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8 5"£o

THE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF THE
WELSH FAMILIES RESIDENT IN LONDON,
WITH SUGGESTIONS
AS TO THE POSSIBLE CAUSES AND REMEDY OP THE EVIL.

A
SERMON
PREACHED AT THE RE-OPENING OF THE
CHURCH OF ST. FAGAN'S
ABEBDABE
AUGUST 2C, 1856.

By ALFKED OLLIVANT D.D.
In
BISHOP OF LLANDAFF.

LONDON:
JOHN W. PAEKEB AND SON, WEST STBAND.

M DCCC LVI.

LOUDON :
SAVILL AHD EDWAKDS, PEIBTERS, OHAHBOS STKEET,
OOVEMX OAEDEN.

ALL PERSONS LN WALES WHO PROFESS AND CALL THEMSELVES
CHRISTIANS,
WHETHER CHURCHMEN OR DISSENTERS,
THIS SEBMON
IS INS CBIBED BY
THEIR FAITHFUL SERVANT, A. LLANDAFF.

QT. FAGAN'S Church, Aberdare, was built at the sole
^ expense of the late Hon. Robert and Lady Harriet
Clive. The roof and internal fittings of the church having
been destroyed by fire, the entire cost of restoring the
building was generously defrayed by Lady Harriet, now
the Right Hon. Lady Windsor.

A SERMON.

Haggai i. 5.
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Consider your ways.
THE age in which we live is distinguished above those
which have preceded it by the extension of our commerce,
the increase of our national wealth, and the vast additions
that have been made by the improvements of science to the
substantial comfort and enjoyment of mankind. So far as
our own country is concerned, it is an age also of the highest
political liberty, and of the greatest religious privilege. With
out any hesitation it might be affirmed that there never was
a period in the history of the world, when the elements of
social happiness were so widely diffused, or brought so com
pletely within the grasp of all who are disposed to conduct
themselves with ordinary prudence.
Under these circumstances it might reasonably have been
expected that the social condition of our country would have
been such as in every respect to gratify the wishes of the
patriot, the philanthropist, and the Christian. We might
have pictured to ourselves an educated, a moral, and a reli
gious population, not more increased in number than advanced
in goodness and happiness. Though we could not have looked
for the total absence of poverty or distress — for these trials
appear to be inseparable from our present imperfect condition,
as God's own voice declared of the Jewish commonwealth, " the
poor shall never cease out of thy land"* — we might yet have
anticipated that the masses of our people would have been
leavened with Christian principle, and trained in those vir
tuous habits by which their trials might have been mitigated,

* Deut. xv. 11

and a vast amount of happiness actually conferred upon
them. Now I am far from denying that there is in all probability
a greater amount of social happiness, and that too based
upon high moral and religious principle, enjoyed in Great
Britain, than could be found elsewhere in any age or country
of the world. But unhappily the great enemy of man has
not neglected his opportunity. If the wheat has been broad
cast throughout the land, the tares have been sown also.
Experience shows that there are social evils existing among
us, as respects the moral and spiritual condition of the congre
gated masses in our densely peopled towns, which, if the fact
did not rest upon indisputable evidence, could scarcely be
credited. That upwards of five millions of persons absent
themselves every Lord's Day from the public worship of God
is a conclusion drawn in the Report of the last Census,* the
accuracy of which, to the best of my knowledge, has not been
disproved. Our newspapers reveal an amount of crime and
misery, of which this statement affords in one sense a satis
factory, though at the same time a most painful and humi
liating, explanation. And the journals of persons whose duty
or Christian benevolence leads them to the lanes and alleys
of our crowded cities, have brought to light an amount of
vice, ignorance, and infidelity, which but for their praise
worthy exertions could not have been imagined to exist in a
Christian country.
Among the parties thus deeply sunk in ungodliness, whose
lamentable condition has lately attracted much observation,
there is one class in which we, as natives or inhabitants of the
Principality, are bound to take a special interest: I mean the
Welsh families that are resident in the metropolis. If certain
statements are to be depended upon which have lately been
made public, it is impossible to conceive of anything more
deplorable than their moral and spiritual condition. A vast

