The Ulster Awakening

I recently finished reading ‘The Ulster Awakening’ by John Weir (BoT). I read short extracts prior to reading the Scriptures to help me get into a suitable frame of mind. I have read other accounts of the same time of revival in 1859, but this one is very thorough with extensive quotations from ministers involved in the events that took place. Several points caught my attention. Firstly, while there was great conviction often followed by great joy, the overall impression of the meetings seems to have been one of solemnity; a holy reverence seems to have been the atmosphere of the revival. I cannot help feeling that this is becoming more and more a missing note in our worship. Secondly, the final chapter is on the urgent need of revival in Great Britain. The author refers to statistics which seem to show that just under 50% of the population attended church at that time. He considered this a very serious matter. What would he make of the situation today? How is it we can be so unmoved about the present spiritual condition of our country? Finally, this book shows what God is able to do and has done in the past. Yet the emphasis on revival, and prayer for revival, does not seem to have the profile which once it did. Can anything else adequately meet our current need?