MORAVIAN REVIVAL This revival began in 1727. Previous to this the settlers at Herrnhut could not live together in peace. Finally Count Zinzendorf gave tall his time to work for a settlement of their differences. On the 12th of May, 1727, they all, with great joy, gave themselves afresh to God, and promised to bury their disputes for ever. The following account of the revival is taken from the “History of the Moravians” by A. Bost. “From that time there was a wonderful effusion of the Spirit on this happy church, until August the 13th when the measure of Divine grace seemed absolutely overflowing. Every day brought some new blessing. The Count applied himself to the visiting of the brethren. This was the beginning of those little associations which were afterwards called “bands.” These consisted of two or three persons, who met together privately, to converse on their spiritual state, to exhort, and reprove, and pray for each other.’’ On the 22nd of July some brethren “agreed to repair at stated times to a hill near Herrnhut, in order to pour out their souls to God in prayer and singing. On the same day the Count set out for Silesia. Before his departure several of the brethren engaged to devote themselves to the advancement of the revival.” At this time they had a great blessing through the reading of the First Epistle of St. John. “On the Lord’s day, the 10th of August, the minister Rothe was seized, in the midst of the assembly, with an unusual impulse. He threw himself upon his knees before God, and the whole assembly prostrated themselves with him under the same emotions. An uninterrupted course of singing and prayer, weeping and supplication, continued till midnight. All hearts were united in love.” The brethren held a Communion service on Friday, 13th. It was full of deep spiritual power and emotion. The whole assembly united in prayer to God, and then sung, ‘My soul before Thee prostrate lies,’ amidst tears and sobs, so that it could hardly be distinguished whether they were weeping or singing. The scene was so moving that the pastor could hardly tell what he saw or heard. “A few days after the 13th of August, a remarkable revival took place among the children at Herrnhut and Bertholdsdorf. On the 18th of August, all the children at the boarding school were seized with an extraordinary impulse of the Spirit, and passed the whole night in prayer. From this time, a constant work of God was going on in the minds of the children, in both places. No words can express the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit upon these children.” On the 25th of August the brethren began the ministry of continual prayer which continued for over a hundred years. “They considered that, as in the ancient Temple the fire on the altar never ceased to burn, so in the Church, which is now the Temple of God, the prayers of the saints ought always to ascend to the Lord.” In January, 1728, the brethren held their first missionary meeting. “This meeting was celebrated by meditations on different portions of Holy Scripture, and fervent prayers; in the midst of which the church experienced a remarkable enjoyment of the presence of the Spirit.” The Moravian Missions began in 1731. Work was commenced in the West Indies and Greenland. In the years that followed missionaries were sent to Labrador, North America, South America, South Africa, Asia, Australia, and many islands of the sea. The Moravians Missions have been a mighty force in the evangelisation of the heathen, but we must remember that it all began in the revival in 1727.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 20:45:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015