Elias's Grave 1841

See Epitaph text here

Fron, Llangefni

On February 10 1830 Elias married Lady Buckley. They lived in Fron, Llangefni.

Elias's birth place 1774

Crymllwyn Bach (see here)

Capel Pentreuchaf

This is the chapel where Elias read the Scriptures to the crowds waiting for the preacher to arrive, in 1782 (see here)

Capel Abererch

This is the Chapel in Abererch where Elias was baptised as a baby (see here)

Elias and Christmas Evans contrasted by Owen Jones

Christmas Evans … there was in this eminent preacher a strong tendency to light humour. He often sent his audience into convulsions of laughter, which bordered at times on indecorum in the house of God. It is a question of interest how far this is allowable in the pulpit. There is a quiet kind of humour which is perfectly becoming with the sublimest and loftiest themes. But the droll and the laughable are certainly unbecoming, and unworthy the dignity of the high message of God to man. John Elias never was known to say anything with such a tendency in the pulpit, and he condemned it severely. Henry Rees was the same. Daniel Rowlands and Robert Roberts, Clynnog, never descended to anything bordering on the comic before the congregation. Williams, of Wern, was somewhat inclined to it in the first year of his ministry, but soon abandoned it for ever. John Jones, Talsarn, gave reins to his humour at times when preaching. But Christmas Evans did so more than any other. It is possible that Christmas Evans had a greater natural tendency to this, arising from a keener sense of the ludicrous; and that it required a greater solemnity and a greater insight into the purposes of God in order to hold it in check. We believe that this was the case with him. When God is present there is nothing more discordant than frivolity of whatever degree. They repel each other. Think of the great sermons of the New Testament; the atmosphere around them is so fine and attenuated that these cannot exist therein. …

 

John Elias was wanting in humour. At least, we have been able to see in him but few traces of that noble quality. His mind was altogether bent to the solemn aspects of truth; his eyes were turned to the stern realities of the other world; with difficulty could he turn his eyes to the imperfections of this earth. He was like another John the Baptist, who had spent his time in the wilderness without having seen much of the beauty of nature. He was as if he had spent much of his life on the rugged sides of Snowdon, or under the overhanging rocks of Eryri; as if he had been cradled and nurtured on the slopes of the everlasting mountains, without ever having seen the lovely glens and valleys, the green fields and the lilies. But, if he had not seen these, he had seen the great ocean, and delighted to look at the mighty billows that wash the feet of these everlasting mountains; and he often left the rugged slopes for the level shore and the loud sounding sea. It was the great and grand, the awful and sublime, that he made his home with; the pleasant, the delightful, and the lovely he had no eye for. His house was built on the rocks of law, justice, and eternity, in sight of the ocean of everlasting love. But, if he did not delight his hearers with his humour, &c., he brought into their bosoms joy unspeakable and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding. There was abundantly more of the pleasant and delightful in Christmas Evans and Williams Wern; and they were greatly his superior in the possession of the quality of humour.

Rees, Charles and Elias

In 1814 Henry Rees visited Bala to seek the Geiriadur Ysgrythyrol from Thomas Charles. Who should be in Thomas Charles's house at that time but John Elias. This was the only occasion on which these three great leaders of Calvinistic Methodism met.

Owen Jones on Elias 11

CHAPTER 11 CHARACTER OF HIS PREACHING (continued)

The sources of his power — Meditation and prayer — Great solemnity — Person and mode of delivery — Description of his preaching by Dr. Owen Thomas — Not always powerful — Sermon in Bangor — Clear- ness and power of expression— Lack of humour — Great self-assertion — Severe aspect of his preaching

