work of his Spirit—of a cold heart in the pulpit, in secret prayer, and
in the study. For fifteen years previously, I had felt my heart burning
within, as if going to Emmaus with Jesus. On a day ever to be remembered
by me, as I was going from Dolgelley to Machynlleth, and climbing up
towards Cadair Idris, I considered it to be incumbent upon me to pray,
however hard I felt my heart, and however worldly the frame of my spirit
was. Having begun in the name of Jesus, I soon felt as it were the
fetters loosening, and the old hardness of heart softening, and, as I
thought, mountains of frost and snow dissolving and melting within me.
This engendered confidence in my soul in the promise of the Holy Ghost.
I felt my whole mind relieved from some great bondage: tears flowed
copiously, and I was constrained to cry out for the gracious visits of
God, by restoring to my soul the joy of his salvation;—and that he would
visit the churches in Anglesea, that were under my care. I embraced in
my supplications all the churches of the saints, and nearly all the
ministers in the principality by their names. This struggle lasted for
three hours: it rose again and again, like one wave after another, or a
high flowing tide, driven by a strong wind, until my nature became faint
by weeping and crying. Thus I resigned myself to Christ, body and soul,
gifts and labors—all my life—every day and every hour that remained for
me;—and all my cares I committed to Christ.—The road was mountainous and
lonely, and I was wholly alone, and suffered no interruption in my
wrestlings with God.
“From this time, I was made to expect the goodness of God to churches and
to myself. Thus the Lord delivered me and the people of Anglesea from
being carried away by the flood of Sandemanianism. In the first
religious meetings after this, I felt as if I had been removed from the
cold and sterile regions of spiritual frost, into the verdant fields of
the divine promises. The former striving with God in prayer, and the
longing anxiety for the conversion of sinners, which I had experienced at
Lëyn, was now restored. I had a hold of the promises of God. The result
was, when I returned home, the first thing that arrested my attention
was, that the Spirit was working also in the brethren in Anglesea,
inducing in them a spirit of prayer, especially in two of the deacons,
who were particularly importunate that God would visit us in mercy, and
render the word of his grace effectual amongst us for the conversion of
sinners.”
COVENANT WITH GOD.
Mr. Evans now entered into a solemn covenant with God, made, as he says,
“under a deep sense of the evil of his heart, and in dependence upon the
infinite grace and merit of the Redeemer.” This interesting article is
preserved among his papers. We give it entire, as a specimen of his
spirit and his faith:—
I. “I give my soul and body unto thee, Jesus, the true God, and
everlasting life—deliver me from sin, and from eternal death, and bring
me into life everlasting. Amen.—C. E.
II. “I call the day, the sun, the earth, the trees, the stones, the bed,
the table, and the books, to witness that I come unto thee. Redeemer of
sinners, that I may obtain rest for my soul from the thunders of guilt
and the dread of eternity. Amen.—C. E.
III. “I do, through confidence in thy power, earnestly entreat thee to
take the work into thine own hand, and give me a circumcised heart, that
I may love thee, and create in me a right spirit, that I may seek thy
glory. Grant me that principle which thou wilt own in the day of
judgment, that I may not then assume palefacedness, and find myself a
hypocrite. Grant me this, for the sake of thy most precious blood.
Amen.—C. E.
IV. “I entreat thee, Jesus, the Son of God, in power, grant me, for the
sake of thy agonizing death, a covenant-interest in thy blood, which
cleanseth; in thy righteousness, which justifieth; and in thy redemption,
which delivereth. I entreat an interest in thy blood, for thy _blood’s_
sake, and a part in thee, for thy name’s sake, which thou hast given
among men. Amen.—C. E.
V. “O Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, take, for the sake of thy
cruel death, my time, and strength, and the gifts and talents I possess;
which, with a full purpose of heart, I consecrate to thy glory in the
building up of thy church in the world, for thou art worthy of the hearts
and talents of all men. Amen.—C. E.
