Christmas Evans, the Preacher of Wild Wales: His country, his times, and his contemporariesHood, Edwin Paxton
History
Christmas Evans, the Preacher of Wild Wales: His country, his times, and his contemporaries
Hood, Edwin Paxton
Evans, Christmas, 1766-1838
His last sermon was preached about three weeks before he died, when he
also administered the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, and gave the right
hand of fellowship to thirteen persons, on their admission into the
Church. He spoke only a few words during the service, and in those, in
faltering accents, told his people he did not expect to be seen amongst
them any more. And, indeed, there was every indication, by his weakness,
that his words would be fulfilled. Every cheek was bedewed with tears.
The hearts of many were ready to burst with grief; for this man’s
affections were so great, that he produced, naturally, that grief which
we feel when the holders of our great affections seem to be parted from
us.
He went home from this meeting to die. The struggle was not long
protracted. On the morning of December 26th, 1816, he breathed his last.
On the day of the funeral, a large concourse, from the town, and
neighbourhood, followed his remains to the grave. These lie in a vault,
which now occupies a space in the centre of the new chapel, reared on the
site of that in which he ministered so affectionately; and over the
pulpit, a chaste, and beautiful mural marble tablet memorialises, and
very conspicuously bears the name of David Davies. Of him, also, it
might be said: “_The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned_,
_that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary_.”
CHAPTER VIII.
_THE PREACHERS OF WILD WALES_.
Rees Pritchard, and “The Welshman’s Candle”—A Singular Conversion—The
Intoxicated Goat—The Vicar’s Memory—“God’s better than All”—Howell
Harris—Daniel Rowlands at Llangeitho—Philip Pugh—The Obscure
Nonconformist—Llangeitho—Charles of Bala—His Various Works of Christian
Usefulness—The Ancient Preachers of Wild Wales characterised—Thomas Rhys
Davies—Impressive Paragraphs from his Sermons—Evan Jones, an Intimate
Friend of Christmas Evans—Shenkin of Penhydd—A Singular Mode of
Illustrating a Subject—Is the Light in the Eye?—Ebenezer Morris—High
Integrity—Homage of Magistrates paid to his Worth—“Beneath”—Ebenezer
Morris at Wotton-under-Edge—His Father, David Morris—Rough-and-ready
Preachers—Thomas Hughes—Catechised by a Vicar—Catching the Congregation
by Guile—Sammy Breeze—A Singular Sermon in Bristol in the Old Time—A
Cloud of Forgotten Worthies—Dr. William Richards—His Definition of
Doctrine—Davies of Castell Hywel, the Pastor of Christmas Evans, and of
Davies of Swansea—Some Account of Welsh Preaching in Wild Wales, in
Relation to the Welsh Proverbs, Ancient Triads, Metaphysics, and
Poetry—Remarks on the Welsh Language and the Welsh Mind—Its Secluded and
Clannish Character.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account