Sketches of the Christian life and public labors of William Miller : $b Gathered from his memoir by the late Sylvester Bliss, and from other sourcesWhite, James
Philosophy
Sketches of the Christian life and public labors of William Miller : $b Gathered from his memoir by the late Sylvester Bliss, and from other sources
White, James
Miller, William, 1782-1849
“‘On the 21st of January, Bro. William Miller came into town,
and commenced, in our chapel, his course of lectures on the
Second Coming of Christ. During the nine days that he remained,
crowds flocked to hear him. Before he concluded his lectures,
a large number of anxious souls came forward for prayers. Our
meetings continued every day and evening for a length of time
after he left. Such an intense state of feeling as now pervaded
our congregation we never witnessed before in any place. Not
unfrequently from sixty to eighty would come forward for
prayers on an evening. Such an awful spirit of solemnity seemed
to settle down on the place that hard must be that sinner’s
heart that could withstand it. Yet, during the whole, not an
appearance of confusion occurred; all was order and solemnity.
Generally, as soon as souls found deliverance, they were ready
to proclaim it, and exhort their friends, in the most moving
language, to come to the fountain of life. Our meetings thus
continued, on evenings, for six weeks; indeed, they have thus
continued, with very little intermission, up to the present.
“‘Probably about one hundred and fifty souls have been
converted in our meetings; but a part of these were from
other congregations, and have returned to their former
meetings. Among the converts are a considerable number from
the Universalist congregation; these still remain with us.
From our meetings this blessed work soon spread into every
congregation in town favorable to revivals. In several of them
it is at present spreading with power. For weeks together, the
ringing of bells for daily meetings rendered our town like a
continual Sabbath. Indeed, such a season of revival was never
witnessed before in Portsmouth by the oldest inhabitant.
It would be difficult, at present, to ascertain the exact
number of conversions in town; it is variously estimated at
from five hundred to seven hundred. We have received into
fellowship eighty-one; nine of these were received on previous
profession. We have baptized sixty-seven, and the others
stand as candidates for baptism. Never, while we linger on
the shores of mortality, do we expect to enjoy more of Heaven
than we have in some of our late meetings, and on baptizing
occasions. At the waterside, thousands would gather to witness
this solemn institution in Zion, and many would return from the
place weeping. Our brethren at the old chapel have had some
additions, we believe some over twenty.’
“The Rev. Mr. Peabody, of Portsmouth, in a sermon published soon after,
spoke of the revival which commenced there in connection with Mr.
Miller’s labors, as follows:—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account