* 5,288,294. " Census of Great Britain, 1861." Religious Worship
p. 167. *'

proportion of them must have lost all sense of religion, and be
sunk in the very lowest pit of moral depravity.
Before I enter into any particulars in reference to this painful
subject, I think it right to state that my information is alto
gether derived from the reports of City Missionaries and
from periodicals, belonging to various Dissenting bodies,
that are published in this country in the Welsh language.
Whatever truth therefore there may be in these statements,
it is to the zeal of these parties that the credit is clue of having
discovered and made public the facts of the case ; and if there
be any exaggeration or want of correctness in the Reports, it
cannot be attributed to any prejudices which an Englishman
or a Churchman may be supposed to entertain, that such asser
tions are made, or that I have called your attention to them in
this discourse.
In one of these periodicals, a magazine worthy of respect
both for its talent and information, I find it affirmed that the
Welsh-speaking population of London is probably not less
than 37,000; that of this number no less than 28,000 attend
no place of worship whatever, either English or Welsh ; that
infidelity in all its degrees, from that of the sceptic, who
accepts some parts and rejects others of Holy Scripture, to
that of the Atheist, who denies the very existence of a God,
extensively prevails among them ; that some have become
avowed Papists; that one of the most crying evils amongst
them is drunkenness from the excessive use of spirituous
liquors ; that cases of immorality are found, which, from their
very enormity, cannot be specified in a public report; and
that, as might naturally be expected, many of the parties who
are guilty of these enormities are utterly ignorant, not only
of ordinary knowledge, but of the very first elements of reli
gion. The City Missionary who draws this terrible picture
and confirms it by reference to particular instances, goes on
to remark, that these are only a few out of a great number of
examples that might be named, to show the wretched con
dition of many of the Welsh inhabitants of London, and
concludes his statement by saying, "When I consider the
circumstances of these people, of whom the greater part have

either been themselves respectable members of some Christian
denomination in Wales, or been brought up in religious
families, and therefore been the object of many prayers in the
morning of their lives, I cannot but see that these things
render their condition the more deplorable, calling, in a voice
that cannot but be heard, for the help, sympathy, and prayers
of God's Church, to bring them to the Shepherd and Bishop
of their souls."* Were this a solitary testimony, we might
justly entertain some doubts as to its thorough credibility.
But, unfortunately, it is confirmed by a cloud of witnesses.
Another writer, addressing you in your own language, appeals
to you with great feeling, in the following terms : " Behold,"
he says, " your own countrymen, your old neighbours, your
near connexions, your children and children's children, who
have been brought up in your schools, have been hearers in
your chapels, have been nurtured in your churches, but who,
after coming hither, for one reason or other springing from
the general depravity of our nature, altogether estrange
themselves from religious association, corrupt themselves in
the vilest manner, harden their hearts, many of them to such
a degree, that at last they deny the right of the Supreme
Being to rule over them, dishonour the sanctuary, blaspheme
our Saviour, subject themselves to the greatest misery in
time, lose everything of value upon earth, and are in the
greatest danger of losing their souls for ever in hell."f
Another tells us on the same authority — viz., that of the
City Missionaries — that " no such fearful infidelity is found in
any class of persons as those who come from Wales and Scot
land." J I might easily multiply these references, but it is
needless to pain you with any further details upon this
melancholy subject. Such is the plain testimony of Welsh
Dissenting Ministers at present resident in London, and I
know of no reason whatever to call it in question.

* " Y Traethodydd," July, 1855, pp. 233—237.
t Letter signed Owen Thomas, in " Y Drysorfa," May, 1856, pp. 172 
176. % Letter signed J. Jones, Wrexham, in " Y Drysorfa," Dec. 1855, p. 416.

