Welsh Journals

10 THE WELSH WEEKLY. August 5, 1892. REV. ROBERT THOMAS, LAN- DORE. The Rev. Robert Thomas was the subject of the "Ministerial Miniature" in last week's British Weekly, and " X " writes as follows :— I have heard Mr. Thomas preach many times at wide intervals, and this quality of mental expansion has struck me increasingly as his chief characteristic. He has now reached the age (something ,under fifty ?) when most men have attained their fullest inheritance of strength, but his sermons breathe a refreshing sense of two qualities rarely found together—matu¬ rity of resources and brightness of outlook. While listening to him recently, delivering one of the Welsh Union sermons at Ferndale, the surroundings were not invigorating, and the air was fetid with the breath of an overcrowed audience, but for all that, we were out with him in summer woods, where buds were still breaking forth, and the voice of thrush and nightingale came and went on the breeze. There was no mistaking the intellectual grasp and fulness which that sermon displayed, but the best of it was the hearty ring of the voice and the bright lights that broke through the dense foliage of thought. '' The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hands " was the text, and the theme was the efficiency of Christ's sovereignty and leadership. It was a grand subject that had become hackneyed. In Mr. Thomas's hands the hackneyed subject became fresh and grand again ; and this is a§ high a triumph as any preacher could desire to attain to. There were no flashy effects, there was no superflous word in the whole sermon ; but in the deepening twilight we saw the Son of man—calm, benignant, full of sympathy and love, with the crown of assured sovereignty on His thorn-pierced brow growing into distinctness before us, till the deepest springs of adoration and joy were opened up, and many eyes were moist with tears that were happier than smiles. In the hands of a thinker so chaste and vigorous, one lost all impulse to criticise ; it was enough to enjoy. In addition to the many delegates and ministers from all parts of Wales who were present, there were many hundreds of miners from the neighbouring coalpits, and these were well rewarded for the loss of their pay or their rest in listening to this and the preceding sermon, preached by Mr. Williams, of Bontnewydd ; and I could not help thinking that the future of Wales is safe, while it can produce preachers so eloquent and congregations so appreciative of the high things of God. CONGREGATIONAL UNION AT LLANDILO. The annual meeting of the Western District of the Congregational Union of Glamorgan and Carmarthen was held at the Davis' Memorial Hall, Llandilo, on Thursday. Owing to the large number of ministers who are at present away on their holidays, the atten¬ dance was small. Amongst those present were the Revs. J. Gwynne Jones, D.D., Laugharne ; D. 'Edwards, Pilton Green ; W. Dyfodwg Da vies, Morriston ; D. Evans, Burry Port ;—Higman, Neath; D. Williams, Gowerton ; Beynon Davies, Briton /Ferry ; D. J. Thomas, Carmarthen ; D. B. Jones, 'Llandilo ; Esau Jones, late of Hull; — Jenkins, NeW- ttown, North Wales ; Messrs. Maurice Price and D. Morgan, Llandilo.—A conference was held in the after- moon, over which the Rev. D. Edwards presided.—The Rev. D. Thomas, Hill Chapel, Swansea, was admitted a member of the Union. The Rev. Thomas Morgan, Briton Ferry, who has accepted a pastorate in St. Ives, was given a letter to the Union of Cornwall. The Rev. D. Evans was re-elected Secretary. The following were numinated for the Executive Com¬ mittee for the next year :—The Revs. D. J. Thomas, Carmarthen, and D. Williams, Gowerton, and Mr. H. J. Thomas, Llanelly. The case of the new Church at Xxorseinon was recommended to the consideration of the Congregational Chapel Building Society and to the support of the Christian friends generally. A vote of condolence with the family of the late Rev. Dr. "Thomas, of Liverpool, was unanimously agreed to -and a similar motion was passed with reference to the bereavement of the Secretary and his wife, who had recently lost their youngest child. It was resolved to recommend to the choirs connected with the churches . of the association the desirability of establishing a .choral union, and to request the choirs to take the matter into consideration and to furnish the Secretary with the result of their deliberations by the next meeting. A resolution was passed approving of the recent resolutions passed by the Welsh Disestablish¬ ment Campaign Committee, and urging the introduc¬ tion of a Bill for the Disestablishment and Disendow- ment of the Church in Wales at the earliest possible ;:.moment. The meeting was then adjourned. THE CHURCH AND SOCIAL EVILS. Archdeacon Farrar preached to a vast congregation on Sunday afternoon, the 24th ult., from