with the women," until the Spirit was poured out upon them, and they received the promised power from on high. Then they were ready for a larger congregation; and the multitudes were quickly attracted to the place, and the displays of grace were so marvellous, and the conversions so numerous, that there was an addition to the church, on a single day of the meeting, of about three thousand new members.

Let me, then, again say to all Christians who desire and labor for the conversion of souls: First, be right yourself; spend days and nights, if necessary, in humiliation, fasting, and prayer, until the Spirit comes down upon you, and you feel that you have power with God; then you will have power with men in leading them to Christ.

Let none of us, who proclaim the gospel, preach complaining, scolding sermons, or make unkind remarks about those who differ with us, or who do not come up to the work as we would have them. Let the melting, subduing love of Christ flow from our hearts and lips; the unconverted will then begin to cry out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" and we shall find ourselves in the midst of a glorious outpouring of the Spirit, with a host of busy hands and loving hearts about us, reaping and bringing in the sheaves, and with no more need of asking, “How can I best promote a revival?"

CHAPTER II.

FAITH.*

"HAVE FAITH IN GOD."- Mark xi. 22.

AITH is a persuasion of the mind, resting upon evidence.

FA

Faith must have a basis to rest upon; we cannot have faith in the absence of evidence. God never asks any one to believe anything without furnishing a basis for that belief. in his own existence, of nature, and bids us us to receive the Scriptures as divinely inspired,they bear in themselves the evidence of their divine origin. Does he bid us come to him in prayer, he furnishes us with daily answers to prayer.

Does he ask us to believe

he opens the great volume look up. Does he require

Some persons have faith in appearances; that is, they believe they are going to have a revival of religion, because there is a general solemnity and seriousness in the community. This is not faith in God, but in appearances: withdraw these indica

* A Sermon preached in Fall River, Mass., in 1863.

tions, and faith has nothing to rest upon. To true faith in God the darkness and the light are both alike.

We hear others say they have faith to believe they would have a glorious revival, could they secure the labors of a favorite minister: this is faith in a minister or measure - not in God. Get your minister, if in your judgment he would do you good, but let your faith anchor in God and his promises.

As faith must have a basis to rest upon, let us see what ground we have to expect an immediate revival of religion, and souls to be converted to God, if we go on with this meeting, and preach, and pray, and exhort, and sing, and visit.

1. God appointed these means to effect this end. God, who cannot make a mistake, and who knows all about the difficulties to be overcome in a dark, cold time, bids us go and preach, pray, exhort, and sing, in simple faith, and he will bless.

No matter how dark, or cold, or dead,— we are to look for an immediate outpouring of the Spirit, in the use of these means. I have come to believe that God means just what he says in his word, and I expect an outpouring of the Spirit whenever and wherever the means are used in faith.

If God had told me to go into your graveyard and sing "Old Hundred" among the graves, and

that by this means the dead would be raised, I would come to one and another of you, and ask if you had any friends in that graveyard; and if so, to get ready to receive them they were going to be raised. Perhaps you would ask me, "Can you raise the dead?" I should answer, "Not at all; but God has sent me to sing 'Old Hundred' among the graves, and says through this means he will raise the dead." I should expect to see the graves open, and the dead come forth. My faith would not rest in any power of yours or mine, but in the fact that God appointed this means to effect this end.

Just so when Jesus says, "Go preach my word, and, lo! I am with you, and will pour out my Spirit upon you," we should expect him to do it. I do expect it; I have not one fear but that we shall have a glorious result, if we use these means in faith in this place.

Moses had faith in God, when he lifted the brazen serpent to the bitten Israelites; his faith was not in the piece of brass, nor in his own power to heal, but in the fact that God had appointed that piece of brass thereby to make his power known. As Moses lifted that piece of brass in the wilderness, so must Jesus be lifted to the view of lost

men.

We can have faith in God, in using these means, then, because he appointed them to effect this end.

2. Another strong ground for faith in God, in using these means, to expect an immediate revival of religion, is, that God's heart and hand are in this work.

God felt so deeply for the salvation of souls, before we cared anything about it, that he gave his own Son to die for them.

"This was compassion like a God,

That, when the Savior knew
The price of pardon was his blood,
His pity ne'er withdrew."

God sees the end from the beginning, and tries no experiment has all necessary resources of providence and grace; so that we can follow where he leads, with unwavering faith.

How often does some providence occur, that is made the means of a powerful work of grace. In one part of Maine, nine churches united in asking me to assist them in a series of union meetings; but before I reached the place, death had taken one of the pastors, almost instantly, out of the world. This pastor had drawn off the names of more than twenty persons, whom, he was going to seek, at once, to bring to the Savior. One day, with these names in his pocket, he went to the post-office, and died before reaching his home again. The effect was so great upon his congregation and the com