But is this, my Brethren, really the ease ? We are fre
quently told that Wales is a land of great light and religious
privilege. Can it then be true, that, when her children leave
their homes and are exposed to the temptations of the wide
world, they so lamentably forget their principles, renounce
their religious profession, and abandon themselves more than
others to infidelity and vice ? If such be, indeed, the fact, it
becomes us, I think, seriously to inquire what may be the
cause of this terrible calamity. Whence is it that our children
and countrymen go forth so ill prepared for the conflict they
have to sustain? How can we account for it, that when the
rain descends and the floods come, and the winds blow and beat
upon the house, it so speedily falls, and is swept so completely
away that scarcely a wreck remains?
No doubt the general depravity of our nature, to which
allusion was made by the writer whose words I just quoted,
lies at the root of the mischief. Beyond all doubt it must be
admitted, that the children of parents, however pious, some
times go very far astray; so that no conclusion could certainly
be drawn from any particular instance of apostasy, that there
had been a want on their part of religious example or suitable
advice. No doubt the metropolis abounds, as all large cities
do, with temptations to irreligion and immorality, and the
young, if suddenly exposed to such evil influences, are espe
cially liable, from their inexperience and the violence of their
passions, to be overpowered. It may be admitted again, that
the means of religious instruction provided for the Welsh
inhabitants of London are inadequate for the purpose ; though
by the same authority on which I learn that this vast amount
of irreligion exists, I am also informed that in London there
are no fewer than fifteen Welsh places of worship, which to
gether will hold five thousand people, with five constant, and
about ten occasional preachers. Besides which there is a
Welsh branch of the London City Mission, having under its
care about one thousand Welsh families, or between four and
five thousand persons. In the course of last year about eight
thousand Bibles and religious tracts were distributed by the
missionaries, and two hundred meetings held for prayer and

10
preaching in different parts of the town. The pure and sound
doctrines of the Gospel, it is said, are preached to the Welsh
in their own tongue in the several chapels, neither is there any
lack of teachers, male and female, in the Sunday Schools, able
and willing to instruct all who are willing to learn*
Above, then, and beyond all these causes, there must be
some special reason for this overwhelming depravity; and
what that reason may be, we must, I think, be bound to con
sider, with a view to arrest, if possible, an evil of such appalling
magnitude. In reflecting upon the subject, the suspicion has crossed my
mind that possibly there may be some circumstances in our
moral and religious condition at home, which are not uncon
nected with this terrible degeneracy of our absent countrymen.
It may be that notwithstanding the great show of religion
apparent amongst us, our spiritual condition is not quite as
sound and healthy as some perhaps imagine. There may be
some causes in operation which prevent our young people
from becoming so firmly rooted and grounded in the faith of
Christ, that, when they leave their home, they can listen un
moved to the sneer of the infidel, and say to the licentious
tempter, "How shall I do this great wickedness and sin against
God?" It may be that the ungodliness of our countrymen
elsewhere is addressing to ourselves the language of my text;
" Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Consider your ways. Ye
have sown much and bring in little : ye eat but ye have not
enough : ye drink but ye are not filled with drink : ye clothe
you but there is none warm : and he that earneth wages
earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the
Lord of Hosts, Consider your ways."
For the purpose, then, of determining the question whether
there be, or be not, any ground for this suspicion, let us
inquire into some particulars bearing upon our own moral and
spiritual condition, and endeavour to ascertain whether it is

" Y Traethodydd," p. 234.

11
such as might reasonably be expected to send forth our emi
grant population, and above all our young people, well armed
for the battle with sin and unbelief. In the observations
which I shall make you will please to consider me rather as
suggesting matter for your own reflections, than as expressing
any positive conclusions of my own. " I speak as unto wise
men : Judge ye what I say."* God grant that whatever may
be the cause, some remedy may speedily be found for so wide
spread and fatal a disease.
1. The first elements of a community are the several indi
viduals of whom it is composed. The sum total of national
morality and godliness must resolve itself into that of the
separate members who constitute the body. With a view
then to our inquiry, it will be necessary, in the first place, to
consider the subject of personal religion as it exists amongst us.
Are we, my Brethren, as individuals, so living under the
influence of the Gospel, as to produce an impression favourable
to religion in the minds of those who witness our conduct ?
Is our piety such, that when our children or companions are no
longer in our immediate presence, the remembrance of it must
do them good, and constrain' them to follow our Christian
example ? This is a question, as you will perceive, in which
we are all severally interested. It is of the utmost importance,
as respects both them and ourselves, that it should be con
scientiously answered. The great family of man has been so
constituted by the Almighty Creator, that there is a marvellous
connexion between its several members, and a marvellous,
though perhaps imperceptible, influence for good or evil con
tinually exercised by one human being upon another. As the
spark that is communicated to the extremity of the electric wire,
darts along its whole length, makes itself felt in every part,
and delivers its message at the other end, just so the conduct
of every individual, the example he sets, and the spirit in
which he acts, tell upon his fellow men in continued succes-

* 1 Cor. x. 15.

