The '59 Revival

Rev. Ian R. K. Paisley

Part I: County Antrim

The Revival spread from Connor to Ahoghill, a village some four miles from the town of Ballymena, in the following manner.

On 9th December 1858 a young man named Samuel Campbell who resided in the Connor district, attended a meeting in Tullanamullen, addressed by James McQuilkin and Jeremiah Meneely on the text John 1. 36. Overwhelmed by deep conviction of sin, he soon found himself on his knees, crying for mercy. The following morning before commencing the duties of the day, Romans 10. 9 was used of God to lead him savingly to Christ. Rejoicing in his newfound peace, he became greatly concerned, however, about his relatives who lived in Ahoghill. He made his concern known to the Connor brethren who joined him in earnest prayer on their behalf.

On Christmas day 1858 Samuel Campbell visited his old home in Ahoghill. Finding his mother and sister there, with the earnestness of a white hot passion for their souls he told them of the wondrous experience he himself had had and exhorted them to “flee from the wrath to come.” He also read the scriptures to them and kneeling down prayed that the Lord in His great mercy would save them. He then went in search of his brother John who was notoriously addicted to vice. He found him at a shooting match and amidst his pleasures arrested him with the startling summons, “I have a message for you from the Lord Jesus.”

The same evening, after taking leave of his mother and sister, Samuel was accompanied part of the way back to Connor by his brother. Before his brother returned homewards to Ahoghill he again pleaded urgently with him to get right with God and then lovingly prayed with him and for him. When left alone on the public road, John Campbell was overcome by an irresistible power and felt an awful horror sweeping over his whole frame. We quote his own language: —” I saw heaven on the one side and hell on the other; the conviction flashed upon me with overwhelming power, that I deserved hell as my eternal portion, and such horror did the thought produce, that every joint in my body quaked.”

He cried unto God from the depths of this soul agony and gaining a little strength he made his way homewards, shedding numerous tears and uttering many cries for divine mercy.

During the same night Mrs. Campbell awoke under a crushing sense of the burden of sin. In extreme terror she cried out loudly, arousing the whole family. Her daughter on seeing her mother’s condition came under the same dreadful conviction and both of them called on God to pardon their sins and cleanse them away in the precious blood of Christ. They did not pray in vain and as the grey of the dull December morning showed in at the windows of their home, the glorious Sun of Righteousness with meridian brightness shone healingly into their hearts. For them both, weeping had endured for the night, but joy came in the morning.

Meanwhile, John Campbell continued under the vivid realisation of the terrors of a broken law. Smitten with almost unbearable conviction he continued for three weeks in an agony of prayer. Both in the house and out of it he cried out unto God. At length one day as he worked at his loom his heart was suddenly filled to overflowing. So powerful were the waves of love, which overwhelmed his whole being that he was forced to stop his work and fall on his knees, and unburden himself at the throne of grace. From then onwards he was continually filled with the love, joy and peace of God’s gracious pardon, and his whole being became ablaze with revival fire. After work he rushed to his minister, Rev. Frederick Buick, and exclaimed, “I am saved” and so brought to Mr. Buick’s notice the first breathings of the Spirit in that locality.

On the day after that memorable Christmas, Anthony Huston, a son-in-law of Mrs. Campbell, called at the home in Ahoghill. His mother-in-law eagerly told him of Samuel’s visit and of her own conversion. Her burning words and tears had a strange and sudden effect on Huston. He burst into tears and wept bitterly over his sinful past. Six weeks later, after a severe struggle and many prayers he received the assurance that God for Christ’s sake had forgiven him. When Samuel Campbell next visited the Ahoghill district, the two families met in Huston’s home for a revival prayer meeting and the result of that meeting was the conversion of Mrs. Huston.

The remarkable change in these two families became the wonder of the district and John Campbell, eager that others might hear and heed “the glad tidings,” invited the lay brethren from Connor to hold a revival meeting in the Ahoghill neighbourhood. Because the meeting place was too small the service was adjourned on Mr. Buick’s invitation to the Second Presbyterian Church. The humility and sincerity of the converts was manifested by the following statement which they issued at this time: — “We did not by any means wish notoriety, or crowds to attend; but when the people came we could not close them out, and when God acknowledged our meetings by awakening souls by their means, we thought it our duty to go on.”

At this first meeting a holy fire was kindled and the Connor brethren were invited back to a schoolhouse in the village. This proved far too small and the meeting was again adjourned on the minister’s invitation to the Second Church. Prayer meetings now began to multiply in the district and the newly born souls went everywhere joyfully propagating the evangel of the cross. A great meeting was called for Monday 14th March 1859 in the First Presbyterian Church. This building had been opened the year before and at the time many criticised its size as being far too large for the needs of the First Congregation. That night it proved far too small. The following description of the meeting appeared in the local paper “Ballymena Observer” on the 26th March 1859: —

“The congregation in attendance was immense—hundreds were unable to obtain admittance, and the new converts—the ‘confirmed’ from all parts of the neighbourhood, were present on the occasion. Soon after commencement of the services an impulse to address the audience fell suddenly, and apparently with all the power of prophetic inspiration, upon one of the ‘converted’ brethren. Every attempt to silence or restrain him was found utterly impossible. He declared that a revelation had been committed to him, and that he spoke by the command of a power superior to any ministerial authority. Defying every effort at control he proceeded to vociferate religious phrases with a rapidity and fluency which excited the most intense astonishment, and created a panic of very serious alarm among the audience. A rush was made towards the front of the galleries, and under an apprehension that they might possibly break down; the presiding clergyman gave a peremptory order that the house should forthwith be vacated. A scene of terrible confusion immediately ensued.

“When the premises were ultimately cleared, the streets of Ahoghill presented another scene which baffles all powers of description, and such as the oldest inhabitant had never witnessed. The leading ‘convert’—who is a comfortable farmer and a member of the congregation—assisted by several other speakers of the confirmed class, addressed the people, then numbering about 3,000 and comprising persons of every creed from the Episcopalian to the Roman Catholic. The chief speaker vehemently proclaimed pardon to all sinners, inviting them to come forward and receive the spirit of adoption, which he declared himself commissioned to impart— occasionally holding up his hands, and bidding the people to receive the Holy Ghost. The immense assemblage appeared to be thoroughly paralysed. Amid a chilling rain, and on streets covered with mud, fresh ‘converts,’ moved by the fervency and apostolic language of the speaker, fell upon their knees in the attitude of prayer; a spark of electricity appeared to have animated and impressed a large number of the audience and it is confidently affirmed that some who went there to mock, were heard to pray.

Jeremiah Meneely was one of the mightily used speakers at this great meeting. The meeting was actually the thanksgiving service, which follows the Communion Sabbath in the Presbyterian Church, and it is interesting to note that on similar occasions great revivals began at the Kirk of Shotts in 1630 under the preaching of Livingston and at Kilsyth, near Glasgow, in 1839 under Rev. Win. Bums son of the parish minister, and afterwards a missionary to China.

