by Rev. Duncan Campbell
© The Faith Mission Used by kind permission
A note from Colin Melbourne:
Most articles on the internet ascribed to Duncan Campbell are of dubious origin and authenticity. The following text is entirely genuine and completely accurate. It was made available to me directly by the kindness of the Faith Mission, Edinburgh.
For the background to the Hebrides Revival read this article with an even more anointed message from Duncan Campbell
The Need of Awakening
The island of Lewis has been the scene of a very gracious movement of the Spirit. The breath of revival has been felt, and communities have been conscious of the mighty impact of God. This island had, in days past, experienced seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, but of late years the stream of vital Christianity appeared to be running low. This view was shared by the Free Church Presbytery of Lewis who, in the following declaration, publicly expressed their deep concern:
The Presbytery of Lewis having taken into consideration the low state of vital religion within their own bounds, and throughout the land generally, call upon their faithful people in all their congregations to take serious view of the present dispensation of divine displeasure manifested, not only in the chaotic conditions of international politics and morality, but also, and especially, in the lack of spiritual power from Gospel ordinances, and to realize that these things plainly indicate that the Most High has a controversy with the nation. They note especially the growing carelessness toward Sabbath observance and public worship, the light regard for solemn vows and obligations so that the sacraments of the church – especially that of baptism – tend to become in too many cases an offence to God rather than a means of grace to the recipients, and the spreading abroad of the spirit of pleasure which has taken such a hold of the younger generation that all regard for anything higher appears with very few exceptions to have been utterly dismissed from their thoughts.
The Presbytery affectionately plead with their people – especially with the youth of the church – to take these matters to heart and to make serious inquiry as to what must be the end, should there be no repentance; and they call upon every individual as before God to examine his or her heart in the light of that responsibility which pertains to us all, that haply, in the divine mercy, we may be visited with the spirit of repentance and may turn again unto the Lord whom we have so grieved with our iniquities and waywardness. Especially would they warn the young people of the devil’s man-traps – the cinema and the public-house.
The foregoing is an extract from a Free Church Presbyterial declaration, as published in the Stornaway Gazette and West Coast Advertiser (December 9th. 1949)
The decline referred to in this declaration began to show itself in a growing disregard for the things of God; indeed the blighting influences of the spirit of the age, with its deadening effect, was so effective that in certain parishes very few young people attended public worship: the dance, the picture-show, and the ‘drinking-house’ (See Endnote) were institutions which could now thrive in Lewis, on the generous support given by their willing devotees.
True, Lewis has its traditions. The time-honoured practice of family worship is still observed in most homes. The great doctrines of the Christian faith, such as the total depravity of man, justification by faith on the ground of Christ’s atonement, regeneration by the Spirit, and the sovereignty of God in the affairs of men are central in the theology of Lewis. But then it is possible to have a name to live and yet be dead, and has not experience demonstrated again and again that man can be orthodox in sentiment yet loose in practice? Correct views of Scripture do not constitute righteousness.
What effect the forgoing declaration had on the Christian church in Lewis is beyond the knowledge of the writer, but it is certain that most would regard its publication as timely, and its contents a true representation of the situation.
Lewis, however, was not devoid of a virile Christian witness. In all denominations men could be found who were true watchmen on the walls of Zion, and who longed for the day when the desert would again ‘rejoice and blossom as the rose’. In most pulpits throughout the island, the evangel was proclaimed with passionate personal conviction, and not infrequently, in certain congregations at least, signs followed the preaching of the word. The weekly prayer meeting was still a vital part of its religious life, although in too many cases attended only by the faithful few. But the Most High did not despise the day of small things: and Lewis was soon to see the mighty power of God let loose in a gracious outpouring of His Spirit and it came:
As dew upon the tender herb,
Diffusing fragrance round;
As showers that usher in the spring,
And cheer the thirsty ground.
How it Began
In his book, The Second Evangelical Awakening, Dr. Edwin Orr, referring to the American Awakening of 1858, writes:
A divine influence seemed to pervade the land and men’s hearts were strangely warmed by a power that was outpoured in unusual ways.
