The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-12-13 00:00:00

INVITATION TO PRAYER.

THE REV. JAMES HALDANE STEWART, incumbent of
Limpsfield, Surrey, who was formerly connected with this
town, where he was much respected, has 'requested us to
insert an "Invitation to united prayer for the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit on the first day of the New Year,"
which he has just published in the form of a pamphlet.
We have not space to give the whole of it, but we subjoin
some copious extracts, which comprise the principle
features :

" Dearly beloved in the Lord,—Great and momentous
as the events have been during the period in which I have
had the privilege of inviting you to unite on the first day
of the new year in a general concert for Prayer for the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the incoming New Year
teems with events of still greater magnitude. At a period
in many respects similar to that in which we are now
placed, the Prophet Habakkuk adopted this course ; I
will stand,' he says, 'upon my watch, and set me upon the
tower, and will watch to see what He (the Lord) will say
unto me.' Thus uniting watchfulness with prayer, or an
attentive survey of the providential dealings of the Al-
mighty with that devotional spirit which is connected
with intimate communion and fellowship with the Lord.
It is in this spirit that I would now invite all who love
the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity to join in a general
union for prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on
Sunday, the first day of the approaching year, being the
Seventeenth Anniversary of this devotional concert. A
concert which has been held by increasing numbers of
sincere Christians in many parts of Great Britain and
Ireland, the continent of Europe, the United States of
America, Canada, the East and West Indies, and even in
Jerusalem itself.

" I the more readily present this Seventeenth Invitation,
as the year into which we are about to enter reminds us of
the Sabbatical Year, the year 1854 commencing and ter-
minating with the Holy Sabbath of God ; so that we shall
awake on the first morning of the year, as our first parents
did from their peaceful slumbers on the morning after
their creation, at the dawn of that day which the Lord
has specially sanctified. May it indeed prove another
Pentecostal Sabbath, a day on which the Lord shall ' open
the windows of Heaven and pour out such a blessing that
there shall not be room to receive it.'

" Such a devout union is especially called for at this
moment. For reflect upon the state in which the nations
of the earth now stand. Negotiations have for months
been pending between the four great Western European
Powers and the Russian Czar and the Turkish Sultan, to
prevent by amicable mediation the horrors of war.
"At the moment when this paper is written, the Turks
have commenced hostilities by crossing the Danube. It
is hoped, however, that peace may still be preserved. But
when the answer is given to the question, ' Whence come
wars and fightings among you ? Come they not hence,
even of your lusts that war in your members ?'—ls there
not great reason to fear that the proud and angry passions
of the hostile nations may prevent their receiving the
peaceful counsel which the Cabinets of Europe have
offered, and urge them at once to unsheath the battle-
sword ? Men who are at a distance speculate upon peace
or war, as if these were matters in which commerce alone
was interested—events which might raise the price of
corn, or occasion a rise or fall in the stocks. But when
the scourge of war has once set in, who can say what
miseries will follow ?

" Who, alas ! can conceive the future misery of those
unhappy men who are suddenly cut off in battle, unpre-
pared to meet their God ? The heart sinks, and every
nerve is ready to tremble at the awful thought !
" Once a year, the day we commemorate the crucifixion
of our Lord, the Fathers of our Protestant Church di-
rected us to pray for `all Jews, Turks, infidels, and here-
tics, that God would take from them all ignorance,
hardness of heart, and contempt of His Holy Word.' But
who that thinks of the awful destiny of those infatuated
Musselmans who are ready to rush headlong to the
slaughter of their enemies, multitudes of whom may be
almost as unprepared for the day of judgment as them-
selves—who, I say, would not most earnestly pray that
God, of His tender mercy, would turn their hearts, and
the hearts of all who may enter the battle-field, to Him
who is both the true Prophet of God and the Saviour of
sinners ?

