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