Thou, divine anointing spirit,
Pour the showers which are thine,
May the flame now from the altar
Kindle in us fire divine;
Oh! Consume our hearts corruptness,
Bring our lusts neath Calvary’s flood,
Give us garbs of heavenly brightness,
Which are cleansed in Jesus blood.

Rev. R. R. Morris.
Translated by Rev. W. Samlet Williams.

Evan Roberts is now at home, and we can call the fortnight, from October 31st to November 12th, 1904, ‘The Break of Dawn of the Revival at Loughor’. Such a fortnight has never been known in the history of Wales since 1859. Thirteen wonderful days were they — days full of spiritual power. We are filled with awe as we think of them, and reflect on their possibility. Had anyone predicted their outcome the Monday morning Evan Roberts returned home, he would have been laughed at by most of the people of Loughor. In these weeks there was sufficient spiritual power to move the whole of Wales. Yet, only the Infinite knew that this power would be at the command of a young, uneducated man. We shall take the meetings one by one, and touch the points mostly which are not dwelt upon in Evan Roberts’s letters.

I. OCTOBER 31st.

A little before seven o’clock Monday evening, Evan Roberts directed his steps to the prayer meeting held at Moriah, with the intention of having a service for the young people after it. We should like to know all that rushed through his mind on the way. At the close of the first meeting, the young people’s prayer meeting was announced. This is the first Revival service in the strict sense of the word for Evan Roberts to conduct; and that makes it of special interest. Sixteen adults and one little girl remained for it; and four of the family of Island House were amongst the number. When the people had gone out the doors were closed, and Roberts began to explain his object in coming home and other things. Afterwards, he urged those present to confess Christ. They felt it very difficult to comply with his request; more so, undoubtedly, because of the strange and new method of carrying on the service. Nevertheless, after two hours, during which he prayed three times, he succeeded in inducing them all to stand up and confess the Saviour. A great deal was done at this meeting to pave the way for the Revival, although those present did not know what to think of Evan Roberts. Yet they were brought to meditate on their religious life and to realise more than ever its importance, and it aroused them to examine their inner self. They felt themselves stronger after confessing Christ, and experienced an inward peace which they never did before. The meeting caused much talk in the neighbourhood, and the mental condition of the Revivalist became the subject of discussion.

II. NOVEMBER 1st.

The service was held at Pisgah, Bwlchymynydd, Tuesday night; and the audience had greatly increased. Six more rose to confess Christ in this meeting. There were signs in it also of something to follow. Roberts spoke earnestly on the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit, obeying Him, confessing Christ, and removing all questionable things from ones life. No sooner had he taken his seat, than some of those who confessed the previous night got up, and testified how happy they were after having done so. This was a good sign, for it proved the truthfulness of Roberts’s doctrine. Their experience shows the dawn of the Revival was breaking slowly, but no one recognised it as such. These people have acquired strength which will soon increase and be of much help to the leader of the movement. Shortly, the dawn will be clear daylight in the spiritual life of these. When people are brought to this spirit, something great must happen in their case if the Holy Spirit is left free to express Himself through them. The meeting lasted from seven till ten o’clock; and there must have been something extraordinary in it before the people would have stayed so long without the least desire to go home. What a spiritual treat it would be to see the inward aspect of this meeting as God saw it that night.

