete. 
 Upon these I built my chimney. Many were the specu- 
 lations in town, that the chimney would not stand, when 
 the mill went into operation. But the fires were kindled, 
 the smoke ascended in columns, the machinery started, 
 the ground shook, but it had no effect upon any part oE 
 the structure. All stood firm, and still stands firm; but 
 the secret of the stability lay in the foundations of the 
 whole. Once, indeed, the chimney was struck by light- 
 ning, but it only knocked a few bricks off the top, but 
 did not overthrow it. The prophecies were all falsified, 
 thanks to my excellent foundations !" 
 
 And it is upon a similar principle we hope for the sta- 
 bility of these new converts. We have taken much pains 
 with their foundations in a sound regeneration; for, that 
 is to the soul what a good and sound foundation is to an 
 edifice. Outward circumstances are the data from which 
 the Sanballats and Tobiahs draw their inferences and 
 conclusions; Neh. 4: I, 3; — a drunken, careless, or op- 
 posing husband; a gay and trifling wife; an ungodly 
 father, or a careless mother; an irreligious, or worldly, 
 or fashionable family, and wicked neighbors, and past 
 profligate associates. O, what mighty arguments are 
 these against the stability of those but newly found in 
 Christ; but such prophets little know what a powerful 
 pledge of future faithfulness and stability has been em- 
 bedded in their genuine conversion and regeneration! 
 
 Thirteen happy, busy days have I spent in this town, 
 and now I am about to bid it farewell, perhaps forever. 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 155 
 
 An hour or two's work at the pen, and then I am off for 
 Doncaster. The work of God burst forth in glory and in 
 grandeur the first Sabbath day, and it has advanced with 
 amazing swiftness ever since. Thirteen days only, and 
 over five hundred persons have professed to find peace 
 with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ! — three hun- 
 dred and sixty-nine of whom were from the world, and 
 about one hundred and thirty-seven believers were entire- 
 ly sanctified. — i Thess. 4: 23, 24. 
 
 The subjects of this work of grace were conversed 
 with, and judiciously advised ; their names also, and places 
 of residence, carefully registered, and the pathway of 
 pastors and leaders accurately mapped out, for their fu- 
 ture visitations. 
 
 O, how much might be done to prevent those painful 
 reactions which sometimes follow a work of God like this, 
 were the subjects of divine mercy properly cared for, 
 looked after, sought enit, and built up in their most holy 
 faith ! 
 
 Many of these trophies of mercy were from the neigh- 
 borhoods around, but a large number have united with 
 the Wesleyan church. 
 
 It seems a pity to leave such a work as this. The 
 town is moved and shaken; and multitudes more might 
 be converted to God. But my appointments are out be- 
 fore me, leading me on to Birmingham, and I cannot stay. 
 But the work need not stop, — shall not, I hope. To God 
 be all the glory! 
 
 I spent six days in Doncaster; — busy days they were, 
 I assure you ; — days of glory and of victory. My soul 
 stood in a sort of amaze at the work, — its swiftness, — its 
 greatness. The whole town seemed to be moved. But 
 
156 
 
 OLD a?IME RELIGION. 
 
 SO rapid and overwhelming was the visitation, sinners had 
 little time for exchanging thoughts upon the subject, and 
 less for combination. Clouds of mercy gathered over the 
 place at once, and burst forth and came down in "show- 
 ers of blessing" upon the people. — Ezek. 34: 26. "The 
 Lord was there," — Ezek. 48: 35, — there in majesty and 
 in power, and hardly anything was found that could stand 
 before Him and his truth. There was no mistaking of 
 the nature and reality of his glorious presence. Angels 
 and disembodied spirits seemed as if filling all the air, — ^ 
 as if rejoicing in 
 
 "The growing empire of their King." 
 
 But, alas ! my engagements would not allow a longer 
 stay. Is it right to throw out ahead of me appointments 
 that must be met, whether the Providence of God says 
 "stay here," or not? O, how hard it was to tear myself 
 away from such a work, — from such awakened masses of 
 sinners, which may possibly relapse into the former state 
 of spiritual death ! But leave them I must, and leave them 
 I did. 
 
 The secretary, at Doncaster, reports the number 
 saved, during those six days, thus: — three hundred and 
 fifty-six cases of justification, and one hundred and 
 thirty-seven souls sanctified. Total, four hundred and 
 ninety-three. The last night I spent there, not less than 
 one hundred and fifty souls professed to find pardon or 
 purity. 
 
 York, Nov. 17. — I preached yesterday forenoon in the 
 Centenary Chapel in behalf of the Wesleyan Missions. In 
 the afternoon, the Rev. Mr. Cornuck preached a stirring 
 sermon for the same cause, after which we held a prayer- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUCHEY. 
 
 157 
 
 meeting; and ten souls were saved. At night, in the 
 same chapel, to nearly three thousand people, I opened 
 and applied that awful text, spoken by the supposed ghost 
 of Samuel the prophet, to Saul, King of Israel: "Why 
 hast thou disquieted me to bring me up? — seeing the Lord 
 is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?" — 
 I Sam. 28: 15, 16. Had an awful time; and nineteen were 
 saved, before the service closed. 
 
 Huddersfield, Nov. 24. — Yesterday, I preached twice 
 here; fifty saved. The new converts of the great revival, 
 nine or ten months since, are doing well, generally, — 
 standing fast in glorious liberty, full of energy and ac- 
 tivity. Surely that was a great work! — over eighteen 
 hundred souls justified, and between seven and eight hun- 
 dred sanctified in, five months. This visit seems to have 
 fanned the flame anew, and given the new converts a fresh 
 impulse along the heavenly road ! 
 
 Macclesfield, Dec. 3. — A great time last night. The 
 blows of truth fell thick and fast, and brought many to 
 their knees with a cry for mercy. Fifty saved. The 
 critics had no time to "stand from under;" they had no 
 warning, and came down with the rest. It is not best to 
 stand too much upon preliminaries ; gives them too much 
 time to get ready; they guess what is coming, and the 
 preacher, like 
 
 "Entellus, wastes his forces on the wind." 
 
 That, I do not like, and so fall upon them suddenly. We 
 have a few whimpers about "extravagance," etc., but the 
 next onset of truth levels the whimperers to the ground, 
 where they cry outright for mercy! 
 
 What a work God has begun here! I have come 
 among a prepared people. These godly ministers, Har- 
 
158 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 ris and Clay, have prepared the way of the Lord ; and so 
 have others before them. I love to preach where such 
 devoted men as David Simpson, and others, walked, and 
 toiled, and fought the great battle of truth for God, and 
 sowed the seed for a future harvest, and sent up many 
 prayers, answers to which are, doubtless, constantly de- 
 scending, to their great joy, where they are enthroned on 
 high, among the "spirits of just men made perfect." It 
 seems as if their spirits are sometimes present, — as if they 
 hover around and over us, observing with delight the 
 successive answers to their long-recorded prayers ; and 
 as if they helped to shout the harvest home ! 
 
 Birmingham, Dec. 5. — Had a tender parting with the 
 friends at Macclesfield. The scene was indeed amazing 
 the last night; the glory of the Lord filled his temple. 
 The cries of the wounded, and the shouts of the healed, 
 were heard afar oflf. During those six glorious days I 
 spent in Macclesfield, the secretary reported some two 
 hundred and sixty souls justified, and one hundred and 
 forty sanctified. Total, four hundred souls in six days! 
 All glory be to Christ ! He doeth the work. "He touches 
 the mountains, and they smoke — the hills, and they 
 melt;" and earth and her sons tremble, and fall before 
 the mighty God of Jacob ! 
 
 It was thought proper I should open my commission 
 here in Newton Row Chapel. I have preached there a 
 few times with some success ; feeling very small and hum- 
 ble, land attracting but little notice. What of that? A 
 stone is a small afifair, compared with the mass of water 
 into which it falls ; nevertheless how wide the circles 
 which it forms in the water, and ever widening! Besides, 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 159 
 
 the higher the stone ascends heavenwards, the more de- 
 cided its effect in forming circles. 
 
 The exhortation to myself, is. Arise, my soul ! As- 
 cend — clirfib — soar heavenward imto God, with all thy 
 affections and powers, that the force of thy descent up- 
 on the vast mass of mind around thee may be felt in cir- 
 cling waves of sanctified power and influence, even from 
 center to circumference. 
 
 There is a danger, I am aware, of one's conscious 
 insignificancy and unworthiness and weakness, bringing 
 on a timidity, an enfeebling solitariness. If it was not 
 able in past years to detain me in the shade, or to bind 
 me down in the solitudes of an inglorious ease, why al- 
 lov/ it to prostrate me now on the rough edge of one of 
 my most glorious battles? Down, unbelief! Be exalted, 
 faith in God! 
 
 How often have I heard the spirit of those words 
 sounding in my spiritual ear, Be not afraid, but speak, 
 and hold not thy peace, for I am with thee; for I have 
 much people in this city! — Acts i8: 9. And the raindrop 
 is speaking to me, and the sunbeam, that mine is the 
 more glorious mission, — ^as heaven exceeds earth, as 
 eternity outweighs time, as the soul is more valuable than 
 the body; — the salvation of which being at the top of al^ 
 salvation. 
 
 I have two sermons on Rom. i : 16 — "For I am not 
 ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of 
 God unto salvation, to every one that believeth ; to the 
 Jew first, and also to the Greek." What ! timid and doubt- 
 ful in possession of such a power as this — after penning 
 such sentiments as those sermons contain — ^after such de- 
 ductions and inferences? Never. If they are mere the- 
 
160 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 ory, and unfit for practical purposes, — ^for such hoped- 
 for victorious onslaughts upon the ranks of wickedness, 
 — why, then, "Away with them," saith my soul, "and take 
 thy pen and write something more consistent with fact, 
 practical fact, and common sense." Nay, my soul! but 
 thou knowest the contrary. "What I have written, I. 
 have written," said Pontius Pilate, regarding the inscrip- 
 tion over the head of Jesus on the cross. So say I. Let 
 me abide by it, then, nor betray, nor crucify the Gospel, 
 as Pilate did its divine Author; but play the man in the 
 management of this Heaven-appointed artillery, push 
 principles to the utmost, make full proof of thy ministry, 
 as Paul exhorted Timothy. *** 
 
 But I see a struggle before me, — an agony of conflict. 
 But "Victory is of the Lord!" So exclaimed a Jewish 
 warrior of old, on the eve of battle, when, with a hand- 
 ful of men, he was about to cope with one hundred and 
 twenty thousand men, headed by thirty-two elephants, 
 and horses many thousands, and hundreds of chariots of 
 war. The battle commenced with the thunder shout of 
 the few against the many, "Victory is of the Lord!" and 
 the swords flew around like lightning, nor did the sun 
 descend under the arches of the west, before the Lord 
 gave the few the victory. "Victory is of the Lord!" 
 That is my motto. 
 
 A few trophies already. But, O, this skirmishing is 
 harder than the conflict of the decisive battle!*** 
 
 The poor are gathering around me in considerable 
 numbers, and seem truly in earnest to enter into the king 
 dom of God. The rich have something else to do at pres- 
 ent. They have not yet recognized me or the work as 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 161 
 
 worthy of any particular attention. They are looking in 
 quite a different direction. 
 
 You desire to know what are our "prospects" here 
 of a revival; "the difficulties to be encountered;" and 
 "by what course of action" we propose to "succeed." 
 Well, my friend, I could write much upon these ques- 
 tions, for I assure you my heart is full. But, if I tell 
 you all I know, and all I fear, and all I feel, you will sus- 
 pect me again of "looking through smoked glass ;" or, 
 through those "spectacles" which you say the devil is 
 "ever ready to clap upon the nose of the melancholy, or 
 disheartened." Well, the thing is not among the impos - 
 sibles; but I am not naturally given to melancholy, nei 
 ther am I disheartened, but I have a habit of looking 
 difficulties in the face; and have you any objections to 
 that? The ancients, you remember, used to say, "One 
 pair of eyes is worth a hundred pair of spectacles." It 
 only requires one to use his own eyes to see how strong- 
 ly Satan has fortified himself in Birmingham; not, indeed, 
 by the civil law, as in Italy or even in France, but by the 
 laws of depravity, his most faithful ally. 
 
 Nor do I think it is detrimental to faith, altogether, 
 to have as full view as can be obtained, of what must be 
 encountered in order to success. It prompts faith to re- 
 ly upon the Holy Ghost alone, and to cry to God for 
 those weapons of war, and divine artillery, necessary to 
 insure the victory; not "tilting with straws," but slashing 
 right and left with "the sword of the Lord and of Gide- 
 on;" not a painted sword, but the real sword; not a 
 painted fire, but the real fire from above; — it is that that 
 cuts to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the 
 joints and marrow of the sinner, wounding the heart, and 
 
162 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 dividing the sinews which bind him to his sins; and this 
 is the fire that warms and burns. It is not the Aurora 
 BoreaHs, which the folks in the Shetland Islands call "the 
 merry dancers," which neither shatter nor strike the 
 proud, gnarled, defiant oaks ; but the real living lightning 
 of the thunder cloud! 
 
 It is not a pomp of words that is wanted in Birming- 
 ham, I assure you, but action. The preacher that will 
 prevail in Birmingham, I perceive, needs to be a moving 
 pillar of fire, and not a floating iceberg ; not a style which 
 one denominates "a polished mediocrity," as free from 
 blemish as from energy; but the "rough and ready" sort 
 of preaching, the out-of-the-way style (to use an idea of 
 Rowland Hill), to catch those who are out of the way; 
 "the slap-dash" kind of preaching, as one named it; that 
 style which Luther said made the best preacher for the 
 common people, "He who speaks in the meanest, lowest, 
 humblest, and most simple style." I have often thought 
 of that ; besides, "the common people" are the bulk of our 
 hearers in every place. And was not this the reason that 
 the common people heard our Lord gladly? — Mark 12: 
 37; because he preached to their capacity and circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Ah, it is not such preaching as "inflating an idea, or 
 frothing a sentiment," that will reach the heart, although 
 it may catch the head; but words and sentiments like 
 drawn swords, — not decorated,nor muffled, nor encum- 
 bered with ornament, but the naked blade of truth; then, 
 no objection to the German poet's fancy: 
 But give me the blade of shining steel, whether its hilt be 
 of precious gold, or vulgar iron. 
 
 J. I was thinking, to-day, that he is considered the 
 
REVIVALS UNDER C AUG HEY. 
 
 163 
 
 best general in a campaign, who best understands the 
 tactics of the enemy, — his strength, plans, fortifications, 
 etc., — and has instructed himself well as to the geog- 
 raphy of the country through which he must pass, where 
 he is. likely to meet the foe; and who has the tact or 
 genius to choose the best and most advantageous posi- 
 tion for his troops. Valor will serve him Httle, if lacking 
 in these, and such like qualificaitions. Napoleon Bona- 
 parte spent whole nights, compasses in hand, 'midst maps, 
 planning a single campaign. And nobody doubts that 
 it is to that fact, as well as to the valor of his army, that 
 his extraordinary success and victories may be ascribed. 
 
 2. I was thinking, to-day, of Nehemiah the prophet, 
 who, on arriving at Jerusalem, with a heart overflowing 
 with patriotism and religion, resolved to revive the stones 
 out of the rubbish, and to rebuild the walls of the des- 
 olated city of his fathers. He says : "I came to Jerusa- 
 lem, and was there three days ; and I arose in the night, 
 I and some few men with me; neither told I any man 
 what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem." 
 Secrecy and expedition. These were the life of his un- 
 dertaking. ''And I went out by night by the gate of the 
 the darkness looked difficulties in the face ; observed the 
 valley, even before the dragon-well, and to the dung- 
 port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were 
 broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with 
 fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain," etc., 
 etc. And so he took the circuit of the city, and through 
 compass of the walls, and their dilapidated condition, in 
 order to make proper provision for such a great and per- 
 ilous undertaking; for there were many enemies without, 
 and untrustworthy persons within Jerusalem. 
 
164 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 This night-view of the desolate city, rendered matters 
 to Nehemiah very gloomy and discouraging, doubtless. 
 Nothing the worse for that. The desolation and the 
 darkness well reminded him of coming difficulties and 
 perils, — magnified them, perhaps; — a wholesome ordeal 
 to his faith; — served, it may be, to make his trials lighter 
 when they came, because anticipated and prepared for. 
 The more discouraging the aspect of things, the more 
 resolute became his dependence upon the God of his fa- 
 thers. 
 
 3. There is a lesson for my heart in all this; and 
 something to excite and enlist the prayers of my special 
 friends for divine aid. We have spiritual foes to encoun- 
 ter, here in Birmingham, more malignant than those who 
 surrounded Nehemiah: 
 
 "Are secret, sworn, invisible. 
 
 With hate and malice inextingui^able," 
 
 And thousands of poor sinners, of all sorts, under their 
 control. *** 
 
 I have said nothing about theaters, and gambling 
 houses; nor of Sabbath-breaking, and profanity; but 
 enough to prove to you, and to my own soul, that if we 
 are to have a great revival in Birmingham, the efifort to 
 bring it about will be no "children's play," but the efiforts 
 of men in downright earnest to overturn the empire of 
 darkness. 
 
 Men are wanting like those of old, of whom it was 
 said, they turned the world upside down (Acts 17 : 6) ; 
 for I am sure it is wrong side up in Birmingham! 
 
 The weapons of our warfare must be real weapons. 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 165 
 
 our artillery, real artillery, — mighty, through God, to ac- 
 complish all the purposes of his will. 
 
 Paul, who preached on Mars hill, is needed here. Paul 
 is dead ; but Jesus Christ lives and reigns. He offers me 
 his strength; bids me take hold of it, and prevail, and 
 promises to stand by me. I have the same Gospel to 
 preach that Paul preached, and the same Holy Spirit to 
 give it overcoming power. O, to be armed for the bat- 
 tle, 
 
 "With stubborn patience as with triple steel!" 
 
 Ah, poet! I like St. Paul's advice better, "Take unto 
 you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to with- 
 stand in the evil day;" — and again, in the same chapter, 
 "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able 
 to stand against the wiles of the devil," — the Goliath in 
 the held, who is the great centre and rallying point of all* 
 the evils to be encountered. 
 
 Let me improve upon that hint of a poet, "Set thyself 
 about it, as the sea about the earth, lashing at it day and 
 night," the power of God helping. Rouse thee, O my 
 soul! "like to a spirit in its tomb at rising, rending the 
 stones, and crying 'Resurrection!'" though at my heels, 
 as Milton hinted, 
 
 "All hell should rise with blackest insurrection." 
 
 He who exclaimed, "What a map of hell is the great- 
 est part of the earth !" felt something as I do at this crisis 
 in my ministry. 
 
 I have only given you, and myself, a view of the dark- 
 est side of the picture. There is a bright side to it; and 
 it is every day becoming brighter. No day passes with- 
 
166 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 out a few sinners being converted, and some believers 
 sanctified. To add to my encouragement, I am becom- 
 ing acquainted daily with many godly persons, — "the ex- 
 cellent of the earth," — full of life and zeal, who are ready 
 to push the battle to the gate, and to shout the victory! 
 Bless thou the Lord, O my soul ! The gales of grace are 
 evidently blowing from Calvary. The tide of corrupt na- 
 ture is against us; but the wind is in our favor; — not an 
 unfrequent occurrence in spiritual seamanship. 
 
 The sailor does not care much for the adverse tide, if 
 the wind is favorable, and there is plenty of it, with sea- 
 room. The Holy Spirit's influences are frequently com- 
 pared to wind, in the Scriptures, blowing where it listeth. 
 O, for more of that divine influence to stem this adverse 
 tide, even a gale! — and, by what I can infer from the 
 spirit of the Wesleyan ministry here, there seems every 
 disposition favorable to allowing me sea-room plenty. 
 
 To one who objects to the matter and* manner of the 
 preacher : 
 
 A lady in Germany, some time since, remarked to one 
 in conversation, "Damnation is a joyless, and therefore 
 an incorrect idea." There is logic for you ! It is doubt- 
 ful if you would go so far as that; but you consider hell 
 an "unsuitable motive for Christians." Thus, had you 
 and the German lady your wills and tastes gratified, that 
 little "vulgar monosyllable" would never be heard in the 
 Christian pulpit at all; you would deny it to the Chris- 
 tian ear, and she would prohibit it from all ears; »o you 
 would have fine, quiet times for everybody. 
 
 Let us dismiss the German's notion, and deal with 
 yours for a little while. Did our Lord think with you, 
 do you suppose ? Why, then, did he say to his own much- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 167 
 
 loved disciples, ''And fear not them which kill the body, 
 but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him 
 which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell?" — 
 Matt, id: 28. Do you perceive the nature of the motive? 
 It is unmistakable. Are you wiser than Christ? Which 
 is the safest to follow, your opinion, or Christ's example? 
 Dispute with my Master on the subject. Do you ques- 
 tion his wisdom? You would not insinuate, surely, that 
 you understand the nature and wants of Christians bet- 
 ter than He! 
 
 Your ideas of "fire and brimstone preaching" are well 
 enough, had nothing else been preached ; mark that. But 
 Christ was preached,— Calvary at a distance, however, 
 and Sinai and Hell nigh at hand. But Calvary drew 
 nearer as the people began to feel they had need of every- 
 thing which the Sufferer endured for them there. Did 
 you not notice that? 
 
 Are you not aware that it is the doctrine of Hell that 
 throws a grandeur over the scenes of Calvary? And can 
 you be ignorant of another fact, that no man denying a 
 hell ever properly appreciated the sufferings endured on 
 Calvary? Need I also remind you that it is not the 
 matches, nor the brimstone, that sustains a fire when 
 kindled, but the fuel ; and that the ''flinging about of fire 
 and brimstone" would effect nothing, were it not for the 
 fuel which the consciences of the people supply? Per- 
 haps you overlooked these things. O, my dear friend, 
 try to understand yourself, and the great doctrines you 
 profess to believe and venerate! 
 
 My plan is, first, to show men their sins; secondly, 
 their danger; thirdly, the remedy. To throw them into 
 conviction for sin is my first aim; then into an awful 
 
168 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 sense of peril; then, if successful, Christ is set forth cruci- 
 fied for them. In attempting the first, I show the nature 
 and extent of God's law, and compare character. It is 
 the straight edge that shows a crooked or uneven sur- 
 face ! Then comes the broad-axe (o'f truth), and the chips 
 fly; and, if the timber had sense, it might cry for mercy! 
 If my second plan cannot succeed, then everlasting burn- 
 ings for fruitless trees come next. — Matt. 3 : 10. And, if 
 nothing will do but that, I must excursionize through per- 
 dition for sights and for arguments ; then, to use the 
 ideas of an eminent divine, I unbar the iron gates of hell, 
 and lead them, through solid darkness, to the worm that 
 never dies, and to the fire that shall never be quenched; 
 and to show him those apostate angels fast bound in 
 eternal chains ; and the souls of wicked men overwhelmed 
 with torment and despair; and to open his ears to hear 
 their cries, which never ascend but to return again in 
 forlorn echoes, which make the deep itself groan, and 
 which add to the horrors of perdition, and which accent 
 them terribly. 
 
 This sort of infernal panorama is as varied as the 
 vistas and glimpses of hell, which the Scriptures aflford 
 us, assisted by all that reason and conscience are well 
 able to suggest. 
 
 Close to this hell, I usually plant the cross, with this 
 inscription : "God so loved the world as to give his only 
 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
 perish, but have everlasting life." And yet another: 
 "God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain sal- 
 vation, through our Lord Jesus Christ." And yet an- 
 other: "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, to 
 every one that believeth." And yet another Scripture: 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 169 
 
 "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt bi^. 
 saved;" assuring my distressed and alarmed hearers that, 
 what was sufficient for the salvation of the trembling jail- 
 er of Philippi, is sufficient to save the best and the worst 
 among all the trembling multitude ! Then follow signs 
 and wonders among the people. Hallelujah!*** 
 
 Glad you perceive I am "no copyist," although you 
 suspect an attentive ear to "gossip," in the details of char- 
 acter. Beware of unjust suspicions. Little time have I 
 had for gossip, or listening to tattlers, since my arrival 
 in town. But I walk with God, and have a tolerably cor- 
 rect idea of the state of things. It is the Lord who teach- 
 es my hands to war and my fingers to fight. 
 
 Perhaps you have never thought closely upon what 
 God said to the prophet Ezekiel : "Thou shalt hear the 
 word at my mouth, and warn them from me." There is 
 much in that intimation, is there not? Information from 
 that source, as to the delineation of human character, is 
 more reliable than the sources you suspect. Tell me, 
 may not our God speak sometimes now in the ears of his 
 chosen ones? Why not? Is there not a necessity for it, 
 frequently? If so, could he not tell me more about the 
 state of affairs, than all the tattlers in town put together? 
 Ah, my friend, take care ! it is possible to be 
 
 "Inspired beyond the guess of folly." 
 
 Human nature is a s-tudy, — a life's study. There are 
 mysteries in its operations, as in its structure. I study 
 it as well as my Bible. What I learn in both, I teach; 
 more, indeed, than some uneasy consciences are willing 
 to bear, — yours, for instance. *** 
 
 St. Paul speaks about Christians, that they chould all 
 
170 
 
 OLD TIME RELlGiOM. 
 
 come into "the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge 
 of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure 
 of the stature of the fulness of Christ." — Ephes. 4: 13. 
 Dr. Adam Clarke lamented in his day that many preach- 
 ers, and multitudes of professing people, were studious 
 to find out how many imperfections and infidelities, and 
 how much inward sinfulness, is consistent with a safe 
 state in religion; and that how few, very few, were bring- 
 ing out the fair Gospel standard, to try the height of the 
 members of the church; whether they were fit for the 
 heavenly army ; whether their stature was such as to qual- 
 ify them for the ranks of the church militant; that the 
 measure of the stature of the fulness was seldom seen; 
 but the measure of the stature of Httleness, dwarfishness, 
 and emptiness, was often exhibited. Alas! the lamenta- 
 tion is no less called for in our times!*** 
 
 A few words before my text. And let those whom it 
 may concern, listen and ponder. 
 
 1. It is written, Judgment must begin at the house of 
 God. Where Jesus Christ has a church, it is either in a 
 state to retard or promote his work of salvation among 
 sinners. None, I fancy, will disagree with me here. 
 
 Now, a Christ-sent preacher will look well to this, 
 and will very soon discover the retarding or promoting 
 state of the church. He must address himself to that 
 state; — must cope with it in the former, or lead it on to 
 victory, if in the latter state, or he will fail in his duty, 
 and have no revival. For it is vain to expect any re- 
 markable work of God in any church, so long as its spirit 
 and character are antagonistic to the will and work of 
 Christ, and the full designs of the Gospel. 
 
 2, But there are, usually, in every church, some liv- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 171 
 
 ing members, although there may be many dead. These 
 he should recognize, cherish, encourage, and lead forth 
 to do battle for the King of kings. But the membership 
 who are of another spirit, should have a different treat- 
 tfient; — caustic, to eat away "the proud flesh" gathered 
 upon their spiritual wounds, or a vigorous application of 
 the lancet or the knife ; or an emetic which will eject from 
 the foul stomach of the soul, certain satanic deposits, of no 
 very agreeable nature ; — and let the spiritual physician be- 
 ware of a bespattering! But if he lack courage for these 
 things, he is certainly not the man for the times, for the 
 place, for the people. He had better retire, that God may 
 send another, of a stronger heart, and more unflinching 
 purpose. You understand me. 
 