If we inquire into the sources of the power which this man possessed in the pulpit, they are not difficult to find. John Elias, though he read extensively, made the Bible his chief book. He was with it every day, and would even bring it down with him to his meals ; other books were but helps ; they were never allowed to trespass upon the place or time due to the Bible. At that time in Wales, and also in England, newspapers and serials were uncommon enough ; what papers there were, were few and far between ; very few new books were published ; and there was no great stir about this and the other new thing. The preachers of that age could devote the time they had mostly to the Bible, if so inclined ; and this was the case without exception with the great preachers of the day ; and one main reason, no doubt, why the preaching of our age is weaker, is that our energies are spread over a wider field. We have our papers, our reviews, our serials, our new books, &c. And many are not satisfied without knowing something about everything. We will have our smattering at least, and there is amongst some a mania or "foppery of universality." But our powers are not greater than those of our fathers, therefore our preaching suffers. We have not the same strong grasp of Gospel truth as they had ; we are not moved to the same depth of soul and spirit as they were ; and there are some wise men that tell us that the age of preaching is gone ; a fallacy of non- observation and mal-observation of facts. It is a false and groundless generalization to say that great preachers will arise no more, simply because we have not seen many during the last fifty years ; or, indeed, because some have not seen any such phenomenon in the Church they happen to be members of. To say that the diminished influence of the preaching of our age is due to the spread of education, and the different circumstances of our time, is to mistake the cause altogether. Man's relations to God will be still the same, whatever the state of education may be. This decay of preaching can be much better accounted for in another way. The minds of the preachers, and of the people, have been to a great extent drawn away from the Gospel. This is especially the case with very many ; their powers are squandered and not concentrated. The Bible is the pabulum of souls ; but the men of our time do not feed so much upon it ; it was ambrosia and nectar the gods fed upon ; it was the Bible that these preachers of the Gospel fed upon. They found the words of the Lord, and they did eat them, and they were unto them sweeter than honey, and than the honey-comb, and it was the joy and rejoicing of their heart. The preachers of the present age do not feed so much upon this kind of food, but often upon withered leaves and wild herbage on the way- side. The age of the megatherium, the mastodon, and the giants, is gone say they. Not at all ; let them but feed upon the pabulum of giants, and that age is yet to come.
It is clear that John Elias spent much of his time in the study in communion with God. A servant that was in his employ said of him that he would often come out of it with his tears flowing profusely over his face, his soul full of heavenly fire; and he could not restrain himself from telling his family of the deep heavenly feelings he enjoyed. Another servant of his, that was in his employ for a long period, said that she could never forget the tears which she often found upon the chair in his study on which he was accustomed to sit, and by which he knelt before God. And she said of him that his face appeared to shine many a time when he came out of his study.
After his death, Mrs. Jones, the wife of the Rev. John Jones, Talsarn, went to visit Mrs. Elias in her affliction. The study was locked, and no one had ventured into it since John Elias left it. Mrs. Elias unlocked the door, and they went in together with great sadness and solemnity. Mrs. Elias then said, pointing to the ground, where the carpet had been quite worn out: "This is the place where he bent his knees to pray; I often came to call him to breakfast and found him on his knees. And on this very spot I frequently wiped away a flood of tears. I saw him many a time with the tears flowing in streams down his face; and from mere awe and reverence I was not able to say a word. I remember going with him once to the Association at Bangor. We were driving in a small phaeton. My husband had the reins. But when we were drawing near to the town, and when some of the buildings of the city appeared in the distance, he suddenly threw me the reins, and fell down on his knees, praying fervently, and the tears flowing down his cheeks upon the bottom of the car. And in great agony of mind he cried out, 'Who is sufficient for these things?'"
His mode of ascending the pulpit was peculiar. Watch this in the case of any preacher — it will not be difficult to say whether he has a message from God or not. John Elias ascended the pulpit with the gravity of a man that had just come from immediate communion with God. He was a man that always felt the solemnity of his position. The remark has been made, and it is true, that every preacher should have an atmosphere of reverence around him, which should make frivolity impossible in his presence. If any man lived in this atmosphere of reverence, John Elias did. He was always grave, but that gravity assumed greater solemnity still in the pulpit. He never condescended to tell any amusing anecdotes ; he always avoided everything which would tend in any way to put the people in a light mood. All lightness and laughter, frivolity and vanity, withered away under the blighting influence of his presence.
He was erect and tall, a man of about five feet ten; thin and bony, complexion dark, his eyes grey and intensely penetrating, high cheek bones, lips compressed. His looks, though not defiant, betokened a man not to be awed by anything, and of the most determined boldness. His voice was clear, penetrating, and strong, devoid of music, however, until it ex- pressed the pathetic love of the Gospel. He held a perfect mastery over it, and could modulate and vary it at will. John Elias had a certain peculiar explosion of voice at times, which was very effective ; which he had taken up and utilised from the old preacher, John Jones, Bodynolwyn. In addition to this, he was a man of great energy and passion. His utterance was clear and defined from the beginning of his discourse ; but as he advanced in his theme, he seemed to acquire new impulses and new accelerations of force. The flow of his emotions became deeper, and the warmth steadily advanced to an intense heat. Dr. Owen Thomas, who knew him well, and heard him often, writes of him: —
"He commences his sermon with a few apt and clear remarks which naturally arise from the text, or from some special connection with the context; remarks common and trite enough, but from his lips clothed with new freshness, and leading naturally to the text he has taken up. Then he expounds the meaning of it with great skill, showing its relations to the context, dwelling especially upon the meaning of particular words. He often refers to various translations, to Eastern rights and customs, to Jewish lore and tradition, and to the relations of the Jewish nation to the nations around. He mentions, perhaps, the views of Ainsworth, Pool, Lightfoot, Lowth, Horsely, Campbell, Macknight, Owen, or Leigh. He rejects one view altogether, though supported by great names ; he hesitates as to two other views which to accept ; finally, he brings reasons, critical or expository, theological or historical, for the one he considers the right, until his hearers, to a man, are convinced that that is the right view and no other ; and until that verse is henceforth perfectly familiar to them. In fact, between the exposition of the text, and the sermon which follows, that text is for ever indelibly impressed upon their minds. Whenever his old hearers to the present day hear or read many a verse in Scripture, they invariably associate them with the sermons of John Elias. After he has fully explained his text, he divides it, and draws out before his hearers the subjects of his remarks. . . . We remember him preaching in the Carnarvon Association in the year 1836, upon James i. 21, upon receiving ' the engrafted word,' when he spoke upon 'engrafting' with such light, propriety, and effect, that one man in leaving the field after the sermon, said, ' Well, whatever other good I may have received in this Association, I know now how to engraft! 'But though the subject he has lies in his text, he ranges over all things in heaven and earth for elucidating materials. He speaks distinctly, powerfully, effectively. The congregation is in his hand, and the eyes of all are upon him ; no one sleeping, no. one smiling, no one inattentive. Thus he advances till he finishes with the first head. And when that is done, the conviction remains in the minds of all that that matter is settled. Touch it not ; there let it rest for ever. And, above all, re- member its inevitable and awful relation to your personal self Again, with perfect self possession, he goes on with the second head. He still keeps to the words of his text, but he draws out of them a meaning which has never come to the mind of any one there before. He holds it before his hearers with such light, that he carries the sanction of every mind and con- science in the place. He speaks clearly, strongly, authoritatively. Soon there appears in himself a strange agitation of feeling. His emotions are on fire ; his eyes flash ; his voice acquires somewhat of an unearthly tone and a supernatural force. By this the external appearance of the preacher has undergone a great change ; he seems to be several inches taller than before. His body writhes in convulsion backwards and forwards by the upheaving power of the volcanic fire hid in his breast. At times he looks amazed, terror-stricken, and in dismay ; he draws in his cheeks in a peculiar manner, compresses his lips ; he seems to be gazing upon an awe-inspiring vision, and unable yet to grasp the meaning of it, and to describe it properly. But, after a pause, he stretches forth his hand, the forefinger of which plays as if it had an independent life of its own ; the idea flashes forth like the lightning ; the crash of the thunder follows ; the pattering rain falls ; the people feel like Israel at the foot of Sinai ; the shrieks of many are heard, — like that man in Brynsiencyn, who, on an occasion of the kind, suddenly said 'Oh! for Evan Richards, (A very sweet and evangelic preacher) Carnarvon, or some one for a single moment, lest we die! ' — and the sighing, the groaning, and the weeping becomes general, and the terrors of God penetrate the place. But with that, however, comes a change over the preacher, and the greatest love and tenderness beam in his countenance, his voice becomes pathetic, and he declares the Gospel of redemption in all its riches — the Saviour who died that the guilty might live — and this with such an unction and with such a conviction in the minds of his hearers that he himself had experienced it, that hope dawns again upon the most despondent in the place; the black and threatening clouds are dispelled ; the sky becomes clear ; the sun rises, and the shadow of death itself is turned into the dawn of day. He closes by prayer, and gives out a hymn as appropriate to go John Elias. the subject of the sermon as if it had been composed purposely for the occasion, and all the people return to their homes under the deepest convictions, some of them saved to eternal life, having passed through from death into life." ("Life of John Jones," pp. 865—868).
