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I bless and worship thee for thus acting for me as mine | advocate and intercessor. Increase, I beseech thee, my faith, that I may see more of the glory of thine office,

and may make more use of it in bearing of my inward cross! O let thy faithful witness abide with me, to enable me, without doubt or wavering, to trust in what thou hast done for me upon earth, and to draw comfort from what thou art now doing for me in heaven. Into thy hands I commit my cause,-undertake for me.— ROMAINE.

THE REVIVALS AT STEWARTON AND KIRK OF SHOTTS.

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BY THE REV. THOMAS M'CRIE, EDINBURGH. THE general state of religion in Scotland, during the earlier part of the seventeenth century, was very far from being satisfactory. In the large towns, which had enjoyed the labours of a faithful ministry, the good fruits were apparent in the holy lives of many; but, in consequence of the niggardly provision made for the support of a settled ministry, many parishes in the country were left, in a great measure, desolate, the place of ministers being often supplied by Readers, who, for a small salary, were engaged to read portions of the Scriptures, and the prayers which were tained in the book of Common Order, prefixed to the psalms in metre. In some cases, these Readers were permitted to act as exhorters and catechists, and to celebrate marriage. But it may be easily imagined, that this class of men, little raised above the peasantry from which they were chosen, without learning, without authority, would ill supply the place of a regular and well trained ministry. The General Assembly, long before this period, were deeply affected with this state of spiritual destitution, and many were the plans proposed, and the efforts made, to supply the country with good and faithful ministers. But, in the absence of all funds for their support, this was found impracticable; and on the entrance of Episcopacy, the case became still worse, two-thirds of the benefices, formerly appropriated to the maintenance of the ministry, being claimed by the bishops to support the dignity of their station.

The state of religion in Scotland, at this period, was, therefore, very peculiar; some spots being richly cultivated, while others were left in their native sterility; and the character of the people corresponded, being something like the prophet's figs, the good, very good, and the evil, very evil." In some parishes, where the Gospel was preached, piety flourished to an uncommon degree, and discipline was exercised with a rigour which, in the present day, would be considered intolerable. In other places, the people remained destitute of all privileges and all restraint, in a state of ignorance, superstition, and crime, very little better than that which existed in the days of Popery. This accounts for the apparent contradictions which the histories of the time may be found to contain. The country, in fact, was but very partially civilized, and the ministers of religion had to contend, not only with the ordinary sources of human depravity, but with strange forms of evil which had

been engendered in the shades of that long dark night from which they had lately escaped.

which characterised this age, and that which has The most singular, certainly, of all the crimes occasioned most speculation, was that of witchcraft. The prosecutions which were instituted, both in civil and ecclesiastical tribunals, against those who were charged with this crime, exhibit a very strange picture of society. It does not come within our present province to enter upon this subject. We shall not discuss the policy of those laws which were enacted in the reign of James VI. against this crime, and under the operation of which so many unhappy individuals were subjected to a cruel death. The unholy arts of necromancy, sorcery, and divination prac tised among the heathen nations of antiquity, were prohibited in the law of Moses, under the penalty of death, as being a worshipping of false gods, and treason against heaven; and witchcraft is among the sins condemned in the New Testament. Whether the god of this world is now permitted to exercise his power in the same manner as then over the souls and bodies of men, may admit of question; but it cannot be denied, that even the pretence or profession of holding intercourse with evil spirits, and practising diabolical arts, amounts to a crime of no light consideration, either in a moral or civil point of view; and it is certain, that at the period of our history to which we refer, there were individuals who avowedly acted as the agents of Satan, and prac tised on the credulity and the superstitious fears of their neighbours, to an extent of which we can now form no conception, often employing their arts to the vilest of purposes. It is melancholy to think that so many wretched creatures should have fallen victims to these delusions; but while we condemn the cruelties exercised in their discovery and punishment, we should bear in mind the peculiar state of society at the time. It is unfair to single out the ministers as eminently chargeable with these prosecutions against witchcraft, in which they only participated with persons of all ranks, with the king on the throne, the judges on the bench, and the most learned men of the age. And it is preposterous to confine the charge to the Presbyterian ministers; for the trial and burning of witches went on with equal activity during the reign of Episcopacy.

