Evan Roberts and

the Welsh revival of 1904

When Evan Roberts accepted the invitation to conduct the Sunday services at Bryn Seion chapel in Trecynon, Aberdare on 13 November 1904, he was firmly convinced that God intended to bless that area even though there had been no previous signs that revival was impending. Such was his assurance of imminent blessing that he promptly arranged further meetings for the following week in several chapels in Trecynon and sent for a group of his friends from Loughor to assist him. His boldness was soon justified, for on the first evening after an unpromising opening, the meeting took a remarkable course which was fully reported in the "Western Mail" of 15th November.

Modest almost to the point of despair was the beginning made by the Evan Roberts revival mission at Trecynon on Monday evening, and the omens pointed to orthodox quietness rather than the exuberance of emotional fervour which has characterised in such a remarkable degree the revival services at Loughor. When the service was timed to commence at Ebenezer chapel the empty pews were more numerous than the people and there was a coldness in the air which boded ill for a successful meeting. Those that know Trecynon, a little village which nestles on the borders of Aberdare, with its traditions of religious zeal, will be most surprised to know that Ebenezer was not besieged on such an occasion, and, perhaps at the same time, they will best appreciate the remark of a village stoic that "the fair at Aberdare was a powerful counter attraction."

Instead of finding an eager throng outside of the chapel (writes one of our representatives), I was surprised to see only some half-dozen groups of miners and their wives and sons gathered together just as is their wont on the occasion of the ordinary weekly prayer meeting. Later in the evening the reason for this sparse attendance became obvious. The service had been started so early that workmen had not been given sufficient time to go to their homes from their work and change their working clothes for those they considered better fitting a religious service. While the few who had seated themselves in the chapel awaited the arrival of the young revivalist, an elderly man seated beneath the gallery offered up a prayer, and a young man who was seated in another part of the building recited the words of the popular Welsh hymn, "Disgwyl rwyf hyd yr hirnos" the last two lines of which were being repeated when the five young ladies from Loughor who have played so prominent a part in the mission with their speech and song walked up the aisle and seated themselves on the 'set fawr'. One of them possessing a sweet mezzosoprano voice of singular tenderness sang 'Happy Day', and the early coldness was already beginning to thaw under the influence of the intensifying fervour with which the refrain was sung and sung again.

The melody was in full swing when Mr Roberts took his seat beneath the pulpit. Before uttering a word he approached the old man who had been the first to pray, and grasped his hand. The building by this time was filling rapidly. Evan Roberts looked pale but was full of animation. While another hymn was being sung he walked up and down the aisle, swinging his arms and clapping his hands. At times he gave a short, sharp spring off his right foot, and smiled joyously on the people around him. There was no conventionality, no artificiality or affectation in his manner. The expression on his open, attenuated and distinctly intellectual face was that of a man with a mission, and reminded one of so many portraits to be found in Welsh homesteads, of men who were leaders in the two previous religious revivals in Wales.

Speaking in Welsh, he discarded the stereotyped preface so commonly in vogue among preachers in the principality, and straightaway declared the faith that was in him. He had not come there, he said, to frighten them with a discourse on the terrors of everlasting punishment. His belief was that the love of Christ was a powerful enough magnet to draw the people. That was his own personal experience and he had found a joy which was far beyond human expression. No one but the true believer knew what it was like to have a light heart and unalloyed happiness. Denominationalism did not enter into his religion. Some people said he was a Methodist. He did not know what he was. Sectarianism melted in the fire of the Holy Spirit, and all men who believed became one happy family. For years he was a faithful member of a church, a zealous worker, and a free giver. But he had recently discovered he was not a Christian and there were thousands like him.

It was only since that discovery that a new light had come into his life. That same light was shining upon all men if they would but open their eyes and hearts. Reverting to sectarianism, he said that whilst sect was fighting against sect the devil was clapping his hands with glee and encouraging the fight. Let all people be one with one object, the salvation of sinners. Men refused to accept the Gospel and confess because, they said, of the gloom and uncertainty of the future. They looked to the future without opening their eyes to the infinite glories of the present. They talked of the revival of 1859, why? There would be perpetual revival if men would only keep their hearts open instead of closing them to every influence. If anyone had come there that evening to make an impression, he advised him or her to refrain. Unless they felt that they were moved to speech or song let them keep their peace. He did not come there to glorify himself. Glad tidings had come to Loughor regarding a mission among gipsies in their encampment near that place. The soul of a gipsy was of no less value than that of any other human creature.

Such was the substance of Mr Roberts' address. He spoke for an hour and a quarter under evident restraint and in a quiet confident style. He made no attempt at rhetoric and was never at a loss for a phrase or a word. Those who might have come to scoff and did not remain to pray must, at any rate, have been deeply impressed by the profound earnestness of the young man, and there is no doubt his absolute sincerity and conviction.