III. NOVEMBER 2nd.

During the day, Evan Roberts arranged to go to Libanus (C.M.) Gorseinon, to the church meeting for about three quarters of an hour, and then return to Moriah. He called with the Rev. T. Francis, the minister of Libanus, this morning to make this arrangement, and the history of what occurred in the house is found in one of his letters to Sydney Evans. Mr. Francis left the Society entirely in his hands, and he spoke charmingly to the people. I am working by night this week, he remarked, and then he proceeded to relate his strange experience which surprised the people greatly. But this only led to a greater surprise still; because, in the next place, he gave expression to a prophecy about what the Holy Spirit would soon accomplish in Wales. Of the three nights, this is the most wonderful and powerful in its influence. He says that the Spirit of God descended with power at Libanus in the meeting under consideration. Many accompanied him, after the close of the service, to Moriah, and amongst them, the Rev. I. Francis. The Revivalist spoke powerfully in the meeting at Moriah on the four great tenets which formed such an important part in his message at the beginning of the Revival, namely —
(1) Confessing openly and fully to God any sin not confessed to Him before;
(2) doing away with anything doubtful in ourselves;
(3) giving prompt obedience to the influences of the Holy Spirit in the heart,
(4) confessing Christ openly and publicly before the world.

This meeting was cold and hard, notwithstanding the power with which he spoke. He testifies that it was not up to the Gorseinon one in spirituality, and that disobedience prevailed in it until one from Moriah rose to confess the Saviour. That changed the spiritual atmosphere to some extent; but doubt and unbelief continued to the end. We are not surprised because of that either, for there were many things which accounted for the audiences state of mind. Firstly, his method of carrying on the meetings was quite contrary to what the people had been used to. Secondly, they could not realise the possibility that his prophecies would be fulfilled. He said definitely and unconditionally that great things were to be brought about in the near future; and it is natural for people to be sceptical when such pretensions are made. He had been brought up amongst them, and it required time to convince them that such things were possible through the instrumentality of one whom they knew so well. They preferred to believe that his mind was deranged. Thirdly, a measure of natural prejudice prevailed in the minds of many which always appears when a young man attempts great things in his home. This must arise of necessity in sinful and imperfect human nature. We do not think less of the people of Loughor because of these things. Had they been otherwise, they would have been exceptional. In an unholy world this is the history of men. More, it is not always a sign of magnanimity when people run after every new thing, but rather the sign of weakness, want of judgement and stability. The people could not see their way clear to receive the new prophet until the divine origin of his message had been proven. But to return to the meeting. Although it was apparently cold, yet we doubt not but that it proved a great blessing. It brought the people to think seriously, and also led Evan Robert to prepare for the coming night. As on the previous night, it terminated at ten o’clock.

IV. NOVEMBER 3rd.

The Revivalist went to the church meeting held at Moriah Thursday evening, and sat some distance from the pulpit with a friend of his. The minister had not arrived, and before any movement to commence was made, Roberts urged his friend to walk on to read and pray without being asked. In the meantime, Mr. John Davies, one of the deacons, called Roberts to conduct the service. A detailed account of this meeting is given in his letter to Sydney Evans November 5th, 1904. In it he says that Mr. John Hughes, his friend, prayed, and that the Spirit was mightily on him. He also relates in the same letter how he taught the prayer to the children, which has been so marvellous in its effects. ‘Send the Holy Spirit to Moriah, for Jesus Christ’s sake’. His words about this church meeting are these ‘It was blessed in the Society’. Things were not so spiritual in the young people’s meeting which followed Unbelief, disobedience, and prejudice reigned supreme in it. He could not get the people to bend. After urging them solemnly to confess Christ, ten did. He was determined now to conquer with God and men, and he knelt and prayed to God, saying that he was not willing to the amount of glory given to the Son. ‘We are not willing to leave the meeting,’ he said, ‘until another ten will confess Christ. O Lord! make another ten to confess Him.’ Slowly another ten, one after the other did. After those arose, there was no sign of anyone else ready to follow them, and no one did follow. The topic of Evan Roberts’s address this night was the importance of believing God on His word. He emphasised the verses. ‘Ask and it shall be given unto you’, ‘And, lo, I am with you always’, ‘And on this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ These things must be believed, he said, if the work is to succeed. His comments on the verses astonished the people. This meeting was the most blessed one so far, and it was instrumental in extinguishing many false ideas in the people’s minds. It did away with much of the opposition to his method, and the prejudice alluded to. In a sense, it can be said that in this and that of Gorseinon, the dawn of the Revival made its appearance. However, many things were to be cleared before its light could shine brightly.

