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CHAPTER XIII.
FIRST INTERVIEW WITH DAVID BRAINERD--SEPARATIONS FROM CHURCHES--LETTER
TO REV. MR. WHITMAN--CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. CLAP--CHARACTER OF THAT
GENTLEMAN--SERMON AT THE ORDINATION OF MR. ABERCROMBIE--LETTER TO MR.
M'CULLOCH--VIEWS OF THE PROPHECIES RELATIVE TO THE CHURCH--SERMON AT
THE ORDINATION OF MR. BUELL.
In September, 1743, Mr. Edwards, while attending the public
commencement at New-Haven, first became acquainted with David
Brainerd, then a missionary at Kaunaumeek. Brainerd, when a sophomore
in college, in consequence of some indiscreet remarks, uttered in the
ardour of his religious zeal, respecting the opposition of two of the
faculty to the preaching of Mr. Whitefield, but which a generous mind
would have wholly disregarded, had been expelled from the college. As
this was the commencement, at which his class were to receive the
degree of A.B., he came to New-Haven to attempt a reconciliation with
the faculty, and made to them a truly humble and christian
acknowledgment of his fault. "I was witness," says Mr. Edwards, "to
the very christian spirit which Brainerd showed at that time; being
then at New-Haven, and one whom he thought fit to consult on that
occasion. There truly appeared in him a great degree of calmness and
humility; without the least appearance of rising of spirit for any
ill-treatment which he supposed he had suffered, or the least
backwardness to abase himself before those, who, as he thought, had
wronged him. What he did was without any objection or appearance of
reluctance, even in private to his friends, to whom he freely opened
himself. Earnest application was made on his behalf, that he might
have his degree then given him; and particularly by the Rev. Mr. Burr
of Newark, one of the correspondents of the Honourable Society in
Scotland; he being sent from New Jersey to New-Haven, by the rest of
the commissioners, for that end; and many arguments were used, but
without success. He desired his degree, as he thought it would tend to
his being more extensively useful; but still, when he was denied it,
he manifested no disappointment nor resentment."
I have already alluded to the numerous separations of individual
members, from the churches to which they belonged, which occurred
about this period, and usually for the alleged want of piety, either
of the minister or of the church. As these commonly took place without
a regular dismission, it became a practical question of some interest,
how the withdrawing members should be treated. Mr. Edwards, having
been consulted on this subject, with reference to some of the members
of the second church in Hartford, who had thus withdrawn, addressed
the following letter to the minister of that church.
"To the Rev. Elnathan Whitman, of Hartford, Connecticut.
Northampton, Feb. 9, 1744.
rev. and dear sir,
Mr. P--was here this week, and requested my opinion, with respect to
the proper treatment of a number of persons, who have absented
themselves from your meeting, and have since attended public worship
in W ----. I declined giving any opinion, except a very general one,
to him; but, on reflection, have concluded to express my thoughts to
you, as a friend, leaving you to attach to them such weight as you may
see cause.
"As to differences, among professing Christians, of opinion and
practice, about things that appertain to religion, and the worship of
God, I am ready to think that you and I are agreed, as to the general
principles of liberty of conscience; and that men's using methods with
their neighbours, to oblige them to a conformity to their sentiments
or way, is in nothing so unreasonable, as in the worship of God;
because that is a business, in which each person acts for himself,
with his Creator and Supreme Judge, as one concerned for his own
acceptance with him; and on which depends his own, and not his
neighbour's, eternal happiness, and salvation from everlasting ruin.
And it is an affair, wherein every man is infinitely more concerned
with his Creator than he is with his neighbour. And so I suppose that
it will be allowed, that every man ought to be left to his own
conscience, in what he judges will be most acceptable to God, or what
he supposes is the will of God, as to the kind, or manner, or means of
worship, or the society of worshippers he should join with in worship.
