1-3-12-Jesus in Egypt
Read Matthew 2:13-23
This was the second dream or vision that Joseph received from God. Joseph's first dream revealed that Mary's child would be the Messiah (1:20, 21). His second dream told him how to protect the child's life. Although Joseph was not Jesus' natural father, he was Jesus' legal father and was responsible for his safety and well being. Divine guidance comes only to prepared hearts. Joseph remained receptive to God's guidance.
Going to Egypt was not unusual because there were colonies of Jews in several major Egypt cities. These colonies had developed during the time of the great captivity (see Jeremiah 43; 44). There is an interesting parallel between this flight to Egypt and Israel's history. As an infant nation, Israel went to Egypt, just a child. God led Israel out (Hosea 11:1): God brought Jesus back. Both events show God working to save his people.
Herod, the king of the Jews, killed all the boys under two years of age in an obsessive attempt to kill Jesus, the newborn king. He stained his hands with blood, but he did not harm Jesus. Herod was king by a human appointment; Jesus was king by a divine appointment. No one can thwart God's plans.
Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. of an incurable disease. Rome trusted him but didn't trust his sons. Herod knew that Rome wouldn't give his successor as much power, so he divided his kingdom into three parts, one for each son. Archelaus received Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; Herod Antipas received Galilee and Perea; Herod Philip II received Traconitis. Archelous, a violent man, began his reign by slaughtering 3,000 influential people. Nine years later, he was banished God didn't want Joseph's family to go into the region of this evil ruler.
The Old Testament does not record this specific statement, "He will be called a Nazarene." many scholars believe, however, that Matthew is referring to Isaiah 11:1 where the Hebrew word for "branch" is similar to the word for Nazarene. Or he may be referring to a prophecy unrecorded in the Bible. In any case, Matthew paints the picture of Jesus as the true Messiah announced by God through the prophets; and he makes the point that Jesus, the Messiah, had unexpectedly humble beginnings, just as the Old Testament had predicted (see Micah 5:2).
Nazareth sat in the hilly area of southern Galilee near the crossroads of great caravan trade routes. The town itself was rather small. The Roman garrison in charge of Galilee was housed there. The people of Nazareth had an attitude of independence that many of the Jews despised. This may have been why Nathanael commented, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?"
Herod was afraid that this new born king would one day take his throne. He completely misunderstood the reason for Christ's coming. Jesus didn't want Herod's throne; he wanted to be king of Herod's life. Jesus wanted to give Herod eternal life, not take away his present life. Today people are often afraid that Christ wants to take things away when, in reality, he wants to give them real freedom, peace, and joy. Don't fear Christ-give him the throne of your life.
Rachel was the wife of Jacob's 12 sons which had come the 12 tribes of Israel. Rachel was buried near Bethlehem (Genesis 35:19).
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 2:21
The cycle of Life allows us to take a personal inventory of our lives. It presents us with opportunities to reflect on own sins and sinful nature, which become so very “real” as we encounter God’s holy Law. Furthermore, life presents us with the “realness” of God’s love expressed in the most personal way. The Father gave us His Son, Jesus, born of a virgin named, Mary. Because of Jesus, we are blessed to know that even though we are not holy like our Creator, He nevertheless, “really” loves us, has forgiven us - and continues to do so - not because of anything we have accomplished, but because of His great mercy expressed through His Son’s death on Calvary’s cross. Because of Jesus all who believe in and confess Him as their Savior are set free from death to new life through Him.
As you ponder your life, praise God for the news that a virgin named Mary gave birth to God’s Son whom Joseph named, “Jesus, for it is He who will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). And give thanks to our Lord who announces that He is, “the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25).
From new-birth and beyond, you and I are blessed with God’s saving presence. Share that life-filled proclamation with a young person you know so that he, or she, may also share the great “cycle of life” that is “really” available for all generations through Christ Jesus, the Lord!
