Series 6 > McCulloch examinations of the Cambuslang revival (1742) > Volume 6

EXAMINATIONS OF PERSONS UNDER SPIRITUAL CONCERN II
strength in going to far distant Places to hear them; yet when I went to Pray
& Seek Direction, I could never get freedom to go hear them on Sabbath days,
but found my Self still as it had been constrain’d to go & attend Ordinances
at home, and often found my Self obligd to be thankful that I had a Gospel
minister at hand, who preachd so close to my Condition. And I did not find
the Seceders way of Praying agreeable, because they seemd to me to be very
narrow in their Prayers, and not to extend them to the whole Israel of God,
but to confine them in a great measure to themselves.
When the Awakening brake out in Camb. In the Spring 1742, it was so
surprizing to me to hear of it, and I was in such Confusion at the thoughts
of it, that for about ten days after I first heard of it, I could scarce eat or
drink or sleep any: the Seceders kept a Fast in oppositon to it, [202/-] which
encreasd my uneasiness about it, & put me I know not what to think of it.
After many struggles with my Self about it, I resolvd to go there & hear &
see: & I was still in doubt, falling down by the way to pray, these words came
into my mind, can any good thing come out of Nazareth, come & see: which
determin’d me to go forward. When I came there, I heard two ministers (&),
preach two Gospel Sermons, but felt nothing beyond ordinary: After I went
home I was often thinking of the Lords way of dealing with his people by
alluring their hearts, by the still calm voice of the Gospel, and could not get
my heart brought to a liking of the work at Camb: Yet I had some thoughts
now & then of returning to it some day or other; & one Sabbath morning,
after lying & sleeping much longer in my bed than ordinary, for which I
was much displeasd with my Self, I intended to have come to the Sacrament
Occasion at Cathcart about the first of May 1742, and was in such a hurry
that, I did not stay so much as allow my Self time to retire, & say God help
me: but by the way when I fell down to prayer, that word came to my mind,
Thou knowest the way that I take, when thou hast tried me I shall come forth
as gold; I did not well understand the meaning of that passage as applied to
my Self, [203/-] but found a heart melting impression made by it upon me,
& a great Inclination to come to Camb: and I accordingly turn’d my course
& did so: And went straight down to the Brae, never stopping till I got into
the midst of the people before the Tent; and immediatly after I had down so,
a minister (26)3 came down & gave out the 126 Psalm to be sung, and he no
sooner read the first line of it but I fell a trembling with concern, yet I sung
the Psalm with great delight: and in time of the Prayer, I got more composure
and attention of mind to go along with the minister than ever I had had in
that duty before. When he read out his Text, While the strong man armed
keeps the house all his goods are in peace,4 the words came so home to me
that I thought I was just the Person pointed at the words as directly as if I
William McCulloch (1691—1771) - minister, Cambuslang.