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_____________Presbytery of Glasgow.
_____________REVIVAL AT KILSYTH.
__Many of our readers will feel a deep
interest and much pleasure in the perusal
of the following account of a wonderful re-
vival in religion in one of the most profli-
gate parishes in Scotland, which we find
published in several of the Scotch news-
papers, not excepting the Scotsman, which
is generally accused of " caring for none of
these things.'' We are not in the habit of
introducing religion into our columns, but
we cannot omit this occasion of remarking
the marked outward change for the better,
which is to be observed in this Colony,
since the people commenced what the Cou-
rier ridiculed as the race for building
churches, on the passing of the Church
Act ; and it is very striking to observe the
difference, that there is between the obser-
vance of the Sabbath in Hobart Town and
in the country districts where no church
is established---in such places, there is
hardly any distinction to be observed be-
tween the Sabbath, and another day, except
in a partial cessation from labour, and in-
the paying and receiving of visits. The
Church of England chaplains appear per-
fectly satisfied with things as they are, until
some Independent or Wesleyan Missionary
begins to alarm them by his frequent visits
and appearance ; of establishing a regular
preaching station. Then they are all ex-
ertion---not to preach the Gospel—not to
enlighten the ignorant---not to convert
souls to Christ---but to drive off one whom
they consider to be a poacher upon their
manor— not to take up the vacant time in
preaching, or teaching—but they are all zeal
and exertion to come a few minutes before
the time, appointed by the other preacher,
and forestall the congregation that assemble
by appointment to meet him. We have
some very shameful instances of this sort
of interference with the arrangements of the
Independent Missionaries, who appear to
us to be doing more for the cause of re-
ligion in the country districts, than all the
other denominations put together ; for they
secure the attention and respect of all deno-
minations, havings been very fortunate in
the men who fill the station of Missionaries
here, and there being nothing in their
tenets or practices repugnant to the views
of a Presbyterian or Episcopalian, who
rightly understands. the faith of his church.
The Methodists are very zealous,, but they
never can command the same. respect while
their Missionaries are such illiterate men
as their, local preachers too often are.
When the Church of Scotland Missionary,
whose appointment is noticed in another
place, arrives, we trust that his exertions
will be as successful as those of the Inde-
pendents who are already in the field. We
can anticipate the opposition which he will
have to encounter from the mitred church,
by the examples furnished in the cases of
Bothwell ; Oatlands ; and Sorell. Besides,
the Rev. Mr. Bell, who is to itinerate in the
south side of the island, we shall soon have
other two ministers of the Church of Scot-
land sent by the General Assembly, one for
Kensington, and another second minister
for Launceston ; and we feel confident that
the proceedings related below will not fail
of having their effect on the exertions of
ministers and religiously disposed persons
in this Colony :—
__At a meeting of the Presbytery of Glasgow,
held on Wednesday — Mr. Henderson, of Car-
munnock, in the Chair, as Moderator, pro
tempore. After some routine business,
__The Rev. Mr. Fairbairn, of Bridgeton, called
the attention of the Presbytery to the occurrences
at Kilsyth, where, he observed, God had done
great things, and had wonderfully manifested
himself, through his Spirit, by an extraordinary
revival of true religion among the people of that
place. He observed Mr. Burns, the worthy and
faithful pastor of the parish, present, and he pro-
posed that he should be called upon to give the
Presbytery some account of the state of matters
at Kilsyth.
__This call being responded to by the Presbytery.
___The Rev. Mr. Burns, after a few introductory
remarks in reference to his want of preparation
for the duty requested of him, and the delicacy
which he felt in the matter, spoke nearly as fol-
lows :— When I entered on the charge of the
parish of Kilsyth, about eighteen years ago, it
appeared to me a beautiful valley, like that of
Sodom, resembling it indeed too closely, for in-
temperance, lewdness, neglect of the Lord's day,
and other evils, were exceedingly prevalent among
the people. Many Lots, indeed, there were, ex-
hibiting genuine piety ; but when I considered
that the advantages and the privileges possessed
were much greater than those of the people of
Sodon, I could not help the reflection that a
greater number of pious families would be required
to save the place than was necessary in the case
of Sodom. Even those who were pious, devout
people, seemed to be obtuse, and blinded to the
existing evils. When I went among them I com-
menced early to visit the parish ; and to go through
every family, and this I have been enabled, under
the goodness of Providence, having a robust and
healthy constitution, to continue annually up to
the present time, excepting a part of the country
parish, that could not be overtaken every suc-
cessive year. I also commenced classes for the
young, and from these operations I can now trace
great practical benefit to have been derived.
