Letter from the Rev. Charles P.M'Ilvaine, Rector of St. Anne's Church, Brooklyn, New York.

Reverend and Dear Sir, I was much pleased to hear of your intention to publish on the subject of the Revivals of religion in this country; believing that there is not another on which a well digested, discreet, intelligent, and spiritually-minded work is, at this period, so much needed. We need it at home-it is earnestly desired abroad. When I was in London, about eighteen months since, among sundry earnest inquiries, as well from ministers of the established church, as those of dissenting denominations, requesting direction as to some publication to inform them accurately in respect to the nature, means, and fruits of revivals of religion among us; I recollect a conversation with the Rev. Josiah Pratt, (well known as author of the Memoir, and editor of the works of the excellent Cecil,) in which, after expressing a strong desire that Christians in England should know more on this subject, he twice, and with much solemnity of manner, enjoined it upon me that I should endeavour to prepare a work in regard to it, and send it to England for publication. I rejoice that the undertaking has fallen into hands so much more qualified, in every sense, to do it justice. I pray, and doubtless you have made it a matter of much prayer, that all you write may be according to the mind of Christ, and under the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, so as to be "profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness."

I understand you as requesting of me a brief expression of such hints in relation to revivals, as my experience in them may have suggested, and my time will permit me to write. This I will attempt most cheerfully; but must perform Ch. Adv.-VOL. X.

it with the strictest confinement of my pen to the mere giving of hints.

My experience of revivals has not been so extensive as that of many others; but it has been, more than that of many others, among young men of education and force of character. It has been my lot to witness the power of the Spirit in circumstances peculiarly unpropitious; overcoming obstacles of the most formidable kind, and effecting, in spite of them, conversions of a nature specially distinguished by the decision, force and consistency of Christian character, which they have since exhibited. But I have not time for preliminaries.

As to what a revival of religion is, and what its great objects ought to be I would suggest that the public mind (I mean of Christians,) is in danger of overlooking, or only slightly regarding, one, out of the two great constituents and blessings of a genuine revival. One of these is the conversion of sinners. But it is not the only object; though too much treated as if it were. The other is, the quickening of the people of God to a spirit and walk becoming the Gospel. Where this is not sought and obtained, the revival is more than suspicious. But I fear that, where it is sought, it is sometimes desired much more as a necessary means to the accomplishment of the other, than as a most important end in itself, which alone is unspeakably precious, and must be productive of all good fruits. If the quickening of the souls of God's people to liveliness of life, be regarded rather as a means to the bringing about of a resurrection among the dead in sins, than as a great end in itself; the consequence will be, as experience proves, that their increase of life will be confined very much to those efforts which bring them before the view, and into direct operation on the feelings of the impenitent, such as the leading 3 K

and attending of public and other meetings for prayer and exhortation, instead of being, first and last, an improvement of their hearts in all the inward things of the Spirit of God, elevating, purifying, adorning, invigorating the whole Christian character.

As to the means of obtaining a revival of religion in a congregationI need not say that the faithful, plain, direct preaching of the truth is one of these means. But is there not danger of putting reliance on this or that mode of saying things; this or that selection of topics or management of an address, because in some places, or in the hands of some men they are supposed to have been very successful, when at best they may be peculiarly suitable only in peculiar cases, or when used by peculiar persons? Is there not danger of our getting to rely on a Paul or Apollos, and supposing that a revival can hardly take place and flourish unless they, or some persons very much like them, in manner, are at the head of the effort? Would not such a reliance be altogether inconsistent with a simple dependance upon the sword of the Spirit, and the demonstration of the Spirit, as placed at the disposal of every minister of the word, who will know nothing among men but Jesus Christ and him crucified? Do we not need to think and feel much more of this truth, that the power of preaching is not to be improved so much by seeking out new and more striking modes and expressions, as by combining our discourses with more prayer in their preparation, and more faith in the power of God while delivering them?

I need not urge that combined and earnest prayer, is another of the means of obtaining a revival. But it is needful to urge that there is a tendency to make this too exclusively a matter of the prayer-meeting, and that in the prayer-meeting, there is a proneness to pray

an address to the people, more than to God, seeking more to produce an effect than to obtain an answer. The chief power of prayer for a revival of the work of God, must be sought where effect cannot tempt, and where genuine revivals always begin,-in the closet. Let people be assembled for prayer, but let the chief concert be the daily union of hearts, each in secret, wrestling with God.

"the

But there is another important means of having religion revived. Some legitimate, sober effort to create a general disposition to attend to the word, is very important. One great reason why the word is not more blessed lies in the fact that it is so little heard, not only among those who do not assemble where it is preached, but those also, even professors of religion, who sit beneath its sound. We need something to open the ears of those who come to hear, and to congregate those who are too indifferent to come. Much depends on this. But here is where experience utters its most serious cautions. It is in the council of the Sons of God upon such measures, that Satan puts on the dress of light, and too often gets himself appointed on committee of ways and means." There are means to be used, in awakening a disposition to come and see and hear, which truth and soberness, scripture and good sense, fully warrant. These I doubt not you have discussed. But how easily may zeal, having a little more excitement than discretion and conscience, overstep the bounds of sobriety and truth, and not only revive intemperance instead of piety, but bring back the old contrivances of "pious frauds." I think there is hardly any matter connected with revivals that needs more guarding than this. Great scandal has been raised by indiscretion, and what I cannot call by any lighter name than fraud, on the part of some seekers of a revival.

