The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-17
EFFECTS OF REVEALS
MIR. MILBURN SPEAKS PARTICULAR
LIZ OF PREsBYTERIANIsM.
President Mills, OF EarIhnm, at
Friends Church-Rev. Father Ga
visk breaches on Matrimony.

union services. which will be continued this
week. As text the pastor used the words
from Habakkuk iii. 2-"Oh. Lord, revive
Thy work in the midst of the years.
The pastor, in his opening remarks, spoke
of the effort now being made to quicken
the spirit of the church and make the
church the spiritual force it ought to be.
Continuing, he said: Il think it might be
said that great numbers in the church be-
lieve in revivals, but with no very great
faith with no very deep intensity. And yet
another class there Island this class in
cludes large numbers Of people, especially
in the Presbyterian Church-who, while
they may believe In revivals in the abb
stract do not believe in them at all in the
concrete. They believe in the level step, in
the gradual, progressive, ordered movement
of the Christian life; but they have an an
tipathy to all special efforts to enliven and
energize the church. And the reason of
their objection is partly due to the dogmatic
teaching of the church to which they be-
long. The Presbyterian is by education dog
matte; he has been taught to think, and to
think upon the deepest problems that can
engage the mind. He has been brought
up on Calvin, Knox, Chalmers, Jonathan
Edwards-these have been his staple diet.
appeal was an appeal to thought. And
then, too. not only has the tendency of ed
ucation in the Presbyterian Church been
to emphasize the mind, but there is In the
Presbyterian temperament somewhat of an
antipathy, a repugnance to emotion. We
look upon the feeling as volatile, evaneS-
cent, producing only momentary effects, but
not deepening into steadfast and noble char
acter. And no doubt there is this tendency
in emotion. Much of emotion is volatile
and evanescent, coming and going like
clouds driven by winds over the sky; much
Of it fugitive, like vapor that fingers mo-
ment only to dispense and to be thence
forth invisible. And yet, after all, all the
great things of this world have been done
by emotion. Thought of itself accomplishes
nothing. Thought must be touched with
passion, with feeling, with heat, in order
to accomplish anything great. The artist
is more than a seer, he is a passionate seer;
the prophet is more than teacher, he is
a passionate teacher; and every really spir-
itual nature must heave ard throb with
passion for God and for man. And so, on
the whole, we need not fear emotion and
especially is this the least of all dangers
that the Presbyterian Church needs to
dread
ONE OBJECTION TO REVEALS.
Another objection that is sometimes
found against revivals has perhaps some
superficial vindication and excuse. and that
is the objection against special efforts to
quicken the church through associating
those efforts with religious mechanism, with
professional evangeists and with falsetto
methods of moving and influencing the hui
man spirit. But moments reflection will
show us that all this is a thing apart, and
has nothing to do with revivals in them
selves. Mechanism is no more needed in re-
VivalS than in the ordinary church services,
and there need be no falsetto tone in any
appeal to any soul to come to God All
revival is, in fact, is a gathering up or the
r.R nrr n, Il n It's 10
a momentary effort, and momentary simply
because it cannot be long sustained; a mo-
mentary effort to do with might and main
the will of God and to bring those VINO are
in darkness into the light and those VINO
are beyond the church into the brightness
and the beauty of the church.
THE sin of the church to-day is the sin
of mistiness, the sin of the misty intellect,
the sin of the misty heart, the sin or the
and the misty prayer. We believe and yet
we do not believe, we pray and yet we 90
not pray we trust and yet we do not trust,
and so Gods power all comes to us withed
and fettered. and His light all comes to us
vague and dim.
But let me say that we have no right to
expect the regeneration and revival OF the
church of Christ with any such vague, inn
potent, hating, timid, doubling faith as
this. The only faith that conquers, that
has power even, with God or man, is the
faith that is real, that is honest, that is
bold enough really to believe what 1t be-
lieves. And not only must we bring to the
we must also bring to it a spirit of organ
ization, of service, of work We must bring
to it order, method, an Intelligent, ra-
tional feeling, with the spiritual problems
it presents. Therefore, during the days
that are to come let us make personal
application of these revival scenes. Let us
begin first wieh SELF Let us strive to get
personally nearer to God, let fathers and
mothers plead with their children that they
may consecrate themselves more completely
and wholly to the service of their Lord
and to His church, and let us all make
definite personal appeals to the men and
women that we know. Let us do 1t wisely
and with tact; let US not be aggressive or
inopp0rtune; let us remember that in mat
tiers of the spirit men are sensitive ana
fastidious; but let us solicitously and gent
ly during the coming days talk with men
upon the great and transcendent issue OF
the souls salvation. All, it is a great thing,
dear friends, this matter OF the salvation
we think ii to be. One day 1t Will be
matter of serious import to all of us. If
Christ's gospel be true gospel and not
fiction, life has tremendous issue-an issue
of eternal life on the one side, an issue OF
eternal death on the other. l wonder If 1t
is really true. / wonder IL our Lord with
prophetic vision really saw what lies on
before. 1 wonder If you and | really be-
lieve Jesus Christ to be the Son of God.
really believe that Jesus knew and did not
speculate in regard to the eternities, then
what an awful, what tremendously serl-
Gus thing is this question of the souls at
titude toward Christ. Hence let us work
the works of Him that sent us while it is
day for the night cometh when no man
can work.
EFFECT OF PRAYER.
"And, finally, if we are to have the fruits
of the spirit in these revival services, and
1 have said to you more than once to-day
that we may have them if we want them,
we must pray and pray, not only with our
heads and lips but with our hearts There
in one indispensable condition of power
with God and influence over men and that
condition, that ultimate condition is prayer,
much prayer. All the great spiritual lead
living, breathing. fervent prayer. Such was
the great and lovely Augustine, such was
the mighty Luther, such was the holy and
godly Marck Rutherford, and such was that
god-illumined soul, that wonderfully eff
fuigent teacher in the kingdom of heaven,
Thomas Erskine of Linlathen. Always
prayer; prayer which is the souls sincere
desire prayer the food of the spirit, prayer
the light bringer, prayer and peace diff
fuser. prayer, that mysterious occult power
that holds the spirit of man in touch with
the spirit of God. And whatever else
of us, the oldest and the youngest, the
weakest as well as the strongest. the least
as we'll as the most cody. We can all
pray and let us pray boldly, let us pray
never doubling let us go 10 God and say TO
Him: Our father, thou hast promised to
Keep and fulfill Thy word, o God. and may
Thy spirit reign within Thy church In won
drous power May Thy church be quick
ened and the Lords viii be done