American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1858-07-08
The Revival and the church.

ces is now declining. There are points.
where the work is in the ,
hight Of its progress. but on the whole,
there is falling of Of the remarkable ex.
element. or the usual interests sud efforts.
In this it follows law Of the human mind.
Il is impossible for the mind to be con
stantly strained in one direction; and al
though there are some very good men
who talk OF the desireableness and the pos
sibility Of revival all the time" it could
only be secured by the loss Of mental bal
ance; and thai, 10 time, would kill it Of its
elf. There is and can be no such thing as
a. perpetual extraordinary religious inter-
est. A perpetual thing becomes ordinary
and to say nothing Of the contradiction OF
terms involved in perpetual revival"
contradiction Of immutib!e laws is invol-
we'd. So tits nothing agaIns. the genius
Of revival that it declines, nor does its de-
cline involve necessarily, decline ofrelig.
ion in the hearts which have been engaged
in it. The work OF a true church does uot
consist in bringing men to an experimental
knowledge of religion. Making hay does
not consist alone in cutting grass. The
grass has to be exposed 10 the sun, turned,
raked into masses, and gathered into barns.
The work which comes upon true church
after a revival is more onerous than that
during its continuance. In freshet
streams naturally make new channels for
themselves, but theyare not apt to be deap.
When the food subsidies they are very apt
to retire into their old beds, and leave the
newly cut passage bare and dry.
1t is for thepnrpose of bringing common
sense to bear upon this point that we write
this article. Til, Republican is secular
newspaper, and we only wish to discuss the
matter as we discuss all matters. AS this
revival subsidies as it will and must, soon
er or later, two systems of policy suggest
themselves for pursuit. One Of these has
prevailed for years in the past. and we
hope tie church has trieh it 10 its satislac-
tion. 1t consists Of going TO church and
being fed with intellectual sermons. The
church tolls all the week, and on Sunday
dresses itself in its best clothes. and with
conveniently loose waist band conirives
to swallow two or three sermons. Then il
takes off is best clothes, and works six
days among the dirt of the world; and il
those sermons have any special effect upon
the church, it is more than the world sect
and anything but what it feels. They are
in fact, religion made easy Under this
system, only a few even think it worth
while to attend prayermeetings, or any o.
those gatherings Of the churci, at whict
labor is to performed. Religion becomes
, simply matter Of feeling. As in a me
, nagerie the principle interest Of the exhi
bition centers upon the movement of feed
ing the animals, so In religion tie gram
point of interest in the whole week centres
upon the dispensation ofspiftusl food q
the hands Of the preacher; and the church
, has shown itself about as unlike collection
Of active. vigorous, out living and demon
strative Christians as the tame and spirit
less creatures in the cages have appeare
. like the terror of the jupgles from whic
: they came.
There is and must be, better way tba
@ this; and if we apply to religious develop
ment the same rules we do to intelectun
q and physical, the better wsy will he essi
understood. Nothing is more common i
I the world o intellect and learned Ounces
men who swallow books interminably- y
I gorge themselves on their carcasses OF dea,
languages. and make their dessert of sys
TENS OF philosophy and the hard nuts o
mathematics. They know every thing
they do, and can do, nothing They hav
3 been receptive all their lives; active. never
they are never forces in society. Nothing
y but the faculty of memory is developed il
them. So they 60 on, feeding. and feed
ing, and gorging, and gorging, and filing
t filing. and growing more and more stupid
| so long as they live. Is there any thinl
like intellect and manly developmentin this
t Again, let us take man whose physica
o structure is helthful in tone and faullless il
a form. 1t is we'll that he have good food
\ Good food is essential to him. But sup
$ pose we feed him all the time, and do no
a set him to work at all. Suppose we pre-
r scribe for him oil hotel and no gymnasium
A How long could it be before those beautiful
a full bellied muscles Of is would becom
: weak and fabby? How long would it b
before exertion would be painful to him
a Where would his breath be after Ginning t
!. the top Of Bunker Hill monument? A ar
me,s boy would whip him, and be whis
;. telling hundred yards off before be coul
9 gather himself. No, the scholar must trai
J, himself by doing by producing. by erga
a ging in intellectual conflict, by exercise an
!. demonstration in every direction, if b
:. would be developed in himself and woul
become power in the world. So no ma
!. can get good muscles without using th Ell
n bard as whalebone, and strong and suppl
>. as whip cord.
y Now our idea is that If the Churc
d would keep .Se ground it has won durin
1t this late revival. it must adopt new pol
,e cy. Let it have good food--just thI
,e which may be well digested and no NOR,
n and then let it work. Every membt
l. should do that which he can do, and if !
or she shriuks from this, then he or she.
4 a very persuasive way, should be made
ID do it. Our opinion upon this everlastin
d. feeding from the pulpit We have state
more than once. One good sermon on