12
sion : first upon those with whom he directly has to do, and
then, through their instrumentality, upon others also. There
is no saying through how wide a circle, or for what length of
time, that influence may be felt. How important then must it
be in reference to the formation of national character, that
every individual should be a real Christian, a man of God, a
living example of true piety. And this is the point which I
now commend to your special consideration. Is heartfelt and
personal piety the distinguishing characteristic of the indi
viduals who make up Welsh society ? No doubt there is much
religious knowledge in circulation. But is it practical ? Has
our knowledge issued in vital godliness ? Does it show itself
in the sanctification of the heart and life? Does it subdue
the evil that is in us 1\ Does it produce those fruits of holiness
which are, through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God ?
"The fruit of the Spirit," says St. Paul, "is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance; against such there is no law."* Is this, then, the
result of our own Christianity? Is this, generally speaking,
the character of those among whom we dwell ?
Personal religion, my Brethren, must have its foundation
in a deep sense of the evil of sin. Pricked to the heart with
a consciousness of guilt, the Christian lays hold by a living
faith of the promises of God in Christ Jesus. And thus he
becomes one with Christ, as the members of the body are one
with their head ; and all that Christ did or suffered as Medi
ator between God and man, becomes to him individually, for
the purposes of his salvation, the same thing as though he
had done and suffered it himself. Did Christ die upon the
cross? The true Christian is crucified with Him.f Did
Christ rise from the dead ? His resurrection is ours, realized
now in our spiritual resurrection — " You hath he quickened,
who were dead in trespasses and sins" — and hereafter to be
fulfilled in our resurrection from the grave. J Did Christ

* Galat. v. 22, 23. f Galat. ii. 20.
% Rom. vi. 4 ; Ephes. ii. 1 ; 1 Cor. xv. 20—23.

13
ascend into heaven? We too, in heart and affection, are
already there. " He hath made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ."* And thus our union with Him is com
plete. We dwell in Him, and He in us. He is "our life."
Our "life is hid with Christ in God."t
Such, then, is the true Christian in point of principle.
And can such principle be barren or fruitless ? Can he who
has experienced all this, be immoral or unholy, differing in
fact from a heathen only in name ? No, my Brethren, it is
impossible. The Christian, indeed, is still imperfect, but he
has received a new element from above, which tends to con
tinual progress. And as he has God the Son for his Redeemer,
so has he God the Holy Ghost for his Sanctifier, who renews
him after the Divine image, that he may glorify God upon
earth and be made fit to enjoy PI is presence in heaven above.
He therefore hungers and thirsts after righteousness ; he longs,
he strives to be holy ; gratitude, self-interest, the inward voice
of God's Spirit in his soul, the anticipation of everlasting hap
piness, — all these constrain him to adorn the doctrine of the
cross, and to show forth the praises of Him who hath called
him out of darkness into marvellous light.
I have spoken of the principle and the practice of the
Christian, because it is the union of principle and practice
that constitutes true Christianity; and, with a view to the
particular inquiry now before us, I am anxious that we should
every one look into this glass and see what manner of men we
are. St. Peter instructs us, that we are "elect unto obe
dience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."J "Sprink
ling of the blood of Christ." There is the element or prin
ciple. " Obedience." There is the practical result of the
principle; the end it was designed, by God's grace, to ac
complish in every one who receives the blessing.
Is this, then, my Brethren, so far as might be expected,
our own principle, our own conduct? With regard to prin
ciple, no doubt the great truths of the Gospel are popularly

* Eyhcs. ii. 6, 7. t Coloss. iii. 4. J 1 Pet. 2.

