William Haslam

We have written before about William Haslam, a preacher in Cornwall in the mid-19th century, who was converted through his own preaching from his own pulpit! I have recently been reading his autobiography called From Death Into Life . . . it is indeed a worthy read. For example, we read the following description about the service in which Haslam was converted:

"Whether it was something in my words, or my manner, or my look, I know not; but all of a sudden a local preacher, who happened to be in the congregation, stood up, and putting up his arms, shouted out in a Cornish manner, 'The parson is converted! the parson is converted! Hallelujah!' and in another moment his voice was lost in the shouts and praises of three or four hundred of the congregation. Instead of rebuking this extraordinary 'brawling,' as I should have done in a former time, I joined in the outburst of praise; and to make it more orderly, I gave out the Doxology -- 'Praise God from whom all blessings flow' -- and the people sang it with heart and voice, over and over again. My Churchmen were dismayed, and many of them fled precipitately from the place. Still the voice of praise went on, and was swelled by numbers of passers-by, who came into the church, greatly surprised to hear and see what was going on."

"When this subsided, I found at least twenty people crying for mercy, whose voices had not been heard in the excitement and noise of thanksgiving. They all professed to find peace and joy in believing. Amongst this number there were three from my own house; and we returned home praising God."

Newton Quote

"God sometimes does His work with gentle drizzle, not storms." -- John Newton

Definition of Revival

George Smith offers a succinct definition of revival:

"A revival, therefore, is a work of grace effected by the Spirit of God on the souls of men; and, in its nature, differs only from the ordinary operations of the Holy Ghost, in the enlightening and conversion of men, by its wider prevalence and greater intensity."

The Conversion of William Rundle

William Carvosso tells of the conversion of his grandson in the Cornish revival of 1827 in the following manner:

"My dear grandson, William Rundle, so recently brought to God, and so hopeful in the church, has been snatched away from us by the hand of death. He was ill only a very short time; but glory be to God, he died in sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection to eternal life. How merciful are the dispensations of God! His conversion took place about six weeks before his removal hence. He did not long groan under the burden of guilt, and his evidence of pardon and adoption was very clear. At a prayer-meeting two or three weeks before his death, he received an overwhelming manifestation of the Spirit, in which every doubt and fear was utterly put to flight. He attended his class a few days before his death, and seemed to be filled with unspeakable joy: 'My soul', he said, 'is like a ship in full sail, on the boundless ocean of redeeming love.' His death was occasioned by the rupture of a blood vessel. In all the conflict, he was perfectly tranquil and serene; fear was not permitted to come near him. This was the more striking, because, in every little indisposition before, he was much alarmed and distressed at the thought of death. But now he seemed at once ready-winged for the flight. To his father, who had fondly hoped that he would be the help and comfort of his advancing years, he said, 'Father, you can do very well without me; and I would rather die than live.' The Lord whom he had so heartily chosen for his portion in the vigour of health, was not his abundant support in the struggle of pain and death. Just before he expired, he said to me, 'I used to be struck with terror at the thought of dying, but now I can meet death with a smile.' He died in his nineteenth year."

The High Calling of Preaching

To underscore the true high calling of preaching, Philip Henry said that he would beg all week in order to be allowed to preach on Sunday.

Conversion of John Chapman

Paul Cook tells the story of the conversion of one John Chapman in the 18th century:

"His work was that of a roadman. He had been troubled about his spiritual state for some time, but was fearful of attending the local chapel. One day as he was taking his lunch break with his bread and cheese, sitting under a hedge by the roadside, a robin settled nearby. He held out a crumb in his hand to entice the robin to take it, and said, 'Come, come, come to me: you don't know how much good I can do for 'ee.' The next moment he looked up, and in his account he said, 'There was the Lord Jesus right in front of me, holding out his hand with nail prints in it. And 'twas like as if he said them words over again -- 'Come, come, come to me: you don't know how much good I can do for you.' And so he passed from death to life. His subsequent godly life convinced everyone of the genuineness of his conversion." (Fire from Heaven, p. 75)

Percy

William Alexander Percy: "I'm unhappily convinced that our exteriors have increased in importance while our interiors have deteriorated: it is a good paint job!"

Filey

H.B. Kendall in his book The Origin and History of the Primitive Presbyterian Church (1905) tells the story of the revival in the town of Filey a fishing village in East Riding. This town was particulary well known for its evil ways and wickedness. Numerous attempts had been made by evangelists to penetrate the town, but nothing had worked. John Oxtoby took it as a challenge, and he said, "What will the people say about praying and believing? . . . Let me go." According to Paul Cook, "When he reached Muston Hill and viewed Filey in the distance, he fell upon his knees in a dry ditch and began to agonize with God. A miller passing that way thought he heard two men arguing. But it was only one man praying. He was engaging in 'the argument of faith' with his God. Eventually God gave Oxtoby the assurance that his prayers were answered. He 'rose in faith' and exclaimed, 'It is done, Lord! Filey is taken! Filey is taken!' So he descended into the town: and it was taken!" Indeed, a great revival occurred in the town, and it was taken by prayer.