Every genuine revival of religion has known the gracious touch of God’s mighty power falling from on high, moving men as no other power can move them to seek after God. ‘Oh – that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence’ (Is. 64:1), was the cry of the prophet of old. Was Isaiah conscious of the futility of all human resources? It appears so. This is the place to which the praying group in the Parish of Barvas in Lewis came, and it was this consciousness and conviction that, throwing them upon the sure promise of God, gave birth to the Lewis Revival.
In writing of the movement, I would like first to state what I mean by revival as witnessed in the Hebrides. I do not mean a time of religious entertainment, with crowds gathering to enjoy an evening of bright Gospel singing; I do not mean sensational or spectacular advertising – in a God-sent revival you do not need to spend money on advertising. I do not mean high-pressure methods to get men to an enquiry room – in revival every service is an enquiry room; the road and hillside become sacred spots to many when the winds of God blow. Revival is a going of God among His people, and an awareness of God laying hold of the community. Here we see the difference between a successful campaign and revival; in the former we may see many brought to a saving knowledge of the truth, and the church or mission experience a time of quickening, but so far as the town or district is concerned no real change is visible; the world goes on its way and the dance and picture-shows are still crowded; but in revival the fear of God lays upon the community, moving men and women, who until then had no concern for spiritual things, to seek after God.
To the praying men and women of Barvas, four things were made clear, and to them became governing principles. First, they themselves must be rightly related to God, and in this connection the reading of Psalm 24 at one of their prayer meetings brought them down in the presence of the Lord, where hearts were searched and vows renewed, and, in the words of one who was present, they gave to their lives the propulsion of a sacred vow, and with Hezekiah of old, found it in their hearts to ‘make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel’. Happy the church and favoured the congregation that can produce such men and women! So prayer meetings were held in church and cottage, and frequently the small hours of the morning found the parish minister and his faithful few pleading the promises, with a consciousness of God, and with a confidence in Him, that caused them to hope in His word.
In the second place, they were possessed of the conviction that God, being a covenant-keeping God, must keep His covenant engagements. Had He not promised to ‘pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground’? Here was something that for them existed in the field of possibility; why were they not actually experiencing it? But they came at length to the place where, with one of old, they could cry ‘Our God – is able – and He will’.
Faith, mighty faith the promise sees
And looks to God alone,
Laughs at impossibilities
And cries ‘it shall be done’.
Thirdly, they must be prepared for God to work in His own way and not according to their programme – God was sovereign and must act according to His sovereign purpose – but ever keeping in mind that, while God is sovereign in the affairs of men, His sovereignty does not relieve men of responsibility. ‘God is the God of revival, but man is the human agent through whom revival is possible.’
Fourthly, there must be a manifestation of God, demonstrating the reality of the divine in operation, when men would be forced to say, ‘This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes’. It is therefore not surprising that in the month of December, 1949, God did visit the Parish Church of Barvas with revival blessing that, in a very short time, leapt the bounds of the parish, bringing refreshing and spiritual life to many all over the island.
Here mention must be made of the part played by the parish minister, the late Rev. James Murray MacKay. For months he and his office-bearers had prayed for an outpouring of the Spirit of God, and now the time had come when they felt that, as a congregation, they were called upon to act. But so wonderful are the ways of God that the minister of Barvas had to go to Strathpeffer Convention to have revealed to him through the ministry of the Rev. Dr. T. Fitch, now of Belfast, the action to be taken: Great was his encouragement on returning to his parish to be told that God, in a vision of the night, had revealed to one of the praying group not only that revival was coming, but also the instrument to be used as a channel; the person revealed in the vision was the one mentioned in Strathpeffer! ‘In a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction.’ (Job 33:15-16) So it was that word was sent to the director of the Faith Mission in Edinburgh, as a result of which I found myself in Lewis in December, 1949.