It appears, however, that John Elias, like others, was not always powerful. He was preaching in Bangor, a little before Whitsuntide, 1835, on his way to Liverpool, Manchester, and the Bala Association. His text that night was Isa. vi. 9, 10, the same text as for the great sermon which he preached on the Green at Bala with such effect a few weeks later. Dr. Owen Thomas was there, and he commenced the service by reading and praying. The sermon that evening, however, was, as far as could be seen, altogether ineffective. Every one considered it " hard," and John Elias himself. After it was over, he was asked when he would come again. He replied, " The first Sunday evening after the Bala Association, on my way home. Mr. Rowland, Llangeitho, advised a young preacher, if he preached very happily in a place, not to hasten there again; but, if the service was a hard one, to go there again the first opportunity. I had here to-night, not a hard service simply, but a very hard one ; I shall come here again that Sunday, to see if I can get a better one." Dr. Owen Thomas says that this was the most powerful occasion he ever experienced in his life. The text was Heb. vi. 7, 8 : " For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God ; but that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing ; whose end is to be burned." The effects were indescribable. He preached for an hour and twenty-five minutes ; and the effect was so great upon his own constitution that he could not venture to preach again for nearly a month. Dr. Thomas remembers looking during the sermon upon the pillars which supported the gallery, to see if they were really there as usual.
He had an extraordinary power of expression and utterance. Such commanding authority he had when he said anything, that no one could think of saying it better. His articulation and utterance of the Welsh language was complete and perfect. David Cadwaladr* had heard him preaching in a Monthly Meeting when he was a young man, and when some one asked him what kind of meeting they had had, he said, "Well, there was a young weaver from Carnarvonshire who has just commenced preaching, and they put him to preach in the meeting. May the Lord keep him from error, for the people must believe what he says!"
John Elias was wanting in humour. At least, we have been able to see in him but few traces of that noble quality. His mind was altogether bent to the solemn aspects of truth; his eyes were turned to the stern realities of the other world; with difficulty could he turn his eyes to the imperfections of this earth. He was like another John the Baptist, who had spent his time in the wilderness without having seen much of the beauty of nature. He was as if he had spent much of his life on the rugged sides of Snowdon, or under the overhanging rocks of Eryri; as if he had been cradled and nurtured on the slopes of the everlasting mountains, without ever having seen the lovely glens and valleys, the green fields and the lilies. But, if he had not seen these, he had seen the great ocean, and delighted to look at the mighty billows that wash the feet of these everlasting mountains; and he often left the rugged slopes for the level shore and the loud- sounding sea. It was the great and grand, the awful and sublime, that he made his home with; the pleasant, the delightful, and the lovely he had no eye for. His house was built on the rocks of law, justice, and eternity, in sight of the ocean of everlasting love. But, if he did not delight his hearers with his humour, &c., he brought into their bosoms joy unspeakable and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding. There was abundantly more of the pleasant and delightful in Christmas Evans and Williams Wern; and they were greatly his superior in the possession of the quality of humour.
In boldness and self-assertion he was not unlike the Danton of the French Revolution ; and it requires no keen observer to see in him the majesty and greatness of Lord Chatham, devoid of all the love of theatrical effect so prominent in him. The language of both was often awe-inspiring, and the cast of the eye transfixing as lightning. He also was a terrible antagonist ; for when he defended a position he brought down the legions of the other world. The dramatic power of John Elias was equal to that of Lord Chatham, and always accompanied with the idea of simplicity and of no effort, together with the most solemn earnestness.
The preaching of John Elias was of a stern Puritan type and would undoubtedly fall under the condemnation of the high literary authority, Mr. Matthew Arnold. And we must admit that the preaching of John Elias did assume a sterner aspect from the reaction that took place in Wales after the advent of Arminianism, in the beginning of this century. As a defender of the faith, there was a tendency in him to extreme Calvinistic views. In fact, in the year 1814, he fell into the same error as Mr. Christmas Evans ; for he composed a sermon on the limits of the Atonement, taking the same view of equivalence. He preached this sermon in several places, and at last came to Denbigh with it, where the Rev. Thomas Jones lived. Mr. Jones, as we have seen (p. 180), was utterly opposed to such narrow views. Mr. Elias lodged in his house that evening. The result of the talk they had together was, that Mr. Elias was perfectly convinced of his error, and promised never to use those expressions again. Such views were also recognized by the Calvinistic Methodist Association as a departure from those of the founders of the Body, as well as those of the Church of Christ in all ages. Though in theorizing about the plan of salvation, John Elias, at one time especially, had a tendency to extreme views, yet, even then, there was no difference between him and the rest of his friends in presenting the Gospel to a lost world j and never did any preacher leave a deeper impression in the minds of his hearers, that, if lost, the responsibility would rest altogether upon themselves.
According to Mr. Matthew Arnold, "under the eyes of this generation, Puritan Dissent has to execute an entire change of front, and to present us with a new reason for its existing," He means that the doctrines of election and justification by faith cannot be maintained and preached now as they were years ago. '"I hold,' says White field, in the forcible style which so took his hearers' fancy, ' I hold that a certain number are elected from eternity, and these must and shall be saved, and the rest of mankind must and shall be damned.' A Calvinistic Puritan now-a-days must be either a fervid Welsh Dissenter or a strenuous Particular Baptist in some remote place in the country, not to be a little staggered at this sort of expression. (See Preface to Mr. Matthew Arnold's "St. Paul and Protestantism.")
Whitefield, like many others in their day, gave undue and unjustifiable prominence to the doctrine of election ; and they spoke as if they knew all about it, and exhibited far too much of that want of reverence which Paul writes of in the epistle to the Romans. But nothing can be more unfair than to select a single sentence like the above, and condemn on its account all the preaching of Whitefield and the Puritans. It was not election nor justification that George Whitefield preached, but a crucified Saviour ; and all the success which followed his preaching was due to that. What is true of George Whitefield is true of the preaching of John Elias. The preaching which Mr. Arnold would condemn most in Wales was the preaching of Daniel Rowlands in the first few years of his ministry, when he was not a Dissenter, but a clergyman of the Church of England ; together with that of John Elias. We are not aware that the preaching of the others would be liable to any such objection, when rightly understood ; neither ought that of Daniel Rowlands and John Elias to be. If Mr. Arnold had known anything about Welsh preaching, beside hearsay, he would certainly not have made the above remarks. Whatever preaching of law and justice and human depravity even John Elias indulged in, was only preparatory to the preaching of Christ, both in the sufficiency of His life, death, and intercession, and in all His " mildness and sweet reasonableness."
The best way of meeting the assertions of Mr. Matthew Arnold about the Puritans is by a bold denial. To preach the doctrines of election, justification by faith, &c., is not Puritanism. This belongs to churches that are not considered Puritan, quite as much as to them. This is not even essential to Puritanism. What is it, then ? Simply an accident that happened to Puritanism. Great prominence was given by several preachers to these doctrines. Nor does it owe its success to the preaching of these doctrines. The preaching upon which depended the prosperity of Puritanism was the preaching of Christ as a Saviour of sinners. Theorizing and dwelling inordinately upon dogmas has not been successful amongst Puritans more than Anglicans. In fact, it is in proportion to its departure from the simple preaching of Christ as Saviour, and the prominence given to the preaching of dogmas, that Puritanism has failed. We speak more especially of Wales, though it is true of England and other countries. In the beginning of this century, when the Wesleyans appeared in Wales, and when, consequently, all the Calvinistic bodies fell upon the defensive, and gave undue prominence to the preaching of special dogmas, it is a well-known fact that from that very moment a deadly chill passed over the churches, the intense anxiety of the preachers for the salvation of men was lost, and the hearers fell off by thousands. See e.g. the remarks which have preceded upon the effect in Anglesey on the Baptists alone (pp. 170-1). It was in so far as they did not preach dogmas, but the truth of Christ as Saviour, that they succeeded. It was in proportion to the degree in which preachers and hearers forgot these doctrines, which Mr. Arnold makes the pillars and centres of Puritanism, that Puritanism was followed in Wales with such an overwhelming success that to-day the Nonconforming bodies, Puritan almost to a man, have about 1,100,000 adherents in the Principality, the rest consisting of Anglicans and those who go nowhere at all, to the number of about 474,000. Never, we say, in any country, was preaching followed by a greater departure from iniquity. Instead of the darkness, cruelty, persecution, crime, and immorality of former days, we have now, on our hills and in our valleys, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control, the fruits of the Spirit of God. And of all the preachers of Wales, no one left a deeper and more lasting effect upon the characters and lives of Welshmen than John Elias.
*Dafydd Cadwaladr was born in the year 1752. He learned to read by observing the letters upon the mountain sheep. When there was a rumour in the country of the spread of Popery, and that the Bible would be again in danger, he determined to put a good portion of it in his memory, beyond the reach of the Church of Rome. Thus he learnt out by heart all the New Testament, and the greater part of the Old. He became a preacher, and very well known throughout Wales, because he travelled often from one part of the country to the other for the long period of fifty years.

