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 iiE;vEt;air OF Rxsiiieiostf, 
 
 THIRD PRES^YT^fll AN C 
 
 ^ALTIMOR 
 
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 ONNFCTLD WITH REVIVALS IN 
 
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 THE SA/D f.^iun- 
 
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 I VT CD Py 'WintlAMi WOODDV, 
 
 , r ; -; r 'oii'Ji- from Market Street. 
 
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NARRATIVE 
 
 OF 
 
 A RSVIVAIi OS* RSIiSGE02«', 
 
 IN THE 
 
 THiuD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 
 
 OF BALTIMORE. 
 
 wsfsc :b!1ia:es.s 
 
 SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH REVIVALS IN GENERAL, 
 
 BY W. C. WALTON, 
 
 TASTOH OF THE SAID CHUHCH. 
 
 BALTIMORE: 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM WOODDY, 
 
 Calvert street^ second door south from Market street, 
 1824. 
 
•^A^mAmwrn 
 
 or 
 
 A REVIVAL OF RELIGION, 
 
 THE subject of revivals has, for a number 
 of years, engaged my attention, and excited the 
 liveliest feelings of interest in my bosom. Until 
 lately, however, I had no knowledge of it, except 
 what I had gathered from written or verbal nar- 
 ratives. Tke reading, or hearing of these, has 
 often kindled in my breast inexpressible desires 
 to witness and to feel the blessed reality of a re- 
 vival. I have sometimes thought, especially 
 when I have been listening to such reports in 
 Synod or in the General Assembly, that "now I 
 will make some new and more vigorous effort 
 than I have yet made, and peradventure the Lord 
 W'iil smile upon my labour, and crown it with 
 success." But such feelings were of short du- 
 ration. My mind soon settled down to its or- 
 dinary tone, when I returned to my old scene of 
 labour; and I thought I saw so many difficulties 
 in the way that I often sunk into a state of des- 
 pondency and hopelessness. I was conscious of 
 aiming, at least, to preach the whole truth of the 
 Gospel, to the best of my knowledge and ability; 
 and in doing this, I thought I must leave every 
 thing else to the Divine sovereignty. On this 
 ground, my mind was much more at rest than it 
 ought to have been. I was neglecting my duty. 
 
Not that I failed to fulli] my stated appointmentSj 
 when health and other circumstances would ad- 
 mit 5 but my preaching was not sufficiently plain, 
 and pointed, and discriminating. Another great 
 defect was, that I too seldom disturbed the con- 
 science of saint or sinner in private. I often 
 conversed on the subject of religion ; but it was 
 in mch a ivay^ that 1 fear it did but little good. 
 It is as necessary that we should be close, point- 
 ed, solemn, and pressing, when preaching the 
 Gospel to an individual, or to a few individuals, 
 in private, as when we are addressing a multi- 
 tude in public. 
 
 At length I was removed, by the providence 
 of God, to another sphere of labour. This gave 
 me a fresh excitement ; and from the time I came 
 to my present situation, I felt an increasing de- 
 sire to have a revival. I was inquisitive on the 
 subject, and tried to obtain all the information I 
 could, respecting the means which had been 
 most remarkably blessed. Just at that time, I 
 formed an acquaintance with a young man, a 
 student of theology, who had been in several re- 
 vivals, and who had conversed with the Rev, 
 Mr. Nettleton on the subject. He knew Mr. 
 Nettleton''s views and plans of operation. He 
 stated them to me ; and they appeared so reason- 
 able and so scriptural, that I felt no hesitation in 
 receiving them. Believing now, that if ive made 
 use of the proper means toe rniglit have a revival^ 
 I immediately prepared a sermon on the subject. 
 After service, on a Sabbath morning, I request- 
 ed all the communicants to remain a short time. 
 We then addressed them more particularly 
 and solemnly on the subject; and concluded by 
 
urging them to meet, two or three together, in 
 different parts of the congregation, to converse 
 and pray for this object. On the same evening, 
 and at the same hour, we assembled a few 
 young people at a private house, and talked to 
 them tenderly and solemnly, about the concerns 
 of their souls. These meetings on Monday 
 evening were continued. Meanwhile, ice visited 
 from house to house ^ and conversed w^ith all Vvi h 
 whom we met, if circumstances appeared to be 
 favourable. We came to the point without 
 needless ceremony, and as soon as our message 
 was delivered, we departed. We also endea- 
 voured to impress it upon the minds of profess- 
 ing christians, that now they ought to be very 
 solemn and much engaged, and so to order their 
 conversation, that it might tend to deepen the 
 impression which we wished to make on the 
 minds of their children and others around them. 
 About that time we commenced a meeting on 
 Friday evening, foi^ tJie professors only^ with a 
 view to engage them in such exercises as would 
 lead them to self-examination, self-abasement, 
 humble confession to God, and earnest prayer 
 for the out pouring of his spirit. 
 
 We had hot laboured long in this manner, 
 before we saw something like the beginning of a 
 w^ork of grace. The young people who attend- 
 ed our Monday evening meeting, evinced more 
 and more concern, and soon, it became literally 
 and emphatically an anxious meeting; and so it 
 continues to this day. The beginning of this 
 w^ork w^as about the latter part of June, 1823. 
 But no satisfactory cases of conversion took 
 
 * 
 
6 
 
 place until the last of July. Early in October, 
 sixteen persons were admitted to our communion, 
 as the first fruits of the revival. The day on 
 which they were examined and received, was 
 observed by them, and by the communicants, as 
 a day of fasting, prayer and thanksgiving. The 
 exercises of the communion Sabbath, were great- 
 ly blessed. In three days afterwards there were 
 n arly thirty hopeful conversions. On the 22d 
 November, we admitted twenty-nine more to our 
 communion, and on the 6th of February, 1824, 
 we admitted eighteen ; amounting in all, to six- 
 ty-three The whole number of hopeful con- 
 versions, is between eighty and ninety. I ti^ust 
 the good work is still going on in this congre- 
 gation; and there are very encouraging indica- 
 tions of a similar work in several parts of the 
 city. There is a union prayer meeting every 
 Saturday evening, which is crowded by the pious 
 of different denominations, for the purpose of 
 praying for a general revival of religion. In my 
 own congregation, we have a meeting of some 
 description or other, every evening in the week. 
 The old men, the young men, the old ladies and 
 the young ladies, all have their respective meet- 
 ings for conference and prayer. A considerable 
 proportion of young men are subjects of this 
 work. A large majority, however, are young 
 females. A number of these are actively em- 
 ployed in conducting a free adult female school. 
 They have, with much labour, sought out the 
 scholars from among the poor, obtained money 
 to defray the expenses of the school, and devote 
 two nights in each week to the business of in- 
 struction. They have about fifty scholars alrea- 
 
dy, and the school is yet in its infancy. Much 
 attention is paid to their religious instruction ; 
 two have experienced a hopeful change, and 
 many others are much concerned about the stat% 
 of their souls. Nearly all the teachers in our 
 Sabbath school, are now the professed disciples 
 of Christ. 
 
 Some of the young converts have met with 
 much opposition, and they have displayed a de- 
 gree of firmness, tempered with christian meek- 
 ness and tenderness, which has surprised and 
 delighted me. 
 
