At the prayer meeting yesterday, the Rev. Mr. Williams said - For about fourteen nights we have been holding special services in North Frederick Street Chapel, and though, for reasons I need not now mention, we are under the necessity of holding them less frequently, I am happy to be able to state my deep conviction that there has not been a single night when decided good has not been done. From the first of our meetings the Holy Spirit was shed down on the people; persons were brought under conviction of sin, and many since that time have been led to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Saviour. I could not venture to say how many have been really converted, nor will I hazard a conjecture. But of this I am perfectly satisfied, that we will never know till the Day of Judgment the immense good realised in connection with that special effort, as well as in connection with the earnest and believing prayers presented to God. The case of one young man came under my notice last Lord's day. He had been attending my ministry for a considerable time, but was under no concern about his soul till last Lord's day. His Christian sister came to me on that day, with joy beaming on her countenance, saying that her brother under deep conviction of sin and that he was coming to speak with me in the evening. I saw him after the evening discourse and found him in great distress about his soul. I pointed him to Christ, and on shaking hands with me at parting, he said, —I am determined, Sir, that I will not sleep tonight till I have found rest to my soul. I saw him next night, and as soon as I saw him I knew there was a change. He told me at once that he had found peace in God through believing in Christ, and I have understood since, that on Monday morning, he began to talk of Christ to his fellow-workmen and to tell what great things God had done for him. On Monday night two men, one of them 30 years of age, the other 45, were sitting together weeping very much. They requested that prayer should be offered up on their behalf, which was done. After the meeting closed I went to them, and found them both rejoicing in Christ; and it is remarkable that the statement which God blessed for the salvation of these two men was precisely the same statement, and that they seemed to have come to the enjoyment of peace at the same moment. In my address I was stating something like this, that there were persons under conviction of sin who continued looking at their bad hearts and wishing that they were better. I said that, bad as their hearts were, they were a thousand times worse than they could believe them to be and the more that they looked at their hearts the more would they be in despair so that their only hope for peace was to look out of their hearts to Christ.
“The Scottish Guardian” September 2nd, 1859.