ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE;

OR,

THE EVILS OF RAIN.

THE following article was written and published in the year 1835. It first appeared in "The Cincinnati Journal and Luminary," then edited by Rev. Thomas Brainard, now pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church, in the city of Philadelphia. The history of its origin is the following: From the year 1825 till the year 1832, the God of grace had blessed portions of his church in the United States with precious revivals of religion: perhaps from '28 till '31, they were most extensive and powerful. Near this latter date, "Letters on Revivals " were published, in which "cautions," "indiscretions," and "evils," were marvellously conspicuous. If any thing was said in favor of revivals, it seemed to be only in order to prepare the way for a doleful enumeration of "excesses," "extravagances," "mischievous disorders," of which the venerable brother doubtless had either heard or dreamed. Now, the church is sufficiently prone to "leave her first love," and become cold and dull in the cause of God; but when this sad tendency is aided and aggravated by letters or lectures from respectable ministers, the results are distressing.

Alas for a drowsy church, when subjected to an undiluted dispensation of the nightmare!

Most of us can remember, when we were children, how close we would cluster around a kitchen fire, while a superstitious old nurse told her favorite ghost stories"rawhead and bloody bones; ""sheeted spectres, taller than life, walking by moonlight through the lonesome graveyard;" "murdered men, seen at midnight, moving in solemn procession, each one carrying his head under his arm," &c., &c. I have seen children shuddering while they listened to such stories, until each one was afraid to look over his shoulder, and yet more afraid to go into a distant room to bed. And, after all, the poor old superstitious granny had never seen a ghost in all her life. Now, in like manner, if small things may be employed to illustrate things that are great, I have seen the church terrified with "ghost stories" about revivals, until she was almost afraid to move in any good enterprise; and the narrator in the latter case had seen just about as many "spectres" as in the former.

That man whose ministry God has never honored with revivals, may be a useful and important man in the church. He may render services that are valuable in other departments of ministerial effort. But he should publish neither "letters nor "lectures on revivals; because that, in this as in other matters, experience teaches many things, of which the inexperienced are necessarily ignorant.

I cannot set this subject in a stronger light than by giving the following anecdote of Dr. Nelson: He had been laboring in the west, with great earnestness, to convert men to God. He would select a solemn

passage of Scripture, and prepare a sermon, and then go and preach that sermon, expecting, through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to convert sinners to God, as certainly as the strong axe-man who goes to work with a sharp axe, and is conscious of his dependence on God, expects to cut down the forest-trees. In the midst of these arduous and delightful labors, Nelson was grieved to see a series of "letters on revivals," issuing from the study of a professor who had long been mewed up in the seclusion of a seminary. The author was a worthy man, qualified to give instructions on a subject which he understood, but an entire stranger to revivals of religion, so far as his own ministry was concerned, and likely to remain so; while, in the kingdom of God's grace, appropriate causes are necessary in order to produce certain effects.

But the "letters on revivals!" Lackaday! They abounded in proof of the position of John Bunyan, that the old prince of darkness, in warring against man's soul, surrounded the town with an army of twenty thousand "doubters"! And they doubted at ear gate, and doubted at eye gate, and doubted at every gate, till finally they doubted the gates open, and doubted the whole town into the possession of the great adversary of God and man.

ter.

Dr. Nelson's heart was filled with sorrow that such disastrous influences should emanate from such a quarBut what can a plain, western man do, when a cold, blighting stream of "east wind" comes sweeping over the garden of the Lord, chilling and nipping the tender plants, and freezing all before it? Alas for the churches in the west, when "the star in the east" is overspread with mist and darkness!

Such was the attitude of things when Nelson made He was walking along a street in

a visit to the east.

one of the principal cities, when he discovered an extensive bookstore. At one side of the door, on a

broad sheet, was an advertisement in large letters, "Dr. on Revivals, for sale here." At the other side of the door hung a similar advertisement, "Dr. on Revivals, for sale here." Nelson paused, surveyed the broad sheets for a moment, then stepped into the store, and, addressing the bookseller, said, “Have you got here the Treatise of the Emperor Nicholas of Russia on the proper method of cultivating Cotton and Sugar-Cane?"

"Why n-no," said the bookseller, drawling out the answer; we have not got it, and I should think that Nicholas, out in the far north, among the snows of Russia, would be likely to know very little on the subject, as, most certainly, he has never seen a plant of either cotton or sugar-cane."

"Well," continued Nelson, "have you got the Dissertation of President Boyer of Hayti on the Proper Method of building Ice-Houses?" "No," replied the bookseller;" and there again, I should think that Boyer, in the West Indies, having never seen ice, would be a most unsuitable person to attempt to write a dissertation on the subject."

"Ah!" said Nelson, turning towards the door, "I see that you have "Dr. on Revivals," and I did not know but that you might have those other works. Good morning, sir."

The reader now will readily understand the position of things in the church, which called forth the dialogue between "Elijah and the Carmelite." The article has

gone through many newspaper editions. It is now presented to the public in a permanent form.

The reader will perceive that the great drought, in Elijah's day, most probably took place long after the close of the earthly pilgrimage of "Iddo the seer." But if the prophet Daniel saw, in vision, the great contest between the Persian Ram and the rough Macedonian Goat, which occurred ages after the good prophet had slept with his fathers, who will object to a similar privilege being granted to the author of "The Visions of Iddo"? This article, at its first publication, was introduced by the following note:

"Many of our wise and worthy men have labored much to put our church on her guard against the evils that have attended revivals of religion; and many of our talented and substantial ministers have become so watchful and prudent in guarding against these evils, that in large sections of the church, revivals have ceased altogether. Now, I am not going to debate with those who act on the principle, that the best way to guard against going wrong, is not to move at all, and that the surest mark of being sound in the faith, is to be sound asleep. But I think it would be well for the friends of revivals us they are such - to take some pains to count over the blessings, as well as the evils, that attend them. I think also that good might be done if some of the fathers would write a series of letters on the evils of universal stupidity and spiritual death in the church of the living God.

and those writers are careful to tell

"The following article your readers may, if they