Eneidiau ofnus, dewch,

Eneidiau ofnus, dewch,
Yn rhwydd at Iesu Grist;
Amheuon, ymaith ffoch - 
Daeth cysur i'r rhai trist;
Blwyddyn y Jiwbili a ddaeth
 rhyddid cu i enaid caeth.

Cymerwch feddiant rhad
O'ch etifeddiaeth fawr;
O! dewch i dŷ eich Tad,
Gan lawenychu'n awr;
Blwyddyn y Jiwbili a ddaeth
 rhyddid cu i enaid caeth.

Datseinied gras ein Duw
Trwy holl derfynau'r byd,
A doed ei deyrnas wiw
Dros gyrrau hwn i gyd;
Daeth blwyddyn fawr y Jiwbili,
Clodfored pawb ein Harglwydd ni

You fearful souls, come,
Freely to Jesus Christ;
You doubts, flee away -
Comfort has come to the sad ones;
The year of the Jubilee has brought
Dear freedom to a captive soul.

Take free possession
Of your great inheritance;
Oh, come ye to your Father's house,
While rejoicing now;
The year of the Jubilee has brought
Dear freedom to a captive soul.

Let the grace of our God resound
Through all the ends of the world,
And let his worthy kingdom come
Across all the corners of the same;
The great year of the Jubilee has come,
Let everyone extol our Lord!

O Arglwydd Dduw, bywha dy waith

O Arglwydd Dduw, bywha dy waith
Dros holl derfynau'r ddaear faith;
Dros dir a môr dysgleiria maes
Yn nerth dy rad anfeidrol ras.

Helaetha dy frenhiniaeth, Ior,
O wlad i wlad, o fôr i fôr;
Pereiddia'r halogedig fyd
Trwy'th nefol ras a'th gariad drud.

Mae'r seithfed dydd, a'r seithfed awr,
Yn agosâu ar Babel fawr;
O Arglwydd, brysia, rhwyga'r llen,
Boed Seion bur trwy'r byd yn ben.

O Lord God, revive your work
O'er all the ends of the wide earth;
O'er land and sea shines out
Your strong, your free, immeas'rable grace.

Extend your kingship, Lord,
From land to land, from sea to sea;
Sweeten the defiled world
Through your heavenly grace and your costly love.

The seventh day, the seventh hour,
Are drawing near for great Babel;
O Lord, hurry, tear the curtain,
Let pure Zi'n be through all the world the head.

One more bit of Thomas Lewis

Again loosely translated

His first wife was a Miss Harris, from Wales. They had several children, many of whom died in infancy. In the year 1765 he buried his wife and three of his children. That was a devastating blow to sustain in just a few weeks. His second wife was Miss Wallis, who outlived him. They had ten children, but only three survived him.

The chapel was being extended for the fourth time when its minister died. Francis composed an elegy on his deathbed to his friend who had died just before him, the seraphic Samuel Pearce, of Birmingham. Francis was a very pious man. Thomas Flint says that shortly before he died he said

“O how glad I am to belong to Christ. I love his name, his ordinances, his people, his servants, his service, and his praise; and I do not expect to go to hell. No, the kingdom of Satan is not for me. I cannot blaspheme God; I cannot unite with evil men and be among them; I cannot have anything to do with such, with pleasure, but rather I want to love and praise my dear Jesus. If I'm not owned by the Lord” he said “I do not know to whom I can go!”

He had his Welsh Bible with him in the bed; he read Psalm 23 in the Bible, clutched it to his bosom, then said, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me, etc”. He was buried in the chapel at Shortwood, December 20th, 1779. It was Dr. Ryland who came at the end of the week and delivered the funeral sermon, which was printed.

