Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-06-06

TIE GREAT REVIVAL IN AMERICA
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MORAL AND RELIGIOUS.
The GREAT REVIVAL IN AMERICA
] a SERMON
T RECENTLY DELIVERED IN LONDON,
81 EaE REE c. T. sPvRaEoE.
When The heroes of old prepared to zht, they put
on ihsir armor; bat when God prepares for battle,
! BE makes bare His arm Man has to look two
Weys--to his own defence. As veil asio the offence
81 bis enemy; God hath but one direction in which
to cast Bis eye-ths overthrow Of HIS foeman; and
tEs disreg g1rds al measures Of dsfenes and so0rns
III aF0f. He Hlatss bare His arm IN the sight Of
on The people. When men would do their work in
earnest, TOO they sometimes strip themselves ike
that warrior ofolc Who when he vent battle with the
IurkA would never hght them except with bare
arm. Such things IS they, p he said, = ] need net
fear Aay hBga mere reason 20 fear my bare arm
than their seiniiarlp Men feel chat they pre-
pared for work when they have cast away their
cHmoerous garments And 50 prophet represents
she Lord ss laying aside for while ihs garments Of
his dignity, and making bare His arm. that He may
do his work in earnest, and accomplish His purpose
for the establishment Of His Church.
Nov, leaving the figure, which is q very great
enc, I Eoald remind you thai iis meaning is fslly
carried out, whenever 0d Is pleased send great
revival Of religion. Ny hears is glad within me
this day, for an the bearer Of good tidings Ny
the tdnBs Of great revival Of religion throughout
the United States. Some hundred years, OF more,
ago, il pleased The Lord to send one Of the most
marvellous religious aWakenings that vas ever
knoWn; the whole Of the United States seemed
shskenfr0m end 70 end with enthusiasm fer hearing
the Word Of God and now, aiter the lapse Of cen
tury, the like has occurred again. The monetary
pressure has al lsngh Departed but it has lett be-
Mi the wreck OF many might fortunes. Many
men, who were once Prices, have nov become beg
gaFs, aud in America, more than in England, men
have learned the instability Of All human things
The minds Of men, thus Weaned from the earth BY
terribe and unexpected panic, seem prepared 70 re-
esivs iidi1gs from better land, and to turn their
eEerlion in heavenly direction, You viii be told
BY any one who Is eonveTsant with the present state
OF America, that wherever you 60, there are the
most remarkable signs that religion IS progressing
now called, has become the common market talk Of
merchants IL is the theme Of every newspaper even
the secular press remark IL FOR it has become as
tanshiRg that all ranks snd classes Of nen seem 10
have been affected By it.
Apparently without cause whatever, fear las ta-
ken hold Of The hearts Of men; drill seems 70 be
shot through every breast al onee and it is affirm
ed By men Of good rePuie, that there are, at this
time, towns in NeW Epgland where you could not.
even If you searched ind one solitary unconVerted
person So marVslous-I bad almost said 50 mirae-
uloas-has been the sudden and instantaneous
spread q religion throughout the great empire,
that it is Eeareey possible for to believe the half
Of it, even though it should be told u.s. Now as you
are aware, have At All times been peculiarly jeal
Gus and suspicious Of re7iTals. Whenever see /
man who is called a reyigalist, always set him
doWa as a cipher. I would seorn The iskingof such
a title as that TO myself lfGod Pleases 70 make
use Of 8 man for the promoting Of q revival, well !