It was here also that the first prostrations of “strikingsdown” as they were called, occurred. From then onward these physical prostrations marked the forward march of the awakening and became the battleground of the movement. Descriptions, facts and comments on this remarkable physical phenomenon we reserve for the chapter on the subject.

After the 14th March, the revival wave soon engulfed the whole district Rev. David Adams, minister of the First Church, in his” Revival in Ahoghil. its Narrative and Nature,” says :— “Meetings for praise, prayer, reading of the Scriptures, and exhortation, were held every night, and frequently at mid-day in the busiest season, in kitchens, barns, schoolhouses, churches, fields, wayside and hedgeside, while secret and family prayer became very general. The spiritually impressed were multiplied daily—eight or nine of my hearers being changed in a day. On a Saturday I find this entry in my journal: —Went at eleven o’clock a.m. to many-converted last night—an all night of prayer and weeping. Many careless men left work (corn-sewing and potato-planting), and crowded the house. Deep impression on old and young; and several under the power of the Spirit while I was speaking.’

“In the end of April and the beginning of May the wind of the Spirit calmed, but about the middle of May it blew a heavenly hurricane, and the mighty wave of mercy swelled gloriously mountain-high, sweeping across the dead sea of our rural population, and washing the rocky hearts of formal worshippers.

On May 17th 1859 the Presbytery of Ahoghill made a report of the revival to the Synod of Ballymena and Coleraine. We give two extracts: -

“It is the privilege of the Presbytery to have to record on this, more than on former occasions, glad tidings of great joy. The Lord has been pleased to visit a large portion of our bounds with the genial showers of a gracious revival. Our churches have experienced an awakening the most cheering in its character and holy in its fruits. Our lay brethren from Connor, at the first, gave and continue from time to time still to give, a powerful impetus to the good work.”

“This gracious revival has extended from the parish of Connor to that of Ahoghill; then to Portglenone, and round by Tully, Largey, Grange, Straid, Slatt, Galgorm Park Cloughwater, Clough and Rasharkin; nor is it yet shewing any symptoms of decline; on the contrary, it is moving on with amazing power. Every day, and almost every hour, is bringing tidings of conviction. The interest is more and more awakening and extending.
“As to the human agency by which this revival has been begun, and continues to be extended, it is not through the ministers of the churches alone, or even chiefly. The earnest and faithful preaching of the Word may have been the preparation in some degree; but the chief and honoured agents in the work are the converted themselves.”

Of the Episcopal Church, Dr. Weir in his “Ulster Awakening” records: -

“Episcopal clergymen in the neighbourhood took an early and active share in this blessed work.”

RASHARKIN
A striking incident during the revival in Rasharkin is recorded in the Presbyterian Magazine of July 1859: —

“At a meeting held on June 7th in the Presbyterian Church, while the speaker ‘was calling on God that the Holy Spirit might descend, a flash of lightning, which filled the building at the moment, struck the congregation with awe and trembling. With terror they prostrated themselves on the floor. On that occasion, of a congregation of 500, there were 100 cases of deep conviction of sin.”

BALLYMENA
Ballymena is the most important town in the county of Antrim. It is situated in mid-Antrim and in 1859 had a population of some 6,000 people and was the principal seat of the linen trade.

The revival here, as in Connor, was preceded by special prayer. A number of young men held a weekly-prayer meeting in the town. The leaders of this meeting were William Carlisle, James Compton, and William Bortrick. James McQuilkin, one of the leading Connor converts who worked in Ballymena, also joined in this prayer gathering.

Rev. S. J. Moore, brother of Rev. J. H. Moore of Connor, after assisting his brother at the memorable spring communion, preached a stirring sermon to his congregation in Ballymena on what he had witnessed in Connor. This sermon drew public attention to the revival movement and created not only a longing but an eager expectancy for a similar experience in Ballymena.

An eye-witness relates that in early April in the town a remarkable prostration took place: “A man, apparently about thirty years of age, formerly of Ballymena, and now resident in the neighbourhood of Ahoghill, suddenly fell upon his knees, and alarmed the entire neighbourhood by loud and desperate cries, expressive of the most appalling agony. His despairing shouts were such as might be expected from a man who felt himself suddenly attacked, and sinking under the repeated and deadly stabs of an assassin. People ran to the spot from all directions, expecting to find that an unfortunate sufferer had become the victim of some terrible accident. The man continued his cries for the space of about ten minutes, after which interval he became more composed; and, being in a very weak and agitated state, he was assisted by some friends to the house of a relative in Bridge Street. On passing down Linen Hall Street he was repeatedly heard to exclaim, ‘Unclean! unclean!—Lord be merciful to me a sinner!

The first remarkable manifestation of the movement in those resident in Ballymena took place in a house in Springwell Street. The first converts in this manifestation were Hessie Herbeson and Mary Beattie. This house in Springwell Street was quickly crowded by a deeply moved throng, those within having cried out to their neighbours to come and hear the great things that God had done for their souls.

So great was the quickly assembled multitude that the windows of the house had to be removed so that those without might participate in the worship and praise of those who had gained admittance. A school in the same street, called Jackson’s Schoolhouse, was soon brought into use and there the first public meetings of the movement commenced. Converts multiplied and regular weekly prayer meetings were established in Springwell Street, Fountain Place Schoolhouse, William Street, Broughshane Street, Ballymoney Street, Galgorm Road, Coach Entry, Mill Street Place, Mill Street, Galgorm Street, Robert Street, Brocklamount, Drumclug, Harryville Schoolroom, Meetinghouse Lane, Alexander Street, Bridewell Street, Bridge Street, and Railway Street.

A Union Prayer-meeting was held in the Town Hall at noon on Tuesdays and Fridays. This meeting was largely attended by the ministers and members of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Episcopal Churches. An eyewitness records: “The week which began with May 17 can never be forgotten, though it cannot easily be described. When the great outpouring came, worldly men were silent with an indefinite fear, and Christians found themselves borne onward in the current, with scarce time for any feeling but the overpowering conviction that a great revival had come at last. Careless men were bowed in unaffected earnestness, and sobbed like children. Drunkards and boasting blasphemers were awed into solemnity and silence. Sabbath-school teachers and scholars became seekers of Christ together; and languid believers were stirred ‘up to unusual exertion.”

