| Evan Roberts 8Description: The story of Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival of 1904-5 is the most thrilling, but also the most sad and sobering in all revival history. On the one hand we see one hundred thousand souls in Wales coming to Christ in just nine months, from November 1904 to August 1905. This was the beginning of a world-wide revival that ushered hundreds of thousands more into the Kingdom of God. On the other hand, we see Evan Roberts, the principle revivalist of this move of God, becoming deceived, deluded and finally suffering a nervous breakdown which took him out of the public limelight to live the life of a recluse. Furthermore, the fruits of the revival in Wales (but not world-wide) were soon lost through criticism, fears of deception and a Welsh theology which suppressed the assurance of salvation. Within a generation there were no signs that a revival had ever occurred
| | Evan Roberts 9Description: Evan Roberts was born and raised in a Welsh Calvinist Methodist family in Loughor, on the Glamorgan and Carmarthenshire border. As a boy he was unusually serious and very diligent in his Christian life. He memorised verses of the Bible and was a daily attender of Moriah Chapel, a church about a mile from his home. Even at 13 years of age he began to develop a heart for a visitation from God. He later wrote “I said to myself: I will have the Spirit. And through all weathers and in spite of all difficulties I went to the meetings… for ten or eleven years I have prayed for revival. I could sit up all night to read or talk about revivals. It was the Spirit who moved me to think about revival.”
| | 'Songs of Praises' by Arthur W. MorrisDescription: 'Songs of Praises' by Arthur W. Morris, Cardiff, 1907. The meetings held during the Revival were often a mixture of Welsh and English, with individuals singing in both languages. This explains why so many bilingual songbooks were published at this time.
| | 'The Welsh Revival - Hymns and TunesDescription: 'The Welsh Revival - Hymns and Tunes' by Cynalaw, Briton Ferry, 1905. A notable music editor at the turn of the twentieth century, Cynalaw was responsible for the publishing of numerous hymnbooks such as Y Tlws Cerddorol in 1886. He also played an important publishing role during the Revival of 1904-05.
| | Annie DaviesDescription: The best known of the soloists in the Evan Roberts team. The meetings then moved to wherever Evan felt led to go. Those travelling with him were predominately female and the young girls would often begin meetings with intense intercession, urging surrender to God and by giving testimony. Evan would often be seen on his knees pleading for GodÂ’s mercy, with tears. The crowds would come and be moved upon by wave after wave of the SpiritÂ’s presence. Spontaneous prayer, confession, testimony and song erupted in all the meetings. Evan, or his helpers , would approach those in spiritual distress and urge them to surrender to Christ. No musical instruments were played and, often, there would be no preaching. Yet the crowds continued to come and thousands professed conversion.
| | Booklet CoverDescription: Evan Roberts had been a committed Christian from his early teenage years. He had not lived a profligate life – he was a tea-totaler committed to abstinence, a regular attendee and contributor to the on going life of his local church. He was a well-respected Sunday School teacher – someone who prayed publicly in the prayer meeting and rarely missed the other mid week meetings. Friends of his at the time remember him as a committed Christian in word and deed. His private spiritual life also matched his public profession, private prayer and bible study. These were essential components of his spirituality from an early age. But it was in the spring of 1904 that Evan was to experience an even greater feeling of God’s presence. One night he was woken from his sleep and led into a deep communion with God for hours. This experience was to continue every evening for the next few months until he went away to the school at Newcastle Emlyn.
| | Booklet Cover 02Description: The party of students including Evan Roberts arrived on the second day in time for the early morning session which was again led by Lewis. The meeting was closed in prayer by Seth Joshua and as he implored God to have mercy upon them and make them submissive to His Will, Evan Roberts felt one phrase of the prayer burning In his heart -"0 Lord, bend us". The words remained indelibly impressed on his mind throughout the interval for breakfast and afterwards when the meeting was resumed, the power of the Holy Spirit became so compelling that Roberts fell to his knees in tears. The truth of Romans 5 v8, "But God commendeth His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us", flooded his whole being and caused him to plead with God to bend him to His will. After this he experienced a profound sense of peace, followed by a feeling of great " compassion for those who must bend at the judgement". Finally, in Roberts' own words, "the salvation of the human soul was solemnly impressed upon me. I felt ablaze with a desire to go through the length and breadth of Wales to tell of the Saviour" .
