yet have but one prayer-meeting!-that in the church, conducted, too, by the pastor, else it would die !—and then seldom more in number than from thirty to fifty, and, perhaps, four-fifths of these women!

In Cambuslang they had not only more than their dozen vigorous and life-inspiring prayer-meetings, which convened weekly, but they had their general meetings in the church besides. And still more, we are told, they had occasionally "meetings for fasting and prayer." They believed and felt that they were sinners, and acted accordingly.

Our system, as by us practised, will never secure to the church "serious and lively Christians," nor will ever "serious and lively Christians" be satisfied with such system for the name of prayer-meetings. More, here: Such will never bring revivals; nor will revivals, when they come, ever be satisfied with such prayer-meetings.

We may learn something more here in regard to the lessons of history on the importance of the Scriptural prayer-meeting. The fruits of revival may soon be lost if not carefully gathered into the prayer-meeting, and there cared for.

Of this lesson we shall have more elucidation in the reports from other parts of Scotland where the revival spread. Many presbyteries, cities, towns, parishes, and congregations made full and interesting reports of the work from its beginning to its close, and of the results of many years following.

The report from the City of Glasgow has the following:

"In October, 1744, a general concert for weekly and quarterly prayer-meetings began to be observed, and in the year following to become general among the more pious on both sides of the Atlantic. Many prayer-meetings

and other special means of instruction came thus into operation, and were continued long after, preserving, in the midst of a rapidly growing population, a large measure of practical godliness among professors.

Of the Parish of Baldernock, we find the following narrative:

"A school teacher, who had been in the habit of giving religious instructions to his pupils about the time of the Cambuslang revival, soon realized the fruits of his labors. One of his pupils who had been at Cambuslang returned awakened, and asked his teacher whether he would allow two or three of the scholars to meet for prayer and the singing of Psalms. This was readily allowed, and in the course of two weeks, ten or twelve more were awakened and under deep convictions. Some of these were not more than eight or nine years of age, and others twelve or thirteen. And so much were they engrossed with the one thing needful as to meet thrice a day—in the morning, at mid-day, and at night. Several of the grown people were first awakened at Cambuslang, Calden, and Kirkintillock, but the greater part were brought into a state of concern while attending the prayer-meetings, which were set up in the parish. These were held among the awakened, twice a week; and almost daily meetings of this kind were held in some place or other. At the second of the general meetings there were nine awakened, at the third four, and at another five or six. "

From this example why not encourage children's prayer-meetings? Why may not God still perfect praise to the glory of his grace, out of the mouth of babes?

The Parish of Kirkintillock reports the following very interesting narrative in relation to children's prayer-meetings:

"In the month of April, 1742, about sixteen children in

the town, were observed to meet together in a barn for prayer. Mr. Burnside heard of it, had frequent meetings with them, and they continued to improve. And this being reported, many more were impressed. Soon after, about a hundred and twenty were under a more than ordinary concern, and praying societies, as usual, were formed."

Another instance of children's prayer-meetings in connection with the commencement of revival:

"In the Parish of Kilsith it was thought to be as the dry place, while all around seemed to be bedewed, when several prayer-meetings had begun to be formed, and several girls, between ten and fourteen years of age had been observed to meet in an out-house for prayer. Soon the general awakening commenced, which was followed by several hundred hopeful converts added to the church there."

The Parish of Muthill, as reported by its pastor, who, speaking of the children's prayer-meeting, says:

"There is also a meeting of themselves in the schoolhouse after the evening exercises, where some hours are spent in prayer to their own edification, and, in some cases, to the conviction of persons standing and listening at the doors and windows. Our praying societies prosper; they are still growing in numbers. The meetings formed of boys and girls give me great satisfaction. They are frequent in their meetings, and the Lord is obviously present with them. One of them, which began after the late communion, has now increased to about twenty members. O, how pleasant it is to have the poor young lambs addressing themselves to God in prayer! Sometimes standing outside the room, listening, I am myself often melted into

tears.

“There is another meeting of young ones in a different

corner of the parish. About twenty of them meet twice a week, some of them having a considerable way to travel homeward in the dark.”

Noticing the progress of the work still going on among the young, he says farther:

“We have three praying societies, at some distance. One of them, at a place about two miles distant, made me a very agreeable visit on the first Monday of the year-a day that young people especially used to be otherwise employed. We had, I think, upwards of forty of them, and they continued in prayer and other exercises till about ten o'clock at night."

Passing many interesting-indeed thrilling-accounts of prayer-meetings for the young and the old, noticed in the reports of parishes, we stay to notice only one or two

more:

"In the Parish of Crief not fewer than eight prayermeetings were also set up. Boys were found in the fields engaged in prayer."

"In Auchterarder, an adjoining parish, six prayer-meetings were formed.”

Willison, of Dundee, speaking of that place, says:

"Still their numbers are increasing, and prayer-meetings setting up so fast in all places of the town, that our difficulty is to get houses to accommodate them. Blessed be God, we have also a great increase of praying societies in this place. I think there will be above twenty of such societies here, and in several of them between twenty and thirty persons, and much time is spent in them.”

Of the Parish of Nigg, the following is reported:

"A great increase in meetings for prayer and religious conference. Of this kind were two General Meetings, in which the minister presided, and ten special meetings, in different parts of the parish, and to which numbers were

admitted only on their giving satisfactory evidence of their seriousness."

The records of history will be barren of improvement to the student unless their lessons be carefully studied. Unless we look behind the simple facts, and into their hidden philosophy; unless we comprehend the principle underlying the facts on the surface—the mere creatures of productive powers, operating according to the laws of cause and effect-we shall have acquired little more than a handful of pebbles, collected from the shore, without even a hieroglyphic inscription on one of them, suggestive of an idea. Still more: Unless we trace, in the history of revivals and the prayer-meeting, the hand of the Spirit of God, and the controlling power of his grace, bringing up from the barren soil of the human heart the spirit of prayer, and from the dead fields of social organisms the gatherings of renovated members, like bone coming to his bone, until all stand together with one heart and one mind, as a great spiritual army in the gathering, in companies for prayer, we shall fail to be instructed. Unless we find illustrations of the teachings of God's word, and the counterpart of its historic lessons in the narrative of these revivals and prayer-meetings, we pursue the story in vain.

Here, however, we are not disappointed. Here we see in history repeated-in its scenes re-enacted the pentecostal revival and prayer-meeting baptisms. And here, in the similarity of character and fruits pervading the narrative-though centuries intervene we think we feel the power of the same hand directing both.

From the history of the revivals of religion in Scotland, with their accompanying and revived prayer-meetings, which commenced at Cambuslang, we may learn some very important and seasonable lessons.