The agency of the Holy Spirit as the beginning and ending has been almost or entirely set aside. A revival has been represented and sought for, as an article of manufacture, for which you have only to set the machinery and raise the steam of excitement, caring little with what fuel-and converts will be made to hand. Artifices to catch attention; devices to entrap the careless; representations to create impression; an exaggerated style of preaching to produce alarm; to shake suspicious hopes and raise a state of general excitement, no matter of what kind, so that it brings people to hear, have in some cases been put into requisition, over which truth, and reverence, and humility, and faith must weep, and which have done more to injure revivals in certain places, than all the direct opposition of coldness and unbelief. When the world and slumbering Christians see these things, it is not strange that they should speak against revivals. Blessed be God, these things are not characteristic of revivals of religion, but only of some minds associated with the name. In the great majority of what have been called by this name, they have not appeared, or have been only very partial exceptions to the general rule. But in proportion as a revival-spirit shall spread in the churches, will the danger of these mischiefs increase. The very excellence of the cause will be its exposure to the abuse of unbalanced zeal, and to the devices of Satan. There was a great work in Samaria, under the preaching of Philip. Simon Magus was a spurious convert of that revival. He turned in with the heart of a sorcerer, under the face of a Christian, and wanted to help the work by imitating the wonders of the Apostles. But he thought the gift of God could be purchased with money. He wanted to bewitch the people, instead of enlightening

them. He supposed the Apostles had some magic secret in communicating the Holy Ghost, which perhaps they might be induced to reveal, so as to enable him to go about and do great things as well as they. Is this character never seen among genuine revivals of the present day? I fear Satan still finds those who give themselves out to be some great ones; and who, passing by the great truth that it is the Spirit who is to convince of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, attempt the work of a revival as if there were a magic secret in certain modes and artifices, and expect to change stubborn hearts by bewitching weak heads. No. The Apostles had no device but that of plain truth, and strong faith, and humble boldness, and fervent love. Let us be content with these. Let it be written of us as of them "We believe, and therefore speak." Our weapons will be " through God," only in proportion as they are "not carnal but spiritual." Let us get the ear of sinners by the zeal of truth and soberness, and then fill it with Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

mighty

And now, supposing a general revival is in progress, and much interest prevails in the community, and inquirers come in, and some profess to have obtained the hope of faith-let me suggest that it is not sufficiently remembered that a time of great blessing is also a time of great exposure. When an individual Christian is on the mount, we think him specially in need of caution, lest he be lifted up above measure. Paul needed a thorn to keep him humble, after his abundant manifestations. Thus a church revived, and rejoicing, and full of zeal, must take especial heed, lest the sails be too much for the ballast, and while the hands are all ahead delighting their eyes with the power of her advance, the spirit of evil should get up behind and take the helm, and secretly substi

tute another needle than that of the truth as it is in Jesus.

A time of revival is necessarily to some extent, a time of excitement. But excitement is of two kinds. One is that of the soul receiving nourishment from the meat of the word, which quickens its affections, strengthens its desires after holiness, and promotes a healthy state of spiritual life. This is the genuine excitement of a revival of religion. But there is another resembling it very deceitfully in colour and temporary sensation, but differing ftom it very widely in permanent consequences. It is the fever of the mind, to which human nature is exceedingly prone. Some of it is probably unavoidable in revivals, because revivals have to do with a diseased nature; as powerful medicines, while working together for the good of the body, produce a feverish excitement, not by their own fault, but the morbid condition of the patient. But how unwisely would a physician act, should he mistake the hectic of the fever for the glow of health, and endeavour to increase it because accompanied with warmth and apparent strength! Delirium and prostration would ensue. This is precisely the mistake not unfrequently made by friends of revivals. It is extremely dangerous. They mistake disease for health. They seek excitement. It is well. The dead heart must be excited. But let them be cautious. There is an excitement which, like that of electricity upon a corpse, will open the eyes, but they will not see; stir the heart, but it will not love; throw the whole body into violent action, only to remain when the machinery is withdrawn, a more melancholy spectacle of death than before: Excitement that does not proceed from the influence of truth on the heart, and lead towards the obedience of truth in the life, is the fever of a diseased soul, and not

the evidence of increasing life. To stimulate this is as much to hinder grace, as if you should attempt to make a dying man well, by filling him with alcohol. The fever may look and act exceedingly like healthy religion-but it will either mount at last to wild derangement, or pass off and leave the subjects more perfectly prostrate and helpless than ever. I conceive that clear conceptions of the nature and genuine means of real, spiritual excitement, as distinguished from every counterfeit, are much needed, in order that revivals may be protected against the weakness of the flesh, and the forgeries of Satan.

Now let me again suppose a revival in progress. In consequence of the ignorance, inexperience, sinfulness, indiscretion of the promiscuous mass of minds and hearts concerned in it, we must expect more or less of diseased excitement, though the work be full of holy fruits. The labour of the minister is to protect the good work, as much as possible, from abuses to which it is liable from this cause. Let me therefore suggest, that a season of revival is one in which special care should be had in the regular keeping up of all the rules of the church. Old modes of doing things are apt to seem worn out, and decrepid, and dry, to minds under new excitement. - A sudden flood in the river not unfrequently opens new channels, but never without desolation. Let the springs of the river of life be revived and swollen with the rains of heaven; but that the streams thereof may make glad the city of God, let them be kept within the banks which the ordinances of the gospel have established, and the wisdom of all ages has been content with. Let the novelty consist in newness of life, in an unwonted spirit of prayer, and faith, and love, rather than in new devices and-novel modes.