Rothiemay - Reginald Radcliffe (1859)
"I have also a very vivid recollection of a meeting which we held at Rothiemay, a rural parish a few miles from Huntly. A number of us accompanied Mr Radcliffe to help by fellowship and prayer. The church was crowded, and he commenced his address; but as he went on, we who had come with him felt the absence of the power of God, and with sinking hearts began to call upon God. He too felt that God was not speaking by him. He suddenly paused; said we must appeal to God, and he poured forth his soul in prayer. As he prayed, the house was as if shaken; every heart was moved; a great awe of God fell upon all, and God wrought mightily. As there was no possibility of dealing with the many anxious souls that night, to the astonishment of the more timid, Mr Radcliffe announced a meeting of inquirers, at an early hour the next morning, in that rural district. The Lord rebuked the weak faith of many, and honoured the faith of this servant, by filling the church the next morning with enquirers after God and His salvation.
From 'Recollections of Reginald Radcliffe,' by his wife. p69
Rothiemay, Rhynie, Marnoch, and many other places in the district were also visited, and the results were such as to rejoice the hearts of us all. p81
Rev. J. More, late of Cheltenham, now of Woolwich, thus describes one memorable occasion at Rothiemay, at which he was present: —" A number of earnest Christians were driven over with Mr Radcliffe in the private omnibus of the Duchess of Gordon. I very vividly remember that the journey was filled with a succession of prayer and praise. It was like the march of Jehoshaphat and his followers to the battle-field. It was a dismal, rainy, northern night, yet the Free Church, of which the venerable Mr W. Ingram is still the minister, was crowded to its utmost capacity. Never having seen anyone but a trained and ordained minister in a pulpit before, I remember still the peculiar and uncertain feeling that I had when Mr Radcliffe, in a light tweed suit, appeared in the pulpit. Pre¬sently he read the Epistle to the Laodicean Church and began his address in a very halting manner. I listened with increasing excitement, because I felt sure he would `stick'; and sure enough it seemed as if he did. ‘Ah,' thought I, ‘that comes of his not having gone through the college.' He covered his face with his hands as if ashamed, and the silence for a few minutes was oppressive. Then he burst into tears, and exclaimed in a voice trembling with emotion: Oh, dear friends, how can a poor worm like me describe to you the glory of my Lord Jesus Christ?' His mouth was opened, and for twenty minutes the truth poured from his lips like a torrent. At the close of the address hardly anybody left, and the workers proceeded to con¬verse with the anxious. I had never attempted such work before, but a beginning had to be made. There was witnessed a sight which must be a precious memory in heaven: these hard-headed unemotional people were sob¬bing all over the place, and were literally asking, ‘What must we do to be saved?' It was an easy and grateful ministry for anyone who knew anything of the way, to point stricken souls, such as these, to the Saviour. This one meeting may be taken as a sample of the meetings held nightly in the hamlets and towns of the north of Scotland." p82