Not but that a great abuse may be made of this doctrine of liberty of
conscience in the worship of God. I know that many are ready to
justify every thing in their own conduct, from this doctrine, and I do
not suppose that men's pretence of conscience is always to be
regarded, when made use of to justify their charging the society of
worshippers they unite with, or the means of their worship, or indeed
the kind or manner of their worship. Men may make this pretence at
times under such circumstances, that they may, obviously, be worthy of
no credit in what they pretend. It may be manifest from the nature and
circumstances of the case, and their own manner of behaviour, that it
is not conscience, but petulancy, and malice, and wilfulness, and
obstinacy, that influence them. And, therefore, it seems to me
evident, that, when such pleas are made, those that are especially
concerned with them as persons that are peculiarly obliged to take
care of their souls, have no other way to do, but to consider the
nature and circumstances of the case, and from thence to judge whether
the case be such as will admit of such a plea, or whether the nature
of things will admit of such a supposition, that the men act
conscientiously in what they do, considering all things that appertain
to the case. And in this, I conceive, many things are to be considered
and laid together, as--the nature of that thing is the subject of
controversy, or wherein they differ from others, or have changed their
own practice--the degree in which it is disputable, or how it may be
supposed liable to diversity of opinion, one way or the other, as to
its agreeableness to the word of God, and as to the importance of it,
with regard to men's salvation or the good of their souls--the degree
of knowledge or ignorance of the persons, the advantages they had for
information, or the disadvantages they have been under, and what has
been in their circumstances that might mislead the judgment--the
principles that have been instilled into them--the instructions they
have received from those, of whose piety and wisdom they have had a
high opinion, which might misguide the judgment of persons of real
honesty, and sincerity, and tender conscience--the example of
others--the diversity of opinion among ministers--the general state of
things in the land--the character of the persons themselves--and the
manner of their behaviour in the particular affair in debate.
Now, Sir, with regard to those persons that have gone from you, to
W--however you may look upon their behaviour herein as very
disorderly, yet, if you suppose (the case being considered with all
its circumstances) that there was any room for charity, that it might
be through infirmity, ignorance, and error of judgment, so that they
might be truly conscientious in it; that is, might really believe it
to be their duty, and what God required of them, to do as they have
done; you would, I imagine, by no means think, that they ought to be
proceeded with, in the use of such means as are proper to be used with
contumacious offenders, or those that are stubborn and obstinate in
scandalous vice and wilful wickedness; or that you would think it
proper to proceed with persons, towards whom there is this room left
for charity, that possibly they may be honest and truly conscientious,
acting as persons afraid to offend God, so as to cut them off from the
communion of the Lord, and cast them forth into the visible kingdom of
Satan, to be as harlots and publicans.
Now, it may be well to examine, whether it can positively be
determined, when all things are taken into consideration with respect
to these persons, who have absented themselves from your assembly,
that it is not possible in their case, that this might really be their
honest judgment, that it was their duty to do so, and that God
required it of them, and that they should greatly expose the welfare
of their own souls, in attending no other public worship but that in
your congregation. I suppose these persons are not much versed in
casuistical divinity. They are of the common people, whose judgments,
in all nations and ages, are exceedingly led and swayed. They are not
very capable of viewing things in the extent of their consequences,
and of estimating things in their true weight and importance. And you
know, dear Sir, the state that things have been in, in the country.
