December 30, 2012

  • "kept days of fasting & prayer year after year ..." ~ Rev. Nathanael Leonard

    As I've mentioned previously, besides the reading of the Bible itself, a refreshing tonic to counteract our fleshly tendency toward spiritual malaise, slothfulness and lukewarmness is to read Christian biography along with the history of revivals. As I've been reading through Joseph Tracy's "The Great Awakening," I've found many encouragements to be persevering in prayer for revival, and I encourage you to seek out such resources for yourself. (A copy of Tracy's book can be found via google books here.)

    There was a portion in the book I found particularly fitting as we come to the end of another year. That account, which I've included below, is from the ministry of the Rev. Nathanael Leonard (1699-1761), who ministered at First Church in Plymouth, Massachusetts from 1724-1757. It not only shows Leonard's zeal for faithful preaching but also his heart of prayer, two characteristics which ought to mark a true minister of Christ (Acts 6:4).

    In today's post I'd like to focus on Rev. Leonard's discernment of the times and the corresponding burden of prayer he had for the Church to be reformed and revived. Leonard wrote that:

    We were sensible of an awful degeneracy, and kept days of fasting and prayer, year after year, that God would pour out his Spirit upon us; especially on the rising generation.

    I'm not sure exactly when Leonard began keeping those days of fasting and prayer, but it appears it was most likely for a period of several years. And, if those times of fasting and prayer had been started near the beginning of his ministry, then it would have been a period of about seventeen years before God began to pour out of His Spirit in reformation and revival on First Church in Plymouth.

    My brothers and sisters in Christ, unless we are sensible of the "awful degeneracy," will we be able to persevere in keeping days of fasting and prayer, year after year, that God would pour out his Spirit upon us? Rev. Leonard reminded me of Nehemiah, for Nehemiah was also sensible of the great trouble and shame of God's people and God's city – and, as a result of that sensibility, he was led to weep and mourn and fast and pray (see Nehemiah 1).

    There's a beautiful portion of Scripture in Isaiah 66:

    10  “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
    all you who love her;
    rejoice with her in joy,
    all you who mourn over her;
    11  that you may nurse and be satisfied
    from her consoling breast;
    that you may drink deeply with delight
    from her glorious abundance.”

    Those who truly love the cause of Christ and His Church in the world should mourn over her at times like this here in the West –– when not only our culture but also much of the visible church is mired in an awful degeneracy, religion under a great decay and in a state of disrepair. Yes, it's true that the Church is always living under the grace and favor of God, but O! for the day we might witness the Lord descend in awakening power –– a day of great grace such as Rev. Leonard witnessed almost 300 years ago. Thanks be to God that we have the promise that our labor in Him is not in vain. Our heavenly Father does not despise the prayers of the destitute, and one day we will rejoice and be glad with her! We can be sure that one day our weeping will be turned to shouts of joy! ~ Psalm 126.

    Let us pray that God's Holy Spirit might make us sensible and keep us sensible year after year like Nathanael Leonard; to strengthen us year after year to approach the throne of grace (remember that our Great High Priest ever lives to make intercession for us; should we not also be making prayer for Him and His Kingdom continually? ~ Psalm 72:15), so we might persevere in raising up prayer for the cause of Christ, no matter how long it takes (seventeen years – or even longer); that we might not be slothful in zeal, but rather fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, and constant in prayer (~ Romans 12:11-12). May the God of all grace equip us and keep us faithful throughout the coming year to offer up prayer that God would pour out His Spirit upon us in the 21st century as He did in the 18th century, for the glory of His name to the ends of the earth! ~ Ephesians 3:20-21.

    (If you are new to this site, or would like more information, you can read more about tent of meeting in this post, and/or e-mail me at naphtali DOT deer AT gmail DOT com, or message me via Xanga using <a "="" href="http://www.xanga.com/message.aspx?user=tent_of_meeting">this link.)

    Yours in Christ, seeking the reformation and revival of God's Church, for the glory of God,
    Karen
    * * *

    The following excerpt is from Chapter XII. The Revival in New England in Joseph Tracy's "The Great Awakening:  A History of the Revival of Religion in the time of Edwards and Whitefield" (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1976), 159-161. Originally published in 1842. Boldface mine. (HT:  google book found at: http://books.google.com/books?id=RxZkYTXHc5gC&output=text&source=gbs_navlinks_s)

    PLYMOUTH.