More from Thomas Lewis

Another section from the article in Seren Gomer translates loosely thus

BENJAMIN FRANCIS was the youngest son of the famous Rev. Enoch Francis, who died Feb 4th, 1740, aged 51, and was buried in Cilfowyr. Francis was born in 1734 so he was only about 6 years old when he lost his beloved father having buried his mother when he was five years old. There was a love for God and a fear of sin in Francis from the time he was seven years old. He was baptised when he was 15 years old, and he began to preach when 19. He became a member of the church of the Rev David Griffith, in Swansea. He went to Broadmead in 1753, and remained at the college until 1756. He went to Horsley in 1757, and was ordained there in the autumn of the year following. Number of members 66; the salary per year £20. The field was not very promising; for there were few people in the area and the chapel was on a hillside at the head of a wooded valley. However, the church grew and prospered and the chapel was extended in 1760. Francis went to London to raise funds at one point and was called to Devonshire Square but declined. Some 12 years later, he was called to the church where Dr Gill served, but he remained with his dear people. He was a great preacher and a popular one. Says his son-in-law, Mr. Flint: “He obtained, not only a thoro' grammatical knowledge of our language, but such a fluency of utterance, and so agreeable a delivery, that very few of the most popular English preachers excelled, or indeed equalled him, in these respects while he still retained the same ready command of his mother tongue." Because the church grew quite quickly, it was necessary to add ancillary rooms and to extend the chapel in 1764. In 1765, he started a chapel in Minchin-Hampton, three miles from Horsley. The cost was £400 but this was soon paid. The good man continued to go there twice a month for 35 years. In 1774, the Horsley chapel was extended a third time. Members and hearers came from 15 different parishes, and worshipped together so that some lived 30 miles from each other. He baptised 450 in his time and the membership was 262 by the time he died. He was also successful in his work in the surrounding counties. He would begin on a Monday and return late in the day guided by the stars. He preached in the following places

Horsley 4000

Cheltenham 130

Tewksbury 136

Pershore 137

Upton-on-Severn 180

Malmesbury 232

Christian-Malford 84

Melksham 90

Frome 90

Trowbridge 90

Bradford [on Avon] 90

Wootton-on-Edge 394

Uley 350

Hampton 802

Broadmead 101 [Bristol]

Pithay 28 [Bristol]

Portsmouth 22

Plymouth 22

Cornwall 20

Travelling frequently to Wales, he preached in many association meetings. He also visited Ireland in 1791, where he preached 30 times. He preached too in London. Although Francis had little in this world, he was generous with what he had. He was once in business and lost £500.

Thomas Lewis of Risca on Francis's grave

An article appeared in Welsh in Seren Gomer in November 1880 by Thomas Lewis of Risca. He had taken a journey down to Gloucester and found Francis's old church. Towards the end of the article he says

There is a large memorial stone above the grave and various members of the family rest under it. There are steel bars around it. I copied the following

HELL-DESERVING, HEAVEN-POSSESSING.

Sacred to the memory of that diligent servant of Christ, Benjamin Francis, A.M. who with unblemished reputationa was the pastor of this church for 43 years. The sweetness of his disposition, the purity and fervour of his graces, the piety, energy, and success of his labours, have greatly imbittered his decease to his family and the church of Christ; whilst this branch of Zion, nourished to its present prosperity by his zealous efforts, feels most tenderly the loss of so beloved a minister. With holy peace and joy he resigned his spirit to his Redeemer, Dec. 14th, 1799. Aged 65 years.

On the face of another column there is this note

Also his last surviving son, Samuel Enoch Francis, 42 years deacon of this church; died March 1st, 1858, aged 71 years.

When Dr Ryland preached his funeral sermon in Shortwood, Dec 22, 1799, the widow and the three orphaned children were mourners. These words were said in the sermon "And O that He who called the son of Hannah while he was yet a little child, may speak to the heart of a young Samuel now present, and cause him from this time to cry unto him, My Father, thou art the Guide of my youth." The boy Samuel was some twelve years old at that time and he lived to serve the Lord in his house a long time. Two of the brothers at Shortwood told me that Samuel Enoch Francis was one of the best of men. He is still missed.

Useful learning

A new book has just been published under the title Useful Learning: Neglected Means of Grace in the Reception of the Evangelical Revival among English Particular Baptists. he book is by Anthony R Cross and has a foreword by Ian Randall.

It contains a section on Benjamin Francis. The blurb says

Explorations of the English Baptist reception of the Evangelical Revival often - and rightfully - focus on the work of the Spirit, prayer, Bible study, preaching, and mission, while other key means are often overlooked. Useful Learning examines the period from c. 1689 to c. 1825, and combines history in the form of the stories of Baptist pastors, their churches, and various societies, and theology as found in sermons, pamphlets, personal confessions of faith, constitutions, covenants, and theological treatises. In the process, it identifies four equally important means of grace.