VI. “I desire thee, my great High Priest, to confirm, by thy power, from
thy High Court, my usefulness as a preacher, and my piety as a Christian,
as two gardens nigh to each other; that sin may not have place in my
heart, to becloud my confidence in thy righteousness, and that I may not
be left to any foolish act that may occasion my gifts to wither, and
rendered useless before my life ends. Keep thy gracious eye upon me, and
watch over me, O my Lord, and my God for ever! Amen.—C. E.
VII. “I give myself in a particular manner to thee, O Jesus Christ, the
Saviour, to be preserved from the falls into which many stumble, that thy
name (in thy cause) may not be blasphemed or wounded, that my peace may
not be injured, that thy people may not be grieved, and that thine
enemies may not be hardened. Amen.—C. E.
VIII. “I come unto thee, beseeching thee to be in covenant with me in my
ministry. As thou didst prosper Bunyan, Vavasor Powell, Howell Harris,
Rowlands, and Whitefield, O do thou prosper me. Whatsoever things are
opposed to my prosperity, remove them out of the way. Work in me every
thing approved of God, for the attainment of this. Give me a heart ‘sick
of love’ to thyself, and to the souls of men. Grant that I may
experience the power of thy word before I deliver it, as Moses felt the
power of his own rod, before he saw it on the land and waters of Egypt.
Grant this, for the sake of thine infinitely precious blood, O Jesus, my
hope, and my all in all! Amen.—C. E.
IX. “Search me now, and lead me in plain paths of judgment. Let me
discover in this life what I am before thee, that I may not find myself
of another character, when I am shown in the light of the immortal world,
and open my eyes in all the brightness of eternity. Wash me in thy
redeeming blood. Amen.—C. E.
X. “Grant me strength to depend upon thee for food and raiment, and to
make known my requests. O let thy care be over me as a
covenant-privilege betwixt thee and myself, and not like a general care
to feed the ravens that perish, and clothe the lily that is cast into the
oven; but let thy care be over me as one of thy family, as one of thine
unworthy brethren. Amen.—C. E.
XI. “Grant, O Jesus! and take upon thyself the preparing of me for
death, for thou art God; there is no need, but for thee to speak the
word. If possible, thy will be done; leave me not long in affliction,
nor to die suddenly, without bidding adieu to my brethren, and let me die
in their sight, after a short illness. Let all things be ordered against
the day of removing from one world to another, that there be no confusion
nor disorder, but a quiet discharge in peace. O grant me this, for the
sake of thine agony in the garden! Amen.—C. E.
XII. “Grant, O blessed Lord! that nothing may grow and be matured in me,
to occasion thee to cast me off from the service of the sanctuary, like
the sons of Eli; and for the sake of thine unbounded merit, let not my
days be longer than my usefulness. O let me not be like lumber in a
house in the end of my days,—in the way of others to work. Amen.—C. E.
XIII. “I beseech thee, O Redeemer! to present these my supplications
before the Father: and O! inscribe them in thy book with thine own
immortal pen, while I am writing them with my mortal hand, in my book on
earth. According to the depths of thy merit, thine undiminished grace,
and thy compassion, and thy manner unto thy people, O! attach thy name,
in thine upper court, to these unworthy petitions; and set thine amen to
them, as I do on my part of the covenant. Amen.—CHRISTMAS EVANS,
Llangevni, Anglesea, April 10, 18—.”
Mr. Evans, in speaking of this solemn transaction and its influence upon
his spirit, subsequently observes: “I felt a sweet peace and tranquility
of soul, like unto a poor man that had been brought under the protection
of the royal family, and had an annual settlement for life made upon him;
from whose dwelling the painful dread of poverty and want had been for
ever banished away.”
Thus “strengthened with might in the inner man,” he labored with renewed
energy and zeal, and showers of blessings descended upon his labors. In
two years, his ten preaching places in Anglesea were increased to twenty,
and six hundred converts were added to the church under his care. “The
wilderness and solitary place were glad for them, and the desert rejoiced
and blossomed as the rose.”