The supernatural working of God the Holy Spirit in revival power is something that no man can fully describe, and it is folly to attempt it. There are, however, features of the Lewis revival, which also characterized revivals of the past, one of which is the spirit of expectancy. Here I found a group of men who seemed to be living on the high plane of implicit confidence in God. That was the conviction and assurance that breathed in every prayer offered in that memorable first meeting of my sojourn in the Hebrides, and my first contact wit the congregation fully convinced me that revival had already come; it was to be my privilege to have some small share in it. One will never forget the hush of the awful presence of God as we sat waiting for the opening Psalm to be announced; truly one could say:
And Heaven came down our souls to greet,
And glory crowned the mercy seat.
Here is a scene witnessed during the first days of the movement: A crowded church, the service is over: the congregation, reluctant to disperse, stand outside the church in a silence that is tense. Suddenly a cry is heard within: a young man, burdened for the souls of his fellow men, is pouring out his soul in intercession. He prays until he falls into a trance and lies prostrate on the floor of the church. But Heaven had heard, and the congregation, moved by a power that they could not resist, came back into the church, and a wave of conviction of sin swept over the gathering, moving strong men to cry out to God for mercy. This service continued until the small hours of the morning, but so great was the distress and so deep the hunger which gripped men and women, that they refused to go home, and already were assembling in another part of the parish. An interesting and amazing feature of this early morning visitation, was the number who made their way to the church, moved by a power they had not experienced before: others were deeply convicted of their sin and crying for mercy, in their homes, before ever coming near the church.
None of those present will forget that morning as the assembled company sang:
I will not come within my house,
Nor rest in bed at all;
Nor shall mine eyes take any sleep,
Nor eyelids slumber shall;
Till for the Lord a place I find,
Where He may make abode;
A place of habitation
For Jacob’s mighty God.
There was a moving scene, some weeping in sorrow and distress, others, with joy and love filling their hearts, falling upon their knees, conscious only of the presence and power of God who had come in revival blessing. Within a matter of days the whole parish was in the grip of a spiritual awakening. Churches became crowded, with services continuing until three o’clock in the morning. Work was largely put aside, as young and old were made to face eternal realities. Soon the fire of blessing spread to the neighbouring parishes. Carloway witnessed a gracious manifestation of the power of God that will surely live in the annals of Lewis revivals. The minister of that parish was assisting with the meetings at Barvas: God was mightily at work, and a number of men were in great distress of soul. Two of these were pipers who were to have played at a concert and dance in Carloway. The minister of Carloway had had a concern to witness at this dance. Leaving the meetings at Barvas, he arrived at the dance at about 3.30am. Almost immediately after he entered the hall the dancing ceased, and he thereupon proposed that they should sing two verses of a Gaelic Psalm. Not all were immediately favourable to this, but after a special appeal Psalm 139 verse 7 was sung, some present joining in:
From Thy Spirit whither shall I go?
Or from Thy Presence fly?
Ascend I Heaven, lo, Thou art there;
There, if in Hell I lie.
He then engaged in prayer and followed with a few words of exhortation, and suddenly the power of God swept through the company and, almost immediately, the music of the dance gave place to the cry of the penitent. Opposition broke down under conviction of sin and distress of soul. This applies especially to a schoolmaster’s son who was acting MC. Before leaving the hall the minister related the news that the pipers and others who were to have been at the dance had decided for Christ in the kitchen meeting at Barvas two hours before. Soon the whole proceedings came to an end and those present dispersed to their homes bewildered and amazed. That same night, in his own home, the schoolmaster came under deep conviction and the following Monday his wife also completely broke down. They then blazed a trail for God in their parish, and Ness became the scene of a most gracious movement.
At Ness meetings were held in the afternoon and evening, and frequently on into the morning. Churches, halls, private houses, and even furniture and meal stores were used to accommodate men and women seeking God.