 3. Judge of my ministry among you, then, by these 
 simple, common-sense rules. If your consciences declare 
 for them, then reason and infer accordingly. Look at 
 our efforts through this glass. It is transparent; look 
 through it, and decide, all of you, whether there is not a 
 cause, — whether this pointed faithfulness is, as some in- 
 sinuate, "contrary to the meek and lowly mind that was 
 in Christ." But is it so? — anything at variance with his 
 example, when circumstances demanded, — when, as an 
 eminent divine remarks, "He walked as an incarnate con- 
 science through a guilty land; and its people trembled at 
 the rebukes of his sacred presence; when the voice of 
 Him, who was *meek and lowly in heart,' uttered forth 
 the hoarse and exasperated accents of divine wrath, in a 
 manner more terrible than the recollections of Sinai. But 
 how was it possible that even mercy itself could visit a 
 scene like that which he traversed, and maintain a style 
 of unmingled tenderness? Accordingly, there were oc- 
 
172 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 casions when, surveying the proud, hypocritical, and 
 guilty throngs which crowded his path, he clothed him- 
 self with zeal as with a garment, and, with a consuming 
 jealousy for the insulted majesty of God^ 'took them into 
 his lips, and sm.ote them with the sword of his mouth/ 
 Witness the cleansing of the temple. Intent on gain, the 
 Jews had converted the holy place into a scene of sacri- 
 ligious traffic; they had turned the ancient and solemn 
 Passover itself to profit; they bartered deep in the blood 
 of human souls; they worshipped Mammon in his Fa- 
 ther's house. But, 'suddenly coming to his temple,' he 
 flamed around its hallowed walls, "like a refiner's fire/ 
 and, with the tones of injured and insulted Deity, rained 
 on their consciences such strokes of terrible dismay, that 
 they eagerly sought refuge from his holy indignation in 
 flight, leaving him the Lord and sole possessor of the 
 sanctuary." What think you of scenes like these? 
 
 Consider : Do you suppose, were Christ to appear sud- 
 denly, and walk forth visibly among his churches in Bir- 
 mingham, he would differ much from his old style of 
 address ? 
 
 4. Hearken unto me, all of you ; but, O remember, 
 that it is a sinner like yourselves who thus speaks to you, 
 — though, to the glory of his grace, I must acknowledge 
 his mercy and goodness, in styling myself a sinner saved 
 by grace, and laboring with all my strength to have you 
 saved also. Hearken! Jesus is no more visibly present. 
 The heavens have received him until the times of the resti- 
 tution of all things. But he has left Truth upon the 
 earth. What to do? — to stand still and do nothing? Nay, 
 verily. What then? To walk forth among the guilty 
 throngs of earth, like himself, as an incarnate conscience. 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 173 
 
 Is that all? What, and not enter the house of God? Nay, 
 nay! But it enters his sacred temple. It flames around 
 its hallowed walls, "like a refiner's fire vindicating, in 
 tones of terrible power, the insulted majesty of Him who 
 is Lord also of the temple; and raining upon trembling 
 consciences, that which comes down with the force and 
 effectiveness ol: the nimble and piercing lightnings of 
 heaven.*** 
 
 An individual, in a certain place, had a snug little 
 property, and, of course, had good credit with a neighbor- 
 ing merchant, who was willing to let him have all he 
 wanted, on credit. But, expecting to "foot the bill" in- 
 curred there, he was prudent ; he priced the articles, ex- 
 ercised his judgment, and refused much that was offered. 
 He escaped a snare, saved himself from ruin, and re- 
 mained an honest man. Hearken ! Give this a similar ap- 
 plication as the martyr and the pen : thus thou shalt have 
 a glimpse, once more, of the things which belong unto 
 thy peace. God help thee! 
 
 But hearken again, — and let that thoughtless one, 
 over yonder, give ear. Not far from this man who had 
 the snug little property, there lived something of a rogue, 
 who was not encumbered with property, and boasted of 
 it; and if he had not cash in his purse, he had always 
 brass enough in his face; nor did he ever once think 
 that time and personal liberty were property. But, to 
 be short, he ran in debt wherever he could, for he never 
 intended to meet the bill; and, finding himself "sorely 
 cornered," he enlarged his steps by a sort of near cut 
 to fortune; was tried for a swindling transaction, and, 
 in a disagreeable cell, he learned to calculate consequen- 
 ces, — "expenses," to use Burns' idea. 
 
174 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 Eternity has its reckonings also. Your soul is your 
 property ; it would bankrupt the world to buy it without a 
 swindle. The Devil is the neighboring merchant. His 
 goods and his books are open for you; — excellent credit 
 with him. You may "run tick," "buy upon tick/' to any 
 amount ; for he has his eye upon your soul, nothing short 
 of your soul. He never trades for less, — so much for the 
 soul in every temptation, otherwise no trade. It is the 
 soul he wants; all else are but trifles. Arch-fiend! 
 
 Now, if your eyes are open to the things which belong 
 to your peace, you will refuse to "buy on tick" from Satan, 
 and so escape the snare, and save your soul from perdition. 
 
 [ You will become "the prudent man," mentioned by Solo- 
 monT^ who foresaw the evil and did hide himself, while 
 
 ' the , "simple" sinner, like him over yonder, "passed on" 
 and was punished. — Prov. 22: 3. Simple enough, to be- 
 lieve the Devil and his own heart, — that he might resist 
 the truth, repel the Holy Spirit, and "run tick" with hell, 
 without consequence. But, as the Devil foresaw that 
 which the simple one refused to foresee, Death made an 
 arrest, closed accounts, drew aside the veil of eternity, 
 and posted him ofif without ceremony to "foot his bill," to 
 pay the reckoning in eternity, — "Damnation of expenses." 
 O, Lord, open the eyes of that young man ! Reveal unto 
 him the things which belong unto his peace. Thy servant 
 is trying to do so, but O give my humble illustrations of 
 this truth both significancy and conscience-awakening 
 power ! 
 
 Behold, then, in these respects the things which belong 
 unto thy peace; nor think, for a moment, thou canst "sin 
 cheap, without paying dear." Alas, alas ! The archangel 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 175 
 
 Gabriel would fail in computing the eternal expenses, the 
 eternity of costs, which sin incurs ! 
 
 Nay! stay, poor sinner, and hear me out! But if you 
 will not, there are scores and hundreds of sinners present, 
 who will. lyook out for Death, when you get out of doors, 
 for he is on full march to meet you; and the Devil, who, 
 according to St. Paul, has "the power of Death" (Heb. 
 2: 14), accompanies him, — that old merchant, that old 
 broker in souls, who has been jewing you out of your soul, 
 — he is at Death's heels, and, as St. John tells us. Hell 
 following with him. — Rev. 6: 8. O, woe be to you, if 
 you fall into such hands! * * * * That is right; 
 stay and hear me out. A wise man changes his mind, says 
 the old proverb; a fool never! Now, then, hear me out; 
 and may your knees reach the floor before you get out, 
 and with your voice cry for mercy ! It is coming to that, 
 I think ! 
 
 Well, thank God, sinner, if it does come to that, — if 
 matters with you come to that extremity, — I can tell you, 
 beforehand, it will not be in vain. No, indeed! When 
 has it ever been in vain? How can it be if Jesus is wait- 
 ing — ^and he is — to receive you at his feet, a weeping 
 penitent, as you are? I tell you, plainly, it is coming to 
 that. You cannot remain so long! What is that which so 
 shakes you, body and soul? What but the eternal power 
 of God ? What is that which has driven all the blood from 
 your face, and unbidden tears to your eyes? O, what but 
 the power of Him, whose blood flowed so freely on Cal- 
 vary for the sins of your soul ! Whence that deep distress 
 which almost forces the cry? "God be merciful to me a 
 sinner?" O, whence, but from a portion of that fire, per- 
 haps, which forced Jesus to his knees in the garden; which 
 
176 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 prostrated him upon the cold ground with a groan of 
 agony, — so intense as to make him sweat blood, and plenty 
 of it, — the crimson dew at every pore increasing until it 
 fell in great drops to the ground ; it set all his body a weep- 
 ing tears of blood for you. O, shrink not, then, if it be so, 
 that a portion of that fire consumes upon your conscience ; 
 that a cry, which God will not refuse to hear, may rise from 
 your soul to heaven ! That tear again ; — never mind it ! 
 it is like John the Baptist, a forerunner of 
 
 "The tears that tell your sins forgiven!" 
 
 Those quick breathings and sighs and sobs, so rife among 
 the unsaved and the saved in this assembly ; what are they 
 but the forerunner of sighs that shall waft our souls to 
 heaven; and shouts of praise and adoration to him who 
 once rode in triumph, 'midst hosannas, over the hills of 
 Jerusalem, who hath turned our captivity, and sent salva- 
 tion? 
 
 5. A few words, in conclusion, to "The hardened peni- 
 tent," and to ''One who mourns because he cannot mourn," 
 and to "A despairing sinner." 
 
 Difficult cases these, I confess. Indeed, there seems to 
 be a tincture of despair in all three! Impossible, or im- 
 possibility, seems a hobby word with their despondency. 
 One says, "The impossibility of my salvation lies not so 
 much in my impenitence, as my hardness; the Spirit, I 
 fear, has been entirely grieved away." A second says, "I 
 know Christ has pronounced the mourner blest ; but am I 
 a mourner? Stupid as an ox — it cannot be; it is not pos- 
 sible, on Gospel principles, I can be blessed or saved — no." 
 And, says a third, "His mercy is clean gone forever; he 
 will be gracious to me no more ; I can neither reach mercy. 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 17? 
 
 nor can mercy reach me ; there is an impossibility in the 
 way of my being saved." — There ! what a trio of mistaken 
 souls we have here ! And, if it be a fact that they rep- 
 resent numbers of each class, they present a serious bar- 
 rier against the progress of this work. 
 
 Hearken unto me, all of you, and these impossibles 
 shall disappear before the light of truth, as darkness before 
 the light of day! — shall vanish, to use the idea of a poet, 
 "like a ghost before the sun; or, like a doubt before the 
 truth of God!" They are even now preparing to vanish 
 away, and may they never return. 
 
 Impossible ! — but who taught you that naughty word ? 
 Not Jesus Christ, I am sure of that; for he says, "All 
 things are possible to him that believeth." If you can 
 but believe, impossibility shall vanish away, like a ghost 
 before the sun ! 
 
 Satan has often tried to introduce that hard, unbecom- 
 ing word among my thoughts, when conflicting with error, 
 hardness, and unbelief, in efforts for a revival of the work 
 of God. But a long time has passed away since my Lord 
 enabled me to give it a bill of divorce ! When this unbelief 
 would seek to reinstate itself into my revival vocabulary, 
 or creed, my soul takes the alarm, and raises a cry to God 
 against it : "Out with it !" — and out it goes, like Legion; 
 its brother of old. But I do not always effect an insurance 
 that it will not efifect an entrance into some poor sinners 
 around me, as Legion into the herd of old, and set them a 
 galloping down the steps of sin into the sea of perdition. 
 But, having got rid of it myself, my soul girds itself with 
 strength, and rushes to the rescue ; — succeeds often in driv- 
 ing the fiend back to his own hill, leaving the poor sinners 
 behind as the trophies of salvation! Jesus let the herd 
 
178 
 
 OLD TIME toLlGlON. 
 
 of swine and the devils go to the bottom of the lake to- 
 gether, without a countermand! But his hand is ever 
 ready to rescue the souls for which he bled and died. 
 
 Impossible ! I have banished it from my door ! — sorry 
 it has stationed itself before yours; — sorrier still that it 
 has effected a lodgment within. But it may be dislodged 
 if you are willing to have it so. Mark that ! — if you are 
 willing to have it so! Because, if you are in league with 
 it, then it will bid me defiance. 
 
 Impossible ! naughty word ! There are more devils in it 
 than syllables ! Impossible ! banish it to the hell from 
 whence it came. It belongs to hell. It is the creed of the 
 damned. What have living men to do with it, — men who 
 desire salvation? Let the damned have it all to them- 
 selves. It belongs to them. It is their right, after a life 
 of sin and unbelief. It belongs to them, — it cannot be 
 otherwise with them, — for 
 
 "In that lone land of deep despair 
 
 No Sabbath's heavenly light shall rise, — 
 No God regard their bitter prayer, 
 No Saviour call them to the skies." 
 
 Not so in your case, O ye prisoners of the Lord ! You 
 are in the land of hope, surrounded by praying people, and, 
 better than all, — 
 
 "Now God invites; how blest the day! 
 
 How sweet the Gospel's charming sound J 
 Come, sinners, haste, O haste away. 
 
 While yet a pardoning God is found I " 
 
 Impossible ! Away with it ! It destroys hope ! — it kills 
 endeavor both in minister and mourner. Away with it 
 then! — Crucify it! crucify it! for it crucified your Lord 
 and mine. "Impossible!" cried the Jews, — "such a per- 
 son as this cannot be our promised Messiah. Away with 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 179 
 
 him! away with him! Crucify him! crucify him!" Ah, 
 that cruel, that obstinate word killed the Prince of life, 
 the Lord of glory! and it will destroy the whole of you, 
 unless you drive it from you. *'Away with it ! away with 
 it! Crucify it! crucify it!" It will not offend your Lord 
 and mine, if we seize upon this old cannon of the enemy, 
 and turn it against himself, — discharge it in the face of 
 this Impossible, whose name is Legion ! 
 
 Away with it, and turn your ear to St. Paul. Now 
 hearken ! "Wherefore he is able to save them to the utter- 
 most that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to 
 make intercession for them." — Heb. 7 : 25. Thank God for 
 that word "Uttermost !" It is the Heaven-appointed antag- 
 onist of old Impossible! Impossible is, indeed, the great 
 Goliath, that has made your hearts, like those of the men 
 of Israel in the plains of Elah of old, "dismayed and 
 greatly afraid." But this "Uttermost" is the stripling 
 David, that has rescued many a lamb out of the mouth of 
 the lion and the bear; — this David has come into the 
 camp, and Impossible, like Goliath, stalks out with its chal- 
 lenge, defying the mercy and power of God, and despising 
 all his promises in Jesus. Uttermost, with its sling, goes 
 forth to meet this giant, and, pausing at a brook I will tell 
 you of, stoops down and picks up five smooth stones. The 
 brook is found in Heb. 6 : 17 — 20, and warbles along thus, 
 telling its own sweet story, as I have heard many a mean- 
 dering brook, as if relating its history to the shining peb- 
 bles in its channel. Hearken ! "Wherein God, wilHng 
 more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the im- 
 mutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath ; that by 
 two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God 
 to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled 
 
180 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us : which 
 hope we have as an anchor to the soul, both sure and 
 steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 
 whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made 
 an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec." 
 There ! that is the brook, pure, clear, and sweet as the crys- 
 tal stream, which John saw welling from under the throne 
 of God and of the Lamb. — Rev. 22: i. Let our hero. Ut- 
 termost, reach down into this stream, and four out of the 
 five stones are found, before which Satan's Impossible can- 
 not stand. 
 
 1. The first stone is named Immutability; — "the im- 
 mutability of his counsel;" — the composition of which is, 
 "two immutable things," — the promise and the oath of 
 God. Shout, ye sons of the morning! You men of Is- 
 rael, on this our Elah's mountain side, shout! Away with 
 your fears, ye despairing ones ! — here is a stone of victory, 
 — like the prophetic stone of the prophet Zechariah, which 
 had "seven eyes," to see the truth, — to see error, — to see 
 the enemy on all sides, ready for the advantage in every 
 difficulty, in every emergency. This immutability against 
 any impossibility Satan can bring into the field, any day 
 the Lord our God has made ! It is as firm and unchangeable 
 as the hills ; but the Devil's impossibles in matters of salva- 
 tion are changeable as the moon, — losing their imp-like 
 heads, when Jesus enters the field with his "save-to-the- 
 uttermost," quicker than those changing profiles we saw 
 the other day among the drifting clouds of heaven! 
 
 2. Look for the second stone, which bears the inscrip- 
 tion, "Impossible;" — the whole composition of which is, 
 "it was impossible for God to lie!" And now let Satan 
 and all his impossibles fall back before this stone, the con- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 181 
 
 stitution of which is, the veracity of God ! The mountain 
 adamant is not firmer in texture than this ! Ay, this im- 
 possible against all the impossibles hell has ever issued! 
 
 3. The third stone for the sHng of God's uttermost, we 
 may call Consolation ; the quality of which is "strong con- 
 solation." What a heart-comforting, heart-enlivening, 
 heart-strengthening quality is this ! It inspires confidence ; 
 it excludes doubt; it affords the most powerful argument 
 to believe. But what a heart-breaker to that satanic impos- 
 sibility ! 
 
 4. The fourth stone is Hope; — "lay hold on the hope 
 set before us," — the hope of present and eternal salva- 
 tion, which the promise and oath of God secure to those 
 who have fled believingly to Christ for refuge. O, what 
 a stone of succor is this ! — large enough to be the death 
 of that fearful Goliath, Impossible, and its monument be- 
 side. Large enough, at all events, to be as an anchor to 
 the soul, both sure and steadfast, — sure and safe, O ye 
 despairing sinners ! for its anchor-hold is fast in the prom- 
 ise and the oath of God, in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
 
 5. But where shall we find the fifth stone? Close by, 
 in a tributary stream, which comes purling along from 
 Romans 5:1. Behold, there it is, shining like a diamond! 
 Faith is its inscription ; its substance is, "Therefore, being 
 justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." Hearken, O ye despairing ones! for 
 these are the things which belong to your peace. Heark- 
 en, did I say? nay, but follow on after the Lord's Save- 
 to-the-uttermost, for by this stone shall victory be given. 
 Impossibility shall fall before it, as Goliath of old before 
 that Heaven-directed stone from the sling of David. Be- 
 hold, it is to be "justified by faith!" and if by faith, sal- 
 
182 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 vation is no more of works; and if by faith, why not now? 
 Now, then, is the hour, the moment of salvation. Where 
 is that GoHath Impossibility? Fallen! — has measured 
 his length on Immanuel's ground! Now, then, Save-to- 
 the uttermost, mount his carcass, and off with that imp- 
 like head I Here is a sword to do it ! "The things which 
 are impossible to men, are possible to God." — Luke i8: 
 27. And there is a spear, — raise the severed head on t)hat 
 before all Israel ; — this is the spear : "All things are pos- 
 sible to him that believeth," — Mark 9: 23. Shout, ye 
 men of Israel, shout ! Rejoice, ye despairing sinners, re- 
 joice ! Arise! pursue the Philistine host of doubts and 
 fears, until not one survives. They are routed and fly be- 
 fore you ! — now is the day of salvation ! 
 
 Hallelujah! "Justified by faith." O, what a power 
 is that ! — ^the little stone, cut out of the mountain without 
 hands, that smote the image Impossible, which was so 
 great and terrible! — for it was only an image with the 
 Devil in it, — ^that was what made it so terrible. But it is 
 demolished now, and the day, the victory is ours. 
 
 O, bless God, ye hitherto despairing ones, for this save- 
 unto- the-uttermost, and for the five smooth stones of the 
 brook! That especially, "Therefore, being justified by 
 faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." And now, establish yourselves in Christ. Heark- 
 en! If you have been only cheered thus far with the 
 brightening prospect of salvation, for Christ^s sake, for 
 your soul's sake, stand no longer there. Come on quick- 
 ly, and be saved. The prince of the power of the air is 
 ready to start up other images of terror; rapidly as the 
 winds can roll the clouds along, and throng the sky with 
 images, so can he crowd the sky of your souls with images 
 
Revivals under caughey. 
 
 188 
 
 of terror or of sorrow, as unsubstantial as they! 
 
 Hearken unto me ! Open wide the eyes of your under- 
 standing, that you may see clearly, in this your day, the 
 things which belong unto your peace. 
 
 It is not enough to believe that Christ died for you ; — 
 that alone cannot save you. Depend wholly upon Christ. 
 Depend only upon his merits and death. Set nothing else 
 before your eyes but Jesus Christ bleeding and dying for 
 your sins. And, when you have gazed long enough upon 
 that, sufficient to inspire a conscious reliance upon your 
 part, then look up, and behold a living, reigning, inter- 
 ceding Jesus, at the right hand of God, — interceding for 
 you, as your merciful high priest, — exalted, also, to be 
 "a prince and a Savior.'^ Rely wholly upon his media- 
 tions there, and the joy and gladness of a reigning Savior 
 will soon fill your every soul. 
 
 Do you understand me? Do you all understand me? 
 Away with every plea or support besides; weep, pray, 
 agonize as much as you please; but you cannot be saved 
 unless you depend entirely upon Christ. A soul undone by 
 sin has only Christ to rest upon ; He is the rock, and, to 
 borrow an idea of Young, all is sea besides, sinks under 
 him, — bestorms, and then devours ; but depending only on 
 Christ, he defies all else, and rejoices in the full assurance 
 of a present salvation! 
 
 It must be plain to most of you, by this time, that 
 "the stranger" has not been trying to sustain a reputa- 
 tion for what is usually termed sermonizing; constructing 
 his discourses after some generally approved model, in a 
 tasteful and elegant manner; that he has not been preach- 
 ing as if his credit, as a preacher, were at stake, and that 
 must be preserved, whether sinners are saved or damned. 
 
184 
 
 Old time religion. 
 
 No; this sort of thing is of but very small account with 
 him, if so be sinners are converted to God. Nor was it of 
 much account to the apostles of Jesus Christ, if we may 
 judge of their sermons by the specimens on record. 
 
 Christ has my heart. It is full of love to him, and to 
 the souls for whom he bled and died. The love is usually 
 general, extended to all classes of sinners. Then my style 
 of preaching is general, and my affections and sympathies, 
 like the sea, spread themselves as a tide along all the gen- 
 eral shores of mind. But individual minds arrest my love, 
 my sympathies, my zeal; then my style individualizes it- 
 self, so to speak, and concentrates upon them love, sym- 
 pathy, zeal, like the waves which come with the insetting 
 tide, dashing, lashing, and overflowing those outstanding 
 rocks, until they become quite submerged; and then the 
 waves have free course oyer them, and spread themselves 
 far and wide along the sounding shore. 
 
 iA.nd was it not thus with the preaching of our Lord? 
 He addressed the people by thousands ; and his promises 
 and threatenings rolled over the general mass, as the sun- 
 shine or the thunder over the population of a city. Never- 
 theless, he had a word for the leper, for blind Bartimeus, 
 for weeping Mary, a message for Zaccheus, a reply for 
 the Syrophenician woman, a conversation with Nicodemus, 
 a walk with Jairus, a word for the young Ruler, for Peter, 
 for the Demoniac, and even for Judas ; and a lamentation 
 and tears for Jerusalem, although there were many other 
 persons, villages, and cities, which needed his sympathies. 
 But how the pronouns spoke for the individualizing of his 
 sympathies, and for Jerusalem in the lamentation in our 
 text ! "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy 
 day, the things which belong to thy peace! but now they 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY, 
 
 185 
 
 are hid from thine eyes." And all this interrupted with 
 sighs, and sobs, and tears ; for he saw its approaching deso- 
 lations, and its impending ruin; the desolation and utter 
 ruin of its population also. "The chosen ignorance, and 
 obstinate perverseness" of its sinful people, and their im- 
 pending doom, wrung his heart, and flooded his cheeks 
 with tears ! 
 
 Have you seen nothing of this- among us, of late? — 
 our burdened souls weeping for, and pleading with and for 
 sinful men, who are doomed to hell, and yet may repent 
 and be saved. Thus it has been, system or no system, 
 order or disorder, — our emotions carrying us over all 
 things, straight to the mark, the heart and conscience of 
 poor sinners f * * * * 
 
 A few words to another, whom I shall name "A Pre- 
 sumer," — that is, one who ventures his soul upon a false 
 ground of confidence, — the mercy of God, but living at 
 the same time in wilful rebellion against him ! — who makes 
 the plea of Christ's dying, a reason for his sinning, — 
 God's forbearance a motive for his impenitence; — the ex- 
 act brother of him, of whom it was said, a long while ago, 
 that, spider-like, he sucked poison out of the sweet flower 
 of God's mercy, — and boldly plucked death from the tree 
 of life, and through presumption went to hell ; — yes ! went 
 down to hell by the same ladder of Christ's blood, by 
 which the saints of God ascend into heaven, and by which 
 many a penitent sinner here ascends out of the horrible 
 pit and miry clay up into the light of day, and the sun- 
 shine of God's reconciled countenance ! Alas ! unfortun- 
 ate man, he reversed the ladder, and stepped down by 
 it into the pit that is bottomless, — for, he made the plea 
 of Christ's dying, the cause of his perishing. St. Paul 
 
186 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 hints that -the goodness of God" should *'lea'd us to re- 
 pentance." Alas, it only led him to presumption! The 
 man hoped himself to hell, and was damned by mistake ! 
 
 Hearken! Are you going to hell in the same way? 
 Must one more be added to hell's wallers, and that one 
 yourself? 
 
 Man! listen to me! Nearly two hundred years ago 
 one of your English divines appealed to a certain sinner 
 thus : "Verily, if sin had not turned the ungodly part of 
 the world into a bedlam, where it is no wonder to see a man 
 out of his wits people would run out in wonder into the 
 streets, and call to one another, 'Come, and see a man that 
 can trifle and sport away his time as he is going to eternity, 
 and is ready to enter another world ! Come, and see a man 
 that hath but a few days to win or lose his soul forever in, 
 and is playing it away at cards or dice, or wasting it in 
 doing nothing ! Come, and see a man that hath hours to 
 spare upon trifles, with heaven and hell before his eyes !' " 
 
 Dec. 7th. — Battering down false hopes ; — pressing hard 
 on the delaying, the loitering, the wavering. Make full 
 proof of thy ministry, O, my soul ! Amen. 
 
 If some are lost at last, God clearly acquits himself of 
 their blood. Tried hard that I might be acquitted too, in 
 case that calamity should happen to any of my hearers. 
 How men do abuse the mercy of God to his face! But 
 how patiently does he bear with them, and await their 
 leisure for repentance ! — calls loudly upon them to repent, 
 and waits ; — scores and scores and hundreds of times offers 
 them mercy, and suffers them to reject it;— -repeats the 
 offers again, and again, till the sinner is weary of them. 
 O God, how great is thy goodness ! Repeats the offers of 
 mercy again and again, till the sinner loaths them, spurns 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 187 
 
 them, treats God and them with contempt! Alas! then 
 Cometh the end, and vengeance to the uttermost. 
 
 O, how terrible is that intimation in Hebrews lo : 30, 
 "Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith 
 the Lord 1" But it is a flash from that awful thunder- 
 cloud, in the 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th verses of the same 
 chapter: *'For, if we sin wilfully," etc. All sin that is 
 damnable, is wilful ; but all wilful sin is not unpardonable, 
 because not incurable. But, as one remarks, "When it is 
 incurable, it is the special sin of hell, the badge of devils, 
 and of sinners damned." It cannot become incurable till 
 "the sin unto death" is committed, I suppose. — i John 5 : 
 16, 17. Some sin against the Holy Spirit, doubtless, and 
 under superior illumination. O, for a right heart to feel 
 for sinners ! 
 
 Dec. nth. — Ay! Experience and necessity teach more 
 effectually than theory. Depravity, enmity, and unbelief, 
 make a man serious ; — and that old serpent, the Devil, 
 Apollyon, leading them on, saying, "Thus far^ but no fur - 
 ther;" — and my soul replying, "Yes, and further! so 
 help me, O God, in Christ !" Ay, these things sober one, 
 and the fancy and imagination hide themselves from the 
 fight. ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 Confined to the house but not to my bed. The attack 
 was very sudden, similar to that which prostrated me twice 
 in York, and once in America; and, as then, "in dead of 
 night;" — the fourth attack of the same kind, and always 
 at night, and with no previous warning ; — as if Death, had 
 he permission, would like to come suddenly upon me, and 
 "as a thief in the night," — and so sudden as last night; — 
 a comment upon those lines of Charles Wesley, which I 
 
188 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 copied in Quebec, from an old Magazine, brought over by 
 an emigrant: 
 
 "From sudden, unexpected death 
 
 Jesus thy servant save, 
 Nor let me gasp my latest breath 
 
 Unmindful of the grave. 
 
