Parish Papers

by Norman Macleod

THEIR NEED.

"An awakening" expresses better than the stereotyped phrase "revival," the idea of a wide-spread interest in religious truth. This is the response to the righteous demand, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light," for at such a time men but awake to the reality of truth, which was previously dim and shadowy to them as things seen in dreams; or formerly the awful facts of God's revelation had been as pictures hung up on the wall, which now suddenly become alive.

Before entering on the discussion of this rather delicate subject, there is one question which we would respectfully press upon the attention of the reader, and that is, Whether he would like a revival of genuine religion? We do not question him regarding his sympathy with any particular form in which the supposed revival might come, far less with any of those peculiarities which are supposed by some to be necessarily characteristic of a revival; but supposing that such an awakening or revival occurred by means of any agency, or any process, that it was accompanied by such outward signs of calm and peace as he himself would select, and that its results were unquestionable;—supposing that society was unusually pervaded by a spirit of truth and holiness, that no countenance could be given to evil by word, look, or sentiment, but only to all that was pure, lovely, and of good report,—would such a heaven upon earth be readily rejoiced in by him? If this question is fairly and honestly put to the heart and conscience, the manner in which we entertain the thought of the mere possibility of a revival becomes a trial of our own spirit, a test of our sincerity when we pray, "Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven."

The weakest Christian has but one answer to give to such a question. He may be pained by anticipating the contrast which he thinks is not unlikely to be presented between himself and others more holy; or he may fear that what is false and fleeting, but more attractive, may, in a time of excitement, usurp the place of what is real and permanent, though less obtrusive; but he cannot but desire with his whole heart that he himself and all men may become more and more awake to the realities of truth, and be revived as by the breath of a new spring, so as to grow more in grace, and bring forth more fruit to the glory of God.

For, given that a revival is possible,—that a wide-spread interest in the will of God towards men, with a corresponding power vouchsafed to know it and do it, may be suddenly produced and permanently sustained in the minds of men,—we ask, Is not this the one grand blessing from God which we require? To the question, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" which we may conceive our loving Lord putting to His blind, deaf, lame, even dead brethren of mankind, does not the response come from individuals and congregations, from solitary mourners, and from unhappy hearts, from the weary, the hopeless, the despairing, the labourers at home and abroad—"Life, Lord! We need life in our souls, life in our duties, life in our minds, life in our families, life in our teaching and hearing, in our working and praying, life in all and for all!"

All our clergy constantly need a revival of genuine life,—life which no parishioner might be able to define, but which, if there, every one would soon perceive. It would be felt in every home like the breath of spring, experienced beside every sick-bed like a touch of healing, and be heard in every sermon like a voice from heaven. Oh, what a heavenly gift to himself and others would this be, and what a time of refreshing from the Lord! And how many would share the blessing, now hindered, perhaps, by his own unbelief and satisfaction with indifference. For though "dead" ministers may in some rare cases have succeeded in saving souls, we never heard of living ones who had in every case failed. God has ordained that a living ministry—the preaching of those who utter what they themselves know from personal experience to be true—shall be His most powerful instrumentality for converting the world. We believe, accordingly, that every minister, whose own soul became alive, would soon find that his life was contagious, and that his living spirit would tell upon other spirits in a way never before realised by him. That indescribable impression made by a genuine Christian character, which never can be successfully imitated, would exercise a marvellous influence upon all with whom he came in contact; and if he had one sorrow for life, it would be the remembrance of the dark and horrible time when he was a mere formalist, dead to the eternal interests of his own soul and the souls of others.

Again, What parish does not stand in need of such a quickening? Few ministers are encouraged and stimulated to aim at and attain higher measures of good, from the abounding evidences of Christian life among their parishioners. Many more are tempted, by all they see around them, to wax cold in love, and to lower their standard of personal and ministerial life,—to become quite satisfied with the every-day, stereotyped formalism of things around them, or to submit to it as if it were a doom. The very smile of incredulity with which the account of alleged revivals is received,—the wonder which good men express, if told of many being awakened by the mere preaching of the Word in some congregation or district,—only indicates how all hope has perished of our people over becoming what the preacher in words urges them to become, or of their ever being delivered from the torpor, the indifference, the death, which in words he tells them are the preludes of coming death eternal. Is not our hope well-nigh lost regarding many a parish; and what but the quickening and reviving power of God's Spirit can restore it?

And is there no revival needed in our most living congregations? We may, indeed, have cause to thank God for many signs of genuine life within them, and for such good works as indicate a living spirit in the body. But in the most encouraging cases we have more cause to deplore the vast extent of the ground where the seed sown has been carried away, withered, or choked with thorns, rather than to rejoice in the small patches which may be bringing forth fruit. Let any minister, as he surveys his congregation, and as he visits them from house to house, ask himself the question, How many of these really care about Christ, and ever pray to Him, or try to serve Him? and making every allowance for our ignorance of other men's condition, for the life that may be hidden from the eye, yet will there not be innumerable evidences, forcing upon him the conviction, that if the doctrines he preaches are true, death reigns to a very awful extent even among members of the Church? We do not wish to exaggerate, or make out a case against pastors or their flocks, but we leave it to every candid man who will dare to look the truth in the face, to deny the existence among us of a, mighty want—the want of a revival of spiritual religion among both.

Once more, let us look at our missions, and consider whether there is any need of a revival in this department of Church life. We confess that a mingled feeling of shame and sorrow swells our hearts as we think of the contributions, whether of men or of money, furnished by all Christendom for the conversion of heathendom. It is not that Protestantism is behind Romanism even in the number of its missionaries, while in quality, and even permanent and holy results, we never will compare these two sections of the Christian Church. But how can we hope to possess such missions as shall be worthy of the Protestant Church, without a revival of spiritual religion throughout the parishes, families, theological halls, and congregations of Europe and America? Is it too much to expect, for example, that Christian parents, who would now rejoice if their sons received "an excellent civil appointment in India," or "a commission without purchase," or "a partnership in a first-rate house," shall also rejoice in the prospect of one of their children becoming a missionary of the Cross? Is it too much to expect that those licensed to preach the gospel shall love the work for the work's sake, and that some years at least of health and strength may be given to the foreign field? What is needed more than a revival among our preachers, before we can look with hope for a revival in our missions?

And, finally, is not a revival much required to banish the estrangement, coldness, envy, which exist between the clergy of different Churches? There are delightful exceptions, where genuine Christian goodwill and love exist. But, alas! we sadly miss the want of that manly, truthful maintenance of what appears to us to warrant our own church organisation, with that just appreciation of the sense, principle, and judgment of those who have no sympathy with our views. Surely every great branch of the Church has at this time of day proved to every honest and fair man, that enough can be said in its favour to justify a man in belonging to it without his belying his Christian profession, or being either a fool or a hypocrite. Yet, what an inward chuckling is often manifested at each other's blunders, failures, or even sins,—what a straining for the masteries between the rival sects,—what an utter absence, in innumerable cases, of the slightest sign or symptom of that Christian love and forbearance which is the very proof of being children of God—nay, how little of the good breeding and kindness which are universal among gentlemen! And all this evil, and more than we have described, is often glossed over with such an evangelical phraseology, that what is of the earth earthy is made to appear as if it were heavenly; and the coarsest product of the coarsest and most vulgar vanity, self-seeking, and pride is so painted and misrepresented as to look like love of principle or love of truth. What will put an end to the proud antagonism, the Popery, the Church idolatry of Protestantism? Can it ever be that we shall carry one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ, and so love the Church and its Head as to love ourselves and our sections of the Church less,—that we shall so love our brethren of every name, that their sins shall be our grief, and their well being our blessing,—that we shall be willing to decrease, if Christ only increases, by whatever means He may in His sovereign wisdom select? In one word, can it be that Christian ministers and people of every church shall, in any town or district, come to love one another with a pure heart fervently, because loving the Lord? Who would not long for such a blessed consummation! "But, behold, if the Lord could make windows in heaven, might this thing be!" So we exclaim in our unbelief. But, unless we have lost all faith in the power of God's Spirit, why should we not believe that God can open the windows of heaven, and pour forth such showers of His grace that ministers shall believe what they know, and act as they teach, and be what they profess, and that thus the parched places shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. Then, indeed, would be fulfilled the gracious promise made to a renewed Church:—"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."