The Editor has received letters from various friends and correspondents, in reference to the remarkable movement in the North of Ireland; and it has occurred to him that a page or two of this magazine might he devoted to a matter so profoundly interesting to every lover of Christ and of souls. He is the rather induced to refer to the subject, in this way, having been prevented, by pressure of work, from replying to the numerous communications which have come to hand.
The most conflicting opinions have been formed and uttered, with respect to this movement, but, in order to have anything approaching to a correct idea, one must be an eye witness of it in its progress and practical results. Above all, one needs to contemplate it from a divine point of view, in order to arrive at a sound conclusion respecting it.
Many have felt disposed to call in question the spirituality of the entire movement, because of the attendant circumstances, in certain individual cases. This would be a serious mistake. It, most assuredly, is not our province, nor is it within the range of our capacity, to dictate to the Almighty Workman, the exact mode in which He is to do His work. He may, in some cases, carry on His new creation, so softly, so gently, so silently, that those who are standing by may be wholly unconscious of the mighty work. In other cases, He may see fit to conduct the soul through such deep exercises as to evoke the most heart-rending cries and groans. Are we competent to account for the contrast? Are we called upon to do so? Surely not. Look, for example, at the contrast between Lydia and the jailor, in Acts 16 Of the former, we read, " whose heart the Lord opened that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul." The latter, on the other hand, " sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas." Now, it would be as unwarrantable to object to the excitement connected with the jailor's conversion, as to question the reality of Lydia's case because all was done so quietly. Neither the excitement nor the quietness had aught to do with the salvation of the soul. The one was struck down; the other was not; both were saved by Christ.
See, also, the striking contrast between the quiet conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch, in Acts viii. and the overwhelming conversion of Saul of Tarsus, in Acts ix. The one was as real as the other, though the attendant circumstances were so widely different. A person may be converted without ever moving from his seat, as in the case of the Eunuch; or he may fall to the earth, like Saul. He may be led into instant joy and peace, in believing, or he may remain stunned and prostrate for three days; the circumstances, in no wise, affect the genuineness of the conversion. It is the Christ I reach, and not the way I reach Him, that saves my soul. To question the truth of a conversion because of certain exciting circumstances, attendant thereon, would be as unwarrantable as to make such circumstances at all essential.
Regeneration is a divine work. The Agent in that work is the Holy Ghost. The instrument is the word of God. And, as to the mode, it is as completely above and beyond us, as either the instrument or the Agent. God is sovereign. He giveth not account of any of His matters; and if we presume to set up our own judgment as a rule of what ought to be, in any given case, we shall find ourselves wholly astray. The mysteries and marvels of God's new creation will baffle and confound the most sagacious and deep-thinking. Circumstances will be continually occurring which the poor human mind cannot account for, and concerning which we have only to say, "It is the finger of God."
When anything presents itself before us which is palpably opposed to the word of God, it is our place to judge it, inasmuch as the word and Spirit of God can never, by any means, clash. But, then, we must be very sure of our authority; and, moreover, we must ever remember what deep need there is for the exercise of an humble spirit and a sober mind, when the things of God are in question.
The writer of these lines has, during the last two months, visited almost all the principal scenes of this most interesting movement in the province of Ulster. He has done this with a double object, namely, first, to judge for himself; and, secondly, to help, so far as the Lord might enable him, by ministering the word to exercised souls. The result of all that he has seen and heard, is a deep and settled conviction that the work is of God.
