1904 and the Welsh Revival
Some historical notes about what happened; and 7 important facts.
Both of my parents were Welsh and we were taught as children about the great 1904 Revival. I have studied it for many years and anticipated the thrill of yet another 'move of God' in the not too distant future. I have had the privilege of touching the edge of something not dissimilar whilst pastoring in Wales some years ago. Nothing is impossible if you can believe.
Pubs and dancehalls were deserted, swearing and foul language was diminished. There was an awareness of something powerful in the air that brought people to their knees in the streets, in the schools, and in the churches alike. Strange phenomena was reported throughout the valleys as the supernatural power of God touched the lives of the inhabitants in a way never experienced by most.
A young girl started to cry at her desk in the school. The teacher asked her what was the matter. She said that she was crying because of her sin and her need of a Saviour. With that, the teacher fell to her knees, followed by the class, and then the whole school, in earnest prayer. As members of the public walked past the school gates that morning, they were overcome with the presence of God and also fell to their knees in the street.
God was visiting the land of Wales. It really happened. You can read volumes of reports and archived newspaper articles even today. A fire had come to Loughor in South Wales, and was spreading through the hills and the valleys.
There were no special programmes or church gospel campaigns. People everywhere were drawn by a mysterious atmosphere that compelled them to put things right and seek after God for mercy and forgiveness.
The police found that they had no work to do and so they formed male voice choirs to sing the praises of God.
It was actually the second spiritual Revival that Wales had experienced within half a century, the first being in 1895.
There was a prophecy given in 1905 at the peak of the revival, that a third and even more powerful one was to come in the far distant future after 100 years have passed.
The following is part of an account given by Edwin Orr:
'Many were the evidences of the Spirit of God working in Wales. Long standing debts were paid, and stolen goods returned, while notable cases of restitution were made.
At Maesteg, a
tradesman received a live pig in payment of a debt which had been outstanding
since 1898. Other notable instances of open restitution were reported.
Stocks of Welsh and English
Bibles were sold out.
Prayer meetings were held in coal
mines, in trains and trams, places of business, and schools. The managers of businesses and factories bore
testimony of the change of conduct of their employees.
The magistrates in several places
were presented with white gloves, which signified that there were utterly no criminal cases to
try.
The police rejoiced in the
Revival. One day in Holyhead, in the
island county of Anglesey, the solemnity of court proceedings was broken by
songs of praise in Welsh. The policeman outside hurried in, wondering what was happening, but stayed to
add his bass to the jury's choir of praise over a sinner repenting.
The life of the coal mines was
transformed. Not only did workers and management engage in prayer meetings on
the company's time which was being put to such good use in the ordinary hours
of activity, but the pits themselves showed silent indicators of the new
spirit—with Bible texts chalked upon ventilating doors for all to see who passed that
way.
Cursing and profanity were so
diminished that several slowdowns were reported in the coal mines. Because so
many men gave up using foul language, the pit ponies dragging the coal
trucks in the mine tunnels did not understand what was being said to them anymore, and stood still, totally confused.
It was noted in London that the
Poor Law Guardians (who helped the poor) in Swansea were commenting upon an
unusual happening in Wales. Working people began taking their aged parents home
from the workhouse to which they had been sadly assigned.
According to a scholarly article
published by the Society for Psychical Research, an Anglican vicar in
Cardiganshire while riding into the hills just before Christmas of 1904 to
visit parishioners, distinctly heard voices singing in the air, and put it down to pure
fancy that he was just hearing things. But the choir increased in volume until it became overpowering! From
where came this sound? Ha! It was indeed part of the move of God.
And Mile Saillens, who accompanied her father (Dr. Reuben Saillens) on his tour of Wales, was converted through the hearing of a solo in French, which everyone else heard in the singer’s native Welsh.
Such phenomena and unexplainable happenings abounded.
It was soon recognized that the
Welsh Revival differed vastly from 'revivalism' (as mass evangelism campaigns
are wrongly described), for it obviously was a movement among the people, not a
programmed campaign. Its meetings operated by prayer and praise under the
direct control of God’s Spirit.
‘The average (American) church
regards revival as impossible without big name evangelists.
A visiting American said, 'There can be revival wherever
there are united Christian people ready for it. God sends the power in every
case, just as he is in Wales.'
Dr. G. Campbell Morgan,
Westminster pastor, asked the question:
What is the character of this revival?
He said, 'It is a church revival. I do not mean by that a revival just among
church members... Meetings are held in the chapels, all up and down the
valleys, but it began among church members; and when it touches the outside and
unconverted man, it makes him a church member at once.. It is a movement in the
church and of the church, a movement in which the true functions and forces of
the church are being exercised and fulfilled.'
There is a strange paradox in the
proceedings of meetings in Evangelical Revivals, and Campbell Morgan commented:
‘It was a meeting characterized by a perpetual series of interruptions and
disorderliness; yet it was a meeting characterized by a great continuity (flowing) and an
absolute order.’
The sovereignty of the Holy
Spirit in all His operations, the possibility of a Spirit-filled assembly,
confidence in the inspired Word of God, the power of earnest, united prayer,
and the power of sacred song—these were the marks of the Revival.
Another observer summarized them
under 7 headings:
1. Honour to the Holy Spirit as a
presiding presence.
2. The plain preaching of Christ
and of sound gospel doctrine.
3. The prominence given to
prayer, individual and united.
4. The dependence upon God,
rather than upon men.
5. The absence of stereotyped
programme and set methods.
6. The readiness for blessing by
a willingness to remove all obstacles.
7. The direct and honest dealing with the
unconverted.'
It can happen again anywhere.
It will happen again in the most unlikely of places.
JGM 2022
