The 1859 Revival was a spiritual phenomenon which touched the hearts of many people in the North of Ireland. It began in County Antrim, in the vicinity of Ballymena, but soon spread to other areas, including Comber.
James Miller Killen was minister of First Comber Presbyterian Church at the time, and he has left an account of the effects of the Revival on his congregation and on the town in general. He relates how, for the past fourteen years, along with others, he had been seeking revival. Nothing extraordinary had occurred, however, until the 15th of May 1859 on Preparation Sabbath, the beginning of the Communion season. On that day he preached from Revelation 22, and after some twenty minutes he noted that the congregation seemed “melted under the power of the Word”. He himself at one point experienced some difficulty in proceeding with the service. However, in general, that Communion season passed over without any noticeable incident, although church attendance was larger, and there was a greater solemnity about the worship.
Then on Monday evening 30th May, a crowded prayer meeting in the church was addressed by a group of converts from Ahoghill, and Mr Killen asserts that many of his congregation traced “their first religious impressions” to that night. The following day Rev Killen accompanied the visitors from Ahoghill as far as Ballymena, in the neighbourhood of which he passed the next week, witnessing the work of grace in progress there. And on his return to Comber, late on the Saturday evening, he determined to address his congregation on the subject. This he did on Sunday 5th June, and requested that they meet the following evening to pray for a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
On that Monday evening 6th June the people arrived in such numbers that the church was soon filled. And such was the prevailing mood of “seriousness and evident anxiety” that Rev Killen called another meeting for the Thursday night, 9th June. This meeting was even more packed than that of the previous Monday, and it was on this occasion that the first cases of physical manifestation occurred. Many were in tears, some fainted and had to be removed, while one young woman fell with such a tremendous crash on the floor that at first it was thought she was physically injured. It was now evident that the work had fairly begun.
Immense congregations witnessed more of the same on Sunday 12th June, both morning and evening. One young man is reported to have rushed up to Rev Killen as he was leaving the pulpit and threw his arms round him. Rev Killen announced that further services would be held in the church on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings. Such were the crowds at these meetings, that the church was packed to the doors, and it was impossible at times to get either out or in. Rev Killen commented that many of these people may at first have been attracted out of curiosity, as the congregation of First Comber was the first in County Down blessed with this outpouring of the Spirit. Yet he thought it was very evident that a far more important feeling was causing most of them to attend.
Monday 13th June was memorable. On that evening the Spirit came down with mighty power. Thirty-two “stricken ones” had to be removed to the schoolroom. The whole town was roused. Many did not get to bed that night at all; and for several days afterwards great numbers were unable to follow their usual pursuits, but gave themselves almost unceasingly to study of the Scriptures, singing, and prayer. For the next month Rev Killen did not get to bed till morning, such was the anxiety of the people for pastoral instruction and consolation. He received great assistance in this from those who had been converted. For twenty-one days after the revival commenced conversions averaged more than ten cases daily, and altogether there were over 340 cases of visible awakening in connection with First Comber congregation alone, not to speak of those numerous instances of a quieter character, of which no proper estimate could be formed.
Public physical manifestations had by this time greatly abated, but the work was still progressing with great power. The effects, however, were apparent. Sabbath school numbers had doubled, and attendance at worship on Sundays had never been so large. The annual collection for the General Assembly’s Roman Catholic Mission, which had just been taken up, was nearly treble that of former years, and Mr Killen’s communicants’ class consisted of upwards of 170 persons receiving instruction preparatory to their first Communion.