 Some of the most moral, kind, good-natured 
 people, in the estimation of the world, who had 
 long been resting upon their morality and the 
 goodness of their natural dispositions, have been 
 convinced that they also had "hearts deceitful 
 above all things and desperately wicked." They 
 have appeared to suffer as much under convic- 
 tion, as any persons I have seen ; and they now 
 regard themselves as miracles of grace. They 
 think their condition was, above all others, most 
 dangerous; and w^onder that they were ever 
 awakened from their awful delusion. One of 
 these — an old lady — never had had an idea of 
 the wickedness of her heart, until in a conversa- 
 tion with her, I referred her to those passages of 
 scripture which relate to that subject, and turn- 
 ed down the leaves of her Bible to them, re- 
 questing her to read them at her leisure, and re- 
 flect upon them. The opposition of the heart 
 
 to God, has been felt by all; but some have felt 
 it in a much higher degree than others. They 
 have been surprised and affrighted, to find that 
 their hearts were so very wicked, beyond every 
 
8 
 
 thing they had ever conceived of themselves be- 
 fore. They have been constrained to confess, 
 that they did not like the character of God; that 
 they were unwilling to put themselves into his 
 bond, and could not bear the idea of His doing 
 wiih them as He pleased. One, under convic- 
 tion, was put into a rage, Vvhen she beard that 
 her companions had obtained hope. Another, 
 Vvhen rising from her knees without comfort, has 
 often "gritted her teeth against the Saviour" — 
 her own expression — because she thought He 
 was showing more favour to others than to her. 
 These facts are stated, because they illustrate 
 the scripture doctrine, of the enmity of tli^ sin- 
 ner's heart against God ; a doctrine which has 
 been often dwelt upon in this revival, both in 
 public and in private: and we think every effort 
 ought to be made, to convince the impenitent, 
 that this doctrine is true; that they are, indeed, 
 what the Apostle affirms they are, "haters of 
 God." Nothing has a more direct tendency to 
 produce the conviction, that they are justly con- 
 demned and lost. — Convictions have continued 
 from one to three weeks. Relief has been, gen- 
 eraly, almost instantaneous, and often accom- 
 panied with much sensible joy. This joy has 
 sometimes been felt, without their reflecting, 
 that the change they had experienced, had place- 
 ed them in a state of safety^ as true believers. 
 Their joy arose from the actual change in their 
 dispositions and views. Before, their hearts 
 were hard, rebellious, unwilling to submit to 
 God, and often rose against Him. But now, 
 they melt and yield sweetly to His goverment, 
 confessing tl?ey deserve to be condemned, and 
 
9 
 
 fbeling, it is right that God should do with them 
 as He please. They have such a view of His 
 character, that they are cordially reconciled to 
 Him: yea, more than reconciled; they love Him, 
 rejoice in Him, and make an unreserved surren- 
 der of themselves to Him. And this they do, 
 not because they feel assured He will save them ; 
 but because they see it is right they should do 
 so, tcJietJier He save tJiem or not. Christ is pre- 
 cious to them, and they appear willing to part 
 with any thing for Him, and to take up the cross 
 for His sake. Some have submitted to sacrifices 
 and self-denials for conscience sake and from 
 love to the Saviour, which come nearer to the 
 example of primitive christians, than any thing 
 I had before witnessed. Others, when the 
 change has taken place, have experienced a calm, 
 sweet peace of mind, accompanied by a strong 
 desire for the salvation of sinners. All unite in 
 saying, the very moment they were heartily wil- 
 ling to give up all for Christ, and to surrender 
 themselves uiirescrvedly to Him, they found re- 
 lief. They wonder that they should not have 
 been willing before; or that they should have 
 thought it so difiicult to comply with terms 
 which now appear so easy and so reasonable. 
 They see that all the change that has taken 
 place, has been in themselves; that God is the 
 same nov>^, that He was when they were think- 
 ing so very hardly of Him ; that their cries of 
 distress did not move Him to change liis terms; 
 but that they are now ivilling to comply with 
 them, which they had never been before, althouji h 
 they t/iea thought they were willing. All ap- 
 pear to have been brought to neai'iy the same 
 
10 
 
 state of mind, before they found relief: namely, 
 to feel that they were lost. Matth. xviii. 11. 
 Some, after having done all they could, as they 
 thought, have been tempted to give up the pur- 
 suit of religion as hopeless. One remained in 
 this state for a day or two, without doing any 
 thing; but in a miserable state of mind. At 
 length, she found, that after all her doings, she 
 had not done the very thing she was commanded 
 to do, and which alone could save her. She had 
 not repented and given up Jwrself to Christ as a 
 lost sinner. She therefore made another vigor- 
 ous effort, feeling that it was a case of life or 
 death, and late at night she found rest to her soul. 
 Another, in a similar state of mind, was tempted 
 to think there was no reality in religion, or she 
 would have obtained it. She thought she had done 
 as much as others, and that they were deceived 
 in supposing they had experienced such a change. 
 She was soon convinced, however, that she had 
 mistaken the matter, and that while she had 
 done many things, she had neglected to do the 
 very thing the Gospel requires ; namely, to re- 
 pent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. In 
 this state of mind she returned home from a 
 prayer meeting, and continued all night in pray- 
 er, reading, &c. and just about the break of day, 
 she found rest to her soul. 
 
 I could state m.any other interesting facts ; but 
 it would extend the narrative to an improper 
 length. 
 
 tVhatl have witnessed in this revival, has 
 convinced me of the following things: — 
 
 1st. That many are deceived in fancying they 
 desire to have a revival, and that they are doing 
 
11 
 
 every thing in their power to promote that object, 
 and yet, God will not grant the blessing. I was 
 long under this mistake, and I fear it is a very 
 common one. We are too apt to take our stand- 
 ard of duty from custom, rather -than from the 
 word of God. We are influenced more than we 
 ought to be, by the defective examples of those 
 whom we regard as our superiors in age or 
 abilities; and we often take it for granted, that 
 because we are doing as much as ministers and 
 christians generally do, that therefore nothing 
 more is required of us. Many are so well satis- 
 fied with the old, beaten track that has, long, 
 been pursued, that they seem to say — although 
 they would not adopt the very words — "If God 
 will not meet us in this way, we will not go out 
 of it to meet Him." Some preach the Gospel 
 with much apparent zeal and animation; but 
 they seem to forget that they have a great work 
 to do out of the pulpit, as well as in the pulpit. 
 Ministers may preach regularly, and the people 
 may attend punctually; but where other means 
 are not employed, much success has rarely been 
 witnessed. The impression made by the labours 
 of the Sabbath, ought, as far as practicable, to be 
 followed up and deepened by close personal con- 
 versation. Such continual etForts to do good, 
 would have a salutary reaction upon ourselves, 
 and would often furnish most interesting and 
 useful materials for the composition of sermons. 
 Besides — the habit of conversing with persons 
 of every description about the concenrs of their 
 souls, has a better tendency than any thing we 
 hear from our most faithful theological instruc- 
 tors, to correct that stiffness and formality of 
 
