Introduction to Breadalbane
Breadalbane is a region surrounding Loch Tay, a lake in Scotland, about 70 miles north of Glasgow. It was in this area, from 1816 to 1818, that a revival took place.
Region of Scotland known as Breadalbane (Loch Tay center)
Introduction to Communion Seasons
This revival, along with others in Scotland, was associated with communion seasons, which preceded what later became known as camp meetings. These communion seasons, also referred to as Holy Fairs, typically lasted from Thursday till Monday. Due to insufficient lodging for the size of crowds that would gather, camping at the event site was often necessary.
During a communion season, a restricted communion service (closed communion) was conducted on Sundays, with communion being offered only to those who had previously met their church’s qualifications for participation. Qualified individuals typically carried evidence of their qualification, often in the form of a metal token.
Communion Tokens
Preaching at a communion season
John Macdonald
A Leading Figure in the Revival
Three years before the 1816 Breadalbane Revival began, John Macdonald (1779-1849), then 34 years old, was pastoring a church in Urquhart, Scotland. This man later became known as the “Apostle of the North.” It was in Urquhart that he conducted his first communion season in 1813, with 10,000 people present. The sermon he delivered on the Sunday of that weekend had such an anointing attached to it that it brought tremendous conviction into the hearts of the lost, as we read in this short testimonial:
The excitement at last was very great, the groans and outcries of the stricken ones sometimes drowning the voice of the preacher.
On the final day of this 1813 communion season, which was Monday, there was a repeat of what occurred the previous day, and Macdonald’s fame as a powerful minister of the Gospel began to spread.
Evidence of the Coming Revival
Around the year 1813, a young man, deeply desiring more of God, would walk 9 miles across the Ben Lawers highland ridge to attend church services in Lawers. In 1814, he invited a couple other young men to join him. Then in 1815, more joined this group, and by the spring of 1816, the number increased to around 14.
Throughout the week, these young men exhibited a deep hunger for more of God, and they were habitually anxious, eagerly awaiting the next Sunday when they could hear another sermon. On their walks to and from Lawers church, they continually discussed the content of the sermons they heard.
Some of the locations mentioned in this account
Extraordinary Prayer for Breadalbane
Through 1816, Macdonald’s success in ministry became well-known. Robert Findlater, pastor of two congregations, one in Lawers and one in Ardeonaig, organized prayer meetings for revival in Breadalbane. Not long after the start of these prayer meetings, conversions began to take place.
August Communion Season in Killin
In August 1816, there was a communion season held in Killin, wherein people from across the valley of Glen Lyon, and those who had been attending the Lawers church, were all present. It was during these sermons that it was said:
They felt a more than ordinary solemnizing influence on their minds.
Awareness of the Near Revival
From the second Sunday in August till the second Sunday in September, there was a heightened awareness of a near revival, driving people to prayer, focusing on their own sinfulness and negligence.
Invitation for Macdonald to Minister in Ardeonaig
Findlater invited Macdonald to minister during the communion season planned for September in Ardeonaig, an invitation which was accepted.
Assembled on Thursday, the first day of the communion season, after Macdonald delivered his sermon, there was a noticeable release of powerful emotions among the people.
A young woman from Glenlyon cried out, being unable to repress her feelings.
On the same day, Macdonald crossed the lake to preach the evening service in Lawers. A large number of people followed him, and during the service that night, a similar atmosphere was experienced as in the morning service at Ardeonaig. Those who returned home after the evening service spread the news of what they witnessed and experienced that day.
The result was that the most of the Glen Lyon people were in Ardeonaig on Sabbath.
Findlater estimated that the number of people assembled in Ardeonaig on the following Sunday reached 4,000–5,000—a number never before assembled in Breadalbane. The crowds had to gather in the open air, as there wasn’t a building that could accommodate such a congregation. With no chapel available and only a small tent to shelter the minister while preaching, the congregation stood on the side of a hill, exposed to all weather conditions.
