ae ae @wm-danara, ¢ PRICE 3 CTS. on rm Soro oto boto oto em ROO oO oO SO SONU ONO SO SO SSO SOOO ROMO SOOO OT rile {Ub hb The Revival in In By W. B. BOGGS, D.D. Roo mor eb OR moo ee W. B. BOGGS, D.D., RAMAPATAM, SOUTH INDIA, AND NATIVE BOY ok a * # American Baptist Missionary Union : For Foreign Missions : BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 4 Pe anna ana anata nanan! 2 ° psoas, dos iacinasios dos, doa coaos as oa na cnasnasna aac acnasi sana acana cae anaes aaa aa ae sass gate OR BOR Bomar moro oremeomme eee AM I Rt OO RO om Ror THE REVIVAL IN INDIA REMARKABLE revival of religion has taken place in India during the last two years. The testimonies are so many, and come from such reliable sources, that the reality of the movement seems clearly established. Eye- witnesses in every part of India, and belonging to every Protestant body engaged in missionary effort in that land, testify to the great and genuine awakening. Some of these are missionaries of long experience and acknowl- edged soundness of judgment. Some have written thus: “T bless God that he has let me live to see this day; it is worth all the rest of my life to see what we are wit- nessing now.” No such religious revival as this has ever occurred in India before, and it has attracted wide atten- tion. Antecedents of the Revival In reviewing the years preceding the revival the one thing, above all others, to which it is ascribed is prayer. In 1897 the burden of India’s spiritual need pressed so heavily upon the hearts of some of God’s servants that a call was sent forth inviting those of like mind to join in a day of prayer for the awakening of India. This was attended by such deep interest and such an increase of desire for yet greater blessing that the day of prayer has been regularly observed since then. Of the first, which was in 1897, a missionary wrote, “That day marks an epoch in the history of Christian missions in this land.”’ Companies of missionaries also, in various places, agreed together to set apart certain times for special prayer for India. The great need of revival was more deeply felt as the days passed by, and prayer became more intense Mor RR Rome me mem mimeo meamomomeemeeremememmememomaokemososososesetotoetetete te 3 BooRah Butea somata uote meeemmeemmeommommetumametemameamematamemar emma et MoBototototototututetututattotarutumomotusumtotoometetotetummamotetemetotememtatomemeretem RERERRE REIE eae e RE Ps and direct. And the minds of those who have met on the hills, in the annual conventions for the deepening of spiritual life, have been focussed more and more every year on the great need of revival, and prayer for this definite object has occupied a large place in the conven- tions. Thus the Indian revival, like every other genuine revival, from Pentecost to the present, was born in prayer. Origin and Progress of the Revival The first distinct appearance of the movement was in March, 1905, in a Welsh mission in the Khassia Hills in Assam, one of the provinces of India. Suddenly, in vari- ous congregations in that mission, the hearts of many were deeply moved: conviction of sin, cries for pardon, great agony of soul succeeded by surpassing joy, Christ crucified the all-absorbing theme, rapturous singing, efforts for the salvation of relatives and neighbors, de- liverance from the bondage of sin, transformed lives,— these things were seen in every place as the Holy Spirit’s seal upon the work. for good results and lasting power the revival has not been greater in any part of India than in the Khassia Hills, where it began. In June of the same year (1905), it broke out at Mukti, Pundita Ramabai’s great settlement in the Bombay Presi- dency, where nearly 2,000 widows and orphan girls and rescued women are gathered. This is 1,500 miles from Assam, and the people are, in race and language, quite distinct. Mukti became one of the chief centers of the revival. There were marvelous displays of divine grace. Hundreds of the girls have entered into a new spiritual life and are bringing forth the true fruits of the Spirit. Many from different parts of India have visited Mukti to see for themselves the wondrous things that have been taking place there: the great assemblies swayed by the BRR RRR ROR RRR RR RR RR RR RRR ER EE REE EERE REE RE RRR ROR 4 onc ce toast esate tna gtns macs ase gc as acess gine a aaa ease aaa a a aaa sa asa a seas ese” Pe RRR RRR RR HR ROR HR RR RR ROR HERE ROE RE EERE MR HORE HER HOR ROR RRR otetetotetometometomete x LXSKKAS ASAT ITI BE EE RRR RRR CRC CR CR RR Spirit’s power like the trees of the forest in a gale; the whole nights of prayer; the rapid growth in the knowl- edge and experience of God’s grace and the work of the praying and preaching bands. - Afterwards the revival appeared in various places, from the Punjab in the far northwest to Tinnevelly in the extreme south. It cannot, however, in any sense be called a general revival, since there are wide ranges of country, and many mission stations and thousands of villages as yet untouched; but it may be said that in all the principal Protestant missions in India some station or congregation or school has been visited by the revival. It has not been confined particularly to any denomination or missionary society, the British, the American, and the Kuropean missions all having some share in it. It has been experienced in a greater or lesser degree at several stations in our own mission, at Atmakur, Podili, Ongole and Kurnool, but perhaps most conspicuously at Nellore. In some places the movement has been deep, and its results very marked; in others there have been slight “stirs.” But in many places throughout the land, in thousands of hearts and lives a work has been wrought the effects of which will last forever. 