It must be remembered also that the Apostle Paul addressed admonitions to early Christians, whom he evidently considered real Christians, who had had the benefit of his inspired teaching and who had seen the miracles, and perhaps been present at Pentecostal outpourings, who were guilty of the darkest sins on the calendar.
Again, is it not a fact that when we come to God or our brother and confess in a general indefinite sort of way to general indefinite sort of sins, when nothing in particular seems to us to be an intolerable burden of sin, there is little genuine repentance, only a half pleasurable sentimental feeling of regret that we are not as perfect as we could wish? This repentance means nothing. When men confess particular sins they are really repentant. And again, one of our most well known pastors in a large city said with deep emphasis, when this wonder was expressed, that were the Spirit of God to come with the same power to our American churches, the revelations of depths of sin would not be one whit less appalling than those in Korea.
It is, however, greatly to be deprecated that those who have heard these confessions should make them a subject of idle gossip. They belong only to the confessor and his God and, perchance, the one who was wronged. It seems to the writer an awful thing to meddle in such a matter, sacred to the Holy Ghost.
6th. And this seems to the writer an intensely significant fact. This revival was preceded, accompanied and followed by a burning desire on the part of the great majority of all Christians of every denomination and nationality in the country, for union, for one Church of Christ in Korea, an uncontrollable, Heaven-inspired conviction that there in Korea, then, at once, if possible, the Lord’s last prayer while on earth for His Church must be fulfilled, and that we must be one in effort, in aim, in name, as we were already in heart, that the differences and old worn-out historical divisions of the Occident must not be foisted upon the Orient, that in the words of the devoted Bishop Harris, we missionaries had not gone across the Pacific to establish a Methodist or a Presbyterian church, but to advance the kingdom of the Master, that native Christians were not converted to Presbyterianism, Methodism or any other sect but to the Lord Jesus. This was the spirit which preceded and followed the revival and which in Pyeng Yang, where the power was felt by the greatest number of people and perhaps in the most overwhelming way, seemed more general than elsewhere, and right here I feel impelled to quote the words of Mrs. Baird in regard to the daily prayer-meeting of the missionaries alone of both denominations.
“All denominational lines seem wiped out forever and we wonder that we could ever have attached importance to them or have allowed ourselves to be cramped by them.”
But everywhere small jealousies have to a great extent been put aside and a beautiful spirit of mutual love and generosity prevails.
Thus hath God wrought. He has made bare His mighty arm and shown His mercy to one of the weakest and most despised of the peoples, for that is His will and way. He made His ways known unto Moses, a poor shepherd of a despised race, His acts unto the children of Israel, a nation of slaves, and He has glorified His Holy Name in little, enslaved, despised Korea. “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
THE END.
Transcriber's Note:
Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.