Perhaps the greatest miracle of all was in the village of Arnol. Here, indifference to the things of God held the field and a good deal of opposition was experienced but prayer, the mighty weapon of the revival, was resorted to and an evening given to waiting upon God. Before midnight, God came down, the mountains flowed down at his presence, and a wave of revival swept the village: opposition and spiritual death fled before the presence of the Lord of life. Here was demonstrated the power of prevailing prayer, and that nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God. There are those in Arnol today who will bear witness to the fact that, while a brother prayed, the very house shook. I could only stand in silence as wave after wave of divine power swept through the house, and in a matter of minutes following this Heaven-sent visitation, men and women were on their faces in distress of soul. It is true that in this village God had his ‘watchmen’. Thank God there are many such in Lewis and Harris; it is one of such who, when he witnessed the mighty power of God in this village, asked that we might sing the 126th. Psalm:
When Zion’s bondage God turned back,
As men that dreamed were we,
Then filled with laughter was our mouth,
Our tongue with melody.
Some time ago, while passing through this village, I was met by an old man whose salutation was in the following words, ‘I am glad to be alive to witness this day’. Then, pointing to a particular house, he said, ‘Do you see that house? That was the ‘drinking house’ of this village, where our young men met in utter disregard of God, His word, or His day. Today it is closed and the men who frequented it are praying in our prayer meetings’. What a joy it is now to see such numbers going to the house of God on the Sabbath, or looking forward with joyful anticipation to the weekly prayer meetings. Some time ago I remarked to a friend: ‘That is surely a wonderful sight’, referring to the large numbers of people going to church. ‘Yes’, he replied, ‘but before the revival one seldom saw more than four from this village going to church on Sabbath morning’. One young man, speaking for the youth of the district said, ‘We did not know what church going meant until the revival came, now the prayer meeting is the weekly attraction, and the worship of God in His house on the Sabbath our chief delight’.
The Spread of the Movement
The movement that began in the Parish Church of Barvas, almost immediately spread to the neighbouring Parish of Ness, and it soon became evident that it was not to be confined to these two parishes. From north, south, east and west the people came in buses, vans, cars, and lorries to witness the mighty movings of God and then to return to their respective parishes to bear testimony to the fact that they had met with the Saviour. A gamekeeper, whose home was twenty-four miles from Barvas, was so wrought upon and burdened for the souls of others, that his van was seldom off the road, and for two years, night after night, brought its load of men and women who were seeking for Jesus. He was rewarded by seeing many coming to the Saviour, including members of his own family. It is therefore not surprising that in the Parish of Lochs, where the gentleman referred to had his home, a gracious movement should break out. Here the ground was well prepared by a faithful ministry, and great was the rejoicing when sower and reaper saw the fruit of their labour in a harvest of precious souls. As in Barvas, meetings here continued until two and three o’clock in the morning and some remarkable scenes were witnessed as the Spirit of God moved among the people.
An incident occurred in this parish, which is still vivid in my mind. A lorry was engaged to convey a number of people to a meeting: the distance to be covered was about fourteen miles, and the journey would take them around the end of a loch. Unfortunately, the lorry broke down when they were about seven miles from their destination. The younger of the party decided to walk, but this was too much for the older members who, very reluctantly, retraced their steps homeward. Suddenly it occurred to them that a late meeting would be held, and if they could secure a boat they could cross the loch and be in time for the midnight service. A boat was found at the nearest township three miles distant, and on rowing across the loch, a distance of three miles, great was their satisfaction to find a meeting in progress; and was it the guidance of the Spirit that led the preacher that night to take as his text, ‘They also took shipping and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus’? The men from across the loch were seeking Jesus, and that night they found Him. That morning, just as the dawn was breaking and night gave way to the rising sun, another Sun had arisen, and One of clearer shining brought light and life to men who sat in darkness. Before they set sail for home, the congregation gathered and, led by one of the local ministers, sang:
When all Thy mercies, O my God!
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I’m lost
In wonder, love and praise.
Oh, how shall words with equal warmth,
The gratitude declare
That glows within my ravish’d heart!
But Thou canst read it there.
When nature fails, and day and night
Divide Thy works no more,
My ever-grateful heart, O Lord,
Thy mercy shall adore.
Through all eternity to Thee
A joyful song I’ll raise,
For, oh! eternity’s too short
To utter all Thy praise.
