We feel it, in some measure, due to our readers to notice a special feature of this movement which has come more prominently out within the last few weeks. We allude to the matter of dreams, visions, and prophecies, many of which are most striking and solemnizing. Some have seen the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, and on the throne. Others have seen an awful pit yawning to receive them, and then the Lord Jesus nailed to the cross to save them from that pit. Some have fallen into a trance and been carried, in spirit, into heaven where they saw marvelous visions. Others, again, have been struck dumb and blind for a certain period, and, on recovery, have foretold when they would be struck again. In many cases, these prophecies have been literally and punctually fulfilled. In one instance, the person affected declared that she was so visited, not on her own account, but to convince sinners. In short, many of the cases are attended with circumstances of deep interest and awful solemnity. Our space does not admit of detail; we can merely give a brief statement of the extraordinary facts, and offer a remark or two thereon.
And first, then, we would ask, why should it be thought a thing incredible that God should speak to his creatures “in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed?” (Job 33:1515In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; (Job 33:15)) He has done so in all ages. Patriarchs, prophets, and apostles have been so addressed; Abraham was thus addressed, in Gen. 15 Abimelech was thus admonished, in Gen. 20 We have Jacob’s dream, in Gen. 28 Laban’s dream, in Gen. 31 Joseph’s dreams, in Gen. 38 The dreams of Pharaoh’s butler and baker, in Gen. 40 And Pharaoh’s own dreams in Gen. 41 We have Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, in Dan. 2 We have Daniel’s dreams and visions, in Dan. 7 Paul saw a vision, in Acts 16 Various other instances might be adduced, but the above will suffice for our present purpose. God has thought proper, in all ages, to address His people and direct His servants by dreams and visions.
However, it will most probably be objected, that the cases which we have above brought forward, were all prior to the completion of the canon of Holy Scripture. True; but do they not prove that God did, in those times, make use of dreams and visions as means of communication with His people? Undoubtedly. Well, it devolves upon the objector to prove that He cannot and does not do the same, at the present day. We believe He can and does. We believe that many have been awakened to a sense of their danger, and brought to think seriously of their souls and eternity, by means of a dream. To rest in, or build upon, a dream, would be, obviously, quite a different thing. I could never find peace for my guilty conscience in visions or dreams, for the simplest of all reasons, that visions and dreams could not cancel my guilt or satisfy the claims of the holiness of God. I may be aroused to a sense of need, by a vision or dream; but my need can only be satisfied by Jesus and His precious blood, as unfolded in the Word, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
We most fully admit the need and importance of judging all dreams, visions, and prophecies, by the truth of God, and rejecting everything contrary thereto. This is the plain duty of every child of God. We are responsible to “try” the visions as well as “the spirits;” but to deny the fact that God can communicate with His creatures in the way of a dream or a vision, must be pronounced a most unwarrantable assumption. Who can limit the Almighty? Who can prescribe His mode of acting? Can He not arrest a man, by a vision of the night, now, as well as in the days of Nebuchadnezzar? Can he not cause a person to see a vision, now, as well as in the days of the Apostle Paul? Who can doubt it, save one who makes his own limited understanding the measure of what the Almighty can or ought to do, and rejects everything which lies beyond the narrow range of his own reason. This is infidelity, than which nothing can be more contemptible and absurd, though it seems so uncommonly clever and far-seeing.
The human mind vainly undertakes to account for everything that comes under its notice; and all which cannot be satisfactorily explained upon certain known laws and principles of science, must be rejected. God is excluded. He cannot possibly act in any way beyond the reach of man’s reason. Pitiable skepticism! Wretched reasoning, which depends for its truth upon the exclusion of God! The very moment you introduce God, faith says, “He can do anything.” This is faith’s simple, artless, happy, safe way of settling everything. If God is pleased to speak to us in dreams and visions, He can do so. If He is pleased to endow us with a knowledge of what shall be on the morrow, He can do so. If He is pleased to strike a man down and evoke from the depths of his agonized and convicted heart the piercing cry of anguish and terror, He can do so. He can cause a man to see with his mental eye the gulf of fire—the eternal pit of hell yawning to receive him. He can cause him to see the great white throne, prepared, in awful majesty, to try his case. He can cause him to see the roll, containing the black catalog of all his crimes, unfolded to the gaze of his alarmed conscience.
