Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadJonathan Edwards Collection: Edwards, Jonathan - Personal Writings: 08
TOPIC: Edwards, Jonathan - Personal Writings (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 08
Other Subjects in this Topic:
CHAPTER VIII.
"NARRATIVE OF SURPRISING CONVERSIONS"--HIS VIEWS OF REVIVALS OF
RELIGION--REMARKABLE PROVIDENCE AT NORTHAMPTON--"FIVE DISCOURSES"--MR.
BELLAMY A RESIDENT OF HIS FAMILY--HISTORY OF
REDEMPTION--EXTRA-PAROCHIAL LABOURS OF MR. EDWARDS--SERMON AT
ENFIELD--FUNERAL SERMON ON THE REV. W. WILLIAMS.
On the 30th of May, 1735, Mr. Edwards, in answer to a letter from the
Rev. Dr. Colman, of Boston, wrote a succinct account of the work of
Divine grace at Northampton; which, being published by him, and
forwarded to the Rev. Dr. Watts and the Rev. Dr. Guyse, in London,
those gentlemen discovered so much interest in the facts recited,
detailing them on several occasions before large assemblies, that the
author, at the request of his correspondent, was induced to prepare a
much fuller statement, in a letter to the same gentleman, bearing
date, Nov. 6, 1736. This was published in London, under the title of
"Narrative of Surprising Conversions," with an Introduction by Dr.
Watts and Dr. Guyse; and was read very extensively, and with very
lively emotions, by Christians in England. There, this mark of Divine
grace was regarded, not only with very deep interest, but with
surprise and wonder: nothing like it, for its extent and power, having
been witnessed in that country, for many previous years. Those
excellent men observe, "We are abundantly satisfied of the truth of
this narrative, not only from the character of the writer, but from
the concurrent testimony of many other persons in New England; for
this thing was not done in a corner. There is a spot of ground, as we
are informed, wherein there are twelve or fourteen towns and villages,
chiefly situate in the county of Hampshire, near the banks of the
river Connecticut, within the compass of thirty miles, wherein it
pleased God, two years ago, to display his sovereign mercy, in the
conversion of a great multitude of souls, in a short space of time;
turning them from a formal, cold, and careless profession of
Christianity, to the lively exercise of every christian grace, and the
powerful practice of our holy religion. The great God has seemed to
act over again the miracle of Gideon's fleece, which was plentifully
watered with the dew of heaven, while the rest of the earth round
about it was dry, and had no such remarkable blessing.
"There has been a great and just complaint, for many years, among the
ministers and churches of Old England, and in New, (except about the
time of the late earthquake there,) that the work of conversion goes
on very slowly, that the Spirit of God, in his saving influences, is
much withdrawn from the ministrations of his word; and there are few
that receive the ministrations of the gospel, with any eminent success
upon their hearts. But as the gospel is the same divine instrument of
grace still, as ever it was in the days of the apostles, so our
ascended Saviour, now and then, takes a special occasion to manifest
the divinity of this gospel, by a plentiful effusion of his Spirit
where it is preached: then sinners are turned into saints in numbers,
and there is a new face of things spread over a town or country. The
wilderness and the solitary places are glad, the desert rejoices and
blossoms as the rose; and surely, concerning this instance, we may
add, that they have seen the glory of the Lord there, and the
excellency of our God; they have seen the outgoings of God our King in
his sanctuary."
This work was the first of a series of publications from Mr. Edwards,
intended to explain the nature and effects of saving conversion, and
the nature of a genuine work of the Holy Spirit in a community. As a
religious narrative, it is one of the most interesting I have hitherto
met with; having all that exactness of description and vividness of
colouring, which attend the account of an eyewitness, when drawn up,
not from recollection, but in the very passing of the scenes which he
describes. It proved a most useful and seasonable publication. For a
long period, revivals of religion had been chiefly unknown, both in
Great Britain and on the continent of Europe. The church at large had
generally ceased to expect events of this nature, regarding them as
confined to apostolic times, and to the ultimate triumphs of
Christianity; and appear to have entertained very imperfect views of
their causes, their nature, and the manner in which they ought to be
regarded. In no previous publication had these important subjects been
adequately explained. The particular event, which Mr. Edwards had the
privilege of recording, viewed as a remarkable work of Divine grace,
has, to this day, scarcely a parallel in the modern annals of the
church. His own views of these subjects were alike removed from the
apathy of unbelief, and the wildness of enthusiasm; they were derived,
not merely from his familiarity with the facts, but from just
conceptions of the intellectual and moral faculties of man, and from a
thorough knowledge of the word of God. And while the "Narrative of
Surprising Conversions" served to inspire the church at large with a
new and higher kind of faith, and hope, and zeal, it also proved a
safe directory of their views and their conduct. In a short time it
was extensively circulated, both in England and Scotland; and in the
latter country, as we shall soon have occasion to remark, its
diffusion was speedily followed by salutary and important
consequences.