From the latter of these, my classes, very great
advantage has been drawn ; for some of those,
who are now my elders, belonged to them in their
youth. In 1829, there were many affecting proofs
of depravity and immorality exhibited in the
parish, which called for more than ordinary exer-
tions on our part. We at that time resolved on
setting apart a day of humiliation and fasting,
and reasons for adopting this step were set before
the people of the parish. This course was attended
by an evident blessing from on high, and I
marked afterwards that solemn impressions had
then been made on the minds of many, which have
never left them to this day. In 1832, the country
was visited with Cholera ; the neighbouring parish
of Kirkintolloch, as you know, was deeply affected
with that visitation, and the impression on the
mind of our people was, that, whatever might be
its cause— whether it came from the East or the
West—-whether it was the result of moral, natural,
or physical causes, we would have a visit of the
scourge. In consequence of this our prayer meetings
were crowded, and many consultations were held
about spiritual matters ; but, I must say, much more
about prevention from disease. The panic passed
away, and our prayer meetings got thinner, but
we nevertheless continued them as before. In
March, 1830, a meeting was held on the evening
of the Monday after the Communion, the object
of which was to improve the dispensation of the
ordinances, to pray for the divine blessing on the
services and for the revival of godliness among
us. A deep impression was made on the audi-
tory, and prayer-meetings increased in the parish
till they amounted to the number of thirty. At
that period, some were converted ;— One indivi-
dual told me that the means of his conversion
were very simple. The morning prayer on the
Sabbath, he said, was more close and searching
than usual. One part of it was for those people
who had come to church without prayer, and the
passage immediately struck .him, " Thou art the
man. He was deeply impressed as were also
many others, and they set about calling on their
neighbours to go to the prayer meetings. On
thse occasions, it was usual to call on young
parents, more especially those who did, not pray
in their families. These attended for some weeks
before they were called on to pray, so that they
might be instructed how to do so, and have their
minds impressed by the practice. At this period,
prayer-meetings were held in many parts of the
town on the mornings of Sabbath, to pray for a
blessing on the services of the day. In 1837,
these good practices were rendered more efficient
still by the labours of a missionary who, wrought
among the people with great zeal ; a new church
was erected, and many additional prayer-meet-
ings instituted, and gradually, from eighty or
ninety, the numbers, assembled in that church, on,
the Lord's Dayl amounted to three hundred, and
since the present movement began, there has been
a great accession to the numbers, and now they
are making applications for the appointment of a
minister. In the month of July last, more than
usual solemnity characterised the meetings on the
Fast day, and on Friday evening, when there was
a sermon by my oldest son. The solemnity that
was observable on these occasions led me to adopt
a course I had not followed before, and in the
evening I had a meeting to confer with those who
wished to receive instruction, and to give advice.
On the Monday the attendance was good, and
the services interesting and solemn ; and in the
evening there was held a half-annual meeting of
a missionary society. A sermon from the 1st
verse of the 52nd of Isaiah, " Awake, awake ;
put on thy strength, O Zion ; put on thy beautiful
garments, O Jerusalem the, Holy, City ;" was
preached by my brother from Paisley. It was
then intimated, that as my son was about to leave
us on a foreign mission, and perhaps would never
have an opportunity of speaking to the people of
Kilsyth again, that he would preach to them in
the open air. The circumstance of his being a
young man, brought up among them, and the in-
teresting circumstances too in which he was
placed, as about to leave his native country, all
these had the effect of bringing out a very un-
usual attendance. The day was unfavourable for
having the services in the open air, and they were
proceeded with in the church which was crowded
to overflowing by the people, many of whom had
never been seen in any church before, and who
had remained away on the excuse that they had
not the requisite dress. After praise and prayer,
a portion of the second chapter of Acts was read.
The impression produced by reading that portion
of God's word was unusual, and the feelings of
the people, were evidently deeply interested ; and
this solely, by the reading of it, with perhaps a
remark or two in passing, by way of explanation.
The sermon was from the text, " Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power." There
was nothing unusual in the first half hour, though
there was a tendency and a predisposition to the
burst of emotion which took place at the close.
