viewed in connexion with another circumstance, to which, if we may be allowed the conjecture, it seems not impossible that the Lord Jesus, who orders all things in the Church, meant it to correspond. When Zinzendorf himself was but a little child, he adopted an infantine but affecting method of declaring his early love to Christ. "When four years old, he used to write assurances addressed to his Saviour, to express to Him the love he bare Him; and he used to throw them out of the window, feeling certain that He would not fail to find them *.” Now may we not view these two circumstances together? The CHILD throws his little notes to the winds of heaven, to be borne to the Saviour of children, and to testify of the love which that gentle and gracious Saviour had Himself begun to kindle in his bosom. The MAN receives a note from the same Saviour, in the paper found, testifying of His love in return; a note which comes, like an angel bringing gifts, a light bearer of a weight of blessings. I know not whether the Brethren themselves, whose writers so particularly record these two occurrences, are at all accustomed to view them thus in connexion. The connection to me appears striking. The mutual reference of the two gives to each a more affecting character. Without claiming for the coincidence the title of miracle in its highest sense, I could not refrain, amongst other coincidences, from mentioning it. If any reader deem it unimportant, I will only beg him to pass on without giving it a * "A l'âge de quatre ans, il écrivait des mots de billet à son Sauveur pour lui exprimer son amour; et il les jetait par la fenêtre, dans la confiance qu'il saurait bien les trouver."-Tom. i. p. 273. place in the argument; and let not the unbelieving scoff. 5. In connexion with premonitions, presentiments, and coincidences, we are naturally led to notice actual prophecies, or predictions. Of these, the history of the Brethren is not wanting in examples and the events which fulfilled them are matters of record. For instance, it is related of George Joschke, of Sehlen, who had a son, in his old age, to whom he was tenderly attached, that "When, in 1707, he saw his end approaching, wishing to confer on this child and on his nephews his last blessing, he assembled them round his bed, and, once more, solemnly exhorted them to abide faithful to Jesus, as they had been taught to know him, even to death: shewing them that they ought to cleave to him with all their soul; and that then they would see a great deliverance; for God, said he, hears the prayers of his elect, who cry day and night to him. 'It is true,' added he, 'that our liberty is extinct : the greater part of our descendants are gradually surrendering themselves to the love of the world, and are become a prey to Popery: as far as appearances go, the cause of the Brethren is lost.-But, my children, you will see it; there will come a deliverance for the remnant that are left. Whether it will take place in Moravia, or whether you will abandon this Babel, I know not; but I am certain that this will no more be long delayed. I incline to think that you will emigrate, to find a place where you can serve God without fear, according to his Word. When the time for it shall come, be prepared, and beware of being the last, or of staying behind: remember what I have already said to you. To conclude, I commend to you this little one, my only child; I particularly commend him to thee, Augustine. He, also, must belong to Jesus. Do not lose sight of him; and, when you emigrate, take him with you*." * "Lorsqu'en 1707, il vit approcher sa fin, désirant donner à ce petit This occurred, as we have seen, in 1707.. The emigration took place in 1722. One of the party, about to set out when they had heard of a safe retreat, remembered the young Jaeschke, now eighteen years old, whom his aged father had so earnestly commended to their care. "He remembered his last words, and all that he had foretold; and, seeing how marvellously these events were now coming to pass, he reminded Augustine of his engagement *." The young man accompanied them in their emigration. While on this subject, I must be pardoned if I cannot pass over an incident, in which the principal character is a child of eighteen months. Another of Zinzendorf's children lay dying. "When, the day before its death, this child was suffering greatly, the little Charity, then eighteen months old, took 6 enfant et à ses neveux sa dernière bénediction, il les rassembla autour de son lit, et les exhorta encore une fois solennellement à rester fidèles jusqu'à la mort à Jésus, tel qu'ils avaient appris à le connaître ; leur montrant qu'ils devaient s'attacher à lui de toute leur âme, et qu'alors ils verraient une grande délivrance; car Dieu, dit-il, exauce la prière de ses élus qui crient à lui jour et nuit. Il est vrai,' ajouta-t-il, que nôtre liberté est anéantie; la plupart de nos descendants se livrent de plus en plus à l'amour du monde, et sonte engloutis par le Papisme; toutes les apparences indiqueraient que la cause des Frères est perdue.-Mais, mes enfants, vous le verrez, il viendra une délivrance pour ceux qui sont demeurés de reste. Si elle aura lieu en Moravie, ou si vous quitterez cette Babel, c'est ce que j'ignore; mais je suis sûr que cela ne tardera plus long-temps; je penche à croire que vous sortirez du pays, pour trouver un lieu où vous puissiez servir Dieu sans crainte, d'après sa Parole. Quand le temps en viendra, soyez prêts, et prenez garde d'être les derniers, ou de rester entièrement en arrière : souvenez-vous de ce que je vous ai dèjà dit.—Enfin, je vous recommande ce petit, mon seul enfant : je te le recommande à toi, Augustin, en particulier, il faut qu'il appartienne aussi à Jésus. Ne le perdez pas de vue, et lorsque vous sortirez du pays, prenez-le avec vous.' 245, 246. pp. * "Il se souvint de ses derniers discours et de tout ce qu'il avait annoncé; et voyant de quelle merveilleuse manière ces choses s'accomplissaient actuellement, il rappela à Augustin l'engagement particulier qu'il avait pris envers son oncle mourant au sujet de cet enfant." p. 257. a turn round the cradle, and sang, with a charming voice and quite distinctly: "Lamb of Emmanuel's fold, Thus thy life's brief moments wane; The wife of Zinzendorf, also, seems to have possessed, on occasions, an insight into the future, beyond what can be accounted for as mere sagacity. When Zinzendorf was about to enter into holy orders, he duly considered this project, in his circumstances so extraordinary, "first by himself, then with his wife, who, with astonishing distinctness, shewed and foretold him all that happened in consequence +." On one occasion, upon hearing of an order of banishment, Zinzendorf exclaimed that he should not be able to return, to settle at Herrnhut, "for ten years." He was able to return, a year after, for a while, by the interest of his father-in-law at court; but through new intrigues he was compelled to depart once more, and then was ten years absent. The order of banishment was for life but, as the historian observes, David Nitschmann noted the Count's words, and the event confirmed them t. * "Comme, le jour avant son décés, cet enfant souffrait beaucoup, la petite Caritas (celle dont nous avons parlé en premier lieu), âgée alors de dix-huit mois, tournait autour du berceau, chantant d'une voix charmante et très-distincte : Petit agneau, douce brebis, Tous tes maux seront finis." pp. 306, 307. The reader will pardon a free translation. I have translated to preserve the prediction of little Charity, that her brother would die the next day. +"-d'abord lui seul, puis avec sa femme, qui lui en montra et lui en prédit toutes les suites avec une perspicacité étonnante."-Tom. ii. p. 217, "David Nitschmann prit note de ces paroles, et la suite les a confirmées." p. 252. "The king sent to Herrnhut the rescript, which forbad his ever returning from exile. It has already been stated that this order was taken off at the end of ten years; the Count, however, set out without any hope thereof except that of faith, but faith of a very definite kind *" 6. The history of Count Zinzendorf records, also, some remarkable answers to prayer: for example, when one of his children lay on her deathbed. "Her mother, however, was absent: and, the servants apprehending that the babe would die without her mother's again beholding her, the Count asked the Saviour to keep her alive; expressly adding, however, that he knew not what he asked, and that he was resigned to the event, whatever it might be. At the same instant, the violence of the symptoms ceased; and the child remained, till the first of December, the day when the mother returned, in a state that no longer appeared at all alarming. The moment, however, that the mother arrived, the child relapsed into its former state +." The day following the child died. Another instance of answer to prayer, which may be thought still more remarkable, took place at St. Thomas. The missionaries, when the Count arrived there, had been in prison three months. "The interposition of the Count obtained the Brethren's release; and, when they were brought to him, he kissed their hands, on receiving them, and that before the officer * "Le roi envoya à Herrnhout le rescrit qui lui défendait à jamais le retour dans le pays. On a déjà dit que cet ordre fut levé au bout de dix ans; mais le comte partit sans avoir là-dessus d'autre espérance que celle de la foi, mais d'une foi très-prononcée." pp. 270, 271. 66 + Cependant la mère était absente, et les domestiques craignant que la petite ne mourût avant que sa mère pût la voir encore une fois, le comte demanda au Sauveur de la conserver, en ajoutant cependant d'une manière expresse, qu'il ne savait ce qu'il demandait, et qu'il se résignait à tout. Au même instant la violence des symtômes s'arrêta, et l'enfant resta jusqu'au 1er Décembre, jour du retour de sa mère, dans un état qui ne présentait plus rien d'alarmant. Mais dès que la mère fut arrivée, l'enfant retomba dans l'état du 26 Novembre."-Tom. i. pp. 304, 305. |