Heavenly Father, live is tender and sensitive. At times we get ill, we become injured, we experience death and decay. We give thanks to You through Your Son for through Him we know that You are with us - and that we are with You - for eternity. Make us bold, through Your Spirit to share the life-instilling message of Christ, the Lord!
What type of king do you imagine Herod to be? What does his response of fear and anger show about his view of the Messiah?
What is Matthew's point in emphasizing God's watch care over Jesus? In the fulfillment of Hosea's and Jeremiah's prophesies?
What relocation options face Joseph? How did God use prophecy, dreams, faith, and circumstances to guide him?
When, like Herod, have you felt threatened by Jesus' kingship? How do you react at those times?
From Joseph's responsiveness what do you learn about faith and obedience? How long would it take you to say "yes" if God asked you to move on with him? Why the delay?
The Sovereignty of God
Today we are surrounded on every-side by satanic activity such as witchcraft, spiritism, the use of Horoscopes, Magic, Fortune telling by means of cards, dice or the stars, sorcery and many other evil and deadly manifestations of the occult. Who does control the universe and the affairs of men? It is very important that the Christian knows where he stands. This lesson will help you to strengthen then your trust in the absolute sovereignty of God."
When we say that God is sovereign we mean that He has absolute authority over everything. God has power to carry out His will. Satan and Herod tried to oppose God's will. God is sovereign and so He can protect those that are His so that they can carry out the work He has given them.
Man changes from one day to the next. What does God (Jehovah) say about this? Lookup the answer in Malachi 3:6. God says, "I."
Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Jesus Christ is the
The psalmist David trusted in God saying, "My times are in your hands" (Psalm 31:15). This means that the times of his life were:
Many people don't believe that absolute authority belongs to God. They consult fortune-tellers and read horoscopes because they want to know their "future". Do such acts show: (write yes or no).
-
faith in God?
-
lack of faith (or at least a week faith)?
-
obedience to God's Word?
Which of the following are condemned in Deuteronomy 18:10-12?
Divination Casting a spell
Witchcraft Medium
Interpreting omens Fisherman
Carpenter Spiritist
Sorcerer Consulting the dead
Let's see what these strange names mean.
"Divination" is pretending to foretell things which God in His wisdom has hidden from us
"Witches" and those who pretend to "interpret omens" are those who do this terrible thing.
Which of the following by doing the same, are therefore condemned for divination by Deuteronomy 18:10-12? Note: Check only four.
-
Fortune-tellers
-
Palm readers
-
Weather forecasting
-
Horoscopes
-
Ouija boards
-
Gallup polls
The Greek word for "dead" is "Necros." People who try to contact the dead are therefore some times called Necromancers. Mediums, as well as those who practice Necromancy, try to contact the spirits of the dead, sometimes in order to find out the future.
Which of the following are therefore condemned as necromancers and mediums in Deuteronomy 18:10-12?
-
Spiritists
-
Doctors
-
Undertakers
-
A medium at a séance
Sorcerers, people who cast spells and witches make slaves of others through fear. They do this through trickery, evil spirits, demons, and even Satan, himself. Belief in superstitions, the use of charms, medicine bags and other things which are thought to bring luck or ward off evil spirits show the same basic fear of the unknown.
Place a checkmark in front of the things which are condemned as sin in Deuteronomy 18:10-12.
witches avoiding the number 13
spiritists wearing a wrist watch
magic wearing a medicine bag
knocking on wood belief in a charm/magic portion
casting spells love potion
Exercise: Underline Deuteronomy 18:10-12 in green in your Bible.
Which is the passage in Deuteronomy that warns us against having anything to do with the hidden powers of darkness (the occult)?
Remember Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8? If God was so against the occult in the Old Testament times, is it possible that He feels differently now?
What is God's attitude towards the occult?
Our God is sovereign over all things. Which of the following practices, therefore, are evil in His eyes?