When the preacher was depicting the scene in
the parish of Scotts, and when he was dwelling,
on that topic, and making affectionate and earnest
addresses to the people, many of them known to
him from his boyhood, and some of them to be
neglectful of ordinances, circumstances which
gave a degree of affection and pathos to his ad-
dress — when he was referring to this topic, he
spoke of the text and the sermon of Mr. Living-
stone, which converted in one day five hundred
souls ; and he went on affectionately to ask if he
was to leave them in their sins, using the words, " If
there was no cross, there would be no crown"
When he came to this point, the audience went
beyond all bounds with their emotion ; some cried
out and others swooned away. With regard to
three or four of them, as was learned afterwards,
the emotion was just the effect of a powerful im-
pression made upon their feelings, for the results
as seen in the future, were the only things, as all
might be aware, on which we could rely. The
preacher's voice was drowned by the feelings of
his auditory, and he was compelled to pause. A
psalm was sung, and my brother delivered an
address, warning them that mere feeling was not
to be relied upon, without the influence of the
Spirit. The meeting broke up, but met again in
the evening, my brother deeming it his duty to
remain, and to send another person to supply his
place in Dundee. After this, meetings were held
every night ; many people came to the manse,
and we had a good deal to do. Those who came
were chiefly young persons, but still persons of all
ages waited upon us for advice. On Thursday
evening a meeting was held in the open air, and
many individuals not present before were brought
by the report of what had occurred. At this and
future meetings sound impressions were made on
every occasion we met. We heard of many cases,
and I saw personally the. power of the Gospel on
many. At the meeting in the open air, held on
the Thursday, in the market-place, 3000 or 4000
people attended, and a deep mpression was made
on that occasion, though not so strong as on the
first day, but the emotion felt was, considerably
beyond what is usual. After the meetings, we
adjourned to converse, chiefly with young people,
—and these were the most remarkable features of
the case. On the Lord's day, when we met in
the churchyard, the conversation continued from
three o'clock till eight, and we then found it
almost impossible to withdraw. There were in
attendance from 3000 to 4000 persons, and about
1000 returned, desiring us to continue our con-
versation that they might hear more and more of
the Gospel. Our strength became exhausted,
and we intimated to those whose feelings would
not allow them to wait till another day, that there
were elders and others who were ready to attend
to their wishes ; and I stated that I would meet
them at seven o'clock next morning. At seven
o'clock, on Monday, there were about 300 present,
many of them under deep concern about their
souls. Mr. Sommerville came out, on Monday,
from Glasgow, and preached that evening in the
open air to about 4000 people. At the conclusion
of his sermon, there was a desire to go to the
church, which was quite filled. There was the
greatest composure and deep interest exhibited
in every thing that was said. In short, from the
23rd'July up to the present hour, we have found
it the path of duty to occupy the present scene,
and to improve what we may call a spring time.
We acknowledge that there are difficulties con-
nectcd with a work.of this nature ; and I have
sometimes, been reminded of that passage in the
life of our Saviour, where we are told that the
Apostles threw their net to the wrong side of the
ship and found nothing, but that on the other side
of the ship they found a multitude of fishes, so
great that the net broke. The breaking of the
net, Sir, is not pleasant ; but though the labour
put before us was great, we found it our duty to
sow the good seed. I have been assisted greatly
by my brethren, coming forward and occupying
the field of labour ; and I may say, for their
comfort, that every sermon delivered has affected
this and the other individual, before careless and
ungodly, or whose conduct was characterized by
apathy and formality, and led to a concern about
their souls. The last thing I heard was, that
two individuals, who resisted all opportunities if
hearing the Gospel, and mocked at it, and who
were accustomed to use such language as this,
in relation to the preacher, " who is to be the
actor and performer this evening ?" These indi-
viduals have been brought under the Gospel.
One of them I some time ago charged with the
reading of Infidel books ; he denied it then ; but
after his change he brought the books andned burriml;
them all before the whole people. One individual,
a Chartist, and a violent kind of man, from
Kirkintilloch, was also affected, and he went
home to tell his mother the change that had come*'
over him. Another individual was sometime
ago, accosted by me for holding Infidel principles,
and reading their books, when I told him that I kept
a list of all my parishioners who held these senti-
ments. At that time he abjured his opinions, but
still held them nevertheless. He is now, however,
convinced of his error. Indeed there are many
such cases. I remarked only the other day that
there was one individual I had neard nothing of
during all this time — one whom I knew to be a
neglecter of ordinances ; but since, that I have
seen him in the church listening with the greatest
attention. Mr. Smith was preaching when I saw
him there ; and, after he was done, I proposed to
address a few words to the audience, when the
man I refer to was the first to call on the people
to remain. I might also refer to another indivi-
dual, similarly circumstanced, although not tho-
roughly imbued with the principles of infidelity.