That Satan should seek to mar such a work, is only what might be expected. Wherever the Holy Ghost has been specially manifesting His precious operations, there, the enemy is sure to intrude himself in order to soil and tarnish what he cannot prevent. The agencies of which he makes use, in his malignant opposition, are manifold and various. He will produce counterfeit cases. He will make use of physical and mental infirmity. He will bring forward corrupt and designing persons who "by good words and fair speeches will deceive the hearts of the simple," and make a gain of godliness. He will even make use of the mistakes, infirmities, and failures, of really sincere and earnest men. In a word, he will make use of any and every instrumentality, in order to bring discredit upon a work which is as manifestly of God, so far as it goes, as was the work at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
It is easy to account for Satan's intense opposition to this most blessed work. One has only to look at some of the practical results, in order to see how his kingdom is interfered with. The public house closed. The drunkard reclaimed. The language of obscenity and blasphemy exchanged for the accents of prayer and praise. These and such like fruits declare the origin of the work, and fully account for the enemy's opposition thereto.
But what proves, more than anything else, the truly spiritual nature of this work, is, that when souls are brought under conviction, nothing seems to meet their need, but the name of Jesus. Some passage of Scripture in which the Person or the sacrifice of Christ is unfolded, is sure to act as a precious balm to the smitten conscience and the troubled heart. Was it ever known that Satan led any one to feel his guilt, or crave the knowledge of Jesus? Is there a name in all the universe that Satan hates more intensely than the name of Jesus? Is Satan divided against himself? Is it not obvious that, when a man is brought to feel his lost and ruined condition-when he is led to cry out, " What must I do to be saved?"-when he is led to find rest and peace in the precious blood of Christ, it must be the operation of the Holy Ghost-the drawing of the Father's hand? Unquestionably. There may be many things connected with the work of the Spirit, which must be traced to the infirmity of the person who is the subject of that work; but this does not, in the least, interfere with the fact that God is working. We must separate the precious from the vile, and give God the glory of all that which wears the distinct stamp of His hand upon it.
It would be impossible to enter upon anything like a detail of the localities in which the Holy Ghost has been carrying on His work, or of the cases in which His work has been manifested. In some instances, as many as 100 persons, have been smitten down, at one meeting; and when the reader is informed that this work has been going on, for many weeks, throughout the counties of Antrim and Derry, he will see, at once, that details are wholly out of the question. The simple object of this brief and hasty article, is to give a judgment of the work, as a whole, and to point out to the reader, one or two of its more prominent characteristics.
Looking at the work, in the main, there can he hut one judgment formed by every well-adjusted mind, and that is, that God the Holy Ghost has been displaying, in our midst, the mighty wonders of His new creation. Souls are springing up into life, before our eyes, throughout the length and breadth of the land! Regions where Satan seemed to have planted his seat, have received the beams of gospel light. Districts over which cold religious formality had cast its mantle, have heard the life-giving voice of Jesus. Streets and houses from whence had issued the sounds of revelry and debauchery, now send forth the strains of prayer and praise. Families in which strife and confusion prevailed, now gather in peaceful communion and worship, round the family altar. These are facts; and with such facts before us, we cannot hesitate as to our judgment of the work, as a whole. There may be, and there are, mistakes, errors, infirmities, and failures; but the work, as a whole, is the work of God the Holy Ghost.
And, now, one word, as to some of the remarkable characteristics. It is well worthy of notice that, in many cases, the work of conviction is carried on without reference to any special agency in the shape of ministry. In the field, by the wayside, in the house, souls are stricken in a moment, and led to cry, in excessive anguish, for mercy. When in this state, it is of the very last importance that the pure gospel of salvation-salvation by grace-salvation by blood -salvation by faith, should be poured into their ears. Convicted souls must be set on the rock of ages. They must be led to see the fullness, the extent, the efficacy, the infinite preciousness of the sacrifice of the cross, else they are sure to fall back upon themselves and get into a state of extreme wretchedness, darkness, bondage, and mental gloom. The writer has come in contact with many of what are called "relapsed cases;" that is, persons who have lost the sense of pardon, or who have never, it may be, been thoroughly grounded in the knowledge of salvation through the finished work of Christ. Many have been stricken, several times, with conviction. It is not easy to account, with accuracy, either for those frequently stricken, or for the relapsed; but, in many instances, both the one and the other may be attributed to imperfect apprehensions of the true ground of a sinner's peace. The quickened soul has not been fully emancipated. He has not been so firmly fixed on the rock, as to be able to resist the surging tide of legal thought and feeling. The case of the relapsed or the frequently stricken, forms a deeply interesting subject for observation and reflection.