Belief in:
telling fortunes witchcraft
books of Black Magic spiritism
what God says in the Bible the Ouija board
horoscopes and astrology the sovereignty of God
the power of the Holy Spirit lucky charms
palm reading superstitions
many people have had their fortunes told or read horoscopes in the newspapers without knowing that it it is against God's will to do these things. They don't know the Danger that they are in. Perhaps you too have done some of these things before you became a Christian, or even after. If at any time in your life you have done some of these things, confess it now and renounce them by the power of the Lord of Jesus Christ.
-
God wants us to put our trust in Him alone.
-
God has more power than all the hidden powers of darkness.
The Bible says: And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who LOVE him." (Romans 8:28) Therefore, when something happens to us that we don't understand we ought to trust that God is sovereign and is in control of every situation and circumstance, however dark things may look.
Jot down an example from your own experience of God's sovereignty in your life, bringing good out of events that at the time seemed very dark. The more recent the experiences the better.
Ministry assignment: Discuss ways in which you could make your own home a better center for Christian witness, like Jesus' home in Nazareth and Matthew's home in Capernaum?
Say why a strong faith in the sovereignty of God is the best answer to the present interest in occult practices. Tell how you would share this truth with someone who was in danger of looking to the occult for some comfort about the future.
State what a Christian's attitude should be, and what the Bible's teaching is on all forms of the occult.
Name manifestations of the occult in your own neighborhood, if any.
"When things happen to me that I don't understand I will let the truth of this story strengthen my trust that God is indeed sovereign and it is in control of every situation, however dark it may appear."
-
Spend sometime thinking of some ways in which you have seen God's sovereignty in the events of your life. There may be times when He has brought something good out of a happening which looked bad at first. God did this in the events surrounding Jesus' birth. If you can, write down one of these occasions. It would be better if it were something that happened to you only recently.
-
Think of some ways in which you could share this testimony with others. It may encourage fellow Christians in their faith or, perhaps help unbeliever to find Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.
Spend a moment of prayer, worshipping and praising your God for the immeasurable greatness of His power in you on this occasion.
Testimony
George Whitefield
BORN: December 16, 1714
Gloucester, England
DIED: September 30, 1770
Newburyport, Massachusetts
LIFE SPAN: 55 years, 9 months, 14 days
WHITEFIELD WAS THE MOST TRAVELED preacher of the gospel up
to his time and many feel he was the greatest evangelist of
all time. Making 13 trips across the Atlantic Ocean was a
feat in itself, for it was during a time when sea travel was
primitive. This meant he spent over two years of his life
traveling on water--782 days. However, his diligence and
sacrifice helped turn two nations back to God. Jonathan
Edwards was stirring things up in New England, and John
Wesley was doing the same in England. Whitefield completed
the trio of men humanly responsible for the great awakening
on both sides of the Atlantic. He spent about 24 years of
ministry in the British Isles and about nine more years in
America, speaking to some ten million souls.
It is said his voice could be heard a mile away, and
his open-air preaching reached as many as 100,000 in one
gathering! His crowds were the greatest ever assembled to
hear the preaching of the gospel before the days of amplifi-
cation--and, if we might add, before the days of
advertising.
He was born in the Bell Inn where his father,
Thomas, was a wine merchant and innkeeper. The father died
when George was two. George was the youngest of seven chil-
dren. His widowed mother, Elizabeth (born in 1680), strug-
gled to keep the family together. When the lad was about ten
his mother remarried, but it was not a happy union.
Childhood measles left him squint-eyed the rest of his life.
When he was twelve he was sent to the St. Mary de Crypt
Grammar School in Gloucester. There he had a record of tru-
ancy but also a reputation as an actor and orator.
At about 15 years of age George persuaded his mother
to let him leave school because he would never make much use
of his education--so he thought! He spent time working in
the inn.
Hidden in the back of his mind was a desire to
preach. At night George sat up and read the Bible. Mother
was visited by an Oxford student who worked his way through
college and this report encouraged both mother and George to
plan for college. He returned to grammar school to finish
his preparation to enter Oxford, losing about one year of
school.