In the midst of all this corruption, however, and in spite of the banishment of so many faithful ministers, the Gospel flourished in some places of the country, to an unprecedented degree. The persecutors might remove the labourers from the field, but they could not destroy the fruits of their labours. A spirit of grace and supplication was poured out on their bereaved flocks, and they were wonderfully enabled in patience to possess their souls, so that no sufferings could induce them to abandon their principles, neither did they ever resign themselves to despair. "Nay," says author of Memoirs, in reference to this period, "when the darkness was at the greatest, and when,

the

to the eye of reason, there seemed scarcely a ray | place during this period of excitement, from which of hope, the Presbyterians declared that utter deso- some took occasion to bring reproach on the lation shall yet be to the haters of the virgin good work; but these were checked and condaughter of Scotland. The bride shall yet sing as demned by Mr Dickson and others who conversed in the days of her youth. The dry olive tree shall with them; and the sacred character of the work again bud, and the dry dead bones shall live." was attested by the solid, serious, and practical Many faithful ministers, such as Dickson, Bruce, piety which distinguished the converts. Many Livingston, and Henderson, had great boldness who had been well known as most abandoned given them to preach the Gospel, with the con- characters and mockers at religion, being drawn nivance, or in spite of the mandates of the bishops; by motives of curiosity to attend these lectures, and two remarkable revivals took place, one at afterwards became completely changed, showing Stewarton in 1625, and the other at the Kirk of by their life and conversation that the Lord had Shotts in 1630, which deserve to be recorded. "opened their hearts to attend to the things spoken by his servant."

The parish of Stewarton, at the period referred to, had for its minister a very worthy man, Mr Castlelaw; but, what is remarkable is, that the principal instrument of the revival was not he, but the minister of the neighbouring parish of Irvine, Mr David Dickson. Mr Dickson had been formerly Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow; and was settled in Irvine in 1618. His zeal against the Perth Articles exposed him to the rage of the bishops, who summoned him before the High Commission Court, and after subjecting him to the most insulting treatment, banished him to Turriff in the north of Scotland. To all this Mr Dickson meekly replied, "The will of the Lord be done; though ye cast me off, the Lord will take me up. Send me whither you will, I hope my Master will go with me, as being his own weak servant." By the intercession of the Earl of Eglinton, whose countess, though reared in her youth amidst the splendour of a court, was a humble and devoted Christian, and exerted all her influence for the promotion of religion and the protection of its faithful ministers, Dickson was restored to his beloved people in Irvine. After his return in 1623, his ministry was singularly honoured of God for the conviction and conversion of multitudes. Crowds of persons, under spiritual concern, came from all the parishes round about Irvine, and many settled in the neighbourhood to enjoy his ministrations. Thus encouraged, Mr Dickson began a weekly lecture on the Mondays, being the market day in Irvine, when the town was thronged with people from the country. The people from the parish of Stewarton, especially, availed themselves of this privilege, to which they were strongly encouraged by their own minister. The impression produced upon them was very singular. In a large hall within the manse there would often be assembled upwards of a hundred persons, under deep impressions of religion, waiting to converse with the minister, whose public discourses had led them to discover the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and to cry, "What shall we do to be saved ?" And it was by means of these week-day discourses and meetings that the famous Stewarton revival, or the Stewarton sickness, as it was called, began, and spread afterwards from house to house for many miles along the valley in Ayrshire through which the Stewarton water runs. Extravagances, as might be expected, took