14
preached in this country. Thank God, we have but Httle
Socinianism amongst us, neither are we taught to build upon
our own merits or good works. Generally speaking, the cross
of Christ is set forth as the only foundation of a sinner's
hope. It may, however, be that our minds are enlightened,
but our hearts unchanged. We may have a speculative know
ledge, without having received the love of the truth. It is
possible clearly to understand that Christ is the only Medi
ator between God and man, and yet not to be united to Him
by a living faith. It may be that some amongst us are prac
tical Antinomians; not regarding Christ as our King as well
as our Priest; not remembering that "without holiness no
man shall see the Lord."
It is not, indeed, my intention to affirm that such is the
general tone of our personal religion. But certain it is, that
so far as we fall below the Christian standard of principle or
practice, so far are we disqualified from exercising upon others
an influence for good; and if it be true that a large portion
of our countrymen are living in sin, of whom it is possible
that some might have profited by our example, had we
breathed more of the spirit and lived more of the life of the
Gospel, it may at least be worthy of consideration, whether
we are not in some degree personally responsible for the evil
that exists. "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Consider your
ways." 2. But the question may be presented to us from another
point of view. If individual citizens are the first elements of
society, the families into which they are clustered become,
under God's providence, the main pillars on which it rests.
The moral and religious condition of our homes must therefore
enter into the account, if we would trace the moral qualities of
a people to the sources from which they spring. Is, then, the
state of our family religion such as to make it probable that
our children, when they quit their father's roof and are
plunged in the stream of business and dissipation in the vast
metropolis, will continue steadfast in the faith, and walk
worthy of the Gospel of God their Saviour ?

15
Among the many safeguards whieh it has pleased God to
throw around the young with a view to their moral and spi
ritual welfare, there is none, perhaps, that exercises a more
powerful or lasting influence than parental example, and the
remembrance in after-life of a childhood spent under the
guidance of sound principle and domestic affection. The
thought of causing pain to those who have loved and che
rished us in our infancy, the fear of bringing disgrace upon
relations who have adorned their station and enjoyed the
respect of their neighbours, the fond recollection of the
endearments associated with a virtuous and happy home — it
is impossible to say what a stimulus is afforded to lofty prin
ciple by such reflections in the hard struggle of future life, or
what a barrier they oppose to the temptations by which, in
one shape or other, such principle is sure to be assailed.
It is commonly said that the corruption of the best thing is
of all things the worst : and of this proverb the matter under
consideration affords a striking illustration. If the remem
brance of a virtuous home is, under God's providence, one of
the best preservatives against vice, there surely cannot be a
greater curse in after life than the recollection of domestic
ungodliness, of parental unkindness, of a home unsanctified by
Christian principle, and of vicious example presented to the
youthful mind by those who ought to have trained it up for
God and eternity.
I do not pretend to know the secrets of your homes, nor
undertake to draw a picture of domestic life as it exists in
Wales. But as a minister of Christ, I know what ought to be
the conduct and character of a Christian family; and without
prejudging the question whether we correspond or not with
the standard of Holy Scripture, I may be permitted at least
to suggest the inquiry, whether every inexperienced youth
who goes hence to contend with the temptations of the metro
polis, can look back upon a home where he was trained to be
a faithful servant of Christ, and carries with him such a
remembrance of his boyish days, of the bright example that
was set him when his tender age was ready to catch any im
pression for good or evil, of his father's goodness, — firm, per-

16
haps, and unbending, but never severe or tyrannical, — and of
his mother's affection, — overflowing with kindness, but never
indulgent to vice and ungodliness, — as may be to him a shield
and buckler against the world, the flesh, and the devil, and
enable him successfully to resist in the day of battle ?
A few particular inquiries may perhaps enable us the better
to test our condition in reference to this important subject.
Have the marriages of our working classes, then, been con
tracted for the most part " reverently, discreetly, advisedly,
soberly, and in the fear of God ?"* Do wives submit them
selves to their own husbands as unto the Lord, and
husbands love their wives even as Christ also loved the
Church ?f Are children brought up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord,t so that the Almighty could pro
nounce of the heads of our families, as he did of the Father
of the faithful, " I know him that he will command his chil
dren and his household after him, and they shall keep the way
of the Lord, to do justice and judgment ?"§ Do we set up an
altar in our respective homes, testifying to those around us,
"If it seem eviLunto you to serve the Lord, choose you this
day whom you will serve ; but as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord ?" ||
Or is it the case that God is not recognised in our house
holds, the Bible not read, family prayer not observed ? Has
married life commenced lightly and wantonly, and therefore
soon brought forth its natural fruit of disgust and disappoint
ment? Are our children witnesses from their earliest years
of cross tempers, or of angry words bandied about between
those who ought to be united in mutual love? Are their ears
accustomed to bad language, it maybe oaths and blasphemies,
from the lips of their parents ; or instead of seeing the week's
wages expended in promoting family comfort, do they see a
drunken father brought staggering home from the public-
house, while themselves and their mother are left without

* Book of Common Prayer. f Ephes. v, 22 — 25.
X Ephes. vi. 4. § Gen. xviii. 19. || Josh. xxiv. 15.