 Unconscious of the yawning deep. 
 
 And death eternal nigh; 
 Oh, do not suffer me to sleep * 
 
 Till in my sins 1 die! 
 
 And summoned to the mountain-top. 
 
 Without a lingering sigh. 
 Render my ransomed spirit up, 
 
 And to thy glory die. 
 
 Wise to foresee my latter end. 
 
 With humble loving fear, 
 I would continually attend 
 
 The welcome messenger." 
 
 After about two hours of severe suffering, I staggered 
 out of my room, and awoke Mr. Wright. Had great peace 
 in the midst of great pain. When it seemed as if I could 
 endure no more and live, was enabled to say to Mr. W., 
 ''Death has no terrors, — no sting; Jesus is precious, — tell 
 my friends this, if I depart." However, I wished to 
 live, should it please the Head of the church; — did not 
 wish to die in a strange land ; — affairs of a temporal nature 
 not in a very tangible form, — my private papers and jour- 
 nals in a somewhat disordered state, — would like to live to 
 erase this or that, and rewrite other parts, and not leave 
 that to the judgment of others ; but above all to call sin- 
 ners to repentance, a while longer. * * * 
 
 No, it does not tire me to write, but rather amuses me, 
 and is profitable withal. There is a great feebleness upon 
 me, and lassitude; — thinking of what one said, "I am so 
 weak that I cannot stand upon my legs, but I can cast 
 myself into my Father's arms !" Blessed be God, I can do 
 that ! 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 189 
 
 But I feel much better, — trying to buckle on the armor 
 again, with a glad and solemn heart; — cannot sympathize 
 with him who, on returning from the gates of death, ex- 
 claimed, "I was as a sheep that had nearly entered the 
 fold, but was driven back into the storm again, or as a 
 traveler almost home, yet compelled to return again to 
 fetch something he had neglected;" — or, he might have 
 added, like a ship that had nearly entered her destined port, 
 but ordered out to sea again by her owners ! 
 
 O, but I am glad at the prospect of a return to the bat- 
 tle-storm of soul-saving! — glad to return to "fetch" more 
 holiness with me to heaven, and many more poor, neg- 
 lected souls besides ! — glad to put out to sea again, as 
 long voyages are apt to give large returns of profits, and 
 short voyages the contrary ! 
 
 Urging on the battle-strife once more, — for truth, — 
 for Christ, — for souls ; — in weakness fearing another at- 
 tack of illness. But the doctor hopes it may be avoided, 
 and does not forbid my preaching. God bless him for that ! 
 for, O, to be passive or inactive, at such a time as this, 
 would require more grace than this activity for God de- 
 mands ! 
 
 Rom. 8: 28, stands good, — ''All things work together 
 for good to them that love God." The fires which agitate 
 and greatly try gold and silver, work at the same time for 
 their purification, beauty, value, glory 1 
 
 But truth and the sinner are still antagonists. I see 
 that! What an expression of resistance! Truth may be 
 dressed up so prettily that the sinner will really like it; 
 but no sooner does it appear in its real dress and uncom- 
 promising utterances, than he frowns upon it, and puts 
 himself in an attitude to repel it. Well, I have not been 
 
190 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 "dressing up" truth since my arrival in Birmingham, God 
 knows ! — for I know precious little gain is it to the church 
 in the long run, — "dressed up truth, as if it were to sell," 
 as a Spaniard observed. 
 
 Dec. 23. — Truth cuts like a sword. It is well ; it would 
 wear out the body else, — the sword would cut through the 
 scabbard at such a time as this; — ^best to keep using it! 
 Real truth is a real sword, dividing asunder the joints 
 and marrow, the soul and spirit, of wickedness; but not 
 painted truth! A painted sword cuts not, nor a sword 
 in the scabbard, nor a muffled sword, though equal to that 
 of Goliath of Gath, that was "wrapped in a cloth behind 
 the ephod." — i Sam. 21 : 9. O, give me -the naked sword 
 of truth, with strength and courage to wield it, O, Lord 
 God of truth ! Amen. 
 
 To change the figure, truth is as a serpent to many. 
 Sinful men cannot understand this ; neither can some in 
 the church, who profess to be better. It is enough, they 
 think, that truth should be a rod^ — even a sword is admis- 
 sible, where the sinews of wickedness are hard and tough ! 
 — but that truth should be made to multiply itself so, and 
 become as "fiery flying serpents" among the people, they 
 cannot away with it; — fly from it; — and yet, strange to 
 say, it has a fascination to draw them back to it! They 
 forget that the rod of Moses was turned into a serpent! 
 He fled from it; but when God commanded him to come 
 back and take it by the tail, he did so, and it became a rod 
 again, — his friend, indeed, by which he shook the throne 
 of the Pharaohs. So, the Lord our God brings back again 
 these flying sinners; — they venture to seize the serpent 
 truth by the tail, keeping as far from its bite as possible, 
 when, lo, it is but a rod, after all, in the hand of school- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 191 
 
 master Law, to bring them to Christ, as Paul hints. Then 
 it becomes their friend indeed, and by it, they shake all 
 spiritual Egypt around them ; and their emancipation from 
 the slavery of the old Pharoah of hell, becomes the order 
 of the day of salvation! Hallelujah! * * * 
 
 Ay, all that is true ! — a soul-saving preacher requires 
 a soul stern as the face of war; yet, in its secret depths, 
 full to overflowing with the gushing benevolence of Jesus, 
 — and of the spirit of burning! — Is. 4: 4, — crying out unto 
 God: 
 
 "Steel me to shame, reproach, disgrace; 
 
 Arm me vsdth all thine armor now; 
 Set like a flint my steady face, 
 
 Harden to adamant my brow. 
 
 Bold may I wax, exceeding bold, 
 
 My high commission to perform, 
 Nor shrink thy harhest truths t' unfold; 
 
 But more than meet the gathering storm. 
 
 Adverse to earth's rebellious throng, 
 
 Still may I turn my fearless face; 
 Stand as an iron pillar strong. 
 
 And steadfast as a wall of brass. 
 
 Give me thy might, thou God of power, 
 
 Then let or men or fiends assail. 
 Strong in thy strength I'll stand, a tower 
 
 Impregnable to earth or hell." 
 
 But, ah, sir, a messenger of this sort needs a peculiar 
 physical, as well as mental constitution. For, although his 
 are moral, not physical victories, yet the body must sustain 
 the soul that wins them. A mortal frame, carrying about 
 a soul of fire, needs a constant miracle to sustain it ; as if 
 insured in heaven ! For it resembles the bush in the wil- 
 derness, — in a blaze, yet unconsumed. — Exod. 3: 2. "A 
 great sight" it was to Moses that, and a great sight is such 
 an one to angels and to men. 
 
 The head of the church raises up, and qualifies such ex- 
 traordinary messengers. They appear, from time to time, 
 
192 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 in the churches' need. He endues them with extraordi- 
 nary power and zeal, and thrusts them forth to burn and to 
 shine. Such were Wesley, Whitfield, Fletcher, and many 
 others in the eighteenth century; such was Luther, and a 
 host in the sixteenth century. Nor is the nineteenth cen- 
 tury unblest by them. They are designed to break up the 
 ruinous monotony of the churches, and to awaken men to 
 the concern of eternity. 
 
 Usually, they are short-lived. Indifference, or opposi- 
 tion, breaks their heart; or hard constant labor wears 
 them out soon, moaning with their Lord, as they disap- 
 pear from among men, "The zeal of thine house hath eaten 
 me up." But the Lord raises up others of like spirit ; for 
 this is really the ''apostolic succession," after all. 
 
 Dec. 27th. — The ancients compared truth to salt ; — very 
 significant ; it makes the old sores and new wounds of pro- 
 fessors and sinners smart again! All the better for that, 
 if they keep temper. It hastens the healing. The spirit- 
 ual hurt must not be healed slightly, as the Head of the 
 church intimates by the prophet : "They have healed also 
 the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, 
 Peace, peace, when there is no peace." Ay, that decep- 
 tive practice is still continued. The wounds made by sin 
 must be probed, cleansed, closed, before they can be healed 
 with safety, without the risk of a spiritual fester, or of bleed- 
 ing afresh. 
 
 But, what a work of God is breaking forth in every di- 
 rection ! 
 
 Dec. 29th. — A little more strength. The work spreads 
 like a flame, — "like fire among dry stubble." Hallelujah! 
 
 * * * 
 
 There is great disorder sometimes, and who ever saw 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 193 
 
 a great battle entirely free from that? My sub-divisions, 
 regiments and batalions, and rank and file, go in for it 
 in a holy disordered order. Ideas and illustrations, — what 
 are they in military parlance ? O, armed soldiers of Eman- 
 uel, in uniform and panoply divine! — a bannered host, 
 rushing forth, and doing battle for the Lord God of hosts ; 
 the Holy Ghost electrifying them with his energy and 
 power, and sweeping them along, or "leading them to the 
 charge," as a military man observed, ''where the slain of 
 the Lord were many as on last Sabbath night. Hallelu- 
 jah ! 
 
 I like all the chapels ; Newtown-Row, Belmont-Row, 
 Cherry-street, and Wesley; — have held meetings in them 
 all. Very easy to preach in them; they display much 
 sound judgment in that respect; plain, substantial build- 
 ings; fine organs and good choirs and congregational 
 singing; excellent bands of devoted and talented leaders 
 and local preachers. The stationed ministers on both cir- 
 cuits are kind. Rev. Joseph Wood is truly at home in 
 the revival. Praise the Lord ! 
 
 Held a Watch Night in Cherry-street Chapel last night. 
 Text, "This year thou shalt die." — Jer. 28: 16. The New 
 Year ushered itself in most gloriously to some, but most 
 miserably in the apprehensions of others, — the awakened, 
 the terrified, the despairing. Poor souls ! reminding one 
 of Petrarch's line, 
 
 "When trembling Hope was frozen to Despair!" 
 
 But I know the Lord ! I know his ways ! He always 
 kills before he makes alive, — inflicts death before he in- 
 fuses life, — and administers the bitter always before the 
 sweet. The Devil reverses this, in whom he is working 
 
194 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 damnation. But this is God's order with those in whom 
 he would work salvation. Poor souls ! they do not seem 
 to understand this, and sob and wail as if he really intended 
 to damn them. But I have no fear of them, if they only 
 persevere. "The Lord will not always chide ; neither will 
 he keep his anger forever !" No, blessed be his name ! 
 * * * 
 
 There is every prospect now of a mighty work of God, 
 which, "like mighty winds and torrents fierce," will turn, 
 and overturn, and overcome all opposing powers. A few 
 dams have got to give way, and a few barriers swept out 
 of the way, and then — salvation! O, for a fresh baptism, 
 and strength of all sorts ! A crisis is the time that tests 
 the genius and fitness of a general ; and battle tests the 
 soldier, and such a crisis as this, the preacher ; — and many 
 such have I had. 
 
 "Arise, my soul, arise!" 
 
 Your "observations" are valuable ; but, depend upon 
 it, such a method would never accomplish much in Bir- 
 mingham, or I greatly mistake the character of its people. 
 It has been pretty well tried in Birmingham, and I have no 
 heart to prolong the experiment, so well and so fruitlessly 
 tested by wiser heads than mine. 
 
 The preaching that will please carnal men is about sure 
 to please the Devil also; what one called "gaudy allusions, 
 and pretty gingles, and knacks of wit, and scraps of Greek 
 and Latin, and shreds of fathers and philosophy, — in well- 
 set and accurate speech;" — ay! something to tickle the 
 fancy without touching the conscience ! No ! by the grace 
 of God, no ! — a thousand times no ! Better I was con- 
 cealed once more in the western wilderness, than attempt 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 195 
 
 such an exhibition. No! no! no! "Give me souls, or I 
 die !" is the cry of my heart. But this is not the way to 
 win them, nor any mode of preaching akin to it. No 
 
 Genteel efforts, and polite endeavors, will never origi- 
 nate a revival here, nor sustain it if begun ; will never 
 
 "Bow down stubborn knees, and hearts with strings of steel." 
 
 Nor can a whisper do what demands a thunder. A few 
 squibs can never accomplish what demands a grand battery 
 of cannon ! A breath, a zephyr from a garden of roses, 
 cannot move or overthrow that which requires a breeze, a 
 tempest, a tornado, or the might of ignited gunpowder! 
 The strongholds of the Devil are not to be taken and 
 pulled down by "gentle," but by pretty violent measures, 
 such as "carpet knights" and tea-table champions are never 
 Hkely to engage in ; but men of nerve, courage, zeal, and 
 capable of enduring hardness as good soldiers of Jesus 
 Christ (2 Tim. 2:3); who are more anxious for fighting 
 than for drinking! * * * 
 
 What an amazing work hath the Lord wrought the last 
 ten or twelve days ! It is the Lord's doings, indeed, and 
 marvellous in our eyes, — almost equal, in fact, to what we 
 witnessed in Doncaster and Macclesfield. Hallelujah! 
 
 Afternoon. — Onward for victory. The Lord of hosts 
 is with us. Sinners are slain on every side. The Gospel 
 is the power of God unto salvation. But the power must 
 be attended with an unfaltering footstep, a bold heart, 
 a steady, trusty arm, and a fearless tongue. The French 
 poet spoke well, when he said, 
 
 "0, he who in thy pathway treads, 
 Must toil and pain endure! 
 
196 OLD TIME RELIGION. ^ 
 
 His head must plan the boldest deeds, 
 His arm must make them sure." 
 
 Have been looking back with gratitude upon the past 
 year of my Hfe ; — a year of many mercies, and of consider- 
 able success to my ministry; — not less than between four 
 and five thousand souls justified, and about two thousand 
 sanctified, in the protracted services in which I have been 
 engaged during the last twelve months. All glory to God ! 
 He doeth the works, and in every place he surrounds me- 
 with a host of praying men and women, to whom, under 
 God, I owe much of my success. O, what a glorious re- 
 ward awaits them above, if faithful to the end! 
 
 Jan. 9th. — Wisdom and Prudence! How necessary 
 they should accompany burning zeal ! Too much pru- 
 dence, or overmuch caution, makes a cold and timid preach- 
 er, and unfits for such service as this ; yet, a deficiency of 
 these may lead a misguided zeal to spoil all. Lord, help 
 me ! 
 
 However, the work of God shows no pause. That text 
 had great force. Psalm 16: 11, — "Thou wilt show me the 
 path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right 
 hand there are pleasures for evermore." A sweet theme! 
 — the pleasures of heaven ! — the chief of which, a sight of 
 Jesus ! How tKat moves an audience ! — especially when 
 one can get such a view of Him, and language to express 
 it, such as the Holy Spirit alone can give the preacher, 
 when that promise of Jesus has a fulfilment, "He shall 
 glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and will show it 
 unto you." But there is much we must die to know, 
 even of Jesus and his glory. I believe with him who said, 
 "Of all the objects of celestial blessedness, Jesus will stand 
 first, the most conspicuous object of heavenly contempla- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 197 
 
 tion." The Psalmist was of the same opinion, when he 
 exclaimed, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there 
 is none upon earth that I .desire besides thee." He con- 
 sidered a sight of Him, in heaven, the loveliest, sweetest, 
 grandest, that heaven could afford ; — so think I, and long 
 to be there, to see Him as He is, and to be like Him! — i 
 John 3:2. 
 
 A great move ; trophies of salvation many. Hallelujah ! 
 Jan. loth. Saturday morning. — Sanctification last 
 night, — my usual theme on Friday nights. What a re- 
 markable blessing from the Lord attends that doctrine! 
 What want or dearth is felt in that church or society 
 where it is not preached, fully, clearly, thoroughly, heart- 
 ily, and as a present salvation, attainable now, by faith! 
 Mr. Wesley was well persuaded of this when he wrote to 
 one of his preachers thus : "When this is not preached, 
 there is seldom any remarkable blessing from God, and 
 consequently little addition to the society, or little life in 
 the members of it. Speak, and spare not; let not regard 
 to any man induce you to betray the truth of God. Till 
 you press believers to expect full salvation now, you must 
 not look for any revival." Ay ! and when that grand doc- 
 trine of the Gospel is thus faithfully preached, the effects 
 are soon evident and glorious. "The Gospel," as one ob- 
 serves, "will then be consulted as a fresh charter from 
 heaven. Promises, which before were repeated with freez- 
 ing accents, will now burn upon the lips, and will be plead 
 with an earnestness that will open heaven." It was so, truly, 
 last night. The work of entire sanctification (i Thess. 
 5 : 23, 24) has advanced with great rapidity and power the 
 last few weeks ; not less than three hundred persons have 
 professed its attainment ! A noble pledge, this, that these 
 
198 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 protracted services are not likely to leave the church 
 weary, wasted, and exhausted, but rich in faith, and love, 
 and holiness. 
 
 Jan. 1 2th. Monday morning. — I preached twice, yes- 
 terday, in the IsHngton Chapel, — a neat place of worship, 
 in the suburbs of Birmingham. Sixty persons professed 
 to find mercy, and thirty purity of heart. The scenes were 
 indeed awfully grand and overwhelming, — such multitudes 
 of wounded and distressed people crying for mercy! — 
 
 "Deep wounded by the Spirit's sword, 
 And then by Gilead's balm restored!" 
 
 Jan. 19th. Monday. — A great victory yesterday. Sin- 
 ners 'are leaving the ranks of sin, scores following scores! 
 — Wonderful ! O, how deep and pungent their convictions 
 for sin ! How clear their sense of pardon ! How deep and 
 tender their gratitude to God and man for so great a deliv- 
 erance ! and what unutterable humility and love ! O, who 
 could doubt the genuineness of such a work as this ! Hal- 
 lelujah ! 
 
 Jan. 21 St. Wednesday. — Blessings come in hurricanes 
 these days ! These are Pentecostal days in Birmingham. 
 Great liberty in preaching the word, 
 
 "And every feeling uttered, fully felt." 
 
 O, how evidently does the hand of our God endorse and 
 attest the truth of his revealed will in the glorious Gospel 
 of his Son ! Showers of blessings ! Hallelujah. * * * 
 
 Yes, I had a hard time of it ; beating the air, or as one 
 throwing feathers; and I know the cause very well; and 
 that is a mercy, otherwise I might have come to some rash 
 or false conclusion. 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 199 
 
 It should be a lesson to me. This lightness of heart 
 before preaching is not quite the thing; not safe, however 
 innocent, — an innocent light-heartedness, as religious peo- 
 ple would call it; but neither innocent nor wise in one who 
 was about to stand between the living and the dead, — 
 between sinners and incensed justice, and a burning hell, 
 and a grieved Holy Spirit, and an interceding High Priest, 
 and a justly offended God! *'He that winneth souls is 
 wise," says Solomon. Ay, but it is not wise to go about 
 that work with a loose and careless spirit ! This I know, 
 and therefore I am accountable. 
 
 How liable I am to the temptation to unbuckle my spir- 
 itual armor, if I sit down for a tea-table chit-chat, even 
 among good people ; to sheathe the sword of truth within, 
 and lay it aside, instead of burnishing it, and sharpening it, 
 and looking at it, and at the cause for which it must be 
 wielded, till my soul is fired "to do exploits," as the angel 
 said to Daniel. And how such tea-table sociability 
 smoothes down the wrinkles of war, and melts off the 
 horns, and the angles, and the spear-points of awakening 
 truth from the mind; so sunny, so congenial the atmos- 
 phere around approving friends ! And then to hurry off to 
 the pulpit without the proper time of being alone with God, 
 or to buckle on the armor anew, and to examine the mind, 
 as to the state of truth in it, around it, and upon it; and 
 to see to my sword, — whether it has not lost edge in the 
 sheath, or gathered rust in the soft, congenial atmosphere 
 of the tea-table. 
 
 O, I did not get near enough to God ! My views of 
 truth, and of the peril of sinners, of God, o'f Christ, of the 
 Spirit, and of my own responsibility, were, far from being 
 intensified as they ought. Heaven, Hell, Calvary, were 
 
200 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 not brought near enough to arouse and alarm me. Did 
 not enter the cloud of the divine presence far enough to 
 receive the necessary unction from above. Had not time, 
 O, thou sounding brass! thou tinkling cymbal! let this 
 be a lesson! — must keep out of company, and be much 
 alone with God, upon the holy mountain, walking up and 
 down in the midst of the stones of fire ; then cometh the 
 soul from thence, among the people, as the anointed 
 cherub. — Ezek. 28: 14. * * * 
 
 Ah me! such a preparation is seldom attained during 
 a tea-table chit-chat, and religious pleasantry! Ah no! 
 but alone with God, crying, — 
 
 "My powerful groans thou canst not bear. 
 Nor stand the violence of my prayer. 
 My prayer omnipotent." 
 
 There, and there alone, with rare exceptions, the arm 
 of the soul is nerved with the energy of the God of Jacob. 
 There, and there only, the whole man bows under the 
 stress of his principles and emotions, "like a tight bow- 
 string and then, look, for the arrows of truth flying thick 
 and fast, and sticking fast in the hearts of the king's ene- 
 mies ; — and the falling down of the people, and the conse- 
 quent cries, prove that "Thine arrows are sharp in the 
 hearts of the King's enemies," O Lord God of hosts ! — Ps. 
 45 : 5. 
 
 O, who can describe the scenes which follow! — the 
 effects of the word thus preached with the Holy Ghost 
 sent down from heaven! St. Paul attempts it in Heb. 4: 
 12. Then it becomes "the word of God," indeed ; and not 
 a sword only, but a royal scepter, in the hand of such a 
 preacher; — and more potent than all the kingly scepters 
 upon the face of the earth; for it accomplishes what all 
 
REVIVALS tfNDER CAtfGHEY. 
 
 20i 
 
 their power combined could never effect. ''The spirits are 
 subject unto us, through thy name." The place occupied 
 by such a preacher is a battle-field, indeed! and his 
 pulpit a throne of power, — and victory all around. "In 
 one part of the field," as a German divine remarks, "spiri- 
 tual restraints are imposed; — in another, darts and hooks 
 are cast into the heart ; — in a third instance, a leviathan is 
 bound in chains of adamant; — in a fourth, the strength of 
 the wicked is broken, the audacious confused and 
 ashamed, the adversaries disarmed, blasphemies silenced, 
 and the licentious forced back, at least, within the bounds 
 of external order ; — and, in a fifth instance, Zion's banners 
 are encompassed by the new subjects of omnipotent grace ; 
 — and by such a preacher, effects like the above will every- 
 where and always accompany his word." I believe it, O 
 my German brother ! So have we seen it in Birmingham, 
 and so shall we see it again, the same Divine Power assist- 
 ing us. O, my Lord, preserve me henceforth from ever 
 going into the pulpit in a careless spirit, and my armor 
 loose about me ! Amen. But, I suppose, 
 
 "Our virtues would be proud, if our faults wliipped them not!" 
 
 However, it did me good ! It is profitable to be well 
 humbled. It leads to great "searchings of heart," and 
 drives the despairing and weakened soul to the feet of 
 God, — lays it low, and keeps it low, and there! Amen. 
 
 I entered the pulpit the following night, with my soul 
 tight about me; and had a precious time. O, what free- 
 dom and enlargement of soul ! What ardor ! O, but God 
 did make my soul, 
 
 "As the rapt seraph that adores and burns." 
 
 But, as usual — and O, how often it occurs ! — upon re- 
 
202 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 tiring to my room, sunk into deep humiliation before the 
 L/Ord, in view of my many infirmities, and imperfections 
 as a speaker. The people are mown down like grass before 
 the scythe of God's words. Not less than thirteen hundred 
 sinners have been converted to God during the last seven 
 weeks; and about six hundred believers have obtained 
 purity of heart. All the glory be to God alone ! He doeth 
 the works, though in infinite condescension, he deigns to 
 employ very weak and unworthy instruments in accom- 
 plishing his purposes of mercy. 
 
 The work is advancing with unabated power daily. 
 There are some adversaries which spring up now and 
 then, but are soon borne down by this inundating outpour- 
 ing of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah ! 
 
 January 24th. Saturday. — Sanctification last night. 
 A heavenly calm in the audience, so different from the 
 hurricanes of emotions through the week. Had sweet har- 
 mony in my own soul, — the heart so in unison with the 
 head, and a breathing like an air of Paradise within and 
 around, increasing in power, till the listening multitude 
 were stirred into an intense breathing after holiness. 
 Many went away from the under the word, like Naaman 
 out of Jordan, cured of their spiritual leprosy. 
 
 Jan. 26th. Monday. — ^This driving the knowledge of 
 the head down into the heart, creates strange scenes among 
 the people. Truth, that has lain dead for years in the 
 brain and imagination, when driven down upon the con- 
 science, creates a wonderful uproar ! It never, really, till 
 * then, becomes effectual to the salvation of the possessor. 
 But "victory is of the L<ord," and surely he did give us the 
 victory, in the salvation of scores of precious souls ! 
 
 Jan. 28th. — Pressed hard upon the worldly-would-be- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 203 
 
 religious, who, as one expressed it, ''have nothing to offer 
 God, but some heartless service, which the world can 
 spare, and which are but the leavings of the flesh," — after 
 the manner of Cain and his offering! — Gen. 4:3. 
 
 Jan. 29th. — Heavy, effective ordnance, in active opera- 
 tion, on our spiritual batteries ! And what a dismounting 
 of satanic-ordnance, — carnal reasoning, — high imagina- 
 tions, — prejudice, — ignorance, — error and folly; and as if, 
 in the overturn, poor sinners would be torn into pieces ! 
 
 The Lord grants me great peace of mind. Homely, 
 but true, are those two Hues of the old poet : 
 
 "When all is done and said, in the end this shall ye find, 
 He most of all doth bathe in bliss that hath a quiet mind." 
 
 And yet my soul retains its antagonistic energy, and 
 the work advances in power. Last week, at Wesley Chap- 
 el, one hundred and ninety were saved. The week previ- 
 ous, at Islington Chapel, two hundred and forty were 
 saved. So speaks the Register. What the Lamb's book 
 of life in heaven speaks, we must die to know ; and to know 
 it with safety, or with comfort, or with joy, we must die 
 in the Lord. 
 
 The people are greatly moved, and easily moved, now, 
 and very tender; so easy to draw tears, and set them a 
 weeping on every side ! How wonderful the change which 
 the Gospel can make in a people! The eyes which were 
 dry as the sky, as in the days of Elijab, during the three 
 years drought, now weep tears of joy, like the same sky, 
 after Elijah said to Ahab, "There is a sound of abundance 
 of rain !" Bless thou the Lord, O my soul j * * * 
 
 Jan. 31st. — Holiness last night. These Friday night 
 discourses bring me back to the simplicity of the Gospel. 
 They leave, also, a sweet tincture of purity upon my spirit ; 
 
204 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 — make me feel with one, "I had rather be holy than be 
 eloquent;" a sentiment that finds a sweet response within 
 me this morning. 
 
 Feb. 2d. Monday. — Satan's captives are extensively in 
 trouble. It is evident he is fearing a wholesale rescue. To 
 have them damned without rescue, was his hope. Our 
 Lord Jesus Christ takes pleasure in rendering Satan hope- 
 less in more ways than one! Glorious scenes yesterday! 
 
