Church historians know little about nineteenth-century Scottish Baptists. This presentation will further acquaint hearers with the preaching of the Scottish Baptist, Peter Grant (Pàdraig Grannd), during the 1800s. Peter Grant, the hymn writer, is well-known, but his preaching is unfamiliar to most, although he was an able expositor and experienced significant revivals in Scotland under his ministry. Up until the year 2010, when this author transcribed and published several of Grant’s sermons, they were thought to be the only extant messages he preached.
However, recent discoveries of more of Grant’s unpublished materials, including sermons, notes, and an autobiography, shed further light on his contributions as a preacher and pastor. This presenter will summarize these newly discovered materials and highlight a sample of the sermon manuscripts and notes. This specific sampling focuses largely on his temperance sermons and lectures for a movement in Scotland in which Grant played an important part. The materials that will be reviewed are titled: (1) “A Temperance Lecture,” in which Grant laments that “such a good cause would suffer by the want of proper advocates”; (2) “At a Temperance Soiree,” in which he exhorts those who have pledged for temperance, and (3) “Remarks for the Temperance League,” in which he reminds the league’s members that all ministers should preach on temperance on the first Sabbath in May.
This research contributes to scholarship because it offers new insights into the preaching and influence of nineteenth-century Scottish Baptists, especially Peter Grant. These materials also need to be made known to other researchers in the fields of Baptist and church history.