the words, "Thy kingdom come." Adopting a tone of great warmth and earnestness, Dr. Farrar spoke of the dis¬ tance we were from the realisation of the prayer at the present time. " Look at the world. I know nothing more paralysing than a callous acquiescence in the state of things around us. A divine discon¬ tent, a passionate dissatisfaction ever goading us to fresh effort is infinitely better, at any rate, than a self-complacent sloth. When I stand face to face, I will not say in Dahomey, or in Ashantee, or among the slave-drivers of Africa, or the heathen millions of Asia, or among those two-thirds of the human race who still lie in darkness and the valley and shadow of death ; but here in Christian England, in Christian London, here in Westminster, here within a stone's throw of this Abbey and your Houses of Parliament, when I see not only the crime, the vice, the degrada¬ tion, but the vast area of passive godlessness all around us, I am as far as possible from sharing in the soft murmers of mutual admiration whether in the Church or in the world. Faith, indeed, prevents me. Oh ! never sin and want and woe This earth will leave. But when I know that the streets are haunted by thousands who in their misery well-nigh turn woman¬ hood to loathliness, and have fixed on the shameful selfishness of manhood a yet deeper stain ; when I see the curse to which betting and gambling are con¬ stantly leading us, with all their loathly herd of swindlers and blacklegs, reaching all classes down to the lowest with the fury of an epidemic, and not yet utterly discountenanced and branded by every honest man ; when I see every day, in almost every news¬ paper, some fresh instance of brutal violence, breaking out amid the plague-spot of squalor which arises im¬ mediately from the present condition of our traffic in drink ; when I watch the greed of Mammon-worship, dead to every duty in the attempt to load itself with the thick clay of superfluous wealth ; when I read of the ever-increasing ostentation of luxury among the rich, and the ever-deepening misery and struggle among the poor, I think that, instead of trumpeting what we do, it would become us more to put sackloth on our loins, and to sit in dust and ashes for all we leave undone. Nor does it comfort me too much to look at the nominal Church, great as has been its awakenment and improvement. Better for us to con¬ sider our unprofitableness than our merits. I see the same injustice, and even deeper malice, in her so- called religious journals. I see her animated by party animosities, I see her lapsing on every side into Romanism in all but name. I see but few living saints among her professors, though I hear the name of ' saint' bandied among one another by her partizans. I see her undoubtedly losing some of her hold upon the upper classes, who are growing more indifferent to her Sabbaths and ordinances ; I see her producing little real effect on the working classes, who are the great mass of the nation, not ten per cent, of whom attend her churches. I see her standing with weak hands add feeble knees in the great battle against the master fiend of drink, or even siding with his cham¬ pions, or palliating his intolerable enormities ; and others saying smooth things and prophesying deceits. Let those others, if they will, prop tottering walls with untempered mortar. There are plenty of them to do it and to be rewarded for it. I will not." COLLEGE NOTES. Among the names of successful candidates at the recent M.A. examination in philosophy at the London University is that of the Rev. John Thomas, Hucldersfield, who is placed first on the list. Mr. Thomas, who is a native of Maesteg, has had a very brilliant career in the scholastic and pulpit world. Some years ago he entered Pontypool College com¬ paratively unlearned, for his youthful days had been wholly spent in the coal-pit, and he was the support of a widowed mother. In four years he graduatad B.A. with very high honour in classics and philosophy. Although his career as a Baptist minister has not exceeded the brief space of four years, he has, by sterling merit, reached the foremost place in the denomination. "What does that mean ?" said a Christian disciple to an elder brother, as he referred to a certain passage of Scripture. " What does it say ? " was the answer. He read the passage over. "It says so and so." " Well, then, it means what it says." This first lesson in Scriptural exposition is one of the most important that can be learned. A preacher of the Gospel once addressed a note to another minister, inquiring, '' How do you interpret such and such passages ?" The answer was about as follows: "Dear Sir, I do not interpret God's Word ; I believe it, and advise you to do the same. Yours respectfully." MANSFIELD SUMMER SCHOOL OP THEOLOGY. (Continued.) Not the least of the memorable