12 
 
 style and manner, which detract so much from 
 the usefulness of many young ministers; and- to 
 b 'ing us to thai natural^ familiar^ simple method 
 of illustrating and enforcing divine truth, which 
 has ever charaterised the preaching of those 
 who have been most extensively useful. Plain, 
 pointed conversation, exhibiting that earnestness 
 which ought to be felt when we are engaged in 
 such an employment, is the means on which I 
 most rely, under the blessing of God, for com- 
 mencing and carrying on a revival. It alarms 
 sinners to be attacked in this unusual way. It 
 often makes them tremble, and sometimes pro- 
 duces considerable irritation. But it is proba- 
 bly the best method that ever was tried, of pro- 
 ducing convictions of sin. This fills up the 
 anxious meetmgs; and we shall often be surpris- 
 ed to find at these meetings, persons, on whom 
 we had supposed our conversation had made no 
 salutary impression. I re^'ard this method of 
 "preaching the Gospel to every creature" as be- 
 ing so pre-eminently important, that I would be 
 glad to have an opportunity of beseeching every 
 minister who has neglected it, to make a fair 
 experiment of it, as far as his health and circum- 
 stances will admit. I know there are many, who 
 are much more faithful and useful in this and 
 every other department of ministerial labour, 
 than I have ever been. But I also know, there 
 are many who have never made any thing like a 
 full experiment of the power of this engine for 
 destroying the kingdom of Satan. To such I 
 would say — Dear brethren, be intreated to make 
 trial of this method of arousing the attention of 
 your people, both saints and sinners. Examine 
 
£3 
 
 tween hating and loving God. Will he then 
 accept of any services from those, whose hearts He 
 knows are at enmity with Him, even while they 
 are most assiduously perfonning their religious 
 duties ? How can they be said to be in a hopeful 
 way, or in the way to obtain religion, while they 
 remain in this state of mind? Is sinning directly 
 against God in their hearts, the way to obtain 
 religion ? Is the indulgence of enmity, the way 
 to come to the exercise of love? Is the indul- 
 gence of pride, stubbornness, and rebellion, the 
 way to come to humble submission ? There is 
 no medium between these two states of the heart; 
 no more than there is between enmity and love. 
 Then, the sinner is a rebel until he submits. 
 But, will God accept the service of the knees or 
 of the lips, while the heart remains rebellious? 
 Is not submission — implying a cordial acquies- 
 cence in the terms of the Gospel — the first point 
 where hope begins, and where God manifests 
 the tokens of his favour? Why not come to 
 this point, then, immediately, if we must come 
 to it at last, in order to be saved? Ought we 
 not to urge tliis duty upon the awakened sinner, 
 with all the power of arguinent, of warning, and 
 of intreaty? endeavouring to take from under 
 him every prop on wliich he is resting, that ha 
 might fall immediately, as a lost sinner, at the 
 foot-stool of sovereign mercy — crying — "Lord 
 save or I perish!*" Should we not endeavour to 
 impress it upon his mind, that he is growing 
 woi'se and worse, and* his condition becomin'^ 
 more and more hopeless, notwitlistanding all his 
 distress and all his prayers, until he comes to 
 this point? and not suffer him, if we can help it. 
 
24^ 
 
 to go on toiling and labouring in fruitless at 
 tempts to save himself, or to bring God down to 
 any other terms than those He has prescribed in 
 His word. He professes to be going to Christ; 
 and we ought to tell him — Christ is at your right 
 hand, and ready to receive you in a moment, if 
 you are ready to receive Him, with a peniient, 
 willing and obedient heart. But the rout you 
 are taking is, at best, a very circuitous one, and 
 there are a thousand probabilities that, in your 
 wanderings, you will lose your impressions, or 
 settle down on a formal profession, and so never 
 come to Christ. Therefore, accept of His invi- 
 tation, and "come, for all things are now ready." 
 In giving directions to awakened sinners, we 
 are sometimes led into error, by a species of 
 false charity, thinking, that as they are now under 
 so much religious concern, their hearts are not so 
 wicked as the Bible represents the hearts of all 
 unconverted persons to be. The direction to 
 which I am now objecting, goes upon the as- 
 sumption, that they are not so wicked. "You 
 must repent — ^but whotlier you repent immedi- 
 ately or not, you must use the means of grace. '^ 
 This is giving the sinner quarters, where God does 
 not design he should have any. From enemies 
 and rebels, He accepts of nothing but uncondi- 
 tional submission. He will make no compro- 
 mise. Repent or perish, is the only condition. — 
 But he is now under conviction, and he has 
 many tender feelings, and sheds a great many 
 tears. Does not this lessen his enmity, and will 
 it not, by using the means of grace, be gradual- 
 ly softened down and changed into love.^ — If 
 tliis be admitted, we must conclude, that when 
 
21 
 
 derstancl what they mean by religion ; it is the 
 pardon of their sins, and some assurance that 
 they will be happy when they die. This is the 
 sum total of the religion they desire, and this is 
 what they are seeking. It is no wonder, then, 
 that they do not find it, when we consider that 
 God has promised no such religion in the Bible, 
 It would be separating what He has joined to- 
 jretlier. He has promised to pardon none but 
 those who repent, believe and obey. To others, 
 who may pretend to seek His favours, He says — 
 "When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide 
 mine eyes ; yea, when you make many prayers, 
 I will not hear." 
 
 What then, it may be asked, is the distressed, 
 impenitent sinner to do, when he cannot desire 
 the holy, humbling religion of the Gospel? or 
 feel willing to submit to God, and to render to 
 Him that homage of the heart, which He re- 
 quires.^ Must he cease from praying? The an- 
 swer is obvious. The want of a right disposi- 
 tion towards God, cannot release him from the 
 obligation of prayer, or of any other duty. It is 
 as much his duty to pray, as if he were the ho- 
 liest saint on earth. All that is required of the 
 christian, is required of him; and yet he does 
 nothing acceptably. His heart is altogether 
 wrong in the sight of God, and that pollutes all, 
 and brings the sentence of condemnation upon 
 all he does. His sins are increasing continual 
 ly ; nothing but the mere mercy of God keeps 
 him out of hell for a moment; and soon he must 
 be there, unless he submit and consent to be 
 saved on the terms of the Gospel. If, with this 
 ti'uth impressed upon his mind, he cannot be 
 
22 
 
 willing to comply with these terms, there is no 
 hope for him. Without this willingness, he 
 cannot he saved, although he should spend his 
 days and his nights too in weeping and in sup- 
 plication. If he still ask — how am I to feel this 
 willingness.^ We answer, the question involves 
 an absurdity. How is a man, whose body is 
 perishing and dying for the want of nourishment, 
 to feel a desire for that nourishment, and a wil- 
 lingness to receive it when it is offered to him.'^ 
 If he says he does not desire it, and will not re- 
 ceive it — that being the only means of preserv- 
 ing his life ; — why — he must die. And so we 
 say to the sinner. Here are the bread and the 
 water of life. If you are hungry, eat; if you 
 are thirsty drink. If you will not — you must 
 die. 
 