 Have just returned from a walk; — not joyful, but a 
 sweetness in spirit; — a good thought that, that my happy 
 days have far exceeded my unhappy ones, thus far in my 
 Christian pilgrimage; — and my peaceful times have been 
 much longer in continuance than my times of war; — and 
 my seasons of prosperity more numerous than those of 
 adversity; — that my great troubles, like days in winter, 
 have been short, and, like stormy days, few; — and my 
 happy days, like summer days, long, and, like fair and 
 pleasant days, many, and by far the greatest in number, 
 through all the years of my spiritual life, hitherto ! Praise 
 the Lord ! And would it not have been otherwise, had not 
 my gracious Lord sanctified my soul in 1831? 
 
 5j! ^ ^ * ^ * ^ 
 
 A gracious time at the sacrament. What a cloud of 
 communicants, scores, if not hundreds, of whom had never 
 commemorated the Lord's death before ! 
 
 It has done my own soul good; — I feel stronger, — as 
 if new life, vigor, and zeal, had been infused into my soul. 
 I usually feel so after partaking of the sacrament, and for 
 weeks. 
 
 In ancient times, before battle, they used to show the 
 blood of grapes and mulberries to the war elephants, to 
 4iiake them more fierce in battle. Well, a sight of these 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 205 
 
 sacred emblems of the broken body and shed blood of my 
 Lord stimulates my soul wonderfully to fight his battles, 
 and gain victories ! 
 
 Birmingham, Feb. 6, 1846. 
 
 "Toiling on." To be sure ! For what purpose did I 
 enter the vineyard of my Lord, but to work? Certainly 
 not to have a life of ease, nor to play, or to amuse myself 
 or others! For what did I join the army of Immanuel? 
 To fight, or enjoy an inglorious ease? To idle away my 
 time? Nay, my dear friend, but to fight his battles, and 
 to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ ! Or, 
 if you will allow me the use of another figure, for what did 
 I enter the lists upon the great race-ground of preachers? 
 To run for the prize, or to sit still and lounge ? Nay, but 
 to run for the prize, — a double prize, — heaven and souls. 
 Well, then, while I have breath in me, let me never lose 
 the spirit of this ! While I have health, may I never cease 
 running for such a prize, — Souls ! While life and health 
 do last, O, may I work, fight, run! — true to my principles 
 laid down in the onset; to which the heart of my fearful 
 friend cannot help saying, "Amen !" 
 
 Birmingham, Feb. 17. 
 
 Laboring on with all my might, to make sin bitter, that 
 the Gospel may be sweet to the sinner. Never can the 
 Gospel be made truly sweet until the sinner is made to 
 know and feel that it is an evil thing and a bitter to sin 
 against God. — ^Jer. 2 : 19. Nor is Christ ever sweet till sin 
 is turned into wormwood. Nor does Christ give rest to 
 any, but to these who feel sin to be a burden. It is to 
 those who labor and are heavy laden, Jesus gives the in- 
 vitation to come to him and find rest, as we see in Matt. 
 11:28, 
 
206 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 He invites the heavy laden to come unto him;. those to 
 whom the sense of unpardoned sin is a burden too heavy 
 to be borne. It is my business, then, to load them down 
 quickly as possible. 
 
 Well, I have been trying hard so to do; and to make 
 the past and present sins of every sinner bitter, — ay, as 
 wormwood, that the name of Jesus may be sweet and de- 
 sirable, and sin heavy, — ay, as Byron said of it, as a moun- 
 tain of lead upon the heart ! — that they may be more anx- 
 ious to get rid of their burden! After doing my best to 
 bring all this about, I then preach unto them Jesus; and, 
 O, how sweet he is to their souls, and also to mine ! For, 
 in making sin bitter and heavy to them, I cannot help 
 thinking of my own, — sins of my youth and childhood, — 
 sins before my conversion and after, — and much unfaith- 
 fulness in the past; and, though my conscience is assured 
 of pardon, yet it would relapse into uneasiness and the 
 spirit of bondage again to fear, if not met by a returning 
 faith in that blood that has washed them all away. And 
 so, when Jesus has thus become their Savior and mine, O, 
 what an ocean of sweetness do we all find in that won- 
 drous name ! And, then, how sweetly do we all sing : 
 
 "Blest with the scorn of finite good, 
 My soul is lightened of her loAd, 
 And seeks the things above. 
 
 The things eternal I pursue, 
 A happiness beyond the view 
 
 Of those who basely pant 
 For things by nature felt and seen; 
 Their honors, wealth, and pleasures mean, 
 
 I neither have nor want!" 
 
 Had a very awful time on the day of judgment, the 
 other night, in Wesley Chapel. — Rev. 20: 11, 13. When 
 describing "the books" that shall be opened on that great 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 207 
 
 day, I noticed the Book of Privileges ;— where the con- 
 denlned sinner Hved and died; — the light under which he 
 sinned; — ^the means of salvation within his reach; — the 
 sermons he heard, or might have heard, had he pleased. 
 Here an idea of Horne, which I had read many years ago, 
 occurred to me, — that, on this great and terrible day of 
 God, the sinner will be held as accountable for what he 
 might have known, as for what he did know ; — that, among 
 all the subjects which might be said to belong to specu- 
 lative theology, there is none more terrible than this. 
 
 Language of unusual power, with vividness of thought, 
 were given me at this moment, such as I may never, pos- 
 sibly, have again ; — was enabled to climb to heights which 
 commanded much of the judgment scene ; and the vast 
 congregation climibed with me, — not one appeared to be 
 left behind ; — and, when at a certain point, and a precipice 
 formed, the alarming thought that condemned men, in the 
 judgment, shall have to account to God for what they 
 might have known, as well as for what they did know, — 
 O, it seemed as if we were all going over the precipice to- 
 gether ! — till the feelings of the multitude gave way, in one 
 terrible convulsed cry ! O, I cannot describe it ! — it was 
 like the rushing sound of many waters, — crashing and 
 breaking through dams and embankments, and all oppos- 
 ing barriers ; till there were groans, and shouts, and cries, 
 like the voices of the judgment ! It was as if that day of 
 terrors had really opened upon us, "and all beneath the 
 cope of heaven in flames," — the risen dead assembled, the 
 judgment set, and the books opened! 
 
 Never had I such a time upon .the last judgment; never 
 saw such an effect produced by it. The prayer-meeting at 
 the close was glorious in results. O, how evident it ap- 
 
208 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 peared to me that "the times and seasons" for such extra- 
 ordinary manifestations "the Father hath put in his own 
 power Acts i : 7. But, doubtless, did I but wallc as ' 
 closely and as steadily with God as he requires, such visi- 
 tations from on high would neither be few nor far between. 
 
 Feb. 14th. Over one hundred and fifty souls saved 
 since last date. 
 
 HoHness last night. For an application, Mark 11 : 24 
 is mighty. "What things soever ye desire when ye pray, 
 believe that ye receive, and ye shall have." It is, indeed, 
 one of the exceeding great and precious promises, by 
 which we are made partakers of the divine nature. — 2 Peter 
 1:4. It demands of the soul immediate honor to the ver- 
 acity of Jesus. It shames unbelief, and amazingly humbles 
 the tardy professor; he who boasted so much of his "Prot- 
 estant faith," which "had ever honored the veracity of God 
 in the Holy Scriptures," but now finds it very hard to put 
 implicit confidence in the veracity of Jesus ! Poor soul ! 
 it is well if anything will open his eyes to that cursed un- 
 behef which reigns in his heart. Cursed it is of God, and 
 a curse it is to the soul of him who indulges it. 
 
 The glory of God does rest over Birmingham ! Multi- 
 tudes hear the voice of God within them, calHng them to 
 repentance; and scores and hundreds very lately have 
 hearkened, obeyed, and turned to the Lord. Great is the 
 rejoicing among God's people ; and great their power with 
 God, and with men! 
 
 "Birmingham. — The Rev. James Caughey continues his 
 labors in this town with increasing interest and success. 
 Last week, although in one of the smaller chapels, name- 
 ly, Islington, the number of names given in, as obtaining 
 pardoning mercy or sanctifying grace, exceeded any form- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 209 
 
 er week in this town. Many conversions of an extraordi- 
 nary character have been effected; restitutions have been 
 engaged to be made ; unholy alliances are being succeeded 
 by marriage ; and some are afraid to come under the sound 
 of his voice. But, while his appeals are so terrific and 
 alarming to the obstinate and persevering sinner, his per- 
 suasive encouragements are equally delightful to the re- 
 penting and returning sinner; the weak get strengthened 
 and encouraged, believers sanctified, and the work of God 
 is going on gloriously. We hope the revival here begun 
 will be continued. Ministers and local preachers are par- 
 taking of the reviving influence. What should hinder the 
 continued progress of the work of God, if the same untir- 
 ing energy and self-denying zeal and faithfulness be mani- 
 fested in the discharge of duty? Is God partial to his 
 workmen? Does he not say to all his commissioned serv- 
 ants, 'Go ye into all the world,' etc.; and, Xo, I am with 
 you,' etc.? We want to get nearer to God, and to possess 
 more of heavenly influence in our own souls, to be emi- 
 nently successful. An honest Yorkshireman was asked 
 why it was that Mr. C'.'s labors were rendered so remark- 
 ably beneficial. *0,' was the reply, 'he lives next door to 
 heaven, and they acquaint him with secrets that they don't 
 let everybody know.' " 
 
 March loth. — Gloomy. "Why art thou cast down, O 
 my soul" — and yet have flashes of joy, and all gloom 
 again? Why is this? But the work of God advances in 
 power. The numbers saved in both blessings, pardon and 
 purity, up till this time, is about twenty-three hundred, 
 eighteen hundred of whom are persons who have obtained 
 pardoning mercy. Blessed be God! and the glory be un- 
 to Him alone, forever more, amen! 
 
210 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 March nth. — How a worn-down body affects the 
 mind ! It illustrates that idea of one, that a mower who 
 has a good scythe, can do more in one day, than he that 
 has a bad one can do in two; and that every traveller 
 knows the difference between a cheerful and a tired horse. 
 But the Lord reigneth. 
 
 March 12th. — Take care, my soul! — finery again! — 
 tinsel ! — away with it I That was not Wesley's style, but 
 good, plain, sturdy English. That is what is wanted in 
 
 Birmingham. Did it escape you how the children at 
 
 admired the books with the beautiful covers, and pretty 
 pictures, while they cared nothing for the reading in them? 
 But there are hearers plenty who treat sermons thus. O, 
 for point and power ! that which penetrates the conscience, 
 though it kill admiration! Amen. 
 
 March i8th. — Sinners are breaking down on every 
 hand ; and some most unlikely cases ! 
 
 Accountability to God, now, and after death, is one 
 great anchor-hold of the Spirit in man. I find great ad- 
 vantage in taking fast hold there, in bringing the sinner 
 to God. Drop anchor there, if possible, and you have the 
 sinner. Harpoon him there, if need be, and his whole 
 weight will soon be felt upon the line. He may flounce 
 and flounder, and dive into the mud of infidelity and error, 
 and make a great noise, and go off among his compan- 
 ions in a tangent, turning all his element into foam; but, 
 if the harpoon has stuck fast in the right place, and holds 
 fast, he will soon reappear, and be drawn alongside, as 
 the whalers speak ! 
 
 March 23d. — The church of God has become a mov- 
 ing flame of fire, into whatsoever chapel she enters ! How 
 little can be done when she is not ! But who may set lim- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 211 
 
 its to her influence when she is thus ! Three or four score 
 of sinners saved on Sabbath, and half as many sanctified! 
 
 April 3d. — The Love Feast was excellent. The new 
 converts talked Hke new creatures, indeed! 
 
 "In joy triumphant, sorrow flowH." 
 
 Had some noble testimonies to the blessing of perfect love. 
 The spies of old (Numb. 13 : 23) brought out of Canaan 
 grapes, pomegranates, and figs, such as Israel had never 
 laid eyes on before ; and they reported that it was, indeed, 
 a land flowing with milk and honey ; but they also reported 
 evil of the land, of the strength of their walled cities, and 
 giant-like population, among whom they felt themselves 
 but as grasshoppers, and set the people a murmuring. 
 
 But these sanctified souls exhibited the fruit, and said, 
 with Caleb, "Let us go up at once and possess it; for we 
 are well able to overcome it." The resolved multitude 
 one and all exclaiming: 
 
 "Rejoicing now in earnest hope, 
 I stand, and from the mountain top 
 
 See all the land below; 
 Rivers of milk and honey rise, 
 Aad all the fruits of Paradise 
 
 In endless plenty grow." 
 
 While not a few sorrowing ones mournfully ejacu- 
 lated : 
 
 "O, that I might at once go up! 
 No more on this side Jordan stop, 
 
 But now the land possess; 
 This moment end my legal years; 
 Sorrows and sins, and doubts, and fears, 
 
 A howling wilderness." 
 
 Those who enjoyed the blessing greatly encouraged 
 and strengthened each other. The fellowship of purified 
 minds is a holy alliance! for it is by this that Holiness 
 
OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 strengthens and reinforces itself. 
 
 ******** 
 
 The whole production displays considerable talent, but 
 this polite breath of opposition will only serve to fan the 
 glorious flame, that is consuming sin of every sort, where- 
 ever it sweeps ! It seizes upon everything that stands in 
 its way; — ten, fifteen, or twenty, saved every night, and 
 scores on the Sabbath days, — of all ages and classes, chief- 
 ly from fifteen to thirty-five, and up to seventy! Great 
 is our God, and great and marvellous his goodness to the 
 children of men. Blessed be his name! And blessed be 
 his Son Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, and sees of the 
 travail of his soul and is satisfied! And blessed be the 
 Holy Ghost, that worketh the counsel of his will so won- 
 derfully ! Amen. 
 
 April 3d. — "Courage !" Yes ! indeed, courage is Indis- 
 pensable in such a work as this ; and must be maintained 
 at any cost ! What a French officer remarked in a letter 
 to a friend, when with Napoleon in the campaign in Egypt, 
 is not inapplicable. "Here we need courage, not only of 
 the head, but of the heart and the soul." But Jesus never 
 fails me. His grace is always equal to my day. As my 
 day is, so is my strength, as the promise runs. — Deut. 33 : 
 25. 
 
 The world is of the opinion, says a great writer, that 
 the end of fencing is to hit ; that the end of medicine is to 
 cure, and that the end of war is to conquer ; and that those 
 means are the most correct which best accomplish the 
 ends. A better reply could not be given, with regard to 
 the subject on hand; besides, the number of the hit that 
 spread the ground must have decided that in your judg- 
 ment ; and the number of the cured and the conquered ! 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 213 
 
 And Mr. was really hit himself. There is no 
 
 doubt of that, although he made out to get away; and 
 days passed away before he ventured again within range 
 of our shot. Nor would he have come again, but that 
 the wound in the conscience would not heal. An "apol- 
 ogy" would have been a poor plaster. It was not to be 
 hoped for, unless the preacher could be convinced he was 
 in the wrong; or that the "random shot" was anything 
 else than what one called "a conglomeration" of truth. 
 If he will keep coming, he will get a better plaster for his 
 conscience than an apology from me, even an application 
 of that blood that cleanseth from all sin. — i John i : 7. 
 
 It requires courage to incur such hard epithets; but 
 my Lord had worse. Erasmus said to the opponents of 
 Luther, "Nothing is easier than to call Luther a block- 
 head, but nothing is more difficult than to prove him one !" 
 Nothing is easier than to coin such epithets, nothing 
 harder than to prove their just applicability! Nothing is 
 easier than to call such and such teaching false, nothing 
 harder than to prove that it is really so. 
 
 The church must be in the field, to war against sin 
 and wickedness ; else God will enter the church, and war 
 against it. Then woe be unto the church! Nor can the 
 church of God ever be enriched with all the riches of God, 
 till she is pure within, — "all glorious within," as the king's 
 daughter, — and pure from the blood of souls — warring as 
 she ought against the works of darkness ! 
 
 It will, indeed, never be well with the world, until it 
 beats its swords into ploughshares, and its spears into 
 pruning-hooks, and learns the art of war no more. On 
 the contrary, it is never so well with the churcH, as wfien 
 her swords and spears are in active hostilities against all 
 
214 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 the powers of sin and Satan ! Aggression is the life of 
 the church, and the grand means of her true aggrandize- 
 ment. God help me, sir! I am endeavoring to carry out 
 these principles with all my heart, and with all my soul; 
 and shall, I trust, till my Great Captain sounds my retreat 
 from the battle-field of life! 
 
 Byron, speaking of a fascinating preacher, hints that 
 "he gained more hearts than souls ;" — a striking distinc- 
 tion ! Alas ! it is to be feared, there is much of this sort 
 of thing going on among the Christian churches. It is 
 a mighty cause of spiritual death wherever it occurs. This 
 Dagon must be made to fall before the ark of God! — 
 again and again it must fall, till not even "the stump" of 
 the abominable thing remains ! — i Sam. 5 : 4. 
 
 Our earth presents many a sad sight ; but the saddest, 
 I sometimes think, is where self has the ascendency in the 
 house of God, — in the pulpit. It is not only bringing ruin 
 upon itself, but blight and death upon the church of God. 
 The Head of the church will surely contend with it; for 
 he hath said, "My glory I will not give to another." That 
 is his fixed purpose, — his unchangeable decree ; — a pur- 
 pose, a decree, that awakens the echoes of heaven with, 
 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, 
 and power" (Rev. 4: 11), and vibrates in judgments upon 
 the earth. May our God preserve me, and all his minis- 
 ters, from this inward Achan of an unsanctified self! 
 Amen. 
 
 Very true. There was no peace for the unsaved that 
 night ! — no, nor rest in my bones ! — no ! for rebellion 
 against the Holy Spirit was rife ; — and how could there be 
 peace? To them, and to the troubled preacher, another 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 215 
 
 Jehu might have said, "What hast thou to do with peace?" 
 — 2 Kings 9: 19. Ay! "tongue, eyes, hands, arms, body, 
 — all warlike, — so unlike an ambassador of the Prince of 
 peace." And might I not say to thee, as the stripling 
 David to his brother Eliab in the camp of Saul, "What 
 have I now done? Is there not a cause?" — i Sam. 17: 
 28, 29. Cause ! yes, sufficient to stir the heart of the arch- 
 angel Gabriel! 
 
 Ay ! all was "violent and warlike" enough ; — many an 
 alarmed and wounded sinner felt the truth of that. Nei- 
 ther self nor subject were "burdened with the loadstone 
 of attraction, but repulsion with a vengeance." Very true 
 again! but how did you account for the fact, that so many 
 scores of distressed sinners, of all ages, clustered around 
 me, with tears and cries, and would not go away? Did 
 that look like repulsion? 
 
 Ah! my "Friend," truth is a more powerful loadstone 
 than flattery. But it cut through all concealment, like a 
 very sword; and loaded many a terror-stricken conscience 
 with a weight of misery and guilt too heavy to be borne. 
 In this sense, there was a loading indeed, — a fearful load- 
 ing, — something like what the damned in hell feel, only 
 there were hopes of mercy. O, what a piling up of sen- 
 tences of condemnation ! O, what a region of alarm was 
 that of many a soul ! O, what fearful outcries ! And 
 yet, what expressions of hope and confidence in divine 
 mercy through Jesus Christ ! — 
 
 "Though my sins as mountain rise, 
 
 And swell and reach to heaven, 
 Mercy is above the skies, 
 
 I may be still forgiven: 
 Infinite niy sins increase. 
 
 But greater i& thy mercy's store; 
 Love me freely, seal my -peace. 
 
 And bid me sin no more." 
 
216 
 
 OLD T?IME RELIGION. 
 
 Be it so, then, that all was ''repulsion," yet you are a 
 witness how that the slashes of the sword of divine truth, 
 which reached unto the soul, did the work required by the 
 Gospel most effectually. You did not wait till the close 
 of the prayer-meeting, most likely; but if you had, you . 
 would have acknowledged that they had not mourned and 
 prayed and wept in vain, nor the preacher and his helpers 
 labored in vain. Hallelujah! 
 
 * * * * * sK * 
 
 April 9th. — My Birthday. Thankful for the past, trust- 
 ing my gracious Lord with and for all my future. Many 
 reminiscences. The book of Providence, like Hebrew let- 
 ters, must be read backwards, upon earth and in heaven; 
 — a very profitable study. Have enjoyed a sweet walk, 
 singing over and over again, with tears, that sweet stanza 
 of Mr. Wesley : 
 
 *'Wliat thou hast done I kno'v not mow, 
 
 Suffice I shall hereafter know; 
 Help me my sinful head to bow; 
 
 That still I live, to thee I owe: 
 O, teach thy deeply humbled son. 
 
 Father, to say, thy will be donel" 
 
 The work of God does not flag. But, weak as I feel, 
 and humbled to the dust as my soul is before God in pri- 
 vate, always, yet in public, he does cause "the sword of 
 truth to gleam like his own lightning!" O, he does! 
 Blessed be his name ! 
 
 April loth. — Preaching, like life, should be direct, not 
 circular, — but direct and progressive. Beware of this cir- 
 cumlocution and wordiness; cure it at once. However, 
 that was a strong point, and worthy of a larger place in 
 a future discourse ; — that those who will not weep over a 
 sinning friend, let them prepare to weep over a dying 
 friend — those who cannot mourn over an unconverted rel- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 217 
 
 ative, may soon be called to mourn over a buried relative, 
 — that the Christian world is full of such cases ; — that sin- 
 ning on, without repentance or conversion, is sure to 
 shorten the days of the sinner; — that, for a professed fol- 
 lower of Christ to stand and look on, without prayers and 
 tears for their salvation, is pretty sure to be followed up 
 by such a painful retribution. 
 
 The whole town seems moved. The confederations of 
 sin are in considerable confusion ; at their wits' end, some 
 of them ! — to preserve themselves from dissolution. Error' 
 flies before the revival, as chaff before the wind. Draw- 
 ing-room circles are in an amaze. Bar-rooms and beer- 
 shops, here and there, are vocal with lonely grumblers. 
 The wicked are fretting and fuming, and the pamphleteer- 
 ing presses are groaning for them, poor souls! — ay, loud 
 as their poor consciences are groaning for themselves. 
 
 However, we have vast masses of the people on our 
 side. The Wesleyans, generally, are true; though some 
 shrink, and query what all this is coming to ; and whether 
 the church of God shall be able to wash her face and robes 
 clean, after all this bespattering from the wicked. They 
 can bear to read how that the face of Jesus was covered 
 with the spittle of the ungodly, and his person arrayed in 
 a mock robe, etc., etc.; but, to have the church of their 
 choice despised and mocked, is too much for their pride 
 or humility. 
 
 This is no time to falter. It is truth and the effects of 
 truth they are quarrelling with, and with me for setting 
 it on against their consciences ; and yet, what could it or 
 the preacher have done, but for the Holy Spirit who ap- 
 
218 
 
 * OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 plied it? I must stand by the truth, then, and stand or 
 fall with it; let it have an open field and fair play. If 
 this is my cross, it must be taken up, and borne along 
 with courage and faithfulness. Luther says, "Every true 
 saint is heir to the cross and I have come into the pos- 
 session of mine with some joy and power. 
 
 April 19th. — The art of war is best learned in actual 
 war. It is upon the field of battle where rules, tactics and 
 artillery, are tested; the effectiveness of this battery or 
 that; and the wisdom or folly of this and that position. 
 A change of position, upon the part of the enemy, often 
 renders them all useless. 
 
 It is thus in preaching, which is truly a great pitched 
 battle for the rescue of precious souls ; especially when 
 continued for months together. Sermons of mine, which 
 appeared very well in private, and likely, as spiritual bat- 
 teries, to rake the ranks of the enemy tremendously, the 
 positions being the best imaginable ; but, alas ! when 
 brought into action, were quite useless, and I have lost 
 the day by sticking to them. Whereas, I have won many 
 a day by abandoning them at once; and, seizing upon 
 some "rough, crooked cudgel of truth, or other," as a 
 crazy man hinted, and storm the altered entrenchments of 
 wickedness. 
 
 What was the use of firing away from that battery, 
 when the shot curved high over the heads of sinners, or 
 fell far short of their entrenchments? It ought to have 
 been abandoned before wasting so much time and 
 strength. I have erred so often here, it is strange I have 
 not yet acquired common sense. When the proper bat- 
 teries were heaved up for my acceptance, I had neither 
 time nor strength to play them upon the enemy; had 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 219 
 
 wasted both in working those which were ineffectual ! 
 
 April 21 St. — How much one learns in a revival, of hu- 
 man nature, of the providence of God in preparing the 
 way for this and that conversion ! How evidently Provi- 
 dence has been at work to bring about the salvation of 
 many of these ; with some for years ; — has had to almost 
 break their heart by trying providences, before their proud 
 will could be broken down to repent and believe! So 
 goes it with the world ; and an "Almighty Providence" is, 
 indeed, an "exceeding thought," and its chastisements ex- 
 ceed all we know of them, till development by a great re- 
 vival. 
 
 April 22d. — I seldom weep in the pulpit, though my 
 eyes frequently fill, and swim a little ; but tears do not 
 often trickle down. I like to feel them ; it is a great com- 
 fort to feel that my springs are not dry, nor the fountain 
 of tears dried up. — Hosea 13: 15. But, O, how delicious- 
 ly sweet are tears, when in secret audience with God! 
 Some one remarked that sugar is sweetest when it melts, 
 and that when the religion of a Christian dissolves into 
 tears of gratitude and thanksgiving it is the sweetest of 
 all. 
 
 April 29th. — Felt I was going on an errand for God; 
 — ^an errand implies a message ; — had a message from him 
 to poor hell-exposed sinners; felt I was going on an er- 
 rand for Him, and knew with what, and for what. What 
 boldness and confidence this conviction gives ! But it often 
 brings trouble as a consequence. People do not under- 
 stand it. There is no way to make the errand agreeable, 
 and the consequences easy to be borne, but to aim at 
 pleasing God fully therein. Then every word is heart- 
 deep, in preacher and hearer; or as a strong-minded 
 
220 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 Scotchman observed, "then comes the nailing of the sub- 
 ject to the wall." The slain of the Lord were many. The 
 nail of truth, if it did not pin them to the wall, it did to 
 the floor, as did the nail, in the hand of Jael's wife, the 
 head of Sisera. 
 
 May 3d. — He that would continue to save souls, I 
 find, must not depart from first principles ; — he must dwell 
 much on first principles, — the essentials of Christianity. 
 This, some, whose heads have out-travelled their hearts, 
 do not like; they want variety and novelty, and something 
 to gratify curiosity in doctrine. To meet their case, one 
 would need another Gospel than Paul preached. Shall I 
 pander to such a taste? Nay, by the grace of God, never! 
 O, never may I live to prove to sinful men that I think 
 the Gospel has become stale and uninteresting, and, there- 
 fore, must lay the sciences under contribution, to make 
 the Gospel bearable or palatable; and, as it were, work 
 another Gospel, than Christ crucified, out of them, or a 
 diluted Gospel, or mongrel ! The present age is a tempter 
 to this, and, it is to be feared, too frequently succeeds. 
 
 That deprecation of the apostle is a powerful antidote 
 to me: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the 
 cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is 
 crucified to me, and I unto the world." — Gal. 6: 14. St. 
 Paul never interposed a "God. forbid!" but upon some 
 point of the highest importance, — and he used the phrase 
 on several occasions. The scenes are amazing here! 
 Glory be to God! 
 