You know what opinions have lately prevailed, and have been maintained
and propagated, by those that have been lifted up to heaven, in their
reputation for piety and great knowledge in spiritual things, with a
great part of the people of New England. I do not pretend to know what
has influenced these people, in particular; but I think, under these
circumstances, it would be no strange thing, if great numbers of the
common people in the country, who are really conscientious, and
concerned to be accepted with God, and to take the best course for the
good of their souls, should really think in their hearts that God
requires them to attend the ministry of those that are called New
Light Ministers, and that it would be dangerous to their souls, and
what God approved not of, ordinarily to attend the ministry of others;
yea, I should think it strange if it were otherwise. It ought to be
considered, how public controversy, and a great and general cry in
matters of religion, strongly influences the conduct of multitudes of
the common people, how it blinds their minds, and wonderfully misleads
their judgments. And the rules of the gospel, and the example of the
apostles, most certainly require that great allowances be made in such
cases. And particularly the example of the apostle Paul, with regard
to great numbers of professing Christians, in the church of Corinth;
who, in a time of great and general confusion in that church, through
the evil instructions of teachers whom they admired, who misled and
blinded their judgments, ran into many and great disorders in their
worship, and woeful schisms and divisions among
themselves--particularly with regard to ministers, and even with
regard to the apostle Paul himself, whom many of them seem for a time
to have forsaken, to follow others who set up themselves in opposition
to him; though, as he says, he had been their father who begat them
through the gospel. Yet with how much gentleness does the apostle
treat them, still acknowledging them as brethren; and though he
required church censures to be used with regard to the incestuous
person, yet there is no intimation of the apostle taking any such
course, with those that had been misled by these false teachers, or
with any that had been guilty of these disorders, except with the
false teachers themselves. But as soon as they are brought off from
following these false apostles any longer, he embraces them without
further ado, with all the love and tenderness of a father; burying all
their censoriousness, and schisms, and disorders, at the Lord's
supper, as well as their ill treatment of him, the extraordinary
messenger of Christ to them. And, indeed, the apostle never so much as
gave any direction for the suspension of any one member from the
Lord's supper, on account of these disorders, or from any other part
of the public worship of God; but instead of this, gives them
directions how they shall go on to attend the Lord's supper, and other
parts of worship, in a better manner. And he himself, without
suspension or interruption, goes on to call and treat them as beloved
brethren, Christians, sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints;
and praises God in their behalf, for the grace that is given to them
by Christ Jesus; and often and abundantly exhibits his charity towards
them, in innumerable expressions which I might mention. And nothing is
more apparent than that he does not treat them as persons, with
respect to whom there lies a bar in the way of others treating them
with the charity that belongs to saints, and good and honest members
of the christian church, until the bar be removed by a church process.
And, indeed, the insisting on a church process with every member that
has behaved disorderly, in such a state of general confusion, is not a
way to build up the church of God, (which is the end of church
discipline,) but to pull it down. It will not be the way to cure a
diseased member, but to bring a disease on the whole body.
I am not alone in these sentiments; but I have reason to think that
Col. Stoddard, from the conversation I have had with him, is in the
like way of thinking. There came hither, the last fall, two young men
belonging to the church at New-Haven, who had been members of Mr.
Noyes's church, but had left it and joined the separate church, and
entered into covenant with it, when that church was embodied. This was
looked upon as a crime, that ought not to be passed over, by Mr. Noyes
and the rector. They declared themselves willing to return to Mr.
Noyes's meeting; but a particular confession was required of them in
the meeting-house. Accordingly, each of them had offered a confession,
but it was not thought sufficient; but it was required that they
should add some things, of which they thought hard; and they
consulting me about it, I acquainted Col. Stoddard with the affair,
and desired his thoughts. He said he looked upon it unreasonable to
require any confession at all; and that, considering the general state
of confusion that had existed, and the instructions and examples these
young men had had, it might well be looked upon enough, that they were
now willing to change their practice, and return again to Mr. Noyes's
meeting. Not that you, Rev. Sir, are obliged to think as Col. Stoddard
does; yet I think, considering his character and relation, his
judgment may well be of so much weight, as to engage you the more to
attend to and weigh the reasons he gives.
The objections, that these persons may have had against ordinarily
attending your meeting, may be very trivial; but yet I suppose that,
through infirmity, the case may be so with truly honest Christians,
that trivial things may have great weight in their consciences, so as
to have fast hold of them, until they are better enlightened: as in
the former times of the country, it was with respect to the
controversy between presbyterians and congregationalists. It was, as I
have heard, in those days real matter of question with some, whether a
presbyterian, living and dying such, could be saved. Some
presbyterians, that have lived with us, have desired baptism for their
children, who yet lived in neglect of the ordinances of the Lord Jesus
Christ, because of a difference in some trivial circumstances of the
administration, from the method of the church of Scotland. This matter
being discoursed of, it was thought by Col. Stoddard in particular,
that their neglect ought to be borne with, and they ought to be looked
upon as Christians, and their children received to baptism; because,
however trivial the foundation of their scruples were, yet through
ignorance they might be honest and conscientious in them.
