8. Worldwide Revivals from 1857

The autumn of 1857 saw New York in the midst of financial failure which ruined many of its one million people. But, unlike other times of national disaster, this era was accompanied by a renewed spirit of prayer, to be followed by a manifestation of the 'marvellous loving kindness' of God as thousands were brought from worldly sorrow to the possession of lasting riches.

Samuel Prime's work, written with the aid of other ministers, gives a first hand record of the year which saw America's last national awakening - a revival which, noiseless and unexpected, was in striking contrast with the idea that evangelism is primarily a case of human effort. In 1858 the great truths 'made exceedingly prominent' were 'the influence of the Holy Spirit and free salvation through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ'.

This is largely the human story of people into whose lives God came. But the main lesson is abiding. The Spirit of God, Prime believed, intended the revival to be a lasting example to the church of the relationship between His work and believing prayer. This rare title was the last which Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones urged for republication before his death. Few books can be more relevant for the church today.

This book is definitely not about a successful revivalist, but rather a man who fell from being an evangelical revivalist into a rather cultured and popular clergyman of his day. 

Henry Ward Beecher, son of Lyman Beecher, began his ministry on the western frontier, where he engaged vigorously in the labours of a revivalist. Asahel Nettleton had considerable influence over his life in those early years. He moved to Plymouth Church, Brooklyn in 1847. By this time he had developed a national reputation for his oratorical skills, and drew crowds of 2,500 regularly every Sunday. He strongly opposed slavery and favoured temperance and woman's suffrage. Unfortunately, his time in Brooklyn was marred by a radical departure from his earlier position.  Although Plymouth Church was greatly affected by the revival of 1857-185, this pastoral life was tragically marred by accusations of infidelity and theological wavering.

This rare book, published in 1860 as the first comprehensive account of the 1859 revival in Wales, was written by an eye-witness of this awesome awakening who shares his story along with other observers from all parts of Wales.

The author is concerned less with the emotional and numerical effects experienced (and there were plenty of both) but rather with the clear marks of authentic revival.

THE following pages contain the substance of a Lecture which was delivered at the Victoria Rooms, Ryde, before the "Young Men's Christian Association," and it is now published at their request. The Lecture was also delivered at Wickham, Hants.

The Author has not entered into the question of what are called the "physical prostrations," which, in many instances, have accompanied the Revival movement in Ireland. As his object was to treat of Revivals generally, though with an especial reference to the Irish awakening, it would have been impossible for him, in the space allotted to a Lecture, to have touched upon that difficult and much controverted branch of the subject.

Please note that this book is not on the current Revival Library CD but will be in the new one in 2009.

This small booklet references a number of historic revivals amongst English-speaking people throughout the ages, but it majors on the 1859 Revival in Britain.

This book begins by outlining the background to the 1859 Revival by charting the previous Ulster Revival of 1630 and a brief history of the Ulster Church up until the origins of the '59 Revival.
The origins of the Revival are described in some depth and then the effect of the Revival spreading out through the districts and the work of The Holy Spirit on the lives of ordinary men and women is documented.
This work is placed in categories, for want of a better word, including; regeneration, reformation, prostration and manifestation. The lasting results of the Revival, its foundation, the basis of the Revival, and an exhortation to us to be challenged and inspired by the Revival of 1859 concludes this wonderfully uplifting book. It is easy reading and the requirements for Revival clearly identifiable.

William Haslam has the unique testimony of being converted in the midst of one of his own sermons! Haslam, born in 1817, began his ministry after graduating from Durham University in 1841, in the diocese of Exeter. After a brief curacy he became vicar at Baldhu church where the congregation were predominantly revivalist Methodists. The retelling of their conversion experiences drove him to seek counsel from a nearby vicar by the name of Robert Aitken, who persuaded him of the absolute necessity of conversion.

It was on his return to his home church that he preached a sermon on the subject of conversion during which he obtained an assurance of salvation himself! The immediate results were so evident that a Methodist local preacher in the congregation shouted out, 'The Parson is converted!' This was in 1851.

Thereafter Haslam adopted the Methodist revivalistic approach and saw local revivals in a number of his parishes over the next few years.

This book records his work up to the end of his ministry in Hayle, Cornwall in 1861.

William Harding wrote a number of books on revivalists including Brownlow North, Charles Finney, William Burns and Robert Murray M'Cheyne. This short, but thrilling account, just a sixteen-page pamphlet on the 1859 awakening in Ireland, is a very rare work housed at the Revival Library. It is number three in series of seventeen Harding wrote on various revivalists and is undated, though probably written between 1920 and 1930.

This is a very useful work, written fairly early in this revival, which was initially ignited by a cable from the revival that had already broken out in America. There were tens of thousands of Irish-Americans in America at this time and it is no surprise that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland sent two of its most prominent and trusted ministers to visit the scenes of awakening. Professor William Gibson (the author) and Rev William McClure returned with wonderful stories of a 'Pentecost,' a quickening of believers and the evangelising of sinners.

More reports, sermons on Revival and prayer meetings for Revival sprung up everywhere. The first known was begun in Kells near Ballymena by a young man named James McQuilkin who had been strongly affected reading the testimony of George M?ller, the man of great faith, as well as hearing of the American outpouring. He said to himself: 'Why may we not have such a blessed work here?' Then the revival began. Upwards of a hundred thousand converts were won to Christ in this great revival. Gibson here records the early period of this tremendous move of God.

This fascinating and extremely rare pamphlet, being the outline of a lecture delivered at Scarborough, England in 1859, gives a brief history of American revivals and a very helpful assessment of the 1858-59 awakening, which was currently in progress in the U.S. It is clearly amongst the earliest works on this particular move of God and was possibly one of the means that God used to spread the effects of that revival across the Atlantic to Great Britain. Certainly reports of this kind ignited the prayers of thousands and resulted in simultaneous outbreaks of blessing in Wales, Scotland and England, as well as in various other places worldwide. The overall results were staggering. Edwin Orr states that in the U.S. alone, 'a million nominal church members were reinvigorated and more than a million converts were added to the membership of major Protestant denominations - out of a population of less than 30 million.' Similarly, in U.K., 'churches gained a million new members' in a population of 27 million!'

This book, written by an army Chaplain in the American Confederate army during the Civil War, outlines the revival amongst the Confederate troops in the early to mid-1860's. It explains the hindrances as well as the helps to the revival and then continues to give more precise details, season by season, of the revival, providing examples of God's work amongst the men living, and dying, in extremely harsh conditions. It gives evidence that God still works, despite the dreadful situations in which men find themselves.

To those who may struggle with the record of how God blessed those who 'rushed to arms without just cause' the reader says, 'read the narrative, weigh the facts and then make up your verdict.'

The full title of this book is 'Narratives of remarkable conversions and revival incidents: including a review of revivals from the day of Pentecost to the Great Awakening in the last century - conversions of eminent persons - instances of remarkable conversions and answers to prayer - an account of the Great Awakening of 1857-8.'

This well describes its contents!

It is a great book, filled with inspiring stories, appealing anecdotes and amazing answers to prayer.