 May 4th.- — The sun, and moon, and stars, are some- 
 times nearer to the earth than at other times. Eternity, 
 with its Heaven, and Hell, and Spirits, looms up, and 
 sweeps nearer to men during a revival, I sometimes think, 
 
Revivals under caughe^y. 
 
 221 
 
 than during any other portion of the history of a popula- 
 tion ; so near, I often feel, as if one could almost hear the 
 shouts of the glorified saints in heaven, and the wailings 
 of the damned in hell. 
 
 It is then the power of God is felt; and the truth of 
 God rushes out upon sinners, like the lion upon the chil- 
 dren of Ephraim! and cries for mercy ascend from the 
 smitten and the torn; and shouts of deliverance from the 
 healed and the saved. Such is the state of things in Birm- 
 ingham at the present time. Hallelujah! 
 
 May 5th. — What a necessity for a storming time that 
 was! Ordinary effort would have been of no avail, but 
 Satan's triumph. But how important to be ready for such 
 a divine intimation! One should not have his heart or 
 wit, or courage, to seek at such a moment; no, nor his 
 weapons, nor his faith ! 
 
 May 8th. — A letter from my Liverpool host, Mr. Ban- 
 ning, of the Liverpool Post Office. He says, "The news- 
 papers are determined, — perhaps not intentionally, but 
 nevertheless are doing that which produces it, — to increase 
 your popularity, and thereby your usefulness ; — the state- 
 ments of 'The Morning Chronicle,' have circulated in all 
 the newspapers of the United Kingdom, nearly, I should 
 think !" 
 
 Amen! let them write, and print, and circulate, and 
 make me out the greatest fool or knave that lives ; — what 
 of that, if I am neither a fool nor a knave? What care I, 
 if the work of God but go on, and my conscience feels sure 
 of his approbation? 
 
 Persecution! — of the pen, of the tongue, — what signi- 
 fies all we are called to endure in this age, however hu- 
 miliating, compared with what the saints of other days have 
 
222 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 endured from the hands of the ungodly? — as the tickling of 
 flies, when compared with the stings of wasps — nay, as the 
 stings of wasps, when compared with the strokes of the scor- 
 pions! They bore the cross, indeed, upon bare, bleeding 
 and lacerated shoulders; but we, of modern times, only 
 bear the chips of the cross ; or, if the chip happen to be a 
 big and heavy one, and hit pretty hard, or sit heavy, we 
 are not without cushions of many comforts to make them 
 tolerable ! 
 
 The time is at hand when I must leave Birmingham, — 
 noble, glorious Birmingham! O, how I love the place, 
 and its people! Hard to drag myself away from them. 
 Have been consolidating the work ; strengthening and for- 
 tifying the new converts, and preaching farewell sermons 
 in various chapels ; journaling a little, and trying to keep 
 up with my correspondence, which is no easy matter some- 
 times ; but all with a single eye to His glory. 
 
 ^ ^ :Ji ^ ^ 5|t 
 
 Have had the pleasure of taking tea with the ministers 
 and leaders of both the Birmingham circuits; told them 
 all I hoped and all I feared regarding the young converts ; 
 and with the deepest humility, begged they would do all 
 in their power to preserve them to the church, and to 
 maintain the honor of this great revival. 
 
 We had gracious seasons ; and they kindly assured me 
 that nothing should be wanting, upon their part, in carry- 
 ing out all my suggestions. I felt greatly humbled at the 
 loving, hearty deference which they paid to one so un- 
 worthy. May the Father, Son and Holy Ghost bless them 
 more and more ! Amen. 
 
 This has been a glorious work of God, indeed; thou- 
 
REVIVALS UNDER CAUGHEY. 
 
 223 
 
 sands have been saved. To God be all the glory, is the 
 sure language of my heart. From the registers, kept by 
 authorized and competent secretaries, on both "the east 
 and west circuits," as they are called, it is ascertained that 
 since last December, about two thousand eight hundred 
 souls have been justified by faith in Christ ; and about one 
 thousand four hundred persons sanctified, in the full sense 
 of Acts 15 : 9, — "Purifying their hearts by faith." Total 
 saved, in both blessings, four thousand two hundred per- 
 sons. 
 
 The names of all these persons were carefully regis- 
 tered as the work advanced, together with their respective 
 places of residence. This was done to prevent exagger- 
 ated reports, and that proper care might be taken of the 
 subjects of the work. Many of the above were from the 
 country around, as well as the town ; some were from ten 
 to fifty miles distant. Other churches and congregations 
 in town were well represented, and doubtless have, or will, 
 receive accessions. A large number, too, were members 
 of the Wesleyan church, both of the justified and sancti-' 
 fied. Allowing these deductions, the numbers from the 
 world, and now united with the Wesleyans, must be very 
 large. 
 
 May loth. — Farewell, Birmingham ! Fare-thee-well, in 
 every sense of the word, especially in the religious sense; 
 and farewell, my children within thee ! Their times of trial 
 ar at hand ; the chaff to be driven from among the wheat ; 
 — ^that will be taken up as a reproach against the revival, 
 although ever so much wheat may remain ! And, alas ! 
 the wheat may be driven away too, or spoil through inat- 
 tention or mismanagement. 
 
224 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 It is well, therefore, to glory in nothing, — neither in 
 success nor influence; for, O, how soon both may vanish 
 away! It is safe only to 'glory in the Lord,* and to meet 
 the temptation to glory in anything else, with the apostle's 
 *God forbid that I should glory!' Ah, that is the safest, 
 sweetest, happiest state of mind! 
 
 And farewell, ye ministers of our God, with whom I 
 have taken sweet counsel! — and ye leaders and fellow-la- 
 borers ! A glorious band of faithful men and women, who 
 helped us much in the Lord ; to whom, in fact, under God, 
 much of the credit and honor of this great work of God is 
 certainly due; for, what could we have done without them? 
 Farewell, All ! — ye blessed families, where I have been for 
 months so generously entertained; all, too, who have 
 showed the stranger kindness in word and deed. Bless- 
 ings on you all! — every blessing from heaven above, ancf 
 earth beneath, be upon you all. Farewell ! 
 
 And, to poor sinners whom I leave in their sins, can I 
 say. Farewell ? Alas, alas ! how can I ? — with what heart 
 or prospect, if they go on resisting the Spirit of God, as 
 they have been doing? O, Lord God, have mercy upon 
 them, and bring them to repentance ! Amen." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE GREAT REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 Immediately following the great religious awakening which took place in our 
 own land in 1857 and 1858, a glorious wave of revival power swept over Ireland, 
 such as had not been known there for centuries. It came in a time of great 
 spiritual dearth but — as is doubtless always the case — in answer to the earnest 
 supplication of the few faithful saints whose hearts wept before the Lord because 
 of the desolation of Zion. 
 
 We quote from the work, * 'The Year of Grace: A History of the Revival in 
 Ireland, A. D. 1859," a large book of nearly five hundred pages by Rev. William 
 Gibson, who was at that time Professor of Christian Ethics in Queen's College, 
 Belfast, and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 
 Ireland.~~" 
 
 I shall narrate the progress of the work (in Bally miena) 
 in 'the words of a young friend resident on the spot, who 
 took part in the movement in his native town and who has 
 suppHed me with the following impressive statement : 
 
 "When the great outpouring came, worldly men were 
 .silent with an indefinite fear, and Christians found them- 
 selves borne onward in the current, with scarce time for 
 any feeling but the overpowering conviction that a great 
 revival had come at last. Careless men were bowed in 
 unaffected earnestness, and sobbed like children. Drunk- 
 ards and boasting blasphemers were awed into solemnity 
 and silence. Sabbath-school teachers and scholars be- 
 came seekers of Christ together; and languid believers 
 were stirred up to unusual exertion. There was great 
 earnestness with all, and enthusiasm with some, but little 
 extravagance or ridicule was known. Ministers who had 
 often toiled in heartfelt sorrow suddenly found themselves 
 beset by inquirers, and wholly unequal to the demands 
 which were made. Every day many were hopefully con- 
 verted : passing through an ordeal of coiivictipn nior^ or 
 
226 OLD TIME RELIGION."^ 
 
 less severe, to realize their great deliverance, and to throw 
 themselves with every energy into the work of warning 
 others, or of leading them to the Lord. 
 
 "All this came suddenly, and many thought it strange. 
 It was little marvel that the world was astonished, but the 
 incredulous wonder of many Christians showed how much 
 we needed a revival. We were astonished that God took 
 us at our word, and sent at last the quickening grace for 
 which we had been dreamily praying so long. The theory 
 of asking and receiving was common, but the getting of a 
 blessing for which there was no room was rare. The day- 
 spring broke upon sleepers; there were few who could 
 wait and watch with their unchanging Lord. 'Thy king- 
 dom come' was familiar; but the coming kingdom was 
 the wonder of the day. 
 
 "It was in the opening summer that the revival came, 
 when the darkness lingers so long at nightfall, and the 
 bright mornings break so soon. We can remember how 
 many lighted windows there were though the night was 
 far gone, and how prayer-meetings were prolonged till the 
 day had returned again. Every evening the churches were 
 crowded ,and family worship became almost universal. In 
 the country, large meetings were held in the open air, and 
 hundreds were often visibly impressed by strong convic- 
 tion. Part of the dinner-hour was generally devoted to 
 singing and prayer, and the sound from numerous groups 
 of worshipers could be heard far at a distance as it was 
 borne on the summer breeze. Thousands of tracts were 
 circulated and read with avidity, and long-neglected Bibles 
 came into general use. The order of an accustomed for- 
 mality was gone; and while exhausted ministers were 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND, 227 
 
 compelled to leave, the people reluctantly dispersed — 
 some to pray over unimpressed friends, others to feel the 
 workings of an awakened conscience, and many to rejoice 
 in their new liberty, and to glory in their King. 
 
 "The process of conviction was greatly varied. In the 
 larger number it was little observed, and not connected 
 with any bodily affection. On some the conviction of real, 
 present, terrible danger came like a thunderbolt, and they 
 were compelled to shout for mercy in total disregard of 
 place or circumstances. Others were less violently im- 
 pressed, and the evidence took the milder form of weeping. 
 As a general rule, however, a deep anxiety was felt for a 
 longer or shorter time before the crisis of strong convic- 
 tion. The most hopeful were generally of the first or third 
 class. The violent bodily paroxysm was felt usually by 
 those who had been previously ignorant or openly im- 
 moral. In some cases it might be traced to mere sym- 
 pathy, or to an exclusively physical agency, and the ap- 
 parent reform was only temporary ; but in the great major- 
 ity the change was lasting and deep. It is not strange that 
 the reason was occasionally affected for a time by those 
 attacks, and that the health shared in the mental suffering. 
 Many were thus instantly impressed who never atte'nded 
 any meeting at all, and others at their usual employment. 
 The great purpose seemingly intended by this visitation 
 was the arousing of others by direct appeal to their senses 
 and it was completely accomplished." * * * 
 
 Of the several stages in the experience of those who 
 have been the subjects of physical prostration, the first is 
 characterized by an awful apprehension of impending evil, 
 a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, 
 accompanied by a crushing pressure on the region of the 
 
228 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 heart, inducing the loud despairing cry, or the groan of 
 agony. In this state the sufferer is overwhelmed as by 
 the billows of the Divine wrath, so that human help is for 
 the time of no avail, and all that man can do is to await 
 the issue, committing it to Him who causeth light to arise 
 in the darkness. Then is the period also of fierce wrestling, 
 real or imagined, with the evil one, whose personality is 
 apprehended with terrible distinctness, insomuch that the 
 soul is an arena in which a death-struggle is being car- 
 ried on between the powers of light and darkness. 
 
 In the second stage, which is generally very sudden in 
 its development, there is a transition from the deep de- 
 pression before experienced to a calmer state of feeling, 
 and some object, earnestly desired and longed for, stands 
 out before the view; — the intensity of the mind's gaze 
 being such that no human presence, although many may 
 be intently waiting by, is realized. It is a sort of waking 
 dream, in which the steadfast countenance and upturned 
 eye denote the character of the inward exercise. The 
 laboring chest no longer heaves under its oppressive bur- 
 den; there is a subsidence of the sob, the groan, the wail 
 of lamentation, and the cold damps are passing off the 
 brow. The arms that tossed about so wildly, are now 
 stretched forth as if to embrace the prized and cherished 
 object, and utterances like these drop from the lips in melt- 
 ing cadence : blessed Jesus, come ! Thou art my hope, 
 my life, my all; wash me in Thy most precious blood! 
 take away this filthy garment, and cover me with Thine 
 own pure righteousness !" Or, more affecting still, as in the 
 case of that little girl, but eight years old, who exclaimed 
 imploringly, in her native patois, "O Christ, come to me I 
 and when you come, oh dinna lea' me, but aye stay wi' 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 229 
 
 me/* It is in this stage that images flit before the mind 
 with all the vividness of reality, and as if possessed of shape 
 and substance; — insomuch that the person, subsequently 
 referring to his experience, will speak as if he had seen the 
 dread realities of heaven or hell, although assured on calm 
 reflection that the objects before his vision have only been 
 his own thoughts embodied in that form. 
 
 And now a third experience ensues. It is that of sensi- 
 ble relief, a lightsome and liberated feeling, of which the 
 chief ingredient is the assurance of forgiveness prompt- 
 ing the outburst of rapturous praise- The fountains of 
 the soul seem to be opened, and forth flows, in unrestrained 
 exuberance, the gushing fulness of its joy. The bodily 
 sensations correspond with the inward ecstasy, and even 
 the plainest features glow as with an unearthly beauty. 
 The heavy load, the incubus that weighed down all the 
 spirit's energies, is lifted ofif, and there is a buoyancy and 
 elasticity proportionate to the depressing burden. The 
 new-born happiness seeks audible expression. The lan- 
 guage of the lips is all in unison with the serenity that 
 reigns within. "Christ and Him crucified" being once 
 apprehetided, the grand, the dominant desire is to com- 
 mend Him to all around. How often, then, are heard 
 such words as those in which a Sabbath-school girl, some 
 thirteen years of age, was addressing her little companions, 
 by her bedside, as she lay in much exhaustion after a sea- 
 son of mental agony, while a gleam of spiritual joy played 
 over her pale countenance,: 'O Annie! O Jane, dear! come 
 to Jesus ! He '11 not put you away. Oh, give Him your 
 heart, give Him all your heart, and He '11 take away all 
 your sins, and make you so happy as He has made me ; Oh 
 that all the sinners about here would come to Him? He 
 
280 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 has room for them all. He would save them all." * * * 
 There is one incident so striking in the commencement 
 of the movement in Coleraine, that it cannot be omitted 
 in any but the most cursory statement on the subject. It is 
 impossible to present it in a better form than has been 
 done by Mr. Arthur, in one of his Tracts on the Revival, 
 in these words. After narrating an impressive scene wit- 
 nessed by one of his brethren, a Methodist minister in the 
 town, he says : 
 
 "Not far from the spot where this took place stands a 
 large school, belonging to the corporation of London, or 
 that body connected with it, known as the Irish Society, 
 who are landlords of Coleraine, and of much property 
 around. In it a boy was observed under deep impressions. 
 The master, seeing that the little fellow was not fit to work, 
 called him to him, and advised him to go home, and call 
 upon the Lord in private. With him he sent an older boy, 
 who had found peace the day before. On their way they 
 saw an empty house, and went in there to pray together. 
 The two schoolfellows continued in prayer in the empty 
 house till he who was weary and heavy-laden felt his soul 
 blessed with sacred peace. Rejoicing in this new and 
 strange blessedness, the little fellow said, 'I must go back 
 
 and tell Mr. .' The boy, who, a little while ago, had 
 
 been too sorrowful to do his work, soon entered the school 
 with a beaming face, and, going up to the master, said, in 
 
 his simple way, 'O Mr. , I am so happy! I have the 
 
 Lord Jesus in my heart !' Strange words, in cold times ! 
 Natural words, when upon the simple and the young the 
 Spirit is poured out, and they feel what is meant by 'Christ 
 in you the hope of glory,' and utter it in the first terms 
 that come! The attention of the whole school was at- 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 231 
 
 tracted. Boy after boy silently slipped out of the room. 
 After a while, the master stood upon something which en- 
 abled him to look over the wall of the play-ground. There 
 he saw a number of his boys ranged round the wall on 
 their knees in earnest prayer,- every one apart. The scene 
 overcame him. Presently he turned to the pupil who had 
 already been a comforter to one schoolfellow, and said, 
 'Do you think you can go and pray with these boys ?' He 
 went out, and, kneeling down among them, began to 
 implore the Lord to forgive their sins for the sake of Him 
 who had borne them all upon the cross. Their silent 
 'grief soon broke into a bitter cry. As this reached the ears 
 of the boys in the room, it seemed to pierce their hearts, 
 as by one consent they cast themselves upon their knees, 
 and began to cry for mercy. The girls' school was above, 
 and the cry no sooner penetrated to their room than, ap- 
 parently well knowing what mourning it was, and hearing 
 in it a call to themselves, they, too, fell upon their knees 
 and wept. Strange disorder for schoolmaster and mistress 
 to have to control! The united cry reached the adjoining 
 streets. Every ear, prepared by the prevailing Spirit, at 
 once interpreted it as the voice of those who look upon Him 
 whom they have pierced, and mourn for him. One and 
 another of the neighbors came in, and. at once cast them- 
 selves upon their knees and joined in the cry for mercy. 
 These increased, and continued to increase, till first one 
 room, then another, then a public office on the premises, in 
 fact, every available spot, was filled with sinners seeking 
 God. Clergymen of different denominations, and men of 
 prayer, were sought, and they spent the day in pleading for 
 the mourners ; — sweetest of all the toils that this earth 
 doth witness, when men, themselves enjoying heavenly 
 
232 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 peace, labor in intercession for those who are now, as they 
 were once, broken-hearted by a sight of their sins, and 
 striving to enter in at the straight gate, in order to walk in 
 the narrow way! Thus passed hour after hour of that 
 memorable day. Dinner was forgotten, tea was forgotten, 
 and it was not till eleven o'clock at night that the school 
 premises were freed from their unexpected guests." 
 
 The following statement respecting the movement in 
 C'oleraine is furnished by the Rev. J. A. Canning, of that 
 town : 
 
 "Upon the evening of the 7th of June, 1859, open- 
 air meeting was held in one of the market-places of the 
 town, called the 'Fair-Hill.' The announced object of the 
 meeting was to receive and hear one or two of the 'con- 
 verts,' as they began to be called, from a district some 
 eight or ten miles south of Coleraine. The evening was 
 one of the most lovely that ever shone. The richly wooded 
 banks of the river Bann, which bounds one side of the 
 square in which the meeting was held, were fully in pros- 
 pect, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Shortly after 
 seven o'clock, dense masses of people, from town and 
 country, began to pour into the square by all its ap- 
 proaches, and in a short time an enormous multitude 
 crowded around the platform from which speakers were to 
 address the meeting. After singing and prayer, the con- 
 verts, a young man and a man more advanced in years, 
 and both of the humbler class, proceeded to address the 
 meeting. Their addresses were short, and consisted al- 
 most entirely of a detail of their own awakening, and earn- 
 est appeals to the consciences of sinners. After the lapse 
 of nearly an hour, it became manifest that more than one- 
 half of the congregated multitude could not hear the voices 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND 
 
 233 
 
 of the speakers on the platform, when it was suggested 
 that the people should separate into distinct congregations 
 or groups, and that a minister should preach to each 
 group. This was immediately done, and some three or 
 four separate audiences were soon listening with most 
 marked attention to as many preachers, for all the min- 
 isters of all the evangelical churches in the town were 
 present. 
 
 "I was engaged in addressing a large group of people, 
 composed of all ages an^ of all ranks of the community, 
 from a portion of Scripture, when I became struck with 
 the deep and peculiar attention which manifestly every 
 mind and heart was lending to what I spoke. As to man- 
 ner, my address was very calm ; as to matter, it consisted 
 of plain gospel truth, as it concerns man's lost condition 
 on the one hand, and the free grace of God, as displayed 
 in salvation, on the other. I know that the addresses of 
 my brethren were of a Hke character. I never saw before, 
 in any audience, the same seardhing, earnest, riveted look 
 fixed upon my face, as strained up to me from almost every 
 eye in that hushed and apparently awe-struck multitude. 
 I remember, even whilst I was speaking, asking myself. 
 How is this? why is this? As yet, however, the people 
 stood motionless, and perfectly silent; when, about the 
 time at which the last speaker was closing his address, a 
 very peculiar cry arose from out a dense group at one side 
 of the square, and in less than ten minutes a similar cry 
 was repeated in six or eight different groups, until, in a 
 very short time, the whole multitude was divided into 
 awe-struck assemblages around persons prostrate on the 
 ground, or supported in the arms of relatives or friends. 
 I hurried to the center of one of these groups, and having 
 
OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 first exhorted the persons standing around to retire, and 
 leave me to deal with the prostrate one, I stooped over 
 him, and found him to be a young man of some eighteen 
 or twenty years, but personally unknown to me. He lay 
 on the ground, his head supported on the knees of an 
 elder of one of our churches. His eyes were closed; his 
 hands were firmly clasped, and occasionally very forcibly 
 pressed upon the chest. He was uttering incessantly a 
 peculiar deep moan, sometimes terminating in a prolonged 
 wailing cry. I felt his pulse, and could discern nothing 
 very peculiar about it. I said, softly and quietly in his ear, 
 'Why do you cry so?' when he opened his eyes for an 
 instant, and I could perceive that they had, stronger than 
 I ever saw it before, that inward look, if I might so express 
 it, which indicates that the mind is wholly occupied with 
 its own images and impressions. *Oh!' he exclaimed, high 
 and loud, in reply to my question, 'my sins! my sins! 
 Lord Jesus, have mercy upon my poor soul! O Jesus! 
 come! O Lord Jesus, come!' I endeavored to calm him 
 for a moment, asking him to listen to me whilst I set before 
 him some of the promises of God to perishing sinners. At 
 first I thought that I was carrying his attention with me 
 In what I was saying, but I soon discovered that his whole 
 soul was filled with one idea, — his guilt and his danger; 
 for, in the middle of my repetition of some promise, he 
 would burst forth with the bitter cry, 'O God, my sins! 
 my sins!' At length I said in his ear, 'Will I pray?' He 
 replied in a loud voice, 'Oh, yes !' I engaged in prayer, 
 and yet I doubt whether his mind followed me beyond the 
 first sentence or two. As I arose from prayer, six or eight 
 persons, all at the same instant, pressed around me, crying, 
 *n"K. e^^frfe 'an'd see (naminj^f such a one — and — and)' — 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 235 
 
 until I felt for a moment bewildered, and the prayer went 
 out from my own heart, 'God guide me !' I passedj 
 from cas-e to case for two or three hours, as did my 
 brethren in the ministry, until, when the night was far 
 spent, and the stricken ones began to be removed to the 
 shelter of roofs, I turned my face homewards through one 
 street, when I soon discovered that the work which had 
 begun in the market-square was now advancing with mar- 
 vellous rapidity in the homes of the people. As I ap- 
 proached door after door, persons were watching for me 
 and other ministers, to bring us to deal with some poor 
 agonized stricken one; and when the morning dawned, 
 and until the sun arose, I was wandering from street to 
 street, and from house to house, on the most marvellous 
 and solemn errand upon which I have ever been sent. 
 
 "Throughout the following day, the 8th of June, scenes 
 similar to those which I have alluded to continued to occur 
 in private houses in almost every street. In the evening a 
 dense multitude assembled again in the market-place ; and 
 again, simultaneously with the preaching of the gospel and 
 prayer, many more than on the preceding evening sank 
 upon the ground, and with bitter cries besought the Lord, 
 Jesus Christ to come in mercy to their souls. Profiting 
 by the experience of the preceding night, elders of the 
 churches and other Christian people sought to find 
 some building, where the many 'stricken ones,' as they 
 began now to be called, from the surrounding country 
 might receive shelter, and the attention of Christian min- 
 isters and others until the morning. Just at this period 
 the new Town Hall of Coleraine had been completed, 
 though it had never yet been used for any purpose. Some 
 one suggested it as a fitting place of shelter. The sugges- 
 
236 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 tion was at once acted upon; and in the town a solemn 
 interest attaches to the beautiful building, from the fact 
 that the first use for which it was ever employed was to 
 shelter in its halls many, very many poor sinners, whilst 
 they agonized with God for the pardon of sin." * * * 
 
 A few miles distant from the place last noticed is Bally- 
 carry, of which the Rev. John Stuart writes as follows : 
 
 ''Here was erected the first Presbyterian church in Ire- 
 land. Here the Rev. Edward Brice, in 1613, unfurled the 
 banner of Scotland's covenant, and began preaching the 
 everlasting gospel. Two faithful and godly ministers were 
 his successors, and then for eighty long years the church 
 lay under the incubus of Arianism — the frozen zone of 
 Christianity. The God, however, who reserved to Himself 
 seven thousand souls who had not bowed the knee to the 
 image of Baal, reserved here a goodly remnant which ad- 
 hered to the synod of Ulster when, in 1829, their minister 
 and a portion of his flock openly abandoned the faith of 
 God's people. Since that time, our church, like the house 
 of David, has waxed stronger and stronger, and 'Unitari- 
 anism,' as the heresy is now called, like the house of Saul, 
 has waxed weaker and weaker. God's gracious 'Revival,' 
 which commenced early in May last, has still more added 
 to pur members. Through the mighty workmg of the 
 Holy Spirit on the hearts of sinners, forty souls have been 
 brought from under that Christless system into the com- 
 munion of our church, and God has bestowed on some of 
 them, both males and females, wonderful power of prayer 
 and fluency of expression. 
 
 "After more than seven months' experience, I can boldly 
 and fearlessly bear my testimony to the blessed fruits and 
 marvelous results of this mighty movernent, I have not 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 237 
 
 confined my labors to my own locality. I have preached 
 and delivered addresses in many a town and village, and 
 in many a country parish, of several counties ; and when 
 I gazed on the hundreds and sometimes the thousands 
 by whom I was surrounded, I could not but exclaim, 
 'Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to 
 their windows?' Society appeared to be stirred up to its 
 lowest depths. 
 
 "Amongst ourselves here in this extensive district, 
 God's right hand and holy arm have won many victories. 
 Never was there such a summer as the last ; never such an 
 autumn ; never such a winter, so far as it has gone. Hun- 
 dreds have been" savingly converted to the Lord; some 
 'stricken' down when the Spirit came upon them like a 
 'rushing mighty wind;' others convinced and converted 
 whilst he spake to their consciences by the 'still small 
 voice.' The first effect of the revival was, that 'fear came 
 upon every soul.' Then was our church filled to suffoca- 
 tion, and we were obliged to take to the open fields to 
 declare the message of mercy to a hungering and thirsting 
 population. The hitherto unoccupied pews were ardently 
 sought after. All were engaged. The aisles were filled 
 with forms crowded with anxious hearers, and now preach- 
 ing became a luxury. I had Pastor's work to do. I had 
 living men and living women before me. They came to 
 the sanctuary on the sole errand of obtaining the 'bread 
 of life.' Every Sabbath was a day of 'sweet refreshing.' 
 On every week-day evening 'they that feared the Lord 
 spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and 
 heard,' and 'there were added to the church daily such as 
 should be saved.' Of all the stricken ones — two hundred in 
 number — I do not know of one backslider." 
 
