6 March 1738. George Whitfield, anchored for 2
weeks off the Straits of Gibralter, ministering to soldiers at the Fort of
Gibraltar, offers a journal entry on his ministry. Dr. Rusten tells the story. Rusten, E. Michael and Rusten,
Sharon. The One Year Christian History.
Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2003. http://www.amazon.com/The-Year-Christian-History-Books/dp/0842355073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393302630&sr=8-1&keywords=rusten+church+history
Brief backstory.
Whitfield was born in 1714, the
son of innkeepers at Bell Inn, Gloucester, UK.
He graduated from Oxford in 1736, a year after—we are told—a “dramatic
conversion.” In February 1738, he heads
to America aboard the Whittaker one day after John Wesley’s return to England
after his 3-year effort in America. The
ship anchored off Gibralter. He makes a
journal entry on 6 March 1738.
He writes:
“Monday, Mar. 6.
Had near, if not more than, a hundred at morning exposition; and it
being the last day of my sojourning at Gibraltar, many came to me weeping,
telling me what God had done for their souls, desiring my prayers, and
promising me theirs in return. Others
both gave and sent me tokens of their love, as cake, figs, wine, eggs, and
other necessaries for my voyage, and seemed to want words to express their
affection. The good Lord note their
kindnesses in His book, and reward them a thousandfold!
“About twelve, went to the church, according to
appointment, and made a farewell exhortation, as God gave me utterance, to a
great number of weeping soldiers, women, etc.
After which, we kneeled down, and having recommended each other to the
care of God, I left them, and went and took my leave of the two Generals;
visited the confined prisoner; dined at a gentlewoman’s house of the town; left
nearly fifty letters to be sent to England; and about four, went on board,
accompanied to the seaside with near two hundred soldiers, women and officers,
etc., who sorrowed at my departure, and wished me good luck in the Name of the
Lord. Surely I may now expect greater
success abroad, having such an addition of intercessors in my behalf.. O Lord put their tears into Thy bottle, and
let their cry come unto Thee!
“Samson’s riddle has been
fulfilled at Gibraltar. `Out of the eater came forth meat; out of the strong
came forth sweetness.’ Who more unlikely to be wrought upon than soldiers? And
yet, amongst any set of people, I have not been where God has made His power
more to be known…This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our
eyes. May He give a blessing to the
books dispersed amongst them, and perfect the good work begun in their hearts,
till the day of our Lord Jesus! May they be my joy and crown of rejoicing at
the last day, and may God’s mercies to me in every place make me more humble,
more zealous, more thankful, and more steady to do or suffer whatever my dear
Redeemer hath allotted for me.”
A few questions:
- 100 weeping he claims? Evangelisto-speak? Also, recall Charles Chauncey's Seasons of Religion, c. 1743, about Mr. Whitfield.
- What about the 1662 Book of Common Prayer? He calls it “Morning Exposition.”
- Was there a Chaplain or Minister at the Fort of Gibraltar for the soldiers and others?
- But, ah, if we grant Pope Leo XIII's Apostolica curae that Anglican orders and ministries are “null," does any of it matter? http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13curae.htm
- But, then, that’s nearwise the attitude of post-Restoration Anglicans towards other non-Anglicans too, in terms of ordinands from other faiths entering Anglicanism. They are rather tougher on the Reformed and Presbyterians too, if Prof. Bray is to be believed. To his credit, he does chide Anglican snobbery. What shall we say to these things?
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