Aber 09 4

So today we had Joel Beeke's third message in the morning. This time he took us to Jacob at Peniel (Genesis 32) and spoke of contagious blessing, looking at perseverance in prayer, penitence, power and price. This is not an easy passage but this was a helpful call to look to God at all times.

In the afternoon although it was sunny I joined a hundred others to hear Gwyn Davies on the 1859 revival. Gwyn gives unique lectures that find their strength in his thorough knowledge, understated passion and gentle humour.

He began with a reference to Thomas Charles Edwards and then spoke of the origins of the revival with Humphrey Jones and Dafydd Morgan. He then pointed out that although they are often seen as the main figures there was really another revival alongside their activity as hundreds of prayer meetings took place across the land and people were saved. Other features were a sense of God's presence (a newspaper spoke of "triumphant solemnity" at an association meeting in Llangeitho) and new spiritual vitality, as in the case of Dafydd Morgan who was on fire in the years of revival.

The revival led to old things such as

1. Abundant conversions of all sorts including the worst types.

2. New chapels built and old ones extended.

3. Society was transformed including political change that brought down the Tories, closed the pubs on Sundays and eventually saw the disestablishment of the Church of England. He gave an anecdote of when Queen Victoria came to Bethesda in North Wales and the slate quarrymen used their day off to hold prayer meetings rather than to see her.

All revivals are mixed and this one was particularly marred we were told by new things such as

1. Finneyism. Finney's ideas were employed first by the Wesleyan Jones who had worked in America and then by Morgan too. People were brought into membership too quickly and that diluted the church spiritually.

2. Gorfoleddu or rejoicing, which sometimes was taken to extremes. There was too much smoke with the fire.

3. Sadly Humphrey Jones claimed the gift of prophecy and predicted the coming of the Holy Spirit at a specific time. When nothing happened he had something of a breakdown.

Lessons were drawn from

1. The example of clear preaching from the heart by Morgan and Jones, despite their faults

2. The general example of zeal

3. The danger of Finneyism

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I was in again tonight so missed Peter Baker who spoke of the need for prayer, compassion and to be forgiven.