 The error I am now combatting, seems to arise 
 from the erroneous supposition, that when the 
 sinner is awakened, and begins to reform his 
 external conduct, and to use the means of grace, 
 his heart is growing better in the sight of God; 
 that he is becoming less and less unworthy ; and 
 that by tills gradual diminution of his unworthi- 
 ness, he is making a gradual approximation to- 
 wards a right state of feeling. Hence the direc- 
 tion — ^'•Continue praying — -persevere — you are 
 in a hopeful way — after a while you will obtain 
 religion," &c, 
 
 We ought to consider what the Bible says, 
 respecting the state of those, to whom we give 
 this direction. It describes them as being ene- 
 mies and rebels against God. "We will not 
 have this man to reign over us;" is the language 
 of their hearts. Now, there is no medium be- 
 
17 
 
 not committing a wilful aggravated sin, which 
 deserves the damnation of hell; but only running 
 a RISK in waiting until they shall be enabled to 
 repent? They have the notion, that repentance 
 is something which must, indeed, be done in or- 
 der to their salvation. But instead of laying it 
 to heart as an immediate duty, which they are 
 under the strongest obligations to perform ; they 
 think they must wait until God does it for them. 
 The EXTENT to which their conviction of duty 
 in the case, commonly goes, is to ask of God, 
 grace to enable them to do, w^hat they think they 
 could not do, however much they might be dis- 
 posed to do it. — Is this anti-scriptiu-al and destruc- 
 tive error combated as much as it ought to be ? 
 Are sinners given to understand, that nothing pre- 
 vents them from repenting, but their opposition to 
 God and unwillingness to submit to the terms of 
 the Gospel, which state of feeling it is infinitely 
 sinful for them to indulge for a moment.^ Is it 
 clearly explained to them, that repentance con- 
 sists in ceasing from this state of hostility to God, 
 and in exercising right feelings towards Him? 
 That God will accept of nothing from them, as a 
 substitute for this change of mind? That He re- 
 quires this of them in the first place ; and that until 
 they do this, they escape no danger, and perform 
 no duty to Him; but that their condition, in- 
 stead of becoming more safe, by their external, 
 heartless services, is waxing worse and worse ; 
 inasmuch as they are hardening their hearts 
 against God, refusing, like Pharaoh, to himible 
 themselves before Him, and seeking to reconcile 
 Him to them, without complying with those conv 
 
18 
 
 ditions, on which alone, He has promised to ex- 
 ercise mercy to sinners? I confess, I have sel- 
 dom heard these truths as clearly stated, and as 
 forcibly urged, as they ought to be. Sinners 
 are, indeed, often told, they must repent or pe- 
 rish ; but the guilt of neglecting to do this duty 
 hnmediately, is not sufficiently insisted upon. 
 And when they are awakeiTed, instead of having 
 this duty urged upon them with all the force of 
 divine authority, it is often taken for granted, 
 that they are already penitent; and they are 
 pitied and prayed for as mourners, who are wil- 
 ling to be saved if God will only convert them ; 
 when their distress arises from nothing but the 
 fear of hell, and the struggling of a wicked and 
 rebellious heart against the duty of immediate 
 submission to God, on the terms of the Gospel. 
 In this state of mind, the direction commonly 
 given to them is, to persevere in praying and 
 using the means of grace. Those w^ho give 
 this direction, will doubtless tell them they must 
 repent also ; but whether they are disposed to 
 repent immediately or not, ihc^j must, neverthe- 
 less, continue praying, since prayer is a means 
 of grace. — This goes upon the assumption, that 
 God has, somewhere, promised to meet the sin- 
 ner upon this ground, and to bless him while he 
 Isuiiwiliing to submit, and to renounce his sins; 
 and that merely becaust3 he is externally observ- 
 ing a divine institution. Such a promise, it 
 would be difficult to find. — To persons in the 
 state of mind here supposed, the word of God 
 contains no promise of good, but many denunci- 
 ations of evil. Evil is represented as "pursuing'' 
 them> "Evil pursueth sinners." "God is angry 
 
19 
 
 with tlie wicked every day." They are "con- 
 demned ah^eady," and can never know at one mo- 
 ment that they will not be in hell the nex4 — If 
 then, God has given them no promise of good, 
 while they remain impenitent rebels — and such 
 they may be, even when greatly distressed from 
 the fear of punishment — it is clear, that in or- 
 der to have any scriptural ground to hope their 
 prayers will be heard and accepted, they must, 
 in the first place, cease from their impenitence 
 and rebellion, by a cordial and unreserved sub- 
 mission to the terms of the Gospel. What au- 
 thority have I then, to encourage them to hope 
 that they will receive any favour from God, in 
 answer to their impenitent prayers ? Or to give 
 them any direction, the tendency of which would 
 be to make them believe they are in the way to 
 obtain religion, w^hen they do not desire it, and 
 are unwilling to have it, on the only terms on 
 which God will bestow it. 
 
 Let no one suppose I am here maintaining 
 the antinomian doctrine, that it is not the duty 
 of sinners to pray. I am only opposing the pre- 
 posterous method of telling them to pr*ay, when 
 they ought to repent, which completely reverses 
 the direction of scripture. It is their unques- 
 tionable duty to pray. But how must they pray? 
 With an impenitent heart? Certainly not. See 
 Isaiah, chap. i. 11 — 15. 
 
 If they still say tliey cannot pray with a pe- 
 nitent heart, until they have first prayed with an 
 impenitent heart, for grace to enable them to 
 repent, then they have the controversy to settle 
 with God, who commands the duty, and who 
 has forbidden them to indulge the hope, that He 
 
20 
 
 will accept any oifering at their hands, if they 
 approach Him in any other state of mind. 
 
 TJ^ above direction also assumes, that what is 
 a means of grace to the penitent believer, an- 
 swers the same purpose to persons of the oppo- 
 site character; that an external service, which 
 God has promised to accept and bless, when 
 rightly performed, He will accept and bless whe- 
 ther it be performed right or wrong! 
 
 Those with whom I am i:ow contending will 
 admit, that prayer is the offering up of the de- 
 sires of the heart to God. The question then 
 may be settled by ascertaining, what are the 
 real desires of an impenitent sinner's heart. 
 While he remains entirely careless, it will be 
 readily admitted, that his desires, if expressed 
 even on his knees, would not be pleasing to 
 God. But he becomes alarmed by a conviction 
 of danger, and is in great distress on that ac- 
 count. What does he desire now? Has his 
 distress changed the disposition of his soul so 
 much, that now he really desires to be holy? If 
 so, he is no longer the character of which I am 
 now speaking: that is to say — he is not an im- 
 penitent sinner; for it involves a contradiction 
 to say, an impenitent sinner desires to be holy. 
 How can he desire to be holy, when he is not 
 sorry that he has sinned against God, on any 
 other account, than because his sins expose him 
 to punishm.ent? The Apostle says, he is at en- 
 mity against God. To say, then, that he desires 
 to be holy, is equivalent to saying, he desires to 
 love God when be hates Him! Wlien sinners, 
 therefore, say they are in distress and desire to 
 have religion, and yet cannot obtain it, we un- 
 
15 
 
 make direct applications as we proceed; — no 
 matter who may be affected by them. In order 
 to do this, a minister must obtain much of that 
 independent spirit, of that simple desire to please 
 God, and to save the souls of men, w^hich charac- 
 terized the Saviour when He condescended to 
 perform the work of the ministry. — When we 
 are addressing a very ignorant audience, or a 
 congregation of Africans, we feel no concern as 
 to what they will think of our performance. 
 Our aim is to give them simple, plain instruc- 
 tion ; to convey to their minds clear, distinct views 
 of divine truth. In this way, with the blessing 
 of God, we hope to make a saving impression. 
 Such should be our feelings and such our aim, 
 whensoever, wheresoever, and to whomsoever, 
 we may be called to preach the Gospel. 
 
 There is, in my humble apprehension, too 
 much speculatino:, philosophizing, and systcmat* 
 izing, in most of the sermons we hear. This 
 mode of preaching, however interesting it may 
 be to students of theology, and to men of culti- 
 vated minds, is so much above the thoughts arid 
 reasonings of common people, that they receive 
 no distinct impression from it. Such labour i.*j 
 worse than lost on the great majority of hearers. 
 It leads many to regard religion as an intellec- 
 tual affair, consisting chiefly in rational and or- 
 thodox opinions; and others to invest the sub- 
 ject with mysteries and difficulties, which do not 
 properly belong to it. Sermons of this descrip 
 tion seldom, if ever, disquiet the conscience; 
 and one might presume, from their structure and 
 the materials of which they are composed, and 
 the indifferent manner in which they are often 
 
In 
 
 
 delivered, that they are not designed to have that 
 effect — The Gospel is not likely to prove the 
 power and the wisdom of God to the salvation 
 of sinners, unless they who preach it, re( collect 
 that they have to do with the hearts and consci- 
 ences, as well as the intellects of men. 
 