17
sufficient food and clothed in rags ? Or, supposing the parent
to be a respectable, or, if you will, a religious man, is he harsh
and severe, not remembering the precept, " Fathers, provoke
not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged ?"* Or
does the fact of their being employed at an early age, which is
so common in these mining districts, give them notions of
independence beyond their years; and are they permitted,
unhappily for themselves, to grow up in self-will, insubordina
tion, and self-indulgence, thus sowing the seeds of their future
ruin ?
My Brethren, it is not for me to answer the questions thus
proposed ; but I may commend them to every man's con
science in the sight of God. It may be that these evils do
not exist in Wales in a greater degree than in every other
community of equal magnitude, population, and wealth ; but
sure I am that wherever they do exist, they strike at the root
of national religion, and therefore of national happiness.
Without a continued miracle, the youth who are reared in such
an atmosphere will grow up the inheritors of their parents'
faults, or become, as is too often the case, even more depraved
than the generation before them. So far from having any
desire for goodness, they will be predisposed to vice, and ready
at the first solicitation even to abandon a religious profession.
If, then, with such a tendency, they come in contact with the
seductive temptations of the metropolis, no wonder if they are
powerless to resist, and speedily carried away by the over
whelming tide.
3. Thus far, then, we have considered the question of per
sonal and family religion. Your thoughts have been directed
to the inquiry, whether the home condition of Wales in refe
rence to these particulars, can be deemed in any degree respon
sible for the depravity of which we have received such appalling-
representations. But there is yet another aspect under which the subject

* Coloss. iii. 21.

18
may be regarded. As we ascend from the individual to the
family, so may we advance from the family to the community at
large. When our Lord was about to close his ministry on earth,
he prayed for his Church to the end of time, "That they all
may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us ; that the world may believe
that thou hast sent me."* The visible unity of the Church was
then to be a means of converting unbelievers to the faith, and
advancing the cause of the Gospel. In the description that is
left us of the primitive Church, we find that it corresponded
exactly with our Saviour's prayer. " The multitude of them
that believed were of one heart and one soul."f St. Paul,
describing the Church, tells the Ephesians that " there is one
body and one Spirit ;" not only one Spirit, from which we
might have inferred an internal and spiritual unity, but one
body also, " even as we are called in one hope of our calling •"%
and precisely as the prophet Zephaniah foretells of the Church,
" Then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they
may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one
consent ; where the Hebrew words translated " with one
consent," mean "with one shoulder," § i.e., with one united
effort; just so does the same Apostle pray, "Now the God of
patience and consolation grant you to be like minded one
toward another according to Christ Jesus," that ye may with
one mind and one mouth — not only with one mind, the symbol
again of internal unity, but also with one mouth " glorify
God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." ||
From these passages it might, I think, have been expected
beforehand that the Church would have been one well com
pacted body, moving like a disciplined army under the great
Captain of our salvation against the enemies of the cross.
True, indeed, we find that divisions very soon commenced;
but, wherever they are alluded to by the apostles, it is only for
the purpose of showing how contrary they are to the spirit of

* John xvii. 20, 21. f Acts iv. 32. X Ephes. iv. 4.
§ -irwt DSip S-w) Zephan. iii. 9. || Rom. xv. 5, 6.

