At one time, when there was a depression or check in the congregation, and preaching was hard, praying formal, and singing flat, I invited the people to join with me in prayer, that the Lord would show us what was the hindrance in the way of the work.  They prayed with one accord and without consulting one another, almost in the same words, whether in the school-room or in the cottages; the substance of their petition was, that we might know and put away the obstacle to spiritual blessing, whatever that obstacle might be.

One night I dreamt that I was in the church, feeling very desolate and forsaken; there were very few people there, but soon my eyes lighted on an ugly-looking stranger, who tried to evade me.  He was a very disagreeable, sullen-looking man.  When I spoke to him he gnashed his teeth, and as I approached he drew out a knife and held it out before me.  I pursued him notwithstanding, when he backed towards the door and went out.  I followed him through the churchyard till he was outside the lych-gate.  As soon as he was gone, I saw a troop of happy people, all dressed in white, come in at the same gate, leaping and running like so many joyful children, and swinging their arms for gladness:  they went into the church and began to sing.  The dream was as vivid to me as a daylight scene.

I went out the next evening, intending to tell it at the school-room meeting; but before I began to do so, I observed that the people sang more freely than usual, and I also noticed that two men who prayed omitted to offer the usual request for hindrances to be removed.  When I told my dream, a man arose and said, “I know all about that; there has been one among us whom we thought was a good man, but instead of this we have discovered that he was most immoral and deceitful, doing a deal of mischief, secretly undermining the faith of some, and misleading others; he has been detected, and is gone.”  Sure enough our old happy freedom returned, and there was liberty in preaching, praying and singing, and souls were saved.

Another time, when I was getting a little impatient with the people, I took a leaf out of my Scripture-reader’s book, and preached a furious sermon about “damnation,” representing God as pursuing the sinner to cut him down, if he did not repent there and then.  I thought I had done it well, and went home rather satisfied with myself, supposing that I now knew how to make the congregation feel.  The next morning, a yeoman called to me as I was passing her cottage, and said, “Master, what d’yer think?  I dreamt last night that the devil was a-preaching in your pulpit, and that you were delighted at it!” A sudden fear fell upon me—­so much so, that I returned to the church, and shutting the door, begged God’s forgiveness; and thanking Him for this warning, asked that I might remember it, and never transgress again.

As my Scripture-reader continued to denounce wrath and vengeance, instead of preaching the Gospel, I parted with him.