It may not be improper to insert in this place the following letter of
Mr. Edwards, giving an account of a surprising and alarming
providence, which attended the people of Northampton, in the early
part of 1737.
"Northampton, March 19, 1737.
"We in this town were, the last Lord's day, (March 13th,) the
spectators, and many of us the subjects, of one of the most amazing
instances of Divine preservation, that perhaps was ever known in the
world. Our meeting-house is old and decayed, so that we have been for
some time building a new one, which is yet unfinished. It has been
observed of late, that the house we have hitherto met in, has
gradually spread at the bottom; the sills and walls giving way,
especially in the foreside, by reason of the weight of timber at top
pressing on the braces, that are inserted into the posts and beams of
the house. It has done so more than ordinarily this spring: which
seems to have been occasioned by the heaving of the ground, through
the extreme frosts of the winter past, and its now settling again on
that side which is next the sun, by the spring thaws. By this means,
the underpinning has been considerably disordered, which people were
not sensible of, till the ends of the joists, which bore up the front
gallery, were drawn off from the girts on which they rested, by the
walls giving way. So that in the midst of the public exercise in the
forenoon, soon after the beginning of the sermon, the whole
gallery--full of people, with all the seats and timbers, suddenly, and
without any warning--sunk, and fell down, with the most amazing noise,
upon the heads of those that sat under, to the astonishment of the
congregation. The house was filled with dolorous shrieking and crying;
and nothing else was expected than to find many people dead, or dashed
to pieces.
"The gallery, in falling, seemed to break and sink first in the
middle; so that those who were upon it were thrown together in heaps
before the front door. But the whole was so sudden, that many of those
who fell, knew nothing what it was, at the time, that had befallen
them. Others in the congregation thought it had been an amazing clap
of thunder. The falling gallery seemed to be broken all to pieces
before it got down; so that some who fell with it, as well as those
who were under, were buried in the ruins; and were found pressed under
heavy loads of timber, and could do nothing to help themselves.
"But so mysteriously and wonderfully did it come to pass, that every
life was preserved; and though many were greatly bruised, and their
flesh torn, yet there is not, as I can understand, one bone broken, or
so much as put out of joint, among them all. Some, who were thought to
be almost dead at first, are greatly recovered; and but one young
woman seems yet to remain in dangerous circumstances, by an inward
hurt in her breast; but of late there appears more hope of her
recovery.
"None can give an account, or conceive, by what means people's lives
and limbs should be thus preserved, when so great a multitude were
thus imminently exposed. It looked as though it was impossible, but
that great numbers must instantly be crushed to death, or dashed in
pieces. It seems unreasonable to ascribe it to any thing else but the
care of Providence, in disposing the motions of every piece of timber,
and the precise place of safety where every one should sit and fall,
when none were in any capacity to care for their own preservation. The
preservation seems to be most wonderful, with respect to the women and
children in the middle alley, under the gallery, where it came down
first, and with greatest force, and where there was nothing to break
the force of the falling weight.
"Such an event may be a sufficient argument of a Divine providence
over the lives of men. We thought ourselves called on to set apart a
day to be spent in the solemn worship of God, to humble ourselves
under such a rebuke of God upon us, in time of public service in his
house, by so dangerous and surprising an accident; and to praise his
name for so wonderful, and as it were miraculous, a preservation. The
last Wednesday was kept by us to that end; and a mercy, in which the
hand of God is so remarkably evident, may be well worthy to affect the
hearts of all who hear it."
In 1738, the "Narrative of Surprising Conversions" was republished in
Boston, with a preface by four of the senior ministers of that town.
To it were prefixed five discourses, on the following subjects:
I. Justification by Faith alone. Rom. iv. 5.
II. Pressing into the Kingdom of God. Luke xvi. 16.
III. Ruth's Resolution. Ruth i.16.
IV. The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners. Rom. iii. 19.
V. The Excellency of Jesus Christ. Rev. v. 5, 6.
The first four of these discourses were delivered during the revival
of religion, and were published at the earnest desire of those to whom
they were preached. In fixing on the particular discourses, necessary
to make up the volume, he was guided by the choice of the people.
"What has determined them in this choice," he observes, "is the
experience of special benefit to their souls from these discourses.