 Nothing is so well calculated to rectify 
 the error of which I am now speaking, where 
 it exists in the mind of one who really desires 
 to be useful, as the habit of conversing freely 
 and closely with individuals. This will soon 
 convince any man of common discernment, of 
 the necessity of adopting a style of preaching, 
 similar, in some respects, to that of Christ and 
 -his Apostles. But they who would do this at 
 the present day, when a different style has be- 
 come so common and so popular, ought to count 
 the cost. They must be willing to sacrifice 
 their • reputation for scholastic learning, and to 
 take that place in the public estimation, which 
 will be assigned them by "the wisdom of this 
 world,'' which we know is "foolishness with 
 God.*' They must learn to despise the pro- 
 phane criticisms of the ungodly, while they 
 commend themselves to God, and to every man's 
 conscience in the sight of God. 
 
 3d. I have also been convinced, that the obli- 
 gation of the sinner to repent and submit to 
 God IMMEDIATELY, is too little insisted on. Re- 
 pentance is indeed a common topic of discourse ; 
 but I would submit it to the consideration of 
 every judicious Christian, whether this subject 
 is not often spoken of in such a manner, as 
 leaves the impression on the minds of sinners, 
 that in refusing to repent immediately, they are 
 
13 
 
 the former closely, on experimental and practical 
 religion; show them their duties and responsi- 
 bilities in all their extent, and your hearts will 
 often burn witliin you, wliile thus conversing to- 
 gether; — and a book of remembrance will be 
 written in Heaven, — And as to tlic latter, let 
 them see that you feel concerned for them, and 
 can be faithful to them in private as well as m 
 public; and in discharging this duty, let meek- 
 ness, and prudence, and love, be associated with 
 zeal, — and verily the Lord will bless your la 
 hour. 
 
 Persons who begin to exliibit more than usual 
 seriousness and attention to religion, ought, if 
 possible, to be visited frequently. They strive 
 against their impressions, and they will often be 
 successful, unless w^e belabour them, time after 
 time, and almost compel them to think, and con- 
 sider what they are doing. They will sometime^ 
 try to keep out of our way, and perhaps, fly from 
 us as from an enemy ; but we must not be dis 
 coiu'aged. Many, in this revival, have been 
 awakened, and now give good evidence of a 
 change of heart, who felt and acted in this man 
 nsr ; and now they believe, that but for these 
 persev^ering efforts on our part, they would have 
 been lost forever. — There are many in such a 
 state of mind, that the ordinary means of public 
 instruction, do not appear to reacli their case. 
 Some are so stupid, that they cannot, with the 
 little interest they feel on the subject, understand 
 a common sermon; and others are so thought- 
 less, or so worldly, that they will not be made to 
 reflect, or brought to close self-examination, by 
 
14 
 
 any discourse addressed to a promiscuous as- 
 sembly. In this state they may attend the house 
 of God for many years, and at last, without 
 something like a miracle of sovereign mercy, 
 they, will die in ignorance and in sin. And will 
 not their blood be required at the watchman's 
 hand, who, from indolence, or the love of repu- 
 tation, neglected to warn the wicked man of his 
 
 way, in private as well as in public. '^ 1 would 
 
 here remark, that while thus labouring with in- 
 dividuals, it is a good maxim, to Hight no more 
 fires than we can ivell attend^ — In this work of 
 faith and labour of love, the minister ought to 
 be aided by his elders and other private chris- 
 tians. They should all lay the subject to heart; 
 converse and pray together, as the disciples did 
 before the day of Pentecost. They were en- 
 gaged "with one accord;" they had one object in 
 view; they had one desire respecting it; that 
 desire dictated one prayer, and every heartfelt it. 
 All who have read the Acts of the Apostles, 
 know what was the result. 
 
 2d. I have also been more than ever convinc- 
 ed of the necessity of plain .^ pungent.^ discrimi- 
 nating preaching. I do not mean, merely, that 
 we should use plain words ; for that we may do 
 in the most abstruse argumentation. But I 
 mean, that we should aim as much as possible 
 to simplify divine truth, by employing such il- 
 lustrations as are familiar and easy of compre- 
 hension. We should endeavour to make things 
 so plain, that our hearers may see them inth tJwir 
 own eyes^ and that too without much labour of 
 mind. — I mean, also, that we should not be 
 afraid to call things by their proper names, or to 
 
25 
 
 the Apostle characterizes the impenitent as ^'haters of 
 God," he only meant, that they hate an erroneous idea of 
 God, and not his true character. Is this a sin? Is it not 
 our duty to hate every false representation of Jehovah's 
 character? 
 
 Doubtless the Apostle meant, what his words plainly 
 express, that sinners hate the true character of God. 
 The reason why this hatred is not universally felt, is» 
 that they have a wrong view of God. They regard Him 
 as a kind Father, Benefactor, &c. — leaving out ot view 
 his holiness, his justice, his sovereignty. It is against 
 these attributes, that the enmity of the sinner's heart is 
 directed. The light of conviction then, which brings 
 them into view, so far from lessening his enmity, increases 
 it; and it continues to increase, to the very last moment, 
 before the rebel is subdued. — It is true, therefore, to say, 
 that the convicted, as well as the careless sinner, is wax- 
 ing worse and worse, and that his sins are increasing con- 
 tinually, in a most tremendous ratio, if there be any sii 
 in hating God, arid in that pride and stubbornness of the 
 heart, which refuses to submit to the terms of the Gospel. 
 This truth ought to be thundered in his ears, until he is 
 made to feel it. Of course, we ought not to give him any 
 encouragement to continue in this state for a moment, or 
 to hope he is improving his condition, or lessening the dif- 
 liculties in the way of his salvation, by his prayers, or 
 any thing else he does. Nay, verily, these difficulties are 
 augmenting, and he is receding farther and farther from 
 that state of mind to whieh he is required to come. There 
 is, therefore, but one way of safety for him; and that is 
 immediate repentance. He must change his mind — cease 
 from being a rebel — submit unreservedly and uncondi- 
 tionally; and while he confesses he deserves condemna- 
 tion, give himself up to Christ, to be saved on the terms 
 of the Gospel. — When the awakened sinner is pressed 
 with these requirements, and no hope is held out to him 
 on any other conditions; it will soon discover to him the 
 desperate wickedness of his heart; for he will feel that 
 he is opposed to these requirements, and think it hard 
 that God will accept of nothing he does, without a com- 
 pliance with them. When his distress is very great, he 
 would be willing to give any thing he possesses, to obtain 
 
 3 
 
26 
 
 peace and safety; he would perform any external ser- 
 vice — travel on a pilgrimage, or, say his prayers as often 
 as you please. But this duty of unconditional and imme- 
 diate submission to a sovereign God, freely acknowledg- 
 ing that God is right, and that himself is wrong; that there 
 is not a particle of merit in any thing he ever did; that he 
 can lay God under no obligations to save him; that he 
 must rely entirely upon Christ for salvation — be -'willing 
 and obedient" — against all this, his heart rises and rebels,, 
 even when his understandmg is convinced that there is 
 no hope for him on any other ground. — Here he is at his 
 wits' end; in the very dilemma in which it is the design, 
 of both the law and the gospel, to make him feel that he 
 is placed, in order to impress full}^ upon his mind, the 
 awful conviction that he is lost. This, and nothing but 
 this, will bring him to Christ, and make him willing to be 
 saved on any terms. 
 
