Sermons of Christmas Evans Part 3

This revival of his religious feelings had a powerful effect upon his ministry. He had not been long in Caerphilly, before the Spirit of G.o.d was poured copiously upon the people.

Previous to this time of refreshing, he had a remarkable dream, which he noted in his diary. He thought he was in the church at Caerphilly, and found many harps hanging about the pulpit, wrapped in coverings of green.

Then, said he, "I will take down the harps of heaven in this place." In removing the covering, he found the ark of the covenant, inscribed with the name of Jehovah. Then he cried, "Brethren, the Lord has come to us, according to his promise, and in answer to our prayers." In that very place, he shortly afterward had the satisfaction of receiving one hundred and forty converts into the church, as the fruit of his ministry.

While at Caerphilly, he entered into a second marriage. He remained there only two years. He says: "I never spent a short time in greater comfort, for the ark of G.o.d had appeared there, and the harps of one hundred and forty souls had been tuned to the song of redemption." Happy years no doubt they were, and gladly would Mr. Evans have ended his life in Caerphilly; but troubles arose between him and some of his parishioners, and, receiving a call from Cardiff, a neighboring town, he went to take charge of a church in that place.

ANOTHER COVENANT.

Previous to his removal, and while he was meditating the matter, he made a new covenant with G.o.d. We extract again from his journal:-

"While returning from a place called Tongwynlas over Caerphilly mountain, the spirit of prayer descended very copiously upon me. I wept for some hours, and heartily supplicated Jesus Christ, for the blessings here following. I found at this time a particular nearness to Christ, as if he were close by me, and my mind was filled with strong confidence that he attended to my requests, for the sake of the merits of his own name.

This decided in favor of Cardiff."

I. "Grant me the great favor of being led by thee, according to thy will-by the directions of thy providence and word, and the disposing of my own mind by thy Spirit, for the sake of thine infinitely precious blood. Amen.-C. E.

II. "Grant, if I am to leave Caerphilly, that the gale (of the Spirit's influence) and religious revival I had there may follow me to Cardiff, for the sake of thy great name. Amen.-C. E.

III. "Grant thy blessing upon bitter things, to brighten, and quicken me more and more, and not to depress and render me more lifeless. Amen.-C.

E.

IV. "Suffer me not to be trodden under the proud feet of members, or deacons, for the sake of thy goodness. Amen.-C. E.

V. "Grant me the invaluable favor of being, in thine hand, the means of calling sinners unto thyself, and of edifying thy saints, wherever thou wilt send me, for the sake of thy name. Amen.-C. E.

VI. "If I am to stay at Caerphilly, give me some tokens, as to Gideon of old, by removing the things that discourage me, and are in the way of the prosperity of religion in that church. Amen.-C. E.

VII. "Grant, Lord of glory, and Head of thy church, that the Ark of the cause which is thine, in Anglesea and Caerphilly, may be sustained from falling into the hands of the Philistines. Do not reject it. Aid it speedily, and lift up the light of thy countenance upon it; and by thy Spirit, word, and providence, so operate as to carry things forward in the churches, and neighborhoods, in such a manner as will produce changes in officers, and measures that will accomplish a thorough improvement in the great cause, for the establishment of which in the world thou hast died;-and by scattering those that delight in war, and closing the mouths of those that occasion confusion. Amen.-C. E.

VIII. "Grant me way-tokens by the time I begin my journey to Liverpool, and from thence to Anglesea, if it is thy will that I should go thither this year. Amen.-C. E.

IX. "O grant me succor beneath the shadow of the sympathy that is in thee towards them who are tempted, and the unbounded power there is in thee to be the relief of such. Amen.-C. E.

X. "Accept of my thanksgiving a hundred millions of times, that thou hast not hitherto cast me from thine hand, as a darkened star, or a vessel in which there is no pleasure; and suffer not my life to be extended beyond my usefulness. Thanks, that thou hast not given me a prey to the teeth of any. Blessed be thy name. Amen.-C. E.

XI. "For the sake of thine infinite merit, do not cast me, thy servant, under the feet of pride and injustice, of _worldly_ greatness, riches, and selfish oppression of any men, but hide me in the secret of thy tabernacle from the strife of tongues. Amen.-C. E.

