This visit to the United Kingdom by Moody and Sankey has caused me to rethink what I know about revivals. I have had a definition for revival, which has fitted very well for over twenty years, but this visit has caused me problems. For the moment I have had to create a new section on the website to categorise it.
One of the problems I have come across is deciding if the almost one hundred meetings in Scotland were as fruitful as those in the rest of the UK. My only source is "The Christian," which covered nearly all the meetings. I am assuming from the language that there were different reporters in each country, or at least in Scotland. The Scottish reporter used very dour, religious expressions which makes it difficult to judge how powerful the meetings were.
Nearly everything seems right to describe the visit as a revival. Firstly, there were prayer meetings in many places to prepare for the visit of the evangelists; something that is crucial if one wants Holy Spirit to break out. Then, in every town the people were hungry and expectant; another vital ingredient for revival. Nearly every venue was full to overflowing and on many occasions there were one or even two overflow venues. Now, the question remains as to whether the people's eagerness to hear the evangelists was due to what they had heard about their visits in 1873-5 and 1881-3 or because they were desperate to experience something of God. I believe it was the latter. Their rapt attention and eagerness to stay until the end of the meetings persuaded me that they were there for more than interest's sake.
The aims of Moody on this visit were different from the other two. In his absence he had worked out the importance of repentance to ensure that people would continue on the right way. Secondly, he realised that setting the churchgoers on fire was really important. Moody therefore preached a lot on the importance of serving God once someone was saved. If he could set Christians on fire, who knows how many lives would be impacted if these people stepped out in their calling, rather than just sit in church. This was why he decided to make many short visits to churches, rather than stay in one spot for months and get all people to come to him. In this way he expected to get to more Christians who he could encourage.
The key part of the services was the after-meeting where Christian workers would speak to those seeking salvation and attempt to lead them to Christ. Unfortunately, one drawback of a tight schedule was that often Moody did not have the time to do an after-meeting, so we do not know the fruit of his labours. Moody's workload was extraordinary. In Scotland he spoke in over 90 towns in four months; he took Saturday off, so that is only 103 days, and he often spoke three times a day and just think of the travelling time going all around Scotland, except for the islands.
This is where the main problems arise. For something to be a revival requires a number of salvations and although some would have been saved just through the preaching, the main source of converts was the after-meetings. So, if there was no time for an after-meeting Moody could not draw the net in, something he was very skilled at doing. Also, Moody constantly complained about there not being enough workers to staff the after-meetings, so this would have restricted the number of salvations as well. Moody often spoke about how to go about the work in the after-meeting; training the people.
Except for on a couple of occasions the reporter in Scotland reported on the number of salvations resulting from the meetings as being only known when we get to Heaven, or some such similar religious language. During other reports from outside Scotland, there would be comments on how powerful the meetings were; how Holy Spirit was in Moody's addresses and how 'many' people were saved. These were quite enough for me to believe that that criterion for revival had been satisfied. The question remains, were there many salvations in Scotland? Was the tone of the reporting hiding 'many' salvations, or was the tone justified? I think it was, but I have no proof.
The main problem I have regarding my definition is that for it to be a revival I insist that salvations must spill over into other areas and not just be in one town as a result of an evangelist. The reason for this is that I believe that an evangelist/revivalist carries a revival anointing, which is different to a sovereign move of God that is hovering over an area. In these cases the revival does not stop when the revivalist leaves. Lay evangelists really began in the 1858-64 revival and from then on they regularly went around the nation evangelising. Up until then, revival would come to a church and then go out around the district, but now people came from the districts into the towns where the evangelists preached.
For me to be sure this was a revival according to my definition, Holy Spirit hovering over an area, there would need to be revivals popping up in different parts of the UK, but I can find hardly anything happening elsewhere. One good sign was that the anointing was not just through Moody and Sankey - other men helped preach in the overflows, with the same kind of results as Moody. Another was that in many towns pastors got together to continue meetings once the evangelists had left. The problem is that I have found no reports on any of these meetings. If those meetings bore good fruit as well then that would confirm a revival.
It was reported that the condition of the Church in Scotland was pretty dire at the time of Moody's visit. This might explain why people were hungry to hear Moody as they were not getting what they needed from their churches. One of the amazing aspects of this Mission was the extraordinary degree of unity that was shown all across the UK, far in excess of what happened during the evangelists' other visits. In virtually every town all denominations took part. The most iconic moment during the Scotland visit, was in the final meeting, when the about to be heads of the Church of Scotland and the Free Church, shared a large chair due to overcrowding.
Another common theme throughout the Mission, but maybe more so in Scotland was Moody's attack on drinking. So much pain came from the addiction to whisky in Scotland and Moody attacked it mercilessly, with the result that many signed pledges to give it up. Throughout his tour through the UK he met people who had come to the Lord through his ministry during his previous visits. He commented after speaking in nearly 50 towns in Scotland, that he found that most of the ministers he came across had been converted through his ministry.
This was a great Mission, with many, many people saved and thousands of Christians taught and encouraged to go out and change their nation. Did the fruit extend beyond the meetings - I don't know!
All the reports from Northern Ireland, Wales and England are linked to this page.
This is a summary of their Scottish mission, from "the Christian."
Messrs. Moody & Sankey in Scotland.
Our readers have been kept fully informed from week to week of the movements of these brethren, during their Gospel tour throughout Scotland, now concluded. Some notes and reflections, by way of summing up the characteristic features of the campaign, will be of interest to those who, in spirit, have followed the evangelists from place to place.
