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Andrew Murray
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 A Ministry dedicated to preserving the truth and accuracy of the infallible Word of God. |
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| The Revivals Page 11 | |
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Return to Revivals Main Index >> The Revivals "Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?" Psalm 85:6
Influence On The Severn Valley Mission There are various and unmistakable signs of the revival in this mission. In one town, under the minis-try of the resident minister, a newspirit has come over the church, which can be traced in every department; prayer meetings are largely attended, class meetings are alive and are remarkably powerful and blessed, open air services are held with manifestation of divine awe and influence. A few items in de-tail may be of interest. The annual tea-party in one place usually accompanied by innocent games had to be turned into a prayer and testimony meeting when souls were quickened and converted. An open air meeting was held in one of the market places preparatory to an in-door service, but such a wave of power came upon the crowd of some three hundred people that for two hours the meeting continued, believers singing solos, bearing their testimony, and praying in the Holy Ghost, some of whom have been silent and timid in the past. One class leader tells how the room was full of persons, but better still, the persons were filled with a di-vine enthusiasm, and it was impossible to close the meeting until after eleven o'clock. A wonderful story might be told of what has occurred in another town, especially if all the details were given. It started with the con-version of one of the students of a Welsh university at the ordinary Sunday evening service conducted by the Superintendent of the mission. Recently this student with five others who have been saved visited the united prayer meetings held in the town, and among other strange things that have happened in connection with these students has been the conversion of the Calvinistic minister. He has made a public confession which has caused quite a sensation among the religious community, to say nothing of the inhabitants of the town. He tells how he left one of the meetings determined to burn all his sermons, and how the devil tempted him to save two for Sunday, but amid shouts of praise, he told how he got the victory and burnt the lot. The Holy Ghost has so filled his soul that he is preaching, praying, working, and living in a new world of light, liberty and power. The effects are widespread, enemies are becoming friends. Op-position and bitter feelings in church services have ceased. Unity, harmony, are working miracles. Over one hundred persons have al-ready publicly confessed Christ at one of our chapels, and "the number of believers is being multiplied." Everybody sings now in wonderful power with heart and voice, the more verses the better. It is thrilling to hear them singing "There shall be showers of blessing," in the open air and indoors, with or with-out the musical instruments; "Hail, Thou once despised Jesus," to the tune "Hyfrydol"; "Jesus, Lover of My Soul," to "Aberystwyth"; "For you I am praying," and "The Glory Song." The old Methodist hymns are quite new in this gracious spirit of revival, and God is blessing them to crowds. On Thursday the Quarterly Meeting of the Mission was held in the Lecture Hall, which was full. The local preachers were delighted to authorize the formation of two more Mission Bands to help to evangelize the villages, and one excellent young man was received "on trial." One of the ministers gave an ear-nest appeal to the brethren to seek the burden of souls and strive to bring persons to immediate decision for Christ in their services. The great official meeting was held in the afternoon, and the opening hymn was sung with real Welsh revival spirit, and the praying wasmighty, and unitedly joined in. The business was entered into with a beautiful spirit and various forward movements were adopted. A commission was appointed to investigate the affairs of the small places in one of the sections of the mission, and a committee appointed to arrange a United Musical Festival for the purpose of helping congregational singing and stimulating the various choirs. A very gratifying numerical statement was presented showing another increase in membership, with no less than one hundred and four "on trial," being sixty-six added during the quarter. The finances showed a much healthier state, with brighter prospects for the future. The doxology was sung most unitedly and heartily. After an enjoyable tea a capital open air demonstration was held under the big lamp in the town and was carried on half-an-hour after time, but no one complained. The power of God was with us, and the attention of the crowd of working people was remarkable. The best-attended public meeting we have seen here was held in the chapel. It was easy to speak, pray, and sing, and the power of the Lord was present to heal. -- Methodist Times.
The Welsh Revival The Vicar of Burley, Leeds, has evidently made up his mind about the value of this movement, judging by his advertisement in the South Wales Daily News. "Welsh Revival -- Curate wanted....Warm welcome for bright, earnest, fiery, genial Welsh-man...." There are plenty of that type in evidence just now, and their num-ber is rapidly increasing, though only a very small proportion are in holy orders. The joyousness of this revival is more and more manifest as the weeks go by. The first week of the year has given it a yet mightier impetus, and it has a wider sweep than ever. There is no abatement, and no sign of it. Everybody recognizes that the tide is flowing faster, and churches that till quite recently were stuck fast on the mud banks and looking forbidding and unlovely, are now being cleansed and refreshed and beautified by the living waters. The large towns, with their larger English element, are now receiving the baptism that at first was bestowed almost exclusively upon the Welsh community in the mining districts. The visit of Evan Roberts to Swansea has been a great blessing to him and to all associated with him, and it has very perceptibly quickened the evangelistic fervor of all the churches. And when we say "all" we mean all. For in Swansea, following the example of the Vicar, the Hon. Talbot Rice, everybody who is anybody in the religious life of that locality was present at Ebenezer, where the late Dr. Rees, the historian of Welsh Congregationalism, once ministered. It was indeed a thrilling scene. There in the pulpit stood the youthful evangelist, a native of a neighboring mining village. Three months ago he was unheard of and unknown, and now around him are clustered the representative leaders of all sections of the church of Christ, sympathetically and enthusiastically following his lead be-cause he is led of the Spirit. It is a happy augury. God's man is the man of the future, and the men of God are assured of victory when God's purpose becomes their own and they make this their motto, "This one thing I do." The chapel was filling rapidly at eleven. This means that when Evan Roberts arrived a very large proportion had been there for nearly four hours. Indeed, before one o'clock the gates leading to the chapel were locked and guarded by the police and a crowd of many hundreds in the streets were being directed to the overflow meetings. Those who have seen most of the meetings elsewhere declare that this appeared to be the most joyous and jubilant of them all. As he entered, the people were singing with much hwyl -
Rhy fyr yw tragwyddoleb llawn I ddyweyd yn iawn am dano. "Do you believe it, my friends?" he asked. He then proceeded to dwell on God's greatest gift. "What do we give in return? The collection plate comes around, and we dip into our pockets and bring forth --a copper. God's greatest, man's least. God couldn't give more, man couldn't give less. Let men keep their scraps. Give God all. You can not compete with God in giving. Just try. The more you give, the more God will give in return." |
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