Owen Jones on Elias 10

CHAPTER 10 CHARACTER OF HIS PREACHING

His great popularity — How far popularity is to be depended upon — Early training for the pulpit — Mode of preparing his sermons — The strength of his character as a preacher — Dramatic power — The true test of eloquence— Effect of his preaching

John Elias was one of the greatest, if not the greatest preacher that ever appeared in Wales. He was undoubtedly the most popular preacher in the land. He became so from the first. We saw him as a young man in the Llanfair Association; they did not, indeed, appoint him to preach, but to commence the service by reading and praying. His fervent prayer made a greater impression upon the congregation than all the sermons of that Association, and when the meetings were over, and the people returned home, it was not the sermons heard they spoke of, but the prayer of the young man. He was always popular even in his own home from the beginning to the end of his life. He was popular with all classes of people; men of wealth and title went to hear John Elias gladly. He could command a congregation, wherever he went, in any part of North or South Wales, and at any hour of the day. And when he went to London, which happened once every two years, ministers and clergymen, literary men, poets, men of learning and culture availed themselves of the opportunity of hearing him. When he visited Liverpool, which was very often, he preached three times, and even four times on the Sunday; and every day during the week there was a service at Pall Mall Chapel, at twelve o'clock. But the place was always full, and the people were never tired of listening to him. He preached in nearly all the Associations. He officiated for the first time in the Bala Association in the year 1797, and he preached in every succeeding one until the time of his death, with the exception of the year 1832, when he was prevented by an accident, which happened unto him while he was on the way there.