On Monday 1st August a woman called Elizabeth Munn died during a revival meeting at 1st Comber. Newspaper reports describe how she became suddenly “affected” and died almost immediately during a lecture given by a layman called McCutcheon from County Antrim. She was 57 years old and single. According to her brother John Munn she was subject to taking weak turns, and had complained of being unwell eight or ten days ago. This is how he described what happened at the meeting to an inquest held on the Wednesday morning. “She was there about half-an-hour when she got weak. I caught her in my arms and held her up, and she fell back against the seat, and shut her eyes, and cried, ‘Och-a-houee’. Robert Todd and James Munn came to my assistance, and we stretched her in the pew. I went for a tin of water and when I came back she was dead”. Thinking to revive her, the poor lady was brought outside into the fresh air, but to no avail. They then carried her home on a door, but when the doctor arrived he pronounced her dead. In his opinion she had taken an apoplectic seizure. And this was indeed the verdict returned by the jury - “That the deceased died from a sudden attack of apoplexy”. One juror made the rather unkind remark that she had died from the visitation of God.
The Revival was not confined to First Comber. On 19th June a Mr McQuilkan from Connor delivered a powerful address in Second Comber, while on 26th July a large Revival meeting was held in that church. Clergy taking part were Rev John Rogers, minister of the church; Rev Joshua Collins, James Black from Dublin, Rev Young of Dumfries, and Rev McCullagh of Ballysillan. Several cases of awakening occurred during this meeting, which produced a solemn feeling. Rev Rogers had indeed been conducting Revival meetings each week in Second Comber.
A huge open air prayer meeting (attendance estimated at 4,000 to 6,000) was held at Comber on the afternoon of Thursday 30th June in a field on the Newtownards Road kindly granted by George Allen of Unicarville. Rev John Rogers of Second Comber presided, while the following also addressed the assembled crowd – Rev Killen of First Comber, Revs Julius McCullough and Cather of Newtownards; McCullough of Granshaw; Fisher of Raffrey; Quartz of Ballygilbert; Hanson of Conlig; and Martin of Dundonald. Cases of bodily prostration occurred, but the general atmosphere was one of solemnity and a humbled attitude. The meeting eventually broke up about ten o'clock.
When Rev Killen put his thoughts in writing in September, he was still holding three public services in the church during the week, besides two meetings for the converts, one for doctrinal instruction on Thursday evening, and another for prayer at eight o’clock on Sabbath morning. Prayer-meetings were being held almost every evening in the various districts of the congregation. The revival had embraced those hitherto beyond the pale of the Church altogether, with drunkards reformed, prostitutes reclaimed, thieves becoming honest, while “Sabbath-breakers, profane swearers, scoffers, neglecters of ordinances, and worthless characters of all descriptions have been awakened or converted”. The public houses were said to be empty. And never had the atmosphere at Comber Fair been more sober. No sex or age was exempt. Converts included children of seven, and old men and women of upwards of seventy years of age. They manifested a wonderful power in prayer, interestingly more so among the females, and Rev Killen knew of no single instance of backsliding.
Rev Killen was at pains to refute the views of those who deprecated the physical manifestations, so far as bodily prostrations and crying out for mercy were concerned. He did not offer a view on the case of the partially blind woman said to have had her sight completely restored at the moment of conversion. He was, however, satisfied that God had used abnormal occurrences to help convict the people of their sins. He was of the opinion that they should not dictate to the Spirit, but adore, rejoice, and be exceedingly thankful that He saves sinners in any way, by whatever means He may choose. He was also convinced that the conversions were not of a sudden transitory nature, with many being weeks under conviction before they were truly converted, and others, though greatly changed in their lifestyle, not yet venturing to say that they had found the Lord. He believed the converts to be growing rapidly in humility and in Christian character. And indeed two Scottish ministers (Revs Moody Stewart of Edinburgh and Milne of Perth) had been deeply impressed when they visited Comber in June.
I have not come across any information relating to other churches in the town. Some have seen it as a Presbyterian phenomenon. Guy Stone, an Episcopalian, mentions the Revival in his diary, but does not appear to favour it. He discussed it with Rev Crommelin of St Mary’s, and opined that it would end in “fanatical madness or hypocrisy”. Indeed one of his servants, Mary McCance, was “converted”, and he gave her the sack because she had become such a nuisance with her self-righteous attitude. Guy was also on the jury for the inquest into the death of Elizabeth Munn. There have been many books written on the 1859 Ulster revival, a selection of which are pictured above.
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