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The Revival.

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The Revival. JUBILEE AT SILOA, ABERDARE. IMPRESSIVE MEETINGS, The last instalment of the debt which re- mained on Siloa Congregational Chapel, Aberdare, has just been paid, and to com- memorate this happy event, as well as to deepen the spiritual life in the church, special services were held last Sunday and Monday. In the morning the Rev R. Gwylfa Roberts preached. The first sen- tence he uttered impressed upon us two facts-that he is a poet, and that he is a North Walian. The strain of poetic diction, which like a silver vein runs through all his discourses, manifests his poetical pro- pensities, and his slow deliberate, guttural utterance indicates his Arvonian extraction. Gwylfa is but a young man, but he is a young man with a future, and a young man with a message. He took as his topic Abraham's prayer on behalf of Ishmael, recor- ded in Genesis xvii. He remarked that Ishmael could not participate in the heri- tage because the shadow of the chain of bondage was on his life. This was an illus- tration of the state of many children in our days. The relentless law of heredity made them slaves for life in chains which their parents had forged. Some were, as Kings- ley put it, drunkards from the breast, damned before they are born." Dwelling on the ever-green topic of the Revival, the preacher remarked that be was glad to see the fetters breaking nowadays, and souls being released from the bondage of sin. The Son of God was powerful enough to wrench every link in the devil's chain. In the course of the morning service the Rev D. Silyn Evans, the popular pastor of Siloa, made some very happy references to the jubilee. The brethren and sisters at Siloa had by dint of unequalled activity and assiduity wiped off a debt of -2600. More- over, the committee had done that work un- ostentatiously without any trumpet- bellowing or demonstration. Mr W. J. Evans, the organist, had in particular, thrown himself heart and soul into the work. The Rev Elias Davies, Llanelly, also alluded to the pecuniary jubilee of the church. That they had their church free from debt was, he observed, a matter for rejoicing. But they had had another and a greater jubilee through the downpour of the Spirit in their midst during the last 2 months. At the afternoon meeting the Rev Gwylfa Roberts in his prayer made a similar allu- sion to Siloa's dual jubilee, His blending of the two events in his inimitable poetical style was most charming. At this meeting the Rev Elias Davies preached. Mr Davies was brimful of the Revival spirit, and gave very striking illustrations of the working of the Spirit within the range of his experience. There was no need of a chair of elocution in our colleges now, he said. The revival had endowed the ministers with gifts of tongues. Ministerial feuds were for- gotten, and churches alienated throngh dis- putes were being reconciled. Mr Davies is a native of Aberdare, and one of the children of Siloa. He made a pathetic reference to the departed saints of Siloa, who were now participating in the great celestial revival. An appropriate inci- dent at the service was the singing of the well-known hymn Mae brodyr imi aeth yn mlaen to the soul-stirring hymn-tune of the late Dr Parry, in memory of departed Siloaites, esteemed in life and lamented in death. Dr Clifford once said after having witnessed a series of revival meetings in the Rhondda, that he had seen conversions without organs, without choirs and without other factors which are considered as essential elements in the paraphernalia of religion. Many churches have thought that instru- mental music is an impediment to the working of the spirit, and have disbanded their orchestras and silenced their organs. In Siloa however the organist is not among the unemployed, but his activity is more in request than ever. It is true that the con- ventional order is sometimes reversed. Instead of the organist directing the singers, the singers lead the organist. The con- gregation strikes up Diolch iddo," Ar ei ben bo'r goron," or some other revival hymn, and the organist at once "strities the lyre," and the effect is wonderful. Indeed the singing at Siloa was sublime, :1 and illustrated to us very forcibly the aid which good, cultured, orderly melody may contribute to the spreading of the revival, and even more so to the deepening of its effects. In none of the revival meetings that we have attended have we observed such well-regulated spontaneity. The occupants of the pews were inwardly con- strained to sing but they were inwardly restrained from carrying the outburst to an excess. The Omega of the outbreak of fervour at the afternoon meeting was as spontaneous and as simultaneous as its Alpha. The pastor's tact was no less con- spicuous than the congregation's self- restraint, and the whole proceedings were as void of discord as the singing was. A prayer meeting held in the vestry at the close of the morning meeting was also the embodiment of order. The supplicants were in the main young men, but there was no attempt to abuse the absolute liberty which was extended to all participants, There was nothing here which the critic might carp at or the cynic sneer at. On Sunday evening a very fervid meeting was held, which was prolonged until 9.30. The services were continued on Monday. In the afternoon the Rev. E. Davies preached and in the evening Gwylfa and the Rev. Penry Evans were the preachers. These meetings were of a very devotional character. REVIVAL ATMOSPHERE AT CWMAMAN. The Revival is still the chief topic in Cwmaman. The various churches con- tinue to hold prayer meetings throughout the week. Several of the churches have also out-door meetings, and their efforts have met with great success. An ex- pugilist has been giving some graphic descriptions of his past life to large con- gregations, whilst several well-known local characters have been converted under the influence of the Divine power Nearly all the local secular organisations remain temporarily abandoned, the members taking an active part in the revival meet- ings. Prayer meetings have been held at Cwmaman Colliery on several mornings. All the inhabitants appear to be breathing a revival atmosphere. THE REVIVAL AND THE CHURCH. In the course of his sermon on Sunday evening the vicar of Aberdare speaking of the Holy Spirit, said that they must never confuse the gifts of the Spirit with the spiri- tual life. There were a good many who said they had not the Spirit with them, because they saw no workings. We should never be tempted to deny the Holy Spirit within us. It was nonsense to say the Revival did not come into the Church. The methods of the Revival were absent, but God's reviving power was there, and had been there for all time. We must remember that God was not a God of con- fusion. We should exercise self-control, which was one of the abiding elements of the spiritual life. SLENDER LIST AT THE ABERDARE POLICE COURT. There were only 14 cases on the charge list for the Aberdare Police Court on Tues- day last, and of these only nine were heard. There were eight convictions, namely, four for drunkenness, one for wife desertion, and three boys for theft. THE VALUE OF PERSONAL EFFORT. On Sunday morning last the pastor of the Cwmaman English Baptist Church (Rev George Hinchcliffe), delivered the first of a series of preparatory sermons for the forth- coming mission of the great Baptist orator, Rev R. B. Jones. His subject was Per- sonal Effort," taking for his text John i. 41 -42. He remarked that one of the chief characteristics of the present Revival was personal effort. There had been a great lack of interest in God's service during the last few years, but he was glad that the spiritual life was increasing these days. It was not the result of preaching, but of in- dividuals' special efforts to bring souls that were outside the zone of the spiritual fire to where the power was felt. Personal effort was also the best preventative against backsliding. It increased the love of God in the hearts of men and women and set them frontsliding. It also cemented the bonds of sympathy between member and member. Personal effort also brought about the oneness of God's people. Every mem- ber should make a special effort to win a soul before partaking of the Lord's Supper. Individual effort by every Christian would mean the solution of all church, social and secular problems with which they were con- fronted. This church has been fortunate in securing, in addition to the Rev R. B. Jones, that popular preacher, Mr Williams, Beulah, Nantyglo, and also the respected Welsh Baptist minister of Cwmbach, Rev J. James.

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"LOOKING ALOFT."

PRAYER: MORAL OR INTELLECTUAL…

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