Immediately he had resumed his seat two elderly women rose simultaneously, one speaking in Welsh the other speaking in English. The voice of her who spoke the latter language rang out clearly and a common thrill trembled through the assembly as a breath of wind runs across the sea. Her last words were, 'I love my master because I know what, He has done for me, and then she fell back in the pew. A young woman came forward with the Bible in her hand and was preparing to read when Mr Roberts asked the people to sing "Duw mawr y rhyfeddodau maith," the stirring words of which were repeated several times. After reading a portion of scripture the young woman knelt down in prayer, and an impassioned fervour spread into all parts of the crowded chapel.

After some more singing led off by one of the five young ladies from Loughor, an elderly man gave some reminiscences of the great revival of 1859. "I am a child of that revival," he said. He told his hearers how in those stirring times publicans took down their signboards, how people gathered in the woods and the open fields to worship.

Speaking for the second time, Mr Roberts said that policemen in Loughor were having an easy time, and the publicans deploring the loss of customers. He knew of one young man who had left a public house with the remark, "I am going to hear that lunatic" meaning him (Mr Roberts). That man came to the service and left a penitent convert. Another man had suddenly dropped on his knees in front of a pint of beer inside a Loughor public house.

During the remainder of the night men and women broke forth in prayer and song, and a meeting that had opened so coldly was in a white heat of religious enthusiasm before the last word had been said.

By the time the meetings at Trecynon came to an end, there were many other places in Wales where the Holy Spirit was powerfully at work and Roberts realised that careful discernment was required on his part to ensure that he went wherever God wanted him to be. The revival was continuing to spread in South Cardiganshire where his friend Sidney Evans and ministers such as Rev Joseph Jenkins had busily engaged in conducting meetings in a widening circle of towns and villages from Cardigan to Tregaron. Similarly the area around Loughor was experiencing intense spiritual awakening and when Rev. Jenkins fulfilled a preaching engagement at Ammanford on Sunday 6th November he found the response so encouraging that he immediately arranged further meetings for the following week. It was during these gatherings that the prayers for a visitation of the Holy Spirit were answered as conversions occurred nightly. A week later a mission previously arranged by the Forward Movement of the Calvinistic Methodist church was due to begin in the town and after the first meeting, the leader, Seth Joshua noted "There is a wonderful fire burning here. The ground is very prepared, thank God." The Sunday services conducted by Joshua were some of the most remarkable he ever experienced and he wrote of them, "Even in the morning a number were led to embrace the Saviour. In the afternoon the blessing fell upon scores of young people" while in the evening, "Numbers confessed Jesus, but it is impossible to count."

At the same time places in North Wales were experiencing the touch of God's power, particularly at Bethesda where a mission led by Rev Hugh Hughes was mightily blessed, the Nantlle valley which became the centre for the evangelistic outreach of Evan Lloyd Jones, at Rhos where Rev. R.B. Jones held a mission which resulted in a flood of conversions, and even in small villages such as Egryn, near Harlech where Mary Jones the wife of a local farmer was greatly used in bringing over seventy of her neighbours to faith in Christ.

Evan Roberts was not directly associated with many of the events taking place in Wales and claimed no credit for them, for he well-knew that the out-pouring of grace was from God alone and he trusted that the Holy Spirit would guide him to the places of God's choosing. As a result when he left Trecynon, he felt constrained to visit the Garw valley and hold meetings at Pontycymmer, Pyle, Bridgend and Abergwynfi where he even visited the coal-mines early in he morning to speak to the miners coming up from the night shift who were not able to attend the usual evening services.

The following weeks saw revival breaking out in place after place and sweeping through towns and valleys in a manner that defied human explanation and confounded sceptics of all kinds. To the criticism and opposition which were raised against he revival, Roberts wisely refrained from replying and neither did he associate himself with places where he believed counterfeit movements were at work. He had always recognised that one day the tide of blessing would recede and he continued urging people to pray for God to work on until February 1905 when he felt compelled to rest from he intense activity which had so completely absorbed him since the previous November. There is good season to believe that in Wales alone the 100,000 souls for whom he had entreated God, had been added to His kingdom, while the consequent effects of the revival spread to many other parts of Britain and into the wider context of church and missionary development throughout he world. In his foreword to the book 'The Welsh Revival of 1904' by Eifion Evans, Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones stated that it was his hope and his prayer that reading about the events of that time would "lead many so to realise anew and afresh the glory and the wonder of the power of God that they will begin to long and to yearn and to pray for another 'visitation from on high' such as was experienced in 1904-05."