to dry up, and every green thing to languish in the intervals.

These objections, I acknowledge, are plausible, but they are not new or hard to obviate. Excitement, if it exist at all, must, from the nature of man, be temporary. It may return after longer or shorter intervals, but it cannot last always; and why should it be objected to in religion, any more than where vastly inferior interests are at stake? Nobody complains of excitement, when a ship has drifted on to the breakers, and a hundred persons are seen clinging to the wreck; nor when half a city is on fire in the night, nor where the politics of a state or a town are to be changed. And can any good reason be given, why, when the great majority of a congregation are slumbering on the brink of eternal ruin, they should not, if possible, be alarmed, and excited to 66 flee from the wrath to come?" I know there may be very different kinds of religious excitement connected with revivals. There is the excitement of sym-pathy, the excitement of mere animal feeling, the excitement of a heated imagination. These, where they show themselves, and threaten to gain the ascendancy, are rather to be repressed than encouraged. But there is also the excitement of well-grounded fear, of agonized conviction, when the fountains of the great deep of depravity in the soul are, as it were, broken up, and the sinner sees himself justly exposed to the wrath and curse of God for ever. And will any one say, that he has no reason to be excited, to be alarmed? But if one person has, why have not a hundred, or five hundred, who lie under the same condemnation ? If, in the midst of a revival, the excitement should assume anything like a heated and fanatical aspect, this would be a good reason for alarm, and for the prompt application of counteracting influences; but none for dreading religious excitement of the right kind, and when kept within due bounds. Were not the three thousand highly excited on the day of Pentecost, when they were pricked in the heart, and cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" What pious minister would not rejoice to witness just such a scene in his own congregation? And were he to witness something like it several times in the course of his ministry, would he have any reason to dread these periodical excitements?

That the churches ought always to cherish the reviving influence of the Holy Spirit; always to be awake, active, and prayerful; and that it is delightful to enjoy what may be called a constant revival, as is the case, when some of the congregation are always in an inquiring state, and one after another pressing into the kingdom, I readily grant. For several years after my settlement in P-, I found individuals almost every month under deep religious concern, and the church was gradually increased by these steady droppings, till I began to feel that such gradual accessions were more desirable than the gathering in of great numbers at once in a powerful revival. But afterwards, when God was pleased again and again to pour out his Spirit upon the congregation, and on one communion Sabbath we received nearly a hundred new members, and among them many of the most influential men of the town, I came to the conclusion, that in whatever way God is pleased to convert sinners, whether gradually or simultaneously, whether in revivals or not in revivals, it is the best way, and we ought to rejoice in it.

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God is a sovereign. As he renews the hearts of men when and where he pleases, so he sends down his Spirit as the small rain or the great rain of his strength," according to his pleasure. Whatever may have been the economy of his grace in some ages or countries, revivals have been common in the most flourishing state of the church, from the day of Pentecost down to our own times; and it admits not of a doubt, that a vast majority of the most devoted members of the American churches have, within the last forty years, been brought in by revivals. The great body of the most laborious and successful ministers now on the stage in this country were converted in revivals, and so were nearly all our foreign missionaries. And I think we have every reason to believe from the prophecies and from the operations of the Spirit, both at home and abroad, that, as the millennium approaches, revivals will become more and more frequent and powerful, till the earth is "filled with the knowledge and glory of the Lord." Are they not, then, exceedingly to be desired in every place, especially as, judging from the experience of our churches for nearly half a century, there is but little probability that sinners will

be converted at all, if these showers are withheld?

Your next question is, What are the best means of promoting revivals? Or, to put the question in a more definite shape, "As there is at present no especial religious interest in my church and congregation, what can I do to arouse Christians from their slumbers, and to awaken and convert impenitent sinners?" You could not, my son, as a young pastor, ask a more important question. And you will anticipate what my first answer must be. In your own strength you can do nothing. You have no more power to produce a revival, or to convert one sinner, than you have to raise the dead. In fact, it would be raising the "dead in trespasses and sins," and this requires the working of that "mighty power, which brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ." But though "the excellency of the power is whollyof God," he works by means and instruments; and the better adapted these are to the end, the more successful to the Christian ministry.

