Centenary Celebrations (Part Three)
Having considered the conversion of ‘WP’ and seen something of his call to Gospel work we now want to focus on those years of his life for which ‘WP’ is best known, 1920 - 1926. It’s true to say that during this time ‘WP’ wasn’t preaching exclusively in Ireland. He preached over these years, for example, in the USA, at a Mission in Cambridge University, at the Keswick Convention and even ventured south of the border but his main focus was within the six counties.
What we want to try and do in this article is to give to the reader a ‘flavour’ of what it would have been like to attend a Nicholson meeting. There are a few recordings available of Nicholson’s preaching, but not many. Live streaming and Zoom were not around in the 1920’s so we are going to have to allow our imagination to swing into action.
A typical Nicholson meeting would last for three hours with the sermon lasting at least an hour.
‘In his services Mr Nicholson neither desired choir or choir leader. Once he got ‘on the bridge’ he was captain and remained there in charge, leading the praise service, preaching and conducting the After meeting’ (1)
‘WP’ detested choirs but he loved hearty congregational singing. One of his favourite songs was:
‘Down in the dumps I’ll never go
That’s where the devil keeps me low.
So I’ll sing with all my might,
And I’ll keep my armour bright,
But down in the dumps I will not go’
‘WP’s’ preaching was direct and pithy:
‘There are those who won’t believe that their righteousness’s are filthy rags in the sight of God. My dear friends, God is no rag merchant and heaven is no rag – house. God won’t have your dirty rags in heaven’ (2)
Or, again, consider his description of regeneration:
‘A black cow eats green grass and gives white milk. Can you understand it? Certainly, you can’t, but yet you believe it. It is just the same about regeneration. It is a mystery, but on that account don’t deny it or disbelieve it’ (3)
Many of his listeners might be regular and committed church – goers without being converted. Such people he openly condemned as ‘confirmed, baptised, catechised candidates for hell’
His preaching was graphic as the following accounts illustrates:
‘The preacher described the days going by, Noah sawing and hammering, the neighbours mocking, and the sky brazen and blue. Then the narration gained intensity as the listeners heard of the cloud that appeared and spread overhead. And now the first big drops of rain had begun to fall. So realistic was the preacher’s presentation that several people in the pews were seen to reach out and clutch their umbrellas, as if they expected any moment now to be drenched’ (4)
‘WP’ spoke strongly on the need to live a life of separation from the world. He was strong in his condemnation of sin. There were certain practices which he frequently spoke out against and urged his converts to shun. He stated that if God had intended man to smoke, he would have created him with a chimney pot on top of his head! Anyone who found more joy in the picture house that he did in a prayer meeting would do well to question whether or not he was truly born again. He was outspoken against the use of alcohol, dubbing the public house, ‘the human slaughter house’.
Another striking theme in ‘WP’s’ sermons was the need for those who had come to faith in Christ to live changed lives:
‘In the course of his preaching Nicholson insisted on the need for restitution when something had to be put right with another person. After one mission held in East Belfast early in 1923 many tools and pieces of equipment which had been purloined earlier were returned to the shipyard and in such quantities that an additional store had to be provided to hold them’ (5)
Obviously, God had gifted ‘WP’ in a unique and remarkable way. He was, in many respects, his own man, with a particular gift for bringing the Gospel to working men in language that they could easily identify with. It would have been a mighty thing to witness the men form the shipyard leaving work on Queen’s Island and marching up the road to attend Nicholson’s mission in Ravenhill Presbyterian Church. On one particular night so many tried to get in that they managed to shift the gate post off its foundations! ‘WP’ thereafter referred to that evening as the ‘the night of the great push’!
Our response to all this? ‘A prayer:
‘O Lord, thank you for what you did through ‘WP’ all those years ago. We venture to pray that you would do it again in our day. And we will be careful to give to you all the praise and the glory. Amen’
In our final article next time we’ll seek to assess this remarkable ministry asking questions such as what was the secret of ‘WP’s’ spiritual success? What was the lasting impact of his ministry? And to what church did he belong?
Footnotes
(1) S W Murray, ‘Flame for God in Ulster’, Page 18
(2) From Nicholson’s sermon on ‘Regeneration’
(3) ibid.
(4) ibid.
(5) S W Murray, ‘Flame for God in Ulster’, Page 42
