Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

none else.' The believer can say this, when it is the coldest and darkest in his views and feelings; 'I will have none but Christ-no other righteousness than his to clothe me;-no blood of sacrifice to purify my conscience, than his;-his Spirit alone must sanctify me, and his grace enrich my soul; I will have none other. I have no confidence in any thing else. I am flesh and corruption; a mass of abomination I am; I count all things in me, and about me, dung and loss, but Christ, and his infinite riches of grace and glory.'" He proceeds, and observes, "That the design of the second birth is to unite the soul to Christ, and that the work of the Spirit in regeneration will certainly reveal Christ as a Saviour in some degree, until the soul is enabled to look unto him for salvation; and that the least manifestation of the Son of God, by the Spirit, leads the soul over the threshold into the great temple of the plan of salvation in all its mysteries. And the believer, by the aid of the Spirit, will continue to apprehend that for which he is apprehended of Christ Jesus, until he is led by the Spirit into all the chambers and galleries of this great temple, according to the measure of his faith, to behold the treasures, full of grace, and merit, and power of God, an ornament upon all the vessels of service, upon the bowls, and upon the instruments of music." Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.t

* Matt. xxv. 21.

CHAPTER II.

Mr. Evans's first visit to North Wales.-Settlement at Leyn. -Delivered from his dejection.-A notice of particular occurrences while he was at Leyn: 1. His ordination; 2. His marriage; 3. His peace of mind, obtained by prayer; 4. A change occurring in his talents; 5. Abundant labors and success in the ministry; 6. His first journey from Leyn to South Wales, and the pros perity which attended him.-The state of religion at Leyn previous to his removal.-His removal to Anglesea.—The state of religion on the island.-The method he adopted to promote and extend the cause of religion.-Visit to South Wales.-The interesting state of religion in Anglesea. Another visit to South Wales.-Attending the Association at Velin Voel.-His annual attendance on the South Wales Associations.-His popularity.-His own circumstances, and the state of religion in North Wales.

IN 1799, when Mr. Evans was twenty-three years of age, he attended the Baptist Association, held that year at Maesyberllan, in the county of Brecknock. At this meeting there were several ministers from North Wales, and amongst others, Mr. T. Morris, of Anglesea; Mr. J. Jones, of Ramoth; and Mr. W. Roberts, of Leyn. These brethren

encouraged Mr. E. to visit the North; and to accompany them thither on their return, which he at length consented to do. While travelling and preaching with these ministers, he considered them beyond measure more pious and gifted than he felt himself to be; he thought it a very pleasant journey, going, and preaching in the different churches in their way towards Caernarvonshire, were it not for the heavy burden that lay on his mind, like the burden of Bunyan's pilgrim, which in spite of every thing continued to oppress him. However, he prosecuted his journey until he came to Leyn, in Caernarvonshire: there were several places already open for preaching in these parts, and Mr. E. preached with considerable acceptance to these small churches, and to the hearers in general.

Few and poor,' were the Bap-
These few and poor people

tists there at that time.
were very urgent upon Mr. E. to remain with them,
and he ultimately agreed to comply with their wishes.
He had before this time thought occasionally of visit-
ing North Wales; and from the great scarcity of
ministers there at that time, to meet the spiritual
wants of the population, it is not improbable that he
felt a degree of bias in his mind towards that region;
and it is remarkable to observe, how that temptations
were suffered to annoy him constantly until he was
led into the principal field of his labors. "I will
bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will
lead them in paths that they have not known: I will

make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight."* Showers of blessings descended on Mr. E.'s labors at Leyn, and there appeared some new, and, to him, strange power in the ministry. He noticed, that three things occurred to his mind, to which until now he was a stranger. 1, The importance of the cause in which he was engaged. 2, The spirit of prayer; and 3, Experimental light on the plan of salvation. He understood experimentally that he must die wholly to the law, that it was vain for him to prepare himself for coming to Christ, that he must live by faith, and rest entirely on Christ for justification, and sanctification, and every other grace. The doctrine of free grace now caught hold of his mind; he began to consider, as one whose eyes had been opened, and judge of religious matters for himself. He found rest in Christ, and enjoyed peace of mind; he was relieved from the burden of his spirit, and felt the excellency of religion, as the means of joy and comfort in the Holy Ghost. "I could scarcely believe," he says, "the testimony of the people who came before the church as candidates for membership, that they had been converted by my ministry, owing to the depressed state of feeling that had so long followed me; yet, I was obliged to believe, though it was 'marvellous' in my eyes. This made me thankful to God, and increased my confidence in

* Isaiah xlii. 16.

prayer; a pleasant and delightful gale descended upon me, as from the hill of the new Jerusalem, and I felt the three great things of the kingdom of heaven; righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."* Many at this time were awakened to life through his instrumentality in that vicinity. "I baptized," he adds, "about fifty persons at Ty-yn-y-donen the first year, and we had eighty more in society there the second year."

It becomes necessary in this place to observe more particularly some circumstances, which occurred in the life and ministry of Mr. Evans while at Leyn, for much notice is taken by him of this period, and of those parts, through the whole course of his subsequent life.

1. In 1790, the first year of his residence at Leyn, he was ordained as an Itinerant, or Missionary, in the small churches to which reference has already been made. The ordination services were conducted at a place called Salem, when he was solemnly set apart for the work to which he had been called, by prayer and the imposition of hands. The ministers engaged on the occasion, were Mr. J. Evans, of Roe; and Mr. T. Morris, of Anglesea. The few Baptists in that neighborhood were greatly rejoiced at this event, and they perceived that the Lord had begun to lift up the light of his countenance upon them.

*Rom. xiv. 17.

« ZurückWeiter »