238 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 In the neighboring district of Ballyeaston, there is a; 
 melancholy interest attaching to the work, for it was while 
 he was engaged in it that a devoted minister, the Rev. A. 
 Pollock, fell a victim to his exhausting labors. In a fetter 
 written but a few days before his death, he thus describes 
 his last communion Sabbath with his people: 
 
 ^The joy of converts, the cry of penitents, the wailing 
 of friends, reminded me of the building of the second 
 temple, when some shouted and others wept. Our tokens 
 were soon all given away, which never happened before. 
 About one hundred had to be provided for on the Sabbath 
 morning, and we could not persuade the people to dis- 
 perse. On Sabbath morning the house was filled to over- 
 flowing, and with little preparation, it was no easy task to 
 ascend the pulpit. I addressed them from the words, 
 'Get thee up, eat and drink ;for there is a sound of abun- 
 dance of rain.' The Holy Ghost was there indeed, as a 
 mighty rushing wind. Many were moved; and in the 
 evening the green was filled, and.no man can tell the num- 
 ber of the souls which were added to the church. The 
 young converts wished to go to the first table, and sit 
 together. We saw their eyes beaming with the light of 
 heaven ; their faces shining like angels' ; their hearts heav- 
 ing with the love of Jesus, and their hands clapping with 
 joy before the God of Jacob. Such a table! It was a 
 foretaste of heaven. All was in accordance with order; 
 nothing extravagant; no extraordinary excitement. God 
 was there; and all were bowed before Him. To Him be 
 glory!" 
 
 "One of the first-fruits of the revival in our congrega- 
 tion," says the Rev. Henry Leebody, of BalHnderry, "has 
 gone home to heaven, leaving a blessed and a glorious tes- 
 
tlfiVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 239 
 
 timony behind him. I spoke at the house the evening 
 previous to his interment, and also the day of the funeral. 
 We had a large attendance of all sects and parties ; and 
 even those who had been most opposed to this blessed 
 work had come to confess that the young man who had 
 departed had shown, both in his Hfe and in his death, the 
 power of saving grace. Before the coffin was closed, his 
 father, kneeling beside the remains of his son, blessed God 
 for the work which had been wrought in him who had de- 
 parted, and fervently entreated that every member of the 
 family might feel as he felt whom Jesus had taken home." 
 
 In no part of the country, so far as I am aware, was 
 there a more genuine and, in every way, satisfactory work 
 than in that to which the following exciting narrative re- 
 fers. Its minister, the Rev. William Magill, was from the 
 outset intensely solicitous that the community among 
 whom he labors should be brought under the power dffhe 
 gracious influence: 
 
 'The revival commenced here on the loth of June. On 
 the morning of that day, I rose from my bed impressed 
 with the thought that something strange and wonderful 
 was about to happen in Dundrod. I cannot account for 
 the feeling; but I had a strong presentiment, not of evil, 
 but of coming good. I had been in Belfast the day pre- 
 vious, and had leaned over the prostrate bodies of men 
 and women laboring under strong conviction of sin. I had 
 heard, for the first time in my life, the sighs and groans of 
 breaking hearts, and witnessed with a feeling of wonder 
 and awe the mental agony and the terrible struggle of 
 souls wrestling with 'the principalities and powers of dark- 
 ness,' and 'contending earnestly' for life and liberty; and 
 when the battle was won, I heard with almost equal won- 
 
240 
 
 Old time religion. 
 
 der the shout of victory, like the pealing of a trumpet on 
 the field from which the enemy had fled. I came home 
 filled with strange thoughts, cherishing high hopes, and 
 breathing" earnest prayers that the Lord would come over 
 the mountains and visit my people. 
 
 "I expected something, and I was not disappointed. 
 When dressing on the following morning, I observed a 
 man approaching the manse, and the thought at once arose 
 in my mind. This man is perhaps coming for me, — the 
 work is begun. It was even so. I was soon on my way 
 to his house. He told me as we went, that one of his 
 daughters, after returning home from the prayer-meeting, 
 had fallen ill, strangely ill, — that she was up all night, 
 and had raised the whole family to engage in prayer with 
 her and for her, — that she had never ceased praying and 
 reading all night, and when he left her she was worse than 
 ever, and he feared she was 'going wrong in her mind.' 
 He had done all he could to pacify her, and said to her, 
 if she wanted to be converted, to take the matter coolly, 
 and not create an uproar about the house to alarm the 
 neighbors. 
 
 A Novel Group. — "Before reaching the house, I heard 
 her voice in loud and earnest and continuous prayer. 
 When I opened the door and looked in, I saw her mother 
 and two sisters, all on their knees and in tears. In the 
 centre of the group, the picture of woe, was the 'stricken 
 one,' with eyes upturned to heaven, and face covered and 
 seamed with tears. Her arms were now extended to their 
 utmost length, as if to grasp some distant dnd coveted 
 object, and then brought together with violence as she 
 clasped her hands, as if in mortal agony, whilst from her 
 lips there burst forth words of fire, as living streams from 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 241 
 
 a burning mountain. 'O Christ, help me! Lord Jesus, 
 save my guilty soul! O Jesus, come; come soon, and 
 give relief to my guilty soul! O thou quickening Spirit, 
 come ! Oh, create in me a new heart, a clean heart ! Oh, 
 take away this hard and stony heart, and give me a heart 
 of flesh!' Then as her eyes rested on me, as I stood 
 riveted to the spot, witnessing in silence this exciting and 
 wonderful scene, — for I never had heard such prayers be- 
 fore, — she exclaimed, without rising from her kneeling pos- 
 ture, *Oh, here is my minister! I knew I would have no 
 peace till he came- Oh, come; come pray for my guilty 
 soul!' I knelt beside her and prayed, her voice accom- 
 panying mine all the time, while her expressions at inter- 
 vals were so rich, varied, and scriptural, that I had often 
 to pause, and then to follow instead of lead, as text after 
 text from Old and New Testament, prophet and psalmist, 
 Christ and apostle, were changed into beautiful and impas- 
 sioned prayer. Such asking, seeking, striving to enter the 
 'kingdom,' I never saw before. It was, indeed, Mercy 
 knocking her loudest knocks at the door of the heavenly 
 mansion, so that the Lord himself, startled by the peals 
 which rouse up all the inmates, comes quickly, and with a 
 smile opens the door, and takes her by the hand and brings 
 her in. 
 
 "The struggle is over. She rises up, and begins the 
 song of triumph ! What a change — a perfect transforma- 
 tion ! The cloud is passed away, and God, like the sun in 
 his glory, is lifting up on her the light of His countenance. 
 Her eye, as she sings, is lighted up with strange and un- 
 earthly fire. Her voice is no longer tremulous and plain- 
 tlive, but now rings like a trumpet; while her whole face 
 
OLt) TiMfi EeOGION. 
 
 is covered with a smile, such as we might suppose an angel 
 to wear. 
 
 "'Let us sing,' said she again, *the 51st psalm. Oh! I 
 bless God for that psalm, and for all the psalms I learned 
 in the Sunday-school and Bible-class.' I may here remark, 
 that the Psalms have been with all the converts here 
 sources of great joy. What would we have done without 
 the Psalms?' was an exclamation often heard. 'Sir,' said 
 a servant girl to her master, after hearing the 51st, 130th, 
 and Ii6th Psalms, 'surely some persons long ago must 
 have felt as I feel, for those psalms seem to have been 
 written for their use and comfort." 
 
 "When the psalm was sung, 'Now,' said our first con- 
 vert, 'father, mother, sisters, down on your knees, and we 
 will pray for you. O Lord, save my father, and mother, 
 and sister,' etc. At her request I read to the family the 
 second chapter of Acts and sang the 60th Paraphrase ; and 
 during the singing another sister, *\vho was standing with 
 a child in her arms, fell to the ground, and went through 
 the same process, being, if possible, more violent, rolling 
 on the floor in agony, tearing her hair, wringing her hands, 
 and in heart-rending tones exclaiming, "Oh, is there no 
 pardon for me? I am too great a sinner to be forgiven. 
 O God ! for Christ's sake, save me, save me !' Her sister, 
 now filled with joy, stands over her like a ministering 
 spirit, and cheers her by gospel promises and earnest 
 prayer. 'Now,' said she, 'I shall have a sister in the 
 Lord. Who would have thought of it, — two souls con- 
 verted this morning in this house?' 
 
 Ef¥ect of the Strange Tidings.— "The Lord had begun 
 His work. The strange news spread from lip to lip, house 
 to house, over the country. Like the 'fiery cross,' it roused 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 243 
 
 the people, and old and young, men and women, husbands 
 and wives, little girls and mothers with infants in their 
 arms, ran to witness the strange doings, and hear the wild, 
 wondrous, but heavenly words that flowed from the lips of 
 these plain country girls, changed in a few hours, by the 
 Spirit of the Lord, into 'new creatures.' What is this? Is 
 this conversion? Is this the work of the Spirit of the^ 
 Lord? Has God come down to earth? Are the 'last 
 days come?' or have these girls gone mad? are asked on 
 every hand. The reply is — These are the last days, and 
 God is beginning to pour out His Spirit on 'all flesh.' 
 
 "That evening a prayer-meeting was held at this house 
 in the open air, in the street before the door. It was a still, 
 fine summer evening, and under the clear, open sky hun- 
 dreds of all ranks and ages met to unite in prayer, looking 
 up to Heaven for a blessing. Farmers and farm-servants, 
 men, women, and little children, Roman Catholics and 
 Protestants of various names, knelt together on the hard 
 ground, reviving the recollection of primitive times, and 
 forgetting or overlooking for the time every mark of dis- 
 tinction in the common awe which all felt, and in the 
 .earnest prayer which all offered up to God. A psalm is 
 sung, a word of exhortation given, and prayer offered up, 
 and the benediction pronounced, but the multitude stand 
 still. Another psalm is sung, arid now the converts rush 
 in among their friends and neighbors, shouting, pleading, 
 and with heaving hearts, and sparkling eyes, and beaming 
 countenances, and in strange sweet tones, telHng of their 
 new-born joys. The multitude heaves to and fro like a 
 ship in a storm; and like drunken men in the streets the 
 men stagger and fall with a shout or a deep sigh. Tears 
 are shed, and groans, as if from dying men, are heard. 
 
244 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 Prayer and praise, tears and smiles, mingle together. Hus- 
 bands and wives are locked in each other's arms, weeping 
 and praying together; while those who came to scoff stand 
 still, and in 'fear and trembling' contemplate this strange 
 thing that is going on before their eyes. The dead are 
 rising from their graves, as if at the sound of the archan- 
 gel's trumpet, for the Lord is quickening those who were 
 dead in trespasses and sins. As the people separated, they 
 formed into groups, and marched to their respective homes, 
 some singing, some praying, some mourning, and some 
 rejoicing. One or two had to remain all night. 
 
 "Each meeting exhibited all the features of the first one, 
 with some little variety. Some were in the first, and some 
 in the second stage, some weeping, and others rejoicing, 
 some calm and still, some again suffering intense agony, 
 and yet in their agony praising the Lord for not passing 
 them by. Some were very weak, and for days partook of 
 no food. *I will not,' said one, 'eat nor drink until I have 
 found peace ;' and she kept her word ; and then, like 
 David, when the trial was over, she rose up and washed 
 herself, and joyfully partook of what was set before her- . 
 
 "On the first Saturday evening when we met in the 
 church for prayer, the scene was indescribable ; the groups 
 from all the districts to which the revival had spread, and 
 it spread with amazing rapidity, came literally 'walking, 
 and leaping, and praising God;' and as they rus-hed into 
 each other's arms, straining and pressing each other to 
 their breasts in the front of the pulpit and up the aisles, 
 the people 'were filled with wonder and amazement at that 
 which had happened unto them.' 
 
 Church and Graveyard Scene. — "On the following 
 Sabbath th^ work went on. Arrangements were made to 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND, 
 
 245 
 
 keep down excitement, and confine the converts to^their 
 own seats, and the pubHc services were not disturbed. In 
 the evening, for the first time, a neighboring minister came 
 to my aid, and a layman from Belfast also joined in our 
 services. I gave a short address, stating what the Lord 
 had done among us, when one of the converts, our first 
 one, rose, and with beaming countenance and eyes, which 
 told of the joys within the heart, said a few things to the 
 people, when here and there throughout the church, parties 
 rose and went out, laboring under deep conviction, and im- 
 mediately the graveyard is filled with groups singing and 
 praying around the prostrate bodies of men and women. 
 Some are as in a trance, others crying for mercy. Some 
 are still falHng into the arms of friends, and sinking as into 
 a swoon. Some stagger to a distance, and drop on their 
 knees to pray over the graves of the dead ; and a few rush 
 to the gates, and fly in terror from the scene. The converts 
 are flying from group to group, and raise the loud shout of 
 triumph as one after another, like the jailer of Philippi, is 
 seen trembling and heard crying out, 'What shall I do to be 
 saved?' Up to this evening the work had gone on chiefly 
 among the females ; soon, however, the men were im- 
 pressed; and I shall never forget the look and shout of 
 joy with which one of these females pro(:laimed the tri- 
 umph of the Lord, when strong men were writhing in 
 agony, or stretched out still and calm, but with clasped 
 6ands and heaving heart, on the graves around. I think I 
 see her now, — her bonnet hanging behind her head, her 
 Bible in her hand above her head,— and I hear still her 
 shout, 'The men are coming now — the men are coming 
 now For ten days and more the whole country was in a 
 §tate of intense excitement. 
 
246 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 A Young Deborah. — "I met one of them when going 
 to visit a man and his wife. She had visited some houses, 
 read, exhorted, and prayed. 'The Lord,' said she to ail the 
 people in these houses, 'has sent me to bring you to Him- 
 He is waiting for you. Arise, and follow me.' And 
 strange, but true, they 'immediately rose and followed 
 her.' A widow woman, her sons and grandchildren, a 
 mother with one child in her arms, and another at her feet, 
 trembling and in tears, girls and boys who had risen from 
 their looms, and men who had dropped their spades and 
 left their work in the open fields, all followed her across 
 the country, while she marched at their head like a general. 
 'Here,' said she, when I met her, pointing to her train of 
 followers, 'is my day's work; is it not a good one? "They 
 wanted me to stay at home, but I would not, for I knew 
 that the Lord had work for me to do. He has given me 
 
 these.' — 'R dear,' said I, ' do be quiet, and don't excite 
 
 yourself, or people will say you are going mad.' She drew 
 herself up in the most commanding manner, and measuring 
 me from head to foot, exclaimed, 'I am astonished at you, 
 
 Mr. M ; did you not teach me in your Sunday-school 
 
 and Bible class? Oh, I can teach the children now. I 
 will bring them to Jesus. Must I not do the will of my, 
 heavenly Father ? Oh, I have a Father now. Do you not 
 remember the words of Jesus, when the Pharisees reproved' 
 Him because He did not silence the little children who 
 shouted Hosannah as He marched into Jerusalem? — 'If 
 these should hold their peace, immediately the very stones 
 would cry out.' I cannot hold my peace. It is not I, but 
 the Spirit of the Lord, that is speaking.' I was awed into 
 silence as I stood before this young Deborah, and in the 
 meantime fell into the rear, and became one of her follow- 
 
HEVI^TAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 ers. It is right to state, that in a few days she calmed 
 down, and became what she still continues to be — a warm- 
 hearted, zealous, and consistent toUower of Jesus. The 
 excitement is gone, but not the Spirit which gave it birth. 
 She did her work. She roused the country, and then 
 retired into private life, and in the quiet home of the 
 family circle she and her sisters are adorning the doctrine 
 of the gospel by a becoming walk and conversation. In- 
 deed it is pleasing to have to record the same testimony in 
 favor of all the other converts in Dundrod without a single 
 exception. Though numbering upwards of two hundred, 
 no evil things as yet can be said of one of them. 
 
 The Work in the Country Round. — ''These things 
 which I have described took place in and around Dundrod, 
 the church being the centre; but in other parts of the 
 country the work went on satisfactorily, but especially in 
 a wide district lying between us and the Belfast mountains. 
 Here the progress was truly amazing. Had the French 
 landed in Belfast, and the news spread that they were on 
 their march toward us, there could not have been greater 
 commotion among the people. Many had been stricken 
 down at Dundrod, and brought into the district, and every 
 house was a kind of hospital, filled with the wounded, 
 from whose wounds arrows were plucked to wound afresh 
 those who stood around them. The cry on all sides was, 
 'The Lord is at hand, go ye out to meet him' — 'The day 
 of the Lord is come-' When I visited the district, I found 
 that all labor was completely suspended, and that all the 
 people were running in groups from house to house. The 
 mourning was in its extent, if not in its nature, like that 
 of Egypt. In some houses, at one time, I counted more 
 than a score, old and young, more or less affected. The 
 
248 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 people here seemed to 'take it' with wonderful rapfdity. 
 There was a regular chain of meetings kept up night and 
 day, each meeting feeding the flame of zeal, and from each, 
 as from a burning altar, live coals were taken to touch the 
 cold lips and fire the dead souls of the few 'careless ones' 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Another Deborah and her Fellow-laborer. — "One girl 
 was highly blessed and honored in this district. She had 
 been at Dundrod, and was there converted. It had the 
 honor of being, as she said, her birthplace. She was well 
 acquainted with the Scriptures, and was correct and blame- 
 less in her life. She said to me, 'I thought I was a good 
 girl, but I was all wrong. I never was on the narrow way 
 till now. I knew I was sound in the faith, but I wanted a 
 quickening,' She got the quickening, and the change was 
 wonderful. She was all alive, all. on fire, and went through 
 the country from house to house exhorting the careless ; 
 but her chief delight was in comforting those who were 
 mourners. She soon found a fellow-ilaborer. A young 
 man in her neighborhood, of wild and reckless habits, 
 treats the revival with scorn, and forbids his sisters to go 
 too near, lest they might bring the plague home with them ; 
 for some actually shunned at first, and others fled from our 
 meetings in perfect terror, lest they might 'take the re- 
 vival,' for they were afraid they could not 'stand it.' Like 
 many professing Christians, they had no objection to wear 
 the crown, but they would not endure the cross; they 
 would enter heaven, but not through the strait gate, or 
 along the thorny path of much tribulation. They could 
 not but envy the joys, but they shunned the sorrows of 
 the children of God. God had, however. His eye on this 
 young man, and the Spirit guided the young girl to his 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 249 
 
 father's house. She is resolved on conquest. She lays a 
 gentle hand on his shoulder, and, fixing, her eyes on him, 
 says, *Archy, won't you come? I know you '11 come. 
 Come to Jesus. I see it in your eye, you are coming. 
 Pray, Archy, pray for the Spirit.' And now they are on 
 their knees together ; while father and mother, and sisters 
 and brothers, stand awhile in wonder, then kneel too, and 
 all pray for the Spirit of God. Nor did they pray in vain. 
 The young man struggles, feels a choking sensation in the 
 throat, and a pressure on his heart ; his bosom heaves with 
 strange amotions. The strong m^an is bowed down, the 
 hard heart is softening, the Spirit is striving; and now the 
 struggle is over, and another Saul stands up, and, rejoicing 
 in his new-born freedom, asks work, saying, Xord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do?' The work is given, and with 
 all his heart he sets about doing it. In his family he works, 
 and all the inmates are changed; father, mother, sisters, 
 and brothers, blessing God for bringing salvation into their 
 house. Now he flies in breathless haste to rouse his sleep- 
 ing neighbors and friends. He stands up in the midst of 
 hundreds in the open-air meetings proclaiming the glad 
 tidings of salvation, and glorying in the possession of a 
 light, and life, and joy, never felt nor dreamed of before. 
 He seeks his old companions, whom he led in many a revel ; 
 and on the following Sabbath, in the face of the most 
 crowded and scJemn assembly ever held among us, he 
 marches up at the head of nearly one hundred individuals, 
 who, in front of the pulpit, sign the total abstinence ptedge. 
 His mission does not end here. He and others visit from 
 house to house, hold prayer-meetings, and the revival 
 spreads around until every family in the district can count 
 its converts ; and in more than one instance whole families 
 
250 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 'joy in God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom they 
 have received the atonement.' 
 
 ''The change wrought among this people was strange 
 and sudden; it was, indeed, from 'darkness to hght,' from 
 death to life. The Spirit of God had done for these sleep- 
 ers in the valley what tradition says Tell will do some day 
 for his native land, when, coming forth from the cave where 
 it is said he sleeps, he shall sound his h(5rn and raise the 
 dead, and fill his native valleys with bands of armed men, 
 ready to unfurl the banner of freedom, and trample tyranny 
 in the dust. But we need not go to profane history or the 
 middle ages for traditionary legend for an illustration of 
 what took place in and around Dundrod, when the Spirit 
 of the Lord came down upon the people and quickened 
 them, even as when He came upon the dry bones in the 
 Valley of vision-' 
 
 A Curious Dream. — ''In connection with this won- 
 drous vision, which; has been realized almost to the life in 
 all its parts in the midst of us, I may here relate a strange 
 dream by one of the converts, a married man, in mid life — 
 a plain, uneducated, working man, who told me he never 
 remembered having read, or heard read, the passage in 
 Ezekiel to which his dream bears such a marked resem- 
 blance. He was smitten down when going home from one 
 of our prayer-meetings, and while sitting in his house, had 
 in his half-sleepy, trance-like state the following dream or 
 vision : 'I saw,' said he, 'in one spot, a pile of bones all 
 in a heap, and in another place a heap of raw flesh. Then 
 I saw a strange hand from a shadowy form take the bones 
 one by one, and arrange them in their proper order into a 
 skeleton. Then going to the other heap it took piece after 
 piece of the flesh, and put them all over the bones, andj 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND 251 
 
 then unfolding some thin transparent substance like skin, 
 it spread it over the body, fitting it to it. Then there was 
 a rushing as of wind, and immediately the body stood up- 
 right, and I started, for it was myself. I had seen God 
 making me over again. I was a new creature. A table 
 was set before me, on which was a pipe and a tumbler of 
 whiskey, to try me, and show that I was changed. I could 
 not touch either, though I was both a drinker and a 
 smoker.' — 'And have you,' said I, when he finished his 
 narrative, which I have given almost in his own words, 
 'given up the pipe and the bottle?' — 'I have," said he, 
 *and have felt no desire for either ever since.' 
 
 "There is life now in the people, a new, a spiritual life. 
 The Spirit has quickened hundreds who were 'dead in 
 trespasses and sins.' The cry is heard on all sides, 'Such 
 times, such glorious times ! the Lord indeed is come.' 
 Prayers issue from lips that never moved in audible prayer 
 before ; and oh, such prayers ! so rich in Scripture language, 
 so fervent, for icy hearts are melted as if by fire from heav- 
 en. Men and women pray; father follows son, or a sister 
 a brother, like the gallant leaders of some forlorn hope. 
 When the foremost have fallen in the track, others passing 
 behind push on, resolved to take heaven by force, and not 
 to yield until they themselves, and their friends, stand 
 within the city of God. 
 
 The Farm-servant in the Field. — "Having heard one 
 day that a young man, a farm-servant, had been brought 
 under conviction, I went to see him. I called at his mas- 
 ter's house, but was told that nothing was known of it; 
 and I went in search of him to some neighboring houses 
 in which were converts, thinking it probable ,he might have 
 gone there. On my way I heard sounds from a field by 
 
252 
 
 OLi) TIME RELIGION. 
 
 the wayside, and following with my eye the direction of 
 the sound, saw a number of individuals kneeling at some 
 distance at the back of a ditch, and as I approached I 
 found they were engaged in prayer. He had been taken ill 
 in the field, where he had been weeding corn. At a distance 
 lay the implement of husbandry which had dropped from 
 his hands. Friends had gathered around him : a psalm 
 was sung, and now they are engaged in prayer. He prays ; 
 another and another follows, and when I thought all had 
 ended, I heard the sweet, earnest, pleading voice of a 
 young girl, who, from the first night, was prominent among 
 the happy converts ; and she rose with a smile, and all re- 
 joiced, for their prayers being ended, the young man stood 
 in the midst of them, blessing and praising God and receiv- 
 ing their warm congratulations. 
 
 "Prayer-meetings are appointed in the several districts 
 of the congregation, but wherever there is an earnest seek- 
 ing soul, the people meet for prayer. The songs of ^ion, 
 the Psalms of David, those glorious psalms never so much 
 prized as now, ascend from almost every house. And in 
 the still summer evening, strains of heavenly music seem 
 to float on the tremulous air. Imagination is busy, and 
 no wonder, and men pause on the highway to catch the 
 sweet sounds, now soft and low, rising and falling, and now 
 ringing like the chimes of church-bells. They thought the 
 angels were above and around them. They thought they 
 heard the festive chimes of heaven, the pealing of the bells 
 in the city of God, as the heavenly host proclaimed the 
 triumphs which their Lord was achieving over his foes on 
 the earth- 
 
 'Hark, how they sweetly sing, 
 Worthy is our Saviour King; 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 ^53 
 
 'Lord let his praises ring, 
 Praise, praise for aye.' 
 
 Closing of a Public-house. — "There were many delight- 
 ful scenes witnessed during the progress of the 'revivar 
 here, not alluded to in the above narrative. It would be 
 impossible to describe them all, or even do more than 
 mention them. I cannot, however, in this record, pass 
 over one which excited great attention at the time, and 
 produced most happy results. I refer to the closing of 
 one of our largest public-houses. The owner did a large 
 business, and was making money fast. He had a wife and 
 rising family to support. But he had a conscience, and 
 had for some time feXt uneasy and unhappy in his mind 
 because he could not reconcile his profession as a Christian 
 with his trade as a publican. He has told me, that even 
 before the revival, he could not, with profit, sit under my 
 ministry, and dared not go to the Lord's table while 
 engaged in such accursed business. The revival came. 
 It roused his conscience afresh, and she mounted her 
 throne, and gave him no rest until her right to reign was 
 acknowledged. In his neighborhood, particularly in one 
 house, were many cases of conviction, and many meetings. 
 He attended them all; saw, and heard, and judged for 
 himself. He said to me one morning, 'I want to consult 
 you about this business of mine; I don't like it — I have 
 long felt unhappy in it — I will give it up. Shall I do so 
 now — now, or wait until I sell out my stock?' I gave him 
 my opinion, and on that same evening every puncheon of 
 whiskey, and barrel of beer and ale, every bottle and glass, 
 and every article used in the trade had disappeared; and 
 on the next morning I saw their vacant spaces filled with 
 barrels and bags of meal and flour, sides of bacon, etc. 
 
254 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 This was a noble triumph. Dagon had fallen before the 
 ark of God. One fountain of evil — only evil — is closed 
 forever. Great is the amazement of the traveller, when he 
 calls the next day for his customary glass, and he opens 
 his eyes, and stares and wonders; and 
 
 'Still his wonder grows' 
 
 when he steps out of the shop and finds that the signboard 
 is gone. "Tis strange, passing strange!' either God or 
 the devil is here. Some say, *J- 1"- is gone mad like the 
 rest. He has been bewitched; he has taken the revival.^ 
 He has, indeed, and has therefore renounced the devil and 
 all his works. In the public meeting, good men heartily 
 joined in the prayer from the pulpit, 'God bless him, and 
 reward him an hundredfold;' and God heard the prayer, 
 and he is blessed, and rejoices in the smiles of an approving 
 conscience, and is thankful for the grace which enabled 
 him to trample on self and sin. This case gave a great 
 impulse to the whole movement. Another public-house 
 soon closed its doors, and the third, and now the only one 
 in the neighborhood, gets almost nothing to do, and will 
 soon, it is hoped, pull down its signboard, starved into 
 surrender. 
 
 "All that is related above occurred within a very short 
 period of time; for the change that took place was truly 
 wonderful, sudden, and almost miraculous ; resjembling the 
 transition from winter to summer, and death to life, in 
 some countries of the East. The rain came down in tor- 
 rents, and at once flooded the earth, and made it bring 
 forth and bud, giving seed to the sower, and bread to the 
 eater. 'The mountains and the hills broke forth before us 
 into singing, and all the trees of the field did clap their 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 255 
 
 hancis, for instead of the thorn came up the fir-tree, and 
 instead of the brier came up the myrtle- tree.' 
 