In labouring for a revival, it is not necessary that you should "sound a trumpet before you." There is no charm in the word revival, to quicken saints, or to awaken sinners. Revivals are not regarded by the world as they were forty years ago. Then they were at

tended with such demonstrations of the power of God, they were conducted in so orderly a manner, and their influence was so happy and abiding, that the most sharp-sighted opposer of evangelical religion could find very little to say against them. But since that time, they have, in some parts of the country, been brought into great discredit by the indiscretion (to use the mildest term) of evangelists and others, whom their admirers are wont to call revival preachers. In the minds of some intelligent but not religious men, almost everywhere, the word revival is synonymous with mere animal excitement, with "anxious seats," with rant, and with the wildest fanaticism. The consequence is, that the term has become exceedingly odious to individuals of this class, and cannot be mentioned without bringing up a great many associations, which are hostile to all religious impression. They think at once of all the disorders they have witnessed, or heard of; of what is reproachfully called the getting-up of revivals ; of the machinery by which they are sometimes carried on; of the rending

of churches and the dismission of ministers; and without making any distinction between those revivals which are genuine and those which are spurious, these persons are so prejudiced against them all, that the bare mention of the name puts them at once in a hostile attitude.

Now, "he that winneth souls is wise." And where prejudices are known to exist against words or phrases which are not found in the Bible, he will avoid them and substitute others, which convey the meaning just as well. This is what I would advise you to do in the case before us. What you want, are the blessed influences and fruits of a revival, and not the name. If, by the blessing of God on your labours, your church should be excited to fervent believing prayer and holy living, and great numbers of sinners should be awakened and converted by the Holy Spirit, there would be a revival; you would have the substance, which is all you need to care for. If, therefore, you know, or have reason to think, that any of your hearers are prejudiced against revivals, in consequence of the disorders which, under ignorant and fanatical management, sometimes attend them, why should you use the term in your preaching, when you can just as well employ all the appropriate means without it? These means are:

First, searching, direct, and discriminating preaching. "The sword of the Spirit is the word of God." The church is to be aroused; and to this end, you must bring the truth to bear directly upon it, with all the earnestness and power you can command. You must preach to Christians a great deal. You must point out to them the guilt and danger of backsliding in the most vivid colours. You must ply them with every motive and argument that can be drawn from the Scriptures, to "repent and do their first works." You must exhort them to examine the foundation of their hopes, and point out the many dangers of self-deception to which they are exposed. You must urge them to aim at a high standard of personal piety; to dedicate themselves anew to God; to consecrate all their power and influence to his service; and to pray without ceasing for the conversion of sinners and the building-up of the church. So long as the church slumbers, there is but little hope that the impenitent will be awakened.

But any discouragement you may meet with in trying to wake up the church must not hinder you from making the most solemn, direct, and affectionate appeals to the congregation. "All things are possible with God." He may bless your efforts to alarm the stupid sinner, if you cannot arouse the sleeping professor. But mere exhortation will not do. The impenitent need instruction. They need to have the grounds of God's righteous condemnation pointed out to them. Their consciences must be probed to the bottom. The naked sword of the Spirit must be wielded with a strong and steady hand. Without a course of discriminating and instructive preaching, both to the church and the congregation, there can be very little hope of a revival; nor with it even, unless it is sanctified by earnest prayer for the descent of the Holy Ghost.

Nor must you rest here. You must labour out of the pulpit as well as in the pulpit. You must visit the members of the church, and converse with them privately, and try to stir them up to self-examination, to secret and social prayer, and to such efforts as they can make for the conversion of their impenitent friends and neighbours. You will not have done all your duty till you have enlisted as much prayer and effort as you possibly can in the church.

Another means which you can use for promoting a revival is, to visit the impenitent with this express object in view, and wherever you can gain a hearing, to converse tenderly with them upon their spiritual and eternal interests. Such labours of love are often eminently blessed, and revivals are sometimes begun, which issue in the flocking of a multitude of souls to Christ.

Holding meetings for prayer and preaching on week-days, in different sections of the parish, is another means which God often blesses to the same end. Indeed, a minister who contents himself with his two sermons on the Sabbath can hardly expect to see the work of the Lord revived among his people. The impression wears off if it is not renewed in the prayer-meeting and the lecture-room. But as far as my observation has gone, multiplying religious meetings, where there is no special interest, seldom does any good. They are commonly but poorly attended, the pastor is disheartened, the church is discouraged, and "all things continue as they were." It does no good to hold

extra meetings, unless the people will come together. We must begin further back. There must be more prayer, more labour with the church, more in the Bible-class and Sabbath-school, and more visiting from house to house. As soon as there is a demand for extra preaching, let the people have it: "When thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry-trees, thou shalt bestir thyself; for then shall the Lord go out before thee."