Don't Trifle

Charles Simeon endured great opposition and hardship in his church in Cambridge, England. He overcame it, however, and served Trinity Church as pastor for 54 years. Henry Martyn served as Simeon's assistant for a time before he set sail as a missionary to India. Martyn ministered in India for only four years before his untimely death at 31 years of age. Martyn's short life, however, was a source of great encouragement to Charles Simeon.

In four years of ministry Martyn was diligent: he preached often, established schools in India, and translated the New Testament into Hindustani, Persian, and Arabic. He once commissioned a portrait of himself that he had sent to his friend Charles Simeon. Simeon hung the portrait over his fire-place in his study. When anyone would visit Simeon in his study, he would point to the portrat and say, "See that blessed man. No one looks at me as he does. He never takes his eyes off me, and he seems always to be saying, 'The years are short. Be serious. Be in earnest. Don't trifle; don't trifle.'" Then Simeon would say, "And I won't trifle; I won't trifle."

Hull

Paul Cook comments on the revival in the city of Hull, England in the 19th century:

" . . . in 1858 the people of Hull used to run to their places of worship -- many of which seated over 1000 -- in order to secure a seat for the mid-week preaching meeting. This seems inconceivable today; but it did happen, and by the grace of God we trust it will happen again. Once more we learn that it is 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of Hosts."

Edwards on Revival

"It may be observed that from the fall of man to our day the work of redemption in its effects has mainly been carried on by remarkable communications of the Spirit of God. Though there may be a more constant influence of God's Spirit always in some degree attending his ordinances yet the way in which the greatest things have been done towards carrying on this work always has been by the remarkable effusions at special seasons." Jonathan Edwards

Good reasons that we should pray for revival!

Covenanter James Renwick

The following traditional incident is said to have befallen him when he was on one occasion preaching, in the wilder parts of Galloway. It was known that a conventicle was to be held by him among the desert mountains, in a place the name of which is not given; and to this place the leader of a party of dragoons repaired with his men, for the purpose of surprising the meeting, and of seizing the preacher. Mr. Renwick and his friends, by certain precautionary measures, were made aware of their danger, and fled. In the eager pursuit, the commander of the troopers shot far ahead of his party, in the hope of capturing by his single arm the helpless minister, on whose head a price had been set. Mr. Renwick, however, succeeded in eluding the pursuit; and wending his way through the broken mosses and bosky glens, came, in the dusk of the evening, to Newton-Stewart, and found lodgings in an inn, in which, on former occasions, he had found a resting-place.
After a tedious and fruitless chase through moor and wild, the leader of the troopers arrived at the same place, and sought a retreat for the night in the same inn. It appears to have been in the winter season when this occurrence took place, for the commander of the party, feeling the dark and lonely hours of the evening hang heavy on his hands, called the landlord, and asked if he could introduce to him any intelligent acquaintance of his, with whom he might spend an hour agreeably in his apartment. The landlord retired, and communicated the request to Mr. Renwick, and whatever might have been his reasons for the part which on this occasion he acted, Mr. Renwick, it is asserted, agreed to spend the evening in the company of the trooper. His habiliments would, no doubt, be of a description that would induce no suspicion of his character as a Nonconformist minister; for in those days of peril and necessity, there would be little distinction between the preacher and the plain peasant, in regard to clothing. It is highly probable that the soldier was a man of no great discernment; and hence Mr. Renwick succeeded in managing the interview without being discovered by the person in whose presence he was, and without his being suspected by others who might happen to frequent the inn. The evening passed agreeably and without incident, and they parted with many expressions of high satisfaction and good-will on the part of the officer, who retired to sleep with the intention of resuming his search in the morning.
When all was quiet in the inn, however, and when sleep had closed the eyes of its inmates, Mr. Renwick took leave of the landlord, and withdrew in the darkness and stillness of the night to the upland solitudes, to seek some cave, in whose cold and damp retreat he might hide himself from the vigilance of his pursuers.
When the morning came, and the soldiers were preparing to march, the commander asked for the intelligent stranger who had afforded him so much gratification on the preceding evening. The landlord said that he had left the house long before the dawn, and was now far off among the hills to seek a hiding-place. "A hiding-place!" exclaimed the leader. "Yes, a hiding-place," replied the innkeeper; "this gentle and inoffensive youth, as you have witnessed him to be, is no other than the identical James Renwick after whom you have been pursuing." "James Renwick! impossible!—a man so harmless, so discreet, and so well informed; if he is James Renwick, I for one, at least, will pursue his track no longer."
The officer, accordingly, marched away with his dragoons, and searched the wilderness no farther for one of whom he had now formed so favourable an opinion. It was probably with the full concurrence of Mr. Renwick that the master of the inn divulged the secret when danger was no longer to be apprehended; and it was done, in all likelihood, with a view to show the troopers that the Covenanters were not the men that their enemies affirmed they were—wild, fanatical, and ferocious; and by this means, if possible, to leave a good impression on the mind of those who, without cause, were seeking their destruction. (Rev. Stewart)

Schaeffer Quote

You must not lose confidence in God because you lost confidence in your pastor. If our confidence in God had to depend upon our confidence in any human person, we would be on shifting sand.
-- Francis Schaeffer

Poem by John Newton

"Though troubles assail
And dangers affright,
Though friends should all fail
And foes all unite;
Yet one thing secures us,
Whatever betide,
The scripture assures us,
The Lord will provide.”