The first was the theological renewal that saw moderate Calvinism answer "The Modern Question" develop into evangelical Calvinism, and revive the denomination.

Second were close groups of ministers whose friendship, mutual support, and close theological collaboration culminated in the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society, and local itinerant mission work across much of Britain.

Third was their commitment to reviving stagnating Associations, or founding new ones, convinced of the vital importance of the corporate Christian life and witness for the support and strengthening of the local churches, and furthering the spread of the gospel to all people.

Finally was the conviction of the churches and their pastors that those with gifts for preaching and ministry should be theologically educated. At first local ministers taught students in their homes, and then at the Bristol Academy. In the early nineteenth century, a further three Baptist academies were founded at Horton, Abergavenny, and Stepney, and these were soon followed by colleges in America, India, and Jamaica.

Cross is Emeritus Director of the Centre for Baptist History and Heritage and a Research Fellow at Regent’s Park College

The Salopian Zealot

The Salopian zealot: or, The good vicar in a bad mood, by John the dipper can be found here.

The Salopian Zealot - is it by Benjamin Francis?

There is some debate over the work The Salopian Zealot. A Baptist Quarterly article on the Calendar of Letters collected by Isaac Mann and now in the NLW appears to put the question to rest for good. It says that among the letters is one (34) dated 1786. Oct. 13. It is from BENJAMIN FRANCIS (Horsley) to Rev. L. BUTTERWORTH (Evesham).

It apparently refers to some of his own published works, especially the work mentioned, in its 2nd edn. It also mentions: Mr. Thomas (Pershore) and Mr. Spencer.

Regarding The Salopian Zealot , it was a rhymed skit on Richard De Courcy, vicar of St. Alkmond's, Shrewsbury, who in 1776 had published a letter to Samuel Medley of Liverpool, on his baptising some converts at Shrewsbury. There had been a vigorous pamphlet war, and in 1778 this appeared anonymously. This letter t says is conclusive that the skit was not by John Sandys, as thought by a relative of his, who was followed in "A Baptist Bibliography". It was in fact by Benjamin Francis, as asserted by J. A. Jones in a fourth edition, 1837. Francis, in 1778, was 42 years old, and had been pastor at Horsley, or Shortwood, for 20 years.

Thomas Thomas of Pershore left next year for London (Mill Yard First-day church) where he became joint secretary of' the Baptist Union in 1813. Benjamin Spencer, from the Grafton Street church (letter 19) and Bristol Academy, was; pastor at Alcester, preaching occasionally at Astwood Bank.

Funeral sermon and first biographical sketch

In 1800 the following volume appeared

Ryland, John. The Presence of Christ the Source of Eternal Bliss: A Funeral Discourse, Delivered December 22. 1799, At Shortwood, Near Horsley, In Gloucestershire, Occasioned by the Death of the Rev. Benjamin Francis, A.m. By John Ryland, D.d. To Which Is Annexed, A Sketch of Mr. Francis's Life, and of His Death-bed Consolations, Drawn of by His Son and Assistant Thomas Flint. [Bristol]: Printed for the benefit of Mr. Francis's family, by Ann Bryan Corn-Street, Bristol and sold by Button in London, and James in Bristol

It can be accessed on ECCO.

Elegy on Philip Jones

Francis wrote an elegy on Philip Jones of Upton-upon-Severn in the year of his death, 1771.

Enoch Francis

Benjamin's father was born in 1688/9 at Pant-y-llaethdy on the Teify, between Llanllwni and Llanybydder. He was the son of Francis David Francis, of a family whose religious roots were at Rhydwilym. At least eleven of the family became ministers . Enoch Francis's upbringing was in the ‘Tivy-side church',’ either at its first centre at Glandŵr (Llandysul) or at Dre-fach  or (perhaps more probably) at Rhos-goch (Llanarth). About 1707 he began preaching at Llanllwni; when he was ordained assistant to James Jones (d. 1734 ), pastor of ‘Tivy-side’ is not known, but it was obviously before 1721, the year in which he was selected to preach at the Baptist Association meeting (at Hengoed ) in 1722 . He had married (c. 1718) Mary Evans of Hengoed and was living at Capel Iago in Llanybydder. His Association sermon in 1729 (at Llangloffan) was published.