The excitation produced by this revival continued from 1625 to 1630, when it was followed by a similar effusion of the Holy Spirit in another part of the country. This took place at the Kirk of Shotts. And here also it is observable that the honour of being instrumental in originating the revival was reserved, not to the minister of the parish, though a good man, but to one of those faithful servants who had suffered for their non-conformity to the innovations of the time; the Lord thus signally accomplishing his word, "Them that honour me, will I honour." The circumstances which led to this revival were the following. Some ladies of rank who had occasion to travel that way, had received civilities at different times from Mr Hance, the minister of Shotts; and on one occasion, when their carriage broke down near the manse, he kindly invited them to alight and remain at his house till it could be repaired. During their stay they noticed that the house stood much in need of repair, and in return for his attentions, they got a new manse erected for him in a better situation. Mr Hance, on receiving so substantial a favour, waited on the ladies to thank them, and wished to know if there was any thing in his power he could do to testify his gratitude. I rejoice to say, that at this time, as well as afterwards, the noblest of the daughters of Scotland distinguished themselves by their zeal in the good cause. These ladies loved the Gospel and the persecuted ministers who were witnessing for its purity. They, therefore, gladly seized the opportunity of asking Mr Hance to invite such of them as they named to assist at the sacrament, in order that they might enjoy the benefit of their ministrations, and afford to others an opportunity of partaking in a privilege at this time rarely enjoyed. To this the minister gladly consented; and information of it spreading abroad, brought together an immense concourse of people from all parts of the country, to attend the dispensation of the ordinance, which was fixed for Sabbath the 20th of June 1630.

Among the ministers who were invited on this occasion, at the request of these ladies, were the noble and venerable champion, Robert Bruce of Kinnaird, who was still able to preach with his wonted majesty and authority, and John Livingstone, chaplain to the Countess of Wigton, who was afterwards settled some time in Ireland, but

who at this time was only a preacher, and about | twenty-seven years of age. Much of the spirit of light and love was imparted during the services of the communion Sabbath; and so filled were they with joy and peace, that, instead of retiring to rest, the communicants joined together in little companies, and spent the whole night in devotional exercises.

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mon, before the last prayer.
But the power of
God accompanying the sermon, was so felt by
them, that they could not come away till all was
over. When they returned to take their horses,
they called for some refreshment before they
mounted; but when it was set upon the table,
they all looked to one another, none of them dar-
ing to touch it till a blessing was asked; and as
they were not accustomed formerly to attend to
such things, one of them at last remarked, 'I
think we should ask a blessing.' The others as-
sented at once to this proposal, and put it on one
of their number to do it, to which he readily con-
sented. And when they had done, they could not
rise till another had returned thanks. They went
on their way more sedately than they used to do,
but none of them mentioned their inward concern
to the others, only now and then one would say,
Was it not a great sermon we heard?' another
would answer, I never heard the like of it.'
They went to Edinburgh, but, instead of attend-
ing the amusements, they kept their rooms the
greater part of the time they were there, which
was only about two days, when they were all quite
weary of Edinburgh, and proposed to return home.
Upon the way home, they did not discover the
state of their minds to one another; and after
arriving in Glasgow they kept themselves very
much retired, coming seldom out. At last, one of
them made a visit to his friend, and declared to him
what God had done for him at the Kirk of Shotts.
The other frankly owned the concern that he had
been brought under at the same time; and both of
them proceeding to the third, and finding him in the
same state of mind, they all three agreed imme-
diately to begin a fellowship meeting They con-
tinued to maintain a practice suitable to their pro-
fession for the remainder of their lives, and became
eminently useful in their day and generation."

It had not been usual before this time to have service on the Monday after the dispensation of the Lord's Supper; but God had vouchsafed so much of his gracious presence on the preceding days of this occasion, that they knew not how to part on the Monday, without thanksgiving and praise. Mr Livingstone was with difficulty prevailed on to preach the sermon. In the memoirs of his life, written by himself, he gives the following memorandum in reference to this sermon: "The only day in all my life wherein I found most of the presence of God in preaching was on a Monday after the communion, preaching in the churchyard of Shotts, June 21, 1630. The night before, I had been with some Christians, who spent the night in prayer and conference. When I was alone in the fields, about eight or nine of the clock in the morning, before we were to go to sermon, there came such a misgiving of spirit upon me, considering my unworthiness and weakness, and the multitude and expectation of the people, that I was consulting with myself to have stolen away somewhere, and declined that day's preaching, but that I thought I durst not so far distrust God, and so went to sermon, and got good assistance about an hour and a half upon the points which I had meditated on, Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.' Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26. And in the end, offering to close with some words of exhortation, I was led on about an hour's time, in a strain of exhortation and warning, with such liberty and melting of heart, as I never had the like in public all my life time."

To this sermon, under the blessing of God, no less than five hundred people ascribed their conversion. And in gratitude for such a remarkable token of the divine countenance on this day, the Church of Scotland has ever since devoted a part of the Monday after a communion Sabbath, to the duty of public thanksgiving.