Rev. S. J. Moore, minister of Third Presbyterian Church, writes: “On my return, after two days’ absence at a meeting of Synod, I found the town in a state of great excitement; many families had not gone to bed for the two or three previous nights. From dozens of houses, night and day, you would hear when passing along, loud cries for mercy from persons under conviction, or the voice of prayer by kind visitors, or the sweet soothing tones of sacred song; business seemed at a standstill. In some streets, four or five crowds of people, in houses, and before the open doors and open windows, engaged in prayer or in praise, all at the same time. A goodly number of young men, in business establishments in town, and not a few young workmen, shoemakers, carpenters, sawyers, and labourers, who were depending for their daily bread on their daily wages, gave up almost their entire time, day and night during the first week, to minister to the religious instruction, and physical and spiritual comfort of the poor stricken sufferers. I put this on record to the honour of these young members of the church. But for them, in this crisis, I do not see what would have been done, for, in their first alarm, the people of both town and country would demand that a minister, an elder, should be in a dozen places at once. Prayer-meetings, in town and country, became very numerous: in private houses they were held at all hours of the day and night; at first they were held in the principal Presbyterian churches every evening; latterly they are held alternately in these churches: at each meeting addresses are delivered and prayers offered by converts, the minister presiding.”

Of the vast crowds attending the prayer and preaching meetings in the district, the Presbyterian Magazine of June 1859 reports: “It is not unusual to see thousands assembled for prayer in a graveyard or a large gravel pit; on an ordinary week evening one or other of the spacious Presbyterian churches of Ballymena has been filled to overflowing by an intensely serious congregation; and what is still more extraordinary, on the evening of Saturday—the day of the great weekly market, when, at other times, a dozen persons could scarcely have been convened for such a purpose—the capacious Presbyterian church of Wellington Street has been crowded in all its parts by a prayer-meeting.

Here is an eyewitness account of one of these meetings convened in the churches of the town: “For some time before the appointed hour, many of the younger converts assemble to sing together some favourite hymns. A little later the people pour in rapidly and soon every seat is occupied, men of business sitting beside their workers, all in their usual attire. A large proportion is made up of the scholars in the Sabbath-school and of the lower classes, who were specially visited during the awakening. Some seem very anxious, and all are solemn. On the faces of the recent converts there is such a beaming gladness that even a stranger can tell their story at a look.

“A few minutes after the single stroke of the hour is heard, the minister ascends the pulpit stairs, and reads the opening psalm, which is sung with thrilling fervency. The prayer, which follows, bears greatly on the three classes of worshippers, the converted, the anxious and the un-awakened, and contains earnest pleadings for the Spirit’s presence and for the spread of the revival work. Very often as the petition passes, there is heard, far above the speaker’s voice the thrilling cry of some who were arrested as they prayed. And as many a conscience trembles at the arousing call, others silently offer a prayer to the Great Physician of souls, that the broken-hearted penitent may enjoy the healing of His grace.

“The addresses which follow from lay members or others are practical and earnest. The master-truths pressed home are the guilt and danger of every unconverted listener, and the full and present salvation of Jesus. Recent incidents are quoted, and each is brought to bear on the pressing appeal. At the close, the leader usually gives a short summary of the revival progress in the surrounding districts, and then reads the first line of the favourite hymn, ‘What’s the News?’ Then follows the closing prayer, and the benediction. On several occasions this had to be pronounced twice, and, though at midnight, all had not dispersed.”

Of the Rector of Ballymena, Rev. D. Mooney, it is recorded he “held prayer-meetings every evening in town or country, turning many from darkness to light, and affording solace to all who attended.”

CULLYBACKEY
Cullybackey, a small village situated three miles from Ballymena, also had its revival baptism. In his “Memories of ‘59” Rev. David McMeekin, minister of High Kirk Presbyterian Church, Ballymena, writes: “None who were present will ever forget a meeting held there in the interest of the children in Wood’s Green in that memorable year. It was customary at this period to have anniversary sermons preached to the Sabbath School children belonging to a district. This custom prevailed in Ahoghill and also in Cullybackey up to a very recent date. These services were usually held in the open air. At one of these gatherings of the Cullybackey Union, held in what was known as Wood’s Green, Culleybackey, in this year, the attendance was unusually large and interesting. The late Rev. Dr. Hanna, Belfast, was the preacher. The field was simply crowded with children, parents, teachers and strangers from a distance. Earnestness was pictured on every countenance. At one period in the day’s proceedings nothing could be heard but the cry of the prostrate ones bemoaning their condition. In one place were to be seen converts ministering comfort to weeping penitents, while in another quarter were heard the voices of others beseeching sinners to repent and be converted, that their sins might be blotted out, the scene was truly Pentecostal. At this period the Rev. J. G. McVicker was the minister of the Reformed Presbyterian Church Cullybackey, and his statements from the pulpit and elsewhere began to create more than ordinary interest amongst not only the members of his own congregation, but amongst those also of neighbouring churches. Such was his extreme earnestness on one Sabbath, while in the pulpit, that a venerable and respected elder, Mr. Close, who was present, counselled Mr. McVicker to calmness and moderation. The truth is, Mr. McVicker had been assisting a Mr. Close at Loughmorne in dispensing the Communion, and in the course of his address Mr. Close quoted Col. I. 19, referring specially to the fulness in Christ. It proved a word of quickening to Mr. McVicker.”

Mr. McVicker subsequently became a Baptist, organising the Baptist Church in Ballymena and later he helped to build the Gospel Hall in the town and associated with the Brethren. His ministerial training helped to exalt him greatly among his brethren in all three kingdoms until the day of his call to higher service. A great preacher, Mr. McVicker could always command an audience in the Cullybackey neighbourhood.

WHITESIDE’S CORNER
Whiteside’s Corner, a few miles from Ballymena, was the scene of a great revival outpouring. In his memoirs Rev. D. McMeekin relates: “Several meetings were held at Whiteside’s Corner that were addressed by Jeremiah Meneely and James McQuilkin. One of these addressed by James McQuilkin is still remembered. It was in the open air and a large audience had assembled. His subject was Luke IV. 18— ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.’ And he closed the book and he gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the Synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them. ‘This day is the Scripture fulfilled in your ears.’ His words were ‘in demonstration of the Spirit and of power’

“James Logan, who survives as one of those present on this occasion, still speaks enthusiastically concerning it. He says he still thinks he hears the words repeated—’ this day is the Scripture fulfilled in your ears.’

“All present were deeply impressed. They had a sense of the nearness of God, and many cried out for forgiveness, and bewailed their lost and ruined condition. The district at the time contained many saintly Christians, who helped by their counsel to instruct the ignorant, to reclaim the erring and to edify the saint.”

