VIII. “I come unto thee, beseeching thee to be in covenant with me in my ministry. As thou didst prosper Bunyan, Vavasor Powell, Howell Harris, Rowlands, and Whitefield, O do thou prosper me. Whatsoever things are opposed to my prosperity, remove them out of the way. Work in me every thing approved of God, for the attainment of this. Give me a heart ‘sick of love’ to thyself, and to the souls of men. Grant that I may experience the power of thy word before I deliver it, as Moses felt the power of his own rod, before he saw it on the land and waters of Egypt. Grant this, for the sake of thine infinitely precious blood, O Jesus, my hope, and my all in all! Amen.—C. E.
IX. “Search me now, and lead me in plain paths of judgment. Let me discover in this life what I am before thee, that I may not find myself of another character, when I am shown in the light of the immortal world, and open my eyes in all the brightness of eternity. Wash me in thy redeeming blood. Amen.—C. E.
X. “Grant me strength to depend upon thee for food and raiment, and to make known my requests. O let thy care be over me as a covenant-privilege betwixt thee and myself, and not like a general care to feed the ravens that perish, and clothe the lily that is cast into the oven; but let thy care be over me as one of thy family, as one of thine unworthy brethren. Amen.—C. E.
XI. “Grant, O Jesus! and take upon thyself the preparing of me for death, for thou art God; there is no need, but for thee to speak the word. If possible, thy will be done; leave me not long in affliction, nor to die suddenly, without bidding adieu to my brethren, and let me die in their sight, after a short illness. Let all things be ordered against the day of removing from one world to another, that there be no confusion nor disorder, but a quiet discharge in peace. O grant me this, for the sake of thine agony in the garden! Amen.—C. E.
XII. “Grant, O blessed Lord! that nothing may grow and be matured in me, to occasion thee to cast me off from the service of the sanctuary, like the sons of Eli; and for the sake of thine unbounded merit, let not my days be longer than my usefulness. O let me not be like lumber in a house in the end of my days,—in the way of others to work. Amen.—C. E.
XIII. “I beseech thee, O Redeemer! to present these my supplications before the Father: and O! inscribe them in thy book with thine own immortal pen, while I am writing them with my mortal hand, in my book on earth. According to the depths of thy merit, thine undiminished grace, and thy compassion, and thy manner unto thy people, O! attach thy name, in thine upper court, to these unworthy petitions; and set thine amen to them, as I do on my part of the covenant. Amen.—Christmas Evans, Llangevni, Anglesea, April 10, 18—.”
Mr. Evans, in speaking of this solemn transaction and its influence upon his spirit, subsequently observes: “I felt a sweet peace and tranquility of soul, like unto a poor man that had been brought under the protection of the royal family, and had an annual settlement for life made upon him; from whose dwelling the painful dread of poverty and want had been for ever banished away.”
Thus “strengthened with might in the inner man,” he labored with renewed energy and zeal, and showers of blessings descended upon his labors. In two years, his ten preaching places in Anglesea were increased to twenty, and six hundred converts were added to the church under his care. “The wilderness and solitary place were glad for them, and the desert rejoiced and blossomed as the rose.”
STUDYING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
Mr. Evans made several visits to Liverpool, Bristol, and other parts of England. On these occasions he was frequently solicited to preach in English, to which he several times consented, to the great gratification of his English friends. These sermons evinced the same energy of thought, and the same boldness of imagery, as those which he preached in Welsh; but in the power of his peculiar delivery, they were inevitably far inferior. His brethren in England were much delighted with his performances, and said it was “no wonder the Welsh were warm under such preaching;” but his language was broken and hesitating, and they could scarcely have any conception of his animation and energy when he spoke in his vernacular tongue.