and good; but for man to assume the title and Of
fee OF reyiyelst, and 20 about the country, be-
isying that wherever he goes he is ayessel Of
ey appointed 70 eonUey revival Of religion, iB I
think, assumption far too arrogant for any man
who has heslightest degree Of mOdesty, And again
there are large number Of reviVals which occur
every nov and then in our towns, and sonelimes In
cur city, which believe TO be spurious and EOFih-
less. have heard Of the people croWding In the
morning, the afternoon, and evening, 70 hear some
noted reViTast, and under his preaching some have
screamed, have shrieked, have fallen d0HE on the
hoOr, have rolled themselves in conYulsions, and
have afterWard, when ne has set q form for peni-
tents. employing one or two deooy ducks 10 run out
from the rest and make q confession Of sin, hun
dreds have come forward, impressed By That one
Sermon and declared that they were there aud then,
arned from the error Of their Ways and it vas on
y last week saw record Of place, in our own
county, giving an account that on such day, unr
der he preaching Of The Rev Mr. So-and-sO, ~ per-
sons we're thoroughly sansihed, twenty eight we're
convicted Of SIM aud twenty nine received The bless
ing Of Justification Then comes the next day, so
many mOEeS kla AQNOHAuH Qayf 80 many mOfe5 anu
literEard they we're al easi up together, making
grand total Of some hundreds, who have been bless
ed during these services under the ministry Of Mr.
5o-and SO. All that, / call farce.
There may be something very good in il; bat the
outside looks to ne to be SO rotten, that should
scarcely trust myself to think that the good within
,cmesto any very great amount When people 60
o work 70 calculate 50 exactly By arithmetic it al
avs strikes me they have mistaken what they ere
II. We may essily say that 50 many we're added to
he church . certain OCCASION but 10 take sep
rate census Of the convinced, the justified and the
ancti6ed, is absurd. You viii, therefore, be sur
3rised at finding me speaking Of revival; but you
vii, perhaps not be quite 50 surprised when en-
leeyor 70 explain what mean BY an earnest aud
atenss desire, which 1 feel in my heart, that G0d
1uld be pleased to send throughout this country
.evi7al Ike that which has just commenced in
4merioss and which we trust vii long continue
here
First then, THE CAUSE OF TKUE REYTVAL. The
ere worldly man does not understand revival-ha
aunot make it cut. Why is il that sudden fE
Z godliness, Is he would call il kind OF sacred
pidemic should seize upon 3 mass Of people all az
,hesF Whist can be the cause Of it : Il frequently
eeurs in the absence of all great svangelists it
Iot be traced to any particulars means. There have
,een DO special agencies used in order % bringit
,bout-no machineFy supplied, no societies esiab-
ished; and yet il has come, just like heavenly
sweeping everything before 1t. lt has
US1 ed 8cfOe1 i'I6 lAuui lAN q men nave -a-Af
: The wind bloeeth where it listeth We hear the
Ound thereof, bat We cannot tell whence it oometh
lor whittier it goeth What is then the cause p
)nr nswer is If revival be true and real, il is
sused By the Holy Spirit and By him al5ne.
Bat while this s the only actual cause, yet there
re instrumental causes and the main instrument
al cause Of great revival must be the bald,
athful. fearless preaching Of the truth as 1t is
4 Jesus But added 70 this, there must be the
arnest prayers Of The church An in vain, the
most indefatigabls ministry, unless the church va
ers he seed soBa with her abundanf tears. Eve
" revival has been commenced and ATTENDED BY
large amount Of prayer. In the city Of New ork
e The present moment there is nots believe, one
ipgle hour Of the day, wherein Christians are not
,athsrsd together for prayer. One church opens
doors from Eve o'clock tllsixs for pray eF; another
,hurch opens from six to seven, and summons It's
,raving men 20 oer the sacrifices Of supplication.
Six O'Clock Is pasi and usn sre gone 70 their labor
notber class ind It then e0nyenient-sueh
hose, perhaps Who 60 to business at eight or nine
and from sete 70 eight there is another prayer
meeting From sight to nine there is another in
.notber part Of tbe city and What is mes marvel
,us! al hig5 noon from tWelveto one, in the midst
n ihe civ Of New York, there is held q prayer
Meeting in q large room, which is crammed to the
Ioors every day with hundreds standing outside.
his prayer meeting is made up Of merchants Of
ne city, Who can spare quarter Of an hour 70 60
4 and saya word OF prayer, and then leave again;
udthsn fresh company come in TO al upthe rank,
. that il is supposed that many hundreds assemtls
\ that one place for prayer during the aPpointea
iour This is he explanation of the revival "
mis- were done in LOndoa-if we for once would
l. e. H.