Now, need we marvel if, when such solemn realities are made to pass before the vision of the soul, the very strongest frame should be convulsed and laid prostrate? Must we have recourse to the medical profession to explain the various phenomena of the new creation? If a man is struck down to the earth, and made to cry out for mercy, is this hysteria or nervous affection? Has the Holy Ghost nothing to do with it? When the jailor “came trembling, fell down, and cried out,” was it hysteria or nervousness?
Had the Holy Ghost nothing to do with it? We need hardly say, we admit the existence of hysteria and nervous affection, in every possible form; but directly men attempt to explain by these things the beauteous mysteries of God’s new creation, we hesitate not to pronounce them the vain speculations of unbelief, the object of which is to shut out the Holy Ghost from His own proper sphere, or to confine His mighty operations within the limits prescribed by man’s puny understanding.
It is of the very last importance, at the present moment, that christians should fully understand and faithfully confess the grand truth of the presence and sovereign rule of God—the Holy Ghost. If we contemplate His operations abroad amongst men, the word is, “The wind bloweth where it listeth.” (John 3:88The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8).) And if we contemplate His actings in the church, the word is, “Dividing to every man severally as he will.” (1 Cor. 12:1111But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. (1 Corinthians 12:11).) In a word, the Holy Ghost is sovereign in all things. He will work when, where, and as He pleases; and if we presume to apply to His mighty, and marvelous doings the rule and square of human reason, or to account for them on the principles of science and philosophy, we shall find ourselves entirely astray. We are wholly incompetent to give a reason for any special mode of acting which the sovereign Spirit may be pleased to adopt. He may see fit, in an age of cold religious formality, and uninfluential orthodoxy, to carry on His work of conversion amid circumstances of a most astounding, exciting, and solemnizing nature. If professing christians have been proving by their principles and practices that they have very little, if any, faith in the presence of the Holy Ghost on earth, need we marvel if He should manifest Himself in such a way as to confound and astonish? If men, and even christians, have fallen very much into the habit of trying everything by the standard of reason and common sense, of arraigning all that meets their view before the tribunal of science and philosophy, need we marvel if the Holy Ghost should display His power after such a fashion as to write folly and confusion upon science and philosophy, and to baffle and confound reason and common sense? “It is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” 1 Cor. 1:1919For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. (1 Corinthians 1:19). 20.
But let it not be supposed that we would, by any means, undertake to endorse, as genuine, all the physical manifestations, or all the dreams, visions, and prophecies of the past few months. Far from it. We are quite prepared to admit a vast amount of infirmity, affectation, imitation, and even gross imposition and dishonesty. Nor is this all; we feel assured that just in proportion as the Holy Ghost manifests His power, will Satan manifest his in opposition. This has ever been the case. A strong belief in the Person and actings of the Holy Ghost, will always be attended by an equally strong belief in the person and actings of Satan. But, allowing the widest possible margin for human failure and Satanic power, we are fully persuaded that the Lord may, and does see fit, at times, to allow visions of the eternal world to break in upon the soul, in order to rouse men to a sense of the reality of things which appear on the page of inspiration, and which have been read and heard for years, without impression or practical result. And we are as fully persuaded that, when the Lord does permit such visions or dreams, no one can possibly account either for the measure or the mode of the physical effects and manifestations. We do not believe that the soul will ever be allowed to rest in such dreams or visions, if the Holy Ghost is really working. We can only rest in the revealed truth of God— “the holy scriptures;” but He may and does make use of dreams and visions to arouse the slumbering conscience, alarm the skeptic mind; and, at times too, to confirm a wavering heart.
One thing is certain, we are sure to err when we venture to lay down an iron rule, or frame a rigid system; the Holy Ghost will never be confined by such. He is sovereign in His doings. Let us remember this. His operations lie beyond the range of the most enlarged and vigorous understanding. He can cause people to dream dreams, see visions, and utter prophecies. Who will question this? Who will attempt to prescribe a limit to the power of the Holy Ghost, or to the mode of His operations? Who will undertake to say that there is not, at the present moment, an urgent need for the peculiarly solemn and arresting manner in which He is pleased to manifest His power? Have we not all had to complain of coldness, barrenness, and dead ness? Has there not been a deplorable amount of skepticism and practical infidelity, even amongst professing christians? And should we not hail, with unmingled thankfulness, anything and everything calculated, in any measure, to meet such a condition of things? For our own part, we can only say, with hearts full to overflowing, the Lord be praised for every exhibition of His right hand and holy arm—for every display of the lighting down of His power—for every utterance of His solemn voice, in the ear of this iron age of unbelief and formal profession!