From this, and other well attested instances, it appears that the revival on this occasion was not characterised by those faintings, exclamations, raptures, and other enthusiastic excesses, which have brought discredit on similar work in our own country and elsewhere. The Word of God sank deep into the hearts of the hearers, forcing them to retire, like the stricken deer, into solitude, there to weep and mourn, till the dart was extracted by the Hand from which it had come, and the balm of consolation was poured into the bleeding wound. It was some time before the modesty of the converts would permit them to own the change which had been wrought upon them, till, like the spring of water, which cannot be controlled or concealed, the grace of God evinced its power by bursting from the once "stony heart," and pouring itself forth in the pure, and peaceful, and fertilising stream of a holy conversation.

Some incidents occurred on that remarkable Monday, one of which, as illustrating the striking effect produced by Mr Livingstone's discourse, may be now related. "Three young gentlemen belonging to Glasgow had made an appointment to go to Edinburgh to attend some public amusements. Having alighted at Shotts to take breakfast, one of their number proposed to go and hear sermon, probably more from curiosity than any other motive; and for greater expedition, they all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and in the principal Towns

arranged to come away at the end of the ser

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THE

SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN HERALD,

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WHEN the Christian dispensation was first made known to mankind, corruption of morals had risen to a most alarming height. Human sacrifices were very generally offered up on the altars of their pretended deities; infants were exposed to suffering and death by their unnatural parents; slaves were treated by their masters with the utmost harshness and severity, and were frequently deprived of life upon the smallest provocation; the most inhuman sports were encouraged by the legislature, and formed the highest delight of the people polygamy universally prevailed, and every species of licentiousness was indulged in without a feeling of remorse, or even a sense of shame. Awful is the picture which St. Paul gives us of the state of the Roman empire at this period, and his account is fully verified by their own historians and poets. The city of Corinth had reached to such a degree of moral degradation, that even the Roman Legion was not permitted to enter within its gates, lest they should be completely corrupted by luxury, effeminacy, and vice.

Yet both at Rome and Corinth the apostles of our Lord proclaimed the doctrine of salvation through the cross, and called upon men to renounce their crimes, and to live godly, soberly, and righteously, in the world; and their preaching was effectual in the conversion of multitudes of the poor who once were the votaries of guilt and crime, but now were "washed, and justified, and sanctified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of the living God." The sacred historians give us a lively and interesting picture of the change that was effected by the manifestation of the truth, accompanied by the influences of the No. 27. JULY 6, 1839.-14d.]

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Holy Ghost, upon the dispositions and conduct of the primitive Christians.

Honest and industrious in the discharge of the active duties of life, they seized upon every opportunity of engaging in devotional exercises, of hearing the Word of God, and of encouraging each other in the faith and practice of true religion. The drunkard abandoned his intoxicating cup, the unjust renounced the gains of dishonesty, the avaricious became generous and liberal, the cruel, benevolent and gentle, and the unchaste, patterns of purity and virtue. The spirit of Christ dwelt in every mind, and his law was the guide of every life.

Amid the severest insults and injuries the disciples of Christ were mild and gentle, and like their divine Master, with their dying breath they implored the forgiveness of heaven to their inhuman persecutors. St. Luke tells us that "they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all as every man had need. And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people." After the apostles of our Lord had slept the sleep of death, Christianity still continued to extend its triumphs and to obtain many proselytes, both among Jews and Heathens. Comparatively few individuals of rank and learning joined themselves to the number of the followers of Jesus, but multitudes in humble life embraced the knowledge, and exhibited the practice, of genuine godliness. Striking is the appeal which one of the first apologists of our holy religion makes in behalf of his Christian brethren. "Among us," says he, "the meanest [SECOND SERIES. VOL. I.

