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SERMON CCCCXXII.

BY G. A. LINTNER, D. D.

OF SCHOHARIE, N. Y.

THE CHRISTIAN'S NEED OF A REVIVAL OF RELIGION.

"Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy way, and sinners shall be converted unto thee."-PSALM LI. 12, 13.

THE Psalmist uttered these words under deep conviction of sin. He had grievously backslidden-he had committed a gross act of wickedness, for which he was rebuked by the Prophet, and he felt that he deserved the rebuke. He confessed his sin, and said, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight."

David, in his fallen and guilty state, felt that he needed the Holy Spirit. He knew that he had sinned against God, and that for this sin he deserved to be cast out from his presence forever. But still he was anxious to return, and he knew that he could not return without the Holy Spirit. He therefore prayed for the Spirit. He asked God to pour out the Holy Spirit into his heart, that he might be delivered from his sins, and restored to the divine favor. He felt not only for himself, but also for others, and especially for those whom he had misled and injured by his wicked example. He had brought reproach upon religion-he had opened the mouths of gainsayers, and strengthened and encouraged sinners in their wicked ways. And now, he felt a desire, not only, that he himself might be restored, but that he might be made an instrument of reclaiming others, who were perishing in sin. "Restore unto me the joy," &c.

The prayer of the Psalmist shows an awakened conscience, after having fallen into sin, and an earnest desire for the renewing and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit to recover from this state. It shows also, how easily Christians may be led away by the deceitfulness of their hearts, and the power of the adversary, and that when they thus stumble and fall, they need the Holy Spirit not only to raise up themselves, but also to do something for others. Christians need a revival of religion in their own hearts, to prepare them to labor for the salvation of perishing sinners. To this subject I shall now invite your attention. I shall endeavor to show,

I. What is meant by a revival of religion in the hearts of Christians-and

II. How such a revival prepares them to labor for the salvation of the impenitent.

I. Christians are very liable to fall into sin-even after they have been enlightened by the grace of God, and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, they are liable to

fall away. Their hearts are so deceitful, and they are so much under the influence of the world, and its evil temptations, that they are easily led astray, and often, before they are aware of it themselves, they have wandered so far from God, that they have lost their interest in religion, and care but little for their souls. This is a very dangerous state for Christians to be in. In this state they are in danger of perishing, as much as the unconverted and impenitent; and they must be awakened from this state, or they will perish-and they can only be awakened by the Holy Spirit. They need the Holy Spirit to rouse them from their lethargy, and show them their true condition-how guilty and wretched they are, how they are dishonoring God, injuring religion, and destroying their own souls; and there are times when Christians see this. When the Holy Spirit enters their hearts, and convinces them of sin-shows them how they have wandered from God, conformed to the world, and yielded to temptation, and neglected their Christian duties-the duties of prayer and meditation, and self-examination; the duties of reading the Scriptures, and worshiping God in their families, and in their closets: and when Christians see and feel this, their hearts will be broken, they will mourn over their sins, and have a desire to return unto God. They will begin to pray, and say with David, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit ;" and when their consciences are thus awakened, they will not only feel for themselves, but they will become deeply interested in the salvation of others. They will be ready to labor, and make sacrifices for the salvation of sinners; they will ask for God's Holy Spirit, that they may teach transgressors his way, and that sinners may be converted to Him; they will become so absorbed in religion, and so entirely taken up with God and his service, that they desire to live only for him-their greatest delight, their daily meat and drink, will be to do His will. Earthly objects pass away from the mind, the soul is longing after communion with God-the heart is filled with the spirit of devotion, and there is an anxious desire to glorify God, and to labor for the salvation of the lost and perishing.

When such a spirit takes possession of the heart, religion is no longer a burthen. It becomes easy for Christians to do their duty. They consider it a privilege to serve God-a privilege to pray. It is easy to converse with a neighbor on the subject of religion, and speak with sinners, and try to persuade them to forsake their sins and turn to God. This is what we call a revival of religion in the hearts of Christians; and when we see such a spirit manifested among Christians, we see the power and influence of true religion exemplified, and sinners will be converted to God. When Christians feel the importance of the work in which they profess to be engaged; when they come up to the standard of the Gospel, and act under a full sense of their religious duties and obligations, it will have an effect. Sinners, with all their errors, and prejudices, and enmity against God in their hearts, will see the light, and feel

the power of such a religion, and they will be constrained, almost irresistibly, to yield themselves up to its influence. They cannot withstand its appeals to their consciences and hearts. They must and will be persuaded to turn from their evil ways, and seek an interest in the Savior-and this leads me to consider

II. How a revival of religion in the hearts of Christians prepares them to labor effectually for the salvation of the impenitent.

1. When Christians are revived in their hearts by the influences of the Holy Spirit, they have clearer views and stronger impressions of divine truth. This is one reason why they are prepared to labor more effectually for the salvation of souls. Truth is always powerful, and wherever it is seen in its true light, and felt in its divine power, it has an awakening influence. It raises the mind, and excites the feelings, and stimulates to action. But the truth is sometimes hidden even from Christians. They do not always see it in the light they ought to see it, nor feel its force as they should feel it. When they become cold, and lukewarm, they have very indistinct, and often very mistaken notions of truth and religion. They have wrong and imperfect views of sin-they do not see their duty clearly; they do not feel the power of religion in their hearts as they ought, and consequently, they grow weary and faint, and cold, and careless. But let the Holy Spirit be poured into their hearts-let the Great Teacher, the Spirit of Truth, enter into their minds, with the light of heaven, the light of revealed truth, and they will see how they have been deceiving themselves with wrong views, and false hopes in religion; how they have erred from the truth, and wandered from God, given themselves up to the evil influences to which they were exposed. They will be convinced of their error, and be willing to confess their sin. They will see their faults, and be ready to acknowledge them. The veil will be taken from their eyes, and they will now have a clear perception of the truth. They will now see that they have offended against God, that they have injured their own souls. They will see their true state and condition as wanderers from God and the fold of Christ, and they will be anxious to return with a broken heart-a heart enlightened by divine truth, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and ready to be entirely devoted and consecrated to God.

