Jonathan Edwards
Ever since the great work of God that was wrought here about nine years ago, there has been a great and abiding alteration in this town in many respects. There has been vastly more religion kept up in the town, among all sorts of persons, in religious exercises and in common conversation; there has been a great alteration among the youth of the town, with respect to revelry, frolicking, profane and licentious conversation and lewd songs; and there has also been a great alteration, amongst both old and young, with regard to tavern-haunting. I suppose the town has been in no measure so free of vice in these respects, for any long time together, for 60 years, as it has been these nine years past. There has also been an evident alteration with respect to a charitable spirit to the poor; though I think that in this, we in this town, as well as the land in general, come far short of gospel rules.
Though after that great work nine years ago, there has been a very lamentable decay of religious affections and the engagedness of people’s spirit in religion, yet many societies for prayer and social worship were all along kept up. And there were some few instances of awakening and deep concern about the things of another world, even in the most dead time.
In the year 1740, in the spring before Mr Whitefield came to this town, there was a visible alteration: there was more seriousness and religious conversation, especially among young people; those things that were of ill tendency among them were forborne. It was a very frequent thing for people to consult their minister about the salvation of their souls, and in some particular persons there appeared a great attention about that time. Thus it continued until Mr Whitefield came to town, which was about the middle of
1A letter written on 12 December 1743, from Northampton, the New England town where Edwards’ church was, to a minister in Boston. Taken with editing from the Banner of Truth book, Select Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol 1 (now Jonathan Edwards on Revival).
October following: he preached here four sermons in the meeting house (besides a private lecture at my house), one on Friday, another on Saturday, and two on the Sabbath. The congregation was extraordinarily melted by every sermon, almost the whole assembly being in tears for a great part of sermon time. Mr Whitefield’s sermons were suitable to the circumstances of the town, containing a just reproof of our backslidings, and in a most moving manner making use of our great professions and great mercies, as arguments with us to return to God, from whom we had departed.
Immediately after this, the minds of the people in general appeared more engaged in religion, showing a greater forwardness to make religion the subject of their conversation, to meet frequently for religious purposes, and to embrace all opportunities to hear the Word preached. The revival at first appeared chiefly among professors of religion and those that had entertained a hope that they were in a state of salvation, to whom Mr Whitefield chiefly addressed himself. But in a very short time there appeared an awakening and deep concern among some young persons who looked on themselves as being in a Christless state. There were some hopeful appearances of conversion, and some professors of religion were greatly revived.
In about a month or six weeks, there was great attention in the town, both as to the revival of those professing religion and the awakening of others. By the middle of December a considerable work of God appeared among those that were very young; and the revival of religion continued to increase, so that in the spring an engagedness of spirit about the things of religion became very general among young people and children, and religious subjects almost wholly took up their conversation when they were together.
In the month of May 1741, a sermon was preached to a company at a private house. Near the conclusion of the discourse, one or two persons that were professors were so greatly affected with a sense of the greatness and glory of divine things, and the infinite importance of the things of eternity, that they were not able to conceal it, the affection of their minds overcoming their strength and having a very visible effect upon their bodies.
When the exercises were over, the young people that were present moved into the other room for religious conference, and particularly that they might have an opportunity to inquire of those thus affected what apprehensions they had, and what had thus deeply impressed their minds. There soon appeared a very great effect of their conversation: many of the young people and children that were professors of religion appeared to be overcome with a sense of the greatness and glory of divine things and with admiration, love, joy, praise and compassion to others who looked on themselves as in a state of nature; and many others at the same time were overcome with distress
about their sinful and miserable condition. Thus the whole room was full of nothing but outcries, faintings and the like.
Others soon heard of it in several parts of the town and came to them, and what they saw and heard there had a great effect on them, so that many of them were overpowered in like manner, and it continued thus for some hours, the time being spent in prayer, singing, counselling and conferring. There seemed to be a consequent happy effect of that meeting on several individuals, and on the state of religion in the town in general. After this, meetings were from time to time attended with similar appearances.
