13 - Merthyr Tydvil and Dowlais

13 MERTHYR TYDVIL AND DOWLAIS

MR. ROBERTS and his helpers now visited the town of Merthyr Tydvil, in accordance with the plan mapped out for him by his secretary. The name itself is intriguing. "Merthyr" is a fine Welsh word for martyr; "Tydvil" is not so easily explained, but is reputed to be the name of the beautiful daughter of a Cymric monarch reigning among the mists and the mysteries of past centuries. Tra­ditions have it that this lovely maiden was martyred for some mysterious reason and that this delightful title was given to the locality where she met her doom, by the fanatical loyalty of the people over whom her father reigned. They were anxious to perpetuate the name of the much loved maiden and hand down to successive gen­erations this memorial of her deathless sacrifice. "Merthyr Tydvil," or "the martyrdom of Tydvil," thus preserves the record of a heroism thought by her contemporaries to be worthy of imperishable commemoration. This large town had also been famous for its iron industry, which had since fallen into decay. Gaunt ruins covered its outskirts. On the hill, gazing sadly on this scene of departed industrial glory, stood the castle of the Crawshay family whose creative genius had been re­sponsible for an organization large enough to employ hundreds of men and women. Twenty years or so previ­ously, night skies glared with brilliance, visible twenty miles away, when the ovens of Crawshay iron works were opened and emptied. The town wore a prosperous aspect, in spite of the economic stagnation. At the time of the revival there was no evidence anywhere of poverty, except that which is found in all parts of the world where people foregather in large numbers, their crowded conditions creating physical, moral, and spiritual problems to torment municipalities and governments. People living on the fringe of things, halfway between prosperity and poverty, are always with us.

Cor Merthyr, the Merthyr Choristers, were very active at this period in the history of the town. Mr. Dan Davies had led them to many great victories. Their fame had traveled far and wide. Our National Eisteddfod platform was the scene of many a competition between the great choir conductors of Wales. Among the most famous was Dan Davies. The choristers trained by him, who obeyed implicity his baton, adored him. Invariably these famous singers were chapel or church members and every Sunday would find them in their places in the church of their choice. After the evening service they all gathered for choir practice-no sluggards permitted-until they become proficient in part-singing, so enviously proficient that they had become winners of the National Eisteddfod prize more than once. The secret of the marvelous singing heard during the visit of Mr. Roberts to Merthyr Tydvil in those days can be attributed to this group. People thronged the main streets of the town in such numbers as to make traffic al­most impossible. Backward and forward the surging throngs moved, singing revival hymns. While this mani­festation of tireless energy was in progress outside the churches, similar scenes were enacted inside. Eager crowds possessed every inch of space within every place of wor­ship in the town. Mr. Roberts seemed happy in these meetings. His demeanor always affected the congrega­tion. When those awful spirit-burdens overwhelmed his soul, he experienced such inward agonies as to make him groan audibly. But in these meetings he appeared to be so completely at liberty in the Spirit that his buoyancy was contagious. In one of the Merthyr meetings, a blind boy about ten years of age caused a great stir through the energy and eloquence of his prayers. A sister, not much older, had brought him many miles to the meetings. Daily he had been made acquainted with the progress of the revival through the medium of the press. Then he determined that should Mr. Roberts come within reasonable distance from his home, no sacrifice would be too great for him to make in order to be present. Sure enough, here he was, tiny hands extended in graceful gesture as he made his burning petition known at the throne of grace, while his small features radiated the very light of God. He used numerous scriptural quotations and people were astounded. Where did he acquire the vocabulary? Someone must have taken extraordinary pains to train that youthful mind to express itself so wisely, for there was no trace of childish­ness in his prayers. The boy had no complaints to make of the divine plan for his life. He was content to walk the dark road in sweet fellowship with his Lord.

I inquired in the churches for miles around, where I preached and conducted campaigns for years, but I utterly failed to discover a single clue that would aid in finding the lad. Had the parents moved to a distant land? No one knew. Had the little fellow died in his teens?

After Merthyr Tydvil came Dowlais. There were times, during the Dowlais visit when Mr. Roberts was almost overwhelmed with grief. Although the place was experi­encing "times of refreshing," there was some obstacle preventing the operation of the Holy Spirit. With bowed head and burdened heart, Mr. Roberts spent nearly all his time in silent prayer. The Reverend Peter Price, a popular preacher, had been pastor of the Dowlais Congregational Church for several years. His reputation as a preacher was nationwide; fear­lessness characterized the messages which made an indeli­ble impression upon the crowds of young people who lis­tened. Many received definite blessing under his challeng­ing denunciations of modern trends and sins. Even before Mr. Roberts started his work in Loughor, this Dowlais church was quickened under Mr. Price’s ministry. It was reported that scores were joining the church. Nothing like it had been known within the memory of anyone in the district. Then came the news of the revival breaking forth in the insignificant village of Loughor, not in the large town of Dowlais. Before the unerring wisdom of the all-wise God, we bow in humble submission and, in­stead of questioning, we worship. As far as personal and intellectual accomplishments were concerned, there was no one in the land better qualified to guide such a move­ment than Mr. Price.

There was "hardness" in every service visited by the evangelist. Novices, presuming to diagnose, suggested "that the Holy Spirit had departed." Others, remembering the oft-recurring admonition to obey the Holy Spirit, sug­gested that He must be grieved. Very few attempted to participate in intercessory prayer. In about half an hour after his arrival in the Congrega­tional Chapel, Mr. Roberts arose and delivered a scathing word from the Lord. He announced that someone in that service was blocking the way of revival by criticism of the revival and, more especially, criticism of the revivalist. He declared fearlessly that the critic was not far from him and unless the spirit was expunged, he would be com­pelled to leave. He would not remain or take part in mock worship where the Holy Spirit was grieved. He soon departed, leaving the service to the opposition.

One morning a letter, bearing the signature of Mr. Price, appeared in the columns of The Western Mail, an influential daily paper. Mr. Price had attempted to cor­rect some misconceptions, or misdemeanors, revealed in the conduct and utterances of the young converts. But the spirit of carping criticism shown toward the self-effacing revival leader, also the tendency to compare the reality of the work in his own church with that witnessed in Mr. Roberts’ meetings, was extremely unfortunate. No one, surely, would ever dream of suggesting that Mr. Roberts was not engaged unsparingly in this glorious work, mistakes notwithstanding.

Whatever bitterness the letter might have caused in the hearts of the multitudes sympathetic to the movement, Mr. Roberts retained his composure. Studiously avoiding ref­erence to the unpleasantness, he went on his divinely ap­pointed mission, strong and unperturbed. "Ye have no need to fight in this battle" was the prophetic message of an age gone by, but it proved to be an up-to-date promise.