As to the church covenant, that these persons have entered into,
wherein they have obliged themselves ordinarily to join in the worship
of that church; I suppose none interpret the promises of a church
covenant in such a sense, as to exclude all reserves of liberty, in
case of an alteration of the judgment, in the affairs of conscience
and religion, in one respect or another. As if a person, after
incorporating with a congregational church, should become a
conscientious episcopalian, or anabaptist, or should, by any change of
judgment, come to think the means or manner of worship unlawful; and
so in other respects that might be mentioned.
And if it be so that these persons, in some of their conversation and
behaviour, have manifested a contentious, froward spirit, at the time
of their withdrawing from your church; I confess this gives greater
ground of suspicion of the sincerity of their plea of conscience; yet,
as to this, I humbly conceive allowances must be made. It must be
considered, that it is possible that persons, in an affair of this
nature, may, in the thing itself, be conscientious, and yet, in the
course of the management of it, may be guilty of very corrupt mixtures
of passion and every evil disposition; as indeed is commonly the case
with men, in long controversies of whatever nature, and even with
conscientious men. And therefore it appears to me, that if persons in
such a case are not obstinate, in what is amiss in them in this
respect, and don't attempt to justify their frowardness and
unchristian speeches, they notwithstanding may deserve credit, when
they profess themselves conscientious in the affair in general.
Thus, dear Sir, I have freely communicated to you some of my thoughts,
with regard to some of the concerns of this difficult day, which prove
a trouble to you; not however with any aim at directing your conduct,
but merely to comply with the request to which I have alluded. I am
fully sensible, that I am not the pastor of the second church of
Hartford; and I only desire you would impartially consider the reasons
I have offered. Begging of Christ, our common Lord, that he would
direct you in your theory and practice, to that which will be
acceptable in his sight,
I remain, Rev. Sir,
Your friend and brother,
jonathan edwards."
In May, 1743, Mr. Edwards went, as he often did, to Boston, to attend
the convention of the clergy, which is held the day after the General
Election. He was on horseback, and had his eldest daughter on a
pillion behind him. At Brookfield, they fell in company with the Rev.
Mr. Clap, rector of Yale College, his wife and son-in-law, also on
horseback, with several others, all traveling in the same direction;
and Mr. Edwards, joining the company, rode side by side with Mr. Clap,
during a considerable part of the journey. At the commencement of
Harvard college in the following year, 1744, Mr. Clap stated, before a
large number of gentlemen, both at Boston and Cambridge, that, while
riding through Leicester, in May of the year preceding, he was
informed by Mr. Edwards, that Mr. Whitefield told him, "that he had
the design of turning out of their places the greater part of the
ministers of New England, and of supplying their pulpits with
ministers from England, Scotland, and Ireland." This statement
surprised those who heard it; yet, coming from such a source, it was
believed, and extensively circulated. Mr. Edwards heard of it with
astonishment, and without hesitation denied that he had said so. Mr.
Clap, hearing of this denial, addressed a letter to Mr. Edwards, dated
Oct. 12, 1744, in which he stated anew the alleged conversation, in
the same terms; but before the latter received it, he had forwarded a
letter to Mr. Clap, dated Oct. 18, 1744, showing him his mistake, and
calling on him to correct it. On Oct. 29th, he wrote a reply to Mr.
