The hour of revival.
I. ITS CHARACTERISTICS.
1. The spirit of docility. Those once deaf now "hear the words of the book" (Isaiah 29:18); "They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine" (Isaiah 29:24). It is one of the surest signs of the presence of God's Spirit that the attitude of insensibility or of captiousness is exchanged for the desire to learn the will of God—that those who once held aloof altogether or came to carp and quibble now lend a reverent, inquiring ear, sit like Mary at the feet of Jesus, look heavenwards like Paul and say, "Lord, what wilt. thou have me to do?"
2. The power of spiritual perception. "The eyes of the blind shall see," etc. (Isaiah 29:18). God awakens human souls from the sleep of sin or the languor of spiritual decline. Then, in the one case men see the guilt of continued rebellion against God's will, also the terrible risks they run who remain rebellious, and also the excellency and openness of the salvation which is in Jesus Christ, etc.; in the other case they see the transcendent value of the human souls around them, the admirableness of Christian zeal, the desirableness of gaining the approval of Christ for carrying on his work of redeeming love, etc.
3. Gladness of heart in God and in man.
4. The disappearance of iniquity. (Isaiah 29:20, Isaiah 29:21.) The oppressor, the scorner, the vicious, the unrighteous,—these and such as they are removed from the scene; they no longer linger about the gates or frequent the courts or walk the streets of Jerusalem. The force of sacred fervor, like the cleansing indignation of Christ himself, sweeps unholiness from the sanctuary; "that which defileth" is cast out with the strong hand of reawakened purity.
II. THE DIVINE SOURCE OF IT. All those thus made true children of God are "the work of mine hands" (Isaiah 29:23); everything, as every one, is his workmanship; it is all of God. It is his Spirit that "renews the face of the earth," that also revives the souls of men and the condition of his Church.
III. THE HOPE OF ITS COMING.
1. We may look to the promises of God's Word, that hold out to us the hope of better and brighter days in the future.
2. Or to the grace and power of our Lord; for we cannot believe that his yearning compassion and his mighty power will leave outside forever the multitudes that are still afar off.
3. But we do well to look to devout and earnest preparation on our own part. Can we not "prepare the Lord's way" by cleansing our hearts of selfishness and sin, of pride and unbelief; by devout expectation and eager readiness for the sound of his chariot-wheels; by earnest and believing prayer for the action of his reviving Spirit?—C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK