Revive Us Again

Revive Us Again

William Paton Mackey was a young man headed to the city to attend the university. His mother, worried about her son, bought him a Bible to keep him on the straight and narrow. On the inside cover she wrote:

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

It didn’t take long for William to abandon all good thinking. He fell in with a bad group and started drinking heavily. To support his drinking, he sold all of his books, including his Bible.

Despite his problems, William completed his studies and entered medical school where he managed to graduate and become a doctor. One day, he attended to a dying man at the hospital. The man knew that he was dying and asked William to go to his apartment, pay his rent to his landlady and bring back his favorite book, lying on his table.

The man died before William could do what he had been asked. After his shift, he went to the man’s apartment to tell the landlady what had happened. When he got there, his curiosity got the best of him and he asked if he could see his room. He wanted to see this book that was so important to him.

Walking into the apartment, William went to the kitchen and there, on the table, was a Bible. It wasn’t just any Bible, though. This was the same Bible, given to William by his mother, which William had sold years ago.

He opened it and read the words that she had written inside the cover. He was so moved that he rededicated his life to Christ, left his medical practice and became a preacher.

It was during this time, serving as pastor of the Broadstreet Presbyterian Church, that William picked up a pen and wrote the hymn which we know today as “Revive Us Again.”

The hymn has been a worldwide favorite for almost 150 years. Christians love singing the words about revival, written by a man whose heart was saved by a mother’s love for Christ.

REVIVE US AGAIN

We praise Thee, O God!

For the Son of Thy love,

For Jesus Who died,

And is now gone above.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Hallelujah! Amen.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Revive us again.

Go find this hymn online somewhere and listen to it a couple of times today. It will bless you!