V. NOVEMBER 4th.

Before treating on the meeting, an important event which occurred this day must be noticed. It came to Roberts’s mind to write to Mr, Hartley Aspden, the Editor of the Sunday Companion, concerning Revival Picture Post-cards. Having stated this to Mr. Aspden, he wrote these sentences at the end of the letter. ‘We are on the eve of a great and grand Revival, the greatest Wales has ever seen. Do not think the writer is a madman’. We can easily guess the impression such a letter made on Mr Aspden. Yet he replied in a courteous manner thus —

Offices —
2, Carmelite House,
Carmelite Street,
London, E C

Nov. 9th, 1904.

Dear Sir,

I am rather puzzled to know what exactly you require. The artist who could do the work you want would be Mr. Noyes Lewis, c/o The London Electrotype Agency, 3 St. Bride Street, London, E.C.

Yours faithfully,

EDITOR

I wrote to Mr. Aspden for Roberts’s letter, but its prophetical nature had determined its fate. But he distinctly remembered the gist of it, and answered me as follows: —

Sunday Companion,
Editorial Offices,
2, Carmelite House,
London, EC.

19th January, 1906.

DEAR SIR,

Your letter to hand. When in November 1904, Evan Roberts began to feel that a Revival was approaching in Wales, he wrote to me on the subject. . . . Unfortunately, I mislaid the letter, but the gist of it was as follows. — He went on to say that the Holy Spirit had been working very much of late in the village in which he lived. That he and several others had been holding meetings, praying for the Holy Spirit to come down, and how they had wrestled with God until two or three o’clock in the morning. He went on to predict that a Revival was coming to Wales, which would he the biggest that had been seen. . . . . .

Not having heard his name before, and, as a matter of fact, never having heard of the name of Loughor before, I regarded this communication as one of those strange epistles that I receive from time to time. I replied to the letter in a kindly way, and then thought no more of it, until a few days later I was startled to find that a Revival had broken out in Wales, and that the leader of it was the man whose strange letter I had received.

Yours faithfully,

HARTLEY ASPDEN.

This night a most hopeful new element came in, namely, many belonging to the different denominations were in the service. Their presence shows that the young missioner has stirred the whole neighbourhood. But most likely, some of them had come there out of curiosity, because of the new aspect of the services, and owing to the talk that Roberts’s mental condition was doubtful. The Revivalist spoke at some length, and pressed the same points on his audience as on the previous nights, and then gave the meeting free for anyone to take part in his own way. The meeting went on promiscuously in singing, praying, confessing, and giving testimonies until half-past eleven o’clock in the evening, and all seemed to be enjoying themselves, and quite unconscious of time. So far this was the most well-attended meeting, and its nature secured a greater number for the next night. In spite of all curiosity and the unworthy object of some of those present, they were convinced before the close that a certain silent, invisible power was at work, driving them to some foreign spiritual territory. The spiritual tone of the meeting created a longing in them for Saturday night’s service. The movement had now occupied the minds of the people, and had become the chief topic of conversation in the works. The new method was criticised by some, and defended by others, as well as the intentions of Evan Roberts and the state of his mind. But amidst all, some convincing element of the reality and spirituality of the meetings permeated the minds of the majority of their frequenters.