Of that sermon delivered by Macdonald in Ardeonaig on that Sunday, Findlater wrote:
The most hardened in the congregation seemed to bend as one man; and I believe if ever the Holy Ghost was present in a solemn assembly it was there. Mr. Macdonald himself seemed to be in raptures. There were several people who cried aloud, but the general impression seemed to be a universal melting under the Word. The people of God themselves were as deeply affected as others, and many have confessed they never witnessed such a scene. A number dated their entrance on a new life from that afternoon.
The sermon was accompanied with an extraordinary outpouring of the Spirit. Some cried out; others were melted into tears; while many labored in vain to suppress their feelings. The place was then ‘no other than the house of God and the gate of heaven’.
On Monday, the final day of the communion season, Macdonald preached again, with many more being “awakened,” and people “crying out” due to the depth of emotion the sermon produced. Breadalbane recognized this weekend as being the start of the revival they had been praying for.
News of the Revival Spread
When the news of what was occurring in Breadalbane spread, it became a source of tremendous joy and thanksgiving for many.
Other Occurrences During the Revival
► Believers throughout the valley of Glen Lyon would travel in great numbers to attend Sunday services at either Lawers, on the north shore of the lake, or Ardeonaig on the south.
► Groups of one hundred people might be seen traveling together, up the sides of hills, often walking from 9–15 miles to the church.
► At the end of 1816 and the beginning of 1817, one would never see two or three people walking together to the churches; it was always large crowds. Their conversations often revolved around a relative or acquaintance who had recently been born again.
► There were few families that didn’t have someone who hadn’t recommitted their life to Christ or made a profession of their faith in Him the first time.
April 1817 Visit by Macdonald to Ardeonaig
At the end of April 1817, Macdonald visited Breadalbane, preaching at Ardeonaig. Here are some excerpts from the report of that visit:
► The sermon was preached with power and a genuine “demonstration of the Spirit.”
► Several were converted, “unable to resist the power of the truth on the conscience.”
Macdonald then visited Kenmore, Lawers, Strathfillan, and Glenlyon, preaching at each location. He was held in such high esteem among the people, and their hunger for the Word of God was so great, “that immense multitudes” would follow him from place to place, with conversions occurring at each location.
Throughout the summer of 1817 the revival continued, with people asking: “What must I do to be saved?”
September 1817 Communion Season
In September 1817, a communion season was held in Lawers, with Macdonald again present. As always, there was a “divine influence accompanying” his sermons.
On Monday, the last day of the communion season, Macdonald preached what was said to be the most powerful sermon ever in Breadalbane.
The fervid eloquence and the pathetic appeals near its conclusion seemed to move and to constrain even the most careless. Many were deeply affected and agitated both in mind and body; and it is to be hoped, that on that day it may be said, ‘This man and that man was born there’.
The revival continued into the autumn of 1817, with souls continually being brought into the kingdom. In November 1817, Macdonald was scheduled to preach in Breadalbane, but due to unforeseen circumstances, he was prevented from coming. This left the local minister, Robert Findlater, with the honor of preaching to the large assembly of people from several different districts. The results of his preaching was that:
The greater part of the congregation seemed to be melted into tears—a gentle sweet mourning heard in every corner.
The Revival Continued
Though not as powerful as in 1816–1817, the revival atmosphere continued into 1818, with souls being saved now and then, and others continually being encouraged and edified in their faith.
Results of the Revival
► In the entire valley, there were only about 5 families that didn’t have members make a profession of their faith in Christ.
► People were being converted every week.
► Though the revival primarily affected Glen Lyon, it extended to about 5 neighboring districts.
► The moral transformation of the revival’s influence was noticed by all.
► Sunday attendance increased everywhere.
► The reading of the Bible became habitual.
► Obvious sins such as drunkenness, fighting, swearing, etc., decreased.
Sources
► Breadalbane Revivals by UK Wells
► History of Revivals of Religion of the British Isles by Mary Grey Lundie Duncan
► Holy Fairs by Leigh Eric Schmidt
► John Macdonald (Apostle of the North) by Wikipedia
► Memoir of the Rev. Robert Findlater by William Findlater
► Scotland Saw His Glory by Richard Owen Roberts
► The Apostle of the North by John Kennedy
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Chet & Phyllis Swearingen
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Beautiful Feet
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