In laying this statement before you, Sir, I most
willingly do justice to all parties. The Wes-
leyan Methodists have been very active and use-
ful ; and, with all their errors, have been the
means of bringing many individuals to a sense of
real religion. The people of the Relief Congre-
gation have been equally interested with their
own in the whole matter. They have attended
all the meetings as much as our own people, and
they now hold a meeting every other night in
their own church. We are glad to see that the
spirit of party is for the time away, and that
people who would not before receive us freely
now receives us with kindness. All baneful con-
troversies have subsided. You cannot enter the
village, which has a population 2,600 to 2,700
without finding that the face of society is altered
in it. The Reverend Gentleman, after stating'
that a great change had taken place in the ob-
servance of the Sabbath, observed that in the
evenings the prayer-meetings were crowded, and
that both there and in the churches strangers
were struck with the life and animation with
which the praises of God were sung ; additional,
prayer-meetings have been formed, these nowt
amounting to upwards of sixty. Many persns
give very scriptural and intelligible accounts of
their conversions ; and my friends, and myself,
as well as the elders, have remarked, that while
the accounts given by individuals of the impres-
sions made on their minds are very various, all of
them agree in this, that the grounds on which
they have reasted <sic< their peace are pure and Scrip-
tural. There are individuals of that doscription
of character who speak just as they hear, but,
even in these cases, still they come to the Scrip-i
ture warrant as the ground of the hope they een-
tertain. I view this awakening as altogether of
a very Scriptural cliaracter. I have endeavoured
to explain the difference between a real and false
revival ; and for this purpose have read passages
from President Edwards account of the revivals
of 1775, and find that much good has been de-
rived from it. The tracts, giving narratives of
the revivals in this country, have also been pro-
ductive of good results. In the picture I have
drawn, I am not sensible of overcharge, but rather
the reverse, yet we have many things to make us
uneasy. Satan, as you know, is always busy in
his efforts to overturn such a work as this, and
he has not been idle here. Other denomination
have come in among us. A Socinian preacher,
and another holding the doctrine of universal
atonement, have been among us, but have not
succeeded to any extent. We could have wished
to have had the assistance of more of our own
body, and of the Relief, who hold the same scrip-
tural doctrine with ourselves, though many bre-
thren did come forward to aid us in the work. A
number of individuals of both sexes have, in my.
opinion, gone too much among the subjects of this
great work, particularly among persons who fol-
lowed irreligious lives before ; though this has
been done from good motives, and from a wish to
show them attention, it has a tendency to do
harm. Some individuals, for example, invited
the parties to tea, with a view to gjve them
bibles; but though the object was good, I re-
monstrated with them upon it as tending to draw
too much the eyes of the people towards them.
In conclusion, the Rev. Gentleman said they had
still much cause for vigilance and prayer, and
requested the prayers and advice of all his brethren
in his present circumstances. He agreed with
Mr. Fairbairn, and thought the course he proposed
might be attended with the best practical benefits,
and the revival of the work of God among us.
After stating that there were upwards of sixty
prayer meetings now established, and referring
to other symptoms manifested in the case, he said \
all this shows that there is no delusion ; and he
continued, I give glory to God that I have been
a party to such a work ; but I trust I will ever

remember that it is not the work of man. We
are only feeble instruments, and it is pleasing to
know that there is among thoe people no desire to
hear anything eccentric, or-striking and extra-
vagant, but a humble desire to hear only the word
of Gud plainly and simply set forth.
__The Rev. Mr. Rose, after expressing his admi-
ration of the simple, unadorned, and unimpas-
sioned statement of Mr. Burns, said he could
corroborate much that had just been narrated by
him. A wonderful change had come upon the
whole face of society in the place. The Sabbath
was respected, the drinking of ardent spirits in a
great measure relinquished, and party spirit en-
tirely gone---the distinction between Church and
Dissent being scarcely thought of. In conclusion
he proposed that a thanksgiving should be offered
up to God for the signal manifestation of his
mercy, as narrated by their brother, Mr. Burns.
__The Rev. Mr. Forbes being called on by the
Moderator, offered up a prayer.
__Some conversation followed, which ended in
Mr. Burns being requested to reduce his state-
ments to writing, in order that it might be read
from the various pulpits---and it was enjoined
that, on Sabbath fortnight, each minister should
direct the attention of his congregation to the
subject of revivals.---GreenochAdvertiser, Sep-
tember 6.

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