Phineas F. Bresee - A Prince In Israel - Media Sabda Org

The following brief description of the convention and District Assembly at Chicago is from my
own pen, as I was so fortunate as to be present throughout that historic meeting:
The Convention At Chicago
"I shall not attempt to describe in detail the great convention and District Assembly of last week,
with its quiet conferences, holy joy, glorious victories, and scenes of salvation. To witness it was a
benediction, to participate in it was a lasting blessing. The prayers, and tears, and shouts, and songs,
and sermons, and ringing testimonies, and salvation, of the five days ending with Saturday,
September 9,1905, culminated in the meetings of Sunday, which may be considered as the first
anniversary of the Church of the Nazarene in Chicago.
"Let me begin with the briefest summary of the events of that great day, the greatest of the feast:
Dr. Bresee preached in the morning, his theme being, 'The Divine Presence in the Church.' In the
evening his text was: 'The path of the just is as the shining light,' etc. He preached to great
congregations, the evening audience filling the house to overflowing. He spoke with unction, power,
and pathos, and God owned the messages, and mightily moved the hearts of the people. In the
afternoon Brother Danner, Secretary of the Iowa Holiness Association, preached with force and
eloquence, and the gracious influence of the Holy Ghost accompanied his words. Following Brother
Danner's discourse, Brother Martin, the pastor of the church, called on those who had been saved,
reclaimed, sanctified, or in any way spiritually repaired at the altar of the church during the past year,
to stand up. Fully half of those present arose, and lifted up their voices in thanksgiving to God.
During the day ten persons united with the church, and eighteen seekers wept their way to the bosom
of Jesus, and claimed either pardon or the fullness of the blessing. Hallelujah! In the afternoon Dr.
Bresee led the people while they sang and shouted and marched and waved their handkerchiefs. It
was an affecting spectacle, and when it was over, it was found that the brethren had made an offering
of about $600.
"And now just a few words in the way of an effort to give a dim and faint picture of the glorious
realities of the day, which was a veritable feast of tabernacles, that crowning, climacteric feast of the
Mosaic dispensation.
Some Glorious Realities
"First. The Nazarenes in Chicago love God with an ardor and intensity that is indescribable. They
give expression to this burning love in varied ways. They smile and laugh and weep, and clap and
wave their hands, and sing and shout. They say 'Amen,' 'Glory,' 'Hallelujah,' 'Bless God,' 'Praise the
Lord,' and other things which have ample scriptural warrant and sanction. Sometimes when they
cannot help it, they leap for joy, and walk up and down the aisles or platform. Sunday morning, one
sister, who is usually very quiet and undemonstrative, walked swiftly up and down the platform,
clapping her hands and praising God. Her face was so radiant with holy joy, that my own heart was
instantly filled with glory, and my eyes suffused with tears. Her husband told me afterward that she
had been sick, and had besought the Savior to heal her, so that she might take part in the services and
victories of the day. The Lord answered her prayer, and gave strength to her body, and raptures to
her soul. Oh, glory!