When he was 17 he entered Pembroke College at Oxford
in November, 1732. He was gradually drawn from former sinful
associates, and after a year, he met John and Charles Wesley
and joined the Holy Club. Charles Wesley loaned him a book,
The Life of God in the Soul of Man. This book--plus a severe
sickness which resulted because of long and painful periods
of spiritual struggle--finally resulted in his conversion.
This was in 1735. He said many years later:
I know the place...Whenever I go to Oxford, I cannot help
running to the spot where Jesus Christ first revealed him-
self to me, and gave me the new birth.
Many days and weeks of fasting, and all the other
tortures to which he had exposed himself so undermined his
health that he was never again a well man. Because of poor
health, he left school in May, 1735, and returned home for
nine months of recuperation. However, he was far from idle,
and his activity attracted the attention of Dr. Benson, who
was the bishop of Gloucester. He announced he would gladly
ordain Whitefield as a deacon. Whitefield returned to Oxford
in March of 1736 and on June 20, 1736, Bishop Benson or-
dained him. He placed his hands upon his head--whereupon
George later declared, "My heart was melted down, and I of-
fered my whole spirit, soul and body to the service of God's
sanctuary."
Whitefield preached his first sermon the following
Sunday. It was at the ancient Church of Saint Mary de Crypt,
the church where he had been "baptized" and grown up as a
boy. People, including his mother, flocked to hear him. He
described it later:
...Some few mocked, but most for the present, seemed struck,
and I have since heard that a complaint was made to the
bishop, that I drove fifteen people mad, the first sermon.
More than 18,000 sermons were to follow in his lifetime, an
average of 500 a year, or ten a week. Many of them were
given over and over again. Less than 90 of them have sur-
vived in any form.
The Wednesday following his first sermon, he re-
turned to Oxford where the B.A. degree was conferred upon
him. Then he was called to London to act as a supply minis-
ter at the Tower of London. He stayed only a couple of
months, and then returned to Oxford for a very short time,
helping a friend in a rural parish for a few weeks. He also
spent much time amongst the prisoners at Oxford during this
time.
The Wesley brothers had gone to Georgia in America,
and Whitefield got letters from them urging him to come
there. He felt called to go, but the Lord delayed the trip
for a year, during which time he began to preach with power
to great crowds throughout England. He preached in some of
the principal churches of London and soon no church was
large enough to hold those who came to hear him.
He finally left for America from England on January
10, and on February 2, 1738, sailed from Gibraltar, although
he had left England in December. The boat was delayed a cou-
ple of places, but Whitefield used the extra time preaching.
He arrived in America on May 7, 1738. Shortly after arrival
he had a severe bout with fever. Upon recovering he visited
Tomo-Chici, an Indian chief who was on his death bed. With
no interpreter available, Whitefield could only offer a
prayer in his behalf.
He loved Georgia and was not discouraged there as
were the Wesleys. He was burdened about orphans, and started
to collect funds for the same. He opened schools in Highgate
and Hampstead, and also a school for girls in Savannah. Of
course he also preached. On September 9, 1738, he left
Charleston, South Carolina, for the trip back to London. It
was a perilous voyage. For two weeks a bad storm beat the
boat. About one-third of the way home, they met a ship from
Jamaica which had ample supplies to restock the dwindling
food and water cargo on their boat. After nine weeks of
tossing to and fro they found themselves in the harbor of
Limerick, Ireland, and in London in December.
On Sunday, January 14, 1739, George Whitefield was
ordained as a priest in the Church of England by his friend,
Bishop Benson, in an Oxford ceremony.
Upon his return to London, he thought that the doors
would be opened and that he would be warmly received.
Instead it was the opposite. Now many churches were closed
to him. His successes, preaching, and connection with
Methodist societies--in particular his association with the
Wesleys--were all opposed by the establishment. However, he
preached to as many churches as would receive him, working
and visiting with such as the Moravians and other non-con-
formist religious societies in London. However, these build-
ings were becoming too small to hold the crowds. Alternative
plans had to be formulated.
Howell Harris of Wales was preaching in the fields.