VI. NOVEMBER 5th.

The largest congregation of the whole week appeared at Moriah on Saturday evening, and Evan Roberts entered about eight o’clock. As soon as he got inside the door, the verse quoted below came to his mind, and opened an extensive field before him, although he felt in going to the meeting that he had nothing to say. As pointed out previously, the meetings were announced for the young people, but now the line of distinction has vanished, and persons of all ages have come together, and in it we have a clear prophecy of what took place before the end of the coming week. For half an hour, Evan Roberts spoke on the former portion of the verse ‘Be ye not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit’. He made wonderfully effective comments on how strong drink harms the church, the Family, and the individual, soul and body. For some time after, the meeting proceeded, many taking part in different ways. Again Roberts got up, and spoke on the latter part of the verse for a whole hour, and the people marvelled at his trenchant remarks. They sparkled with brilliancy and original genius, and some of those present are sorry that they did not endeavour to write them down at the time. He is conscious that he said strange things, but he can-not recall any of them now. The spiritual tide was rising gradually, and obedience to the promptings of the Spirit increased slowly. This meeting worked powerfully towards opening the flood gates of the Revival. It continued from seven until twenty minutes past twelve on Sunday morning, and was charged with suppressed fervour. This was an awful night in the history of Roberts. In many respects, it was the climax of the meetings during the week, such as in the number of the congregation, the eloquence of the missioner, and the number of persons who participated in it. It is obviously seen that the obstacles are giving way in this before the strong tide.

VII. NOVEMBER 6th.

The Rev. D. Glanmor Jenkins, Dinas Powis, occupied the pulpit of Moriah on Sunday, November 6th. Evan Roberts went to the morning meeting, and after the sermon, spoke on the importance of confessing Christ publicly, and exhorted the people to do so. His letter to Sydney Evans on November 7th, states that some obeyed him. He uttered strange remarks this morning, and among them, said that they would have to get perfect silence, even if they had to stop the clock. This struck some of the people as a sign of mental impairment, and one deacon wept bitterly when out of sight, thinking that a young man so dear to them was on the way to insanity. The curiosity of the Rev. D. Glanmor Jenkins had been aroused, because of some of his strange statements, and he made it a point to walk with him from chapel in order to know more about the young man. Evan Roberts, however, spoke but little, and Dan Roberts had to carry on the conversation with Mr. Jenkins. Evan was in deep meditation, — no doubt about the day’s work. This morning, the previous night’s meeting was discussed by every two on their way to and from Chapel, and the Rev. Mr. Jenkins in a letter to me, states that the people regarded it as an extraordinary meeting. As can be seen from the letter referred to above, he established a women’s prayer meeting this day after the Sunday School, and what is interesting about this, is, that it was the first of its kind at Moriah. The evening service having terminated, a meeting for the young people was again announced, and many remained for it, and soon a number came from the neighbouring Churches, and amongst them, the Rev. Thomas Francis, Gorseinon. The subject of the Revivalist tonight is the importance of obedience. Having pressed this on the people for about half an hour, he said: ‘Now I commit the meeting into the hands of the Divine Persons. Remember the Divine Persons, not something. The Holy Spirit is not something, but a Person. By giving the meeting in His hands, it is in the hands of an Infinite Person’. As it will be explained presently, this meeting was the most effectual of the series. It continued until half past eleven o’clock in the evening. At the close, the Revivalist urged all who had confessed Christ to remain behind, and about sixty responded, and among them some students from Ammanford Grammar School. In this after-meeting, the prayer which had such wonderful effect at Loughor, was first taught by Evan Roberts. ‘Send the Spirit now, for Jesus Christ’s sake’. It is needless to dwell in detail on the history of this meeting, being that he has written a full account of it in the said letter to Sydney Evans. We should say that this night left its mark on the whole of Loughor, for it thrilled the neighbourhood with some divine awe. By Monday, the tone of the majority of the people had entirely altered, and even their countenance had changed. Many were thoroughly convinced that Evan Roberts was led by the Holy Spirit, and among them some of the most intelligent and responsible people of the place. It was felt throughout the town and neighbourhood that some irresistible power was gradually taking hold of the people, and, as we shall see, this was fully realised before the end of the week. One keen observer of the meetings told me that this was the night which turned the current in favour of the Revivalist. The Churches were brought to think seriously of their condition, and their conscience was greatly intensified regarding religious matters.