In the Arminian controversy of 1729, when his second-cousin Abel Francis went over to Arminianism, Enoch Francis was on the Calvinist side, and in 1733 published Gair yn ei Bryd, in defence of Calvinism. By that time, he had moved to Pen-y-gelli on the outskirts of Newcastle Emlyn, and had been since 1734 superintendent minister of ‘Tivy-side’ with four or five collaborators - the church had a number of congregations, which later on became separate churches, such as Aberduar, Pant Teg, etc. Francis itinerated diligently within (and without) his wide circuit, and acquired great fame as a preacher - to judge from the words of Joshua Thomas and others, it would seem that ‘majesty’ and sobriety, rather than revivalistic emotionalism, were the marks of his preaching.

In August, 1739 his wife died and on 4 February 1739/40 (when away from home, at Fishguard ) he himself died, at the age of fifty-one; he and his wife were buried at Cilfowyr. He had six children. A daughter of his married Stephen Davies; and Jonathan Francis of Pen-y-fai and Benjamin Francis of Horsley were sons of his. As has been mentioned, Abel Francis was his second-cousin.

The inscription on the tomb ofEnoch Francis adn his wife reads "Enoch walked with God" and "Mary has chosen the better part". The historian of the baptists concludes his memoir with an elegy by Jenkin Thomas, Drewen.

Publications

The Work and Reward of the Faithful Minister of the Gospel, 1729.

A Word in Season, 1733.

He was also the author of some of the association letters; that of 1734 is specially mentioned.

Cornwall

Francis apparently preached some 20 times down in Cornwall. On one occasion

When he was administering the ordinance of Baptism at Penzance on his first Journey into that Country, he was interrupted by some wicked men, to whom he addressed himself in so affectionate and impressive a manner, that they were stricken with deep conviction of sin, and on his next visit he had the pleasure of baptising them in the name of the Lord Jesus, on a profession of their faith in him.

How forcible are right words sometimes.

Preaching at the Welsh Association

1760 Cilfawr Titus 2:14

1762 Pentre 1 Peter 2:2

1765 Dolau, Radnorshire Micah 2:7

1769 Aberduar Revelation 3:19 Be zealous

1771 Pen-y-fai Psalm 126:8

1774 Ebenezer 1 Corinthians 15:58

1776 Panteg Philippians 1:27

1777 Caerleon 1 Corinthians 2:2

1778 Salem Luke 10:2

1780 Llanwenarth 1 Thessalonians 2:13

1781 Llangloffan Matthew 25:21

1782 Blaenau Zechariah 14:3

1789 Maes-y-Berllan Romans 6:15

1790 Dolau Philippians 3:16

See A History of the Baptist Association in Wales: From the Year 1650, to the Year 1790 by Joshua Thomas

Benjamin Beddome Similarities

1. Both were called Benjamin
2. Both were Particular Baptists
3. Both trained at Bristol for some time
4. Both were pastors in Gloucestershire
5. Both served in only one large church to which people came from all around
6. Both resisted calls to churches in London and elsewhere
7. Both were sons of the manse
8. Both were competent hymn writers
9. Both served long pastorates of more than 50 and 40 years
10. Both were honoured with MA degrees from Providence, Rhode Island, later Brown University

Extract from Letters on Welsh History by Samuel Jenkins

I will now turn to a more pleasing subject. About the year 1708, three years before Abel Morgan left Wales, a young man of the name of Enoch Francis, nineteen years of age, began to preach in the Baptist church at Newcastle Emlyn, and in a few years fully made up for the loss of Abel Morgan, for besides serving the church at Newcastle, he served its four branches, being aided by other ministers of less talent; and besides these labours he took his round every year to visit every Baptist church in the principality. His appearance was hailed everywhere as an occasion of joy, not only by his brethren the Baptists, but by other denominations, and by all classes of people. He possessed a mind of the highest order, and a constitution of the firmest sort; in fact his body and mind were both cast in nature's finest mould; although rather grave in his manner, yet he was a most pleasing companion. In his fiftieth year he lost his wife, who left six children, three sons and three daughters. About six months after, he set out for his regular tour to visit the churches, hut when he had got as far as Fishguard .in Pembrokshire, he was taken sick of a fever, and died in two weeks. His wife had been buried at Kilvowyr, about twenty miles from the place where he died, and as soon as the news of his death was heard, the people in every parish, without distinction, made arrangements to carry his corpse through their own territory on a bier; this was in the month of February, 1740, and the roads were lined by the people, who came many miles to look at the mournful procession.

