Diversity and ceaseless change appear to be enstamped on all the works of God. Perpetual change pervades the universe; and the variety of the external world, from the mightiest object to the most minute, evinces the unsearchable wisdom and infinite resources of the omnipotent and unchangeable Creator. This earth, on which we dwell, is endlessly diversified with continent and ocean-mountain and plain-the fruitful field and the primeval wilderness-trees and shrubs and beauteous flowers-the glassy lake and the majestic river-the foaming cataract whose "mighty waters" roll evermore their deafening thunders, and the meandering rivulet that creeps along the grassy vale-the peopled territory and the untenanted Sahara-the city's crowded thoroughfares and stupefying din-and the sequestered retreats of rural solitude. Earth's nations are ever changing; and they, too, are endlessly diversified in their characteristic features, place, power, position, and civilisation. During the course of the "slow-treading ages," one nation after another rises into a prominent position and assumes a commanding influence-carries its conquering arms over half the globe, attains to pre-eminence in the arts and sciences, in literature and commerce, and eventually falls into decay and perishes in oblivion. The people are now at rest, and political quiet, deep as the silent moon of night, broods over them, and, anon, they surge and tumultuate like the storm-lashed waves of the "ancient sea." Revolution reigns. Undying change has assumed the insignia of supremacy, and the thrones of dynasties, long thought to be stable as the firm foundations of the "everlasting hills," are convulsively overthrown, and the diadems of the mightiest monarchs are dashed in the dust, and the sceptre of empire falls from the enfeebled grasp of tyrants, who have been a scourge and terror to the world, like the rejected plaything of a pampered child. "Things under the earth" also are liable to silent, convulsive, and periodical change. The subterranean fires appear for many a day to have been extinguished, and, again, they burst forth at the belching mouths of the quivering volcano; and the earthquake, in its terrific and devastating course, tears up the loveliest regions of our world, transforms cities and villages into heaps of ruins, and tens of thousands of their unfortunate inhabitants are crushed to death between its devouring jaws.

The seasons, too, are ever changing, in one place silently and gradually, at another suddenly and violently; and man himself, physically, mentally, and morally, is also the subject of incessant change. Nature and society are thus characterised by infinite diversity, periodical and convulsive change, as well as by quiet and less noticeable mutation: and "the grace of God that bringeth salvation" appears to manifest the same general features and to be subject to the same general laws. The great work of awakening and conversion is generally accomplished silently and gradually under the regular ministrations of the sanctuary; but there are times when God, in his wise and holy Providence, answers prayer "by terrible things in righteousness," and close upon the back of a judgment period, the Holy Spirit descends upon a whole community as "a rushing mighty wind," like "floods upon the dry ground," or "like rain upon the mown grass," and the great heart of society begins to heave and palpitate as the heart of one man, and myriads of careless sinners are arrested, alarmed, filled with anxiety about salvation, and turned simultaneously to look on Him whom they have pierced, and mourn those sins that pierced Him and brought Him to the dust of death.

The quiet conversion of one sinner after another under the ordinary ministry of the Gospel must always be regarded with feelings of satisfaction and gratitude by the ministers and disciples of Christ; but a periodical manifestation of the simultaneous conversion of thousands is also to be desiderated because of its adaptation to afford a visible and impressive demonstration to a world lying in wickedness, that God has made that same Jesus, whom they have rejected and crucified, both Lord and Christ; and that, in virtue of his Divine Mediatorship, He has assumed the royal sceptre of universal supremacy, and "must reign till all His enemies be made His footstool." And, considering that He is "by the right hand of God exalted," as the rightful though rejected Sovereign of the world, is it not reasonable to expect that, from time to time, He will repeat that which, on the day of Pentecost, formed the conclusive and crowning evidence of His Messiahship and Sovereignty, and, by so doing, startle the slumbering souls of careless worldlings, gain the attentive ear of the unconverted, and, in a remarkable way, break in upon those brilliant dreams of earthly glory, grandeur, wealth, power, and happiness, which the rebellious and God-forgetting multitude so fondly cherish?