Their desire to have them in their hands, from the press, has long
manifested, and often expressed to me; their earnestness in it is
evident from this, that though it be a year to them of the greatest
charge that ever has been, by reason of the expense of building a new
meeting-house, yet they chose rather to be at this additional expense
now, though it be very considerable, than to have it delayed another
year." In publishing the discourse on "Justification," he was also
influenced by the urgent request of several ministers, who were
present when a part of it was delivered, and whose opinion and advice
he thought deserving of great respect. This discourse, though when
first written of a much less size than as it is printed, was preached
at two successive public lectures, in the latter part of 1734. It was
a time, when the minds of the people, in all that section of country,
were very much agitated by a controversy on that very subject; when
some were brought to doubt of that way of acceptance with God, which
they had been taught from their infancy was the only way; and when
many were engaged in looking more thoroughly into the grounds of those
doctrines in which they had been educated; that this discourse seemed
to be remarkably blessed, not only in establishing the judgments of
men in this truth, but in engaging their hearts in a more earnest
pursuit of justification, by faith in the righteousness of Christ. "At
that time," says the author, "while I was greatly reproached for
defending this doctrine in the pulpit, and just upon my suffering a
very open abuse for it, God's work wonderfully broke forth among us,
and souls began to flock to Christ, as the Saviour in whose
righteousness alone they hoped to be justified. So that this was the
doctrine, on which this work, in its beginning, was founded, as it
evidently was in the whole progress of it." He regarded these facts as
a remarkable testimony of God's approbation of the doctrine of
justification by faith alone.
This discourse, which is really a treatise of more than one hundred
closely printed pages, exhibited the subject in a light so new, clear,
and convincing, and so effectually removed the difficulties with
which, till then, it was supposed to be attended, that on its first
publication it met a very welcome reception, and from that time to the
present has been regarded as the common text-book of students in
theology. It would not be easy to find another treatise on the same
subject, equally able and conclusive.
There are individuals, who, having received their theological views
from the straitest sect of a given class of theologians, regard the
sermon on "Pressing into the kingdom of God," as inconsistent with
those principles of moral agency, which are established in the
treatise on the "Freedom of the Will;" and charitably impute the error
to the imperfect views of the author at this period. While a member of
college, however, Mr. Edwards, in investigating the subject of Power,
as he was reading the Essay of Locke, came to the settled conclusion,
that men have in the physical sense, the power of repenting and
turning to God. A further examination might perhaps evince, that the
points in question are less consistent with some peculiar views of
theology, of a more modern date, than with any, logically deducible
from the treatise on the "Will." The sermon itself, like the rest, has
uncommon ardour, unction, and solemnity, and was one of the most
useful which he delivered.
The sermon on the "Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners," in the
language of the text, literally stops the mouth of every reader, and
compels him, as he stands before his Judge, to admit, if he does not
feel, the justice of his sentence. I know not where to find, in any
language, a discourse so well adapted to strip the impenitent sinner
of every excuse, to convince him of his guilt, and to bring him low
before the justice and holiness of God. According to the estimate of
Mr. Edwards, it was far the most powerful and effectual of his
discourses; and we scarcely know of any other sermon which has been
favoured with equal success.
The sermon on the "Excellency of Christ," was selected by Mr. Edwards
himself, partly because he had been importuned to publish it by
individuals in another town, in whose hearing it was occasionally
preached; and partly because he thought that a discourse on such an
evangelical subject, would properly follow others that were chiefly
awakening; and that something of the excellency of the Saviour was
proper to succeed those things, that were to show the necessity of
salvation. No one who reads it will hesitate to believe, that it was
most happily selected. I have met with no sermon hitherto, so
admirably adapted to the circumstances of a sinner, when, on the
commencement of his repentance, he renounces every other object of
trust, but the righteousness of Christ. Taking the whole volume, as
thus printed, the Narrative and the Five Discourses, we suppose it to
have been one of the most effectual, in promoting the work of
salvation, which has hitherto issued from the press.
The sixth child, and eldest son, of Mr. and Mrs. Edwards was born July
25, 1738, and after his father was baptized by the name of Timothy.
About this period, Mr. Joseph Bellamy, afterwards the Rev. Dr. Bellamy
of Bethlem, Connecticut, went to Northampton to pursue his theological
studies under Mr. Edwards, and resided for a considerable period in
his family. The very high respect which he cherished for the eminent
talents and piety of Mr. Edwards, and which drew him to Northampton,
was reciprocated by the latter; and a friendship commenced between
them, which terminated only with life [19] .
In the beginning of March, 1739, Mr. Edwards commenced a series of
sermons from Isaiah li. 8. "For the moth shall eat them up like a
garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but my righteousness
shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation."