Whitefield wondered if he ought to try it too. He concluded
he was an outcast anyway, so why not try to reach people
this "new" way? He held a conference with the Wesleys and
other Oxford Methodists before going to Bristol in February.
Soon John Wesley would be forced to follow Whitefield's
example.
Just outside the city of Bristol was a coal mine
district known as Kingswood Hill. Whitefield first preached
here in the open on February 17, 1739. The first time about
200 came to hear him, but in a very short time he was
preaching to 10,000 at once. Often they stood in the rain
listening with the melodies of their singing being heard two
miles away.
One of his favorite preaching places was just out-
side London, on a great open tract known as Moorfields. He
had no designated time for his services, but whenever he be-
gan to preach, thousands came to hear--whether it was 6 a.m.
or 8 p.m. Not all were fans, as evidenced by his oft-re-
peated testimony, "I was honored with having stones, dirt,
rotten eggs and pieces of dead cats thrown at me." In the
morning some 20,000 listened to him, and in the evening some
35,000 gathered! Whitefield was only 25 years old. Crowds up
to 80,000 at one time gathered there to hear him preach for
an hour and a half.
There seems to be nothing unusual in content about
his printed sermons, but his oratory put great life into
them. He could paint word pictures with such breathless viv-
idness that crowds listening would stare through tear-filled
eyes as he spoke. Once, while describing an old man trem-
bling toward the edge of a precipice, Lord Chesterfield
jumped to his feet and shouted as George walked the man un-
knowingly toward the edge--"He is gone." Another time in
Boston he described a storm at sea. There were many sailors
in the crowd, and at the very height of the "tempest" which
Whitefield had painted an old salt jumped to his feet and
shouted, "To the lifeboats, men, to the lifeboats!" Often as
many as 500 would fall in the group and lay prostrate under
the power of a single sermon. Many people made demonstra-
tions, and in several instances men who held out against the
Spirit's wooing dropped dead during his meetings. Audible
cries of the audience often interrupted the messages. People
usually were saved right during the progress of the service.
The altar call as such was not utilized.
On August 1, 1739, the Bishop of London denounced
him--nevertheless on August 14 he was on his way to his sec-
ond trip to America, taking with him about $4,000 which he
had raised for his orphanage. This time he landed near
Philadelphia on October 30, preaching here before going
south. The old courthouse had a balcony, and Whitefield
loved to preach from it whenever he came here. People stood
in the streets all around to listen to him. When preaching
on Society Hill near Philadelphia he spoke to 6,000 in the
morning and 8,000 in the evening. On the following Sunday
the respective crowds were 10,000 to 25,000. At a farewell
address, more than 35,000 gathered to hear him. Benjamin
Franklin became a good friend of the evangelist, and he was
always impressed with the preaching although not converted.
Once Franklin emptied his pockets at home, knowing that an
offering would be taken. But it was to no avail. So powerful
was the appeal at Whitefield's meeting that Franklin ended
up borrowing money from a stranger sitting nearby to put in
the plate!
From Philadelphia Whitefield went to New York. Again
the people thronged to hear him by the thousands. He
preached to 8,000 in the field, on Sunday morning to 15,000,
and Sunday afternoon to 20,000. He returned again and again
to these cities.
After a short stay here, he was eager to reach
Georgia. He went by land with at least 1,000 people accompa-
nying him from Philadelphia to Chester. Here he preached to
thousands with even the judges postponing their business un-
til his sermon was over. He preached at various places,
journeying through Maryland and ending up at Charleston,
South Carolina. He finally ended up in Savannah on January
10, 1740, going by canoe from Charleston. His first order of
business was to get an orphanage started. He rented a large
house for a temporary habitation for the homeless waifs, and
on March 25, 1740, he laid the first brick of the main
building, which he named Bethesda, meaning "house of mercy."
With things under control in the South, he sailed up
to New England in September, 1740, for his first of three
trips to that area. He arrived at Newport, Rhode Island, to
commence what historians call the focal point of "the first
great awakening." Jonathan Edwards had been sowing the seed
throughout the area--and Whitefield's presence was the straw
that was to break the devil's back. He preached in Boston to
the greatest crowds ever assembled there to hear the gospel.