Clap's letter of the 12th; and receiving another, dated Oct. 28th,
before he sent it, he replied to that also in the postscript, under
date of Nov. 3d. Mr. Clap, finding that Mr. Edwards's contradiction of
his statement was believed; and having heard, though incorrectly, that
Mr. Edwards was about to publish such a contradiction; incautiously
published a letter to his friend in Boston, in which he not only
re-asserted his former statement, but declared that Mr. Edwards, in
his private correspondence with him on the subject, had made a
declaration, equally full and strong, to the same point. Mr. Edwards
published a reply, in a letter to his friend in Boston, dated Feb. 4,
1745; in which he gave his two letters of Oct. 18, and Oct. 29, with
the postscript of Nov. 3; from which it appears that, instead of
admitting the truth of Mr. Clap's statement, he had most explicitly
and solemnly denied it; and, in order to show how Mr. Clap might have
been led into the mistake, acknowledged that he himself supposed that
Mr. Whitefield was formerly of the opinion, that unconverted ministers
ought not to be continued in the ministry; and that he himself
supposed that Mr. Whitefield endeavoured to propagate this opinion,
and a practice agreeable to it; and that all he had ever stated to any
one was, his own opinion merely, and not any declared design of Mr.
Whitefield. He also admitted, that Mr. Whitefield told him he intended
to bring over a number of young men, to be ordained by the Messrs.
Tennents, in New Jersey. He then asks, whether this is the same thing
as Mr. Clap asserted, and suggests a variety of arguments, which seem
absolutely conclusive, that he could never have made such a statement.
Mr. Clap, in reply to this, in a letter to Mr. Edwards, dated April 1,
1745, enters seriously upon the task of showing that Mr. Edwards's
assertion--"that Mr. Whitefield told him, that he intended to bring
over a number of young men, to be ordained by the Messrs. Tennents, in
New Jersey"--connected with the assertion--that Mr. Edwards himself
supposed, that Mr. Whitefield was formerly of the opinion, that
unconverted ministers ought not to be continued in the ministry, and
that Mr. Edwards himself supposed that Mr. Whitefield endeavoured to
propagate this opinion, and a practice agreeable to it--was equivalent
to Mr. Edwards's saying, that Mr. Whitefield told him, "that he had
the design of turning out of their places the greater part of the
ministers of New England, and of supplying their places with ministers
from England, Scotland, and Ireland."
Mr. Edwards, in a letter to Mr. Clap, of May 20, 1745, after exposing
in a few words the desperate absurdity of this attempt, enters on the
discussion of the question--Whether he ever made such a statement to
Mr. Clap?--with as much calmness as he afterwards exhibited in
examining the question of a self-determining power; and with such
logical precision of argument, that probably no one of his readers
ever had a doubt left upon his mind, with regard to it;--no, not even
his antagonist himself; for he never thought proper to attempt a
reply; and in the public protest of the faculty of Yale college,
against Mr. Whitefield, he and his associates in office say, in
alluding to this very conversation, "You told the Rev. Mr. Edwards of
Northampton, that you intended to bring over a number of young men
from England, to be ordained by the Tennents." Those who have an
opportunity of reading these communications, will find, in those of
Mr. Edwards, an example of a personal controversy, conducted
throughout, and to a very uncommon degree, in the spirit of the
gentleman and the Christian.
This occurred at a period of great excitement, when many ministers had
been removed, and many churches rent asunder; and when the minds of
men were of course prepared beforehand to believe every thing that
favoured their own side of the question. Mr. Clap was in this case
obviously mistaken; still he was truly a man of respectability and
worth. He had a powerful mind, rich in invention, and stored with
knowledge, was profoundly versed in mathematics, physics, and
astronomy, as well as the principles of law, and proved an able
instructor and governor of the institution over which he presided. He
was elected by a board of trustees, exclusively Arminian in sentiment,
and all his associates in office held the same tenets. At the same
time, though he entered warmly into the controversy relative to Mr.