| | BRIGHT WORDSDescription: Bright Words was the magazine of the excellent Scottish evangelistic organization, ‘The Faith Mission.’ Today the magazine has been re-named ‘Living Words.’ The seeds of revival are always nurtured in the hearts of the humble. And so it was with the great Welsh Revival of 1904. It was in a young coal miner named Evan Roberts that God imparted a burning vision for spiritual revival. Evan Roberts did not possess the gifts of a great intellect or eloquent speech, but simply a burning passion for Jesus. While other young men were sailing boats in the bay, young Roberts was faithfully attending prayer meetings.
| | Cofio y Gwaed. 1905Description: 'Cofio y Gwaed', a gyhoeddwyd yn 1905.
| | Dan RobertsDescription: The Welsh revival was a mighty invasion of the Spirit; God's Kingdom radically manifested on earth. "The earnings of workmen, instead of being squandered on drink and vice, were now bringing great joy to their families. Outstanding debts were being paid by thousands of young converts. Restitution was the order of the day. The gambling and alcohol business lost their trade and the theaters closed down from lack of patronage. Football during this time was forgotten by both players and fans, though nothing was mentioned from the pulpits about it. The people had new lives and new interests. Political meetings were cancelled or abandoned. They seemed completely out of the question since nobody was interested. The political leaders from parliament in London abandoned themselves to the revival meetings. The man-made denominational barriers completely collapsed as believers and pastors worshipped their majestic Lord together." One of the outstanding features of the revival was the confession of sin,not among the unsaved only, but among the saved. All were broken down and melted before the cross of Christ.
| | Evan Roberts 1Description: Throughout the revival, Evan Roberts constantly stressed the necessity of dealing honestly with sin, complete obedience to the Holy Spirit, and the preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Evan Roberts was instrumental in bringing healing to an entire country because he cared and wept and prayed. He embraced the broken heart of God and offered it back up to Him through prayer and intercession. As a result "wherever he went, hearts were set aflame with the Love of God!"
| | Evan Roberts 10Description: The role of Evan Roberts in the Welsh revival was anything but conventional. Often he would simply lead the people in prayer or read the Scriptures. Then at other times he sat silent, while, one after another, people confessed their sins or gave testimony of Christ's victory and power. There were also glorious times of worship which lasted literally hours. Roberts merely gave humble instruction from time to time and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. He was a constant example not of how to preach, but of how to be led by the Spirit.
| | Evan Roberts 11Description: Though only 26 years old, Evan Roberts had no time for youthful entertainment and pleasure. "Day and night without ceasing, he prayed, wept and sighed for a great spiritual awakening . . ." Roberts writes, "for ten or eleven years I have prayed for revival. I could sit up all night to read or talk about revivals." Eventually Evan Roberts was turned out of his lodging by his landlady who thought that in his enthusiasm he was possessed or somewhat mad. "He spent hours praying and preaching in his room until the lady became afraid of him, and asked him to leave."
| | Evan Roberts 12Description: THAT we are in the day in which evil deceiving spirits are manifesting their perverting doctrines, is, according to all evidences at our disposal, more than apparent; the evidences are more than adequate, they are overwhelming. The facts reveal the awful activity of the evil forces; the awful bondage of the Church; and the diminishing of the power of the Divine life in the Church as a consequence of such erroneous teaching, which leads into evil practice of such enormity resulting in an evil state of inaction and of sin.
| | Evan Roberts 13Description: That God desires an aggression for the incarceration of the foe in the abyss seems indicated by spirit burdens. But we have no revelation as to the exact time of the “sealing up.” But has the Church to wait until the coming in of the Millennial Era before being able to find herself victorious over all the power of the enemy? Can she not now prevail? And why should faithful souls remain in bonds to such a wrathful dragon? Does not God intend hearkening to the cries of the oppressed? Will He not make battle for their release? Will He the more readily come down from His great heights to ease a nation from physical thralldom, and harassing circumstances from an earthly enemy, than to hear the cry of need of those who are to-day, undoubtedly and surely, moral captives to a supernatural enemy?
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