Popularity is not the sole test ; but popularity in the good sense of the term, and that continued for a lifetime, is the best test we can go by in the case of a preacher. A preacher is for his day and for his time. He is not a man for posterity in any way. The founder of Christianity was popular enough in his day, and his sermons and work are the foundations of all others. But in the case of all other preachers, the trans- mission of their sermons to posterity is often the result of accident. The great thing is for their sermons to do the work of the day and the time. It may, indeed, yield us an amount of pleasure, when the battle is over, and the warrior is gone, to look at the weapons he employed — the sword, the cannon, and the balls he used, but they are of no more use for the field. We look at the sermon after the preacher is dead, but what we find is not much. The greatest factor in the sermon is the man himself : his spirit, his soul, his body, his face, his eye, his voice, his hands, with all their movements, are essential parts of the sermon. And the effect produced is due much more to these than to that accumulation of ideas and words which we call a "sermon." That is but the dead cannon ball. The real sermon is the cannon, the powder, the fire, the ball, the momentum, the crash, and catastrophe. The difference between two printed sermons may be very great. One is the sermon of a preacher who made but little impression upon the people of his day ; the other is the sermon of a man that was followed by thousands wherever he went. The first sermon may appear much superior to the second in thought and expression; the second contains but the most common truths in ordinary language. The comparison between them, we say, is futile. It matters little how they appear now, the chief element is gone — the man, the body, the soul and spirit are gone. And here the glory of the latter may far exceed the glory of the former. What remains falls very much into the ordinary class of printed essays upon religious subjects. We do not now see much in the sermons of John Elias as they have been handed down to us ; but the fact is, we have but mere skeletons of them. If they had been taken down verbatim at the time they were delivered, we should have been able to judge far better of the great factor that is gone. The same is true of the sermons of Whitefield, Daniel Rowlands, and others. The productions of these men are much on a level to us at the present day. The great truths set forth are the same. But it was not these remains that performed those wonders; it was not these thoughts and these words alone that made something creep over men from head to foot ; it was not these that made the hair stand on end, and caused men to cast themselves on their faces on the ground. It was the man that used them, the spirit whose instrument they were, and the Spirit of God whose personality was felt to be in the near background.

John Elias obtained no University training; he was never at a college ; the only schooling he had was for a few months with Mr. Richardson, Carnarvon ; but he had taken immense pains to make up for the deficiency. He toiled hard day and night in order to know something of Greek and Hebrew, so as to be able to make a better use of commentaries. He attained some proficiency also in the English language. He was a hard student, and he made extraordinary efforts to enrich his mind with useful knowledge, such as history, science, &c. A college training is possibly the best, but it is not the only way of training the mind. This may be done in various ways ; and it is not seldom that we find a business man, with an intellect better trained than he who has gone through his University career. John Elias, however, had a mind that was well trained ; and we have no hesitation in saying that there was no other mind in Wales at the time better equipped with knowledge of every kind.

He took the greatest pains in the preparation of his sermons. He always prayed to God for "something to say" to the people. He told a friend once that he always had a sermon to preach, if required, but that this was a very different thing from having " something to say " to them. How often we hear preachers preaching without anything to say. It is but a mere essay, which neither themselves nor the people care for. How different it is when a man has some- thing to say — a message from God ! John Elias, then, always went to God for something to say. He was in agony of mind till he found it. After fixing upon his text by the guidance of the Spirit of God, he would consult the various commentaries within his reach in order to arrive at the full meaning of the words. But his mind was of an original cast, and, guided by these helps, he always took his own view. He had strong reasoning powers, and was admitted to be the most clear expounder of Scripture that lived in that age. After coming thus to the full meaning of the verse, and seeing its connections, he would meditate upon the truth contained in it, and arrange his ideas in order. Sometimes he would be for a very long time composing a single sermon ; at other times, his ideas would flow spontaneously.

He did not undergo the labour of carefully writing. This is almost always the case with great preachers. They write their sermons in the beginning of their career, in order to attain sufficient accuracy, and then they leave it off, feeling that it only creates a gap between them and the people. Such is also the case with nearly all great orators. John Elias took the greatest care to prepare his sermons in the way of thoroughly mastering his subject, and enriching his mind with thought and meditation upon it ; but as to the language he tells us he did not prepare it. He depended upon the mastery of language which he himself had acquired, and especially upon the help of the Spirit of God at the time, guiding his mind to the most appropriate words. If a man has something to say he is sure to know how to say it. And if he troubles his mind too much about the way of saying it, power will be lost. Pitt's advice to Lord Mornington was " In your speeches you think more of your words than of your ideas. In order to succeed you must think of your ideas, and let the words take care of themselves."Fronto was said to be most "finished" in his speeches; but they were rather empty of ideas. The less he had to say the more trouble he had in saying it. A man of a strong, grasping mind ; a man who grapples with great thoughts; a man with a keen and strong perception of ideas, is not likely to fetter himself much with the way of expression.

We cannot call John Elias a great thinker in the ordinary acceptation of the term. He did not strike out new veins of thought; he would not generally elicit from his hearers the expression, "How original!" He did not in any way take a philosophic view of his theme. When he took a text, he did not endeavour so much to find the great underlying principle or law; he did not concern himself about the "conception" of his sermon, and about developing it into a complete symmetrical whole. Again, he cannot be said to be a poetical preacher. There was in him not much beauty of fancy and richness of imagery. Long, rounded sentences and finished periods he did not at all pride himself in. He does not appear to have rested his power either upon philosophy, poetry, language, or illustration. Not but that he was possessed of each of these. The strength of his character as a preacher lay somewhere else. Where? In the hold which the great truths of the Gospel had taken upon his own spirit.

Everything depends upon what appears important to a man. This it is which rules the life of every one. No man ever becomes greater than his ideals. With some, money, pleasure are greatest; with others, philosophy, poetry, oratory, learning; and so they shape their lives. With John Elias the greatest thing was the salvation of sinners, and the scheme of God for accomplishing it. The truths of God's Word had taken hold of his spirit, and his spirit had taken hold of them with almost infinite intensity. With him, therefore, the beautiful imagery of Plato and Jeremy Taylor, the profound thinking of Calvin and Jonathan Edwards, would appear to be out of place, and even to lack earnestness. What is great with God was great with him, though God does not in any way disregard philosophy and poetry, &c. Nor did he, whenever they served the purpose of his great mission. This, then, we say, was the chief and most prominent characteristic of the preaching of John Elias. A man changes his ideals as he advances in years; but it is generally a long while before a man's ideal comes to this sublime height. John Elias, however, seems to have come to it rather early in his career, and it swayed everything ever after.

Though John Elias did not possess the high imaginative powers of John Jones, Talsarn, yet he possessed an imagination of no inferior kind, some degree of which is always essential to dramatic power. In the dramatic qualities no preacher in Wales ever surpassed him. If the imaginative power of the Welsh pulpit reached its climax in Robert Roberts, Christmas Evans, and John Jones; if the Divine unction in Henry Rees ; and the Welsh intonement in John Jones, Talsarn, certainly the dramatic power of the Welsh pulpit reached its highest intensity in John Elias. The power of language he possessed, the clearness of expression and utterance which he had, the dignity and authority of his person and presence, were eminently helpful in him to the development of the dramatic. His motions and actions were perfect. His descriptive powers were such that his hearers forgot all notions of time and space. We saw him preaching in Bangor upon the words, " And Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian," and describing Paul standing in his chains with such vividness that a seaman who stood near Mr. Jones, Talsarn, cried out, " Shame ! shame ! Strike off those chains from the man's hands ! " We remember, also, the reference made already to a sermon of his in South Wales, when he described the crucifixion in such a manner that the Rev. Ebenezer Richards the father of H. Richards, M.P., said afterwards that he saw it taking place on the hill hard by. We need only refer to the descriptions given of him at the Holyhead Association in pp. 268-70, and again at Bala in pp. 248, 49, &c., in order to justify our assertion that the dramatic intensity of the Welsh Pulpit reached its climax in the eminent orator from Anglesey.

