Gospel preaching should not be to entertain people, nor even to instruct
them; but first to awaken them to see their danger, and to bring them
from death into life, which is manifestly the Lord's chief desire.

This was the definite object of my work: I preached for and aimed at it;
and nothing short of this could or would satisfy my longings. In the
church, in the school-room, or in the cottages, we prayed that the Holy
Spirit would bring conviction upon sinners, and then we sought to lead
them to conversion with the clear ringing testimony, "You must be born
again, or die to all eternity."

CHAPTER 10

The First Christmas, 1851-52.

The first Christmas-day, during the revival, was a wonderful time. The
people had never realized before what this festival was, beyond
regarding it as a season for domestic rejoicing. It surprised many to
see that their past Christmases were a true representation of their past
lives that they had cheered and tried to make themselves happy without
Christ, leaving Him out of their consideration in His own world, as they
had on His own birthday. What a Christless and hopeless life it had
been! What a Christless religion! Now we praised the Lord together for
His marvellous goodness to us, and desired that we might henceforth live
unto Him, singing in heart and life, "Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good-will towards men."

When New Year's eve arrived we had a midnight gathering, and dedicated
ourselves afresh to God's service. It was a blessed season, and several
hundreds were there, who, together with myself, were the fruits of the
revival during the previous two months. The new year opened upon us with
fresh manifestations of divine power and larger blessings. I endeavoured
to show the people that the Lord was called Jesus, not that He might
save us from hell or death, but from our sins; and this while we lived
on earth--that our heart and all our members being mortified from all
carnal lusts, we might live to His glory; that Christ's religion was not
intended for a death-bed, but for a happy and effectual Christian
life---a life showing forth the power of His grace.

After the Christmas holidays, our schoolmaster and his wife returned.
They came back full of disdain and prejudice against the work, and even
put themselves out of the way to go from house to house, in order to set
the people against me and my preaching. They said that they could bring
a hundred clergym