Our historians say, that the sensation and deep sorrow which prevailed through all South Wales, was almost incredible. Many elegies were written and printed. But the one that is preserved by Mr. Thomas in his history of the Baptists, was made by Rev. Jenkin Thomas, pastor of the Independent church at Trewen, within a mile of Newcastle; he was nephew of Abel Morgan, and Dr Richards says never had his superior in Wales as a poet, and was also a distinguished scholar. Such was the bard who composed the immortal elegy on Enoch Francis. A Mr Jones published an edition of Thomas's history in 1839, continued; but Mr Thomas was much abridged. That elegy, although pretty long, is kept entire. In it the poet expresses the greatest admiration of his personal appearance, his fidelity to the cause of his Redeemer, and his splendid talents. He speaks of him as a husbandman and sower of seeds, as a shepherd, as a distributor of wealth, as a warrior, all in the finest strains of poetry, and then represents all the churches of the Baptists in Wales in different attitudes of mourning, in which he evinces the richest display of language; and then exhibits his brethren in the ministry, in the fields, and on the walls of Zion. shedding the briny tears for their friend; and speaks of his published works and his orphan children, on whom he invokes the richest blessings of heaven; and finally speaks of his burial along with his lovely partner and many pleasant brethren; but his faithful soul had ascended to happy heaven to dwell in the presence of his God. This happened one hundred years almost before Messrs. Cox and Hoby wrote "The Baptists in America," yet they say that at that time the Baptists were looked upon as interlopers in many parts of England.

Mr Francis had a cousin in the ministry, Abel Francis. Jonathan Francis, his eldest son, was long a faithful minister. Jonathan Francis had a son, Enoch Francis, pastor of a Baptist church at Exeter, England; the Rev T Boyce, of London, and Rev William Strawbridge, well known to many in Philadelphia, were baptised at Exeter on the same day by the younger E Francis. Nathaniel, the second son, a pious and promising youth, died at 18. One of his daughters married Rev Stephen Davis, pastor of one of the Baptist churches in Carmarthen, who was also a man of considerable distinction in society as to wealth and influence; the Rev Stephen Davis of Clonmel, Ireland, a missionary on behalf of the Irish Baptist Society, was, or is, a grandson of Rev Stephen Davis above mentioned. Dr Burchell some time ago gave an account of eight or ten of the most eminent Baptist ministers in England. I observed that the name of John Davis, son of the last Stephen Davis, was one of them. Mr Francis's two other daughters were eminent Christians, and in prosperous circumstances, but the most eminent of his family after himself was Rev Benjamin Francis of Horsley, in Gloucestershire, a fine poet. Several of his hymns are in Rippon's selection, and one or two in the Psalmist. His Welsh hymns are pretty numerous, numbering some hundreds, but in his English hymns he is rather too apt to use superlatives, a common fault with Welshmen in composing English poetry, because there is a copiousness of meaning in Welsh words that a person acquainted only with the English cannot imagine.

It is impossible to conceive of a more pleasing circumstance, than a whole people in deep lamentation for a pious and unassuming Christian minister, especially of a sect everywhere else spoken against. It was a bitter lamentation of the prophet, "the righteous man dieth and no man layeth it to heart, that before the evil days the righteous are removed." Such was not the case in Wales when Enoch Francis died; the churches and the people generally thought that the loss could not be made up; but a young man named Timothy Thomas had commenced just before his death in the same church, scarcely inferior to Francis; and shortly after, his brother, Joshua Thomas, the historian; and a few years after, Zechariah Thomas, the younger brother, and many others in different parts of the principality. The above three brothers were all able men. Timothy died under fifty, being the third eminent minister raised in Newcastle church, who died under fifty years, or in the fiftieth year, viz: Abel Morgan, Enoch Francis, and Timothy Thomas, the last died in 1768; Joshua about 1796, and Zechariah in 1817, after sixty years of faithful and able ministerial service. There were two ministers in London, sons of the two elder Thomases; Thomas of Peckham, and Thomas of Devonshire Square. Dr Thomas, who went to India with Carey, was a son of one of them. There was an eminent minister, a son of one of the three brothers, in Wales, and the present pastor of the Baptist church at NewCastle Emlyn, is one of their descendants, an able and worthy man, also named Timothy Thomas. I know no more of the history of this most worthy family, which produced so many able and faithful ministers, every one of whom adorned the doctrines of God our Saviour, by living a life unblemished!

