Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-10-04

near death that just. one step more
and you would have been over the
precipice or under the revolving wheel
of the car. Now, what was the reac-
ton of that sudden escape from death
in the early days of your youth?
The Reaction.
At first you began to tremble like an
aspen leaf. You did not do this while
you were still looking into the yawn-
ing abyss of the grave. The grave
opened and shut so quickly that you
did not realize what was happening
until all danger was past. Then the
cold sweat began to break out over
you; your nerves began to twitch; you
began TO say: 80 God, / never knew
till now how near one could come to
death and yet escape it. For what
hast thou saved me?" And all through
the succeeding days and nights the
Lord Jesus Christ seemed to be stand
ing by your side, saying: II have saw
ed you that you might become my dis
ciple. God gave you a divine revela-
ton at that time, just as Christ ap.
peared unto Paul In the scene Of my
text, when he was taken up into the
third heaven and knAw not whether he
was in the body or out Of the body.
The next glorious revelation which
came to you may have been a few
years later, when, under the power of
great gospel revival, you surrendered
your life to the Master, joined the
church and sat at the table of the holy
communion. How that scene comes
back nowI There Is the little white
church with its straight backed pews.
There is the choir loft I'm which your
sister used to sing. There is the old
prayer meeting room below, which was
used for the Sunday school before the
Sunday morning preaching. There
were the gravestones you used to play
among on week days and try to read
the epitaphs on Sunday, when the min
lister would persist in praying about
everything, from the creation down to
the president of the United States and
all others in authority.
The Influence of the Holy Spirit.
If some one should ask you how that
revival started you could not answer.
Suddenly, without any apparent cause,
the power of the Holy Spirit began to
descend. 1t was visibly felt through
all the country. One Sunday the old
minister instead of giving out his text,
as usual, opened the service in words
something like these: Brethren, have
tried to write a sermon this week, but
1t has been an impossibility. Every
time 1 entered my study the still, small
voice of God kept saying: Down on
your knees and pray. Pray for my
people. Pray. pray, prayr And, my
dear people, dare not disobey the
voice of God. As L have been praying
so much for you this week, l thought
l would turn this mornings service
into simple prayer meeting Then
we will meet in the church during the
coming week each night, and we shall
pray for each other and for our dear
ones" You remember how your mouth
opened wide with astoniShment. AS
the different people arose one after the
other TO pray, you got tired and com
menced TO wriggle in your seat But
somehow n strange feeling OF unrest
came over you when your dear mother
arose to pray. You never heard heI
pray in public before in your life. But
when she com menced with trembling
voice and said, 20 Lord, dear Master
precious Saviour, come into our midst
and take these little lambs into thy
arms" you could not keep back the
tears. You knew she was praying 70,
you.
Then that ride home. The old fami
~ farm wagon never had n quietel
burden to carry than on that day
Even your youngest brother did not
try to grab the reinS, rs he so often
had done. Your father was quiet: youl
mother was very quiet She always
did speak those words, "AIy DEAR
sweetly, but she never spoke them sc
tenderly as on that day. Then at the
dinner, when your father tried to ask
the blessing, he broke down. You new.
er saw him cry like that but once
since, and that was when you led him
away some years later from your sis
ter's open grave. And then that after
noon-it was the longest afternoon YOU
ever spent Elizabeth went to her
room. And your mother went to heI
room. Though they were each alone
when you went near TO their doors
You could hear them talking. They
were not alone. They were talking tC
God about you. Then you went out IL
the barn. and there you found Au
father. lie was on his knees praying
What were thev all praying about,
And then you went to your room. AS
you closed the door you just dropped
down by the bed and began to sob and
cry. You kept saying: 20 God! O
Cod! o God"' You could not get any
further. But suddenly you felt an
arm about your neck. No one but she
could have touched you like that. But
as she said, 20 Lord. hear my boys
prayer!' wonderful scene took place.
Like Peter, you seemed to be upon the
housetop OF Joppa. But, unlike Pc
eer's vision, the vision you saw was
only Christ's glory. 1t shone about
your head. 1t crept into your heart.
1t rang from your lips. Whether you
were in the body or out OF the body
you could not tell. But one fact You
do know, Christ had revealed himself
to you by your mothers side. He
came and touched you. Are you today
living up to the divine call of that
glorious revelation?
Something Changed.
Many years ago young Scotch girl
gave her heart to God at one of George
Whitefieids meetings. Some one asked
her, My dear. is your heart changedr'
and she answered: Something know
is changed Ii may he the world TT