CHAPTER XIII.

THE VERMONT MEETING.

OD works through means of his own sovereign choosing; often, perhaps always, in his moral world, through individual instrumentalities. It would seem as if God loved to set the great seal of his strength upon what otherwise were weakness. He touches the spring of a single human heart as tenderly and absolutely as if it were the only heart; then touches corresponding springs in many others, and when all is ready, he places, at the weakest point it may be, a little battery in shape of some event or providence, and the whole unconscious community of hearts is stirred into sudden life and responsive action.

In the year 1866 the Spirit of God moved in this manner: first upon the heart of one man who was to be the mover in the matter, and then upon the hearts of many ministers and church officers in Vermont, producing such a new impulse and interest as culminated at length in a unanimous call for

a convention of Christians of all denominations in the state, to be held in the city of Burlington, for the purpose of making a united effort to get nearer to Christ individually, and of consultation with each other as to the best means of promoting a revival of religion in the churches. The people came together upon the fifth day of September, and continued the meeting through three days, holding each day three sessions, each session continuing three hours. Some remained in the place of meeting from nine o'clock in the morning until five in the afternoon, spending the interval at noon in prayer and inquiry for entire consecration to Christ.

In the words of Rev. John Quincy Adams, who was present, "No description of these meetings can be given to one who was not present. At the first meeting we attended, on the morning of the fifth, brother Earle, who had been requested to preside over the convention and direct its movements, and who had preached the evening previous, gave us a discourse from the text, 'Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.'

"At the close of that sermon about fifty ministers came forward and knelt at the altar, making then and there an unconditional surrender of themselves to God. And from that meeting until the close of the convention on Friday, testimony after testi

mony to the reception of the rich blessing of God in leading Christians into a higher knowledge of Christ and his requirements of them, was given. The sensible presence of the Holy Spirit was at times almost too much to be borne; and the whole audience would be melted into tears, or feelings would find vent in sobs or audible expressions of praise.

"On the morning of the eighth, by the special suggestion and urgent request of some of the brethren, about an hour and a half was occupied in relating personal experiences of the blessedness and vital importance of an entire self-dedication to Christ.

"Almost every moment between the public meetings was occupied in conversation with inquirers upon this subject, who literally besieged us, SO that we gladly went without our food to afford time to converse and pray with them.

"At the close of the sermon on Friday evening sixty or seventy testified that they had formally given themselves wholly and forever to God. Old, gray-headed ministers tearfully and solemnly declared that they were never in such a meeting before.""

At the close of the public services we retired to the vestry to hold an experience mecting, to recount the manner in which each came nearer to

the Savior; and it seemed as if the very place was filled with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

A correspondent of the "New York Examiner " says, "The meeting at Burlington, Vt., last week, under the direction of Rev. A. B. Earle, was one of an extraordinary character. It was evident that the brethren who met there had been waiting on God in secret before coming together publicly. The attendance was very large; almost every church in the state being represented, and several brethren from other states being in attendance, and, like the meeting on the day of Pentecost, the brethren were with one accord in one place.'

"Earnest desires for personal holiness were expressed by all, especially the pastors of the churches. The most entire, and solemn, and irrevocable consecrations were deliberately uttered by one after another. More than once about fifty pastors were bowed together before God, pledging themselves to renounce all worldly ambition and all self-seeking, and consecrate themselves and their entire being anew to the service of God. The testimony of not a few was given to the reception of an increased measure of the Holy Spirit, and, in several instances, the declaration that a new experience had been realized, as the result of an entire consecration to God, and the reception, by

faith, of the Lord Jesus Christ, in all his fullness, as their Savior.

Constantly increasing power was manifested from the commencement to the close. Each meeting was better than the preceding one. Frequently the entire audience was melted, and nothing but sobs could be heard.

"The preaching by brother Earle was characterized by great simplicity, and every sermon seemed specially prompted by the Holy Spirit.

"When the opportunity was presented for persons to come forward for prayer, not less than two hundred took the front seats, which had to be vacated to accommodate them. In some instances the midnight hour heard the voice of prayer in the dwellings and hotels where the delegates were stopping, and in others the rising of the sun was anticipated by earnest supplications.

"I think we may confidently look for a glorious revival of religion in Vermont this fall and winter; and I hope that other states will imitate this movement inaugurated at Burlington.

"The universal testimony was, 'I was never in such a meeting in my life.""

The experiences alluded to in the above did not lose their depth or fervor with the close of the meeting, the work of the Spirit thus manifesting itself in their permanancy as well as blessedness.