 The directions which are often given to awakened sin- 
 ners, have a very different tendency. In the tirst place, 
 they tend to lessen the conviction of guilt, while a great 
 deal is said about danger. Here is a person in distress; 
 we dislike to increase it, by telling hmi, his heart is re- 
 bellious against God, and unv\ illing to comply with the terms 
 of the Gospel; and that that is the cause of his distress. 
 He tries to believe that he is mourning for sin and repent- 
 ing, when, if the terms of reconciliation were clearly stat- 
 ed to him, his heart nvould revolt at them. Well; we do 
 not call in question the sincerity of his mourning; we say 
 nothing to him about his unwillingness, and thereby leave 
 him under the impression that he is willing. He thmks 
 that God's time has not yet come, and we do not rectify 
 this dangerous mistake. We tell him, persevere in using 
 the means of grace; — although you have not yet obtained 
 relief, you will obtain it; implying, that God will hear his 
 prayers and accept him, without any change on his, that 
 is, the sinner's part; for if we mean that, before he can 
 calculate on finding relief and acceptance, the change must 
 take place in him, why do we not tell him so distinctly? 
 and then he will know what he has to do, and where the 
 blame must lie, until it is accomphshed. Having receiv- 
 ed the above direction, the sinner's mind is soothed, and 
 he thinks he is now in a hopciul way. He feels none of 
 the guilt of unwillingness resting upon his conscience, for 
 
27 
 
 he thinks he is wilhng, that he has done all he can doj 
 and now he must wait for God, to do what remains to be 
 done; not considering that God commands him to do this 
 very thing, and lays upon him all the guilt of not having 
 done it. "Repent," that is, change your mind. "Make 
 you a new heart and a new spirit, for why will ye die." 
 
 It is easy to see that such defective directions tend to 
 to lessen the convictions of an awakened sinner, and ulti- 
 mately lead him to entertain many hard thoughts of God, 
 upon whom he is disposed to lay the blame of his not hav- 
 ing religion, instead of laying the blame on his own soul. 
 This counteracts the work of the Holy Spirit, the object 
 of which is in the first place to convince of sin, and to make' 
 the sinner feel that he is lost. 
 
 The efforts of many seem to be employed to prevent 
 the sinner from coming to this conriction. As soon as he 
 is a little distressed, they strive to relieve and soothe his 
 mind, instead of co-operating with the Holy Spirit in con- 
 vincing him that his heart is just as wicked, and his condi- 
 tion jast as bad, as the Bible describes it to be; and then 
 urging him to immediate submission, which would be likely 
 soon to convince him that he is in the dilemma above des- 
 cribed. 
 
 In the second place, these directions tend to pro- 
 long the period of conviction and distress, even in those 
 cases where it ultimately issues in saving conversion. — 
 This is so obvious, from remarks already made, thit I need 
 not here dwell upon it. But the worst of all is, that many 
 after having waited sufficiently long, as they think, for the 
 work of the Spirit, make a profession of religion before 
 they have experienced it; concluding, that as they have 
 been very diligent in the use of means, and, at times, had 
 some tenderness of feeling, that perhaps the Spirit has 
 performed this mysterious o])eration gradually and imper- 
 ceptibly; that probably they hav^e experienced the change, 
 and ought now to take the comfort of it. They feel willing 
 to go on in the same way they have begun, and are glad 
 to obtain peace of mind on terms which involve, compara- 
 tively, so Uttle sacrifice of the feelings of a pr/Dud rebelli- 
 ous heart. 1 am awfully afraid that thousands are resting 
 upon this sort of religious experience, or upon something 
 equally dangerous. The conduct of many furnishes too 
 much evidence of the fact. If they had been thoroughly 
 
2S 
 
 convinced ofsia; if they had, under this conviction, reali- 
 zed that they were justly condemned and lost sinners, and 
 iVom that awful condition heen snatched by the hand of 
 mercy;— all this would have made an impression upon their 
 hearts which they could never forget; they would have 
 felt themselves under infinite obligations; their daily inqui- 
 ry would have been, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to 
 do?" and, they would have thought, that they could never 
 do enough for the glory of Him who had done so much for 
 them. They would have been ready for every good work. 
 To please and glorify God, and to do good to their fellow 
 men, would have been their ruling passion. If all profes- 
 sors of religion were of this description, the cause of Christ 
 would not languish as it does; churches would be built 
 where they are wanted; and those that have been built 
 would be paid for; ministers and missionaries would be 
 supported; the funds of Bible, Education, and other so- 
 cieties, would be replenished; revivals would be common, 
 and perhaps continue without intermission; the Millenium 
 would soon commence; and the kingdoms of this world 
 would soon become the kingdoms of our God and of his 
 Christ. 
 
 But when persons are brought into the church without 
 having seen and felt their true character and condition as 
 lost sinners; and without a corresponding sense of infinite 
 obligation for redeeming mercy; and without any other 
 kind of love to Christ than that which arises from the hope 
 that he will save them; — why, their object is in a great 
 degree accomphshedwhen they get into the church. They 
 now have much more peace of mind than they formerly 
 had; they hope they are christians, and, of course, that 
 they are safe. As to the cause of Christ, they feel little 
 or no concern about it. They have other objects of atten- 
 tion and solicitude, vastly more important in their estima- 
 tion. They may indeed contribute something to support 
 the show of religion; they may decorate their churches, 
 and discover much zeal for their party, and for the mere 
 externals of religion; — all this cherishes their false hopes; 
 they think themselves and wish others to think them very 
 pious. Some contribute a little, grudgingly, to support 
 the gospel, because, if they were to do absolutely nothing, 
 they could neither believe themselves nor make others be« 
 lieve them to be christians. A regard to consistency, and 
 
29 
 
 to their own reputation, is their leading motive; and even 
 that has very httle intiuence with some. But to do good, 
 simply with a view to please God, or to benefit their fel- 
 low men; to make a really disinterested sacrifice for the 
 cause of Christ; and to stand in readiness to make such 
 sacrifices whenever the Providence of God shall de- 
 mand them; — they will not do it. So far from making such 
 eflforts and contributions with the cheerfulness and zeal of 
 one who loves Christ, and who takes a lively interest in 
 his cause, they will often get out of temper when solicited 
 to aid benevolent and pious objects One is tempted to 
 think, that it would be a great relief to them if something 
 would occur to put a final stop to all the efforts that are 
 making to christianize the world, that there might be no 
 further demands upon their purses for assistance in carry- 
 ing on this great work. They could then enjoy their sel- 
 fish pleasures and pursuits as well, and sleep as quietl}-, 
 while the world around them would be going to destruc- 
 tion, as if all were certainly on their way to heaven. — 
 MEN and BRETHREN! Does not this state of things call 
 for a reformation? Do we not need ministers like John the 
 Baptist, and Martin Luther, to go from "Dan to Beershe- 
 ba," and "preach repentance for the remission of sins," to 
 professors of religion? If we were able to draw accurately 
 the line of demarkation between those who love Christ, 
 and whose hearts are really devoted to his cause; and those 
 who are resting upon a false religious experience, or upon 
 no religious experience at all, the prospect would astonish 
 and overwhelm us. The multitude whom Satan is leading 
 to destruction under the cloak of a christian profession 
 would startle every beholder. "We are not ignorant of 
 his devices; — and we know he would as soon take sinners 
 to hell in the character of professors of religion, as in any 
 other character. Since, therefore, he cannot put down 
 the truth entirely, it is his interest and his policy to mingle 
 with it as much error as he can: and he knows that er- 
 rors on such subjects as those discussed in the foregoing 
 pages, are peculiarly favourable to his designs. Wrong 
 directions to awakened sinners are as likely to issue in 
 their eternal overthrow, as any means he could emplo3%. 
 They lead — it is to be feared — in thousands ot instances, 
 to the indulgence of false hopes, and the assumption of a 
 
