|
 IT
IS GOOD for us to draw nigh unto God in prayer. Our minds are
grieved to see so little attention given to united prayer by many
churches.
 How
can we expect a blessing if we are too idle to ask for it? How can
we look for a Pentecost if we never meet with one another, in one
place, to wait upon the Lord? Brethren, we shall never see much
change for the better in our churches till the prayer meeting
occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians.
But
now that we have come together, how shall we pray? Let us not
degenerate into formality, or we shall be dead while we think we
live. Let us not waiver through unbelief, or we shall pray in vain.
Oh, for great faith with which to offer great prayers!
We
have been mingling praise and prayer together as a delicious
compound of spices, fit to be presented upon the altar of incense
through Christ our Lord; may we not at this time offer some special
far-reaching petition? It is suggested to me that we pray for a true
and genuine revival of religion throughout the world.
A Real and Lasting Revival
I
am glad of any signs of life, even if they should be feverish and
transient, and I am slow to judge any well intended movement, but I
am very fearful that many so called revivals in the long run wrought
more harm than good. A species of religious gambling has fascinated
many men, and given them a distaste for the sober business of true
godliness.
But
if I would nail down counterfeits upon the counter, I do not
therefore undervalue true gold. Far from it. It is to be desired
beyond measure that the Lord would send a real and lasting revival
of spiritual life.
We
need a work of the Holy Spirit of a supernatural kind, putting power
into the preaching of the Word, inspiring all believers with
heavenly energy, and solemnly affecting the hearts of the careless,
so that they turn to God and live. We would not be drunk with the
wine of carnal excitement, but we would be filled with the Spirit.
We would behold the fire descending from heaven in answer to the
effectual fervent prayers of righteous men. Can we not entreat the
Lord our God to make bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the people
in this day of declension and vanity?
Old-fashioned Doctrine
We
want a revival of old-fashioned doctrine. I know not a single
doctrine which is not at this hour studiously undermined by those
who ought to be its defenders. There is not a truth that is precious
to the soul which is not now denied by those whose profession it is
to proclaim it. To me it is clear that we need a revival of
old-fashioned gospel preaching like that of Whitefield and Wesley.
The
Scriptures must be made the infallible foundation of all teaching;
the ruin, redemption and regeneration of mankind must be set forth
in unmistakable terms.
Personal Godliness
Urgently
do we need a revival of personal godliness. This is, indeed, the
secret of church prosperity. When individuals fall from their
steadfastness, the church is tossed to and fro; when personal faith
is steadfast, the church abides true to her Lord.
It
is upon the truly godly and spiritual that the future of religion
depends in the hand of God. Oh, for more truly holy men, quickened
and filled with the Holy Spirit, consecrated to the Lord and
sanctified by His truth.
Brethren,
we must each one live if the church is to be alive; we must live
unto God if we expect to see the pleasure of the Lord prospering in
our hands. Sanctified men are the salt of society and the saviours
of the race.
Domestic Religion
We
deeply want a revival of domestic religion. The Christian family was
the bulwark of godliness in the days of the puritans, but in these
evil times hundreds of families of so-called Christians have no
family worship, no restraint upon growing sons, and no wholesome
instruction or discipline. How can we hope to see the kingdom of our
Lord advance when His own disciples do not teach His gospel to their
own children?
Oh,
Christian men and women, be thorough in what you do and know and
teach! Let your families be trained in the fear of God and be
yourselves "holiness unto the Lord"; so shall you stand like a rock
amid the surging waves of error and ungodliness which rage around
us.
Vigorous, Consecrated
Strength
We
want also a revival of vigorous, consecrated strength. I have
pleaded for true piety; I now beg for one of the highest results of
it. We need saints. We need gracious minds trained to a high form of
spiritual life by much converse with God in solitude.
Saints
acquire nobility from their constant resort to the place where the
Lord meets with them. There they also acquire that power in prayer
which we so greatly need. Oh, that we had more men like John Knox,
whose prayers were more terrible to Queen Mary than 10,000 men! Oh,
that we had more Elijahs by whose faith the windows of heavens
should be shut or opened!
This
power comes not by a sudden effort; it is the outcome of a life
devoted to the God of Israel! If our life is all in public, it will
be a frothy, vapoury ineffectual existence; but if we hold high
converse with God in secret, we shall be mighty for good. He that is
a prince with God will take high rank with men, after the true
measure of nobility.
Beware
of being a lean-to; endeavour to rest on your own walls of real
faith in the Lord Jesus. May none of us fall into a mean,
poverty-stricken dependence on man! We want among us believers like
those solid, substantial family mansions which stand from generation
to generation as landmarks of the country; no lath-and-plaster
fabrics, but edifices solidly constructed to bear all weathers, and
defy time itself.
Given
a host of men who are steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the
work of the Lord, the glory of God's grace will be clearly
manifested, not only in them, but in those round about them. The
Lord send us a revival of consecrated strength, and heavenly energy!
Preach
by your hands if you cannot preach by your tongues. When our church
members show the fruits of true godliness, we shall soon have
inquiries for the tree which bears such a crop.
Oh
the coming together of the saints is the first part of Pentecost,
and the ingathering of sinners is the second. It began with "only a
prayer meeting", but it ended with a grand baptism of thousands of
converts. Oh that the prayers of believers may act as lode stones to
sinners! Oh that every gathering of faithful men might be a lure to
attract others to Jesus! May many souls fly to Him because they see
others speeding in that direction.
"Lord,
we turn from these poor foolish procrastinators to thyself, and we
plead for them with thine all-wise and gracious spirit! Lord, turn
them and they shall be turned! By their conversion, pray that a true
revival has commenced tonight! Let it spread through all our
households, and then run from church to church till the whole of
christendom shall be ablaze with a heaven-descended fire!"
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