labourers, though unable to discourse or dispute | lowed fountain of our purity and our bliss. To

for the utility of their religion, demonstrate its excellence by their lives and good works. They do not critically weigh their words, and recite elegant orations, but they perform honest and virtuous actions. Being buffeted, they strike not again, nor sue those at law who spoil and plunder them; they give liberally to such as ask, and they love their neighbour as themselves." "Your jails," adds another, "swarm with criminals of your own religion, but you will not find in them one Christian, except he be there because he is a Christian, and purely on account of his faith." Even the most inveterate enemies of the followers of Christ hore testimony to the excellence of their morals. Pliny, a Roman magistrate, who was actively employed in their persecution, thus writes concerning them to the Emperor Trajan: "The whole of their guilt or error is, that they meet on a certain day before it is light, and address themselves in prayer to Christ as to some god, binding themselves by a solemn oath, not for any purposes of wickedness, but never to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor to deny a trust when they shall be called upon to deliver it up." Julian the apostate, in like manner, in an epistle to a heathen pontiff, strongly recommends the imitation of the sanctity, the charity, and other virtues of the Christians. "It is," says he, "a disgrace to the Pagans to disregard those of their own religion, while the impious Galileans, (as he is pleased to term them,) do kind offices to strangers and even to enemies."

After public religious instruction has subsisted in a country for many generations, it is more difficult to trace its direct operation upon the opinions and habits of the humbler orders of society. It gives birth to valuable institutions, which in their turn unite and co-operate with it in producing the most beneficial effects upon human character. Still we are daily permitted to observe its divine influence in that patient industry, that sobriety of manners, that conjugal affection, that attention to the duties of social and domestic life, and that cheerful contentment with their lot, which in general mark the conduct of the poor in those countries where Christianity is preached in its primitive simplicity and beauty.

That sacred ordinance which inspires them with the fear of God renders them, at the same time, loyal and patriotic citizens. In the sanctuary they are taught to honour the king, to be subject to the powers that be, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake, to obey magistrates, and to lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty.

And it is an important fact, that at the present moment, as in former periods, the very same individuals who have attempted to sow the seeds of sedition and anarchy in our native land, have also laboured with unwearied assiduity to destroy the altar, to render the ministers of religion objects of contempt and abhorrence, and to poison the hal

the influence of public religious instruction we owe in a great measure that energy of mind and freedom of thought and discussion which have preserved us from the calamities of despotism, on the one hand, and that industry and contentment which have delivered us, in some measure at least, from the still greater evils of popular licentiousness on the other.

And the services of the sanctuary have operated, perhaps more powerfully than any other cause, to preserve unimpaired the inestimable political advantages which we and our forefathers have so long enjoyed. But it is in the private character and habits of the humble follower of Jesus, who has been taught, by the energy of divine grace, to imbibe the spirit and imitate the example of his blessed Master, that we obtain the most convincing proof of the salutary influence of a preached Gospel. Ignorant of ancient lore, or of the various improvements in art and science which have marked the history of modern times, one precious volume is the treasure of his heart; he reads it with unwearied interest and attention, and he derives from it his rules of conduct, his sources of enjoyment, his consolations, and his hopes. When the morning sun arises, when the curtains of darkness are drawn around him, and often amid the bustle of active life, he ascends, in thought and affection, to the Author of his being, the Redeemer of his soul, and the Sanctifier of his heart and life; he unbosoms before God his wants, his sins, and his sorrows, and asks those heavenly aids which are requisite to fit him for duty, to preserve him from temptation, to prepare him for trial, and to render him meet for the enjoyment of heaven. His purest and highest delight is to assemble around him the children whom he loves with the fondest affection, and to teach them, by the force of example, by the influence of persuasion, and by the voice of affection, to know the God of their fathers, and to "serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind."

The sacred incense of domestic prayer and praise continually ascends to heaven from his holy dwelling. The day of the Lord is hailed as a season of holy rest and gladness; and, while in the temple of his God he listens to the message of reconciliation and mercy, he experiences a "peace which passeth all understanding." The ordinances of religion appear to him like streams from the fountain of bliss, intended to refresh the weary pilgrim, while he wanders through the wilderness of life to the land of rest. Under their purifying and comforting influence, poverty is turned into riches, and affliction into joy; and even amid the convulsive agonies of expiring nature, the good man is heard with holy exultation to exclaim, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be unto God, who giveth me the victory through Jesus Christ my Lord!" This is no ideal picture, it has probably been witnessed by many whom I now address; and it teaches us, in language the most

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