XII. "Help me to wait silently and patiently upon thee, for the fulfilment of these things, and not become enraged, angry, and speak unadvisedly with my lips, like Moses, the servant of the Lord. Sustain my heart from sinking, to wait for fresh strength from Zion. Amen.-C. E.

XIII. "Help me to wait upon thee for the necessaries of life; let thy mercy and goodness follow me while I live; and, as it hath pleased thee to honor me greatly, by the blessing thou hast vouchsafed upon the ministry through me, as an humble instrument, at Caerphilly, after the great storm had beaten upon me in Anglesea, like Job, grant that this honor may continue to follow me the remainder of my days, as thou didst unto thy servant Job. Amen.-C. E.

XIV. "Let this covenant abide like the covenant of salt, until I come to thee in the world of eternal light. I entreat aid to resign myself to thee, and to thy will. I beseech thee take my heart, and inscribe upon it a deep reverence of thyself, with an inscription that time and eternity cannot efface. O let the remainder of my sermons be taken by thee from my lips; and those which I write, let them be unto thee for a praise. Unto thee I dedicate them. If there should be any thing in them conducive to thy glory, and to the service of thy kingdom, do thou preserve it, and reveal it unto men; else, let it die like the drop of a bucket in the midst of the scorching heat of Africa. O grant, that there may be a drop of that water which thou alone canst impart, and which springs up to eternal life, running through all my sermons. In this covenant, which probably is the last that will be written between me and thee on the earth, I commit myself, my wife, and the churches amongst whom I have preached, to the protection of thy grace, and the care of thy covenant. Amen.-C. E.

XV. "Let this covenant continue when I am in sickness or in health, or in any other circ.u.mstance; for thou hast overcome the world, fulfilled the law, finished justifying righteousness, and hast swallowed up death in victory, and all power in heaven and earth is in thine hand. For the sake of thy most precious blood and perfect righteousness, note this covenant with thine own blood in the court of the memorials of forgiving mercy: attach unto it thy name in which I believe; and here I, this day, set my unworthy name unto it, with my mortal hand. Amen.-Christmas Evans. Dated, Cardiff, April 24, 1829."

CARDIFF.

"After having entered into this covenant," says Mr. Evans in his diary, "I came to Cardiff, heartily and unhesitatingly, like a merchant that should send his vessel to sea after it had been registered in the insurance office. I had nothing now to lose, for I had given myself up to the possession of Jesus, the Mediator of the New Testament, for time and for eternity; and so I have had to abide here in the secret of his tabernacle for these nine months."

He removed to Cardiff in the autumn of 1828, and remained there two years and a half. During this time, he received into the church about eighty converts. He was much in secret prayer, and enjoyed intimate communion with his G.o.d. He not only retired for devotion several times every day, but ordinarily rose at midnight to call upon the Lord. But the whole period of his residence was not a cloudless day. Some unpleasant matters arose in the church, which caused him much sorrow, as is evident from the following entry in his diary:-

"April 27, 1829. I earnestly entreat thee, blessed Jesus, for the sake of thine own name, to regard me in this request. * * * * Let things be ordered, O Lord, that they may not be impediments and discouragements unto me, and a hinderance to the progress of religion. O, interpose between me and these obstacles, O Lord, that I may have no occasion to dispute with any, and so embitter my spirit! Thy power is infinite, and thy wisdom is infallible. Stand thou between me and all contention, that no ill effect come upon me. I flee to hide myself under the shadow of thy wings. Permit nothing to blunt the edge of my talents, my zeal, or my success,-nor corrupt the church. Grant me this for the sake of thine infinitely precious blood. Set thy name to this request in the court of heaven, and let Satan's party grow weaker and weaker, and the cause of truth and righteousness become like the house of David, and the house of David like the angel of the Lord. Deliver me, that my spirit be not irritated, and I speak unadvisedly with my lips, as Moses did. Hide me in thy pavilion from the strife of tongues * * * *. I am as it were on the verge of eternity; O save and preserve me by thy boundless power.

Amen, Amen, Amen. Lord, regard, behold, hear, and spare.-Christmas Evans. Write this in thy book, O my Lord, and my G.o.d. Let none be disappointed that wait upon thee, gracious Lord.-Remember me."