There was also Thomas Evans, a minister who commenced about 1653, who had among his descendants about twelve, or at least ten ministers, many of them very able; two are well known: Rev. Hugh Evans AM, principal of the Bristol Academy, and Rev Caleb Evans DD, his successor, the same who died in 1791, having survived his father only about nine years. ....

Baptist Anecdote

In 1824 in The New Evangelical Magazine, and Theological Review, Volume 10 a correspondent (Elimelech) includes this anecdote that he says he had from Benjamin Francis.
A poor woman, a member of a neighbouring Independent church, requested me to give her a Bible. I replied, “Yes, Mary, I have no objection to give you a Bible, but it must be on one condition.”

“Well, Sir,” said she, “ and what is it?”

“Why it is this, that you bring me one text from the New Testament that authorises Infant Baptism.”

“Yes, Sir, that I will," was her reply; and she went away apparently very much pleased with the success of her application.

The next day she came again, I said, “How do you do, Mary - have you got the text?”

“Yes, Sir,” said she, “the best I could find.”

“Well, what is it?”

She replied, with much seeming satisfaction, “It is in 1 Pet. ii. 13. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake Sir.” I do not recollect the close of this short dialogue, except that it contained a promise that the good woman should have the Bible.

See here

Welsh Works Gwaith Cymraeg

Aleliwia; neu hymnau perthynol i addoliad cyhoeddus a theuluaidd (1774, 1786)

Marwnod ar farwolaeth Y Parchedig John Thomas (1787)

Can ar fedydd (1788, 1790)

Iachawdwriath (1793)

Some works available on ECCO

The following are works by Francis and although apparently not online they can be accessed on ECCO

• An elegiac poem sacred to the memory of the Rev. Mr. Hugh Evans, M.A. who departed this life, March 28, 1781, in the 69th year of his age.
• An elegy on the death of the Rev. Caleb Evans D.D. who departed this life, August 9, 1791, in the fifty-fourth year of his age.
• An elegy on the death of the Reverend ... Mr. Robert Day, ... who departed this life, April the 1st, 1791,
• The Socinian champion; or, Priestleyan divinity: a poem. By Philochristos (1788)

Conflagration: A poem in four parts

The oft published poem Conflagration can be found here.

Very brief biography by Josiah Miller

FEW particulars of the life of this writer are given in a sketch by his son-in-law, the Rev. Thomas Flint, appended to A Funeral Discourse occasioned by the Death of Mr. Benjamin Francis, by John Ryland, D.D. Benjamin Francis was born in Wales, in 1734. At the age of 15 he became a member of a Baptist Church, and three years after, having shown capacity for preaching, he was sent to Bristol College, to prepare for the ministry. He was at first quite ignorant of English, but by diligence acquired it, and carried on his ministry in England; though he often visited Wales and preached in his native tongue. On leaving college, he commenced his ministry at Sodbury, but in 1757 removed to Shortwood, Gloucestershire. There the chapel was twice enlarged, in consequence of his popularity. He also preached in the neighbouring village of Minchin Hampton, where a chapel was erected in 1765. He was very earnest and devoted in his Christian life and ministry, and refused to forsake his people when attracted by an invitation to a pastorate in London. He died in faith December 14, 1799. He was the author of Conflagration - a Poem in Four Parts (1770); An Elegy on the Death of the Rev. G. Whitefield (sixth edition, 1771); and an Elegy on the Death of the Rev. Caleb Evans.

This material appears in

Singers and Songs of the Church: Being Biographical Sketches