 "Like the retiring waters of the Nile, the flood has sub- 
 sided, but it has left behind it a richer and deeper soil. 
 The good seed, as in Egypt, has been sown, with faith ai;d 
 hope, in great abundance on the surface of the waters, and 
 when it sinks into the soil when the flood has disappeared, 
 we believe it will yield a rich, abundant, and abiding har- 
 vest. We have had our years, long years of famine ; but 
 we are now ^eating the good of the land,' and hope to live 
 long on the fruits of the great revival of 1859. 
 
 "This was all the Lord's doing, and it was wondrous in 
 our eyes. No event since Pentecost has so signally dis- 
 played the Divine sovereignty, and so illustrated and es- 
 tablished the doctrine of the free grace of God. 
 
 "During the flood-tide here, but especially when it 
 began to abate, the surface was somewhat ruffled. There 
 was a little agitation on the face of the waters. Here, as 
 elsewhere, narrow-minded bigotry did its worst to plough 
 up into deep furrows the calm surface which otherwise had 
 remained smooth and clear. But God has brought good 
 out of evil. As in the ocean, while the ripples above set 
 in motion the straws, and create the 'bubbles which float 
 on the abyss,' in the depths beneath there is undisturbed 
 calm; so the children of God have descended into the 
 unfathomed depths of God's unchanging counsels, and have 
 found peace and undisturbed repose in the eternal love of 
 their covenanted God and Father." 
 
 About a hundred and seventy years ago, the "Maiden 
 City" was the scene of an event of thrilling interest, for on 
 its walls was raised the standard under which magnani- 
 mous defiance was hurled against the myrmidons of a 
 
256 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 Popish bigot, 'and a successful '^-low was struck for faith 
 and freedom. Rich in historic ^ v>?ociations, it has within 
 the last few months witnessed a moral revolution in the 
 experience of hundreds of its population— leaving on the 
 minds of the community a mingled sentiment of awe and 
 admiration at the wonders which grace has wrought. 
 
 I cannot better introduce the notice of the work in" 
 Derry, than by inserting a letter, with which I have been 
 favored, from the Rev. Robert Wallace, a highly esteemed 
 minister of the Wesleyan body, then in tjiat city — at pres- 
 ent in Belfast, and Chairman of the district in which he 
 now resides. His relation to the church of which he is a 
 minister, enables him to testify to the work, not in Derry 
 only, but in other districts. 
 
 "Very early in the year my attention was directed to 
 some remarkable , accounts of what was said to be a great 
 revival, accompanied by extraordinary manifestations. On 
 comparing these with what I had read of revivals in En- 
 gland, Scotland, and America,! soon came to the conchision 
 that it was a work of God, and, with others, began to look 
 /or the gracious visitation in the city of Derry, where 1 
 was placed at the time. More than three months passed 
 away, however, before we had anything more than a gen- 
 eral spirit of expectation. Early in the summer, arrange- 
 ments were made to bring down from Ballymena and 
 Ballymoney a number of those who had been recently 
 brought under gracious influence, and it was agreed that 
 they should take part in the public services in the Pres- 
 byterian and Wesleyan Churches, and also in the open 
 air at the market-place. At these services great crowds 
 attended. The persons recently awakened spoke with 
 ^reat simplicity of the wonderful change that Go^ had 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 257 
 
 wrought in them by grace in the course of the las,t few 
 weeks or days. A solemn awe rested upon the people; 
 several were stricken down in the manner we had heard 
 of, and a still greater number were cut to the heart, and 
 earnestly sought the Lord. At the commencement of the 
 meetings, a number of ministers, representing various de- 
 nominations, met by request at the house of the senior 
 Presbyterian minister, and arranged plans for combined 
 efforts to promote the cause of God; and in this manner 
 a service was held in the market-place every evening 
 throughout the summer. The utmost unity prevailed, and 
 this greatly tended to deepen the interest among the peo- 
 ple. 
 
 "The gracious influence visited place after place in a 
 very remarkable manner, each town and neighborhood 
 seemingly taken in a regular course. It would be incon- 
 sistent with the brevity I should observe, to go into details, 
 althou^ I have had opportunities of observing them in a 
 great many parts of the province. I have seen strong men 
 prostrated as if stricken with a ball, — some apparently in 
 great agony, and others seemingly unconscious, — most 
 professing to find peace, and some remaining unhappy so 
 long as the meeting continued. I have seen as many as 
 fifty in a state of prostration at once. I saw at least sixty 
 persons who professed to find peace with God at one meet- 
 ing. I found the subjects of this awakening to comprise 
 all ages, and, to some extent, all ranks ; except that, so f^r 
 as my experience goes, few of the upper, or even middle 
 classes became subjects of bodily prostration. I have seen, 
 again and again, that wonderful change of countenance 
 which attracted so much attention. I had many opportu- 
 nities of witnessing the extraordinary attachment which 
 
258 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 the young converts manifested towards each other. I 
 know some remarkable cases of conversion from gross ' 
 wickedness, and several persons who gave up what they 
 considered an unlawful calling as the result of their awak- 
 ening. I know several Roman Catholics who never at- 
 tended mass from the day they were stricken, and some 
 who can give as intelligent an account of their conversion 
 to Qod as you could meet with anywhere. I am not able 
 to say exactly how many have been received during the 
 year into our own communion, or placed upon trial ; but I 
 have no doubt that the numbers are larger than those of 
 any previous year. But as to the people generally, after 
 examining the facts as far as I could gather them, I judge 
 that not less than one hundred thousand persons in Ulster 
 were brought under gracious influence during that time. 
 How far these have remained steadfast I cannot say. I 
 have heard of some going back to former wickedness, but 
 none such have come under my own knowledge. 
 
 "The prominent features of the revival, as far as came 
 under my notice, were — the suddenness of the awakening, 
 the bodily prostrations, and the great extent to which the 
 whole people were impressed. The peculiar features were 
 that, unlike any former revival, it had the countenance of 
 almost the entire secular press ; that it was not confined 
 to any one denomination, but embraced all evangelical 
 churches ; and that, up till the present time, all those have 
 maintained an unprecedented unity. I consider it the 
 most glorious work of God ever known in this country in 
 so short a time ; and, although we have not the excitement 
 of last summer and autumn, I believe there is a religious 
 influence upon the people of Ulster surpassing anything 
 ever before realized," 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 259 
 
 In continuation of the narrative of the work in Derry, 
 the Rev. Richard Smith observes: 
 
 "At a morning service, conducted by Mr. Smyth, of Ar- 
 magh, a Roman Catholic in attendance had been brought 
 under conviction, and the first person in the evening who 
 was 'stricken' was also a Roman Catholic- When the 
 unearthly cries were uttered, and the name of Jesus 
 sounded over that dense congregation from the lips of a 
 sinner who felt herself on the brink of hell, a thrill passed 
 through every heart that is utterly indescribable. The 
 whole auditory seemed smitten with a sudden and univer- 
 sal paralysis. They went home, but many were ill at ease. 
 Religion had assumed a new aspect ; there appeared to be 
 in it work for the heart of man, and multitudes felt that 
 hitherto they had misunderstood its nature. Some have 
 told me that they never closed an eye that night, but the 
 Visions of their head troubled them, on their beds'. They, 
 rose and dragged themselves to their business with the 
 arrow of God fast in their ^ouls, or sat in their rooms com- 
 muning with distressed hearts. Next evening a meeting 
 was held in the same church, addressed by a number of 
 ministers, in calm and unimpassioned terms; and at that 
 meeting there could not have been less than fifty savingly 
 impressed. Not more than ten suffered from physical pros- 
 tration, and these cases did not assume any cataleptic type- 
 The work had graciously begun, and an earnest had been 
 given of the showers of blessings that have desceiided 
 since. 
 
 "We have had in this city comparatively few cases of 
 bodily affection or prostration— not one in ten— perhaps 
 not one in twenty. One of the most trying and really 
 ditsressing cases that came under my observation, was th^t 
 
260 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 of a girl who imagined herself in hell for three hours, and 
 still out of the depths of hell cried to Jesus for mercy. Her 
 face, during this time, gave one the idea of a lost soul; 
 there was over it the shadow of a hopeless immortahty. 
 At the evM. of three hours she fell over into a kind of 
 trance. Her face resumed its natural appearance ; it then 
 became unnnatural once more, but in a different manner; 
 the radiance of glory overspread it, and for four hours she 
 seemed to be in the regions of the blest. Of the 'visions' 
 she had during that time she never wished to speak, and I 
 never encouraged her to do so, for I knew her mind to 
 have been strung to an ecstatic pitch; but I rejoice to say 
 that she continues steadfast in the faith of Jesus, and is an 
 example of humility and love, and all the other graces of 
 the Spirit. I have much delight in testifying that I am 
 not aware of one single 'stricken' case in Derry that has 
 turned out to be spurious. 
 
 Agencies Employed. — "Except at the first two meet- 
 ings, we dispensed entirely in Derry with the aid of con- 
 verts in addressing meetings. Those who were brought to 
 Jesus in the revival were of incalculable aid, at anxious 
 inquirers' meetings, in praying with the convinced and 
 distressed, in conversing with the anxious, in directing the 
 perplexed and in visiting from house to house; but they 
 never took part in the public meetings in the city. Many 
 of the young men of the city were, indeed, much blessed 
 in other districts of the county — in Donegal, Tyrone, Fer- 
 managh, and Cavan. Some of them speak with much 
 power and fervor, and I can testify (for I took some of 
 them with me to meetings in the country) that their sim- 
 ple and heart-stirring words were acknowledged of God 
 to the rousing of many a careless sinner- One young 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 261 
 
 man who had been brought to Jesus in our congregation, 
 and whom I knew to be quahfied, from his knowledge of 
 Scripture, to address meetings, was asked by me to go for 
 this purpose to the country. 'Ah !' said he, 'don't ask 
 me.' — 'Why not ?' asked I ; 'are you not ready to testify 
 for Jesus?' — 'I am ready in one way/ was his reply, 'but 
 not in another. I am willing, but not able.' Then, pulling 
 a little Testament from his pocket, he opened it, and 
 pointed me to Luke xxiv. 49, where Christ says to the 
 apostles, 'But tarry ye at Jerusalem until ye be endued 
 with power from on high.' I saw the drift of his humility, 
 and said, 'Well, wait a little ; God will give you the power/ 
 And so He did. That young man has spoken and wrought 
 for Jesus; and souls have been given to him as a reward 
 in the day of Christ. It would have been well if all had 
 tarried, as he did, for establishment in the faith, and for 
 further enlargement of the knowledge of Christian doc- 
 trine, before becoming so forward in the exercise of their 
 gifts. 
 
 Extent of the Work. — "I am not acquainted with any 
 locality where the gracious work was more general among 
 all classes of the community than here. There was an 
 impression abroad, especially at a distance from the re- 
 vival districts, that it was only the ignorant, and those in 
 the humbler ranks of life, who were visited with the in- 
 fluence of the revival. I believe that impression to have 
 been unfounded regarding every locality, and most cer- 
 tainly regarding Derry. From the highest to the lowest, 
 not only were serious impressions predominant, but the 
 evidences of saving conversions were afforded. Men of ed- 
 ucation, and men of business talents — women of refined 
 mental culture were brought to weep and lament over 
 
26^ 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 their unbelieving hearts, and had eventually their sorrow 
 turned into joy. A young man, holding a most responsi- 
 ble position, possessed of a highly cultivated mind, of 
 great reading, and of lamentable freedom in religious 
 opinions, whose heaven seemed to be in the present, and 
 who acknowledged, in effect, no higher God than his own 
 intellect ; whose universe was the circle in which he moved, 
 and who never scrupled to point a jest at the expense 
 of the solemnity of truth — attended a revival meeting, to 
 'study' (as he said) 'some phases of fanaticism.' That 
 night a hand was laid upon him, heavier than he could 
 have conceived anything invisible could be, and next day 
 he was agonizing under conscious guilt. Meeting a min- 
 ister, he grasped his hand, and with subdued breathings 
 said, 'I will scoff no more at this ; God is not to be laughed 
 at-' The Lord, who searcheth the hearts, knows whether 
 his convictions have resulted in that faith which gives per- 
 manent joy and peace. If there is a film over his eye still, 
 there is no presumption in beHeving that the good work 
 will be perfected, and that the path will shine brighter and 
 brighter unto perfect day. 
 
 "On the other hand, the Spirit of God reached the most 
 illiterate ; and in many instances, where not a letter of the 
 alphabet was known, the name of Jesus and His redemp- 
 tion were familiar to the heart and lip. 
 
 "All denominations in the city partook of the gracious 
 shower; the zeal of believers was quickened; and if the 
 revival had done nothing else save stirring up God's pec* 
 pie to greater and more combined efforts for the extension 
 of Messiah's kingdom, it would have been no mean result 
 of the holy and grand excitements of the year 1859. ^ 
 am not prepared to endorse all that has been said about 
 
REVIVAL. IN IRELAND. 
 
 263 
 
 the actual number of conversions, for I have seen state- 
 ments put forward that conversions in this city are to be 
 numbered by thousands. That I do not believe; and 
 nothing is to be gained by exaggeration. It is better for 
 us to keep within the mark if we venture upon calcula- 
 tions of this kind. No doubt the silent impressions of 
 saving grace have been made upon many whose names 
 are unknown to ministers, and who as yet are only known 
 in the Lamb's Book of Life. But when a considerable 
 margin is left for such, I do not think that there were 
 more than a thousand converts in the whole city. Yet 
 even this is a mighty host, when we remember that, in the 
 warfare of the cross, *one of you shall chase a thousand' 
 — that one sanctified soul in a city will outweigh the fee- 
 ble efforts of a thousand in the miserable hosts of ungod- 
 liness. I find that at the last communion in the First 
 Presbyterian Congregation in the city there were about 
 one hundred communicants above the average, and when 
 I remember that there were perhaps not much less than 
 a hundred Sabbath-school scholars savingly impressed 
 who did not come to the Lord's Table, I am free to give 
 my opinion that in that congregation there were perhaps 
 two hundred brought into the fold of Jesus. Take this, 
 along with the the revival of God's own saints, and you form 
 some conception of what God has done for us. But this is 
 what has been done in all the congregations in the city, 
 in, I should say, like proportion, some more and some less. 
 One peculiar feature of the work here was this, — no one 
 congregation took any lead as distinguished for revival 
 spirit. The four Presbyterian, the Reformed, the Inde- 
 pendent, and the Wesleyan, seemed all equally favored 
 of God, and there was no one place to which strangers 
 
264 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION, 
 
 were specially attracted. Hence I think I may fairly take 
 the statistics of our congregation as a key to the whole, 
 and form an estimate accordingly. It will be found that 
 my calculation, as given above, is not extravagant, but 
 is probably greatly short of the real state of things. 
 
 "Of the Episcopal congregations I know nothing, as 
 they studiously mantained an isolated position, at least so * 
 far as clerical recommendations and Episcopal injunctions 
 could compass that object.'' * * * * 
 
 The Archepiscopal City. — It was not till the middle 
 of August that the city of Armagh was visited by the gra- 
 cious movement. For at least two months previously, 
 it had been anxiously anticipated. Meetings had been 
 held, and persons from other districts had been specially 
 brought to narrate something of the scenes in which they 
 had themselves shared; but no applianaces of this descrip- 
 tion seemed to have had any place assigned them in con- 
 nection with the awakening in Armagh. In passing through, 
 a few days after the ''outburst," I found the brethren in the 
 very midst of the new duties then imposed upon them. It 
 was on the Monday morning, and the Presbyterian, Wes- 
 leyan, and Independent ministers were met in prayerful 
 conference with reference to the work in which they all 
 had shared. I had met one of these friends — the pastor 
 of the Independent church — about a month before, in our 
 own town, where he had come to beg a visit of Mr. North, 
 then in the midst of us ; but that eminent evangelist had 
 his hands too full to admit of his undertaking any addi- 
 tional engagement. But now the set time had come, and 
 all were encouraging one another in their common Ztovd. 
 
 Among the earliest incidents of the revival in Armagh, 
 the following is related by the Rev- J. R. M'Alister, re- 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 265 
 
 specting a scene of awakening in a daily, and also in a 
 Sabbath school: 
 
 "One morning, a little girl, about eleven years old, en- 
 tered into my daily female school, lifted up her hands and 
 clasped them, saying, "Oh ! I have found Jesus ! I have 
 found Jesus !' There was no minister present at first ; 
 there had been no address delivered to children. The 
 words of the child kindled the flame, and in a few minutes 
 a wail of sorrow ascended to heaven, that alarmed the in- 
 habitants of the surrounding houses. As I passed along 
 the street, a boy came in breathless haste to me, and said, 
 'Come, sir, come! the girls in the school are all crying 
 for mercy.' When I entered, some were lying on the floor, 
 some in the arms of the teacher, some in the arms of the 
 monitor, some in the arms of other children ; floods of tears 
 were flowing; confession of sin was freely made from little 
 broken hearts ; cries for mercy to God ; supplications for 
 Jesus to come and save them; earnest prayers for the 
 Holy Spirit to come and take the stony heart out of them, 
 and give them a heart of flesh. A similar scene occurred 
 in my Sabbath-school. Many were stricken down in an 
 hour or two. It was a solemn, a grand scene. Young 
 persons of both sexes, from twelve to twenty-two years of 
 age, awakened, agonizing under conviction of sin; lifting 
 up their hands to heaven; fixing their eyes upon Jesus; 
 confessing their transgressions, — one saying, 'I am lost ! I 
 am a child of the devil ; for I have told lies, and the devil 
 is the father of Hes,' — another exclaiming, 'Ah! I have 
 rrvocked Jesus ! ah ! I hav»e mocked' Jes'us !' — another^ 
 'What a hypocrite I have been!' — many from time to 
 time praying, 'O Lord ! for Jesus' sake have mercy upon 
 me;' 'Lord, open the door of my heart and come in!' 'O 
 
266 
 
 Old time religion. 
 
 Jesus, wash me in the fountain of Thy blood!' etc., etc. ; 
 the ministers and Sabbath-school teachers moving amidst 
 them travailing in birth till Christ would be formed in 
 them ; praying with them ; singing over them, and direct- 
 ing their souls to the great Physician ; others coming, see- 
 ing the wondrous work of the Lord, returning to their 
 homes to render themselves up to God-'' 
 
 In the account given by Rev. Andrew Long of the work 
 in Monreagh, a rural district in Donegal, a few miles from 
 'the city of Derry, is found the following : 
 
 Three Memorable Services. — "On the following day. 
 Sabbath, July 3, I arranged to hold three meetings — two 
 in the church, and one at Drumennon, in the open air, 
 about three miles distant. Although the notice was very 
 short, more than one thousand individuals were present at 
 the latter place, and the entire audience was deeply affected. 
 At the close of the sacred exercises there, I drove hastily 
 to Monreagh for the evening service; and it was most in- 
 teresting to see Httle flocks of men running from Drumen- 
 non to the church, through fields, with coat on arm. Many 
 of these had been hitherto living as if there were no God ; 
 and yet this was the third service on that day to which 
 they were hastening, without having returned to their 
 homes. I was told that one of them actually fainted from 
 hungqr by the way. When I reached the church, accom- 
 panied by three worthy young men, who rendered me ef- 
 ficient aid throughout the day, we found the sanctuary 
 and vestry densely thronged in every part, and many could 
 not obtain admittance. Anxiety was pictured on every 
 countenance, and the entire scene was such as I had 
 never witnessed. The meeting was continued till mid- 
 night, and I could not but remark the wondrous change 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 267 
 
 that had passed over the land, when the attention of such 
 a vast multitude could be enchained till that hour. 
 
 "The Divine influence came down upon the people at 
 each service throughout that interesting day. There were 
 many physical manifestations. Upwards of one hundred 
 persons lay prostrate in the pews, and agonized in prayer, 
 till three o'clock next morning. Many of the cases were 
 quite unusual. One young female continued to sing a 
 sweet, mournful air, apparently her own, to words that 
 occurred to her at the moment, all about Jesus, and all as 
 beautiful as if arranged by the finest poet. She seemed 
 unconscious, and sat in her pew all the time with her eyes 
 steadfastly gazing upwards. Never did I, or any of that 
 awe-stricken audience, listen to sounds so unlike those of 
 earth. It was like an angel's song. Her voice seemed to 
 be attuned by some celestial power; and its clear, sweet, 
 symphonious tones, led us all to feel that that place was 
 like the very gate of heaven. 
 
 "Towards the end of July, bodily prostrations became 
 less frequent, yet God did not cease to work mightily 
 among the people. From time to time dead souls have 
 been quickened; and among those who found the Lord 
 Jesus, the most intense earnestness continued to be mani- 
 fested. Their new life became apparent by a new obedi- 
 ence, and a diligent waiting upon God in all the ordinances 
 of His grace. 
 
 The Present and the Past. — "Since the beginning of 
 the great awakening, we have had congregations on week- 
 days, during the autumn, varying from five hundred to one 
 thousand; whereas, about twelve months ago, it would 
 have been very difficult to have collected two hundred 
 persons even on any occasion. Formerly I ms under tht 
 
268 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 necessity of giving up a monthly Congregational prayer- 
 meeting, the attendance was so miserable; and the only 
 way in which I could maintain the semblance of it was by 
 holding district meetings, and thus itinerating through 
 our bounds ; and even then very few came together. But, 
 no sooner did the Holy Ghost breathe on the dead bones, 
 than eight weekly and two bi-weekly district meetings 
 sprang up spontaneously. And in addition to these we 
 have one week-day and two Lord's-day union prayer-meet- 
 ings, which are numerously attended. Formerly I was 
 obliged to abandon a second service on the Sabbath in 
 summer, and substitute a kind of double service without 
 intermission. Now, the attendance at the evening lecture 
 is frequently as good as in the morning; and, nothwith- 
 standing the frequency of our meetings, none are saying, 
 'What a weariness is it.' Nay, some do not leave the 
 church from morning till the close of the evening service. 
 
 In the account furnished by Rev. J. M. Killen of the 
 work in Comber — where for 14 years previously meetings 
 had been held for the purpose of seeking a revival of 
 religion and where the Spirit came upon the people with 
 wondrous power — we find the following : 
 
 "And here, in reference to these prostration cases, I can- 
 not help remarking, that I do not consider these as features 
 of the revival greatly to be deplored, or as requiring any- 
 thing like apology. I am satisfied, from what I have been 
 continually witnessing for the last ten months, that they 
 have not only been exceedingly useful in the way of arous- 
 ing and arresting the attention of both the church anH the 
 world, but I am convinced-that they have also been greatly 
 blessed to the parties affected. This is a view of the mat- 
 ter to which public attention has not as yet been suffi- 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 269 
 
 ciently directed, and therefore I am the more anxious that 
 it should be noticed, as I consider it a very important one. 
 Am I asked, then. In what way have these prostrations, 
 which so weakened the body, acted beneficially on the 
 soul? — I reply. By compelling those so affected to sus- 
 pend for a time their worldly avocations, and to withdraw 
 for a little from the world. By being confined a few days 
 to bed, they were shut out from the world, and shut up 
 with God. Jehovah, as it were, in this way drew them 
 aside into the wilderness to talk with them for a time, and 
 by being thus left alone with God, the work was deepened 
 in their souls, — a thorough spiritual revolution was ac- 
 compHshed, so that, when they again returned to the so- 
 ciety of their fellows, they returned — like Saul of Tarsus, 
 after his three days of blindness and seclusion — new crea- 
 tures, the subjects of a marvellous and mighty trans- 
 formation, testifying, by their very looks as well as by their 
 lips, the great things which God had done for their souls. 
 Now, had there been no prostrations, and consequently no 
 weakenings of the body, the parties might, indeed, have 
 been awakened, but as most of them belong to the work- 
 ing classes, who can ill afford to lose time, they would, if 
 strength had permitted, have continued at their usual em- 
 ployments, and would consequently, when under convic- 
 tions of sin, have had their minds distracted with worldly 
 cares, been tempted by ungodly companions, and been 
 quite unable to give their thoughts entirely for a time to 
 the matter of their soul's salvation. But by being forced, 
 through want of bodily strength, to retire for a little from 
 the world and communicate with God, the work was al- 
 lowed to go on powerfully and unimpeded; and to these 
 days of deep, silent, solemn, and uninterrupted communing 
 
270 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 with their own hearts and with their God upon their beds, 
 at the very commencement of their spiritual career, I at- 
 tribute very much of that decision of character, devoted- 
 ness of Hfe, and elevated tone of piety which are so con- 
 spicuous in many of our converts. 
 
 "In illustration of the above remarks, allow me tO- ad- 
 duce a single case. An elderly woman, the mother of a 
 family, who had been a careless, cursing creature, and one 
 greatly opposed to the revival, was, some time after its 
 commencement, suddenly and violently prostrated on her 
 own kitchen floor. When I first saw her she was rolling 
 on the ground and writhing with agony. Her appearance 
 was certainly the most satanic I ever beheld. The by- 
 standers were overawed ; all felt that influences more than 
 human were at work. A medical man was sent for, but he 
 fled at the sight, declaring that it was a case for a clergy- 
 man, and not for a physician. The unhappy woman was 
 evidently the subject of a great spiritual conflict. Her 
 cries for about an hour were terrific. She declared that 
 Satan and all the devils in hell were round about her. 
 Gradually her shrieks subsided, and as the paroxysms wore 
 of¥, she settled down into a sort of despairing calm. For 
 days she continued weak in body and distressed in soul, 
 but at length the light broke, her bonds were loosed, she 
 saw and embraced Christ, obtained peace, and was filled 
 with a joy unspeakable and full of glory; and she is now 
 one of the finest specimens of Christian character, and of 
 a mother in^ Israel, I have ever known, — distinguished by 
 her strong faith, her ardent love, and her Christian meek- 
 ness, her sweetness of temper, and an almost uninterrupted 
 realization of her Redeemer's presence, combined with a 
 very profound reverence for Messiah's character, a strong 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 271 
 
 desire to promote His glory, and a most extreme sensi- 
 tiveness lest she should do anything to forfeit the en- 
 joyment of His love. 'O sir/ said she lately to me, 'I am 
 just watching how I Hft and lay down my feet, lest I should 
 offend Him.' 
 
 Answers to Special Prayer. — "I may now mention one 
 or two cases illustrative of answer to prayer. Soon after 
 the revival commenced here, a neighboring clergyman 
 called on me one Saturday, and requested that I and our 
 converts would pray for the conversion of his two sons, 
 boys of ten and twelve years of age. I assented, and next 
 morning, at our prayer-meeting, I proposed to the converts 
 that we should make the conversion of the minister's sons 
 a special topic of supplication every morning during that 
 week. On the following Friday evening this minister came 
 over to assist me at our usual evening service, and with 
 tears of thankfulness declared that God had already con- 
 verted one of his children, and entreated us to continue 
 our supplications for the other. We did so, and in about 
 ten days afterwards the same minister wrote, informing 
 me that his other son was also converted to the Lord. 
 
