I drew to a close, I took out my watch and noticed that it was
exactly twelve o'clock. Mr. Moody had invited us to go up on the mountain
that afternoon at three o'clock to wait upon God for the baptism with the
Holy Spirit. As I looked at my watch, I said, "Gentlemen, it is exactly
twelve o'clock. Mr. Moody has invited us to go up on the mountain at three
o'clock to wait upon God for the baptism with the Holy Spirit. It is three
hours until three o'clock. Some of you cannot wait three hours, nor do you
need to wait. Go to your tent, go to your room in the hotel or in the
buildings, go out into the woods, go anywhere, where you can get alone
with God, meet the conditions of the baptism with the Holy Spirit and
claim it at once." At three o'clock we gathered in front of Mr. Moody's
mother's house; four hundred and fifty-six of us in all, all men from the
eastern colleges. (I know the number because Mr. Paul Moody counted us as
we passed through the gates down into the lots.) We commenced to climb the
mountainside. After we had gone some distance, Mr. Moody said, "I do not
think we need to go further. Let us stop here." We sat down and Mr. Moody
said, "Have any of you anything to say?" One after another, perhaps
seventy-five men, arose and said words to this effect, "I could not wait
until three o'clock. I have been alone with God and I have received the
baptism with the Holy Spirit." Then Mr. Moody said, "I can see no reason
why we should not kneel right down here now and ask God that the Holy
Spirit may fall on us as definitely as He fell on the Apostles at
Pentecost. Let us pray." We knelt down on the ground; some of us lay on
our faces on the pine-needles. As we had gone up the mountainside, a cloud
had been gathering over the mountain, and as we began to pray the cloud
broke and the rain-drops began to come down upon us through the
overhanging pine trees, but another cloud, big with mercy, had been
gathering over Northfield for ten days and our prayers seemed to pierce
that cloud and the Holy Ghost fell upon us. It was a wonderful hour. There
are many who will never forget it. But any one who reads this book may
have a similar hour alone by himself now. He can take the seven steps one
by one and the Holy Spirit will fall upon him.
CHAPTER XXI. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PROPHETS AND APOSTLES.
_The work of the Holy Spirit in apostles and prophets is an entirely
distinctive work. He imparts to apostles a
|