The Lewis Revival 1949 - Part 1 — Colin Peckham

Now, once again, on your behalf, I welcome Dr. Colin Peckham. I was reflecting last night when I eventually got home. I felt that last night he laid the table. He presented a broad canvas. And I'm convinced that what we're about to hear this morning, in this first lecture, and also in the second, will begin to fill in the details.

Oh, now. Ha, ha. Ha, ha. Well, it's good to be with you again. And God bless you for coming this morning. May God, may the Lord be with us. I want to speak this morning on the 1949 to 52 revival of the island of Lewis.

The 1949–52 Revival and Lewis’s History of Revivals

Often, people speak about this revival and say the Lewis revival. Dr. Peggy Harker, Mr. Peckham. There you are. That's not compass. That's another language you don't understand. But I understand. She said, speak a little louder, please.

That's instructions from the back seat. Ha, ha. I'm speaking on the 1949 revival to 52 and the island of Lewis. Often, people think of that revival. When they speak about the Lewis revival, they think of the Duncan Campbell revival, 1949 to 52.

But that is not the only revival that came to Lewis. Lewis has had many revivals. And so when you speak about the Lewis revival to anybody there, they think of various ones, various revivals. People were disadvantaged in that they didn't have the scriptures in their own language until 1767 when they got the New Testament in 1801.

Early Spiritual Movements and the Spread of Revival

So that's a very important part of the Christianity. And they came. And so there's a great problem. Alexander MacLeod, there's nobody worthy of that. He preached so mightily, sat and wept and cried. And he had to stop in distress of soul.

He had his first communion meeting on the 25th of June. There were six from his community and 14 from other communities. There were 20 people. He went ahead the next year, 1928, when 9 ,000 people gathered in Ewing.

Lovely roads. They walked over. There they got. They got. 9 ,000. Move of the spirit of God in Lewis. It changed Lewis forever. The revival would spread. And then just after that, 1959 revival, Ulster Revival, Scottish Revival in Ness, where there are 14 villages right in the very north of Lewis.

There, God blessed mightily, particularly in Ness in 1859. And then in 1900 and 1901, there was one which began at Stornoway, at Carloway. Carloway had been, Carloway. And Stornoway spoke of this as one of the deepest spiritual movements that had ever been known in the island.

That is 1900, 1901. And that spread all over, also from Carloway. And then from 1903 began Carloway, the surrounding villages. And then again in 1903, all the way to 1912, it centered in Carloway. And all the areas on the west coast there were near to Carloway.

The 1923–26 Revival Under Roderick MacLeod

And then from 1923 to 1926, there was another mighty work under Reverend Roderick MacLeod, the Free Church, a revival of considerable intensity broke out in the district. And it was there for, whilst he was there, he left for Dunbarton after 1926.

Repeated Revivals in Point and the 1939 Movement

And then in Point, which is about 12 miles from Stornoway, there were continual revivals. A minister of the Free Church called Reverend William Campbell went there. And he had revival in 1934 in his church, 1939, 1949, 1957.

Four revivals in God mightily blessed. So Lewis knew what revivals were. And then came the 1939 revival, it was widespread. Some say it started in Carloway, some say it started elsewhere. But it was widespread over all different places in Lewis.

Prayer Meetings and the Character of the 1939 Revival

And people were seeking God everywhere. It was a revival where there were quite a number of manifestations, far more so than the 1949 revival. And there was no minister in the 1939 revival. It was in prayer meetings.

And people came together for prayer, and then as they prayed, the Spirit of God would fall upon them, and people would get converted there in the prayer meetings or later on. And so this spread all over.

It was far more widespread than the 1949 revival, which I'm speaking of. The 1939 revival had enormous impact. And some of those young men who were saved went off. The war interrupted them. But they would continue, and so they continued to pray.