THE GRANGE
The Grange district is near Ahoghill, not far from Toome Bridge. “The first great meeting held here in ‘59 assembled at what is known as The Grange Corner. The late Mr. James Lea interested himself in securing the attendance of some of the more prominent of the converts. Long before the hour appointed for the commencement of the services, the space assigned for the meeting—‘The Corner’—was densely packed. Among the converts present were Jeremiah Meneely, James McQuilkin and Samuel Campbell. The two former gave addresses, after which Samuel Campbell began to pray. He had scarcely commenced when a noticeable change passed over the great audience. There was first a movement among the people, then a cleavage—a segregation—then a breaking up among them. Some fell to the ground crying out bitterly about sin and salvation, others began to pray, while numbers entered the adjoining graveyard and, falling down upon the grassy sward, sobbed and wept all the time, calling upon God to have mercy upon them and save their souls. While Mr. Campbell was subsequently speaking from Isaiah lv. 6-7, the people fell before him on the ground like the yellow grain before the scythe. In the confusion and excitement that ensued the leaders were perplexed as to what they should do. The Rev. H. Stewart, the minister of the Presbyterian Church at Grange, invited some of the leaders of the meeting down to his house that they might deliberate over the matter. When they afterwards returned they found the church filled to overflowing. Some were singing, others were praying, while a Roman Catholic convert was in the act of addressing the people. The meeting was continued all through the night, until daybreak, when the people with reluctance separated in order to go home it was felt that the power and presence of the Spirit was here, and many rejoiced spiritually from this date.”

PORTGLENONE
R. M. Sibbett in “The Revival in Ulster” states: “The revival appeared suddenly and with great power at Portglenone, a village ten miles from Ballymena. Aroused from an apparently hopeless spiritual lethargy by the earnest preaching of the Rev. William Kennedy McKay, the Presbyterian population of the town and neighbourhood could not have been better prepared for such a visitation, and, turning from their evil ways, large numbers of them became devoted servants of the Lord Jesus, According to accounts of the movement by those who attended the services then conducted in the old First Presbyterian meeting-house, on the site of which the present building stands, the congregation, at first impressed by what they had heard from Connor and Ballymena, manifested an eager spirit of expectancy. The Psalms were sung with a fervour never before approached in the place, the prayers were frequently punctuated by excited appeals for mercy, and the sermons were listened to with gravest attention. All the old formalism was passing away and a real living religion was making itself felt in every heart. It could not be otherwise, for the Holy Spirit was mightily at work overcoming the strongholds of Satan. Darkened understandings were enlightened under His gracious influence, and the steps were made visible that led from the ‘fearful pit’ and ‘the miry clay’ right up to the solid Rock of Salvation, man’s sure and unchanging hope in life’s perilous sea.

“On a Sabbath morning, as the service was proceeding in the customary manner, a piercing cry was heard. Every eye turned instinctively towards the pew from which it came, and a woman was seen in a state of prostration. A few friends, gathered round her and she was carried into the vestibule. Moaning heavily, she kept ejaculating, ‘Oh, my sins! Lord have mercy! Save me, O Christ, or I perish.’ About half-an-hour afterwards the affected one was helped away. Great agitation prevailed amongst the rest of the worshippers. Several of them had also to be removed in a terribly shaken condition, uttering strange cries for mercy and forgiveness, and the voice of the preacher was at moments altogether inaudible. He appealed for calmness. The Lord was in their midst and they were merely feeling the wonder-working power of His presence. It was unnecessary to become hysterical. They were guilty sinners before Him and worthy of the torments of hell; but, blessed be His Name, He had provided a way of escape in Christ Let them look upon this mighty Saviour, who was anxious to deliver them, and they would be safe in His arms for ever. No ill could then come nigh them. The Lord would be on their side and form an everlasting tower of defence.

“At the conclusion of the service, the congregation scattered and seriously discussed the scenes which had just been witnessed. The Lord, who had not forgotten His heritage, was again amongst them for blessing, and in those marvels of grace they were seeing the true essentials of His glory. While the righteous exhibited joy, the ungodly quailed with fear, and on every face could be read the signs of either one or other of those conflicting emotions. During the second service, which was protracted until a late hour in the evening, there were several fresh cases of prostration. Immediate assistance was rendered, and these people, when recovered, were taken to their homes testifying to what the Lord had done for their souls. In some instances, restoration was delayed as long as the sense of guilt and need for pardon remained. This was a cause for great anxiety to relatives, but the steady improvement, which set in after a day on two quickly dispelled all gloomy forebodings.

“Excitement reigned supreme. Scarcely anything but the revival was talked about in the homes of rich and poor. Meetings were held every evening throughout the whole district, and the crowds, which attended, were often so large that, for lack of sufficient accommodation inside farm buildings, the proceedings had to be conducted in the open air. Converts local and from a distance, worked with great energy and determination.”
William Montgomery Speers was one of the leaders of the revival movement in Portglenone and district.

BROUGHSHANE
Broughshane, a village about four miles from Ballymena, had the early as well as the latter rain of the revival deluge. Rev. Archibald Robinson, the Presbyterian minister, of the village, relates the following: — “The first case of awakening here was of a very peculiar and solemn kind. It was in 1858. It was that of a man who had been a drunkard. He was drunk the week before. In the middle of the night he awoke and roused the family out of their beds—said he had had a dream—an angel came and told him to be up and busy praying for mercy, for he would die at one o’clock, or, if not at one, decidedly at four o’clock the next day. He dressed, and gave himself up entirely to reading and prayer. People thought he was mad—in delirium tremens. He refused all solicitations to induce him to drink—went about wringing his hands and entreating mercy, till about one o’clock—went to his bed, and died happy about four!
“It was not, however, till May 1859 that we were visited with a most gracious and abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We had been praying for and expecting some such precious blessing, but were, notwithstanding, taken by surprise, so sudden, powerful, and extraordinary were the manifestations of the Spirit’s presence. Persons of every shade of temperament and character were mysteriously affected, overpowered, prostrated, and made to pour out the most thrilling agonising cries for mercy. Most of those thus impressed and awakened found peace and comfort in a very short space of time, and then their countenances shone with a sweetness and glory beyond description. Very many of them received a marvellous fluency and power of prayer. A hatred of sin, a love for the Saviour, a zeal for His cause, affection for one another, and an anxiety about perishing sinners, took absolute possession of their hearts, and literally ruled and governed their actions. For about six weeks almost all agricultural operations, and indeed every kind of secular employment, were suspended, no man being able to think of or attend to anything but the interests of his soul. Night and day the sound of praise and prayer never ceased to float upon the air. An overwhelming sense of awe and terror held in check the boldest sinners, while thousands who till now had lived as if eternity were a priestly fiction seemed now for the first time to realise its truth and presence, and to feel as if the end of all things was at hand. I should say about one thousand people were suddenly, sensibly, and powerfully impressed and awakened.”

One morning during the revival a remarkable occurrence took place in the spinning mill close by. Twenty to thirty persons were prostrated under severe conviction of sin and as a result the mill had to stop production. Two days later, when it attempted to reopen, only half the employees were fit for work, the-’other half being physically affected in the awakening.
LOUGHGULLE, KILRAUGHTS AND CLOUGHMLLLS
Rev. H. W. Carson reported that at the end of May 1859 the revival had spread to these districts. A woman who had absented herself for six years from public worship unexpectedly turned up at the church service. After the service, Mr. Carson found her sitting by the wayside wringing her hands and crying out to heaven for mercy. Thus commenced the great revival in this neighbourhood.

