The Church of Scotland Assembly in Edinburgh in 1796 had been dragging on, and frustration and emotions were deepening as the Moderates defended their liberal position on world mission. The two leading Moderates, Revd George Hamilton of Gladsmuir, and Revd ’Jupiter’ Alexander Carlyle of Inveresk, stood their ground. ‘Men must be polished and refined in their manners before they can be properly enlightened in religious truths’, said Hamilton. ‘Where do we find the great Apostle of the Gentiles? Was it amongst barbarians, such as those to whom it was now proposed to carry the Gospel? Or was it not rather in the polished cities of Corinth, of Athens, and of Rome?’
In the heat of the battle, Revd Dr John Erskine, the leader of the Evangelical Party, rose to his feet, and pointed to a large book. ‘Moderator, rax [pass] me that Bible!’he said. Finding chapter 28 of Acts of the Apostles, he read it out before the Assembly. He reminded them that this same apostle Paul had said about himself that he was a ‘debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise’,and then continued, ‘Think you that when Paul wrought his miracles at Malta, and was taken to be a god, he did not also preach Christ to the barbarians, and explain whose name it was through which such power was given unto men?’
Silence fell upon the learned gathering. It was a pivotal moment in the history of Scotland. It triggered off a response from the ministers that would eventually lead to an evangelical majority in 1824, paving the way for an extraordinary Scottish missionary movement that would affect millions of lives in many nations.
John Erskine was an extraordinary man. Having witnessed God’s power at the famous Cambuslang Revival in 1742, he cast aside his career in law and trained for the ministry. He became passionate for prayer, revival and world mission, to such an extent that other pastors would catch this enthusiasm, leading to a network of prayer groups all over Scotland called Concerts of Prayer. Thousands began to pour out their hearts in agreement for God to revive Scotland’s church and awaken the nation back to him. Soon this nationwide prayer movement began to intercede for the same work of God in the nations of the world. Erskine, full of enthusiasm, produced a small booklet called Memorial,in which he laid out the biblical principles of praying for revival and awakening. This had been inspired by Revd Robert Millar of Paisley Abbey, who wrote two volumes on world mission in 1723 called The History of the Propagation of Christianity and the Overthrow of Paganism, which was printed in Edinburgh.
Erskine sent 500 copies of Memorial to Boston in America, where one copy came into the hands of Revd Jonathan Edwards. As he read this pamphlet, Edwards, who had already seen some revival (1733-35), began to burn with greater passion for nationwide breakthrough, and produced a book with the lengthy title, An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God’s People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom on Earth, Pursuant to Scripture Promises and Prophecies concerning the Last Time (1747). The result was an explosion of prayer, revival and the conversion of many thousands of people in America.
Erskine seemed to be indefatigable. Besides being a catalyst for revival prayer and world mission, he was one of the key men behind the pioneering of many Scottish mission societies to enable missionaries to be sent out with the gospel both at home and abroad. Making use of Edinburgh’s famous printing networks, he became an avid disseminator of Christian books to the fledgling universities springing up in America and in other nations. It was said that when Revd Jonathan Edwards died, over 30% of the books in his personal library had been sent by Erskine from Edinburgh.
‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations’ (Matthew 28:19, NKJV).
Image: Revd Dr John Erskine (1721-1803), photo at ETS, Paul James-Griffiths