STUDYING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
Mr. Evans made several visits to Liverpool, Bristol, and other parts of
England. On these occasions he was frequently solicited to preach in
English, to which he several times consented, to the great gratification
of his English friends. These sermons evinced the same energy of
thought, and the same boldness of imagery, as those which he preached in
Welsh; but in the power of his peculiar delivery, they were inevitably
far inferior. His brethren in England were much delighted with his
performances, and said it was “no wonder the Welsh were warm under such
preaching;” but his language was broken and hesitating, and they could
scarcely have any conception of his animation and energy when he spoke in
his vernacular tongue.
His success induced him to commence a systematic study of the English
language, that he might be able to preach in it with greater freedom and
effect. He could read English before, and was somewhat familiar with the
best English authors of his day; but never acquainted himself with the
grammar of the language till he was thirty-three years of age. But read
his own account of the matter:—
“The English brethren had prevailed upon me to preach to them in broken
English, as it was; this induced me to set about the matter in earnest,
making it a subject of prayer, for the aid of the Spirit, that I might be
in some measure a blessing to the English friends, for there appeared
some sign that God now called me to this department of labor in his
service. I never succeeded in any thing for the good of others, without
making it a matter of prayer. My English preaching was very broken and
imperfect in point of language; yet, through the grace of Jesus Christ,
it was made in some degree useful at Liverpool, Bristol, and some other
places. I was about forty years old when I learned to read the Hebrew
Bible and the Greek Testament, and use Parkhurst’s Lexicons in both
languages. I found that, had I studied the English language attentively
and perseveringly, I should be able to overcome great difficulties; and
also, that I could without much labor in the course of few years, even in
my idle hours, as it were, understand all the Hebrew words corresponding
with every Welsh word in the Bible; and so also the Greek. I had always
before thought that it was impossible to accomplish this, for I had no
one to encourage me in the undertaking; but I found it was practicable,
and proved it in some measure, yet relinquished the pursuit on account of
my advanced age.”
NEW TROUBLES AND SORROWS.
Here we pass over several years of Mr. Evans’ history, during which
nothing of very special interest occurred, except the agitation of the
Fullerian controversy. This is a matter which requires only a passing
notice in this brief memoir. We let it sleep in silence.
Mr. Evans was now nearly sixty years of age. Infirmity, the result of
his arduous labors and numerous afflictions, began to prey upon his
system. The several congregations under his care had hitherto
constituted but one church. But the number of preaching places had now
become too great for him, in his enfeebled state, to continue his
pastoral visits and labors among them as he had done. He therefore
advised them to form themselves into separate churches, two or three
stations uniting in one. This was the occasion of a dark and dreadful
storm upon the apostle of Anglesea. Some of the churches refused the
ministers he recommended, and called others whom he disapproved. Then
arose a bitter party spirit, and a general contention, among the
congregations. Mr. Evans was severely censured, and even assailed with
the shafts of slander. Many of his former friends forsook him, and some
of those who professed to feel for him in his troubles did nothing for
his vindication. The severity of these public calamities was increased
by private afflictions. His beloved wife had gone “the way of all the
earth.” He was himself brought very low by sickness, in which he nearly
lost his only remaining eye, and seemed fast tending to his final home.
But though cast down, he was not destroyed. “I wonder greatly,” says he,
“that I did not sink into the grave under the weight of sorrows that came
upon me in my old age, together with an accumulation of trials of all
kinds; but the Lord sustained me. There was, in the midst of all, a
strong persuasion in my mind, that there was yet much work for me to do
for God in the world, as well as much to suffer, ere I died. If I only
entered the pulpit, I felt raised as it were to Paradise—above my
afflictions—until I forgot my adversity; yea, I felt my mountain strong,
my mind was in such a heavenly frame, and as anxious as ever for the
conversion of sinners. The truth appeared to me in its power like a
hammer in its strength. The doctrine dropped as sweet as the honey, yea,
sweeter than the honeycomb, and as comfortable as the best wine. I was
now particularly wishful that all the ministers in Anglesea should join
with me, according to the promise, ‘If two of you agree to ask the _same
thing_, it shall be given unto you of my Father which is in heaven;’ for
I had such confidence that then I should see prosperity attending the
ministry, and that I should not die until I had finished my work. I said
to a brother:—‘Brother, the doctrine, the confidence, and strength which
I feel, will make some persons dance with joy yet in some parts of
Wales.’ ‘Yea, brother,’ said he, with tears flowing in streams from his
eyes.
