An Account of Reviving (Sarah Edwards, wife of Jonathan)

"While Mr. Reynolds was at prayer in the family this morning, I felt an earnest desire that, in calling on God, he should say, Father, or that he should address the Almighty under that appellation: on which the thought turned in my mind--Why can I say, Father?--Can I now at this time, with the confidence of a child, and without the least misgiving of heart, call God my Father? This brought to my mind, two lines of Mr. Erskine's Sonnet:

"I see him lay his vengeance by,
"And smile in Jesus' face."

"I was thus deeply sensible, that my sins did loudly call for vengeance; but I then by faith saw God "lay his vengeance by, and smile in Jesus' face." It appeared to be real and certain that he did so. I had not the least doubt, that he then sweetly smiled upon me, with the look of forgiveness and love, having laid aside all his displeasure towards me, for Jesus' sake; which made me feel very weak, and somewhat faint.

"In consequence of this, I felt a strong desire to be alone with God, to go to him, without having any one to interrupt the silent and soft communion, which I earnestly desired between God and my own soul; and accordingly withdrew to my chamber. It should have been mentioned that, before I retired, while Mr. Reynolds was praying, these words, in Rom. viii. 34, came into my mind "Who is he that condemneth; It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us;" as well as the following words, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ," etc.; which occasioned great sweetness and delight in my soul. But when I was alone, the words came to my mind with far greater power and sweetness; upon which I took the Bible, and read the words to the end of the chapter, when they were impressed on my heart with vastly greater power and sweetness still. They appeared to me with undoubted certainty as the words of God, and as words which God did pronounce concerning me. I had no more doubt of it, than I had of my being. I seemed as it were to hear the great God proclaiming thus to the world concerning me; "Who shall lay any thing to thy charge," etc.; and had it strongly impressed on me, how impossible it was for any thing in heaven or earth, in this world or the future, ever to separate me from the love of God which was in Christ Jesus. I cannot find language to express, how certain this appeared--the everlasting mountains and hills were but shadows to it. My safety, and happiness, and eternal enjoyment of God's immutable love, seemed as durable and unchangeable as God himself. Melted and overcome by the sweetness of this assurance, I fell into a great flow of tears, and could not forbear weeping aloud. It appeared certain to me that God was my Father, and Christ my Lord and Savior, that he was mine and I his. Under a delightful sense of the immediate presence and love of God, these words seemed to come over and over in my mind, "My God, my all; my God, my all." The presence of God was so near, and so real, that I seemed scarcely conscious of any thing else. God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, seemed as distinct persons, both manifesting their inconceivable loveliness, and mildness, and gentleness, and their great immutable love to me. I seemed to be taken under the care and charge of my God and Saviour, in an inexpressibly endearing manner; and Christ appeared to me as a mighty Saviour, under the character of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, taking my heart, with all its corruptions, under his care, and putting it at his feet. In all things, which concerned me, I felt myself safe under the protection of the Father and the Saviour; who appeared with supreme kindness to keep a record of every thing that I did, and of every thing that was done to me, purely for my good.

For the full article:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA05/peltier/conversion/pierpont2.html

The Feeble as God (Zech 12:8)

“In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.”

First, when God saves people, then He gives strength. He says, “he that is feeble… shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God”, so the weak will be strong in grace, in the power of God (vs8). We are strong as the God who saves us, being powered by His strength, as His love is revealed to the heart, the love that pardons and gives unlimited grace to the guilty (Eph 3:19).

Secondly, in the gospel, we fight sin by God’s revelation of His victory– “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it (vs3). It doesn’t matter the enemies strength; it matters that God is on our side to fight the sin and slay the enemy. He has power to beat Satan, when we do not, in the midst of SIN and difficulty. Salvation happens when salvation’s NEEDED, so that our need doesn’t destroy God’s power, though we’re weak.

He won’t fail, so neither shall we: we shall have sufficiency to the task – “In that day, says the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, & his rider with madness: & I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah, & will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God” (vs4-5). In the battle, He gives us confidence that we have all that we need, if we have God. The enemy we thought too strong, by faith, shall be revealed to us as an enemy that we can whip through God.

Thirdly, we don’t have victory to a degree that SATISFIES us, and yet we’re satisfied in hope. He keeps us mourning and keeps revealing His love thereby, that the God we hate, we love, because He forgives us of sins. He says, “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn (vs10).” For these mourners, God has a fountain “opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness” (Zech 13:1). God comforts mourners and saves sinners, telling all that He has convicted of sin that their sin is gone, even as He told David through the prophet, “The Lord also has put away your sin”, after David said, “I have sinned against the Lord” (II Sam 12:13).

Lastly, here are three fruits of repentance and reviving:
1. The worship of Satan shall be repented of, and we hate the things that we loved – “And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land (Zech 13:2). We may not know when God saved us, but WE’LL love the new truth of Jesus Christ, rejecting all else that we’ve heard, which shows that we’re SAVED AFTER hearing the TRUTH of Christ and not a lie (Eph 1:13). This is when we’re baptized and burn the books of false religion. We count it a lie, if it doesn’t glorify God’s holiness in Jesus Christ. It is a stench and something than cannot save.

2. Christ is MOST valuable and more precious than father or child – “And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, You shall not live; for you speak likes in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesies” (Zech 13:3). He that loves Christ more than these is saved, for you follow Christ and REJECT the counsel of the world, honoring God in love to men, but not compromising truth for anyone, even if it means your children must be sent to hell (Matt 10:37).

3. Christ is all in revival – “And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in your hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zech 13:6). His love is foremost on God’s people’s minds; He keeps Himself elevated for loving us, while we’re sinners. Therefore, we have CONVICTION and comfort. He was both wounded and is raised: it was both His friends who despised Him and His FRIENDS who He saves, revealing His will (John 15:15).