The mark of an awakening - Glenn Conjurske
The Mark of an Awakening
by Glenn Conjurske
I use the term “awakening” to speak of what is usually called a revival. The terms may be used indifferently, but I prefer here to distinguish them. A revival affects the church, an awakening the world. As I here use the terms, an awakening may be the result of a revival, but they are not the same thing. An awakening awakens the ungodly to a sense of the reality of unseen and eternal things—-awakens them to the reality of God and heaven and hell—-awakens them from their carelessness and thoughtlessness of eternal realities, much as the cry of “fire!” would do at midnight. So far as it concerns individuals, I carefully distinguish between awakening and conviction. Fear is usually the main element in awakening. Shame is the main element in conviction. The shame is a deeper work than the fear, but both the fear and the shame are the work of the Holy Spirit of God.
In saying “the mark of an awakening,” I do not mean to imply that this is the only mark. There are various marks which are more or less common to awakenings, such as the abandonment of sports and entertainments, and even the suspension of daily business. Awakenings have also emptied taverns, and left policemen and courts idle for lack of crime. Outcries, prostrations, convulsions, and various other physical phenomena have been characteristic of the most powerful awakenings. All of this I could illustrate by numerous examples from history. But the mark of which I speak seems to be universal to all real awakenings. It seems to belong to the nature of the thing.
This mark is that religion becomes the chief topic of talk among all classes of people. Salvation engrosses the thoughts, and therefore the conversation, of all men, wherever the awakening extends. Men who were sound asleep but yesterday are now wide awake. Their sins stare them in the face. An eternal hell yawns before them. An offended God sits above them, and they learn to fear him, whom but yesterday they despised.
Some awakenings are local, resulting from the prayers or labors of a particular people, or the preaching of a particular man. I suppose that all awakenings begin locally, but those which are deep and strong will spread, sometimes over a large district, and sometimes over a whole nation. There has never been an awakening which spread over the world, or over an entire continent, but some have encompassed a whole nation. In all of them religion has become the chief topic of talk among the people. The historical proofs and examples of this are neither weak nor few. I have gathered up a few of these over the years, and here present a number of them to my readers. These I give with as little comment as the case will permit.
Of the revival in Northampton, Jonathan Edwards writes, “Presently upon this, a great and earnest concern about the great things of religion, and the eternal world, became universal in all parts of the town, and among persons of all degrees, and all ages; the noise amongst the dry bones waxed louder and louder. All other talk but about spiritual and eternal things was soon thrown by; all the conversation in all companies, and upon all occasions, was upon these things only, unless so much as was necessary for people carrying on their ordinary secular business. Other discourse than of the things of religion, would scarcely be tolerated in any company.”
Of the Great Awakening of 1740 we read, “The alteration in the face of religion here is altogether surprising. Never did the people show so great a willingness to attend sermons, nor the preachers greater zeal and diligence in performing the duties of their function. Religion is become the subject of most conversations. No books are in request but those of piety and devotion; and instead of idle songs and ballads, the people are everywhere entertaining themselves with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. All which, under God, is owing to the successful labors of the Rev. Mr. Whitefield.”
“In September, 1798, McGready held his sacramental meeting at Muddy River. God’s power was there also. All over the field to which McGready ministered the home work became general. Surpassing any thing of the sort in all history was this revival without preaching, without public meetings, without any high pressure methods. The houses and the deep forests of Logan County rang with the prayers of souls in distress. While so many awakened souls were in solemn prayer, it is remarkable that deliverance was to most of them delayed. One who lived among them at that time has left his testimony, that in going from house to house all through McGready’s congregations he heard only one theme talked of. If he came upon a group of old people, they were weeping and talking about their souls. If he encountered the young people, either singly or in groups, they were in tears, and spoke only about their souls’ salvation.”
Of the same awakening McGready himself says, “Through these two congregations already mentioned, and through Red river, my other congregation, awakening work went on with power under every sermon. The people seemed to hear as for eternity. In every house, and almost every company, the whole conversation with people, was about the state of their souls.”
In an awakening in Connecticut in 1812, “The scenes which were now passing before us cannot be described, nor can they be conceived of but by those who have witnessed scenes of a similar nature. The eyes of God’s people sparkled with joy inexpressible, while the countenances of sinners were depicted with distress and horror. The things of eternity were now regarded as realities of infinite moment. From the gray-headed sinner to the little child, the question was daily asked, `What must I do to be saved?’ Religion was now the great theme of discourse. In the family, in the street, in the field, and in the shop, it engrossed almost the whole conversation.”
Under the ministry of Asahel Nettleton, “The interest became so intense in every part of the town, that whenever Mr. Nettleton was seen to enter a house, almost the whole neighborhood would immediately assemble to hear from his lips the word of life. Husbandmen would leave their fields, mechanics their shops, and females their domestic concerns, to inquire the way to eternal life. Religion was the great and all-absorbing theme in almost all companies, and on almost all occasions.”