Some 8,000 assembled in the morning and some 15,000 returned
to the famous Commons in the evening. At Old North Church
thousands were turned away, so he took his message outside
to them. Later, Governor Belcher drove him to the Commons
where 20,000 were waiting to hear him. He was invited more
than once to speak to the faculty and students of Harvard.
At Salem, hundreds could not get into the building where he
spoke.
He then preached four times for Edwards in
Northampton, Massachusetts (October 17-20), and, though he
stayed in New England less than a month that time, the re-
vival that was started lasted for a year and a half. He left
January 24, 1741, and returned to England March 14, 1741.
There he found that John Wesley was diverging from Calvinist
doctrine, so he withdrew from the Wesley Connexion which he
had embraced. Thereupon, his friends built him a wooden
church named the Moorfields Tabernacle. A reconciliation was
later made between the two evangelists, but they both went
their separate ways from then on. Thenceforth, Whitefield
was considered the unofficial leader of Calvinistic
Methodism.
Unique details are available following his break
with Wesley. They begin with his first of fourteen trips to
Scotland July 30, 1741. This trip was sponsored by the
Seceders, but he refused to limit his ministrations to this
one sect who had invited him--so he broke with them.
Continuing his tour, he was received everywhere with enthu-
siasm. In Glasgow many were brought under deep conviction.
The largest audience he ever addressed was at Cambuslang,
near Glasgow, where he spoke to an estimated 100,000 people!
He preached for an hour and a half to the tearful crowd.
Converts from that one meeting numbered nearly 10,000. Once
he preached to 30,000; another day he had five services of
20,000. Then he went on to Edinburgh where he preached to
20,000. In traveling from Glasgow to Edinburgh he preached
to 10,000 souls every day. He loved it so much he cried out,
"May I die preaching," which, in essence, he did.
Then he went on to Wales, where he was to make fre-
quent trips in the future, and was received with great re-
spect and honor. Here he met his wife to be, Elizabeth
James, an older widow. They were married there on November
14, 1741, and on October 4, 1743, one son was born, named
John, who died at age four months, the following February.
In 1742 a second trip was made to Scotland. During
the first two visits here Scotland was spiritually awakened
and set "on fire" as she had not been since the days of John
Knox. Subsequent visits did not evidence the great revivals
of the early trips, but these were always refreshing times
for the people. Then a tour through England and Wales was
made from 1742 to 1744. It was in 1743 that he began as mod-
erator for the Calvinistic Methodists in Wales, which posi-
tion he held a number of years.
In 1744 George Whitefield almost became a martyr. He
was attacked by a man uttering abusive language, who called
him a dog, villain, and so forth, and then proceeded to beat
him unmercifully with a gold-headed cane until he was almost
unconscious. About this time, he was also accused of misap-
propriating funds which he had collected. Nothing could be
further from the truth.
At least once he had to sell what earthly posses-
sions he had in order to pay a certain debt that he had in-
curred for his orphanage, and to give his aged mother the
things she needed. Friends had loaned him the furniture that
he needed when he lived in England. When he died he was a
pauper with only a few personal possessions being the extent
of his material gain.
Another trip was made to America from 1744 to 1748.
On his way home because of ill health, he visited the
Bermudas. It was a pleasant trip. On the trip he preached
regularly and saw many souls won to the Lord. It was in 1748
that he said, "Let the name of Whitefield die so that the
cause of Christ may live." A fourth trip to America was made
October 27, 1751, to May, 1752.
Upon his return to England he was appointed one of
the chaplains to Selina, Countess of Huntingdon--known as
Lady Huntingdon, a friend since 1748. His mother died at 71
in December of 1751. In 1753 he compiled "Hymns for Social
Worship." This was also the year he traveled 800 miles on
horseback, preaching to 100,000 souls. It was during this
time that he was struck on the head by stones and knocked
off a table upon which he had been preaching. Afterwards he
said, "We are immortal till our work is done," a phrase he
would often repeat.
