Owen Jones on Elias 04

CHAPTER 4. THE RHUDDLAN EPISODE

Rhuddlan; Sabbath fairs — John Elias and a few friends going into Rhuddlan on one of the great fairs— Taking his stand at the front of the New Inn— Text and sermon — The great effects which followed — Similar incident at Flint.

Not far from Rhyl, on the banks of the river Clwyd, there is a place called Rhuddlan. It is situated about four miles from the sea. The valley is very broad here, and the country around exceedingly fruitful. On one side of the town is the old castle, with the beautiful meadows, and the river running through. As the inhabitants depended mostly upon farming, it was found that Rhuddlan was a central place, and very convenient for the whole country for miles around. And in the time of harvest the farmers and the workpeople resorted there, and there were certain fairs held in the harvest season which were called " hiring fairs." But these were held on Sundays, and they were continued for every Sunday during harvest. They sold scythes and sickles and all kinds of harvest implements. The young of both sexes attended in hundreds ; players of all kinds came there — fiddlers and singers were to be seen and heard in different parts of the town. The public- houses were generally full of people, and from several of these the sound of the fiddle, the harp, and the dancing could be heard over the small town. Here and there were shouting and rioting, and all over the place a great din and noise. Rhuddlan on these occasions was the scene of great immorality and wickedness. John Elias, during one of his preaching journeys, became aware of all this, and he made up his mind that he would go there to preach. It had been the custom of the place and country from time immemorial. Nevertheless he determined to go there. It was announced beforehand to the religious people of the different localities around in order that they might be present. This took place in the summer of 1802. When the Sunday came there assembled some hundreds of supporters. A number of friends came with John Elias from Denbigh and St. Asaph. A good man of the name of John Roberts had come with him from Denbigh, who had a very good voice and was a great singer. They arrived at the fair between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. John Elias and his party went up to the New Inn. Before the door there were two or three stone steps. He stood upon the highest of these. The place was already full; but when anything extraordinary occurs in a fair the people flock together directly from all parts. It was a strange kind of audience that crowded around John Elias on this occasion. Many of them had their sickles under, or on their arms, and their scythes glistened with point upwards. At that moment the hum of the fair was high, the sound of the riot and the revelry, the fiddling and the dancing from the taverns was loud in their ears. But John Elias had come there on purpose to preach to this people, and he was not a man that was to be daunted by anything. It is said that there were some thousands of people before him. He looked soberly and earnestly upon them, and gave some of the words of the twenty-fourth Psalm to be sung:

"Yr Argwlydd biau'r ddaear lawr

A'i llawnder mawr sydd eiddo;

Yr Arglwydd biau yr holl fyd,

A'r bobl i gyd sydd ynddo."

"The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein " (verse i). He gave the words out with great authority, and the appearance of the preacher was such as to inspire all present with awe. Then they commenced singing, and one that heard it said he never heard such effective singing. Its influence upon the riotous crowd was great and immediate. In a few minutes there was not a sickle or scythe to be seen; and before the end of the time the congregation assumed a more quiet and sober appearance. After the singing was over John Elias read a portion of Scripture. He was an excellent reader, and he did not fail to arrest the attention of all at that time. Then he prayed. In that prayer he was a man wrestling with God ; he wanted special help on that great occasion. He thanked God for His mercy; thanked Him especially for His mercy to the people of Rhuddlan and the valley of Clwyd; thanked Him for not letting the spot on which Rhuddlan and the old castle stood open into a great yawning chasm, and swallow the great sinners that congregated there down into hell. He prayed earnestly that God would put it in the minds of the gentry of the land and those who were in authority, who had the law on their side, to give their help, and to stand up for the keeping of the Sabbath day holy. He even mentioned the names of some of them, such as the bishop and the dean, and the clergymen of the Church of England. (Mr. Thomas Andrews, the old man who remembered the occasion, could not say for certain whether it was in the prayer or the sermon, or in both that the names were mentioned.) During the time he was engaged in prayer he was full of the deepest earnestness ; and his appearance spoke to the heart and conscience of the crowd that God was with him. During the whole of this time the tears were flowing freely down his cheeks. And before he finished the din of the fair was gone, and a strange yet strong feeling of dread and soberness took possession of the throng. Another hymn was sung, and then he took his text, Exod. xxxiv. 21:" Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in spring time and in harvest thou shalt rest." He read these words slowly, boldly, authoritatively. He took the several parts of the verse separately, 1. Six days thou shalt work. 2. On the seventh day thou shalt rest. 3. In spring time thou shalt rest. 4. In harvest thou shalt rest. He quoted instances from Scripture to show how God visited Sabbath breakers with punishment. He mentioned also the case of the great fire in London, which commenced on the Sabbath day, and which came upon the people as a visitation for their crimes, and especially for their want of reverence for the Sabbath. He enumerated some of the excuses which were possibly arising in the minds of his hearers. " ' What if it should be a wet harvest ; must we rest on the Sabbath when it is a fine day, and leave our crops to spoil in the wet ? ' Yes, thou must obey the commandment of God, In the time of harvest thou shalt rest. Rather than thou shouldst desecrate the Sabbath, God would send a number of angels to reap thy corn." Then he cried to the people with all his might, " O, ye robbers ! robbers ! You are robbing the Lord ; you are robbing my God of His day ! " Such terrific words fell upon the people like the shock of an earthquake. They were caught red handed in the act of breaking God's day ; and they were filled with fear lest some of the judgments they had heard should fall upon them there and then. This sermon put an end for ever to these fairs. Many said after the sermon was over that they would not for the world go there again. That single sermon of John Elias put a complete stop to it. No poetry, however beautiful, could have done this ; no philosophy, how- ever broad and deep, could have accomplished it. But here is an instance in modern times which cannot in any way be controverted, of the Gospel proving itself mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. A strong and immemorial custom was put an end to at once and for ever. The Rev. Robert Roberts, who lived at St. Asaph, was returning from the meeting, and going -towards his home, when he overtook another man, who was also returning home. However, while this man was turning from the main road towards his house, he thought that the arm on which his sickle rested was paralysed; the sickle fell down ; the man saw it ; but he could not venture to take it up, for fear that his other arm should be paralysed also. But his arm was not paralysed. He lost his sickle, but had his arms, and something besides ; for soon after he joined the cause of Christ, and proved a faithful Christian to the end of his life.

John Elias speaks of this great event in his autobiography (he wrote a short account of his life at the request of several of his friends a few months before he died) and says that God helped him greatly on the occasion, and that the friends of the Lord obtained a complete victory. He mentions also another occasion where the Lord delivered him. There was a great festal day at Flint; he, anxious to do good, and desiring to put an end, if possible, to the sinful customs of those times, preached on the street there, and gathered a large number of people around him. Some enraged persecutors drove a wild bull upon the congregation. But as they were driving him on the bull fell down and broke his leg.