Revival - Part 8: The 18th Century Awakening in England and Wales

In the early 18th century the country was becoming increasingly decadent. Drunkenness was rampant; gambling was so extensive that one historian described England as "one vast casino." Newborn children were left exposed in the streets; 97% of the infant poor in the workhouses died as children. Bear baiting and cock-fighting were accepted sports, and tickets were sold to public executions as to a theatre. The slave trade brought material gain to many while further degrading their souls. Unrest was general among the poorer classes and the conditions were ripe for rebellion.
As it was in the country so it was in the church. Bishop Berkeley wrote that, “Morality and religion in Britain has collapsed to a degree that was never known in any Christian country."
Sir William Blackstone visited the church of every major clergyman in London, but "did not hear a single discourse which had more Christianity in it than the writings of Cicero." In most sermons he heard, it would have been impossible to tell just from listening whether the preacher was a follower of Confucius, Mohammed, or Christ! A French visitor remarked that the English had no religion at all. JC Ryle later wrote that, “These times are the darkest that England has passed through in the last three hundred years”.
But cometh the hour cometh the men of God! Under the mighty preaching of the Gospel by George Whitfield, John Wesley and Daniel Rowlands, the whole country was revived for the remainder of the century.
Numerous agencies promoting Christian work arose as a result of the eighteenth century revival in England. Antislavery societies, prison reform groups, and relief agencies for the poor were started. Numerous missionary societies were formed; the Religious Tract Society was organized; and the British and Foreign Bible Society was established. Hospitals and schools multiplied. The revival cut across denominational lines and touched every class of society. England and Wales were transformed by the revival.
Many historians believe that the revival saved the country from a revolution such as took place in France at the end of the century. People’s minds were diverted from the ills of society to be concerned with more spiritual matters.
Our own day is one of spiritual and moral declension and it may seem to have gone too far to be reformed. But God has not changed, and He can revive our land again, as He has done in the past.