It is not often that strangers from other districts crowd a church, making it impossible for the regular congregation to get accommodation in their own building, but this actually happened in this parish. So great was the hunger for the Gospel that, long before the hour of the service, buses and vans from a neighbouring parish brought a crowd that filled the little church of Habost, and the regular congregation were content to sit in the vehicles that the strangers had vacated. ‘This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful in our eyes.’
The influence of the Lewis awakening was felt in Harris. Soon in both Tarbert and Leverburgh a gracious movement broke out, and one interesting feature of this blessed visitation was the place that singing had in the meetings. Again and again a wave of deep conviction of sin would sweep over the congregation, and men and women would be seen bending before the mighty impact of the Spirit, as the heart-cry of the penitent found expression in the words of Psalm 130:
Lord, from the depths to Thee I cry’d.
My voice, Lord, do Thou hear:
Unto my supplication’s voice
Given an attentive ear.
Lord, who shall stand, if Thou, O Lord,
Should’st mark iniquity?
But yet with Thee forgiveness is,
That fear’d Thou mayest be.’
Bernera is a small island off the coast of Harris, with a population of about 400. In April, 1952, it was my privilege to visit this parish and witness one of the most remarkable movements of the revival. Here, as in other districts, there were men who, on their faces before God, cried for an outpouring of His Spirit; and an incident occurred which goes to demonstrate the power of prevailing prayer and to reveal how true it is that ‘the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him’. One morning an elder of the Church of Scotland was greatly exercised in spirit, as he thought of the state of the church and the growing carelessness toward the Sabbath observance and public worship. While waiting upon God, this good man was strangely moved, and was enabled to pray the prayer of faith and lay hold upon the promise, ‘I will be as dew unto Israel’. This word from God came with such conviction and power, that he was assured that revival was going to sweep the island, and in that confidence he rose from his knees.
While this man was praying in his barn, I myself, taking part in the Faith Mission Convention at Bangor in Northern Ireland, was suddenly arrested by the conviction that I must leave at once and go to the island of Bernera, where I found myself within three days! Almost immediately on arriving, I was in the midst of a most blessed movement. Again the promise was being fulfilled, ‘I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground’. The first few meetings were very ordinary, but the prayers offered by elders of the congregation breathed a confidence in the sure promise of God. Again and again reference was made to words of Psalm 50, verse 3, ‘Our God shall surely come’. They did not wait long for the fulfilment of this word from God! One evening, just as the congregation was leaving the church and moving down towards the main road, the Spirit of God fell upon the people in Pentecostal power: no other word can describe it: and in a few minutes the awareness of the presences of the Most High became so wonderful and so subduing, that one could only say with Jacob of old, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place’. There, under the open heavens and by the roadside, the voice of prayer was mingled with the groans of the penitent, as ‘free grace awoke men with light from on high’. Soon the whole island was in the grip of a mighty movement of the Spirit, bringing deep conviction of sin and a hunger for God. This movement was different from that in Lewis in this respect, that while in Lewis there were physical manifestations and prostrations, such were not witnessed here; but the work was a deep and the result as enduring, as in any other part touched by the revival.
Perhaps the most outstanding feature in this part of Harris was the awe-inspiring sense of the presence of God that came over the island. The people just gave themselves to seeking the way of life. Meetings were held during the day and through the night, in church, in the homes of the people and in the open: indeed, every gathering of people was made a means of grace. One would like to pay tribute to two ministers of the Church of Scotland who, in the spirit of self-sacrifice left their own parishes and threw their full weight into the movement, the Rev. Murdo McLeod of Tarbert, and the Rev. Angus McKillop of Lochs: the good people of this island will forever be grateful to those two gentlemen who gave of their best. Here is an extract from a letter received from an elder on the Island: he is referring to the first communion after the awakening: ‘The centre of the church was reserved for communicants, but it could not hold them; this never happened in the history of our parish before, ‘Glory to God, Hallelujah!’