He adds in another pa.s.sage:-

"I have given my soul anew to Christ; my body; my talents; my influence in preaching; my name; my character as a man, as a Christian, and as a preacher of the gospel; my time, and the remnant of my opportunities; my success; my peace and comfort as a Christian and a minister. I have resigned all afresh into the hands of Christ. I have commended to his care, also, my wife, and all the circ.u.mstances of my family, and my friends and a.s.sistants in the work of the Lord, for whom I pray earnestly that they may be blessed, throughout Anglesea, Caernarvon, Caerphilly, Cardiff, and indeed in all the counties of Wales. There are many of them who were helpers to me in my day. I will say, in the language of Paul, and I hope with affectionate emotions of love to Jesus Christ, 'The Lord grant unto them that they may find mercy of the Lord in that day.' It is a great privilege to a minister to retain beloved friends, who have helped him with their prayers and sympathy. O bless those whom I have, and preserve the new race, the new generation of them that I have found in these parts. I committed to G.o.d, also, those who obstruct the progress of the cause here, and disturb the unity and brotherly love of the church. Let Christ, whose the church is, and let not me, remove every obstacle, either by changing and melting in the love of the gospel, or taking them somewhere else, where they shall not be a curse and an impediment to the cause-and by the means that shall seem fit in his sight. A word or a nod of thine shuts and opens heaven and earth, and all the locks of the land of _Hades_, or the invisible state. For the sake of the blood of thy covenant, grant the above things unto me, thine unworthy servant."

SERMONS FOR THE PRESS.

During his sojourn at Cardiff, though now sixty-five years old, much debilitated, and almost blind, he wrote about two hundred sermons for the press, many of which have since been published. It is certainly very remarkable, that he should write, at his advanced age, with all the vigor and vivacity of his earlier years. Perhaps, of all the sermons he ever made, those composed at Cardiff are the best. Most of them were preached on the Sabbath, and written out during the following week. This circ.u.mstance, with their author's peculiar nearness to G.o.d, may account for their freshness and power.

Mr. Evans was in the habit of referring every important matter to G.o.d.

We find in his diary the following paragraph:-

"Cardiff, February 2, 1829. Lord, I have been importuned by many of my brethren in the ministry, to prepare a number of my sermons, that have been in the course of my ministry the most useful in thine hand for the conversion of sinners, with a view to publication. I had no time when in Anglesea to engage in the work, because my circ.u.mstances required so much travelling every week. I left the work to lie by, the two years I was at Caerphilly; but here, at Cardiff, I have had a new impulse in my thoughts to enter upon it; and I come unto thee, my great Lord, to consult thee, who art the Head of the church, and the Head-Prophet and Teacher of thy people. Shall I proceed with the work or not? Is it a part of my duty, or is it a useless, foolish notion of my own? I entreat thy gracious direction in this matter, for the sake of thy great name. Suffer me not to afflict myself, when my eyesight is so weak, with a work that thou wilt not bless, but which shall be buried in the land of forgetfulness.

If thou wilt not open a door-with thee are the keys of the house of David-in thy providence, that I may obtain subscribers, and bring the work through the press, without hazarding myself in such a way as will involve me in debt and disgrace: and also if thou, the great feeder of the flock, wilt not direct me to give the true gospel, not only without error, but with the savor and unction which accompanies the works of Bunyan and others, which thy Spirit is likely to make use of whilst thou hast churches in Wales: if they should not be for thy glory in the building up of thy church, and the calling of sinners,-if these objects should not be accomplished by the publication of the sermons, dispose my mind to relinquish the undertaking. But if thou wilt patronise the work, strengthen me to accomplish the design. Lord, thou knowest I feel my own insufficiency for such an important enterprise, and my unworthiness to solicit of thee such a favor: but I cannot refrain from making these requests: therefore, for the sake of thine infinite merits, according to thy manner unto thy people, grant unto me my request. Amen."

WELSH JUMPING.