Such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit would form at once a demonstrative proof of the completeness and acceptance of His once offering of Himself as a sacrifice for sin, and a prophetic "earnest" of the certainty that He "shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation," to "judge the world in righteousness," and "give to every man according as his work shall be." And in every age of the Church, the God of our salvation has graciously bestowed the Holy Spirit in His demonstrative power, that He might glorify Jesus by discovering Him in all His fulness to the regenerated souls of multitudes of His ransomed people. When "the promise of the Father" was first realised on the solemn day of the first Pentecost, after the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of power, an all but universal awakening was experienced, and thousands of Jerusalem sinners were simultaneously convinced of sin and converted to God. We read that "about three thousand souls" "repented, and were baptised in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and received the gift of the Holy Ghost," as the result of one exhibition of the Cross and Sceptre of the glorified Emmanuel. With one voice we exclaim, "How blessed!" But how very many of us are, at the same time, entertaining the idea, that although it was peculiarly needful then, as a testimony for Jesus, and to solemnise the inauguration of the new dispensation, which is termed emphatically "the ministration of the Spirit," yet such a remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and such a vast number of simultaneous conversions, are not to be expected in subsequent ages. But, by harbouring such a thought, we entertain an opinion which both Scripture and ecclesiastical history unite to disclaim: for the Word of God leads us still to expect the Holy Spirit, "like floods upon the dry ground"; and such "times of refreshing" and wide-spread, simultaneous conversion have repeatedly occurred in the history of the Church, as to prove conclusively that extraordinary religious awakening and simultaneous conversion ought not to be regarded as peculiar to the day of Pentecost, but as part of the ordinary working out of God's great purpose of grace, for the conviction and conversion of the ungodly, and for ultimately "bringing many sons to glory." The history of the Church in our own land bears ample and frequent testimony to such periodical awakening and remarkable revival; and for some time, the Christian professors of these realms have been partially awakening from their spiritual slumbers by news of the Holy Spirit falling upon multitudes of the inhabitants of the United States of America. A great awakening is still going forward there. The Spirit of God seems to have descended in His awakening power upon various localities over the entire nation; for, in all parts of the country, and among all classes of society, there appears to be an intense desire, and a very general movement, to "go speedily and pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts."[1]

Religion has become the all-absorbing topic, and the salvation of the soul the all-engrossing subject. The press, both religious and secular, has been teeming with details of the mighty awakening. Hundreds of thousands have been converted;[2] and what a minister in New York said in the course of a sermon in 1851 of the triumphs of Christ's cause, has been realised almost to the very letter:

"The time is coming," said he, "when His successes shall be reported with more than the rapidity of Napoleon's victories; when the press shall teem with intelligence of Christian movements in the world; when the steamer shall furrow the deep to speed the tidings of His power; when the electric wires[3] shall thrill with heavenly life, to convey from city to city, and from continent to continent, the news of revivals of religion, and of 'nations born in a day.' The kingdom of Christ is yet to be the one thing thought of in the world, and at every market, in every exchange, in every bulletin-at the street corners, men shall speak of the glory of His kingdom, and talk of His power one to another, making known His mighty acts and the glorious majesty of His kingdom."

"These words," says an American paper, "given as they were written, and spoken seven years ago, may then have passed for impassioned rhetoric; now they are but a literal transcript of what is daily passing before our eyes. "

Hope is a little word, but it is a pregnant one. It is the verbal symbol for one of the mightiest, most pleasing, and powerful emotions of the human mind. It is also all-pervading, and is therefore as common as it is needful in this sin-blighted world. It forms the sunshine of childhood, the day-dream of youth, and the entrancing vision of ripening manhood. It is the summer of the soul-the lever of fortune-the lamp of the unfortunate-and the ready solace of daily toil. It is, in short, the delicious music of futurity, which falls in flute-like notes upon the harassed mind, as it issues forth from the untrodden solitudes of coming years.

Ours is an expectant nature.

[1] I. L. B., a writer in the Christian Times, who was in the midst of these scenes of awakening, thus describes the wide-spread influence of the revival of last year:-"For some weeks a general spirit of prayer had pervaded the churches, and early in February the expected blessing came down, and overshadowed whole communities in a way by no means looked for. The origin of the work cannot be located. It commenced far and near at the same time. Unconverted men crowded the churches, and petitioned to be instructed in the way of salvation. Presently, the ordinary religious services were found insufficient for the thousands of awakened souls, of whom the astonished ministers were led to ask, 'Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows?' Special services naturally sprung out of this necessity, and many of the churches were opened at half-past eight in the morning and half-past seven in the evening. But this was not enough. Men in business felt the oppressive influence of the world's whirl of care, and 'business-men's' noonday prayer-meetings were organised, the superintendence of which was gladly left to the Christian laity by the overworked ministers."

[2] It is believed that half a million of conversions have taken place. The Bishop of Ohio, when speaking at a meeting in London in the beginning of last year, is reported to have said of the present American awakening:-"It is indeed a revival in reference to those who were before Christians, but it is also more than a revival as is evidenced by the conversion of multitudes from the world to God ...This revival has spread over a vast extent of country, and there have, I believe, been hundreds of thousands of genuine conversions. Everybody seems accessible to religion. People, even worldly people, seem to expect to be spoken to about it. May we not look forward to such manifestations of the Divine interposition in fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel, 'I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.'" What the worthy bishop then stated with regard to America may be affirmed now with respect to our own country. During the lapse of 1859, many thousands have been converted to God in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England; and the good work of revival is still going on. The Lord increase it more and more!

[3] "At many of the telegraph offices in this city (New York), as also in other places, messages have been sent to all parts of the country, announcing conversions and many of them have been exceedingly tender and touching. Some have been as follows:-'Dear mother, the revival continues, and I too have been converted.' 'My dear parents, you will rejoice to hear that I have found peace with God.' 'Tell my sister that I have come to the cross of Christ.' 'At last I have faith and peace.' Many young men engaged in business in this city have sent such news to their homes in New England."