The other Bernera also, in Lewis, is one of the smaller islands of the outer Hebrides, with a population of about 400 fairly equally divided between the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland. Here God had a few faithful men and women, but a long vacancy in one of the churches did not help the spiritual life of the community, and this was reflected in a growing disregard for public worship, especially by the youth of the island. It has been said that the weekly prayer meeting indicates the spiritual temperature of a congregation, and if that be so, Bernera had a somewhat low temperature: but there had been indications of the working of the Holy Spirit, and here also God and His ‘Daniels’ with their ‘windows’ – open toward Jerusalem’, who, long before the outbreak of the revival, were encouraged to believe that days of spiritual refreshing were at hand.
One of the outstanding personalities of the revival, the Rev. Murdo McLennan, Parish minister of Carloway, was Interim Moderator of the Bernera congregation. At his invitation I went to assist at a communion season and began a series of pre-communion services. The first meeting was not encouraging, and it was decided to have a further meeting in a nearby cottage. If the first meeting damped our spirits, here was a sight to gladden our hearts: a crowded house, with young men and women in the majority, and an awareness of God that was most subduing. That night in this cottage God made bare His arm, and a movement broke out that was to spread all over the island. It was here that an incident occurred that lives most vividly in my memory: at my request several office-bearers from the Parish Church of Barvas visited the island bringing with them a young lad recently brought to a saving knowledge of the truth. After spending some tome together in prayer, we went to the church to find the place crowded, but seldom did I experience such bondage of spirit, and preaching was most difficult; so much so, that when only half-way through my address I stopped preaching. Just then my eye caught sight of this young lad, who was visibly moved and appeared to be deeply burdened: Leaning over the pulpit I said, ‘Donald, will you lead us in prayer?’ There was an immediate response, and in that moment the floodgates of Heaven opened, the congregation was struck by a hurricane of divine power, and many cried out for mercy.
But the most remarkable feature of this gracious visitation was not what happened in the church, but the spiritual impact made upon the island: men who until then had no thought of seeking after God, were suddenly arrested and became deeply concerned about their souls’ salvation. One worthy elder of the Free Church into whose home salvation came, referring to his native village, said: ‘This is the Lord’s doing. His great Name be praised’. A contributor to the local paper in an article referring to this movement wrote, ‘More are attending the weekly prayer meetings that attended public worship on the Sabbath, before the revival’. It was my privilege to pay a return visit to the island, and what a joy it was to find the young converts growing in grace, and witnessing in church and community a good confession: to listen to their words of testimony or to hear them engage in prayer was ‘as cold waters to a thirsty soul’.
The last place to be mentioned in connection with the spread of the movement is the Parish of Uig. This part of the island is sparsely populated, with the villages far apart, and not too well provided with transport facilities, but if buses were not available, vans and lorries were, and I these the people of the scattered townships gathered. At the beginning of the revival, while God was moving mightily in the Parish of Ness, a woman who was bitterly opposed to the movement made the remark, ‘Why does He not go to Uig? That is where they need the Gospel’. If by inference this lady meant that Uig was lacking in a Gospel ministry, she was, I fear, using her imagination without reference to fact. Uig for many years had been favoured by a faithful and evangelical ministry. It is true that, in common with many other parishes, a spirit of indifference to the things of God prevailed, especially among the young, so that the church was supported largely by the middle-aged and old. But the faithful ministry from the pulpits, and the prevailing prayers of the people of God in the parish, did not pas the notice of Him who said, ‘I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them’.
I wish I could describe the scene, and impart something of the overwhelming sense of the subduing Spirit of God on the night that the windows of Heaven opened. The parish minister, the Rev. Angus MacFarlane, was in his own pulpit and was leading in prayer, when suddenly a consciousness of God came over the congregation, and we were lifted out of the realm of the ordinary, to realise a spiritual impact that could not be explained from any human point of view: revival had come. The first meeting of the evening concluded with the singing of Psalm 147, 2-3:
God doth build up Jerusalem;
And He it is alone
That the dispersed of Israel
Doth gather into one.
Those that are broken in their heart,
and grieved in their minds,
He healeth, and their painful wounds
He tenderly up-binds.
