Westminster 09 1c

For the final session of the day we left Calvin on one side and focused with Stephen Clark on the 1859 revival. It was good to do that as other anniversaries have crowded this one out for me this year.

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

*

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

Banner Leicester 03

In recent years it has been the practice to have a short item before the main morning one. This time Jonathan Watson spoke briefly on the 1859 revival in Ulster. He focussed on the way various aspects of life were affected by the revival, quoting from original sources. He highlighted the dearth of drunkenness and of sectarianism, the refining and elevating of the people in home and family. There were also many social improvements - people learned to read, profanity became rare, the criminal courts had little to do, drunkenness and violence receded, prostitution became very rare and many were converted.
He urged us therefore to pray. Who knows what God may do?
He mentioned inclosing the coming reprinting of John Weir's history of the revival.

Stapleford, etc

On Monday we were meeting again at the Evangelical Library near Baker Street where we are still inching towards a sale of the property. Further developments look to be in the right direction. Watch this space!
Then I was out all day Tuesday. Bright and early Eleri took me to the London Gateway Services near the bottom of the M1 (did you know that the M1 has no Junction 3?) where I met up with Jeremy Walker (Maidenbower Baptist) to travel to Stapleford, just off the M1 between Derby and Nottingham. In a chapel there I was at my first full committee organising upcoming Westminster Conferences. It was good to be amongst august company. One of the EP directors was able to give me a first glimpse of my book on regeneration, which Jeremy told me he also had a copy of. I'm still yet to have one of my own.
The next Westminster Conference (2008) is all set. I have listed the subjects here. Speakers are to be Iain Murray (Lessons from the Puritans), John J Murray (Recovering the Reformed vision), Paul Brown (Kevan and law), American Professor Robert Godfrey (Tradition good and bad), Jonathan Watson of Banner (Thomas Brooks) and Faith Cook (Grimshaw).
The conference is becoming a little nomadic. Having begun in Westminster Chapel and been in the Friends House near Euston for a short while, this year's conference (December 9, 10) will be at the American Church in Tottenham Court Road.
As for 2009 (December 8, 9) things are shaping up well. We are hoping to have papers on Calvin (two of these), one on the 1859 Revival, one concerning Darwin and Darwinism, one on the Elizabethan settlement of 1559 and, to round off, one on the Moravians. It is shaping up to be a very good conference. Do come along.
The church kindly made us hot drinks and given us a light lunch. One of the ladies said that they had had a baptism last Sunday of the husband of a church member, a man they had been praying for, for some 32 years! Praise the Lord!

After the committee those who wished were kindly invited to have a meal at the nearby home of a former committee member now retired. We had a lovely time chatting and enjoying hospitality there, sharing news and anecdotes, etc. This man has preached some 700 sermons since he retired 10 years ago, which shows that life is hardly over just because you retire.
We then headed home. I was back by 9 pm but Jeremy took another 2 hours to get through London. It was my suggestion to head through the city I hope that wasn't what made him so late.