THE COLLIER EVANGELIST

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVII, Issue 5474, 31 December 1904, Page 9

T HE COLLIER EVANGELIST

WONDERFUL EFFECT OF HIS PREACHING. SCENES OF FERVOUR AT AN ALE: NIGHT MEETING. j The wave of rel'gious fervency which is sweeping over South .Wales, similar to that which took plane during the times of Howell Harris, the great Welsh Evange- j list, is growing in intensity. | Two months ago says the London "Morning Leader" the Ucv Seth Joshua, a miniver connected w.th the Calvinistic Methodist forward movement, opened a mssiou at Newcastlo-Emlyn. Amongst those who came under his influence was a young student who had until recently been working as a collier. Evan Roberts in his name. | At one meeting Roberts was called upon to offer up prayer. He prayed with such intense earnestness that he was completely overc.mc by Jim emotions. The eiioct upon the meeting was startling, and young Roberts became a prominent figure at subsequent meetings. j AROUSED SOUTH WALES IN A WEEK . Wherever he prayed he broke down under his emotions. Then it came to him j that the Holy Spirit had called him to go f rtli and preach the Gospel. He did so with remarkable effect, and he has within a week aroused the whole of South \V ales to such a pitch of religious j frenzy (hat people continue to flock in th usands to hear him preach. It is still no uncommon Jung for the services to last until three or four o’clock in the morning. i 'those who have attended these gather- ! ings see .1 to think chat under the influence of the collier evangel there is a peutecus.al outpouring which brings sinners to repentance. People who at first cam • tog ther to worship for the orthodox services have sat on for hours, singing and pray ng, as one after another has made confession of Christ. j This is not the experience of a night, but of every successive night. The fame of the young stuaent has spread and people, enri us to sec the modern Howell Harris, have come from far and near. j A PEN PORTRAIT. j Mr Roberts is a young man of 26. His appearance is sir king. He .is tall and distinguished-looking. There is no conventionality ab ut him. The expression : on his opm. attenuated, and distinctly intellectual face is that of a man w th a mis ion, and reminds one of the portraits to be seen in manj 'Welsh homesteads of men who were leaders in the two previous religious revivals in Wales. Hie y ung preacher’s eyes are piercing in their brightness, and the pallor of his countenance seems to suggest that his nightly vigils are telling upon him. He is not gifted with remarkable eloquence. PI nty of better speakers attend his eeti' gs. but they do not seem to he imbued with the same power. There is nothing theatrical about his preaching. He does not seek to terrify his hearers, and eternal torment finds no place in his theology. He seldom occupies the pulpit, but walks up and down the meeting-place talking, exhorting, pleading, and explaining. Now in the gallery he will kneel beside someone and pray, or anon he will grasp the hand of an. eged worshipper in the body of the hall. ■ •bile the hymns are being sung he walks up and down, swinging his arms and clapping his hands. He sm les joy- : ously upon the congregation, and af times gives a short, sharp spring off his right loot, displaying thus the exuberance of his spirits. He is at the same tme modesty personified, and loves to see the congregation take the meeting in.o their own hands, spontane.us prayers, hymns, and readings of Scripture coming from all parts of the building. AS TO THE FUTURE. In the course of an interview Mr Roberts said that the only explanation of 1 what was taking place was that the spirit of God was working amongst the people. Asked whether he was going to devote h'.mself u> mission work in the future, he said that in that matter -he was in the hands of God He believed we were on the eve of ono of the greatest revivals that Wales had ever seen. All the signs of this were present. It was time for us to get out of the groove in which we had walked for so long. He was certain it was one thing for a man to be converted, and quite another to rece ve the baptism of the Spirit. Asked how many converts had been made. Hr Roberts said that he did not call it conversion, nor did he believe in the counting of heads. Some people had said that he was doing good work. It was net his, however. He was simply an instrument in the hand of God, and he wanted men to receive the joy of rel.gion as he had found it. Describing a typical meeting a correspondent says: “At half-past two o’clock a.m. I took a rough note of what was then | proceeding. In the gallery a woman was' praying, and she fainted. Water was offered her, but she refused this, saying that the only thing she wanted -was God’s forgiveness. “A well-known resident then rose, and said that salvation had come to him. Immediately Allowing a thanksgiving hymn was sung, while an English prayer from a new convert broke in upon the singing. “The whole oongregai-.on then fell upon their knees, prayers ascending from ev ry part of the edifice, while Mr Roberts gave way to tears at the sight. This state of fervency lasted for about ten minutes. It was followed by an even more impressive five minutes of silence, broken only by the sobs of strong mei“A hymn was then started by a woman with a bcautiiul soprano voice. Finally Mr Roberts announced the holding of future meet.ngs. and at twenty minutes past four a.m. the gathering dispersed.”