the Gospel. "I beseech you, brethren, mark them which
cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye
have learned, and avoid them."* " Whereas there is among
you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and
walk as men."f " I fear lest when I come, I should not find you
such as I would .... lest there be debates, envyings, wraths,
strifes." J " The works of the flesh are . . . hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies." § " These be they
who separate themselves, sensual, having not the spirit." || Such
notices surely can only confirm us in the conviction, that,
according to the mind of Christ and his Apostles, the Church
ought to be one visible community, a family of many brethren,
a light of the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hid.
It is not my intention to enter into any controversy, nor to
hazard an opinion who is right, and who is wrong, in reference
to our actual condition ; but simply to state facts, and to leave
it to your own reflections how far it corresponds with these
anticipations of godly unity. In the first place, then, we have
an Episcopal Church, which has certainly existed in Wales for
upwards of 1500 years, if not, as there is some reason to
believe, from the days of the Apostles themselves. Planted
in the purity of apostolic doctrine, it has no doubt at times
somewhat departed from the simplicity of the faith. But 300
years ago it was purged from the last and greatest of these
corruptions, — the superstitions and false doctrines of Popery, —
its bishops and faithful members giving their bodies to be
burned that they might present it anew as a chaste virgin
unto Christ. Of this Church, though so far as it is a human
institution it may, and does, partake of human infirmity, the
Creed, it cannot be denied, is scriptural ; its government, to
say no more, is such as existed in the earliest times. The
inspired word of God is its rule of faith. If It faithfully ad
ministers the two sacraments which Christ ordained. Of its
liturgy, though some of its enemies complain of its length

* Rom. xvi. 17. f 1 Cor. iii. 3. J 2 Cor. xii. 20.
§ Galat. v. 20. || Jude 19.
% See Art. vi. " Of the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for salvation.

20
and formality, not one will venture to deny that it breathes
the spirit of the Gospel, and teaches us to rest our hope on
Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Besides this Church, so ancient and so scriptural, we have
many other religious bodies standing aloof alike from each
other and from ourselves. Into the question of their several
opinions I do not now enter, neither do I say a word respect
ing their internal differences or subdivisions. The broad fea
tures of the case are palpable, and a mere recital of names is
sufficient for my purpose. Independents, Methodists, Wes-
leyans, Baptists; all these bodies are zealously engaged in
propagating their respective systems of doctrine and church
government. We have some Roman Catholic chapels, and in
Monmouthshire some Roman Catholic families. Perhaps there
are no persons, exclusively speaking the Welsh language, who
belong to that Communion. We are certainly not without
Arians and Socinians. TheJVTormonites are making sad havoc
of the flock, so that no notice of the religious condition of
Wales could be complete which left them altogether out of the
account; butaI am now speaking of the professing Church of
Christ, and to these unhappy persons, whatever may be thought
of some others, it is impossible to concede the name of Chris
tians at all.
Can we look, my Brethren, at this picture, and set it side
by side with that of the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church of
Christ, as it is portrayed in Holy Scripture, and not conclude
that there must be something wrong in our collective religious
condition ? At whose door the fault lies, it is not my pre
sent business to discuss. But if I am asked why religion does
not make more progress amongst us ; why there is so much
practical, if not speculative unbelief; why so much unchastity,
so much drunkenness, so much of the spirit of the world ; why
the arm of the Lord is shortened, and the Gospel exhibits so
little power in pulling down strongholds and bringing men's
minds into captivity to the obedience of Christ* — it may be

* Upon these several points I offer no evidence : hut, if it were neces-

21
that I ascribe it to a wrong cause, but — I think that a suffi
cient reason may be found in that want of godly unity which
ought to bind us together as members of Christ. If the
belly and the limbs, as the old fable teaches us, cannot dis
agree without entailing ruin upon both ; if the bundle of sticks
cannot be loosed without depriving each of the strength and
support it received from the other, the common sense of man
kind is sufficient to show that division must impair the energy
and progress of the Church. The works and the word of
God confirm the opinion which reason itself compels us to
form : for unity is the characteristic of God's works ; his
word, as we have just seen, teaches that his Church ought to
be one. But if we are acting in opposition to the divinely-
appointed plan, how can we expect that He will open the
windows of heaven and pour down a blessing upon us ? And
have we reason to think that the Divine blessing is really
resting upon us ? Why, then, do we read so many complaints
in the publications of religious bodies, that the fire which once
burnt so brightly upon their altars is now pale and dim; that
the pulpit has lost its former efficacy ; that prayer is languid
and lifeless ; that internal discord and dissension disturb their
peace ; that the love of many has waxed cold, and that con
versions from ungodliness are comparatively few?* But if
such be our condition at home, can we wonder if it makes
itself felt among our countrymen abroad ? Were our teem
ing population nurtured in sound doctrine, and taught to
maintain " the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace," then,
indeed, we might launch them upon the stormy ocean of
life in full confidence on God's providence and grace. But
with the manifold divisions and uncharitableness that distract
and defile us, what else can we expect but unbelief and its
fatal consequences ? The young and inexperienced, not know
ing what to believe amid such a strife of tongues, will proba-

sary, I could substantiate them by the admissions of dissenting publications.
Of the manner in which the testimony of a Churchman on such matters is
received, I cannot hut be aware. * See the last note.