The test of true eloquence is its effect upon the lives of the hearers. Tested by that, the eloquence of John Elias was really great, for, almost without exception, wherever he preached there were many conversions and great additions to the church. When he first came to Anglesey there were but few chapels, and those were small; there were but few members of churches, and those were scattered. But during the time that he ministered in the country the members increased to thousands ; forty-four chapels were built, many of them large and commodious ; and the Sunday- schools flourished in all directions. The year after his death the Rev. Dr. Charles (the eminent grandson of Rev. Thomas Charles, of Bala) wrote from Bala in a letter to the Rev. E. Morgan, Syston, Leicestershire, that in all his journeys through Wales he had not heard of any one minister whose preaching had been so universally blessed to the conversion of sinners as that of John Elias ; that almost in every country place, village, or town, one could find some one ascribing his conversion to the preaching of this man. His preaching was thus accompanied at all times by saving power. Before he arrived, possibly, the people of the place, if they had never heard him, felt the keenest curiosity to see and hear him. They were anxious to put their own measure upon him, and to see whether his sermons were poetical or highly philosophical, and whether he came up with their ideal of a preacher of the Gospel. John Elias came; he preached ; but all this idle curiosity vanished like the mountain mist on a summer day. In the twinkling of an eye their souls and spirits were absorbed with greater things. Trifles vanished; great realities appeared; God became great, and Jesus Christ and His precious blood; and they left the meeting in an agonising struggle for their own salvation.

The effect which followed the preaching of John Elias has been described by eye-witnesses as somewhat similar to the effect of a strong wind upon a field of ripe corn. The rushing wind bursts at first upon one part of the field, and the yellow corn bends and waves to and fro ; then the gust increases and spreads over other parts of the field, till at last the whole field is under the sway of the wind. So with the preaching of John Elias on the Green. At first the rush of feeling would pass over one portion of the congregation — that portion nearest the platform ; then over other portions, then others still ; then another rush, stronger than before, would pass over all the multitude at once; or, like a wave, it would pass over those nearest the desk to begin ; then, the tide coming in, another higher wave would rise, and pass farther over the multitude, until at last, the tide at its highest, the waves passed over the whole congregation over and over again.

The Rev. Simon Lloyd, B.A., Bala, who was a clergyman of the Church of England, and had joined the Calvinistic Methodists, did not believe much in the outward manifestations of feeling which could be seen in some of the meetings at that time. He states that John Elias was once preaching on the Green, at Bala, and that he was unable for a long time to make any impression upon the people. For the first three- quarters of an hour the sermon was, as many said, a very hard one ; but just a little before the end there burst forth a flood of influence and power. The reverend gentleman himself could not help seeing and feeling the effect of it, and he said, "I never saw such a clear evidence of Divine power in my life."

Owen Jones on Elias 09

CHAPTER 9 INTERESTING FACTS

At school with Rev. Evan Richardson ; cured of a bad habit — Keeping his promises — A capital reader — A great theologian — Religion in the family — Training his children — Services in the house — The shop.

While in the school with Mr. Richardson John Elias would often be found making his sermons. The teacher once came behind the desk where he was sitting, and found him busy at the composition of a sermon. The master at once withdrew, lifted up his hand, with the tear in his eye, and said, "It is of little use; preaching is like a fire burning in his bones."

While in this school with Mr. Richardson, John Elias was cured of a very bad habit he had, of making a peculiar noise in his throat, by taking his breath after every sentence. The young man had preached on the Sunday, and Mr. Richardson had heard him. Monday morning came, the teacher touched the young disciple on the shoulder and called him aside. He said, "Dear John, you were blundering a deal yesterday in your sermon." "What blunders did I make, dear Mr. Richardson?" "Well, you said many times that Jesus Christ was ugly; you said, ' lesu hyll,' " i.e., he had taken his breath at the end of the sentence, and when that ended with Jesus, it sounded hyll, ugly. The Welsh ll is a very peculiar sound, somewhat similar, it is said, to the Spanish ll. John Elias needed no other lesson on that point; he stopped that ll breathing for ever. It is made through the sides of the mouth, and between the tongue and the palate.

A Russian prince had come over from Dublin to Holyhead; a friend accompanied the prince to the house of John Elias to ask him to go with them to see the copper works of Mynydd Paris. The preacher was, however, on the point of starting for a preaching tour, and could not go ; but he sent a letter to the overseer, and the prince had his desire. On another occasion John Elias was appointed, together with others, by the Anglesey Presbytery to deliver an address to King George IV., when he paid a visit to the island, on his way to Ireland, in the year 1822. However, the day on which the address was to be presented he had promised to preach in a certain place ; and as the friends were unwilling to release him, he kept his premise and preached.

John Elias was an excellent reader of Scripture ; he always read with pith and light. Some would come to his house purposely to hear him read. He was also a most clear expounder of the Bible. The exordium of his sermons was full of the most lucid expositions. He preached a long series of sermons upon John xvii. The people who heard him knew beforehand the book and the verse where his text would be. It was upon texts from this chapter that he preached some of the most powerful sermons of his life. The notes he made are, however, altogether lost. The man referred to above, working in the smithy, who afterwards became a preacher himself, having heard the wonderful thoughts of John Elias upon that chapter, became convinced that the Testament he used was different from his own; and one day he left the smithy, and walked the three miles to Llanfechell to see it with his own eyes.

In this smithy men congregated together in those times to talk of Christ, and to expound verses of Scripture. "What thinkest thou of that verse to-day, Rees?" "Well, I am quite of the same opinion as I was before, William." "Thou art altogether in the wrong, Rees; what is thy opinion, Ned?" "I shall not be satisfied till we go to Llanfechell, and hear John Elias on the subject." Some one came every week on this errand to the house of John Elias. Thus the Cemlyn smithy was a model smithy to all the land.

John Elias was a great theologian. This was the chief field of his study. Dr. Owen, John Howe, Jonathan Edwards, &c., were his chief authors; though, as we have seen before, he enriched his mind well from other fields of learning. He was more of a theologian than Christmas Evans, and Williams of Wern. In the composition of his sermons, he took great care to consult the greatest and best expositors. And in the first twenty minutes of his discourse, he presented a clear, lucid, and masterly exposition of the text and the context.

Religion was conspicuous in his family. It was not simply a matter of inner consciousness, or a deeper undercurrent overflowed by the various busy matters of daily life, as it is with many. It was the chief thing of all; it was the great theme of family conversation. The worship in the family was as solemn as the worship in the house of God, or in the field, on the great day of assembly. He often conducted family worship with such fervour that, according to the testimony of a servantmaid, she could hardly speak to him for hours afterwards. Nothing was allowed to interfere with this sacred duty ; and when he returned in the evenings from a distant journey, tired and fatigued, after holding services in the country, he would still hold the services in the family all the same. They were held twice a day, and during that sacred time, the doors were closed to prevent all interruptions.

There was once some work to be done on the roof of John Elias's house. A man was engaged to do it. He procured a ladder to ascend to the top of the house, and placed this ladder over against the window of the great man's study. He climbed the ladder, and as he came up to the study window, he could see the great pulpit orator prostrate on the floor. He passed and ascended the roof, and finished the work. It took him, however, about an hour to complete it Then he descended; and in coming down the ladder, he could not help, from curiosity, looking in again through the study window. He was astounded to see the great orator again prostrate on the floor, .exactly in the same position. Thinking he was dead, or stricken with paralysis, or some other fatal disease, he quickly descended, and called the servant, and told her what he had seen; when she calmed his fears, and told him he was praying.

He was exceedingly careful in the training of his children. His son said that his father was very strict in his home discipline. When he happened to do anything wrong, for the first offence, he should be warned ; for the second, he should surely be punished, unless his mother or some friend interfered, and prayed for pardon ; but, if caught in a third offence, the punishment was sure and inevitable. His mother also was exceedingly careful in matters of discipline ; and whenever she punished her son she, with rod in hand, took him upstairs ; but before administering punishment, she went on her knees to pray for the blessing of God upon what' she was about to do.