Shortly after this, a monster prayer meeting was held in Cloughmills. About 2,000 people attended and of many it was recorded,” they were born there.” Many prostrations occurred in this district and the greater number of the converts had, like John Bunyan, terrorising birth pangs. Prayer meetings studded the district and the sound of praise was constantly heard wafted to the ear of the passer-by, by the early summer breeze.

Many Roman Catholics in the priest-ridden district of Loughguile came under the influence of the revival and turned to God from idols to serve the living God and to wait for His Son from heaven. In Christ and in Christ alone, they found an all-sufficient divine priesthood, and satisfied with the cleansing of the blood of the Lamb, they went to mass no more.

BALLYRASHANE AND BALLY WAlT
Rev. James Mayne, an aged minister with forty years service in the Lord’s vineyard, reports with great joy the coming of the revival to these districts. He testifies: —” Often did I solicit the pouring out of the Spirit to enliven and awaken; often did I entreat, like the good John Brown of Haddington, ‘for dead Haddington, and wicked, withered East Lothian.’ So did I for dead Ballywatt, and withered, wicked Ballyrashane. I do rejoice to see the day now when the Spirit has been poured down from on high, and the wilderness and solitary place to be made glad, and the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose. Yes, my prayers are heard, and I and my people have enjoyed times of refreshing from the Lord. I have been strengthened to do more labour, with more ease and satisfaction now than I could have anticipated; and I rejoice in the Spirit’s influences being so largely conferred for the enlivenment and enlightenment of the Church of God.”

Another minister in the same district, Rev. J. Alexander, describes the advance of the awakening thus: —” On Sabbath the 19th June, at the morning service, there was a crowd of anxious and deeply impressed hearers. A few persons came under the influence of conviction, which occasioned a little confusion, but the effect was most extraordinary. In the evening of the same day, there was an open-air meeting of 1500 persons, addressed by some of the ‘ Awakened.’ Upwards of fifty persons were brought under alarming convictions, and were struck down.
“Prayer meetings are held every evening in the week in the district, and the moral effect is beyond description. The cases are numerous and important. All around are, equally with myself, well acquainted with this extraordinary but merciful dispensation. It is a great and good work of the Spirit of God, and I firmly believe that great and good also will be the results.”

BALLYMONEY
Ballymoney town is situated about nineteen miles to the north of Ballymena. Rev. Robert Park, for forty years a minister in this town, tells of the coming of the revival and how the greater number of the converts were those formerly connected with the various churches. Sabbath-school teachers and scholars were especially visited during the awakening. One hundred prayer meetings in the town and district kept the revival fires burning. The Third Presbyterian Church reported that there was scarc6ly a family in their congregation that had not been visited and that six former Roman Catholics had become communicants. Although having a strong Roman Catholic population, Ballycastle was also visited with revival. The following report appeared in the Presbyterian Magazine of August 1859: — “Many Roman Catholics have been brought under the awakening influence of God’s spirit in their own homes. On Tuesday last, the daughter of a man well-known as a bigoted Roman Catholic, was suddenly and very deeply impressed with the prevailing influence in her father’s house; and the astonished parent, on witnessing her strange condition, and hearing her fervent prayers to the Saviour on her own behalf, and for the extension of Divine grace and mercy to himself, and other members of his family, was forced impulsively to exclaim, ‘I cannot resist this manifestation of Almighty power. Truly, this must be the work of God.’”

BUSHMILLS
Bushmills, a small town twelve miles from Ballymoney and famous for its whisky, was not by-passed. Rev. W. Oliver reports the spread and advance of the movement in this locality. Though suspicious himself at first of the revival, the Spirit of God came down on his people and on the neighbourhood around with such sudden and awful power that he was bowed to the dust. in adoration and astonishment. His church became the scene of glorious manifestations. Fourteen regular prayer meetings were commenced in the district.

PORTRUSH
Portrush, a popular seaside resort, situated fourteen miles from Ballymoney, became the centre of the movement in North Antrim. The Presbyterian minister, Rev. Jonathan Simpson, records how the revival came to the town: -

“By a strange coincidence in the Divine providence, both the clergy of the parish church and the Presbyterian minister of the town of Portrush were attracted to Ballymoney in the same week, without any previous concert with each other, to see and investigate the remarkable work of revival going on there in its earliest stages. The former called on the latter, and proposed an open-air union-meeting for prayer, into which he cordially entered; and the three knelt in prayer in the manse, craving a blessing on the proposed meeting, led by the senior Episcopal minister. Their hearts were melted by the love of Christ, and with suffused cheeks they felt that God was about to give a blessing; and they were not disappointed; blessed be His name!

“The meeting took place on the 6th June, on the hill in the rear of the town, and was very large, probably two thousand being present; the town contains a population of about nine hundred souls.

Short addresses of only a few minutes were delivered by the local ministers and several persons, usually called ‘Converts,’ from Ballymoney; and a very remarkable scene took place that will never be forgotten in the village, nor by many of its inhabitants in eternity. The first two ‘ stricken’ ones were, one a Presbyterian, and the other an Episcopalian, as if God would honour the first union prayer meeting.

“Next morning assembled the first daily union prayer-meeting, which was continued with great success till the close of the bathing season, in September. As many as one hundred and fifty-one have been counted leaving it, and in some instances several went away who could not get in; while a ball-room, erected during the summer, could get none to dance in it. The two first mornings a young man, in each case, came under conviction of sin—one Episcopal, the other a Presbyterian.”

The two Episcopal clergymen of Portrush, Rev. Mr. Ffoliott and Rev. Mr. Chichester, worked zealously in the awakening. The Episcopal Church witnessed many prostrations and many glorious conversions. Mr. Chichester wrote a weighty vindication to the “Daily News.” We give two extracts which emphasise certain aspects of the great a wakening: — “However hopeless,” he says, “we may have been in our Sunday-school labours, feeling that all our attempts to impress Scripture upon the mind, have been only like writing on the sand; yet when the heart has been thus powerfully awakened, the conscience convinced, and the spiritual eye opened, how copiously do long-forgotten passages rush into the mind, and how many words and verses which have hitherto only knocked ineffectually at the door of the outward ear, are received and welcomed within, from whence they soon pour themselves forth in prayer, or praise, or exhortation from the tongue.”

“The working of the Spirit is also evidenced by the wonderful power of prayer, and new gift of utterance which seems to be imparted, not only to the most illiterate, but also to young children. Those who are highly educated, and have long been habituated to such exercises, may well form a humble estimate of their extempore powers, when they hear such sounds as these proceeding from minds hitherto dull, and from tongues hitherto dumb.”