Whitefield, from a full conviction that it was his design to occasion
the separation of churches, and to procure as far as possible the
ejectment of all whom he regarded as unconverted ministers; and was
doubtless happy in supposing himself able to prove that such was his
avowed design, on the testimony of one of his warmest friends; yet he
was far from taking the low ground of orthodoxy assumed by many on the
same side, but always adhered to the doctrines of grace, and
ultimately became their champion. Some time after this, he showed his
magnanimity, by introducing the Essay on the Freedom of the Will, as a
classic in the college.
In August, 1744, Mr. Edwards preached the sermon entitled, "The True
Excellency of a Gospel Minister," at the ordination of Mr. Robert
Abercrombie, to the ministry of the gospel, at Pelham. This gentleman
was from Scotland, having been made known to Mr. Edwards by his
correspondents in that country; and through his kind offices was
introduced to the people at Pelham. The sermon was immediately
published.
The reader will probably recollect, that Mr. M'Culloch, in his letter
of August 13, 1743, had expressed the opinion, that the church of God,
previous to her ultimate extension and triumph, was destined to meet
with "more extensive and formidable trials," than she had ever before
experienced. Mr. Edwards, from a minute investigation of the
scriptural prophecies, having been convinced that this, which was at
that time the commonly received opinion of the church, was erroneous;
expresses his dissent from it in the following answer.
"To the Rev. Mr. M'Culloch.
Northampton, March 5, 1744.
rev. and dear sir,
I return you thanks for your most obliging, entertaining, and
instructive letter, dated Aug. 13, 1743, which I received about the
latter end of October: my answering which has been unhappily delayed,
by reason of my distance from Boston, and not being able to find any
opportunity to send thither, till the ship was gone that brought your
letter; which I much regretted. My delaying to answer has been far
from arising from any indifference with respect to this
correspondence, by which I am sensible I am highly honoured and
privileged.
"Tis probable that you have been informed, by other correspondents,
before now, what the present state of things in New England is: it is,
indeed, on many accounts very melancholy; there is a vast alteration
within these two years; for about so long I think it is, since the
Spirit of God began to withdraw, and this great work has been on the
decline. Great numbers in the land, about two years ago, were raised
to an exceedingly great height in joy and elevation of mind; and
through want of watchfulness, and sensibleness of the danger and
temptation that there is in such circumstances, many were greatly
exposed, and the devil taking the advantage, multitudes were soon, and
to themselves insensibly, led far away from God and their duty; God
was provoked that he was not sanctified in this height of advancement,
as he ought to have been; he saw our spiritual pride and
self-confidence, and the polluted flames that arose of intemperate,
unhallowed zeal; and he soon, in a great measure, withdrew from us;
and the consequence has been, that the enemy has come in like a flood,
in various respects, until the deluge has overwhelmed the whole land.
There had from the beginning been a great mixture, especially in some
places, of false experiences, and false religion with true; but from
about this time, the mixture became much greater, many were led away
with sad delusions; and this opened the door for the enemy to come in
like a flood in another respect, it gave great advantages to these
enemies and opposers of this work, furnished them with weapons and
gave them new courage, and has laid the friends of the work under such
disadvantage, that nothing that they could do would avail any thing to
withstand their violence. And now it is come to that, that the work is
put to a stop every where, and it is a day of the enemy's triumph; but
I believe also a day of God's people's humiliation, which will be
better to them in the end than their elevations and raptures. The time
has been amongst us when the sower went forth to sow, and we have seen
the spring wherein the seed sprang up in different sorts of ground,