8 ROR OK HK KR HR RH HB RHR R RR RRR BRK BKK BWV VB Prominent Marks of the Revival There has been no human leader; neither missionary, nor native pastor, nor evangelist has been particularly promi- nent. God has made it very manifest that he is leading, and the missionaries have taken their place with their fellow Christians of India as seekers for the fulness of the blessing of cleansed hearts and consecrated lives. Thus the revival has exalted the Lord and not man. It has come suddenly. Almost all reports speak of this. In a moment it comes upon a congregation like a Bosotato io sot tatoo RUROINI OO LOG Roo ooo oI RIN IN TR RT TN TR RS we PR moto orotot teat sors tbo OPO SO SSO SO SO SOO SOO SOR ONO USO SOO E 5 Mothotathatotosatototiatsatiatutatotsottottotk toto toteotouasor oto ototototuto onc to ota tatutei tatoos aan asna ana nga gana ange ana a aca a Sanat aaa acs sea ans ea oases Sessa ses Seasoases do, sates do doade, doa to1 de, dado. doe don des deste. desdons Pe sea ceases aaanainas meteor’s flash. Mr. Stanton of the American Baptist Mission at Kurnool writes: ‘““Suddenly one of the men arose and with tears and groans began to confess his sins. In a moment the whole audience was bowed upon the floor, weeping and wailing over their sins. It seemed as if they were all smitten, as it were in a moment, by the Holy Ghost, and convicted of sin. As I sat and looked over the scene I could think of nothing but the slain on a battlefield.” Thus suddenly has it fallen, as if from above, on nearly every place where it has appeared. It has been confined almost exclusively to Christians. In a few places the churches have been so fully renewed and filled with life that the heathen around have felt the power of the truth, and in some cases large numbers have been converted and added to the churches. In the Khassia Hills there have been between 7,000 and 8,000 conversions from among the heathen in the last two years. But still, as already said, for the most part the revival has been confined to professed Christians. It is thus evident that the great divine purpose of the work is the cleansing and quickening of the Church. The hearts of many have long been sorely pressed by the need of this cleansing: the set time has now come. The most notable feature of the revival is conviction of sin. ‘This has been the first thing in every place where the revival has come in power: intense, often overwhelm- ing conviction of sin, as if a two-edged sword had pierced the hearts of the penitent ones. Sin is discovered to them in its enormity by the Spirit’s search-light, and the sight and the consequent sense of guilt and condemnation are unendurable. Their hearts must break unless relief comes. And thus the revival has commenced in many places with heartrending cries, each one wailing for his and her own sins. Some have remained all night pros- trate on the ground, weeping and groaning in agony of BoBosototototutatoutototusommatomosumet to sosommmoma moe A I RR 6 BoBotototototota tt tetra tutemet tototoomomotome mmo momomotos BAA AN A RR RO YO OS OG ROG RIO Bok Boto motor tora tooo oto ot soro or OO ONO SOOO SOO UU OO OR OUR tomomomome momma tom x spirit, and calling on God for mercy. Some have eaten nothing for three days, their bitterness of soul taking away all desire for food. The sins which burn their hearts and from which they cry for deliverance and cleansing include everything in the decalogue, and many others. Envy, malice, quarrel- ing and backbiting occupy a large place, while dishonesty and transgressions of the seventh commandment are frightfully common. I know that some will wonder at this and be disposed to exclaim, what an appalling con- dition this reveals in the Indian churches! Admitted; but if a revival like that should go through the churches of any land, whether oriental or occidental, the sharp plowshare of conviction tearing open and laying bare the lurking places of polluted things, would not the revela- tions be startling and terrible? While we deeply deplore the condition thus revealed among Indian Christians, we rejoice exceedingly that this revival is making such thorough work, and that its great triumph is its cleansing power. The confessions are spontaneous. There has been no urging in this direction. In some cases the missionaries at first have not approved of such public confession and have sought to check it, but it was of no use. Those under conviction have in some cases exclaimed, ‘‘I shall die if I do not confess!’’ And in some instances complete relief cannot be found until it is all out. The heart that is really and deeply sin-stricken must throw off its burden or break. In every revival scene in India those under conviction have found relief only in view of the Cross. ‘Christ crucified”’ is still the power of God unto salvation. In him they find forgiveness and cleansing and peace; and thus all their experiences cluster around Christ, and his atoning blood is the keynote of their songs. With what fulness of gratitude they shout the praise of Him who PR Rototho a botiore odio mo OOS Oa cco OOO SC SO SOO SOTO SOP OPO OPO ORO 7 SGPT RLS NR ont BoBoRo mete moat oi Om SO oo SOT oO oP oT sot eo oc sooo mat a atototototutte suttotetutotattottutottotot otototo tooo oso xa ORO IO Om OO OO ue Moet ooutotn Potctoetotaeem died for them and rose again! The “Love Song”’ of the Welsh revival finds its counterpart in Telugu and Tamil, in Mahrathi and Hindustani: Here is love vast as the ocean; Loving kindness as the flood; When the Prince of Life, our ransom, Shed for us his precious blood. Manifestations Certain outward manifestations, such as visions and trances, have been reported from various places. These may be regarded as incidents or accompaniments of the revival. Such things, more or less marked, have gener- ally attended great religious awakenings. In Scotland in the seventeenth century; in America in the various great revivals from the time of Jonathan Edwards to that of Elder Knapp; in the north of Ireland in ‘the year of grace’? (1859), abnormal phenomena, both mental and physical, occurred. With the prophecy of Joel before us ought we not to expect such accompaniments? ‘ Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” Simultaneous prayer has been an accompaniment, probably in every place where the revival has come in power. This phenomenon occurs when the tidal wave of desire for God becomes so high and irresistible that it overflows all its banks. The people cannot restrain them- selves or be restrained. Their pent-up feelings must find utterance. ‘Their desire for pardon, or reconciliation with God, or victory over sin, or spiritual fulness, or the con- version of others, just bursts forth, and each one prays and pleads and intercedes as if he or she were alone with God. The contagion of religious feeling is well known. Our ideas of decorum are rather disturbed at first, but when we see the intense soul thirst, the wrestling and the RRR Boo Ra a RO OO IDO IORI oO I AN I I A A I Rea ORI PIT I TN OT AN oe OS BB AS BS AN AH BB A A OO A OO BRRRRRBRRRK RRR : e : ; 3 , an aa Ee ea eePeceateetana tara Paa Pere Parenns tare nee tetera te tetera tate tetetetetetatetetetetete tate te tele tele te tate tet reteset sree a eianeie unquestionable evidences of sincerity, we look on with wonder and reverence, and find our own hearts crying out for the living God. And then we humbly confess that the Holy Spirit’s ways with men may include a good deal outside our own experiences and ideas. Simul- taneous praying will probably not continue as a perma- nent custom in the churches: it is an extraordinary accompaniment of revival when the spirit of prayer is mightily poured out upon a congregation, especially among people unaccustomed to restrain their intense impulses. As to speaking with tongues, there seems to be reliable testimony that in a few cases during this revival, persons while in an exalted spiritual state have spoken in lan- guages which they had never learned and which they could not use under ordinary circumstances. But inas- much as some are in danger of making too much of this ‘“‘sion,’’ while to others it may be a stumbling block, the prevailing feeling among us would be to leave it with God, assured that he will guide his people aright in this matter. If this manifestation is from him, he will con- firm it and use it for his glory; if it is not of God, it will not last. While giving no place whatever to manifestly spurious manifestations we must be ready to acknowl- edge whatever is evidently wrought by the Holy Spirit, and if God shall see fit to restore again the gifts bestowed on the early church it is ours to recognize them and rejoice. The Real Fruits of the Revival The features described above are but the accompani- ments of revival; the permanent results are the true testimony to the genuineness of the work. The revival being so specially marked by conviction of sin and intense desire to be freed from its bondage and RRR eB Bert Boe Boe he ot ee Re OE oC ee oe ee OE NE ee oe OOP I 9 oie Poi aci coh acacia ana easaatiatea na aa tae cne ata ra ater a reat stave tata ta tate t eater eee tte Te tate a teat eens tate et 7 work Re tototosotosototasotototatet tutes te tot teotbeteothute tot hateasotatutit se tomutotommmo sa aaR aN Moet ott Pe teu oie tee ae Pu Re PORN MN OR REE RHE HERE BES ASO IA AEGON stain, we might expect that the first and greatest result would be transformed lives. And such is the fact. In numberless cases it has proved true that He breaks the power of cancelled sin; He sets the prisoner free: His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me. Through deep repentance, with groans and tears, the sin- burdened ones are brought into liberty; and the lives of many have been greatly changed. Reparation as far as possible has been made in many cases. Old debts long given