Welsh Journals

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', ffifti If A RECORD OF CHRISTIAN WORK AMONG THE CaMnistic Methodists or Presbyterians of Wales. Vol. II. No. 2.] FEBRUARY, 1886. [Price One Penny. Wotes anb (Eommettfe. We have received several complaints from different parts of the country that oar January number had not reached its destination with the promptitude ex¬ hibited during the previous year, for which we are very sorry. The blame, however, is not ours. The January num¬ ber was out of the hands of the printer at the usual time, but in order to avoid mis¬ takes we thought it advisable, where no fresh order had been received, to wait a few days before the parcels were des¬ patched, and hence the delay. We shall do our best to keep up our character for promptitude and punctuality in the issue of each number, and we hope that none of our friends will be disappointed in us. We are glad to find that the Week of Prayer has been generally observed throughout all our churches, and that the meetings have proved to be seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. It is difficult to understand how any true christian could attend such gatherings for a series of nights in succession without receiving a fresh impetus in the christian life. The very presence of larger num¬ bers at special meetings such as these is an inspiration in itself—our hearts warm up at the sight—and we sincerely hope that the results will be not of an ephemeral but of a permanent character, and that all our churches will feel their beneficial effect in renewed vigour and zeal in every good word and work. This Week of Prayer has now become a permanent institution wherever christ¬ ians are to be found. There is no part of Christendom where this week is more fully appreciated than among the labourers on the mission field, and we may well con¬ sider the relation between the universal Week of Prayer and the progress of mis¬ sions. At one of the Exeter Hall meet¬ ings a gentleman referred to several instances of great blessing- resulting from the united observance of the Week of Prayer in foreign lands, r*nd called at¬ tention to the coincidence of the wonderful progress of Christian Missions during the past twenty-five years, Mrith the great ad- \ vance in the observance of the Week of Prayer. One of the most striking illustrations of this is seen in the intimate relation of that observance in Japan to every ad¬ vance of mission work in that interesting country. The following gracious answers to the united prayer were mentioned at the Exeter Hall meeting :—The appoint¬ ment of missionaries to Japan by three societies the very year the request for prayer went forth ; the earnest prayer for the removal of the edict against Christ¬ ianity in that country was followed not long after by that blessed result; the first outpouring of God's spirit upon Japan took place in 1872, during the observance of the Week of Prayei", and led to the formation of the first native christian church in Japan, and the revival of 1883 originated through the blessing of Grod upon the Week of Prayer. In over forty of the larger congrega¬ tions among the JSestorians in Persia, special meetings were held during this hallowed season last year. Again, the Week of Prayer in Asiatic Turkey had been followed with most blessed results. In one town the daily meetings were thronged, and a hundred' men standing outside at the windows. An American missionary, writing from this town during the meetings, says—" 1 am utterly unable to describe the work that is going on here; the most wonderful displays of Divine power were seen in the great meeting last night, when some 800 as¬ sembled. It lasted nearly four hours ; we were unable to stop it. There were prayers and confessions from sixty persons, thirty of whom had never risen before." For all the blessing which has resulted to foreign missions from the ob¬ servance of this season, let praise and glory be given to Grod alone ! Death has again been busy at work among the ministers of our Connexion, and we have to record the demise of the Revs. David Jones, Fforest, Talgarth ; LI. Llewellyn, Briton Ferry; and Thos. Williams, Dowlais. The first named was a very old man, having commenced to preach more than fifty years ago. Possibly he would be regarded by the critics as a man of small parts—mentally as well as physically; he was, however, a good man, and did faithful service for the Master in the limited circle in which he turned. Mr. Llewellyn was a man of considerable ability, and his influence, though some¬ what of the unconscious kind, was powerful for good both in the church at home and in the wider range of the Monthly Meeting. He was not a showy brother, nor did he lift up " nor cause his voice to be heard in the street;" he was, however, much beloved by the brethren, and his loss is deeply felt by all who knew him. His death was sudden, and totally unexpected until a few hours before it took place. Though not well he preached with unusual power and per¬ suasiveness on the Sunday before his death. On the Monday he called at the house of his doctor, and. against his ad¬ vice went and officiated at a funeral the same afternoon ; but the death-grip was upon him, and the very next day he suc¬ cumbed to its pressure, and his soul escaped, to the realms of the blest. The Rev. Thomas Williams was also an ac¬ ceptable preacher, and a very ready speaker; his end was peace. He has left three sons in the ministry—one, viz.: the Rev. Abraham Williams, Risca, con¬ nected with our own denomination, while the other two are pastors of churches a mono- the Congres'ationalists. Our hearts leap with joy whenever we receive favourable and encouraging re¬ ports from any of the churches, but especially so when those churches are numerically few, and yet give strong evidences of vigour and vitality. We have had several instances of late among our smaller churches in thinly-populated districts as well as in thickly-populated districts of almost unparalleled liberality in connection with their chapels. Two or three months since we were able to announce that the Montgomery friends had received, in promises, about £1,000 towards their new chapel; last month we had the pleasure of announcing that the friends at Penybont, Radnorshire, had rebuilt their chapel, and that the church and congregation had already contributed £360; and we have now received the