appearing then fair and flourishing; but this spring is past, and we
now see the summer, wherein the sun is up with a burning heat, that
tries the sorts of ground; and now appears the difference, the seed in
stony ground, where there was only a thin layer of earth on a rock,
withers away, the moisture being dried out; and the hidden seeds and
roots of thorns, in unsubdued ground, now spring up and choke the seed
of the word. Many high professors are fallen, some into gross
immoralities, some into a rooted spiritual pride, enthusiasm, and an
incorrigible wildness of behaviour, some into a cold frame of mind,
showing a great indifference to the things of religion. But there are
many, and I hope those the greater part of those that were professed
converts, who appear hitherto like the good ground, and
notwithstanding the thick and dark clouds, that so soon follow that
blessed sunshine that we have had; yet I cannot but stedfastly
maintain a hope and persuasion that God will revive his work, and that
what has been so great and very extraordinary, is a forerunner of a
yet more glorious and extensive work.--It has been slanderously
reported and printed concerning me, that I have often said, that the
Millennium was already begun, and that it began at Northampton. A
doctor of divinity in New England has ventured to publish this report
to the world, from a single person, who is concealed and kept behind
the curtain: but the report is very diverse from what I have ever
said. Indeed I have often said, as I say now, that I looked upon the
late wonderful revivals of religion as forerunners of those glorious
times so often prophesied of in the Scripture, and that this was the
first dawning of that light, and beginning of that work, which, in the
progress and issue of it, would at last bring on the church's
latter-day glory; but there are many that know that I have from time
to time added, that there would probably be many sore conflicts and
terrible convulsions, and many changes, revivings, and intermissions,
and returns of dark clouds, and threatening appearances, before this
work shall have subdued the world, and Christ's kingdom shall be every
where established and settled in peace, which will be the lengthening
of the Millennium or day of the church's peace, rejoicing, and triumph
on earth, so often spoken of. I was much entertained and delighted,
dear Sir, with your thoughts on that text in Isa. lix. 19. which you
signify in your letter, and so have many others been to whom I have
communicated them; and as to what you say of some dreadful stroke or
trial yet abiding, before the happy days of the promised peace and
prosperity of the church, I so far agree with you, that I believe
that, before the church of God shall have obtained the conquest, and
the visible kingdom of Satan on earth shall receive its overthrow, and
Christ's kingdom of grace be every where established on its ruins,
there shall be a great and mighty struggle between the kingdom of
Christ and the kingdom of Satan, attended with the greatest and most
extensive convulsions and commotion, that ever were upon the face of
the earth, wherein doubtless many particular Christians will suffer,
and perhaps some parts of the church.
"But that the enemies of the church of God should ever gain such
advantages against her any more, as they have done in times past, that
the victory should ever any more be on their side, or that it shall
ever be given to the beast again to make war with the saints, and to
prevail against them, and overcome them, (as in Rev. xiii. 7. and Rev.
xi. 7. and Dan. vii. 21.) to such a degree as has been heretofore, is
otherwise than I hope. Though in this I would be far from setting up
my own judgment, in opposition to others, who are more skilled in the
prophecies of Scripture than I am. I think that what has mainly
induced many divines to be of that opinion, is what is said in Rev.
xi. chap. xi. concerning the slaying of the witnesses, Rev. xi. 7,
8.ver. 7, 8. `And when they shall have finished their testimony, the
beast, that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, shall make war
against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead
bodies shall lie in the street of the great city,' &c.