Such are the views and feelings of professing Christians, when they are awakened from sin, and the Word of God is revived in their hearts. They are brought under the influence ot the spirit of truth, and under this influence, they see not only their own sad condition, but they see the state of others who are living without God and without hope in the world. They have received into their hearts the light of truth, and so strong is this light, and so deep the impression it has produced, that they are willing to labor, and suffer, and render sacrifices for the glory of God, and the salvation of souls. This is an invariable result of a revival of religion in the hearts of Christians; they have a clearer discovery of the

truth-feel its impressions more deeply in their hearts, and are more willing to yield themselves up to its influence.

2. When Christians are revived in their hearts by the influence of the Holy Spirit, they enter more into the spirit of prayer.- When Christians become cold and lukewarm, they lose this Spirit. When they feel not much concerned for their own souls, they care but little for the souls of others; consequently, they have no desire to pray; and even if they attempt to pray, they will not have the right spirit. You can always tell from the prayer of a Christian how he feels affected, what the state of his heart is, and how much he is interested in religion and in the service of God. Men will pray just as they feel;-if the fire of love and devotion burns feebly on the altar of their hearts, they will emit but little light and heat to warm and enliven those around them; their prayers will be cold and destitute of spiritual life; but if the heart be touched by the Holy Spirit, it will be filled with the spirit of prayer, the spirit of grace and supplication; there will be deep feeling, and earnest entreaty, and holy importunity; there will be a spirit something like the spirit of the patriarch, when he said, "Except thou bless me, I will not let thee go." There will be a pouring out of the heart, an intense desire for the salvation of souls. There will be no such thing as becoming weary and faint. There will be constant knocking at the door, a faithful claiming of the promises, and a laying hold of the hope that is set before us in the Gospel. And when Christians pray with such a spirit, they will feel to labor also for the salvation of sinners; they will not only ask God to convert sinners, but they will seek also that they may be converted through their instrumentality. After they have prayed for the impenitent, they will go to them, and talk with them, and labor with them, and endeavor to produce an impression which will lead them to Christ, and bring them into the ark of his salvation. A Christian who prays only for the salvation of sinners, without ever conversing with them on the subject of religion, cannot have much of the Spirit's influence. His heart is not right; he has not the spirit of prayer; and he might as well not pray at all, as to pray that the impenitent might be converted to God, while he is unwilling to use any exertion, and become instrumental in their conversion. Wherever the Holy Spirit is poured out, you will find the spirit of prayer, a spirit of love, a spirit that always manifests itself in faithful and persevering labors for the perishing.

3. When Christians are revived in their hearts by the influence or the Holy Ghost, they are induced to make special efforts for the salvation of sinners. Like the Psalmist in the text, they become deeply concerned for the souls of the impenitent that are perishing around them; they are anxious to teach transgressors the way, and use every exertion in their power that sinners may repent of their sins and give their hearts to God. They feel constrained, by the love of Christ and the love of souls, to exhort, and admonish, and rebuke sinners, with all patience, and meekness, and long suffer

ing, that they may forsake their sins, and become reconciled to God, through Jesus Christ, our Savior. This is the effect of the Spirit's influence in the hearts of Christians. It warms the heart, kindles the fire of love, and there is a burning zeal for the salvation of souls. It makes men active in the service of Christ, willing to undergo any labor, or render any sacrifice that may win souls to Christ. It is this spirit working in the hearts of Christians, that removes mountains. It produces wonderful effects; it sometimes even excites the astonishment of the world; it goes from individuals into families, and spreads from house to house, and from family to family, until it has passed through the whole community, and produced an entire change in the character, habits, feelings, and dispositions of the people. When Christians exercise such an influence, and exhibit such an example, they show the power of true religion; they are then indeed like a city set on a hill; their light shines-it shines with a clear and holy brilliancy, and those that wander in darkness see it. They see the holy walk and conversation of Christians, their devotedness to God, their love and affection for each other, their faithful and disinterested labors for the salvation of sinners; they see their love for souls, their anxiety to save them; and they hear their tender entreaties, the strong and affectionate appeals. Sinners see and hear this, and they begin to feel, their hearts are affected, and they are ready to yield to an influence which they cannot longer resist. They can resist almost every other power which can be brought to bear upon them; but they cannot resist the power of love, the power of sympathy, the power of prayer, and effort to do them good. When sinners are convinced in their hearts that Christians really love them, and are laboring to do them good, they will yield to their entreaties, and repent, and turn to God, and seek the Savior. Thousands have been converted in this way. Multitudes that have been so hardened in sin as almost to be given up for lost, have been reclaimed by the faithful and persevering labors and prayers of Christians. God employs his people as instruments for the conversion of sinners. And when the people of God have been awake, when the Holy Spirit has moved upon their hearts, there has been a stir among sinners; they have felt the power of truth and the influence of the Holy Spirit, and the cry has gone forth, as in the days of the Apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved?"

We learn from this subject—

I. That we cannot expect to see sinners converted as long as Christians are asleep in their sins. God, it is true, sometimes converts sinners without the instrumentality of Christians. He brings sinners to repentance, and leads them into the ark of Christ's salvation, when Christians are standing in the way. He sometimes even reverses the order of spiritual influences, by which he usually leads men to repentance. He first converts sinners, and then, through their instrumentality, works on the hearts of professing

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