ON SA-BBATH EVE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13288, 20 May 1905, Page 3

ON SA-BBATH EVE.

A COLUMN OF RELIGIOUS KIiADING. (Conducted by the Rev. J. TT. GOOD NIGHT. Sleep quielly in this quiet room, 0 thou, whoo'er'thou art, , And let no mournful yesterdays . ' Disturb thy peaceful heart. Nor let to-morrow scare thy rest With dreams of coming ill: Thy Maker is thy changeless Friond— Ilis love surrounds thee still. Forget thyself and all the world, Put out each glaring light; The stars are watching overhead; Sleep sweetly, then,— Good night! THE EFFECT Of THE REVIVAL. • A One-minute Sermon by the Rev. G. Cuirmt Morgan. Now, what effect is this work pioduciiig upon men? First of all, "it is turning Christians everywhere into evangelists. There is nothing more remarkable about (it than that, I think. Peoplo you never ' expected to sec doing this kind of thing ' are becoming definite personal workers. Let me give you an illustration. A friend of mine went to one of the meetings, and he walked down to tho meeting with an old friend of his, a deacon of the Congregational Church, a man whose piety no one doubted, a man who for long! jears had worked in the life of the Church in some of its departments, but a man who never would think of speaking to men about their souls, although he would not have objected to someone else doing it. As my friend walked down ivith the deacon, the deacon said to him, "I have 18 young men in an athletic class of which lam piesideut. I hope somo of them will be in the meeting to-night." Thero was a new manifestation. This mail .had had that athletio class for years, and he had never hoped that any one of thcin I would be in any meeting to be 6avcd. ; Within 15 minutes ho left ltis scat by my friend and was seen talking to a young man down in froht of him. Presently this deacon roso and said, "Thank God for So-and-so," giving liis name; "ho has given his heart to Christ right here." In a moment or two he left him and was with another younw man. Before that meeting clcced that deacon had led every one of these 18 young men to Jesus Christ, who never , before thought of speaking to men about their souls.

My own friend, with whom I stayed, who has always been reticent of speaking to men, told me how, sitting in his office, tlieie surged upon him tho gteat conviction that he ought to go and speak to another man with whom he had done business for long yeats. My friend suddenly put down his pen, and left his office and wont on 'Change, and there lie saw the very man, and going up to him. passing the tirno of day to him, the man said to linn, ' What do you think of this levital?" Aud .my friend looked him squarely in tho eye urn ssid, "How is it with your own soul?" The man looked back at him and said, "Last night at 12, from some unknown reason, I hail to get out of lied and gite myself to Jesus Christ, and I was hungering tfor someone to come and talk to me " Here is a man turned into an evangelist by supernatural means. If this is emotional, tlion God send us more of it! Here is a cool, calculating business slnpowttdt, that I have known all my life, lcating his office to go on 'Change and ask a man about his soul.

I fay that this whole thine is of God, that it is a visitation in which Ho is making men conscious of Himself, without any human agency. The revival is far more widespread than the fire ?one. In this sense you may understand that the fire zone is where the meetings are actually held, and where vou fcol the flame tint bums. But even when you come out of it, and go into railway tiains, or into a shop, a bank, anywheie. men every whoie are talking of God. "Whether they obey or not is another matter. There are thousands not yielded to the coustniint of Rod. but God has given "Wales in these days a new comietion and consciousness of Himself. That is tho profound thing, the underlying truth. JOTTINGS. St. Columba's United Free Church congiegation, Edinburgh, expelled by interdict from their church in Cambrid'go street, worshipped there for the last time oil the last Sunday m March.. Dr Alewndcr Whyta preached in the afternoon to a eiowdfd congicgation from " These are thpy which came out of great tribulation." It had come, he said, that they weio compelled to lift their Bible and pass out of their own church into the street, and that at tho demand of men who were their fellow worshippers and thoir follow communicants till yesterday. What a cruel cross was that! What a severe trial of faith and pat'enoo and brotherly kindness! But let them cheer up. Thoir great wrongs were fast awakening the conscience and tho heait of the whole Chuich and the country. Thousands of generous Christian hearts were bleeding' for them already in that nob'.e oily of Christian liberty and Christian truth. On th° fiist Sunday in April tho congregation worshipped in St. Andrew's Church, Driun'hengh Gardens.

A newspaper reporter, interviewing Mr j Quenlin Ashlvn, whose conversion through fl seimon by Dr Torrey was lecorded ill this column recently, said: —"May I ask, Mr Ashlyn, whether you consi'de; the theatrical profession one in which a Christian can conscientiously engage?" "Decidedly not. Even if the thing itself were entirely pure and free from any objectionable element, the surroundings and the associations of the stage would render it most unfit foi any Christian to engage in. I felt tlut all the tune, e\en before I vai converted." "Then, speaking as a man with'personal experience, you do not think I well of the stage from a moral and spiritual I standpoint?" "I think this of it: that I j)in glad to turn my bnok upon it, and shall never have anything to do with it again. After seeing the manager at St. j George's Hall, my name was withdiawn from the progiamme, and I have cancelled all my engagements, though they extended far into the-s_ummer. It is my duty as a Christian to give lip all for God." "But what will you do for a lifing in place of your old profession?" "The Lord will find a way, I have no fear. If God can save my soul Ho will look after that. And if I can trust Him for my future life, can I not trust Him for this? That is what I told my manager, whon he said: 'Man, you must be mad to give up your profession.' But there is no other way for me, and for the future I await God's guidance." The great appeal of Dr Torrey and Mr Alexander to South London was inaugurated with a dedication service in New Hall, at the corner of Acre lane, Brixton, on Tuesday evening, Apiil 4. Lord Kinnairi presided, airi about 3000 wero in the building. The mission proper did not begin till the Saturday evening, but grayer meetings were held each night in the interim. The choir gave samples of its excellent quality, and pro\ed more effecti\o than in the immense space at.South Keusington. Lord Kinnaird appealed to churchgoer* not to monopolise the scats s during tho mission,! but to use their influence to fill tho hall with those who wero .careless of religion. Ho urged t-act in dealing- with inquirers. Nothing saddened him more than to, fee some mere youth attempting to instruct a grey-headed old man whom ho could not possibly help. Addresses wore delivered by Revs. W. R, Mow 11 (vicar of Chiist Church, 'Brixton), J. W. Swing, and J. R. Train. Neither Dr Torrey nor Mr Alexander was piesent.

General Sir Charles Warren (who has been licensed by the bishop as a lay reader), robed in a white surplice, occupied tho pulpit at St. Ediriund's Church, Lombard street, London, rcccntly, and delivered a capital sermon, in the courso of which he said that one of the ways to quicken religious life was to rcmombcr our duty to our neighbour. To assist in the cause of temperance was the most ciying neod just now. People ought tp make up their minds never to treat drunkenness as an amiable weakness He believed in children being brought up as total abstainers. - Sir Charles Warren also emphasised the need of more work being done among the laity. A great Church organisation in every parish on uniform lines was required, and the nucleus of that was provided by the Church of England Men's Society. All paronti ought, to recognise that the.v wero priests in their own families, and that they Here responsible for tho religious education of their children.

New College, Edinburgh, has closed its session in the rooms plaoed at its temporarydisposal by the university, The students voluntarily declined to accept the awards in tho present condition of the Church's afliairs. Principal Rainy complimented them on a session that-had been extremely p'easaut and He could not prophesy to those iyh& wore returning in the autumn where they would meet, but the ordinary arrangement* 'would no doubt be ready, especially the bursary arrangements. , , "