 "Another instance, illustrative of the same fact, is that 
 of a poor man, advanced in life and unmarried, who was 
 converted in our congregation at the beginning of the 
 work. As soon as he had embraced the Lord himselT, lie 
 became most anxious for the conversion of the family with 
 whom he resided, and of his fellow-workmen in the mill 
 where he was employed. But all these were most ungodly ; 
 and when they saw the change which had taken place in 
 him, instead of rejoicing in his joy, they mocked, swore, 
 sung impure songs, and did all they could to thwart and 
 distress him. He saw that remonstrances were vain, ancl' 
 
272 
 
 Old time religion. 
 
 he resolved to pray for them. He did so ; but for a time ^ 
 no answer c^me, and he was sorely discouraged. Still he 
 resolved to continue his supplications on their behalf; and 
 suddenly one day the men in the mill were astonished at 
 cries proceeding from their homes, which were hard by. 
 The business in the mill was suspended, and when the men 
 rushed to their houses to see what caused those cries, they 
 found their wives and daughters prostrated under strong 
 convictions, crying for mercy to the Lord. The hitherto 
 despised convert was at once applied to, and, with a heart 
 overflowing with gratitude, he led their supplications and 
 directed all to Christ. Soon the Lord vouchsafed His 
 mercy; the weeping penitents became rejoicing converts, 
 and wives and daughters were that day added to the Lord. 
 
 Scene in a Mill. — ''C 's prayers were as yet, how- 
 ever, only partially answered. They were still to receive 
 a more glorious fulfilment. Some days after the above oc- 
 currence, the mill had again to be stopped, but this time 
 not because of the women, but the men. Husbands and 
 brothers, whilst engaged at their work, were arrested and 
 smitten down whilst in the very act of attending the ma- 
 chinery. Some of the strongest men and greatest scoff- 
 ers in the whole country fell powerless in a moment under 
 the mighty and mysterious influence that was at work. 
 Never had there been such a day in that establishment. 
 Strong men might be seen prostrated and crying for mer- 
 cy; converted wives and daughters bent Over them with 
 tears of joy, whilst they returned thanks to God for the 
 awakening of their husbands and brothers, and prayed 
 that soon all might rejoice with one another as heirs to- 
 gether of the grace of life; and such has been the case. 
 Poor C 's prayers have indeed been answered, for he 
 
HEVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 273 
 
 has just been telling me that the seven souls in the house 
 ■where he resides are now all converted, and that about 
 nine-tenths of the workers in the mill have been visited by 
 the Spirit of the Lord. 
 
 Revival among Quarrymen. — "My space, already well- 
 nigh exhausted, will only allow me to give another instance 
 of the power and prevalency of the revival in this district. 
 About two miles from this, near the outskirts of the parish, 
 there is a quarry, which was formerly notorious for the 
 wickedness of those who wrought in it. It was, in fact, 
 an emporium for all sorts of vice; but when our revival 
 commenced in Comber, it was such a strange and unheard- 
 of thing amongst these quarrymen, that they resolved, 
 through curiosity, to come and see how it was that people 
 were so mysteriously knocked down. They accordingly 
 attended the nightly prayer-meetings in our congregation. 
 Gradually a change crept over them. Driiiking was di- 
 minished, swearing was given up, seriousness and anxiety 
 prevailed. I was requested, as I could not go in the even- 
 ing, to go and preach to them during working hours in the 
 middle of the day. I did so- Immediately on my appear- 
 ance all work was suspended ; and, at the very busiest 
 time, master and men attended for upwards of two hours. 
 Whilst under the open sky, in a sort of large amphitheatre, 
 formed by the excavation of the quarry, and surrounded 
 by the mountain's rocky walls, I proclaimed to them the 
 glorious gospel of the blessed God. Much good, I under- 
 stand, was that day effected. Prayer-meetings amongst 
 the men were immediately established. The occupier of 
 the quarry and head of the whole establishment soon an- 
 nounced to his men that he himself was entirely changed, 
 and declared that he had resolved to live hencefortfi only 
 for Christ. A marvelous alteration was soon apparent; 
 
Old time iiELiaiON. 
 
 and such has been the effect produced, that Mr. D * 
 
 the head of the establishment referred to, told me last 
 week, that out of ninety-six families in his employment, 
 upwards of ninety have now established family worship. 
 'Drunkenness,' he said, 'has disappeared, and neither oath 
 nor improper expression is now heard in that quarry. As 
 for myself,' continued Mr- D , 'I now look upon my- 
 self as a mere steward, having nothing of my own, and 
 bound by feelings, both of responsibility and gratitude, to 
 live for God's glory.' 
 
 ''Such, my dear sir, are some of the effects of the re- 
 vival in this quarter. I might mention more, and dwell 
 especially on its having caused family worship to be very 
 generally, I may say, almost universally, observed amongst 
 the families of my charge ; but your space forbids, and I 
 must close." 
 
 We especially commend to the attention of our readers 
 the following words of Mr. Gibson — spoken in conclusion re- 
 garding this wonderful revival in Ireland of which the se- 
 lections we have given afford but a few glimpses — and pray 
 that his closing words as well as the account already given 
 may be greatly used of God in stirring up Christrian hearts 
 to labor and intercede for as glorious an outpouring of the 
 spirit throughout our own land. Mr. Gibson says : 
 
 "To the record presented in the preceding pages it can- 
 not be necessary to append any corroboration. Authenti- 
 cated as the great awakening of 1859 has been, by those 
 who, from the outset, had the most abundant opportunities 
 of estimating its real character and results, nothing further 
 can be requisite to commend it as a genuine and wonder- 
 ful work of God. Its origin and progress unequivocally 
 attest it as divine. In startling and impressive grandeur 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 275 
 
 it burst forth in a comparatively sequestered region; and 
 scarcely had the new-born flame, drawn down by the few 
 earnest watchers there, begun to burn, when it spread, in all 
 directions, over an entire province. All classes and all ages 
 caught the heavenly fire. Within the church, a cold for- 
 mality, an apathetic and unimpressible decorum, were ex- 
 changed for a living and vigorous piety ; without, the igno- 
 rant and unreclaimed were seized as by a resistless power ; 
 and from the ranks of the abandoned and the profligate, as 
 well as of those who had been brought up under the drop- 
 pings of the sanctuary, thousands and tens of thousands 
 were made to realize the possession of an endless life. 
 
 '*ln reviewing the course of this great spiritual move- 
 ment as here narrated, there are many reflections which can- 
 not but suggest themselves; and to some of these we may 
 not unseasonably devote this concluding chapter. 
 
 Is not a narrative like the present fitted in an emi- 
 nent degree to revive the faith of the church in the omnipo- 
 tent grace and energy of the Holy Spirit ? 
 
 "How else is it possible to account for such an extraor- 
 dinary movement upon the souls of men, than by referring 
 it to that almighty Agent, by whom alone the dead are quick- 
 ened into newness of life? Or what other solution can be 
 given of the strange phenomenon, than that it is the opera- 
 tion of the same power that wrought the pentecostal won- 
 ders ? Although a recognition of the personality and work- 
 ing of the Holy Spirit is a fundamental article in the creed 
 of every true church of Christ, yet how inadequate has been 
 the apprehension of this grand truth ! and how low the stand- 
 ard of the church's hopes and expectations ! Forming her 
 calculations rather on the slow rate of progress with which 
 she is familiar, she is affected with an almost incredulous 
 
276 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 amazement, or surprise, when a wide-spread interest in relig- 
 ion is evinced, and a whole community is shaken as by the 
 voice that shakes the wilderness. Professing to believe in 
 the descent of the Spirit upon all flesh, she is yet startled and 
 awed when here and there an earnest of future increase 
 shows itself, forgetting that the partial shower of blessing 
 is but the forerunner of those rushing floods that shall, ere 
 long, descend to refresh the weary heritage, and cover the 
 face of the world with fruit. But, let a great awakening 
 come, and how does she stand abashed because of unbelief, 
 and rise to an anticipation commensurate with the glorious 
 fulness of gospel promise, and with her own predestined fu- 
 ture on the earth ! Lifted up into a new position, and might- 
 ily advanced in living and abiding power, she looks forward 
 at such a time to a greater enlargement still, when, through 
 the instrumentality of her new-born sons and daughters, she 
 shall break forth on the right hand and the left, clothed with 
 an immortal energy, and arrayed as in a divine panoply, for 
 the conquest of the world. The arm of the Lord has been 
 revealed, and she can say, with a new emphasis, and with 
 something like an appreciation of its profound significance, 
 — 'I believe in the Holy Ghost.' 
 
 "2. What an illustration is presented, by such a move- 
 ment, of the rapidity with which God can bring about, in 
 accordance with the sure word of prophecy, His purposes 
 of mercy to the world ! 
 
 ^'But a short time ago, and the prospect, whether in a 
 temporal or spiritual sense, seemed dark for unhappy Ire- 
 land. But what a rapid change! Within the last twelve 
 years, our country has been emerging, with unprecedented 
 progress, into a condition of extraordinary temporal pros- 
 perity; and now, through this great revival, she has been 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 277 
 
 lifted up to the gaze of universal Christendom. Visitors 
 from many lands — from Continental Europe, Asia, and 
 America — have come to admire the wonder-work which 
 has been wrought among her people; and the spiritual 
 change produced within her northern province has given 
 a new impetus to the cause of truth and righteousness, 
 even to the ends of the earth. The toiling pioneers among 
 the distant heathen have been quickened by the glad tidings ; 
 the worn and weary watchers at every mission-field have 
 seen, in what has come to pass in Ireland, an earnest and an 
 augury of the blessed time when they shall no longer go 
 forth weeping, bearing precious seed ; but when, their patient 
 toil rewarded, they shall have a reaping-time of joy in the 
 great world-harvest of ransomed souls. Every living church 
 has been revived and stimulated by the record; and from 
 this far-ofif isle of ocean has gone forth a hallowed influence, 
 that has told with thrilling power upon the hopes and aspira- 
 tions of the world. 
 
 "And when at any time we witness an instantaneous re- 
 ception of the gospel tidings, — when the light that has 
 broken in upon the darkened intellect is welcomed as the 
 harbinger of endless day, — when thousands and tens of 
 thousands, hearing of free mercy, grasp the offer, and ex- 
 perience the unclouded sunshine of a settled peace, — ^when, 
 on a great scale, there is a turning unto God, and an ex- 
 uberant delight proportionate to the marvelous transition, 
 — when the call has come with such attending power that 
 the most stout-hearted are bowed at once, and the gracious 
 result is visible in every varied form of manifestation, — why, 
 is not this just what we should expect, as the most reasonable 
 fulfilment of Divine prediction, — a gladsome foretaste of the 
 golden day, when the glorious things spoken of the city of 
 
278 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 God shall be realized, and the abundance of the Spirit, long 
 withheld, shall be poured out upon all mankind? , 
 
 ^'3. In contemplating the present awakening, it is in- 
 teresting to observe the marked coincidence between its lead- 
 ing features and those which characterized the working of 
 the Spirit in apostolic times. 
 
 "And here let us briefly advert to the experience of the 
 early converts, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, ""^ 
 as compared with that of those in Ireland, who have been 
 lately added to the church. 
 
 "What holding fast of their profession! During the 
 period that has elapsed since the commencement of the 
 work of grace in the north of Ireland, many have been 
 tempted to forsake the course on which they entered, and 
 to relapse into their old sins. Yet they have continued, 
 in all good conscience, until this day ; and, though the fervor 
 of the first love may have subsided, they have sustained their 
 character for consistency, and have been enabled to maintain 
 an edifying deportment, often amid many provocations. 
 
 ^'What steadfastness 'in doctrine' ! for this is the secret 
 of all continuance in well doing. What thirst for God, 
 for His truth; what meditation in His law day and night; 
 what diligent attendance on catechetical instruction; what 
 relish for that theology of which Christ is the Alpha and the 
 Omega, the all and in all ! 
 
 "What steadfastness 'in fellowship !' To talk with one 
 another of the preciousness of Christ, and of the great sal- 
 vation; to strengthen each other's hearts, help each other's 
 infirmities ; to stimulate each other to a still greater readiness 
 to work for their blessed Master ; and, as they travel on to 
 their eternal home, to lighten the toil and trial of the pil- 
 grimage by speaking to one another in psalms, and hymns, 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND 
 
 279 
 
 and spiritual songs ; and, ofttimes with hearts too full for ut- 
 terance, to pour out their common supplications before the 
 throne, — ^these are the delightful and abounding evidences 
 that the new children of the covenant are knit together in an 
 endearing and indissoluble alliance. 
 
 "What inexpressible delight in the 'breaking of bread' ! 
 The communion is now a holy festival — a very feast for 
 gladness. Such sacramental seasons as have been witnessed 
 when the young disciples have commemorated, in presence 
 of their brethren, the dying love of Jesus ! What tears of 
 joy have freely fallen even in the prospect, as on that touch- 
 ing occasion referred to by a minister (the Rev. J. R. Dill, of 
 Dromore, County Tyrone), when forty, all of whom pro- 
 fessed to have found the Savior, could not contain for weep- 
 ing ! *0n the Sabbath morning of the communion, a won- 
 derful scene took place in the vestry, where they had met for 
 prayer. Such a deep influence of the Spirit came down upon 
 their hearts, that they were utterly unable to proceed with 
 singing the words, 
 
 'My broken body thus I give.' 
 
 Nothing was heard but sobbing.' And what an accession to 
 the membership of the churches, when, even in connection 
 with some three hundred congregations in that section of 
 it to which most frequent allusion is made in the foregoing 
 narrative, upwards of ten thousand have lately been en- 
 rolled in membership ! 
 
 "What continuance * in prayer ' ! From first to last, the 
 work has been, to a great extent, a record of answered 
 prayer. Let the revival of secret and domestic worship, — 
 the new-born gift poured out alike on old and young, male 
 and female, — the heaven-directed aspirations presented at 
 those brief seasons snatched from worldly occupation for 
 
280 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 Spiritual converse, — the many social gatherings now sanc- 
 tified by the word and prayer, — and the distinctness, im- 
 portunity, and expectancy exhibited by those who have been 
 divinely taught to pray, bear witness to the extent to which 
 the Spirit has been given as a Spirit of grace and supplica- 
 tion. 
 
 "What a oneness of interest among the subjects of the 
 awakening! even as when in the early time 'all that be- 
 lieved were together, and had all things in common/ How 
 have the promptings of natural selfishness been overborne 
 by the love ot Christ and of His people! How have the 
 homes and hearts of many been freely opened to welcome 
 those who came among them to observe the works and 
 wonders of the Lord ! And if no great outflow of Christian 
 liberality is yet to be recorded, it is to be borne in mind 
 that ' not many rich ' have been the subjects of the gracious 
 influence, — the Divine sovereignty being conspicuous in 
 giving most to those who needed most, while the great ma- 
 jority of the converted have been among the younger mem- 
 bers of the families into which it has found an entrance. 
 Yet many an unseen offering has been laid already upon the 
 altar of the Lord for the advancement of His cause, — ^the 
 spontaneous prompting of hearts which had been opened to 
 hearken to His word, — and many a toil-worn pastor has 
 been encouraged by the considerate gifts presented in their 
 Master's name by those who count themselves His spiritual 
 ^ children. 
 
 "And what shall we say more, or how more adequately 
 characterize their whole deportment, than in the remaining 
 words of the same passage of inspired history? 'And 
 they continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and 
 breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND, 
 
 281 
 
 gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having 
 favor with all the people.' Till the revival came, we had 
 no adequate conception of such a social state as is here de- 
 lineated. But we can now, in some measure, understand it. 
 A state of things in which the difficulty is, not to bring the 
 people together to the sanctuary, but to induce them to retire 
 from its cherished precincts, — an abounding and pervasive 
 joy manifesting itself in open-hearted hospitality and wel- 
 come given to the brethren in Christ, the very countenance 
 irradiated as by a gleam of the heavenly glory, — the every- 
 day life a psalm of praise, — the habitual converse the out- 
 flowing of a fount of perennial gladness, — and the * adorn- 
 ing of the doctrine of God our Savior ' so palpable and at- 
 tractive as to win all hearts, constraining even the impenitent 
 and the unbeliever in the work to accord the tribute of 
 esteem and admiration, — these are the indications of a higher 
 tone, and a holier brotherhood, than have been ordinarily 
 exemplified in the church. And what though, in the first 
 outburst of the new life, some temporary excesses and ex- 
 travagances have appeared, yet who, at such a time, will 
 harshly criticize, or grudge to these ne\v-gathered souls the 
 overflowing fulness of their joy? Is it not refreshing in 
 this cold world, and amid the formalism which insinuates 
 itself into the very church of God, to mark in any the artless 
 and enrapturing expression of their gushing sympathies, 
 and their brave indifference to times and places, ceremonials, 
 and all outward things ? Irregularities, if such we call them, 
 will correct themselves ; and the serenity of the horizon will, 
 alas! too soon be clouded by the storms and trials with 
 which these new-born children of the Lord will have to con- 
 tend till the strife is ended, and the life-battle won. 
 
 "4. May we not learn from such awakenings as that 
 
282 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 under review, that, for the conversion of the v^rorld, we do 
 not need another gospel; and that the forces which the 
 church now possesses, always including, over and above 
 machinery, the presence of the life-giving Spirit, are amply 
 sufficient for the great ends of her existence ? 
 
 "There has been manifested, in certain quarters, of late, 
 • an undefined but unmistakable impatience with the old and 
 familiar modes in operation for the extension of the cause 
 and kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Symbolism has 
 done its best to supersede the simple gospel, by overlaying 
 it with forms of curious device and tracery, and by the 
 introduction of ritualistic novelties, by which, although the 
 taste of the aesthetic man may be regaled, the free spirit 
 is only hindered in its efforts to ascend to the sure region 
 where it ought to worship and adore. 
 
 ^'But when a spirit of revival comes, away with pictorial 
 playthings and mystic shadows! the necessities of man's 
 moral nature demand a better and a more enduring sub- 
 stance. Then none but Christ, and Christ without any 
 other! and every tendency to idealize anything as a sub- 
 stitute for His finished work, dies within sight of the shades 
 of Calvary. Then, too, the church of God learns, as she 
 had not done before, that she is in possession of that mighty 
 secret, would she only use it, by which the whole earth is 
 to be subjugated to her Almighty King. She finds that all 
 the glad results she witnesses have sprung from the felt and 
 prized experience of those truths which, in their divine har- 
 mony, have been exhibited in her distinctive symbols, and 
 handed down from generation to generation of her children. 
 She realizes the conviction, that for all the ends of her estab- 
 lishment she needs no other instrument, and no other or- 
 ganization, by which to carry it over the habitable globe. 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 283 
 
 She comes to know, if not before, that what she ought to 
 aim at with intenser earnestness than ever, is to bring the 
 truth, in its native force and divine simplicity, into direct 
 and immediate contact with the hearts and consciences of 
 men ; and thus she is sustained and strengthened in the an- 
 ticipations of the period when the rebuke of her people 
 shall be taken away from off all the earth; when all that 
 prophecy unfolds to the eye of faith shall be a grand reality ; 
 and when there shall be a voice of much people in heaven, 
 as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice 
 of many waters, and as -the voice of mighty thunderings, 
 saying, 'Halleluia! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.' 
 
 "5. We learn, from such a work of grace as that which 
 has taken place in Ulster, the true theory and solution of 
 the problem of Christian union. 
 
 ^'Is it not to the church an instructive, and to the world 
 a convincing sight, which is exhibited at such a time of spir- 
 itual renovation? How often do we hear, on platforms, of 
 'sinking of minor differences,' and the like; and yet how 
 rarely do we practice it, or make it manifest that we are one 
 with all who hold by the Living Head in faith, and hope 
 and charity! 
 
 "But let a baptism of the Holy Ghost be given, and what 
 before was a pleasing theory, beautiful to contemplate, im- 
 possible to realize, becomes, without an effort, an actual 
 reality. Let the disperser of confusion rend the heavens, 
 and come down to do things that we looked not for, and the 
 mountains flow down at His presence. Separations that 
 threatened to last forever, yield to His glad advent, and the 
 perpetual hills bow before Him whose ways are everlasting. 
 The ditTerent sections of the one great spiritual community 
 then find that they have so much to do with anxious, inquir- 
 
284 
 
 OLD TIME RELIGION. 
 
 ing, and converted souls, that they have no time, no taste, 
 no spirit, for aught beside. Thus is accomplished a result 
 that no semi-mechanical agencies, however well intended, 
 could possibly achieve. When we find others beyond our 
 own pale, and whom, it may be^, we have been accustomed 
 to regard with jealousy, blessed with a shedding down upon 
 them of the same gracious influence, how can we, in the face 
 of such heaven-descended tokens, be found perpetually 
 trumpeting forth vainglorious assertions of the pre-eminent 
 value of our own systems and usages ; and how can we re- 
 fuse to say, combining the temper of the dove with that of 
 the eagle, and looking from on high on the wide circle of 
 divine mercy, *Grace be with all those that love the Lord 
 Jesus Christ in sincerity'? 
 
 'The conclusion of the matter, therefore, is, that for the 
 healing of the wounds of a distracted church, and for the 
 melting down of sectarian jealousies and alienations, there 
 is but one sovereign remedy — the baptism of the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 "6. This great awakening casts a new light upon the 
 duties and responsibilities of individual Christians. 
 
 *'In this respect, it has called forth into harmonious de- 
 velopment a new power in the church, even the power of 
 prayerful effort among its true-hearted and devoted mem- 
 bers. What is it that has long been for a lamentation 
 among the faithful ministers of the gospel in this land? 
 Has it not been that their labors were not seconded by the 
 prayers and efforts of their own people ? — the great bulk of 
 whom seemed to regard themselves as in no way responsible 
 for the state of religion, either their immediate neighbor- 
 hood, or in the world. For want of Christian sympathy 
 and co-operation, have not the hands of ministers hung down, 
 
REVIVAL IN IRELAND. 
 
 285 
 
 and their spirits often sunk within them, as they contem- 
 plated the low condition of the professing church of God ? 
 
 "Happily, this hinderance is being taken out of the way. 
 In many a district, there are those who have begun to say 
 unto their brethren, 'Know the Lord/" and are thus show- 
 ing that they are living unto Christ, and working for Him 
 in the world. Sloth, worldliness, selfishness, in their vari- 
 ous forms, are being practically rebuked, and a state of 
 preparation is going forward for putting the church in a 
 position in which her energies shall be increased a thousand 
 fold." 
 
God's financial JPlan 
 
 OR 
 
 Temporal Prosperity the Kesult of Faithful 
 Stewardship. 
 
 By Rev. S. B. Shaw. 
 
 The thought of this book was in our mind and heart 
 for several years, and we were greatly blessed in 
 getting the manuscript ready for the press. We have 
 quoted from the most devoted and most noted authors 
 and writers in the Christian church and have recorded 
 the experiences and testimonies of many of the most 
 successful business men that have honored God with 
 their substance. We are sure all engaged in the Lord's 
 work will be glad to help us circulate it. 
 
 Dear brethren, as God has enabled you to see the 
 desolation of Zion, the coveteousness of professed 
 Christians, the unscriptural methods of raising money 
 for the support of the gospel, the sad financial condi- 
 tion of many of our churches, the awful condition of 
 the starving and dying in all lands, we ask you to help 
 us to show the people of God how to do their duty in 
 providing for the needs of the work. 
 
 In Christian love, 
 
 S. B. SHAW. 
 
 This book has over 300 pages, 5x8 inches, substan- 
 tially bound in paper, price 35 cents. In cloth covers, 
 sewed, price $1.00. 
 
A Timely Book, 
 
 Review Notices from Leading Religious Periodicals 
 concerning GOD'S FINANCIAIi PLAN or Tem- 
 poral Prosperity the Result of Faithful Stew- 
 ardship. 
 
 The Independent: ♦♦This is a better book than 'Coin's Financial 
 School'— better for bankers, traders, farmers, working people, and every 
 one who cares to prosper in this world. It is based on solid principles; it 
 has the whole history of the world back of it, the Bible under it, and is sup- 
 ported by examples and instances of which the author gives us a few in the 
 volume named above. The doctrine of the book is nothing more nor less 
 than the doctrine of the Bible, illustrated in the history of men in this world 
 and enforced by it. Mr. Shaw's previous volume, 'Touching Incidents and 
 Remarkable Answers to Prayer,* reached a sale of some 250,000 copies. This 
 book deserves as great a success. It is a capital antidote to the gross and 
 popular commercialism of the times." 
 
 The^ Herald and Presbyter: "The writer of this book, seeing the 
 haphazard methods employed in the church for replenishing the treas- 
 ury, or, rather, not keeping it replenished, was led to realize that God had 
 a system in his Word for this part of the work, so he has made a simple 
 exposition of God's plan for systematic and proportionate giving, and in this 
 little volume urges Christians everywhere to adopt God's own methods, so 
 that His treasury may be filled, and kept filled." 
 
 The Revivalist: "A running perusal of 'God's Financial Plan' by Rev. 
 S. B. Shaw, convinces me that it is a radiant sun-burst on the subject. It 
 will prove a spiritual and temporal blessing to all who will walk in its, 
 light. Pastors and official boards should read it, and it should be sown 
 broadcast among believers. It is written in a taking style which the 
 common people will gladly hear. I believe it is the best book I ever saw 
 on the subject." 
 
 Michigan Christian Advocate: "It is a strong plea for the consecration 
 by Christians of their substance to the Lord and the practice of 
 systematic giving. Many incidents are given as incentives to a course of 
 fidelity and trustfulness." 
 
 The Christian Messenger: "The name of the author is a suffi- 
 cient guarantee to the worth of this book. The main object is to show that 
 God does, as of old, bless with material prosperity those who meet the con- 
 ditions of tithing and freewill offerings, as taught in the Sacred Scriptures. 
 The book we are sure will prove a great help to all classes of Christian 
 people who are passing through financial trial." 
 
 The Evangelical Messenger: "A useful and practical discussion 
 of tlie important subject of Christian benevolence. There is need of 
 teaching on this line. The conscience of many Christians is asleep, and 
 their judgment woefully deficient. The era of universal Scriptural benevo- 
 lence would hasten the millenium more than any other one thing we can 
 think of. Mr. Shaw's book will do good wherever circulated." 
 
 The Religious Telescope: "The book is the outgrowth of over 
 twenty years' experience as an evangelist. It is a forcible plea in favor of 
 God's plan for raising money for the support of His church, as against 
 modern devices, such as fairs, festivals, quilts, chain letters, socials, etc. 
 It will well repay a careful reading, and will be of special value to pastors 
 and church workers." 
 
 The Christian Herald: "This excellent little volume is worthy 
 wide circulation and careful reading- as an important and valuable 
 contribution to the literature of a great subject, upon which there is a wide 
 diversity of thought and belief, and in which a larger and deeper interest 
 should be taken by Christians regardless of denominational lines." 
 
 The Christian Union Herald: "One thing in this author's presentation 
 of the subject which I specially admire is that it urges systematic giving, 
 mt ia a legal, but Id an evangelical spiriW* 
 
A Great Harvest For Agents Selling 
 
 Dying Testimonies 
 
 OP 
 
 Saved and Unsaved. 
 
 This book is uniform in size and appearance with 
 Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayer, 
 and contains the most wonderful death-bed experiences 
 of the saved and unsaved that can be found. 
 
 The experiences are indescribable. It is hard to 
 picture the awful contrast between the last words and 
 actions of dying saints and sinners as given in this 
 book. Several hundred of the most touching 
 and wonderful experiences are given. We think 
 it the most complete work ever published on this sub- 
 ject. It will be of great value to clergymen and 
 evangelistic workers. Everybody will read it with 
 delight. 
 
 The book is issued in two styles: 
 
 Paper Binding, price 35 cents. 
 Cloth Binding, price $1,00, 
 
 Write at once for terms to agents, 
 
 S. B. SHAW, Publisher, 
 
 212 West Chicago Avenue 
 Chicago, 111.