" Oh, then, my Christian friends, with one heart and
mind unite in this concert of prayer, for the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit, on the first day of the new year, that
the Lord may incline the hearts of men to peace and
amity : and if, in His righteous judgment for their mani-
fold iniquities, he should let the scourge of war take its
course, that He would have mercy upon their souls ;
grant them repentance unto life, and lead them to Him
who came to seek and to save them that are lost;
"Another very powerful motive for this devotional con-
cert on the first day of the new year, is the present state
of China. It is a relief to the heart to turn from the
sufferings of a war in which all Europe may be involved,
to the blessed results of the momentous event which, in
the providence of God, is now taking place in China. That
vast empire, containing a third of the population of the
whole human race, which had for centuries been shut up
in all the darkness of superstition and idolatry, has at
length been opened. An insurrection among the natives,
obscure in its origin, has advanced with gigantic power,
and may be the forerunner of events affecting the highest
interests, not only of the vast multitudes of China itself,
but of the surrounding tribes and nations of the East.
For this insurrection, which at first appeared merely as a
rebellion of the native Chinese against their governors, the
Tartars, has in several respects assumed a decided reli-
gious appearance.
" Oh, then, my beloved friends, let this voice draw you
together, on New Year's Day, in this united concert for
prayer, for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, in His en-
lightening, enlivening, strengthening, comforting, and
sanctifyinc, grace. Oh, that on that day His people may
be led to follow the steps of the Prophet Ezekiel, ' Son of
man, say to the winds, Come from the four winds, 0 breath,
and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.' And
may they, indeed, `rise up as a great army.'
" A third reason for uniting in this concert of prayer
for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on New Year's Day,
is the spirit of persecution which has arisen in some of the
States holding the doctrines of the Church of Rome ; and
other important events regarding that church.
"It is not necessary to mention details, since some of
these attacks upon the liberties of Protestants are univer-
sally known. But when we bear in mind ' the enchant-
ments of Babylon,' that several, alas ! who seemed faithful
men, have been perverted by her delusive sophistries,—
when the Scriptures of Truth predict ' him whose coining
is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs,
and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of un-
righteousness in them that perish,'—when these things
are regarded, then the glory of God, the honour of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the preservation of our
civil and religious liberties,—all these considerations call
upon sincere Christians to unite in earnest prayer to God
for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that He who is the
Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of might and ghostly Power,
may impart to us such undaunted boldness as to cause us
to say with Luther, though the sun be darkened by
legions of devils, we will not fear, for God is for us,
and victory is ours.
" There are other very important calls for prayer ; for
still, alas! infidelity stalks abroad; still nominal Chris-
tianity prevails ; still the Eastern churches are unre-
vived ; still the veil is on the hearts of the Lord's ancient
people ; and still innumerable multitudes in heathen lands
are bowing down to idols. Entreating you to bear these
and other interesting topics in remembrance, I would
again affectionately invite all who love our Lord Jesus in
sincerity to commence the New Year by uniting in the
general concert for prayer, for the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit, on Sunday, the Ist January, 1854.
" 'The following suggestions are respectfully offered, to
assist them in this devotional concert

" Ist. Let Christians follow the example of our blessed
Lord (Mark i. 26), who rose up a great while before day
for secret prayer. Let them thus secure the blessing of
him who says, ' Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and
thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.'
"2d. Let them call upon the Lord in their families, for
his Spirit to be poured upon themselves and their house-
holds, their neighbours, their country, the ministers of
the Lord, the churches of Christ, the remnant of scattered
Judah and outcast Israel, and upon the Gentile world, as
well as present their supplications on the subjects before
mentioned.

" 3d. Let suitable sermons be preached, and the oppor-
tunities which the Sabbath affords for Divine Worship,
and the assembling the congregation, be specially im-
proved.
" 4th. Let the ministers of the Lord meet some day in
the following week, with their brethren of their own
communion, in earnest prayer for themselves, their flocks,
the whole body of Christ, and the world at large; and
then specially consult together upon the most effectual
means for hastening the coming of the Lord's kingdom,
and particularly for the continuance of such a general
concert for prayer, that the year may proceed according
to this devout commencement.

" May the Lord accompany these means of grace, or
such others as may be adopted, with his abundant blessing.
Oh ! may it indeed be a season of special refreshment from
the presence of the Lord. _ _ _

" thus prays their affectionate brother and servant in
the Lord, "JAMES HA.LDANE STEWART.
" Limpsfield Rectory, Nov. 1853."

RAILROAD FROM PORTLAND TO QUEBEC.—The success
of the railway from Portland to Montreal appears to have
brought forth a proposition for a direct railroad from Port-
land to Quebec, by the valley of the Kennebec and the
valley of the Chaudiere river. Speaking of this proposal,
the Quebec Chronicle says, "It will pass through the
richest mineral tract in the world. Gold, copper, and
lead abound in the neighbourhood of the rivers Chaudiere
and Du Loup, the country is well settled, and the dis-
tance from Quebec to Portland, by this route, is only
277 miles"

A WEALTHY BELGIAN LADY.—A letter from Ghent,
in a Brussels journal, says,—" The great subject of con-
versation here at present is the immense property lately
left by Mme. Claes Decocq. It is said that she has left
100,000 francs to each of her four female servants ; 400
francs a-year to each of the workmen at her spinning-
factory, (and they are between 400 aml 500 in number ;)
the factory itself to one of the foremen ; and all the plant,
machinery, and stock to another. She has bequeathed her
country house to one of her nieces, and the rest of her
Property to a 31. Coppee, who is not in any way related
to her.'