In 1754 Whitefield embarked again for America, with
22 orphans. En route he visited Lisbon, Portugal, and spent
four weeks there. In Boston thousands awakened for his
preaching at 7 a.m. One auditorium seating 4,000 saw great
numbers turned away while Whitefield, himself, had to be
helped in through a window. He stayed from May, 1754, to
May, 1755.
In 1756 he was in Ireland. He made only two, possi-
bly three, trips here. On this occasion, at age 42, he al-
most met death. One Sunday afternoon while preaching on a
beautiful green near Dublin, stones and dirt were hurled at
him. Afterwards a mob gathered, intending to take his life.
Those attending to him fled, and he was left to walk nearly
a half a mile alone, while rioters threw great showers of
stones upon him from every direction until he was covered
with blood. He staggered to the door of a minister living
close by. Later he said, "I received many blows and wounds;
one was particularly large near my temples." He later said
that in Ireland he had been elevated to the rank of an
Apostle in having had the honor of being stoned.
Also in 1756 he opened the Congregational Chapel
bearing his name on Tottenham Court Road, London. He minis-
tered here and at the before-mentioned Moorsfield Tabernacle
often. A sixth trip was made to America from 1763 to 1765.
In 1768 he made his last trip to Scotland, 27 years
after his first. He was forced to conclude, "I am here only
in danger of being hugged to death." He visited Holland,
where he sought help for his body, where his health did im-
prove. It is also recorded that he once visited Spain. His
wife died on August 9, 1768, and Whitefield preached the fu-
neral sermon, using Romans 8:28 as a text. He dedicated the
famous Tottenham Court Road Chapel on July 23, 1769.
On September 4, 1769, he started on his last voyage
to America, arriving November 30. He went on business to
make arrangements for his orphanage to be converted into
Bethesda College. He spent the winter months of 1769-70 in
Georgia, then with the coming of spring he started north. He
arrived in Philadelphia in May, traveling on to New England.
Never was he so warmly received as now. The crowds flocked
in great numbers to see him. July was spent preaching in New
York and Albany and places en route. In August he reached
Boston. For three days in September he was too ill to
preach, but as soon as he could be out of bed he was back
preaching. His last written letter was dated September 23,
1770. He told how he could not preach, although thousands
were waiting to hear.
On September 29, he went from Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, to Newburyport, Massachusetts. He preached en
route in the open at Exeter, New Hampshire. Looking up he
prayed,
Lord Jesus, I am weary in thy work, but not of thy work. If
I have not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for
thee once more in the fields, seal thy truth, and come home
and die.
He was given strength for this, his last sermon. The
subject was Faith and Works. Although scarcely able to stand
when he first came before the group, he preached for two
hours to a crowd that no building then could have held.
Arriving at the parsonage of the First Presbyterian
Church in Newburyport--which church he had helped to found--
he had supper with his friend, Rev. Jonathan Parsons. He in-
tended to go at once to bed. However, having heard of his
arrival, a great number of friends gathered at the parsonage
and begged him for just a short message. He paused a moment
on the stairs, candle in hand, and spoke to the people as
they stood listening--until the candle went out. At 2 a.m.,
painting to breathe, he told his traveling companion Richard
Smith, "My asthma is returning; I must have two or three
days' rest." His last words were, "I am dying," and at 6
a.m. on Sunday morning he died--September 30, 1770.
The funeral was held on October 2 at the Old South
First Presbyterian Church. Thousands of people were unable
to even get near the door of the church. Whitefield had re-
quested earlier to be buried beneath the pulpit if he died
in that vicinity, which was done. Memorial services were
held for him in many places.
John Wesley said:
Oh, what has the church suffered in the setting of that
bright star which shone so gloriously in our hemisphere. We
have none left to succeed him; none of his gifts; none
anything like him in usefulness.
No comments:
Post a Comment