In the autumn of 1829, Mr. Evans wrote in his diary extensive notes of a conversation which he had with several ministers in Bristol, on "the manner of religious rejoicing so remarkable among the Welsh." His friends condemned it in a sweeping sentence, under the name of "Welsh jumping." Mr. Evans attempted its vindication. We insert his own account:

"I observed that I could find no account of it among the Welsh until the time of Harris and Rowlands, Calvinistic Methodists, who flourished in Wales about the same time as Whitefield and Wesley in England. The preaching of these men was the means of producing a religious revival throughout all the princ.i.p.ality, which had sunk into a state of deep lethargy, since the time of the great awakening under Vavasor Powell, about one hundred years before. At this period nothing was to be seen in almost every parish but young men and young women flocking together into the churches and church-yards, and engaging in different gambols and pastimes, such as ball-playing, foot-ball, leaping, fighting, and such like frolics, as if Wales had been changed into an Olympic mountain, and old paganism restored again. It is true, there were some preachers and churches, both Congregationalists and Baptists, then existing in the princ.i.p.ality; but their talents, their spirits, or their magnanimity could not storm such a fortress of impiety. And, besides, there was a dreadful prejudice still remaining in the country against all sects, since the days of Charles II.; and they suffered persecution even unto blood, for about one hundred years previous to the appearing of these men. But from the ashes of those sufferers the revival by Harris and Rowlands sprung up, as did Luther from the ashes of Huss and Jerome of Prague.

"Mr. Rowlands and Mr. Harris were both of the communion of the Episcopal church, and, as such, there was not so much enmity against them at first; but after they had come out, and when the people understood that they were preachers of the cross of Christ, considerable persecution arose against them from the mult.i.tude; but it was now too late-for the gates of the city were opened-the leaven was put in the meal-the fire had been kindled-the sword was drawn from the scabbard, and many had been wounded, (spiritually,) and were ready to open the door for the gospel in spite of every danger. Harris, Rowlands, and the two Williams's, had been clothed with power from on high, and the hammer of their ministry was sufficiently heavy to break in pieces the northern iron. {43} Several laymen of powerful minds were also raised up about this time; such as Mr.

David Morris, and others, who were valuable auxiliaries to carry on the work. By their ministry, this praising and jumping in religious enjoyment began in Wales, which has not wholly left it on certain occasions until this day.

"As an apology for them, granting at the same time the possibility of extremes even in a good cause in the present state; and that graceless persons may feel something from these excitements as of the powers of the world to come, in the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost in the apostolic age; observe,

"1. That it appears to me like the residue of the Spirit, and the powers of the world to come; which were necessary to open a way for the gospel through the darkness and obduracy of paganism in the days of the apostles.

"2. It is no argument of importance against it, that many graceless persons felt a considerable degree of influence at the time, as well as others; for so it was in the case of Saul, king of Israel, and some besides named in Scripture.

"3. There is no essential difference between religious enjoyment in Wales and that which is now experienced in America; and that which accompanied the preaching of Whitefield in England, and even in Scotland: and that which also followed the ministry of President Edwards, in America, when whole towns and neighborhoods echoed with the sound of persons praying and praising G.o.d, as if a bursting cloud-shower of the Spirit of grace and prayer had descended upon them. Persons under the ministry of Whitefield wept, cried for mercy, and even fainted by the power of this influence.

"4. And such gracious influences are necessary for the spread of the gospel in every country, and in every land: and therefore the Millennium is described in the Bible as a period remarkable for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost-'that a nation shall be born at once,' {44a}-and 'the flowing of the nations shall be to the mountain of the Lord's house.'

{44b} It is this influence that has driven, as it were, the gospel into every nook of the mountains of Wales, as well as into its cities, towns, and villages; while in England, with all the advantages of education, the gospel, in a manner, is hid in a corner; and it has not run through the country, and searched out, and taken possession of all the inland parts of that spiritual Africa, and that for the want of these gales of divine influence, and powers peculiar to the gospel: and it can never be spread through every part of England as it is in Wales without these gifts.

Common preaching will not do to rouse sluggish districts from the heavy slumbers into which they are sunk. Indeed, formal prayers and lifeless sermons are like bulwarks raised against these things in England; and this evil genius has also entered the princ.i.p.ality under the pretence of order. Five or six stanzas will be sung as dry as Gilboa, instead of one or two verses, like a new song, full of G.o.d, of Christ, and the Spirit of grace, until the heart is attuned for worship. The burying-grounds are kept in fine order in Glamorganshire, and green shrubs and herbs grow on the graves, but all this is of little value, for the inhabitants of them are all dead-so is every form of G.o.dliness where its power is not felt.