incidents connected with the first Summer School of Theology was the Sunday at Oxford—a Sunday full of brilliant and unique experiences. Mr. Horton, an Oxford graduate, and late Fellow of New College, was, after all, quite a young man to be selected for such an occasion, but there was no difference of opinion at the close with respect to the wisdom of the choice. He rose to the occasion with a masterly grasp of the grand funda¬ mental truths of Christianity, and the splendid enthusiasm of conviction that thrilled every listener. It was a bold step to deal with the subject of the atonement before such a company of critics, but the discreet and personal testimony to Christ's power to save awakened a response in every breast. The music in the College Chapel was remarkable and unfamiliar to Welsh ears accustomed to hear the parts adequately rendered. Obviously such an audience could not sustain the soprano, and it was not an unhappy thought on the part of the authorities to sing in unison. This was done, and the organ took up different harmonies appropriate to the verse that was sung. Dr. Edwards, the famous Welsh principal, captivated the audience, as we all expected. The subtle reason¬ ing, the charming mysticism, the occasional flashes of tremendous power, made the simply-expressed discourse wonderfully telling. Nevertheless the Welsh portion of the audience were hoping that he would give himself up to the abandon, which has electrified his fellow- countrymen from time to time. After the early evening service we dived in our respective halls, Mansfield, Wadham and Exeter, as usual, and completed this memorable day by attending the brilliant organ recital in Mansfield Chapel, given by Mr. J. F. Shepherd. Of the lecturers themselves it is not easy to speak, as the subjects and the lecturers were so unlike. Perhaps the most popular next to the distinguished principal 1 vas Dr. Marcus Docls. Wonderfully fresh and clear-cut were his expositions of the teaching of Jesus, which placed many a beautiful old passage in a new light. Touches of humour were not wanting in most of the lecturers — a gift which theologians appreciate as much as possible. Dr. Edwards was deservedly popular on all hands, and won his way into the hearts of all. His three lectures on the Hebrews, coming, as they did, near the end of the series, were literally packed with matter, and bristling with points that one would be loath to lose. He, with some oilier of the lecturers, received the ovation of his students at the close, which fully attested their admiration. It goes without saying that the theology of the professors as a whole was decidedly advanced. Three of the lecturers have been prosecuted for heresy. Neverthe¬ less, there has been no tampering with the essentials, and with regard to the Person of our Lord and His Mediatorial work, timid souls may rest assured that we are as far removed from Unitarianism as ever, The doctrine of substitution in the atonement, and the supernatural in religion were as candidly and emphatically proclaimed as a rigid evangelicalism could demand. A cultured and liberal evangelical tone was dominant throughout. The least successful of the engagements of this eventful Summer School was perhaps the Conference element. Speakers were liable, as always, in Conference to overshoot the mark, in point of time and in propounding their own peculiar view of the subject in hand. Further, the best qualified, as a rule, do not speak in Conference, and those whom nobody wants to hear are always ready. Never the less we heard several inspiring speeches, amongst those most to be remembered being Dr. Bradford's beautiful appeal to ministers, '' Do you know God ?" Dr. Edwards's succinct remarks on preaching, and Mr. Horton's smart and trenchant sayings. Now, it is all over. The five lectures per diem, with the great intellectual strain lightened by visits to the colleges and museums, the boating, the tennis tournaments, and the cricket matches, the dining in hall, and the interchange of thought with the intellec¬ tual grants of the religious world are now unfor- tuately matters of history. We are glad to remember that our visit is immortalized by little acts of thought¬ ful and gratiful appreciation. The College Library will be henceforth enriched by £30 worth of books, subscribed by the members of the school, and the kind-hearted and indefatigable bursar, Mr. Norman H. Smith will feel that his labours have not been overlooked. What about the next Summer School none can speak with certainty as yet. If Bala be chosen as the centre for a general gathering such as this has been, then no place could be more beautiful or suitable. Only let there be no division nor imitation on a small scale, else the exhilaration and the inspiration will be lost. We are all looking forward already for the next. J. G. James.