This seems to be as good a place as any other to say something about four days' meetings, and other special means, which have been extensively used in the American churches, with various success. I do not object to what are called protracted meetings, provided they are judiciously timed, and not too much protracted. I believe that in many places they have been greatly blessed. When they were first introduced, and for a considerable time after they had become quite common, the churches felt the importance of preparing for them by prayer and fasting. On account of the novelty, many persons were induced to attend them, who could not probably have been brought under the means of grace in any other way. Their attention was arrested. They were induced to go again and again, and the truth being thus steadily kept before their minds from day to day, was sent home by the Spirit of God with saving power upon their hearts.

But I am equally well convinced that the system has been carried too far, and relied upon too much. In fact, it may be said to have been entirely worn out, where it was once in the highest repute. I could mention sections of the country where these meetings have signally failed, and where the reaction has been tremendous. Many once flourishing churches, I fear, will not recover from it for many years to come. So great, for a considerable time, were the popu larity and apparent success of protracted meetings, during which all business was nearly suspended by the multitudes who flocked to them, that both ministers and people came at length to feel as if there was an inseparable connexion between these meetings and powerful revivals. Indeed, many seemed to talk and act as if they could not expect revivals without them. Under this impression, if four days (the period to which they were first limited) did not answer the purpose, they would add

four, or six, or ten days more; and so they actually went on, increasing the length up to twenty, thirty, and even forty days, without giving either preachers or hearers any time for rest. The consequence was, that hundreds of the most spiritual members of the churches sunk down exhausted under the pressure. All the excitability in the congregations, which could be brought under the influence of the meetings, was used up, and the collapse was in some cases truly deplorable. This, I know, was not the fault of the system, but of the abuse of it; and I am not ignorant that this high pressure has recently been kept up for a long time in some of the Baptist churches of Boston, by a celebrated evangelist of that very respectable denomination. Of the fruits and results of this longprotracted excitement, it will be safer to speak with confidence a year or two hence than it is now. In the Congregational churches of New England, so far as my knowledge extends, there is now very little anxiety manifested for four days' meetings, upon the old plan. Evening meetings have of late been extensively substituted in a quiet way, and often with the best results.

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people are invited to assemble for a number of successive evenings, to hear the gospel preached by their own pastors, aided perhaps, more or less, by brethren in the immediate vicinity. Under this arrangement, where there is interest enough to secure a full attendance, and where "all things are done decently and in order," we may reasonably expect that good will be done. But this, in turn, will probably be pushed to extremes, and then the most judicious friends of revivals will resort to some other means to wake up slumbering churches, and arrest the attention of stupid sinners.

Indeed, it is my prevailing opinion, that any system of extra efforts which can be devised will be unwarrantably relied upon, or wear out in time, and must be laid aside. Whenever this is the case, it cannot be doubted that those who ask wisdom of God, in a right manner, will be directed to such other means as he will bless for the buildingup of his church. But they must be scriptural means; means that have no tendency to throw the Sabbath or any of the divinely-instituted ministrations of the sanctuary into the back-ground. Any system which aims at doing up

the whole work of the Lord in a few days, or which leads a people to undervalue the stated administration of his truth, on the day which he has set apart expressly for religious instruction, is dangerous. Whatever else may be right or wrong in our arrangements and efforts, we are sure that it is right to make as much as possible of the Sabbath and the regular preaching of the gospel, as well before a revival commences, as when it is in full progress.