A remarkable feature of the Great Awakening in Portrush was the great revival open-air meetings. The most outstanding one of these was held on a hill in Dunmull by the famous evangelist Brownlow North, James McQuilkin and Jerry Meneely of Connor, Mr. Simpson and Rev. Mr. Sutherland of Inverness. Dunmull is a central locality about four miles from Portrush. Mr. Sutherland himself describes the scene:— “About six thousand people were congregated on the slope of the hill, and some hundreds crowning its crest. It was a day of wonders in this season of wonders, done in the name of the Holy Child Jesus. You could almost say before the service began, judging by the prayerful and devout aspect of the people, ‘There is the sound of abundance of rain.’ Many ministers, students of divinity, and Sabbath-school teachers from a distance, were present in the auditory; also, many tourists, Zaccheus-like, from motives of curiosity. It is impossible for me adequately to describe the scenes I witnessed, and the impression they produced. I witnessed the ‘smiting down’ in every phase of its development, from the simple swoon to the prostration, accompanied by the most fearful convulsions of the bodily frame, and overwhelming mental anguish, venting itself in piercing cries for mercy or wailing notes of despair. It would be too painful to behold those extreme mental and physical sufferings did we not feel assured that their subjects would have a reaping time of joy. Instead of there being any organised system of excitement, the prayers and addresses were calm, simple, judicious, and strictly scriptural, yet the arrows of conviction flew thick, and fixed that day in the hearts of many of the ‘King’s enemies.’

“Meneely was directing them to the Lamb of God, and telling his own experience, and the happy termination to his own soul-distress, when, like Christian, he got a view of the cross, and his burden fell from him; and in a moment a servant lad, standing quite close to me, fell down as if shot, or pierced through the heart by some invisible hand. A few convulsive movements followed, as if struggling with an unseen enemy; then for about half an hour he lay prostrate on the earth, with his eyes fixed on the sky, and his lips muttering some sounds, at first unintelligible, but as his consciousness returned, resolving themselves into cries to Jesus for mercy. He begged not to be carried away, and within an hour sat up, and for the rest of the day seemed alternately to be listening and to be absorbed in silent prayer.

“There were about a dozen affected similarly, but not so violently, though, perhaps, it would not be too much to affirm, that ten times that number were brought to a conviction of sin, while some found peace in Jesus. Mr. North’s address was truly admirable. It was directed to young converts, and contained most seasonable and excellent counsel.”

DONEGORE
Donegore, near Antrim town, was one of the centres of the great awakening in the early seventeenth century, and here again in the nineteenth century a mighty work of grace was done. On Sabbath 22nd May 1859 the first movements of power were manifested and a week later on the 29th, cries for mercy could be heard as the word of God was applied. In Donegore the revival met with fierce opposition from many who professed to be devoted servants of God.

CARNMONEY
Carnmoney is a village four miles from Belfast. The Presbyterian minister, Rev. Joseph Barkley speaks of the spread of the revival to his parish: —” The history of the revival here may be given in few words. Accounts of the Lord’s work in other places having reached us, many were thereby led confidently to expect and earnestly to pray, in the family and in the closet, for an outpouring of the Spirit on ourselves; and the answer, in the mercy of God, was not long withheld.
“On the first Sabbath in June 1859, a day long to be remembered in this place, a Christian merchant in Belfast (about four miles distant) felt, as he said himself, unaccountably constrained to come out and seek permission to address this congregation, which, as he was personally unknown to me, was granted somewhat reluctantly; and that evening two females were affected with a deep sense of sin in their own homes, accompanied by great bodily weakness.

“On the Tuesday evening following, the same gentleman addressed a crowded meeting in the church, and although there was neither pith nor power in his address—nothing, in fact, seemingly calculated either to move or to melt an audience—yet he had spoken only a few sentences when one and another were crying for mercy, and at length so loud and general were the outcries that further speaking was impossible; and before morning, it is computed not fewer than fifty souls had found peace in believing.

“A few weeks later, a still more illustrious display of Divine grace was witnessed at a meeting addressed in the same place by the late Rev. A. Pollock of Ballyeaston, Mr. Ormsby of Rothesay, and the two young men from Connor; for so manifest was the Lord’s power and presence, and so signally did He make bare His glorious arm on that occasion, that upwards of one hundred souls rejoicing in Christ may be regarded as the result of that single meeting. It was a night of sorrow and of joy—some crying for mercy; others rejoicing in Jesus; and from that up to the present time the good work has been going on steadily, though latterly in a more imperceptible manner than heretofore.

“The parties professing to have found peace in this place since the commencement of the awakening, eight months ago, cannot be fewer than from three to four hundred; all of whom, with barely an exception, are walking worthy of their profession, whilst the effect on the Lord’s people themselves, in stirring them up to greater zeal and devotedness in the service of Christ, is not less remarkable. Life, in its various forms of love, and joy, and activity, and prayerfulness, is visible everywhere. The valley of dry bones is in full motion, the breath of the Spirit has passed in a gale of saving health over it, and a revived Church is now bringing forth the fruits of righteousness.

BALLYCARRY
In Ballycarry, Rev. John Stuart so wore himself out in the arduous work of the revival that in the midst of his many labours he became ill and was forced to seek rest and health across the seas in France. To this end in the greatness of their love, his congregation provided him with ample means. This token of love was but another evidence of revival in the congregation. His testimony which we reproduce, is invaluable as he was ordained a quarter of a century before the revival broke out, and was ever noted as one eminent for zeal, piety, gravity, and conscientiousness.
“In this extensive district, the cradle of Irish Presbyterianism, we have had a great religious awakening. God has been in our midst working wonders. After more than seven months’ experience of His gracious revival, I can boldly and fearlessly bear my testimony to its blessed fruits and marvellous results.

“It is impossible to witness the worship of our crowded assemblies, to look down from the pulpit on the sea of upturned, animated faces, and to come constantly in contact with the spiritual life of individual Christians, without exclaiming—’ What hath God wrought!’

“The Holy Spirit, in the outgoings of His love, visited us early in the summer of last year, and all at once there was a vast increase in the congregation. The spare pews in the church were taken, and the aisles covered with forms, which were soon crowded with earnest, anxious, solemnised hearers. Preaching now became a real luxury. Society seemed to be stirred to its lowest depths. I had before me a people hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Our communion, on the first Sabbath of June, was truly a ‘feast of fat things.’ Never before had we experienced a day of such sweet refreshing from the presence of the Lord. The first drops of the heavenly shower had begun to fall; and now the shower descended in right earnest.

“Such were the multitudes which attended my evening services in the church, or in the open-air, when no church could contain them, and such was the seriousness and anxiety of the people, that for forty-two successive nights I preached, conversed with anxious enquirers, and frequently prayed over ‘stricken ones,’ till the first streaks of young day warned us to retire from the solemn scene.