Under the ministry of Charles G. Finney, “The work became so general throughout the city that in all places of public resort, in stores and public houses, in banks, in the street and in public conveyances, and everywhere, the work of salvation that was going on was the absorbing topic.”
Under the ministry of Jacob Knapp, “Among the converts in this meeting were persons of all classes; many of them were merchants, doctors, lawyers, judges, and city officials. There were four attorneys who professed conversion in a single day. Many of the experiences were clear, striking, and marvellous. Religion was the serious topic of conversation in the market-places and along the streets.”
Under the ministry of Daniel Baker, “All secular business seemed for the time to be laid aside and forgotten. Religion appeared the all-engrossing subject of thought and conversation.” Again, “On each day the interest of the meeting increased, and every argument and appeal fell upon the attentive audience with deeper and deeper solemnity. The business of the town ceased; conversation on common topics ceased; and the mind seemed to be driven in upon itself, in the business of strict and solemn self-examination.”
Under the ministry of Jabez Swan, “Religion became the topic of conversation everywhere. Everybody was for or against it. I was the chief target for marksmen.”
Under the labors of a colporteur of the American Tract Society in 1850, “By this time the pious people in the church had awoke, and all were at work with books and tracts. Business was almost suspended in the village, and religion was the only theme.”
In 1857, “The public mind was thoroughly roused, and the ‘great revival’ was the all-absorbing theme in hotels, stores, shops, taverns, railroad cars, and everywhere. The religious and secular press, especially in the rural districts, teemed with items of intelligence on this one great subject, the facts of the revival being the absorbing theme.”
Following a meeting held by A. B. Earle, “The Spirit of God is moving with mighty power; it does seem as though the place was being shaken from centre to circumference; old and young are coming to Christ; and religion seems to be the theme in every shop and store in the village.”
During the Civil War, and also in the wake of a meeting held by Earle, “The tokens of the approach of God in His majesty and glory became apparent. … Soon the fruits began to appear. It was indeed a surprise to many of our churches. … Meetings began to be multiplied and filled with deeply anxious souls. Soon converts began to be multiplied, and many were amazed and in doubt, saying one to another, `What meaneth this?’ Instead of the war and the condition of the country, which had been so long the all-engrossing theme, religion became the subject of conversation in the corners of the streets, the marts of business, and the workshops and mills. All classes and all ages were alike moved, from the little school child to those who had grown gray in the service of Satan.”
The same was true a century earlier, when the nation was embroiled in the disputes which brought forth the American Revolution. Francis Asbury wrote in 1776, “The multitudes that attended on this occasion, returning home all alive to God, spread the flame through their respective neighbourhoods, which ran from family to family: so that within four weeks, several hundreds found the peace of God. And scarce any conversation was to be heard throughout the circuit, but concerning the things of God: either the complainings of the prisoners, groaning under the spirit of bondage unto fear; or the rejoicing of those whom the Spirit of adoption taught to cry, `Abba, Father.’ The unhappy disputes between England and her colonies, which just before had engrossed all our conversation, seemed now in most companies to be forgot, while things of far greater importance lay so near the heart. I have gone into many, and not small companies, wherein there did not appear to be one careless soul: and the far greater part seemed perfectly happy in a clear sense of the love of God.”
In the revival of 1859, “The attention of the community was quite arrested, and the people spake of little else but the revival. The business of the world was, to a great extent, laid aside; religion seemed to take its proper place—-the first place; the salvation of the soul seemed to be the one thing needful; many almost forgot to take their regular food—-became pale and weak. Their great anxiety appeared to be `What must I do to be saved?”
Though I do not care for the jargon in which he does so, G. Campbell Morgan bears witness to the same fact in the Welsh revival, saying, “The revival is far more widespread than the fire zone. In this sense you may understand that the fire zone is where the meetings are actually held, and where you feel the flame that burns. But even when you come out of it, and go into railway trains, or into a shop, a bank, anywhere, men everywhere are talking of God.”
To these testimonies I might add yet others, but I fear their sameness may weary the reader. Yet in their sameness lies their force. All of the above are independent accounts, coming from persons of different denominations, widely separated in time and location, yet all telling exactly the same story. This is the mark of a real awakening. So far as I know anything about it, the present generation has never seen such an awakening. There are some very obvious reasons for this. The first lies in the grip which the ultra-refined and all-pervasive modern world has upon the souls of men. Men are so satiated with sinful pleasures that hunger and thirst can hardly be said to exist any more. The curses of modern society, in the hands of the prince of this world, have done their work, binding men fast in cords which never existed in past generations.
The second reason lies in the lukewarmness of the church—-itself so much under the influence of the world that it has lost its ability to effectually counteract it. For these reasons generation after generation passes by, and we see no awakening. The present state of Society calls for a more zealous, more spiritual church than the world has yet seen, and in place of that all we can show is a church which is weak and soft and lukewarm and worldly. I believe the only real hope for an awakening among the ungodly lies in a revival in the church.
Glen Conjurske