Your next question is, How shall I know when a revival is begun in my church and congregation? I should once have thought it much easier to answer this question than I do now. I have so many times had my hopes raised by favourable appearances, and been disappointed; have so often thought there was "the sound of abundance of rain," and it did not come, that I am much slower to decide whether a revival has actually commenced, or not, than I used to be. No certain evidence of it can be drawn from observing that your meetings are crowded, still, and solemn; that some individuals are affected even to tears under your preaching: that inquirers begin to resort to your study; and that the church is very much encouraged. All these are favourable indications, and may well excite your hopes, while they stimulate you to increased effort and prayer. But they may pass away" as the morning cloud and the early dew." I have myself experienced several such alternations of hope and discouragement, before the revival actually came. There are, however, signs and evidences, on which you may rely. If there are great searchings of heart in the church; if old hopes are shaken; if differences of long standing are healed by mutual confessions; if Christians are remarkably humble and prayerful, if they speak often one to another, and if their bowels yearn over the impenitent, there is a revival begun. There can be no doubt of it. And when in connexion with such a state of things in the church, sinners in considerable numbers are awakened, when you find here and there cases of genuine conviction, and some individuals giving striking evidence that they have been born again, you need not doubt that a real work of grace has commenced in the congregation as well as in the church. But even then you should guard against expressing yourself too sanguinely when you

speak on the subject, and should exhort the church to "rejoice with trembling." It is not certain that because God has begun to revive his work, he will carry it on; that because a few have been converted, many more will be. The Holy Spirit may be grieved, and may depart, ere you have sung out your first song. While the grace of God, which is displayed in a single conversion, is infinite, and worthy to be magnified in everlasting thanksgiving, I am convinced that incipient revivals are sometimes checked by the confident and sanguine manner in which ministers speak of them. They run before the Spirit of the Lord. Fewer are under deep religious impressions than they imagine, though many may be inquiring. They "look for much, and it comes to little."

I hope, my dear son, there will soon be "a noise and shaking among the dry bones" around you. I hope you will have unequivocal evidence that a revival has commenced both in your church and congregation. But should this be the case, write guardedly, if you write at all, to your friends abroad on the subject, and caution your church to do the same. It tends to bring the work of the Lord into doubt and discredit, to have it noised abroad that a powerful revival has commenced in any place, and to have it prove transient and almost fruitless. The cause of religion, I believe, has sometimes suffered greatly in this way. Ask for the prayers of Christians as earnestly and widely as you can. Enter into the work with all your heart, and wait to see what the Lord will do. Should he work mightily in the conviction and conversion of sinners, when the proper time arrives, when the converts are after a suitable probation gathered into the church, then declare what God hath done for your people, that he may have the glory, and that his children, far and near, may unite with you in "praising him for his mighty acts."

LETTER II.

Multiplying Meetings-Who shall do the Preaching-Kind of Preaching.

MY DEAR E.-"As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." When I wrote you last, I hardly dared to hope, that you would so soon "see the salvation of God." You think there are now undoubtedly tokens of the Divine presence in your congre

gation, and that a revival has actually begun. I do not wonder, that this new state of things excites great solicitude in your mind. I should be alarmed for you if it did not. The crisis is extremely momentous. In all probability, the

eternal destiny of a great many of your hearers will be decided in a few weeks. If they are not converted, they may be finally given over to a hard heart and a blind mind. I know how to feel for you. I have a vivid recollection of the first revival under my own ministry, almost thirty years ago. It is surprising how many questions a young and inexperienced pastor wants to ask at such a time; and it is certainly the duty of a father to answer as many of them as he can, when they are asked by a beloved son in the ministry.

Your people now begin to call in earnest for more religious instruction. Deaf ears are unstopped. Your congregation on the Sabbath is increased, and there is a general solemnity throughout the house. Your week-day meetings are thronged. Those who never used to attend them at all, now wish to meet every night, and you will undoubtedly be requested by some of the best members of your church to gratify them. You will be told, that when the Lord works, he expects his servants to rise up and build with all their might, and it is true. Extra labours and more frequent meetings are undoubtedly called for; but when you ask me how many, I cannot tell. No general rule can be given. It must depend upon a great many circumstances, which are never exactly similar in any two congregations, and which are almost daily changing during a revival, even in the same congregation. I have no doubt, that where a people have not regularly enjoyed the instruction of a faithful and orthodox ministry, they need more preaching, when the Spirit is poured out, than those who have been better taught. And I am quite sure, that wherever a revival continues six months, or even three months, more meetings are required some weeks than others. As a general rule, I believe there ought to be more preaching in the early part of a revival than towards the close, or even than when it has been long enough in progress fully to develope its character.

But although it is impossible to give definite advice, without being on the spot and knowing all the circumstances, there are certain general principles which you should study, and which will help to a