Having, in our September number, endeavored to show that this blessed work had its origin in the Word of God and prayer, there is one point which we earnestly desire further to press upon the attention of our readers, and that is, the immense importance-yea, the urgent need of giving God the Holy Ghost His own place. That the work is, in very deed, His, no rightly instructed mind will question. We are aware, alas! that some do question it-that some oppose it-that many are indifferent to it. We mourn for all such; but we cannot presume to hope that minds which will not be convinced by the grand practical results of this most glorious, soul-stirring movement, will be, in any wise, swayed by aught that we could advance on the subject. Indeed, we are not careful to argue in defense of a work which so clearly proves itself to be of God, in the judgment of all who are really capable of appreciating the proof. If it were not so manifestly of God, it might be needful, in some sort, for man to undertake its defense; but the Holy Ghost wants no defenders. He can carry on His own work, and prove it, too, without man's aid or man's arguments.
We believe, most firmly, that the work has been begun and continued by the Holy Ghost; and our sole object in penning this paper is to press this conviction upon the mind of the reader in such a way as will lead him to a devout and reverent recognition of its truth. We endeavored to show, in our last, that there is no pedestal for human pride; we are anxious to show, now, that there is no food for human curiosity. Man's bustling self-importance has been cut up by the roots by the mode in which the Holy Ghost has worked; man's pride and curiosity have been rebuked by the fact, that the Holy Ghost has been working. "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which arc not, to bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in his presence" (1 Cor. 1:26-2926For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29That no flesh should glory in his presence. (1 Corinthians 1:26‑29).)
This statement applies, in the most marked manner, to the present awakening in Ulster. It is, at once, unwarrantable and unbecoming for man to meddle or to vaunt himself. It would be his wisdom to tread, with unshod foot, the hallowed precincts of the divine presence. The Lord is gone forth; let us follow in a spirit of holy worship and adoration, not in a spirit of self-importance or idle curiosity. Let us beware of running before the Lord-of meddling with, or prying into, His work. We shall find an abundance of suited occupation in following His wondrous footsteps-admiring His precious workmanship, and worshipping in His holy presence.
This is true, always-true, everywhere. It was true, in the days of Wesley and Whitfield. It was true, in the days of Jonathan Edwards. It is true, in America; true, in Scotland; true, in Wales; true, in the province of Ulster. " No flesh shall glory in his presence;" and no flesh shall pry into His doings. It is most needful to remember this. God the Holy Ghost will not brook human interference, or human curiosity, in any department of His work. He will use men as His instruments, and they have to be thankful for the high honor and holy privilege; but He knows full well how to wither up man's pride and self-importance. Man may bow his head and worship, in νίβλν of the Spirit's mighty operations; but, the moment it becomes a question of human excitement or vain curiosity, the Holy Ghost is grieved and He must resent it, in His own peculiar way.
In looking through the gospel narrative, we can easily sec how utterly offensive to the spirit of our blessed Lord was everything in the shape of popular demonstration, fleshly excitement, and idle curiosity. He shrank from them, on every occasion. He could not work where they were manifested, and, therefore invariably retired. Take, as an instance, John 6 He could feed five thousand people with " five barley loaves, and two small fishes;" but He did this because there was a needs be, and not for the purpose of working a miracle. He did it to feed the hungry, not to astonish the curious. He did it to supply man's want, not to display His own power. Hence, "when Jesus perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone." He could willingly minister to every form of human need; but he sensitively shrank from human excitement and popular demonstration. He came to be the Servant of man's necessities, not the object of his vain applause. He came to be used, not to be gazed at. He was always ready whenever man was empty. It needed no laborious effort to find Him. He pursued, in heavenly energy and untiring zeal, His path of service, but could not tolerate man's bustling self-importance or prying curiosity.
The same is true, with respect to God the Holy Ghost. He came down to earth on the day of Pentecost, and has been here, ever since. He, too, came to be the Servant of human need wherever He could find it, not to elicit human applause, or feed idle curiosity. If He wrought miracles or spoke with tongues, it was not to draw attention to Himself, but to overcome the unbelief of the human heart, and exalt the name of Jesus. Man, ever shallow and short-sighted, would make a great ado about the miracle or the tongue, and lose sight of the divine object therein. He would make it an occasion of superstitious wonder, instead of a ground of holy worship. This, the Holy Ghost must always resent. He is sure to retire when man thus intrudes upon the hallowed sphere of His most precious operations.
He can minister; He can bless; He can enlighten; He can quicken; He can emancipate; He can travel hither and thither in His glorious majesty and divine independence; but the very moment man intrudes to meddle or interfere, the Holy Ghost must resent the intrusion.