The eight first were delivered during that month, the eight next in
the two following months, and the whole series, thirty in all, was
completed before the close of August. After explaining the text, he
derives from it the following doctrine: "The work of redemption is a
work, which carries on from the fall of man to the end of the world."
The subject was one in which Mr. Edwards felt the deepest interest;
but he appears never to have repeated the series of discourses to his
people. What his ultimate intentions were, we may learn, however, from
the following extract of a letter, written by him many years
afterwards: "I have had on my mind and heart (which I long ago began,
not with any view to publication) a great work, which I call a History
of the Work of Redemption, a body of divinity in an entire new method,
being thrown into the form of a history, considering the affair of
christian theology, as the whole of it, in each part, stands in
reference to the great work of redemption by Jesus Christ, which I
suppose is to be the grand design of all God's designs, and the summum
and ultimum of all God's operations and decrees, particularly
considering all parts of the grand scheme in their historical
order;--The order of their existence, or their being brought forth to
view, in the course of divine dispensations, or the wonderful series
of successive acts and events; beginning from eternity and descending
from thence to the great work and successive dispensations of the
infinitely wise God in time, considering the chief events coming to
pass in the church of God, and revolutions in the world of mankind,
affecting the state of the church and the affair of redemption, which
we have an account of in history or prophecy, till at last we come to
the general resurrection, last judgment, and consummation of all
things, when it shall be said, It is done, I am Alpha and Omega, the
Beginning and the End; concluding my work, with the consideration of
that perfect state of things, which shall be finally settled to last
for eternity.--This history will be carried on with regard to all
three worlds,--heaven, earth, and hell; considering the connected
successive events and alterations in each, so far as the Scriptures
give any light; introducing all parts of divinity in that order which
is most scriptural and most natural; which is a method which appears
to me the most beautiful and entertaining, wherein every doctrine will
appear to the greatest advantage, in the brightest light, in the most
striking manner, showing the admirable contexture and harmony of the
whole."
From this it is obvious, that he long cherished the intention of
re-writing and enlarging the work, and of turning it into a regular
treatise; but this design he never accomplished. We shall have
occasion to allude to this work hereafter.
The sixth daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwards was born June 24, 1740, and
named Susannah.
The circumstances which caused the remarkable attention to religion,
which began in 1734, to decline, were chiefly local in their nature,
and limited in their influence, either to Northampton, or to the
county of Hampshire. The consequence was, that it continued to exist,
in various sections of the country, to the east, the south, and the
west, during the five following years. By the astonishing work of
grace at Northampton, an impulse had been given to the churches of
this whole western world, which could not soon be lost. The history of
that event, having been extensively circulated, had produced a general
conviction in the minds of Christians, that the preaching of the
gospel might be attended by effects, not less surprising, than those
which followed it in apostolic times. This conviction produced an
important change in the views, and conduct, both of ministers and
churches. The style of preaching was altered: it became, extensively,
more direct and pungent, and more adapted to awaken the feelings and
convince the conscience. The prayers of good men, both in public and
private, indicated more intense desires for the prevalence of
religion, and a stronger expectation that the word of God would be
attended with an immediate blessing. As the natural result of such a
change, revivals of religion were witnessed in numerous villages in
New Jersey, Connecticut, and the eastern parts of New England; and
even where this was not the case, religion was so extensively and
unusually the object of attention, during the period specified, that
the church at large seemed preparing for events of a more interesting
nature, than any that had yet been witnessed.
In consequence of the high reputation, which Mr. Edwards had acquired
as a powerful and successful preacher, and as a safe and wise
counsellor to the anxious and inquiring, he received frequent
invitations from churches, near and more remote, to come and labour
among them for a little period; and with the consent of his people,
(his own pulpit always being supplied,) he often went forth on these
missionary tours, and found an ample reward in the abundant success
which crowned his labours. In this, his example was soon followed by
several distinguished ministers in Connecticut and New Jersey. In one
of these excursions, he spent some little time at Enfield in
Connecticut, where he preached, on the 8th of July, 1741, the
well-known sermon, entitled, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God,"
from Deut. xxxii. 35.; which was the cause of an immediate and general
revival of religion throughout the place. It was soon afterwards
published.
On the 2d of September following, he preached the sermon, entitled,
"The Sorrows of the Bereaved spread before Jesus," at the funeral of
his uncle, the Rev. William Williams of Hatfield, a gentleman highly
respected for his sound understanding, piety, and faithfulness as a
minister. This sermon was immediately afterwards published.
_________________________________________________________________
[19] Mr. Bellamy was settled at Bethlem in the spring of 1740, in the
midst of a general attention to religion, on the part of the people of
that place.