If you are interested in the revival in Kilsyth, the great disruption and the consequences of it from a personally touching pastoral perspective, this is a book you should read. The language can be a bit jarring or archaic when the main author writes. However, when you get into the writings of Rev William Burns, the pastor of Kilsyth, the writing is a joy to read. The book covers his whole life from boyhood to death. It gives you great details of how the revival happened from Burns' pastoral perspective and includes a lengthy chapter on the mode of conducting revival, as well as four of sermons Burns preached.

The book itself is worth buying for the last 3 chapters alone. It is a beautiful recounting of Rev. Burns' faithfulness through the disruption. Coming home from the general assembly to an empty manse and being barred from preaching in the church, to being forced to preach on the bank at the side. These final chapters of his last years are rich in the faithfulness of a minister who would not leave the people who had been appointed to him and the faithfulness of God to his servant over the years. His life is emotionally moving, beautiful and inspiring, especially considering he considered himself a simple pastor and disciple right to his final breath.

James Murray, Esk Valley Free Church