up have been voluntarily acknowledged and paid; misappropriated money taken years ago has been re- stored, in some cases four-fold; long-standing estrange- ments have been healed; unlawful living together has been made as nearly right as is now possible by marriage; long- neglected Christian duties have been resumed; the study of God’s word and prayer have become a daily delight. Other results are new spiritual gijts. Timid girls, taught of the Spirit, with radiant, upturned faces, as if looking directly into heaven, give utterance to such prayers as we have never before heard from Telugu lips: such adoration, such glowing rapture, such grateful love responding to fathomless divine love, such appreciation of this great salvation, such intercession for others! As we look and listen we feel sure that such prayer as that is given by God alone; it was never learned from books nor from the prayers of others; it is the breath of God. The preachers who have really shared in the revival have a new message now: the same gospel, but O, how new! They have been lifted out of the ruts of stereotyped ex- pressions and dull ways. Perfunctory service has been left behind; the unction from above has come upon them, and their words have a new power, both among Christians and heathen. 10 SEEN Sse ascasna na asiacna nasa sna tina east acha naseachacbasbacea cases cos bacbaihssbashatea tes seute cease eens sorseade cos baseechs sea saceeeee oer aeree oP oe eee Bote tonetitatietiotetotetietatietatiatn tatiana eto ts tN et tS encores Another important and exceedingly gratifying result is a real advance in sedj-support. A missionary writing quite recently on ‘‘The Aftermath of the Revival,” reports that in his field, as a direct result of the revival, the churches have undertaken the entire support of their pastors, men chosen by themselves; and the pastors have willingly given up their dependence on the mission treasury, and will henceforth put their trust more fully in God and look to their brethren for support. How great a change this is can be fully appreciated by those only who have long worked at this very difficult problem. Its solution lies in the spiritual life that true revival brings, ‘‘Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.” And of this revival it may be said, ‘‘The time of the singing of birds is come.” Christian song has found unwonted expression. Hitherto the Telugu singing has not been considered particularly sweet or joyous; but the revival has tuned their harps and set the chords a-ringing. What outbursts of song! what hallelujah choruses! How they now love to sing! We are constantly surprised at the new hymns that they have suddenly acquired with the English and American tunes. Tens of thousands in India are praising Christ today in songs from the heart. The music of the heart gives unwonted sweetness to the voice. In many places praying and preaching bands have been formed, and these go out daily into the streets and lanes of the towns and villages bearing the gospel message. Their manifest earnestness and sincerity give them access to the people. [From this work good fruit may be ex- pected. Lessons and Inferences 1. By this revival in India it seems very plain that God is cleansing his churches there and filling them with life and power in preparation for a mighty work. ‘That aan aaa Tata a aaa Tat asta na asta Taste tat ata asa Tat sta aa ease eae” 11 eo motototioreotorsotorot ator sote OPO OO Ur oO oor SO oor ote ere oe eo puto utara te Boot rtoatextoot te x 4 eas & : x Po Rg gr Dd dA EMR RS EE Ee SRNR RUE i Rao otiotao ta aa bot but soe eau uO Seo oR work we have no doubt is the evangelization of the hun- dred millions in India as yet unreached by the gospel. This great work seems to be devolving more and more upon the Christians of India, and God is training and equipping them for it. 2. By this revival God is setting his seal wpon foreign missions. He is owning and blessing the work, and summoning his people to yet greater things. What opportunities it opens to us in the development of the churches, the training of workers, the instruction of the multitudes of young people and the production of Chris- tian literature! : 3. The revival is also a loud call for prayer: that the awakening may be greatly extended; that it may reach the many places in India yet untouched by it; that where the revival tide has receded it may return with increased power and rise higher than before; that all missionaries and Indian Christians may be brought under its blessed influence and filled with life from above; that it may roll on and on, flooding the Indian churches with light and love, with holiness and power, from the Himalayas to Ceylon and from shore to shore. May not the prayer that has been offered by thousands of the Lord’s servants in India during the last few years be a fitting one for us all to take up and employ daily: “Oh Lord, send a revival, and begin im me.’’ 672-1 Ed.-5m—November, 1907 Price three cents 12 ssos sos ses nscoscnsenscnanoatvatnasoasnsstsStoatoateatateadeates tes ses natn tes teacrasbasbaseasb aie asb a babe e Perera ana tana nana nage ns nna et aaa a tet eres ee MRK K RRR RRR RRR soot Beto tatate ete oat