Excerpt from The Fire That Once Was: Welsh was now at the point where he would soon take his place as one of he great Reformed Scottish Revivalists. After four years at Kirkcudbright he now journeyed to a town “to which his name has ever after been most closely associated.” In 1600, he arrived at the country-town of Ayr. Welsh would spend less than five years in this town, from August 1600 to July 1605, but it was here that revival fires would blaze.

Ayr, locally called Ayrshire, had over the years gospel seeds planted in her by other Reformed ministers. Even Welsh’s late father-in-law, John Knox, had visited and preached there occasionally. But at this day and age the state of Ayr had deteriorated to a rude and barbarous cesspool. The sanitation of the area was no better. On his way to Ayr, traveling on the King’s Highway, Welsh’s senses were overwhelmed with the sight of mounds and mounds of offal (piles of decaying animal parts) and other filth accumulated on each side of the road. The people of Ayr were, as expected, crude, barbaric, immoral, and ignorant. Common people feared to venture out of doors as gangs of ruffians controlled the streets. Welsh saw all this and his spirit was stirred within him: What a nation so polluted with all abominations and murders as thou art? Thy iniquities are more than the sand of the sea, the cry of them is beyond the cry of Sodom.

On his arrival at Ayr, the aversion to him as a minister was so strong that he could find no one in the town who would let him and his wife have a house to live in. He would eventually find a Christian merchant by the name of Stewart, who offered him shelter under his roof.

Strengthened by the Lord and the power of His Might, in prayer always…the Glory of God was falling over the town and Welsh praying fervently and preaching frequently, was having an eternal effect on the masses. Welsh was soon holding two Sabbath services, preaching from nine to twelve in the morning, and from four to six in the afternoon, and in between visiting those who needed grounding in the Word of God. Welsh’s preaching was so moving that those in the congregation could not restrain themselves from weeping under the intense presence of God in the services. Sometimes he would not preach but instead ask those present to just pray for Divine Assistance , at which time the weight of the Glory of God would fall on the shoulders of all.

In 1604, because of the unsanitary conditions which were common in those days, a fearful plague began to spread over the country. The plague moved westward from city to city, and the 3000 people of Ayr became more and more alarmed as it approached their city. Welsh used this time to call the people to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, while at night he would spend hours praying for the mercy of God upon his congregation. Robert Murray McCheyne relates how one night during Welsh’s travailing before God this incident occurred: “He used to keep a blanket on his bed that he might wrap himself against the cold when he rose during the night to pray. One time his wife awakened and found him on the floor weeping. When she complained that he should be back in the bed, he said, “Oh woman, you do not understand. I have the souls of three thousand to answer for, and I know not how it is with many of them.”

Amazingly, the plague swept through all of Scotland but did not come near the town of Ayr. Soon the plague ended and hundreds of visitors would flock into Ayr, the City of God, and from far look into the Garden of Prayer where Welsh would spend many an hour in intercession. He was now renowned for his prolonged seasons of prayer. Borrowing from his late father-in-law, Welsh would cry out, “Oh God, wilt wilt Thou not give me Scotland! Oh God, wilt Thou not give me Scotland!”