It may be remarked, at the outset, that nothing would be more foolish than to institute comparisons or contrasts between this visit and the two that have preceded it. The circumstances of the former missions in Scotland were entirely different; fewer centres were touched, and the stay in each place was much longer, generally speaking than on the present occasion. Mr Moody was led to the conclusion, on commencing the work last November, that the best way to fill up the brief time at his disposal would be to devote special attention to "the young men of the provinces," leaving the great seats of population out of account. This plan was faithfully adhered to, with the exception that Inverness and Aberdeen had each a week allotted to them. We think the results have proved that the decision of the evangelist, which was endorsed by the two cooperating committees at Glasgow and Edinburgh, showed wisdom and foresight.
It may be said by those who are desirous of criticising, that the stay in most of the places was so short that comparatively little fruit could be expected. When all the factors in the situation are taken into account, this contention will not hold good. Mr Moody often remarks that he would much rather set a hundred men to work than attempt to do it all himself. He and his colleague have acted on this sound principle during their sojourn in Scotland, and they have certainly been justified. All they really aimed at was to infuse a fresh spirit of realised responsibility and of consecrated zeal into the Christian churches wherever they went, leaving it to work out its natural result in a quickened practical resolve on the part of those churches to care for spiritually lapsed or semi-lapsed in their own communities. That is the ideal state of matters and the conviction of its necessity has, at any rate, been sharply brought home to the professed Christians throughout Scotland. It they have not fully risen to the height of their recognised privilege and duty, that is not the fault of the evangelists.
But much has been done in this direction. It would be very difficult to estimate the number of earnest and competent workers who have been stirred up to special and more or less prolonged effort in connection with this Scottish mission. Among the places visited by Mr Moody and Mr Sankey, numbering almost a hundred, there are very few that have not had a season either of preparatory united prayer and work or a time of "following up": in many cases there have been both. Our earnest hope is that these special endeavours by local or other friends will be kept up and that the fires will spread into corners untouched by the influence of our American brethren.
While urging this, we thankfully record that the direct and ascertained fruits of the meetings held and addressed by the evangelists themselves have been by no means small. We share Mr Moody's deep-rooted objection to any numbering of the converts. All movements of the kind have their residuum of unsatisfactory cases; but the good reports everywhere heard as to the stability of the converts brought in on former visits of our brethren, lead us to the confident belief that a like result will follow the mission just terminated. The Scottish people, as a whole, are so conversant with the doctrines of the Christian faith, that no prolonged preaching course is needed to prepare them for an intelligent saving acceptance of the truth. What is mostly wanted are a few such sharp and telling strokes, directed to the conscience and the heart, as will induce men and women to act up to the fulness of head knowledge they possess. Mr Moudy has aimed at bringing this about in his brief and almost flying visits from district to district. Many have unmistakably been the slain of the Lord, and the responsibility of the local under-shepherds will be great if the many young believers throughout Scotland are not confirmed in the faith, and if the still wavering ones are not led to the point of definite decision. Mr Moody has no patent process. He certainly has open vision as to the state of the unregenerate man, and the absolute need for the new birth and the Spirit of the Lord has anointed him with a burning zeal that is too uncommon, with a pathos that sometimes seems irresistible, and with great persuasive powers of utterance. But all these gifts are equally at the disposal of every servant of God who craves their possession.
As in the two previous missions of Mr Moody and Mr Sankey amongst us, a great outstanding feature of the meetings has been the spirit of unity shown by those of diverse denominational names. Indeed, it exceeded anything experienced by our friends before and went far beyond their most hopeful anticipations. It has been conspicuously shown that Jesus Christ and his great salvation form a rallying ground for common effort among all who hold evangelical views of truth that no other theme possesses. Those who differ strongly on many subordinate though important matters of creed or church government, will gladly join hands in order to save their fellow men. The ecclesiastical world of Scotland is at present in a very disturbed condition, so that the well-nigh universal manifestation of unity in connection with the labour of the Evangelists is all the more remarkable.
The extremely strong position taken by Mr Moody on the omnipresent drink question and his scathing denunciations of the making, the vending and consumption of Scotch whisky, have been frequently noted in our weekly reports. The cordial endorsement of his utterances by the great bulk of his audiences affords ground for hope that the national conscience is being educated up to the point of practical and effective warfare against this gigantic curse.
With a few conspicuous exceptions, the daily press throughout Scotland has been friendly in its attitude towards the work of the evangelists. 'The Scottish Leader' alone, among all its contemporaries, rose to the occasion by giving full and daily accounts; but many of the local broadsheets did good service in scattering the utterances of Mr Moody and Mr McNeill. The accession of the latter to the evangelistic ranks was a very noteworthy circumstance and is likely to have lasting results for good in many parts of Scotland. His popular gifts are having the fullest scope among his own countrymen, and none rejoices more in his success than Mr Moody, who was largely responsible for setting his brother evangelist free for this service.
Of Mr Sankey's special share in the work little need be said in addition to what our weekly notes contained. The marvel is that he has been preserved in such excellent voice throughout our changeful winter and with so much exposure in journeying. The commonly expressed opinion has been that he was singing even better at the close of the mission than at its start, and all will join in the prayer that his consecrated voice may long retain its wonderful power as a vehicle for sounding forth the music of the Gospel.
As a final comment, we may say that the work of the past months has proved to demonstration that the old Gospel has lost nothing of its power to attract the masses of the people. Mr Moody's methods of preaching have not changed since he first came among us. He raises aloft the ancient Pauline banner, on which is inscribed "Christ and Him crucified " The people everywhere have flocked to it in their thousands, and have found in its glorious. motto the sufficient and efficient antidote for sin and all its woes.
From, "The Christian," April 7th, 1892.