The second meeting of this memorable night was held in a neighbouring village. All lorries and vans available were put into service to convey people to the place of worship, yet many were forced to walk miles; but distance did not matter, and at any rate they knew that the meetings would continue: if they were not in time for the first, they would be sure of getting the second or the third. So they came across the moors and over the hills, young men and maidens, their torches flashing in the darkness, intent upon one thing, to get peace from a guilty conscience, and refuge from the storm in their bosom, in the shelter of the Rock of Ages.
Toady, in this parish, the churches are throbbing with young life and the work and witness of the respective congregations made so much easier, through the new influx of men and women ready and willing to serve their Master and the church of their father.
Features of the Movement
What have been the outstanding features of this movement? Three stand out clearly. First an awareness of God. To be fully realised this has to be felt. A rector in the Church of England, referring to his visit to Lewis, said, ‘What I felt, apart from what I saw, convinced me at once that this was no ordinary movement’. I have known men out on the fields, others at their weaving looms, so overcome by this sense of God that they were found prostrate on the ground. Here are the words of one who felt the Hand of God upon him: ‘The grass beneath my feet, and the rocks around me seem to cry, ‘Flee to Christ for mercy’.’ This supernatural illumination of the Holy Spirit led many in this revival to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ before they came near to any meeting connected with the movement. I have no hesitation in saying that this awareness of God is the crying need of the church today; ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’; but this cannot be worked up by any human effort, it must come down.
The second main feature has been the deep conviction of sin – at times leading almost to despair. I have known occasions when it was necessary to stop preaching because of the distress manifested by the anxious, and many would find expression for the feeling in their hearts and the burden of their guilty conscience, in the words of John Newton:
My conscience felt and owned its guilt,
And plunged me in despair:
I saw my sins His Blood had spilt
And helped to nail Him there.
Physical manifestations and prostrations have been a further feature. I find it somewhat difficult to explain this aspect, indeed I cannot; but this I will say, that the person who would associate this with satanic influence is coming perilously near committing the unpardonable sin. Lady Huntingdon on one occasion wrote to George Whitfield respecting cases of crying out and falling down in meetings, and advised him not to remove them from the meetings, as had been done. When this was done it seemed to bring a damper on the meeting. She said, ‘You are making a great mistake. Don’t be wiser than God. Let them cry out; it will do a great deal more good than your preaching’.
Conclusion
Much has been said and written about the revival. Like all such movements of the past, many have praised God for it, others have made it the occasion of bitter press and pulpit attacks. ‘Men have praised or blamed as it suited them.’ It is true, however, that exaggerated statements have appeared in the press carrying such lines as, ‘Revival sweeping the Hebrides’. Revival has not swept the Hebrides: there are many parts of the Western Isles still untouched by the movement. But it is true to say that Lewis and Harris have experienced ‘times of refreshing’ – from the presence of the Lord’, and the wilderness has been made to ‘rejoice and blossom as the rose’.
One very much regrets that, from the beginning, there were those who opposed the movement. Here I would quote from one who, though mightily used of God, did not escape the bitter opposition of leaders in the church: ‘I verily believe revival would have come to – at that time if prayerful sympathy, instead of carnal criticism, had been shown’. As in this case, so also in Lewis, criticism was based on hearsay – never a wise procedure. If only those who opposed had gone to hear for themselves, how different the story might have been today! But facts are powerful things and we can leave the facts of the Lewis Revival to speak for themselves.
In 1952 the following report in The Scotsman affords a good commentary of the work in Lewis:
The Presbytery of Lewis has been holding a conference this week, and it has been attended by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Rev. Dr. George Johnstone Jeffrey. It has been so successful that a special open-air service was held in Percival Square, the first time that the Church of Scotland has held an open-air service in Stornoway. A children’s meeting at the conference was so popular that another meeting had to be held.
At a meeting in Edinburgh on his return, the Moderator made reference with much warmth of feeling to his recent visit to Lewis and to the evangelistic zeal and fervour of the people.
God has worked and we give Him the glory.
Duncan Campbell
Note: Not a public house, but a small house or bothy in which men gather regularly to consume drink which they have purchased elsewhere. At the time the only licensed premises in Lewis were those in Stornaway.
© The Faith Mission Used by kind permission