One more feature may be noticed. It is this. In almost every locality, the Lord seems to have laid hold of some notorious character as if He would have a signal monument of mercy to hold up to the view of the enemy and the objector. Some one who has been the pest of the neighborhood has been stricken down by the convicting power of the Spirit of God, and brought to sit at the feet of Jesus " clothed and in his right mind," and then sent among his neighbors to " tell what great things the Lord hath done for him."
I shall here furnish the reader with a description of one of these striking cases. It is that of a drunkard, who was in the habit of blaspheming this entire work and cursing all who had come, in any measure, under its influence. On the very evening of his conversion, he had succeeded in extorting money from his mother, for the purpose of procuring more drink; but as he was on his way forth, the hand of God was laid upon him, in a most remarkable manner. He was smitten down, in a moment, by the convicting power of the Spirit of God; and, ere the morning dawned, the drunken blasphemer had become a happy worshipper of God; and those who visited him during the following day, found him calmly meditating upon some precious portions of the Word.
The following case of conversion was detailed to the writer by the person, who was, herself, the subject. She said, 'I had been into town, and felt under much concern, all the morning. When I came home, 1 Sat down to my work, find, all in a moment, a flash of light passed through me; 1 sprang to my feet, ran out to a neighbor's house, and, for four hours, I could do nothing but cry for mercy." The above may be regarded as a tolerably fair specimen of many of the cases. Persons are stricken down, while sitting at their work, and, sometimes, remain in agony for 36 hours, neither eating nor sleeping, but crying out " Ο Jesus, come! O, come, and apply thy blood to me."
It is well worthy of notice that, in cases where the convicted persons have been, previously, well taught in the letter of Scripture, or much under the sound of clear gospel preaching, they are far more speedily brought into the enjoyment of settled peace in Jesus. This is an important and interesting fact, and one well calculated to illustrate the value of having young people grounded in the knowledge of Scripture.
In conclusion, whether we look at the work as a whole, or examine its salient points-whether we consider its origin, or mark its practical results in individuals and localities, our hearts should be stirred up to pray that the tide of the Spirit's reviving grace may roll onward, from province to province, from county to county, from town to town; yea, that it may pass through the entire compass of the vineyard of Christ, so that the number of God's elect may be gathered out, and the day of glory hastened. Thank God, this movement has had a most decided influence upon the ranks of the people of God. It has roused the indifferent, it has stirred up the lethargic, it has awakened the slumbering. These are happy results for which we have to be deeply thankful.
May the Lord endow all His servants with the needed grace and wisdom for this most solemn and interesting time, that they may be enabled rightly to divide the word of truth, and to give to each his portion of meat in season.
Note-Lest, by any means, this paper should fall into the hands of any one who might feel disposed to make light of this most solemn work, I shall mention a circumstance which was related to me, by two or three credible witnesses. Some young men agreed together that one of their party should fall down and pretend to be stricken, while the others were to call to some person whom they saw approaching, to pray with the pretended case of conviction. The unhappy young man had the hardihood to carry on this piece of daring and blasphemous mockery. It was begun as a farce; but, alas! it ended as a most awful tragedy. He was struck dead on the spot!
Now, many mockers and scoffers are left alive, for this is the day of God's long-suffering; but this unhappy young man was struck dead, for God, in His moral government, sees fit, at times, to make a signal and solemn example. Hence, therefore, let mockers and scoffers beware.
'Tis not for man to trifle! life is brief;
And sin is here.
Our age is but the falling of a leaf,
A dropping tear.
We have no time to sport away the hours;
All must be earnest in a world like ours.