“God fulfils Himself in many ways,
  Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”

If, therefore, we find, as a matter of fact, that some one who follows not us—­why he does not follow with us we may not be able to understand—­is yet confessing Christ’s name, and so doing Christ’s work that devils are cast out by him, we dare not say, “Forbid him.”  Our Lord does not command us to forbid him, any more than He commands him to follow us.  He says only, “Forbid him not.  He who is not against us is for us.”  We all need humbly to act on such a principle.  But should we in our pride and ignorance condemn a sincere and faithful labourer for Christ, our Lord will not confirm our judgment.  On the other hand, he who does not “follow” the ministers of Christ’s Church, whom he finds already engaged in the Master’s work, must answer to the Lord for incurring so solemn and serious a responsibility.

But we must pass rapidly and more briefly to the consideration of one other objection to revivals.

3.  “We object entirely to revivals because of the great excitement which attends them.”

To this we reply—­

We admit the possibility of great excitement connected with religious truth, in spite of the total absence of religious character.  There is no more interesting or remarkable chapter in history than that which records the manias that have spread like epidemics at different periods (especially during the middle ages) over Europe.  They are cases of hysteria upon a great scale; and that these should take a religious form as well as any other is no way impossible.  It has happened a hundred times before, and will happen often again.  We have seen cases of “revival” which were purely physical, with little religious knowledge and no religious character, in those who were most under the influence of the preacher, but with much ignorance and great nervous susceptibility.  Preachers as ignorant as these people have been deceived by such appearances, which, not being able to account for by any natural cause, they at once attribute to supernatural agency.  But, putting aside those illustrations of very common physical phenomena, we admit—­

That excitement is by no means to be desired.  Its tendency is to produce reaction, and, when the fire passes, to leave nothing but ashes behind.  We may receive the Word with joy, and yet it may soon wither; and also give our bodies to be burned, and yet be nothing. Mere excitement is next door to grossness and licentiousness.  Both have the same sensuous elements in them.  Had we our choice, we would prefer a revival without any excitement.

It is, therefore, not only possible, but it has frequently happened, that hundreds have been powerfully moved by a revival, have professed faith in Christ, found peace with God, and been assured by enthusiasts and fanatics that they were now actually “saved,” who soon gave token that they never had been saved from either gross ignorance or gross sin, but destroyed rather by want of sense in themselves, and in those who, from ignorance or vanity, excited their feelings, and worked on their mere animal sensibilities.