“At every week-day evening meeting, and generally during every Sabbath service, persons were ‘stricken.’ Sometimes four, sometimes ten, sometimes twenty. Then arose the wild, unearthly cry for mercy, ‘My soul, my sinful soul, Lord Jesus, have mercy on me.’ One little maid, whilst tears flowed fast, cried, ‘O Jesus, give me the faith of the dying thief! Oh, give me the faith of the centurion! O Jesus, Saviour of the jailer of Philippi, have mercy on me.’

“Great numbers were ‘prostrated’ in their own houses, and many laboured under deep conviction for several days before they were enabled to rejoice in Jesus. All ages, from the child of ten and twelve, to the man and woman approaching the ‘threescore years and ten,’ have been brought under the influence of this gracious ‘awakening’; and the cloud of Divine mercy has settled upon many a house, where heretofore there was no fear of God, and no concern for the soul. About two hundred persons in connexion with my church have been the subjects of’ bodily prostration’; but of the larger number awakened by the ‘still small voice,’ I cannot at present form an estimate. I rejoice to say the good work is still progressing and deepening. The wave of mercy still rolls on. Blessings have descended like dew, and the fertility and fruit, which followed, have astonished even the sceptic and the scoffer.

“I should think that at the several week-night prayer-meetings in connexion with my congregation, which are still on the increase, more than a thousand persons attend. These meetings are conducted for the most part by godly laymen; and many tears are shed there, and many hearts there experience emotions of solemnity, and a desire after better things, to which heretofore they had been strangers. No one can be present at those meetings, and witness the deep devotion, the wondrous gift of prayer, and the earnest pleadings of the converts, without being convinced that the work is not of man, but of God.

“During the past summer and autumn, I might say of the revival, in the words of the prophet, ‘It grew like the lily; now it is casting forth its roots as Lebanon.’ Among all who were ‘stricken down’ I do not yet know of a single backslider. So far as I am enabled to discover, they are being ‘conformed ‘ to the image of Christ, and are presenting to the world a living portraiture, more or less, of that life which was in Him. ‘God has done great things for us, whereof we are glad.’ Instead of the coldness, and deadness, and formality of former times, we have now life, and light, and heat, and earnestness, and energy.”

BALLYEASTON
Rev. A. Pollock, the Presbyterian minister of Ballyeaston, a district adjacent to Ballycarry, died as a result of his strenuous labours, so powerfully did the revival prevail in his parish. A few days before his death he wrote this description of the revival in his church on the previous Sabbath. Little did he know he was describing his last Sabbath on earth.

“On Sabbath morning the house was filled to overflowing, and with little preparation, it was no easy task to ascend the pulpit. I addressed them from the words, ‘Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.’ The Holy Ghost was there indeed, as a mighty rushing wind. Many were removed; and in the evening the green was filled, and no man can tell the number of the souls which were added to the church.”

BALLYCLARE
The town of Ballyclare is twelve miles from Belfast. Here a slater one day found in the market place a man under conviction of sin. He was so warmly interested in the man’s condition that he himself desired to learn the way of salvation. “Go to Connor and Kells,” he was told; “there is the country where you will find the people you want.” He went to Connor, met with godly persons, obtained what he needed, and before returning home became a new creature in Christ Jesus. It was through him that the revival took hold of Ballyclare.

HYDE PARK
From Ballyclare the movement spread to Hyde Park, a village not far from Belfast. A lad, belonging to the former place, told a boy-friend at Hyde Park of his change of heart, and with affectionate words entreated him to accept Christ. The lad’s fervour attracted the attention of the villagers, and a revival originated from the little incident.

BALLINDERRY
When the revival came to this district, one of its first fruits was a well known young man. This young man died shortly afterwards and his dying testimony with its joyful assurance, serene, calm and earnest entreaty for others, did much to spread the awakening in the district. His funeral was transformed into a mighty revival conference, and lasting impressions were made upon the multitude who attended.

DUNDROD
Rev. William Magill relates how the revival came to Dundrod. “When dressing I observed a man approaching the manse, and the thought at once arose in my mind, this man is perhaps coming for me—the work is begun. It was even so. I was soon on my way to his house. He told me as we went, that one of his daughters, after returning home from the prayer-meeting, had fallen ill, strangely ill—that she was up all night, and had raised the whole family to engage in prayer with her and for her—that she had never ceased praying and reading all night, and when he left her she was worse than ever, and he feared she was ‘going wrong in her mind.’ He had done all he could to pacify her, and said to her, if she wanted to be converted, to take the matter coolly and not create an uproar about the house to alarm the neighbours.” The same morning Mr. Magill led the stricken one and one of her sisters to Christ. The awakening spread with the rapidity of a prairie fire when it is fanned with a mighty breeze and on the following Sabbath a very remarkable service took place. Mr. Magill himself describes it.

“I gave a short address, stating what the Lord had done among us, when one of the converts, our first one, rose, and with beaming countenance and eyes, which told of the joys within the heart, said a few things to the people, when here and there throughout the church, parties rose and went out, labouring under deep conviction, and immediately the graveyard is filled with groups singing and praying around the prostrate bodies of men and women. Some are as in a trance, others crying for mercy. Some are still falling into the arms of friends, and sinking as into a swoon. Some stagger to a distance, and drop on their knees to pray over the graves of the dead; and a few rush to the gates, and fly in terror from the scene. The converts are flying from group to group, and raise the loud shout of triumph as one after another, like the jailer of Philippi, is seen trembling and heard crying out, ‘What shall I do to be saved?’ Up to this evening the work had gone on chiefly among the females; soon, however, the men were impressed; and I shall never forget the look and shout of joy with which one of these females proclaimed the triumph of the Lord, when strong men were writhing in agony, or stretched out still and calm, but with clasped hands and heaving hearts, on the graves around. I think I see her now— her bonnet hanging behind her head, her Bible in her hand above her head—and I hear still her shout, ‘The men are coming now !—the men are coming now!’ For ten days and more the whole country was in a state of intense excitement.”

WHITEHOUSE
In Whitehouse, a village adjacent to Belfast, the proprietor of the great linen mill and his wife were converted and became the enthusiastic leaders of the movement in the district. Numerous mill workers followed the example of their employers and many great meetings were held.

CARRICKFERGUS
The ancient town of Carrickfergus is situated on the shores of the Belfast Lough, eleven miles northeast of Belfast. Rev. James Warwick, the minister of Joymount Church, traces the history of the movement there.

“Lieutenant W. R. Aikman, a devoted servant of the Lord, who has devoted himself to the service of Christ, and preached the gospel in various places in England and Scotland, visited Ireland in 1858, He came to Carrickfergus in November 1858; and from that time continued to visit us frequently until the spring of 1859. At each visit he had special services for four or five evenings in succession, and on the Sabbath had three services. These services, in conjunction with the stated preaching of the gospel, impressed the mind of the people with serious religious feelings. Mrs. Colville, a sister in Christ, who also labours along with Lieutenant Aikman, held meetings for prayer among the females. She came to Carrickfergus on several occasions. Her meetings were also well attended, and some came to my house to converse with her about the state of their souls. These special meetings, which had been held to pray for the outpouring of God’s Spirit, were continued after they left. The female prayer meeting continued to be held weekly, in the vestry of my church, from January 1859 until the revival burst forth in June.