A little afterwards, at the conclusion of public worship on the Sabbath, I appointed the children under 17 years of age to go from the meeting house to a neighbouring house, so that I might there further enforce what they had heard in public and might give them some counsels proper for their age. The children were very generally and greatly affected with the warnings and counsels; many were exceedingly overcome and the room was filled with cries. When they were dismissed, almost all of them went home crying aloud through the streets to all parts of the town. Similar appearances attended several such meetings of children. But their affections appeared by what followed to vary considerably. In many, they appeared but childish affections which in a day or two left them as they were before. Others were deeply impressed; their convictions took fast hold of them and lasted. And there were some that seemed extraordinarily affected for some time, but to little purpose, their affections soon vanishing; yet afterwards they were seized with abiding convictions, and their affections became durable.
About the middle of the summer, I called together, to my house, the young people from 16 to 26 years of age that were communicants. This proved to be a most happy meeting. Many seemed to be very greatly and most agreeably affected with those views which excited humility, self-condemnation, self-abhorrence, love and joy; many fainted under these affections. We had several meetings of young people that summer, attended with like appearances.
It was about that time that there first began to be cryings out in the meeting-house, which several times occasioned many of the congregation to stay on, after the public exercises were over, to confer with those who seemed to be overcome with religious convictions and affections. This was found to tend much to the propagation of their impressions, with lasting effects on many; conference being at these times commonly joined with prayer and singing. In the summer and autumn, the children in various parts of the town had religious meetings by themselves, for prayer, sometimes joined with fasting. Many of them seemed to be greatly and properly affected, and I hope some of them savingly wrought upon.
The months of August and September were the most remarkable of any this year for appearances of the conviction and conversion of sinners, and great revivings, quickenings and comfort of professing Christians, and for extraordinary external effects of these things. It was a very frequent thing to see a house full of outcries, faintings, convulsions and such like, both with distress and also with admiration and joy. It was not the manner here to hold meetings all night, as in some places, nor was it common to continue them till very late in the night; but pretty often there were some so affected, and their bodies so overcome, that they could not go home, but were obliged to stay all night where they were. There was no difference that I know of here, as to these extraordinary effects, between meetings in the night and in the daytime. The meetings in which these effects appeared in the evening commonly began in the day – as did their extraordinary effects – and continued in the evening; and some meetings that have been very remarkable for such extraordinary effects both began and finished in the daytime.
There was an appearance of a glorious progress of the work of God upon the hearts of sinners, in conviction and conversion, this summer and autumn. Great numbers, I think we have reason to hope, were brought savingly home to Christ. But this was remarkable: the work of God, in His influences of this nature, seemed to be almost wholly upon a new generation – those that had not come to years of discretion in that wonderful season nine years ago: children, or those that were then children. Others who had enjoyed that former glorious opportunity without any appearance of saving benefit, seemed now to be almost wholly passed over. But now we had the most wonderful work among children that ever was in Northampton. The former outpouring of the Spirit was remarkable for influences upon the minds of children, beyond all that had ever been before, but this far exceeded it.
Indeed, as to influences on the minds of professing Christians, this work was by no means confined to a new generation. Many of all ages partook of it, but yet in this respect it was more general on those that were young. Many who had been formerly wrought upon, and in the time of our declension had fallen into decays and had in a great measure left God and gone after the world, now passed under a very remarkable new work of the Spirit of God, as if they had been the subjects of a second conversion. They were first led into the wilderness and had a work of conviction, having much deeper convictions of the sins of both nature and practice than ever before, though with some new circumstances, and some had something new in the kind of conviction, with great distress beyond what they had felt before their first conversion.
Under these convictions, they were excited to strive for salvation, and the kingdom of heaven suffered violence from some of them in a far more
remarkable manner than before. After great convictions and humblings and agonising with God, they had Christ discovered to them anew as an all-sufficient Saviour and in the glories of His grace, in a far clearer manner than before, with greater humility, self-emptiness and brokenness of heart, a purer, higher joy and greater desires after holiness of life, but with greater self-diffidence and distrust of their treacherous hearts.