 3* 
 
•30 
 
 mere "form of godliness." It is on this account that 1 
 have been so particular in stating and maintaining, what 
 appear to me to be the only safe and scriptural directions. 
 I. am well aware, however, that there are many who do 
 not stand in need of any information Which I could give 
 ihem on this subject. But there are many others, who, 
 perhaps, may be aided in forming correct views, by the 
 statements contained in the preceding Narrative and Re- 
 marks. Even one additional ray of light on subjects so 
 vitally important, will doubtless be welcomed by those who 
 love and rejoice in the truth. 
 
 4. The following passages of Scripture have appeared 
 to me in a more important light than ever before. " My 
 Spirit shall not always strive with man." "Wo unto them 
 when I depart from them." "For this cause God shall 
 give them up to strong delusion that they may believe a lie, 
 &c." "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever." 
 
 It is difficult to reconcile these passages with the foUow- 
 uig lines of a hymn, w^hich is often sung, and which like 
 some sermons we hear, and some books we read, contains 
 much truth mingled with some error. The error is receiv- 
 ed along with the truth, and so counteracts its influence; 
 or it is received to the exclusion of the truth; and thus 
 mischief has been often done by those whose general aim. 
 was to do good: — 
 
 ** And while the lamp holds out to burn, 
 " The vilest sinner may return.** 
 
 Different constructions may indeed be put upon these 
 words; but the most obvious idea, and that which the im- 
 penitent will most readily receive from them, is in direct 
 opposition to those pasr-ages of scripture above cited; and 
 while they are dwelling upon the awakened sinner's mind^ 
 he will not be likely to believe us when we tell him that, 
 by his obstinate impenitence, he is in danger of provoking 
 God to depart from him, to take his Holy Spirit from him, 
 and to give him up to strong delusion, that he might believe 
 a lie, and, as the dreadful consequence, "be damned, with 
 all who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrigh- 
 teousness " 
 
 These texts, certainly authorise us in saying that no im- 
 penitent sinner, can be assured that his day of grace will 
 last as long as his life. I know some, and it niiikes my 
 
31 
 
 soul shudder to think of them, whose day of grace, there 
 is much reason to fear, is forever past. There are some 
 who have been much awakened during this revival, but 
 who have lost every serious impression, and now appear 
 to be in a similar state to those of whom the Saviour speaks 
 in these most pathetic words; — "If thou hadst known, at 
 least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace! 
 But now are they hid from thine eyes!" This doctrine 
 ought to be most solemnly impressed upon the minds of 
 awakened sinners. 
 
 If these, and other associated truths of the gospel, were 
 urged as they ought to be, with clearness and pungency, up- 
 on the consciences of sinners both in public and in private: 
 and other means employed similar to those above stated, with 
 a single eye to the glory of God and the salvation of souls, 
 the Divine blessing', might, I beheve, in all cases be con- 
 fidently expected. When and where have such efforts 
 been made in vain? The history of the church cannot fur- 
 nish an instance. God will bless his truth; and he will 
 hear the prayers, and succeed the faithful labours of his 
 people. This truth is confirmed by all the revivals that 
 have taken place since the day of Pentecost to the present 
 time. I lay it down then, as a principle, that there are 
 means which zojhen persexeringly employed^ have always been 
 blest to the revival of religion. If this be admitted, we must 
 also admit, that where religion is in a cold and languid 
 state, and tew or none, are inquiring the way to Zion, 
 there is something wrong in the church of God; there is 
 an Achan in the camp: or there is a partial dereliction of 
 duty on the part of the Minister, or of the members of the 
 church, or of both. This is certainly more ingenuous and 
 more scriptural, than to ascribe such a wretched state of 
 things to the want of a sovereign dispensation of Divine 
 grace. There is a connexion between the faithful dis- 
 charge of duty, and the blessing of God. When, therefore^ 
 we do not enjoy a revival, we should freely acknowledge 
 that the church is to blame; and take it for granted that 
 something more ought to be done, than we are doing. — 
 The absence of a revival, then, ought not to be regarded 
 as our affliction, so much as our sin; and each one is an- 
 swerable to God for this sin, so far as he neglects to employ 
 his efforts for this object. The magnitude of this sin swells 
 heyond the bounds of calculation, when we consider how 
 
32 
 
 much good is done by a revival; and how much evil exists 
 in its absence. We have reason to tremble when we take 
 this view of the subject; for, verily, the blood of souls is 
 in our skirts, and will be required at our hands! 
 
 I have been, for a number of years, in the habit of read- 
 ing accounts of revivals, and I do not recollect one that 
 was produced without some extraordinary effort, either on 
 the part of the Minister, or of some of his people. When 
 I call such efforts extraordinary, I do not mean to intimate 
 that they are works of supererogation, or in any degree 
 out of the line of our duty. On the contrary, I am per- 
 suaded that neither the claims of duty, nor the dictates of 
 an enlightened and tender conscience, are satisfied without 
 them. I wish to be understood. — 1 mean to assert, that 
 the ordinary course pursued by many ministers and chris- 
 tians, is greatly defective. They have made the service 
 of God more systematic and formal than it was intended to 
 be. And, in doing this, they have set bounds and limits to 
 their exertions in the cause of Christ, which neither his 
 word, nor his example, nor the example of his apostles, 
 wiil justify. If the precise order and extent of religious 
 duties they observe, had been prescribed in the Bible, 
 they might then have expected every blessing while pur- 
 suing this order. But no such order has been prescribed; 
 men have adopted it of their own accord, because they 
 think it authorized by the word of God. Well; admit that 
 it is thus divinely authorized, as far as it goes, does it em- 
 brace all that is required of us? If it does I have totally 
 mistaken the meaning of the Sacred Records on this sub- 
 ject. When, therefore, I say we must make extraordinary 
 efforts to have a revival, I only mean that we must per- 
 form more ministerial and christian duty, than many do 
 perform. There must be a change, in this respect, to pro- 
 duce a revival in a particular church; and there must be 
 a general change, of a similar nature, throughout all Chris- 
 tendom, before the Millenium will be likely to take place. 
 There is a certain amount of labour with which many 
 ministers satisfy themselves. They preach once or twice 
 on the Sabbath, and perhaps as often during the week, 
 and perform a few other professional duties. Custom 
 has established this as a standard. When a young minis- 
 ter enters upon his profession, he finds this standard al- 
 ready fixed, and he hardly questions whether any thing 
 
33 
 
 more be required of him. If any one go beyond it, such 
 remark as thesie are likely to be made respecting him: — 
 •'He is weak,'' or "he is eccentric," or "he has zeal with- 
 out knowledge, and that leads him to substitute means of 
 his own invention, in the place of those which God has or- 
 dained.'' This seems to imply their belief, that the rou- 
 tine according to which they are proceeding, comprises 
 the sum total of all the means which we are required to 
 employ for the advancement of Christ's kingdom in the 
 world. This is an assumption, which they cannot prove; 
 and, therefore, they ought, at least, to withhold their cen- 
 sures from those who, for conscience sake, and for 
 Christ's sake, and for the sake of perishing souls, deviate 
 occasionally from the usual mode of ministerial operation, 
 and try every lawful means in their power, to awaken a 
 slumbering church, and to pull sinners out of the fire of 
 hell, into which they are continually descending. 
 