“Thus in the autumn of 1858, and beginning of 1859 a few of God’s children in Carrickfergus were looking, praying, and waiting for a revival.

“Towards May 1859 more excitement on the subject began to prevail, in consequence of reports of the work the Lord was doing at Connor. And on the first Sabbath of May, on the occasion of the administration of the Lord’s Supper, a solemn feeling was visible over the worshippers, and deep anxiety seemed to pervade the people. We had not, however, any bodily manifestation accompanying the work until about the 5th June, when the first of the striking cases, as they were called, occurred. On that Sabbath I preached from Joel iii. 14, ‘Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.’ There was a very large congregation present. There was great religious excitement in the parish, as some converts from Ballymena and Connor were to address a public meeting in the open air.

“The good work of the Lord being thus commenced, meetings were held every evening. Elders, Sabbath-school teachers, converts, and others threw themselves into the work.

“The presbytery of Carrickfergus did not remain inactive when the Lord’s gracious work required their extra labours. They held three revival meetings within their bounds. The first was held in Carrickfergus on the 9th August. The good work of the revival, under the Divine blessing, was thus fostered by these services, and at the same time kept clear of anything to prejudice any against it.”
Another minister, Rev. J. White, records the spread of the revival to the workers in the salt mines and of the great prayer meetings held by those workers many hundreds of feet underground.

A brother of this minister, Rev. Dr. Verner M. White returned from Carrickfergus ablaze with the revival fire he witnessed there, to his church in Liverpool and commenced special services. These became the origin of a great awakening in the Liverpool area.

STRAID
The Congregationalist minister, Rev. James Barn, records the following: “Straid is a mountainous district in the county of Antrim—the people mostly small farmers and weavers. For some time previous to the commencement of the work of revival in this part of the country, the spirit of prayer became deep and manifest among the people of my congregation. This was evidenced by the enlarged attendance on the services of the sanctuary, and the fervency with which petitions were presented at the mercy seat for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

“In the early part of April 1859, tidings reached us of the strange things that were being experienced in other parts of the country, with varied conflicting opinions. We desired to see those things with our eyes of which we had heard so much. I felt a deep interest in what I had heard; but it required the evidence of facts to be fully impressed with its divine character. To see the proud sinner stricken down in his pride of heart, and constrained to cry for mercy before an assembled multitude, was such an evidence of the heavenly origin of the work as to convince the gainsayer, and to give confidence to the sincere inquirer after truth. It was truly a wonderful manifestation of Divine power.

“Slow at first to permit the interests of the revival to be recognised, I waited the evidences of its all-pervading power, that I might see my way in the path of duty. In this I was perfectly satisfied ere I took a single step in it; but since then I have thrown my whole soul into the great and godlike work, so that night and day I have been engaged in labouring for the spiritual benefit of souls.

“The general effect upon society is most wonderful and important. Profanity, Sabbath profanation, and drunkenness are set aside. Many public houses are closed, a cock-pit has become a preaching station, and families, where nothing but vice in its worst forms could be seen, have been brought to love and to adore the Lord with a zeal and a fervour which withstand all efforts of the enemy of souls to overcome; while the desire for the preaching of the gospel is everywhere pervading society. Indeed, the most of the people are full of desire to hear the gospel, and attend in large numbers wherever it is preached, and the good done is very great. Many are now rejoicing in Jesus, to whom it seemed impossible to bring the truth, such was their unwillingness to hear and their hatred to the gospel.

ISLANDMAGEE
In this district Rev. Win. Campbell was the spiritual leader of the movement. He tells of the progress of the movement himself. “In the district of Islandmagee, the revival movement has made great progress. The first manifestation was on Wednesday, the 8th June, the day of humiliation prior to the communion in the church of the First Congregation.

“Many came up to the house of God that day—they could not tell how it was—with more than an ordinary feeling of ‘godly fear,’ and in anxious expectation.

“The Rev. George Magill of Lylehill officiated. The services were not long commenced when a young lady was ‘smitten down.’
“From that day till the present time, God has been walking in mercy throughout the length and breadth of the parish, subduing stubborn hearts, and awakening many who were long at ease in Zion.

“The First and Second Presbyterian churches are now filled with anxious and attentive hearers every Sabbath.

“The communion was held in the church of the First Congregation on the second Sabbath of June; and such a solemn communion the members of the congregation never experienced on any former occasion.

“On the Monday evening following, there was a prayer-meeting. Hundreds attended, and many were convicted.

“On Wednesday evening, another meeting was held in the First Presbyterian Church. About 900 were present, and were addressed by the Rev. Messrs. Campbell, Whiteford, Warwick and Shaw. Many were awakened, and many were ‘stricken down’; and hundreds remained about the house of God till the sun had risen.

Wednesday night, the 8th June, will be long remembered in Islandmagee—a night on which God opened the windows of heaven, and poured out blessings upon many souls.
“On Thursday evening, the Second Presbyterian church was filled to overflowing. The Rev. R. H. Shaw presided. The meeting was addressed by the Rev. W. Campbell, D. Andrews Esq., and others. The feeling was intense.

“In both the First and Second congregations, the number of communicants has greatly increased. Many have been savingly brought to God by the power of the Holy Ghost; and many more, we trust, shall ere long know Christ as a personal Saviour, who are yet in doubts and darkness.
“Prayer meetings have been established in many localities all over the district, and are well attended by worshippers anxious to worship God ‘in spirit and in truth.’ The Lord has done great things for us; and greater things than these may our eyes yet behold! Blessed be His holy name!”

LARNE
Lame is a seaport some fourteen miles from Carrickfergus. Here the revival came with such power that the services of a full time missionary were necessary to assist the ministers in the arduous task of consoling the anxious and instructing the “babes in Christ.” This missionary was maintained by a Belfast Christian businessman John Getty, Esq., himself a native of Lame. The revival brought an unprecedented demand for Bibles and many hundreds of copies were sold.
Former Unitarians and Roman Catholics were numbered amongst the hundreds hopefully converted. In December 1859 not a single backslider amongst the revival converts could be found.

GLENARM
The following incident in Glenarm demonstrates something of the impact of the revival on the gentry of Ulster, and is another testimony to its genuineness.
“The Countess of Antrim, whose castle adjoins, was away in England while the revival was in progress, and on her return, having heard much of it, resolved to visit a number of those who had been reported to have come under its influence. She did so, and was fully satisfied the work was of God. She then opened, in a school-room a weekly class for the young to whom instruction in Scripture truth was evidently most desirable.”