Fairs were held three times a year in Llanfechell; and in these fairs the youth of the country around would congregate, and there was often great frivolity and wickedness. On these occasions John Elias carefully sent his children away into the country, far from the reach of the temptations of the day. A servant that was in his employ for three years said of him, that "all the family felt the warmest love for him, and the greatest reverence towards him as a man whose piety was of the most exemplary type."

His daughter said of him, "To live in his family was to a great degree heaven upon earth. I can never forget the light that followed our family worship, and the pleasure and edification we found in conversations. And never can I forget the tears I saw on the chair in his study by which he bent his knees; though nothing was heard, we were well aware that he was pouring out a profusion of tears in his secret prayers. Many times did I observe him coming out from his chamber, like Moses coming down from the mountain, with so much of the image of God upon his countenance that no one could look him in the face. The simplicity, the tenderness, the humility of his countenance almost compelled men to worship God when they saw him."

In the house of John Elias, at Llanfechell, preaching services were frequently held. The study was next the kitchen, with merely the wainscotting between. That study had a bed in it, and was full of books. The services were held in the kitchen; there the people assembled together, sitting or standing as they could find room. The preacher remained in the study with closed door until the time came for commencing the service; then, some one knocked the study door to tell him that the time was up, and the preacher came out with the Bible in his hand, and often with the light of heaven in his face, and took his stand upon the stairs. After the sermon was over the people would often remain behind to talk together of the great things of God. Many a delightful service was held in this house, and many of the joys of heaven were experienced.

Four children were born to John Elias, of which two died at birth. On the stone above their grave is carved the lines —

"They died, for Adam sinned.

They live, for Jesus died."

Mrs. Elias kept the shop, and undertook all the care connected with it. Her son says (see Drysorfa 1874, p. 453) she never spoke of the troubles and cares of the shop to his father. If the traveller was to arrive the following day, and the money in the till was short, she would bid her son be sure not to tell his father. "He has something more important on his mind," she would say. On such occasions her son noticed her many a time going up into the bedroom; he knew well for what purpose, viz., to lay her cares before the Lord; and many a time did he see the answer coming, as if by express, from heaven, and the people flocking into the shop the following day, until the till was quite full by the time the traveller arrived.

She used to go to Wrexham fair in order to buy things for the shop. She stayed with a friend in the town. But she always went on her knees with all her transactions. The goods she bought were once sent in a ship from Liverpool, a new ship, the Marchioness of Anglesea ; and this was lost, with all on board, and all the goods bought went into the deep. But she mentioned not a word about it to John Elias, so that he was not hindered in the slightest with his work. She trans- acted all the business ; and her name was on the sign above the door.

Owen Jones on Elias 08

CHAPTER 8 TWO SPEECHES ON GREAT ASSOCIATION DAYS

Speech in the Holyhead Association, 1824 - Another speech on a similar occasion

In the Associations, whenever there was anything to be said to the people, any word of advice to be given, or thanks to be offered for kindness received during the days of the Association, it was generally the custom to ask Mr. John Elias to do it. In the one that was held at Holyhead in the beginning of October, 1824, in the service at ten o'clock in the morning, after Mr. Owen Jones, of Gelli, had preached, and before Mr. William Morris, Cilgeran, commenced, John Elias rose to exhort the people to behave themselves well during the intervals of the services. Thus: "Are there drunkards here? I am afraid there are. Let me entreat you at least to control your- selves for to-day. If you do not fear God nor the laws of your country, and if you have no respect for yourselves, I beg of you, for our sake, to be sober and well-behaved for this day. By coming into these meetings to get drunk and to conduct yourselves disorderly, you are breaking our character. Our enemies have not yet all vanished from the land. They are ready to make a tool of everything against us. And we have nothing but our character to fall back upon. We are not wealthy, we are not learned ; we are not highly gifted ; we have no grand titles ; and we have no men amongst us in very high authority. But we have our character of which we think a great deal. We are for keeping our character, and we will not let any one break it. But these drunkards of our Associations break our character. And it is after us poor Methodists that they are coming. What shall we do with them, brethren?" (one of the preachers on the stage replied, "Form them," referring to the sermon they had just heard upon the words, "This people have I formed for myself" Isa. Xliii. 21)

Then, with a quick impulse and a sudden start, he said, "I feel inclined to put them all up for sale." And he shouted, with out-stretched arm, "Who will take them? Church people, will you? Not likely ; for we in our baptism profess to leave the devil and all his train. Independents, will you? What? Have we not left the Church of England generations ago, because of her corruptions? Baptists, will you have them? Never, for we baptize our people in pure water, to show that we want but pure lives. Wesleyans, will you? No, no! Good works are essential with us, and we cannot take them in." Then again, stretching forth his arm, and shouting at the highest pitch of his voice, he cried, "Who will have them? Who will have them? Who will have them?" Then, in great excitement, and with fire in his eye, he turned his face towards the left, and looked in the direction of his elbow, and, lowering his voice, said, "I can almost hear some terrible whisper at my elbow, as if it came up from hell, or from the lips of a devil - 'Strike them down to me, I am ready to take them.'" He gazed up to heaven, as if he expected a voice from the sky, and again looked with great earnestness upon the congregation, and said not a word for a moment. Then with the finger of his right hand directed towards his left elbow, and, shaking it nervously once, twice, thrice, he shouted, "I was going to tell thee, devil, that thou shouldst have them, but, but - looking up again towards heaven, and lifting his hand - I hear a voice coming from Jesus: 'I will take them; I will take them as they are, to wash them in My own blood.”

"It is not difficult to imagine the effects of this upon the people. The commotion of feeling was so great that the service that morning could not be carried on any further. And it left a lasting effect upon many a drunkard. ("Biography of John Jones, Talsarn” pp. 861-862. By Dr. O. Thomas)

Here follows an occasion of a similar kind. The Association in Anglesey was the great meeting of the year. On the occasion to which we are now referring there was not less than 10,000 present. The Rev. Richard Lloyd, Beaumaris, counted the two sides of the square on the field, and, multiplying, he found them to be 12,000. As they did not form a complete square, we are within the mark when we say there were 10,000 present. The first service is held on the field at five o'clock in the evening. There are two preachers to conduct it, and John Elias is to address the multitude at the close. After the two sermons are over, he rises, and steps to the desk in front of the platform. He looks upon the vast throng, and then points with his finger to one or two spots where the people are not yet perfectly still. Then a pleasant smile appears on his face, and he begins to speak: —

"I have a word or two to say before any one moves out of his place. It is not yet more than a quarter past seven o'clock, no one need hurry, and we have the long days of summer. I have understood a long while from your faces that you all feel to-night as if heaven were near. The servants of the Most High are in the hands of their Master. It is clear that they have already been clothed with power from on high. The trumpet call of the King is in our camp. We have seen and heard things that are almost incredible. We have heard the walls of Jericho crack ; and we may reasonably hope to see them down in a ruinous heap before to-morrow night. And, surely, we shall see this, unless there be something in us, or in the behaviour of the people, or in the town, to grieve the Holy Spirit. Therefore, for the value of souls that are now in the labour of birth, I beseech you all to be on your guard. I would swear every man here present to be more sober than ever before. God forbid that any of us should be guilty of sending the heavenly dove away. For the love of souls, let not a single drunkard be seen on the streets to-night. May there be nothing in the conduct of any one, in or out, to offend the feelings of any magistrate or civil official, more than the preacher or ordinary believer. We expect the morals of this multitude to be without blemish to-night ; if not, this is the last Association that shall ever come into this town! There are thousands of strangers to be entertained in the neighbourhood to-night ; let every one go to the place he is invited : it would not be much, this kind of weather, to go a distance of three miles if necessary. Let every man be faithful and thankful for the entertainment he gets. And you that entertain the strangers, open your doors with a hearty welcome. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers.' Avoid trouble and expense : all we ask is a bed free from damp and safe, a morsel of bread and a drop of water. Value this coming of strangers under your roofs. It is to-night, perhaps, that your hearths will be anointed for the first time with the tears of the saints; it is to-night, perhaps, that your roofs will be consecrated for the first time by the prayers of the faithful. Remember that some of the old pilgrims, by faith, entertained strangers unawares, and that they feasted happily with them. Who knows but that you also to-night shall entertain good men in the invisible company of the angels of heaven! And you that make the arrangements, see that a man of prayer is sent to every house.