 Custom has also established a standard of duty for pri- 
 vate christians. This is, perhaps, still farther l3elow the 
 scriptural standard, and is so evident as to require no 
 proof. Until, therefore, ministers, and professors gener- 
 ally, are awakened from this state of comparative indiffer- 
 ence, and "girding up the loins of their minds," address 
 themselves to the performance of their respective duties, 
 under the full impression that they are "not their own;" 
 that they are servants of Jesus Christ, and bound to seek his 
 glory in all things; laying it down as a principle, that they 
 must do as much good as they can; setting no bounds to 
 their desires of usefulness; keeping their hearts fixed up- 
 on the things which pertain to the kingdom of God, with a 
 (degree of interest which will nerve and inspirit the soul 
 to every holy enterprize; — the world will not be convert- 
 ed to God. The empire of Satan is too firmly rooted, to 
 be shaken by such tame and feeble efforts as thousands 
 are making at the present day. There must be a more 
 general and powerful movement in the camp of Israel, 
 before we shall see the accomplishment of those prophe- 
 cies which relate to the future prosperity and glory of the 
 church. But such a movement is not to be expected 
 while "the spirit of this world" has so extensive an influ- 
 ence over the minds of those who profess to be the chil- 
 dren of light. As far as it prevails, it desecrates the chris- 
 tian character, and divests it of the power of majking thart 
 
Si 
 
 impression upon the world which otlierwise it could not 
 fail to make. This spirit has paralized the energies of 
 many, who, perhaps, are on the whole, real christians; 
 and it reigns predominant in the hearts of others, who, 
 have nothing more than a "form of godliness." Manj 
 there are, who have all the sanctity that baptism and the 
 Lord's supper can give them, who resemble those of 
 whom the Apostle Paul speaks "weeping; — whose god is 
 their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who mind 
 earthly things; — who seek their own things and not the 
 things which are Jesus Christ's." The existence of so 
 many of this description in the church, should excite all 
 who love her purity and prosperity, to pray and labour 
 for a general revival. If a revival do not shake their false 
 hopes, they are irreclaimable; and nothing can be expect- 
 ed to arouse them to a sense of their trae character and 
 condition, before they are enveloped in the flames of the 
 bottomless pit. Since our revival commenced, there have 
 been a number of old professors awakened, and hopefully 
 converted. Such things are common in revivals; but 
 they seldom occur at any other time. 
 
 Here I would suggest, that some revivals have com- 
 menced by the faithful exercise of church discipline, and, 
 perhaps, nothing is more necessary to the revival of true 
 religion in the churches, generally, than a proper atten- 
 tion to this important duty. 
 
 The observance of days of fasting and prayer, in refer- 
 ence to this object, have also been found to be very use- 
 ful. On such days, if the church would renew their co- 
 venant with God, confessing their sins, and resolving to 
 be more faithful, it would be likely to have the happiest 
 effect. If ministers have neglected their duty, let them 
 acknowledge it, and give glory to God, while they take 
 shame to themselves. Such acknowledgements have, in 
 some instances, made a powerful impression. 
 
 In cases of this nature, we ought not to wait for a simul- 
 tane.His movement of the whole church to accomplish the 
 impo'^iant object; no, not even for the countenance and 
 support of "those who are of reputation," or of those 
 who are in authority, Each one should resolve — "Now 
 I will, with tike help of God, discharge my duty faithfully, 
 though all the other members of the church should ne- 
 glect theirs." 
 
35 
 
 1 hare often asked my own soul such questions as the 
 following; and i propose them to the serious considera- 
 tion of all professors of religion, who may read these 
 pages, if you are christians, they will not hurt you; if 
 you are not christians, they may, through God's blessing, 
 convince you of your mistake, while yet there is hope. — 
 *'Have I the very religion taught by Christ and his Apos- 
 tles? Or have I been resting upon something essentially 
 different from that? Have I ever been sensible of the en- 
 mity of my heart to God? And am 1 now reconciled to all 
 the parts of his character, not excepting his justice, his 
 holiness, his sovereignty? Do I love and rejoice in Him 
 supremely, not merely because 1 think he is my friend, 
 and will save me; but because He is infinitely worthy oif 
 my love? Do I see that 1 deserve condemnation, and re- 
 gard it its an infinite mercy, that i huve not been condemn- 
 ed long ago? Do I feel that I am not my own, but entirely 
 the Lord's? Am I living to Him, and not to myself? Sub- 
 jecting my will to His will, and subordinating my interests 
 to those of His kingdom? What have I done, and what am 
 I now doing, to promote true religion within the sphere of 
 my influence? Is it as much as the Lord requires of me, 
 considering the talents and means he He has given me? 
 Continuing in the course 1 am now pursuing, am I likely 
 to have a good account to render to my Judge, who even 
 now standeth at the door?" Close self-examination, lead- 
 ing to dQe]y self-abasement before God, is an important 
 step towards a revival. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 My object iii writing this piece, has not been chiefly to 
 give a narrative of a revival; but to promote the spirit of 
 revival; to excite my fellow christians to a more faithful 
 discharge of their duties; and to offer such suggestions as 
 may assist those who are conscious of having neglected 
 their duty, in determining what they ought now to do. 
 
 Another object I have had in view, is to furnish a tract, 
 which may with advantage be distributed in a congregation 
 during the progress of a revival, especially where incor- 
 rect views are entertained respecting some points here 
 discussed. At such times, it is very important that all 
 should "speak the same thing." — Even pious persons 
 may, unintentionally, do injury, by giving to inquirers, in- 
 
36 
 
 judicious directions. It is presumed, that such persons 
 will thankfully receive any instructions that may assist 
 them in performing this momentous duty. — Besides — it 
 may often happen in revivals, that so many will he in an 
 anxious state of mind, that the minister cannot pay the ne- ; 
 cessary attention to all. It might^r therefore, be a relief 
 to his mind, and an advantage to his people, to put into I 
 their hands such a pamphlet as this, containing the same ! 
 general views of doctrine, and the same directions which 
 he would give them, if he could converse with each se- 
 parately. They who hold opinions different from those 
 here maintained, will, of course, pursue a different plan. — 
 If any of my young brethren in the ministry, think my 
 censures fall too heavily upon them, I can only say, my 
 aim is to do them good, and to promote the cause of my 
 Saviour. I censure none so severely as I censure my- 
 self. I mourn before God, to think of my past unfaith- 
 fulness; while I bless His name for the desire I now feel 
 to live henceforth to his glory; and I shall rejoice, if what 
 I have said should, under the Divine blessing, which I 
 earnestly implore, be the means of guarding any against 
 that negligent, indifferent, heartless manner of performing 
 the momentous duties of the ministry, which has caused 
 me so many painful feelings of regret and self-dissatisfac- 
 tion. 
 
 Baltimore, March, 1824. 
 
Princeton Theoloaical „f Si,iai7,„,li;Bmi;i" 
 
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