1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



321 



it would be something like little fires break- 

 ing- out here and there, first in one locality 

 and then another, and oftentimes in locali- 

 ties so far from each other that one can hard- 

 ly see how the influence has gone from one 

 church to another. In one sense the meet- 

 ings are a scene of disorder; and in another 

 sense they are the most quiet and orderly 

 meetings ever held. The time is all occupied 

 by singing, praying, and personal testimony. 

 Dr. Mort^an says the only break he noticed 

 in the first meeting he attended was when 

 somebody who happened to know him asked 

 to have him speak, and this interrupted the 

 work that was going on to such extent, in 

 his opinion, that he then and there declared 

 in his own mind he would not go again un- 

 less they would permit him be just one of 

 the audience. 



Well, there is not only a constant succes- 

 sion of singing, praying, and speaking, but 

 there are interruptions. While somebody 

 was praying, somebody else would break out 

 in song. Then the song would be interrupt- 

 ed by prayer. While somebody was giving 

 personal testimony, however, I think there 

 was seldom an interruption. There is no 

 human leader. There is no instrumental 

 music, and, lastly, there are no hymn- 

 books; and yet they sing old well-known 

 hymns through from beginning to end. 

 Very often the one who starts a hymn 

 does not know more than one verse, but 

 somebody else does; and under the influence 

 of the Holy Spirit they almost sing hymns 

 they do not know. No wonder Dr. Morgan 

 said it was like men speaking in unknown 

 tongues on the day of Pentecost. 



I have not space to go into the details, but 

 I am going to tell you a few of the most 

 wonderful things. A business man was 

 present in one of these meetings. He had 

 been for years teaching a class of young 

 men in Sunday-school. He had prayed for 

 their conversion, but he was one of the kind 

 who find it very hard to have personal talks 

 with people. While in one of these revival 

 meetings his eye caught sight of one of 

 these young men. While he was thanking 

 God that at least some of his boys were 

 attending the services, something prompted 

 him to go and plead with the young man. 

 He did so, and in a few minutes this youth 

 arose in meeting and gave himself to Christ. 

 Then he with his teacher sought out another 

 one of that class of eighteen, and he too 

 rose up, acknowledging the Savior, and be- 

 fore long the whole class of eighteen had 

 enlisted for life as followers of the lowly 

 Nazarine. 



Such stories seem strange and incredible, 

 but their truthfulness can be attested by 

 hundreds of people. Like Jesus' work here 

 on earth, none of it is done in a corner, but 

 out in open d ay in the si g ht of all me n. 



A business man who is a professing Chris- 

 tian got to thinking about an intimate friend 

 of his with whom he had had close business 

 relations for years, but had never mentioned 

 the subject of religion to him. One morning 

 during these meetings he went to the ofiice 



of this friend and boldly announced that he 

 had come to talk with him for once in his 

 life on something that was not business. 

 This friend smiled in a peculiar way, and 

 finally said, "Mr. A, let me explain to you 

 why your call has given me wonderful pleas- 

 ure. Last night I could not sleep. I was 

 thinking of these revival meetings and of 

 my duty to my fellow-men and to my Savior 

 and my God. My conscience troubled me, 

 and I got no rest until I arose from my bed 

 and on my knees asked God to forgive me 

 and take me for the rest of my life into his 

 care and keeping. This morning I was long- 

 ing to talk with somebody about the new 

 departure I was about to commence; and as 

 I know you so well I would rather talk with 

 you about it than almost anybody else. " 



Now, friends, is not this a wonderful ex- 

 ample of the way in which the Holy Spirit 

 comes simultaneously into the hearts of men? 

 It makes one think of when Ananias was 

 bidden to go and talk with Paul. Dr. Mor- 

 gan says that at one of these meetings he 

 stood for three hours, so solidly wedged in 

 the crowd that he could not even lift his 

 hand. Every little while during the ser- 

 vices somebody either announced that he had 

 come out for Christ Jesus or that some 

 friend had given himself to the Savior as a 

 ransomed soul. 



Now, this story of mine does not amount 

 to so very much until you take into consid- 

 eration the fact that 20,000 people united 

 with the different churches of Wales in just 

 five weeks of this revival, and this report 

 was made last December. Where did this 

 new movement start? Nobody knows. It 

 did not start with Evan Roberts— at least 

 he says so. Some say it started at an En- 

 deavor meeting. God bless the Endeavor- 

 ers! And, by the way, Dr. Morgan tells us 

 that such a great thorough change would 

 not have been possible were it not for the 

 fact that the good people of Wales have 

 been for a long time back attending faith- 

 fully their various religious services. The 

 Endeavor meetings had taught the people, 

 young and old, to become so familiar with 

 Gospel Hymns it was not so very strange 

 they could keep up the praise meeting with- 

 out books or organ. 



The revival is not confined to people who 

 attend church— it is in the air; it is all over. 

 One of the preachers who had been assist- 

 ing in the work confessed that he had been 

 carrying a sermon for three in his pocket. 

 The sermon was not needed.* One new con- 

 vert from a factory said, after his conver- 

 sion, "Tell all the men— tell all you meet, 

 that I am converted." There was no back- 

 wardness nor diffidence about such a con- 

 version. 



* Do not imagrine for a moment, dear friends, that 

 either I or Dr. Morgan means to intimate that ministers 

 are not needed. Unless the pastors of the churches 

 where these new converts are taken in follow them up 

 and keep the hold of the churcH upon them, a great 

 part of them, at least, will go back. It may be we shall 

 not need so many long sermons; but the pastors of all 

 the different churches are going to be needed more than 

 ever before since the world began, in order to hold what 

 we have. 