“Every thing now contributed to remove me from Anglesea. The unbending
disposition of those who were offended at me, and the ardor of my own
spirit, believing that there was work for me to do in some other field of
the harvest of the Son of man, and my having prayed earnestly for twelve
months for the direction of Divine Providence, together with the visions
of my head in the night seasons, appeared to unite together to lead in
one direction. At length, the determination to leave Anglesea, afflicted
as I was, preponderated. I was much like Jacob, leaving his father and
his mother, going with his staff only over Jordan: so was I, leaving the
church: I had prayed, yea, I had striven with God for its prosperity, and
had labored nearly forty years with it—now leaving it—possessing nothing
of this world’s goods, save the horse upon which I rode, and a small
amount of silver in my pocket; and scarcely could I say that these were
mine.”
LEGAL PROSECUTION.
During the above-mentioned tribulations he received an insulting letter,
threatening him with a civil prosecution. “They talk,” said he, “of
casting me into a court of law, where I have never been, and hope I shall
never go; but I will cast them first into the court of Jesus Christ, the
source of law and authority.” So saying, he retired to his chamber, and
falling upon his knees, he wept and made supplication in the following
pathetic strain:—
“O blessed Lord! in thy merit I confide, and trust to be heard. Lord,
some of my brethren have run wild; and forgetting their duty and
obligations to their father in the gospel, they threaten me with the law
of the land. Weaken, I beseech thee, their designs in this, as thou
didst wither the arm of Jeroboam; and soften them, as thou didst soften
the mind of Esau, and disarmed him of his warlike temper against thy
servant Jacob, after the wrestling at Penuel. So disarm them, for I do
not know the length of Satan’s chain in this case, and in this
unbrotherly attack. But thou canst shorten the chain as short as it may
please thee. Lord, I anticipate them in point of law. They think of
casting thine unworthy servant into the little courts here below; but I
cast my cause into the High Court, in which thou, gracious Jesus, art the
High Chancellor. Receive thou the cause of thine unworthy servant, and
send them a writ or a notice immediately—sending into their conscience,
and summoning them to consider what they are doing. O, frighten them
with a summons from thy court, until they come and bow in contrition at
thy feet; and take from their hands every revengeful weapon, and make
them deliver up every gun of scandal, and every sword of bitter words,
and every spear of slanderous expressions, and surrender them all at thy
cross. Forgive them all their faults, and clothe them with white robes,
and give them oil for their heads, and the organ, and the harp of ten
strings, to sing, for the trampling of Satan under our feet by the God of
peace.”
Having thus poured out his heart to God, he felt some confidence of
security. But he was never satisfied in such cases without an inward
assurance of acceptance and success. So he went again and again; and
when, like Jesus, he had “offered up many prayers, with strong crying and
tears,” like Jacob “he had power with God, and prevailed.” “At the
seventh time,” says he, “I came down in full confidence that Christ had
taken my cause into his own hand, and would be my Savior. I felt as
cheerful and happy as Bunyan’s Pilgrim, when his load fell off and rolled
into the grave of Christ; or as Naaman, when he came up from the waters
of Jordan, cured of his leprosy.”
It is scarcely necessary to add, the threat was never executed. The
Throne of Grace is the good man’s sure resort in every emergency.
Jehovah “hides him in his pavilion from the strife of tongues.”
CAERPHILLY.
An invitation, which he received about this time, to take charge of the
Baptist church in Caerphilly, Glamorganshire, South Wales, confirmed Mr.
Evans in his determination to leave the scene of his recent trials. He
set out alone, in his sixtieth year. The distance he had to travel was
about two hundred miles. On the way, while dwelling on his past
misfortunes, he found his heart melted within him, and drawn out in
fervent prayer. His faith soon triumphed over his afflictions and his
fears. He renewed his covenant with God, and went on his way rejoicing.
This revival of his religious feelings had a powerful effect upon his
ministry. He had not been long in Caerphilly, before the Spirit of God
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 God 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 God. We extract again from his journal:—
“While returning from a place called Tongwynlâs 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.