What a revival is-attention of saints and sinners awakened to religious subjects-impenitent convicted of their sins---converted---a reforma- tion takes place.---It may be expected when Christians are excited to frequency and fervency in prayer---when church discipline is duly observed---when religious instruction awakens interest and leads to reflection---when brotherly love and union prevail---when ministers manifest increased fidelity and zeal.---Why it may be hoped revivals will be more multiplied and extended than they ever have been---the truth will be preached more faithfully---means of grace will be mul- tiplied---Bible teaches this.---Remarks:---opposition to revivals is opposition to the temporal and eternal good of men and the glory of God.---The duty of Christians in relation to revivals.---They should The present a wonderful day---attitude of infidelity---state of Christen- 318 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. THE Evangelical Prophet had his eye often fixed on the distant future, and seemed to anticipate with sacred delight the triumphs of the Messiah. The glories of the latter day were present to his mind, and the reign of the Prince of peace, (for at least a thousand years,) was described in language which intimated as much certainty of such an event's taking place, as if the Redeemer had already seen of the travail of his soul and was satisfied.' True, the Prophet knew the difficulties to be overcome, but he considered these as few and feeble when Zion awaked and trusted in the mighty arm of her King. He presented many encouragements to the believers of that generation. These have come down to us, and perhaps we understand them better than when they were first uttered. Amidst all the obstacles in the path of the Christian church, produced by the sinner's guilt and the believer's unbelief, the Christian hears the inquiry, "Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children." And what replies ca we give to these inquiries? What encouragement can we draw from the closing declaration of the Prophet on this passage? We have not heard of such a thing in our day. We have not seen such things among us. Even the history of the church can hardly furnish a full and satisfactory answer. There were indications of mighty changes among the Gentile nations when the gospel had free course among them and was glorified. The rapid and almost universal spread of Christianity in the Roman empire seemed to be the birth-day of the world! At the Reformation, when the incubus of Popery was thrown off, and an oppressed and groaning earth felt the blessedness of mental and spiritual liberty, it looked as if nations had been born at once. And during the last century we are furnished with some striking proofs of the Divine power in bringing multitudes into God's kingdom. But perhaps some modern missionsespecially those of the London Missionary Society -furnish some of the strongest illustrations of the beautiful ideas contained in this passage referred to. At the same time we cannot but admit that the proper and complete answer to these inquiries is yet reserved for the future. How distant that future may be, we may not be able precisely to tell; but this may safely be asserted-that the time, brief or lengthened, depends, under God, on the church. Let his people shrink from duty, and the evangelization of the heathen world will be postponed to an indefinite period. Let them do their duty; let them obey the Divine command; let them from the heart earnestly desire the conversion of the world, and soon, very soon, will that glorious event take place; -for what does the Spirit of God declare-"As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." Do not these words of the Prophet supply materials for solemn thought? They point out our duty, our short-comings, and our hope. Our duty is to travail, to desire, to agonize for the salvation of men; our short-comings are the neglect of this duty, our lukewarmness in this cause, our low estimate of the power we possess to accomplish this work, and our unbelief; our hope is, that if the whole Christian church were only to awake to its high vocation-if believers of every name and in every land would only exert the power which God has given to them, and bend all their energies and anxieties upon a world lying in wickedness, the generation that is just entering on the stage of existence in every heathen land, would not have arrived at the maturity of being before the Bible was in the hand of every one that could read, and the voice of the living teacher proclaim to every one the message of eternal life. This is evidently the interesting truth announced in the closing part of this passage in Isaiah. It is intimately connected with the preceding parts of it, and indeed will furnish the answers to the interesting and solemn inquiries that are proposed. Shall these extraordinary events take place? Shall our eyes behold such wonders in the moral world? Yes, whenever Zion travails, whenever the church possesses the spirit of the Redeemer of men, and is straitened till the great work of a world's salvation is accomplished: for the word is recordedit cannot fail. "As soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children." Is it so? Then what an awful and solemn responsibility rests on the church of Christ! How desirable that all who love the Saviour, should become more deeply impressed with the importance of the work before them, and more intensely desirous of the speedy approach of the happy days of the Millennium-the Saviour's reign on earth. I wish to illustrate and establish the following proposition-That the church of Christ is able instrumentally to evangelize the heathen world in one generation, if it will only exert the power which it possesses. Startling as this proposition may be to some minds, yet I think a calm and sober investigation of the subject will assist in removing some difficulties which prevent entire acquiescence in the correctness of this assertion. It is a subject that demands the full exercise of all our powers; it is connected with our own personal religion, with that of our families, our churches, and of the whole world. A serious frame of mind well becomes such an investigation; and our secret but earnest and believing prayer should be lifted up to God that he would remove our prejudices; correct our misapprehensions; show the path of duty, and enable us to walk in it, whatever may be the sacrifice of feeling, of ease and of selfishness. We proceed to an examination of this subject with advantages which our fathers did not possess. There are numerous facts now admitted as supplying principles of action, which they had not so fully ascertained as truths. We occupy a higher position than they were privileged to stand upon. From this moral elevation we can survey the past history of the church, and |