We would, however, venture a word of faithful admonition: first, to those who are the subjects of the dreams and visions; and, secondly, to all who may see or hear of such.
1. And, first, to all who have seen visions or dreamed dreams, or uttered prophecies, we would affectionately say, beware of resting in such things—beware of building upon, or boasting of, such things. You must rest only in Christ- build only upon Christ—boast only in Christ. All beside will prove utterly insufficient. Keep close to His precious sacrifice, and close to that eternal Word which testifies thereof. Thus you will be secure, peaceful, and happy. In the cross of Christ, God is glorified, conscience satisfied, and Satan silenced. This could never be said in reference to a dream, a vision, or a prophecy. These latter may be very good in their place, but they can never form the foundation either of the glory of God or the sinners peace. Christ is all.
Furthermore, we would add, beware of spiritual pride and self-complacency. Satan may craftily whisper into your ear, “Very few have seen visions, dreamed dreams, or uttered prophecies, like you. You are peculiarly privileged, specially favored, highly honored. You are no ordinary Christian.” In this way, he would completely upset you, by tempting you out of the only safe position, of self-emptied humble dependence upon Christ. If you turn to 2 Cor. 12 you will find that, when Paul had been favored with extraordinary “visions and revelations of the Lord,” in “the third heaven,” he needed “a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him down here, “lest he should be exalted above measure.” From this we learn, very plainly, that “visions and revelations” cannot improve that evil nature which every true believer carries about with him. Paul’s old nature was as bad, when he came down from the third heaven, as when he traveled, in the fury of his zeal, from Jerusalem to Damascus, to imbrue his hands in the blood of the saints of God. Had it not been so, there would have been no need for “a thorn in the flesh. “But Paul was in danger of being “exalted above measure,” and hence there was given him the “thorn,” but, with the thorn, a deeper sense of the all-sufficient grace of Christ, so that he was led to glory, not in “visions and revelations of the Lord,” but in his own personal “infirmities.” He found Christ amid the visions and revelations of paradise, and Christ amid the buffetings and infirmities of earth. To him it was Christ, only; Christ, everywhere; Christ, in all. So may it be with you, through the grace of the in-dwelling Spirit.
2. And, now, one word to those who may see or hear of persons having the visions and dreams, or uttering the prophecies. Beware of undue excitement, or a spirit of mere curiosity. No doubt, such things are very wonderful, very solemnizing, very arresting; but let us express our amazement in the presence of God, not in the presence of poor, feeble, erring mortals, who are in danger of being puffed up thereby. In dealing with the latter, it should be our constant aim to lead them to cling simply to Christ, and to glory in Him alone. Thus we shall really benefit them, and God will be glorified. It is a very serious thing to injure, by our actings or expressions, the very feeblest lamb of the flock of Christ; and we fear that very great damage has been done by crowds of persons flocking to see those who have had visions and dreams. It is not only calculated to do injury to the really genuine cases, but also to tempt persons to affectation, imitation, and positive dishonesty and wickedness. Let us consider these things. Let us remember our holy responsibilities to the souls of men, and to the cause of Christ.
During the progress of this movement, we have been forcibly reminded of the following passage of scripture, “Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.” (John 12:99Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. (John 12:9).) It is one thing to come for the purpose of seeing Lazarus, and quite another thing to come in order to see Jesus. No doubt, it is most glorious to behold the works of God, either in nature or in grace. Far be it from us to seek, in any way, to check a right desire to “behold the works of the Lord.” We merely offer a word of brotherly admonition, because of the infirmity of the flesh and the craft of Satan.
May the Lord, in His infinite mercy, continue to hold this work in His own hand, that so it may be protected from every hostile influence. May the shining river flow onwards, until every corner of the vineyard shall have felt its fertilizing and refreshing virtue!