    "The landing of the Pilgrims!" Every son and daughter of a Puritan, every enlightened friend of Christianity and of the blessings that follow in its train, will ask with interest for the history of the revival here. It shall be given in the words of the Rev. Nathanael Leonard, pastor of the First Church, who wrote November 23, 1744.*

    "It pleased God to cast my lot (who am the least of all saints) in the First Church and town in the country, above twenty years ago. Religion was then under a great decay; most people seemed to be taken up principally about the world and the lusts of this life; though there appeared some serious Christians among us that had the things of God at heart, who greatly bewailed the growth of impiety, profaneness, Sabbath breaking, gaming, tavern-haunting, intemperance, and other evils, which threatened to bear down all that is good and sacred before them. We were sensible of an awful degeneracy, and kept days of fasting and prayer, year after year, that God would pour out his Spirit upon us; especially on the rising generation. At these times we invited the ministers of the county to join with us, who readily gave their assistance. The authority of this town endeavoured to put a stop to the growing intemperance, by clearing the taverns at nine o'clock in the evening, and punishing loose and disorderly persons that frequented them. But all the methods used one way and the other, proved of little effect. Iniquity prevailed, and we were in danger of losing the very form of godliness.

    "The Rev. Mr. Whitefield coming into the land, and the news we presently had of his preaching and conversation at Boston and elsewhere, roused us a little, and we sent to him to come and preach to us. We expected him in October, 1740, but were disappointed.

    "In March following, the Rev. Mr. Tennent came hither and preached eight sermons to general acceptance, which, by the blessing of God, greatly awakened this people, and many have dated such religious impressions from that time, as we have reason to believe issued in a real conversion to God. After him, several ministers of the county and others visited us, and preached with us; and we often spent whole days in prayer, singing and preaching, and had frequently three exercises in them. I often preached three times on the Lord's day myself, and sometimes three or four times in the week besides; although before this, through bodily indisposition and heaviness of spirit, I was not able to carry on the usual stated exercises, and my people had for some years provided me an assistant.

    "The subjects chiefly insisted on were these following, viz: The sin and apostasy of mankind in Adam; the blindness of the natural man in the things of God; the enmity of the carnal mind; the evil of sin; the desert of it, and the utter inability of the fallen creature to relieve itself; the sovereignty of God; his righteousness, holiness, truth, power, eternity; also his grace and mercy in Christ Jesus; the way of redemption by Christ; justification, through his imputed righteousness, received by faith; this faith the gift of God, and a living principle, that worketh by love; legal and evangelical repentance; the nature and necessity of regeneration; and that without holiness no man can see God. All persons were put upon examining themselves, warned against trusting in their own righteousness, and resting in the form of godliness, without the power, &c. These things, together with pathetical invitations to sinners, to come and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as offered in the Gospel, made a wonderful impression on the minds of all sorts of people at the first. And men, women and children were much awakened, and the out ward face of things began exceedingly to alter.

    "In February, 1742, the Rev. Mr. Croswell came hither, and continued in the town about a fortnight, preaching sometimes in this, and sometimes in the other parish. At this time, I think I may say, as the apostle does to the Thessalonians: 'The Gospel came unto us, not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. And we received the word, not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which wrought effectually in them that believed.' Hundreds of souls were at one time in the meetinghouse, Saturday, February 13th, crying out in the utmost concern, what they should do to be saved! and many others rejoicing in the Lord, in the sweet sense of his redeeming love and grace in Christ Jesus, as they declared. This day, and at some other times, conversions were so open and public, that we seemed to see souls, dead in trespasses and sins, revive and stand up monuments of divine grace. I do not mean that we had an intuition of their hearts, and knew infallibly the state of their souls, which is God's prerogative; but the appearance of conversion from one state to the other, and the alteration in the frame and temper of their minds, which they discovered in words and behaviour, was admirable. This day appeared to me in the time of it, and hath done so ever since, a day of great grace, for which my soul giveth thanks to God.

    "After this, for some months together, you should scarcely see any body at the taverns, unless they were strangers, travellers, or some come there upon necessary business. The children forsook their plays in the streets, and persons of all denominations, except a few, gave themselves to reading the word of God, and other books of devotion, to meditation, prayer, conference, and other religious exercises, and refrained from their customary vices. And many that lived at a distance, being acquainted with this town in its former slate, coming hither, beheld us now with admiration, saying, Surely the fear of God is in this place."

    * Christian History, Vol. II. page 313.


    * Please add your PRAYERS below as God's Holy Spirit leads you. *

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"he called it the tent of meeting..."

I am burdened to pray to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the reformation and reviving of Christ's church.

The phrase tent of meeting comes from Exodus 33:7: Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.

This site is devoted to God first and foremost. In all that is done here, my prayer is that God is glorified and His Name magnified and Christ and Him crucified is lifted up so He might be preeminent and God might receive all the praise, honor and glory due His Holy Name. All who have come to a saving knowledge of our Father by grace through faith in the all-sufficient sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are welcome to enter this tent of meeting to seek the Lord.

This blog is a place for all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to come and seek God's face for revival. My intention is for this tent of meeting to be a holy place where we can enter into PRAYER together to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit leads you, please enter into prayer either here (think of "comments" as prayers) or on your own.

Habakkuk 3:2 O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.

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