The Year of Grace

Rev. William Gibson

An anxious desire having been expressed by Mr Buick that others of the lay brethren from Connor should visit the neighbourhood, a meeting was held in his own church, to which they were invited. “It was,” as he testifies, “an earnest, heart-stirring meeting. A holy flame was kindled. A strong desire for a gracious revival began to gain ascendancy. The brethren from Connor were again invited. The house-school, where the meeting was to be held, was altogether too small to accommodate the hundreds that were in attendance. It was accordingly adjourned to the Second Presbyterian Church, Ahoghill, where similar stirring appeals and prayers of burning fervency moved the vast assembly. Thereafter, prayer meetings began to multiply. The new converts, with other Christians whose hearts the Lord stirred, engaged in the work of prayer and exhortation with unquenchable zeal. Thus the work spread, fresh interest being daily awakened. Common houses, and even large churches, were not able to contain the multitudes that assembled, so that often the highway and the open field, in the cold evenings of spring, were the scenes of deeply interesting meetings. So eager were the multitudes to hear the services of the converted brethren that many travelled miles to be present, and, without any weariness, they would have remained even all night, if the services had continued. There was an uncommon thirsting for the Word.”

In the statements, which follow, the physical affections, which henceforward characterised the movement, are thus noticed in their early manifestations: -

“At these meetings many convictions have taken place. From one up to ten and twelve have been arrested by the Spirit of God through the word and prayer of these honoured brethren. Even strong men have staggered and fallen down under the wounds of their conscience. Great bodily weakness ensues. The whole frame trembles. Oh! It is a heartrending sight to witness. With wringing of hands, streams of tears, and a look of unutterable anguish, they confess their sins in tones of unmistakable sincerity, and appeal to the Lord for mercy with a cry of piercing earnestness. I have seen the strong frame convulsed; I have witnessed every joint trembling; I have heard the cry as I have never heard it before, ‘Lord Jesus, have mercy upon my sinful soul; Lord Jesus, come to my burning heart; Lord, pardon my sins; oh, come and lift me from these flames of hell!’

“These convictions vary in different individuals, both in strength and duration. While some obtain peace in believing soon after their conviction, others do not attain it for several days. It is after many a conflict, with conviction oft returning, with much prayer and reading of the Word, through which spiritual light makes great progress in the mind, that a settled peace and holy joy take possession of the soul.”

While the bodily prostrations above referred to have been generally regarded as originating in connection with the awakening in Ahoghill, there is reason to believe there were occasional instances of a similar description, and at the same period, in other parts of Ulster. Thus, in the county of Down, in a rural district called Crossgar, the following case is narrated by the Rev. J. G. Thomson, the young minister of the place: -

“In the middle of the month of January 1859, I was called upon early one morning to see a previously strong, healthy young man, who supposed himself to be dying. On my arrival, I found him lying in bed, and evidently in a state of great bodily weakness, although his sickness did not seem to be unto death. Entering into conversation with him, I learned that he had been sick of soul previous to his being sick of body, and that the former was the cause of the latter. He told me that he had been very much impressed by a sermon I had preached on the last Sabbath afternoon, from these words, “I have a message from God unto thee.” (Judges iii. 20.) Alarmed on account of sin and the punishment due to it, he could get no rest day or night. Loudly did he cry for mercy, and did not cry in vain. He obtained pardon and peace after a severe struggle, by which he was left in a state of great bodily weakness. He was unable to walk for a number of days, and not until two months had passed was he able to pursue his ordinary business. Strange to say, when affected first, he complained of there being about his heart, unattended by any pain, a heavy weight, which he considered in some way to be associated with the idea of sin. This was removed, as he said, when the Holy Spirit came into his heart, and produced within him that faith which enabled him to lay hold upon Jesus, and to fly to Him from the wrath to come. His features indicated the gladness of one who had found some great and lasting treasure. You could have seen the very joy sparkling in his eye; and more than once did I hear him say that, if the Lord willed, he would rather depart and be with Jesus. His case was, in many particulars, similar to that of many I have seen since the great religious movement came among us. While his weakness remained, I frequently read the Scriptures, conversed and prayed with him. In all such exercises, he took, and still takes, the deepest interest. He is still growing in grace, and by his walk and conversation in the world gives every evidence of being a son of the Lord Almighty. This and similar cases have been like drops before the shower.”

Many interesting incidents might be narrated, illustrative of the wonderful effect, which was produced upon the public mind. Take the following as an instance, narrated by the Rev. David Adams: —

“I may quote a statement respecting a meeting at Creaghrock, midway between Ahoghill and Randalstown, a place where ever since, at the request of the people, a monthly religious meeting has been held in the open-air, attended by hundreds. This place has become famous, or rather infamous, as a cockpit, especially on Ahoghill old fairday, when thousands would assemble for the degrading sport of cock fighting, thereby making it a scene of lying, blasphemy, drunkenness, and all manner of profligacy. In these ‘revival’ times a number of the awakened, some of whom, perhaps, were ‘cockers’ themselves, resolved on this occasion to make it a far different scene, and therefore invited several ministers to attend, and address the meeting against all manner of vice, and for the promotion of all manner of holiness. The meeting was at ten o’clock A.M., and even at that early hour, crowds in all directions, and of all characters —in many cases from a distance of five or six miles— were seen wending their way gladly to the Rock, and at one time there could not have been much less than two thousand present. The meeting was addressed by four ministers, and pious prayers were offered up by fervent laymen. A most solemn impression was produced on all, from the grey-haired man of ninety to the merry child of a few years, and many of the old and young were deeply and visibly impressed by the Spirit’s power.”

A twelvemonth has elapsed since the blessing came upon the neighbourhood of which such things have been recorded. Have the results disappointed expectation? Or has the impression died away with the occasion that gave it birth? Let the following statement written at the close of the past year supply the answer. It is by the Rev. F. Buick: -

“The grace of God is visible in its effects in producing light and knowledge, prayer and praise, attendance on ordinances, holiness of life, and reformation of manners. Great gladness has been obtained by hundreds who have come to the enjoyment of pardon and peace, and are now rejoicing in the Lord. Great gladness has been introduced into families. Men that were coarse and savage, and a source of untold misery to their wives, are now so altered, so mild, so pleasant, so God-like, that the change in their domestic happiness is like heaven on the earth. There is great gladness in the Church because of the increased attendance in the courts of the Lord’s house, the lofty strains of her praise, the deep-toned earnestness of her services, and the life and power of her devotions.

“It is the general impression that a work of grace has been going on silently, and without observation, on the heart of hundreds throughout the country, who have had no bodily prostrations. It is known by the feeling of deep solemnity that pervades the neighbourhood—by the vast increase of family religion— by the absence of hitherto prevailing sins—by the keeping up of prayer-meetings in almost every locality—by the great increase in the attendance on the ordinances of God’s house—and by the large accessions which have been made to the communicants’ roll in all the churches. The three Presbyterian churches in Ahoghill are full; and the Second and third are contemplating large additions to their accommodation.”