"Let all observe that family worship is to be held to-night in every family, exactly at nine o'clock. Heaven has already smiled upon us. An active intercourse has already been carried on by the angels between this field and the throne of God; and at nine o'clock we hope that Jacob's ladder will be full of angels ascending and descending, and that the prayers of this region for a compass of six miles will be so powerful that they will draw heaven down to earth, and lift earth so near heaven that the tabernacle of God will be with men, and that this Association will be the great subject of talk in the councils of heaven." (“Reminiscences of John Elias” pp 16-17. By the Rev. R. Parry).

Owen Jones on Elias 07

CHAPTER 7 PUBLIC SPEECHES

Great Bible Society meeting at Beaumaris - Great Missionary meeting at Llanerchymedd

John Elias threw himself heart and soul into all the great movements of that time. Whatever was done with a view to the public good commanded at once the sympathy and talents of this man. He was a warm advocate of the Bible Society, the Missionary, and the Temperance cause.
We shall look upon him in this chapter in a meeting of the Bible Society, and in another in behalf of the London Missionary Society.
When the Bible Society was first established, it had not a few difficulties to contend with. There were many that opposed its claims. Many Churchmen looked askance at it ; they even supposed that it was an effort of the Nonconformists to supplant the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, which had been working successfully for many years. But these strong prejudices were gradually giving way before the noble claims of the Bible Society; and some of the great men of the land were already beginning to favour the good cause.
In this state of things, public meetings were to be held at Carnarvon and Beaumaris to advocate the claims of the society. The Most Hon. the Marquis of Anglesey consented to preside in these meetings. An effort was made to prevent him from taking such a step; but it proved unsuccessful. This happened a little after the Battle of Waterloo, where the marquis had nobly distinguished himself; he came out of the battle with great glory, though with the loss of one of his limbs. This was fresh in the minds of the people of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire. New titles and marks of honour had been lavished upon him, and a splendid column raised to his name on the banks of the Menai; and the announcement that such a hero from the field of Waterloo was to preside at the meetings caused a great sensation in the land. A good number of the ladies and gentlemen of the country felt bound to attend, and there were multitudes of others that were anxious to see the face of the illustrious warrior.
At the meetings there were several speakers, one of whom was Dr. Steward, from Liverpool, who was to speak in English; another was John Elias, who was to address them in Welsh. There was not a little prejudice against John Elias, and many would have preferred not to hear him at all, and some effort was made to prevent him delivering his speech.
Let us now hear John Elias in one of these gatherings. It was held at Beaumaris. The place was full to overflowing, and some could not find room. There were many ladies and gentlemen from Anglesey, and a great number had come over the Menai Straits from Carnarvonshire. The time for the meeting to commence was eleven o'clock in the morning. Within five minutes of the time the marquis had not arrived, and there was a sense of anxiety in the hundreds that were present, and a feeling of disappointment was just beginning to set in. But as the clock was striking the hour, the sound of hoofs and the rolling of wheels was heard on the pavement. It was the carriage of the marquis. The soldier knew the value of time, and he was in the building at the hour appointed. He was welcomed with ringing cheers.
Without loss of time he rose, and in a short and appropriate address he explained the object of the meeting, and how he himself felt strongly in favour of the society, and how his heart beat in deep sympathy with the noble aim of sending the Bible to every man in the world. Then he called upon the speakers to address the assembly. And now the turn of John Elias came. At the bidding of the chairman the orator arose. The welcome he received by the audience was not propitious. Some turned their faces away, others almost frowned. He came forward, bowing humbly and respectfully to the chair on the one hand, and to the congregation on the other. His gentlemanly appearance and bearing made an impression in his favour on many. He commenced his speech. He looked upon the moral condition of Wales before the Bible came* The history of his country was at his fingers' ends. He enumerated the different translations of the Bible into the Welsh language. He spoke of Dr. Richard Davies, William. Salesbury, Thomas Huet, Dr. Morgan, Dr. Parry, and others, with perfect familiarity— men that were dear and well known to the Church of England friends. Then he spoke with great interest of the various editions of the Welsh Bible, and mentioned to the approving audience the honoured names of Sir Thomas Middleton, Rowland Heylin, Walter Caradoc, Vavasor Powell, Thomas Gouge, Stephen Hughes, and several others. This interesting enumeration attracted the attention of the whole congregation and the faces of all were now turned towards the speaker. And he followed on with graceful attitude, pleasing countenance, smooth and finished sentences, until the eyes of his hearers were riveted upon him in the most absorbed attention.
He now sketched the present condition of Wales, and showed that it stood, even then, in imminent need of more effort than ever before for the dissemination of the Word of God. He described the country in a condition of war — a war of elements, a war of principles, a war of champions, Christ and Satan. He described two armies as if approaching each other in mortal fray : "They tramp the ground with heavy tread ; they draw nearer and nearer. The crisis of battle is come ; and the weal or woe of nations depends upon the issue. We have a picture of the battle on the field of Waterloo, and a prophecy of victory in the success of our arms." He then portrayed in vivid colours the battle, the sound of which was almost still in their ears. He showed how the crisis of nations had come, how the destiny of millons, the peace of the world, the prosperity of trade, the hopes of science, and even the success of the Gospel depended upon the bravery of our generals. "But," said he, "our generals were endowed from on high with keen insight, with steady and unflinching power of will, with boldness of action and decision of blows, so that they were equal to the critical occasion." And after describing the firing of the cannon, the whistling of balls, the fire and fury of the fray, the manoeuvring of regiments, the forming of squares, the steady persistence of serried ranks, the charges of cavalry, and the shock of arms, he graphically painted the valour of the Most Hon. Marquis: "I think I see him in the melee of battle, riding upon his white charger, — that charger rushing to meet the armed men; his neck clothed with thunder, pawing in the valley, rejoicing in his strength, mock- ing fear, and turning not back from the sword; the quiver rattUng against his sides, the glittering spear and the shield ; swallowing the ground with fierceness and rage, smelling the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains and the shouting (Job's description, xxxix 21-25). I see the noble Marquis riding him in perfect self-possession, with calm countenance amidst the sound of battle, leading his regiment to the fight. I see him conquering his brave enemy, and yet, after vanquishing him, with noble dignity sparing his life." When the orator arrived at this point there passed through the congregation a thrill of glowing admiration. Still the speaker went on with increasing eloquence, burning with the fire of his theme, and said: "I fancy now that I hear the fighting host shouting victory ! But — but — it is a victory at the expense of losing the noble general ! A whizzing bullet comes from the enemy and strikes down the mighty warrior ! Dead ? Ha ! no. The angel of Providence rushed to the spot, and lifting up his hand against the messenger of Death, said, ' Touch not his life ; take but his limb, his life is sacred. I have some better work for the noble warrior to per- form ; I want him as a leader of a better army, an army that is going to conquer the world with the Word of the living God ; I want him to preside over the meetings of the Bible Society. The enemy is bound, but the Word of God is not bound! "Another thrill passed like an electric shock through the congre- gation with these last words. There was silence for a moment, then a swaying motion, and then some silent whispers. Several Englishmen were present who did not understand what was said, but they were conscious of some strange influence over the congregation : "What was that?" "What did he say?" "How? How?" The white pocket-handkerchiefs were out in scores to wipe the tears away from many an eye. Evidently there was great excitement. Seeing this, the Marquis, who did not understand Welsh, beckoned to a friend that sat near him, and asked him what was the cause. He answered, "It was an allusion to yourself, my lord, and the accident at Waterloo, where the interposition of Providence spared you to preside over this meeting." Upon this the hand of the Marquis passed quickly into his pocket for his hand- kerchief, and he also wept with the rest. John Elias then closed his address with the words, "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified." (From the Rev. R. Parry's excellent little volume, entitled, "Reminiscences of John Elias" pp. 21-26).
He was once advocating the claims of the Bible Society, in an Association held at Ruthin. In speaking of the countries that had never received the Bible, he enumerated and described, for an hour without intermission, the state of those countries and the misery of the inhabitants. After it was over, one gentleman said to another, "I never, never heard such a speech in behalf of the Bible." The other replied, "Wonderful, indeed! That man knows the history and the geography of the whole world."
The Bible Society Committee made the following remarks about John Elias the year after his death:— "To the memory of the Rev. John Elias a more than common tribute of affection and regret is due from the friends of the British and Foreign Bible Society. After the decease of the indefatigable and lamented Charles, of Bala, he was, humanly speaking, the society's main support, and its untiring advocate in North Wales ; and it is believed that he delivered more addresses, and collected more money in its behalf, than any other individual not officially connected with the society. The influence of his example, and the force of his appeals, were deeply and generally felt in his own country, where, in the very first year, he collected after sermons the large sum of £500. In the decease of this revered and much-loved servant of Christ, the society has lost a praying member, a liberal contributor, an eloquent and most efficient advocate. May his mantle, with a double portion of his spirit, fall upon his survivors."
Before the Calvinistic Methodists formed a missionary society of their own, they sent their contributions to the London Missionary Society. John Elias was a warm advocate of its claims. By his speeches in Anglesey a large sum was collected in one year. When the collection was to be made, he availed himself of the opportunity to speak in behalf of it.
Let us now listen to him in such a meeting. The place was Llanerchymedd, five miles from Llanfechell. It was Sunday morning ; there was snow on the ground ; consequently he had to walk the whole distance, for he could not take his horse. Though the morning was cold the chapel was full.
Speaking of the world lying in degradation and sin, he said: there were now two societies facing the lost world with the only true remedy. Those were the Bible Society and the London Missionary Society. The first sent out the seed, the second sent out the sowers. He gave an outline of the missionary labours of the last 300 years, calling attention briefly to the different societies that had been labouring in disseminating the Word of God, till he came to the London Missionary Society. Then he proceeded: —
"But what have we to do with this society? This is the question for us to-day. Has the work been finished? Alas! It is only just begun. The pagan world has a personal claim upon each one of us; and to show this is the object of this meeting. Who shall send them the Gospel but those who have already received it? ... Let us look for a moment upon the condition of the pagan world. ... In our imagination let us take our position with the angel spoken of in the Book of Revelation, standing in the sun. Let us sup- pose that we are in a convenient spot on the sun's surface, and that we are looking down upon this world almost at an infinite distance below, and that our eyes are keen and far- sighted enough to observe carefully the different spots on the face of our globe. There the earth revolves upon its axis daily, describing its elliptical course round the sun. Behold, it turns in regular revolutions towards the east. Now the city of London is exactly below us ; but it soon passes from our ken, and England altogether. And now the borders of Ireland begin to appear. What do we see ? Seven millions of Roman Catholics worshipping images of the cross instead of believing in the power of Christ to save. They are in darkness and ignorance, innocently led by their priests, knowing nothing of the true way of salvation. Is there no effort made to deliver them ? Yes ; you have the Irish Evangelical Society working in one place, the schools of the Hibernian Society in another, and the Protestant ministers in another — all scattering the beams of light over the darkness of the night!
"Then the wide Atlantic rolls into sight, but soon passes away, and the continent of America comes into view. There we see numerous tribes passing to and fro, many of them, however, plunged into the depth of darkness and misery. Still, we behold a glorious army of missionaries leading the people to Christ!
"Look again! There is the wide Pacific main, bespotted with a thousand islands, and the inhabitants, alas! worshippers of idols. Still, even there, Tahiti and Eimeo twinkle brightly like the stars, and the light of the know- ledge of Jesus Christ casts its beautiful glimmer over the waves of the sea. And we can now delight our eyes in looking upon several Christian temples as if floating upon the face of the South Sea.
"Mark! The Empire of China, wide and vast, now rolls into sight. Alas! how it groans under the weight of three hundred millions of ignorant and superstitious idolaters. Listen! you hear of no one there but Confucius and Foe; no Jesus, no Lamb that is slain! However, there are a few that meet together to read the New Testaments that were distributed through the efforts of Morrison and Milne. The first-fruits of the great harvest have already been waved before the Lord.
"The earth still revolves, and now the light of the sun falls upon the great plains of Hindostan, and upon the valley that is ever washed with the waters of the Ganges. There is Juggernaut, with its crushing wheels! There is the funeral pile, and the widow consumed in the fire with her dead husband ! Still, you see the mission houses of Serampore and Calcutta; and Bradbury, Morton, and Lessel, have just arrived to take the place of Carey and Townley; and the dawn of a better day seems to come upon that land of darkness and the shadow of death. Be quick, and look again over the mountains of Northern India, and observe the wide plains that extend far in the direction of the poles. A land of gloom, indeed, and the abodes of misery in every direction. But Swan, and Hallybrass, and Youell, have planted the rose of Sharon in the Siberian snow, and the lily of the valleys in the far-off Tartar land.
"The countries of Persia and Arabia appear ; what millions you find here who follow the false prophet! But watch keenly, and, as you move your eye from Astrachan along the shores of the Caspian Sea, you will see the missionaries of the Edinburgh Society commencing the work which will not be finished until the earth is the Redeemer's.
"There is Palestine again rolling into view. Oh! what a blessed country. That is the valley where Abraham pitched his tent. On that mount, David composed many a psalm; there Isaiah took his harp, and prophesied of the birth of Christ! That is Calvary, where the Saviour died! That is the garden, and there the grave! Can you not almost hear some pilgrim or traveller uttering the words, 'Come, see the place where the Lord lay.' ...
"Now, Asia Minor appears with its barbarism and superstition. But the Russian Bible Society, with the golden candlestick in one hand, and the light of truth in the other, begins to light up again the lamps that once cast their beautiful lights for many years on the waves of the Mediterranean Sea.
"There is Africa again, with its bleeding millions, wailing under the hand of the oppressor. Still, even there we see the lights of Bethelsdorp and Sierra Leone — lights prophetic of the time when slavery shall be at an end, and when the sun of righteousness shall light the dark continent. " Europe now returns into our ken. In those northern parts we see the superstitions of the Greek Church, and in the south the errors of the Church of Rome. "Look, now our old home has come again; there is London and the dome of St. Paul's, and the offices of the London Missionary Society hard by.
"What do you say, then, my friends, to all this? Is there a heart that does not feel? Do you not count it a privilege to give something towards sending the Word of God to those that die without knowledge? Is there a man here who will not pray that God's Word may have free course and be glorified? ..."
He closes his speech with the words, "The Lord gave the Word: great was the company of those that published it"; "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"- uttered in a manner never to be forgotten by those who heard them. Great was the effect of this speech upon the collection that was made that morning. The hearers were amazed. The missionary cause was very new to the people at that time; and this speech was the means of creating a great interest in the heathen world. The graphic view of the earth they had obtained remained long in their imaginations ; they saw the revolving continents, the islands, and the oceans for months and years; and their conceptions of the world were clearer and wider ever after.'''