Now, it is because we are most fully persuaded that the awakening in Ulster is the work of the Holy Ghost, that we desire that our readers should recognize its truly spiritual character, and carefully avoid mingling the human with the divine. The work is of God, and oh! let God have all the glory. Let there be no anxiety, on man's part, to show himself as an actor, or to set forth what great things he has done. We are all far too ready, like the chief Captain Lysias, to say, " then came 7." This will never do. It can only have the effect of grieving and hindering the Holy Ghost. If He is pleased, in His sovereign grace, to make use of some "younger brother"-some "left-handed man;" or if He takes up "an ox-goad," "a cake of barley meal," or " a sling," let us be thankful, not boastful; let us be full of praise and adoration, not of vain excitement, or self-importance. Let us not, like Saul in 1 Sam. 14 spoil, by our busy meddling, a victory which we had no hand in obtaining. We have nothing to boast of. We were very much settled upon our lees when the Holy Ghost began His gracious work in our midst; and it would, therefore, ill become us, now to bustle forth as though we were the people. If the Lord do but condescend to take us up to accomplish any little service, let us humbly bless His name, and seek His grace to serve him more effectually; but oh! let self be trampled in the dust.
Again, let us carefully guard against eyeing this movement as the means of subserving the interests of a party. Let us seek to breathe more the air of heaven where the tide of joy deepens and widens when one sinner is brought to the feet of Jesus. Î It is not said, there is joy in heaven when the ranks of this or that denomination are augmented. Ah! no; the grand paramount object is to win souls to Christ and build them up in Him. One soul linked on to Christ is a work done for eternity-a work which shall endure when denominational distinctions shall have vanished like the vapors of the morning. We claim for ourselves, and we cede to others, the privilege of worshipping God according to the light which He may impart; but we would rather be the honored instrument in bringing one soul into the fold of Christ, than to conduct ten thousand into any denominational enclosure. Let my party as well as myself be wholly set aside, so that Christ may be glorified.
Finally, let us beware of treating this great work of God the Holy Ghost, merely as a curious phenomenon-as something for the intellect to speculate upon-for curiosity to feed upon. True, it is a great work, a glorious work, a gracious work, a work which may well be placed side by side, with the awakening in the last century, the Reformation, in the sixteenth century, yea, with the day of Pentecost itself. But, as in all these gracious visitations, the Christian traces, with deep thankfulness, the distinct actings of the Holy Ghost, so should it be, with respect to the awakening in Ulster, in 1859. There may be, and there is, much to engage the attention of the philosopher, and gratify the heart of the philanthropist; but it is the spiritually minded Christian alone who can really enter into its true character, and its true results.
And, now, a word or two, ere we close, in answer to two special objections which we have heard urged against the spirituality of this movement. These objections are founded, first, upon peculiar features; secondly, upon counterfeit cases.
I. As to the first of these objections, we most fully admit that the present awakening in Ulster exhibits features quite peculiar to itself-features which cannot always be satisfactorily explained. But what of that? Must we question the whole movement because we cannot understand some of its incidental features? Surely not. For one case which, we cannot understand, there are fifty which we can. We can understand a drunkard made sober-an immoral man made chaste-a thief made honest-a scene of family brawls made a scene of family worship. We can fully understand these things. We may not be able to account, with accuracy, for the relapses, the dreams, the visions, or the prophecies; but are we called upon to do so? Are these the main features of the movement? No; they are but comparatively rare incidents. The main features we can understand, and on these we should base our judgment. As to the special cases, a sound mind would suspend its decision, and patiently wait for further light.
ΙΓ. Then, as to counterfeit cases, it is an admitted fact that counterfeit money proves the existence of genuine coin. Did the fact of there being a Judas amongst the apostles prove the mission of the twelve to be a fallacy? Why then should a few counterfeit cases be urged as an objection to a movement which numbers by thousands its genuine conversions? We admit the counterfeit cases, but we are thankful for the genuine. It is a mercy to be able to detect the former, but it is a greater mercy to be able to appreciate the latter. Like a cashier in a bank, he is thankful for the ability to detect a forgery, but that does not hinder his accepting a genuine note. Thank God for the thousands of genuine cases-the thousands of true spiritual conversions-the thousands who are able to say, with scriptural clearness and spiritual decision, "I know that my sins are forgiven; I have peace with God; I am happy, now-quite happy; I am on the Rock. Thank God, for all such! We think of these, when the infidel objects; we think of these, when the skeptic sneers; we think of these, when the Pharisee speaks in terms of cold contempt; and we earnestly pray for all opposers, that God may grant them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
The work is of God; and our present object is not so much to convince those who deny this fact, as to admonish, in true brotherly love, those who admit it. We would affectionately exhort all true lovers of Christ and lovers of souls, to give God the Holy Ghost His true and proper place -to watch His movements-to honor His leadings-to follow His current-to let Him have free course. We are free to acknowledge that we have a great dread of human interference, lest the Spirit should be grieved and quenched, and the good work hindered. We heartily rejoice in the cheering tidings which daily reach us, of the progress of this blessed awakening. God grant it may go forward! May nothing hinder its course! May the four quarters of the globe and the islands which stud the bosom of the ocean be visited by its holy influence, and the Eternal Trinity shall have all the praise forever and ever. Amen.