22
bly conclude that it matters little what they believe, or whe
ther they believe at all.* How readily will corrupt nature
catch at the idea, that the faith about which there is such
dispute, must itself be false. And when that faith is gone —
that faith which alone overcometh the world,f who can say
into what depths of depravity the poor apostate may fall ?
What then will he be the better for the light and privilege he
once enjoyed? " It had been better for them," says an in
spired writer, " not to have known the way of righteousness,
than after they have known it to turn from the holy com
mandment delivered unto them. But it has happened unto
them according to the true proverb : ' The dog is turned to his
own vomit again, and the sow that is washed to her wallow
ing in the mire.' " J
Brethren, if there be any force in the considerations I have

* I have said above that perhaps there are no persons speaking only
Welsh who belong to the Roman Catholic communion. But if Romanism
were to make a violent assault upon our distracted population, the progress
of Mormonism amongst us shows that we might well tremble for the
result. To all who are anxious to guard against the inroads of this
insidious enemy, I would strongly recommend the careful consideration
of that portion of Ranke's "History of the Popes," in which he
records the rapid victories gained over German Protestantism by
the Jesuits, not long after the Reformation. "They conquered the
Germans on their own soil," says the historian, " in their very home,
and wrested from them a portion of their own country. The cause
of this doubtless was, that the German theologians had neither come to
an understanding among themselves, nor had they the magnanimity to
tolerate in each other the less important differences. The extreme points
of opinions were seized upon for discussion: opponents attacked each
other with reckless violence ; so that the wavering and half convinced
were thrown into perplexity , and the door was opened to these foreigners,
who took captive all minds by a system of doctrine prudently constructed,
finished down to its minutest details, and leaving no colour or occasion to
doubt." — Book v. § 3. Mrs. Austin's translation. Already we are not
without our warning : — " Nid oes amheuaeth na thry offeiriaid Cymreig
allan o Dremeirchion i herrio i ddadleuon cyhoeddus, ac i ymsefydlu yn
mhob ardal." " Y Diwigiwr," Oct. 1852, p. 310. I agree with the writer
who sounds the alarm, in his admonition — Peidiwn a chysgu gan ymddiried
yn ngrym ein hegwyddorion.
f 1 John v. 4. J 2 Pet. ii. 21, 22.

23
addressed to you, the practical conclusion from them is, that
we should seek, through the help of God's Spirit, to " grow in
grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ :"* that, as individuals, we should examine the founda
tion on which we build, and whether we are living a holy and
Christian life : that, as heads of families, we should rule over
our households in the fear of God ; that, as professing to belong
to Christ's body, we should strive for that godly unity for
which our Lord himself was pleased to pray. On behalf of
our unhappy countrymen whose deplorable condition has
suggested these remarks, our sympathy and prayers are indeed
loudly called for. But if the infidelity and vice that are so
rife amongst them, be traceable in any degree to our delin
quencies at home, let us see to it that we purify the fountain,
and a healthier stream will ere long begin to flow. Who can
tell but that by the cultivation of personal holiness he may stand
between the dead and the living, and the plague be stayed ?
Or who can say what a healing influence may be exercised on
this mass of corruption, if those whom we send forth carry
with them the blessed remembrance of a Christian home?
And with what strength should we go forth to the battle, if
instead of being distracted as we now are — Ephraim against
Manasseh, Manasseh against Ephraim, and they together
against Judah-f — we marched under one banner against sin
and Satan, " with one mind striving together for the faith of
the Gospel ?"J God grant that such at least may be our aim,
and such the result of our strivings and our prayers, for
Christ's sake.

* 2 Pet. iii. 12. f'See l^iah ix. 21. J Philipp. i. 27.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR,
The Certain Existence, and Proper Limitation
of Differences in the Church.
A Sermon preached at the Re-opening of St. Woollos Church,
Newport, October 18, 1855.
Is.

A CHAEOE
Delivered in September, 1851.
2s.

A CHAEGE
Delivered in August, .1854.
2s.

LONDON: JOHN W. PARKER AND SON.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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