Signs and Wonders God Wrought in the Ministry for Forty Years/Chapter 10
CHAPTER X
WONDERFUL DISPLAYS OF POWER
We next went to Little River, Union Chapel, and held meeting from Friday until Sabbath evening. The house was crowded and hundreds could not get in.
Many of the converts came from Trinity, Markle, Zanesville and Zion. They brought the holy fire with them, and sinners were made to tremble and cry, "What shall I do to be saved?" Among those that came to the altar was a Disciple lady, seventy-four years old. She praised God and rejoiced in her salvation. Another dear old sister, sixty-six years old, received a great blessing and is on her way rejoicing.
Sabbath morning we had a glorious praise meeting. Over two hundred witnessed for Jesus. After preaching we went to the river, where forty of the converts were baptized. It was a grand sight. About one thousand witnessed this solemn scene.
From Churubusco we went to Sheldon, Indiana, to visit our only daughter and her family, who had moved from Ohio one year before. We found them well; they rejoiced to see us once more.
I visited the dear people at Trinity, and found them all still climbing Jacob's ladder.
I went to Garrison's school-house to hold a revival meeting. It was the week of the election and every one was excited. The weather was bad; it was raining; but I went on with the meeting for two weeks.
Fifty came out bright and firm for God. Among these was Brother M., one of the brightest talented men in the country. He had been a member of congress.
A Universalist was the brightest conversion we had. Every one thought he was lost. Nothing ever made an impression on him. I felt that if he was not across the dead line there was hope of him. He was so near there was no time to lose. I worked with him every night. We could not have day meetings. I prayed for him in public. His wife came out bright. I called on him to speak. He said he was glad she came out, as he wanted her to bring the children up for heaven; but to let him alone, as there was no hope for him.
He promised me he would go hame and pray. He said he had never tried to pray in his life, but he would try. He kept his word. He began to pray and God helped him. God turned the light in and he saw what a sinner he was. He prayed all the next day in the cornfield. That night I went to him and took his hand. He could not speak. He broke down and wept. I told him to come to the altar. He started, but would have fallen if some one had not caught him. He was soon converted, and got up and told his experience. He said he had not wept since he was a boy, and he was now forty years old. He had stood by his mother's grave and the graves of his children and never shed a tear. He said it was his last chance. He would have been forever lost if he had refused.
Next I went to Buzzard's school-house, near Huntington, Indiana, to hold a revival meeting. I had heard of this place as being very hard, and almost forsaken of God. A number of ministers had labored hard in trying to build up a church, but had failed. I felt a desire to go, for I believed many souls would be saved.
Seekers continued to come to the altar by scores, until about one hundred and forty were converted, and were very bright, going right to work. Several Dunkards came out, and several church members were converted. Among the converts we counted thirty who were from the ages of fifty to seventy.
I organized a Church of God and from the results of this meeting the Methodists put up two church houses. There were forty-nine baptized in the river by immersion. They looked like angels, and with many others came out shouting. This scene was witnessed by hundreds of people on the banks of the river. They seemed to feel that God was there.
On Sabbath morning at nine o'clock the people were coming from all directions to the meeting, and assembling in the leafy temple to be present at the closing service of this most wonderful revival.
We spent some time in singing, after which we had a glorious praise-meeting. Over one hundred of those who had been converted arose, one after another, telling of Jesus' power on earth to forgive sins, and to give them the witness of the Spirit. Many were received into the church, and we raised several hundred dollars toward building a church. I gave a farewell exhortation to them, and closed by shaking hands with them all. It was a hard trial for me; they seemed like my own children. Brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers—we were all weeping together, and many tears were shed. But we looked forward to that great gathering in the mansions fair.
My next meeting was in the country a few miles from Columbia City. The Lord did a great work in that neighborhood. Nearly every house became a house of prayer. Praise God who gives us the victory in every place, over all opposition and persecutions. He convinces the people that he has called and sent me to preach the gospel with power sent down from heaven, and that he is with me to take care of me, and deliver me from the enemies of the Lord and his work.
We next went to Syracuse, Ind., and held services in a large Union Church. We had a hard battle, but God gave us the victory. The spirit of conviction fell upon the town and surrounding country. Sinners fell as dead men. Others cried for mercy. One night the power of God fell so, that the solemnity of the judgment seemed to rest upon the people. The Lord showed me there was some there that would never have another call of mercy. I rose with tears running down my face and told the congregation that death was very near to some of them; that the pale horse was so near them they could almost hear the clatter of his hoofs, and if they left the house that night without making their peace with God they would be lost forever. In less than one hour after the meeting, a young man and lady were lying in the bottom of the lake, a few yards from the church. They were skating, and the ice broke. They were trying to drive off conviction. I talked to them many times about accepting Christ. I urged them that night to give their hearts to the Lord; to not wait any longer. Many of their friends tried to bring them to Christ that night, but they would not yield. The lady said there. was going to be a dance in a few days, and she would wait till after that. They lost their souls and their right to eternal life, by turning Christ away, and looking forward to a few hours sinful pleasure. But they were not permitted to attend the dance. In such an hour, as they thought not, death came. They fell into the hands of the living God: went into Eternity and the Judgment, to take up the awful wailing: "The harvest is. past, the summer is ended, and I am not saved." They were both buried in one grave. The fear of God fell upon the whole community, for many said that I prayed to God to kill them, and that the warning I gave them was from God. Eternity alone will tell how many were brought to Christ in this meeting.
Had dawned, and the trumpet had blown;
I dreamed that the nations had gathered
To judgment before the White Throne.
From the Throne came a bright-shining angel
And stood on the land and the sea,
And swore with his hand raised to Heaven,
That time was no longer to be.
When the lost ones were told of their fate;
They cried for the rocks and the mountains,
They prayed but their prayers were too late.
Had melted and vanished away;
His debts were too heavy to pay.
The great man was there, but his greatness
When death came was left far behind,
The angel that opened the records
Not a trace of his greatness could find.
God heard and remembered their cries;
No. sorrow in Heaven forever,
God wiped all the tears from their eyes.
The gambler was there and the drunkard,
And the man who had sold them the drink,
With the people who gave him the license—
Together in hell they did sink.
But his self-righteous rags would not do;
The men who had crucified Jesus
Had passed off as moral men, too.
The soul that had’ put off salvation—
"Not tonight; I'll get saved bye and bye;
No time now to think of religion!"
At last they had found time to die.