The event here spoken of, seems evidently to be that wherein the
enemies of the church gain the greatest advantage against her that
ever they have, and have the greatest conquest of her that ever they
obtained, and bring the church nearest to a total extinction. For a
long time the church is very small, represented by two witnesses, and
they had been long in a very low state, prophesying in sackcloth; but
now they are dead and their enemies triumph over them, as having
gotten a complete victory, and look upon it that they are now past all
possibility of recovery, there being less prospect of the church's
restoration than ever there was before. But are we to expect this,
dear Sir, that Satan will ever find means to bring things to pass,
that after all the increase of light that has been in the world, since
the Reformation, there shall be a return of a more dark time than in
the depth of the darkness of popery, before the Reformation, when the
church of God shall be nearer to a total extinction, and have less of
visibility, all true religion and light be more blotted out of the
memories of mankind, Satan's kingdom of darkness be more firmly
established, all monuments of true religion be more abolished, and
that the state of the world should be such, that it should appear
further from any hope of a revival of true religion than it ever has
done; is this conceivable or possible, as the state of things now is
all over the world, even among papists themselves, without a miracle,
a greater than any power short of divine can effect, without a long
tract of time, gradually to bring it to pass, to introduce the
grossest ignorance and extinguish all memory and monuments of truth;
which was the case in that great extinction of true religion that was
before the Reformation. And besides, if we suppose this war of the
beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit with the witnesses,
wherein he overcomes them and kills them, to be that last war which
the church shall have with the beast, that great and mighty conflict
that shall be just before the final overthrow of antichrist, that we
read of in the 16th chap. the 13th and following verses, and in the
19th chapter how shall we make them consist together? In the 11th
chapter the church conflicts in sorrow, clothed in sackcloth, and in
blood; in the 19th chap. the saints are not represented as fighting in
sorrow and blood, though the battle be exceedingly great, but in
strength, glory, and triumph. Their Captain goes forth to this battle,
in great pomp and magnificence, on a white horse, and on his head many
crowns, and on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of
Kings and Lord of Lords; and the saints follow him, not in sackcloth,
but coming forth on white horses, clothed in pure linen, clean and
white, the raiment of triumph, the same raiment that the saints appear
in, Rev. vii. 14. when they appear with palms in their hands, after
they had washed their robes, that had been stained with their own
blood, and made themselves white in the blood of the Lamb. In the
conflict spoken of in chap. xi. the beast makes war with the
witnesses, and overcomes them, and kills them: the same is foretold,
Dan. vii. 21. and Rev. xiii. 7. But in that last great battle, just
before the fall of antichrist, we find the reverse of this; the church
shall obtain a glorious victory over the beast, and the beast is taken
and cast into the lake of fire. Rev. xvii. 14. `These shall make war
with the Lamb; and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of
Lords and King of Kings; and they that are with him are called, and
chosen, and faithful:' compared with chap. xix. 16, to the end, and
chap. xvi. 16, 17. In that conflict, chap. xi. the beast has war with
the witnesses, and kills them, and their dead bodies lie unburied, as
if it were to be meat for the beasts of the earth and fowls of heaven;
but in that last conflict, Christ and his church shall slay their
enemies, and give their dead bodies to be meat for the beasts of the
earth and fowls of heaven, chap. xix. 17. &c. There is no manner of
appearance in the descriptions that are given of that great battle, of
any great advantages gained in it against the church, before the enemy
is overcome, but all appearance of the contrary. The descriptions in
the16th and 19th chapters of Rev. will by no means allow of such an
advantage, as that of the overcoming and slaying of the church, or
people of God, and their lying for some time unburied, that their dead
bodies may be for their enemies to abuse and trample on, and make
sport with. In the 16th chap. we have an account of their being
gathered together into the place called Armageddon; and then the first
thing we hear of after that, is the pouring out of the seventh vial of
God's wrath, and a voice saying, It is done; and so in chap. xix. we
read of the beast, and the kings of the earth and their armies being
gathered together, to make war against him that sat on the horse, and
against his army; and then the next thing we hear of is the beast's
being taken, &c. The event of the conflict of the beast with the
church, chap. xi. is the triumph of the church's enemies, when they of
the people, and kindred, and tongues, and nations, and they that dwell
on the earth, shall see the dead bodies of the saints lying in the
streets, and shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and send gifts
one to another. But the event of that great and last battle, before
the fall of antichrist, is quite the reverse of this, even the
church's triumphing over their enemies, as being utterly destroyed.
Those events, that are consequent on the issue of the war with the
witnesses, chap. xi. do in no wise answer to those, that are
represented as consequent on that last conflict of antichrist with the
church. `Tis said that when the witnesses ascended into heaven, the
same hour there was an earthquake, and the tenth part of the city
fell; and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand! but this
don't seem at all to answer what is described, chap. xvi. and xix. The
great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations
fell; and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give her
the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath; and every island
fled away, and the mountains were not found. And it had been said
before, that there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men
were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And in
chap. xix. instead of slaying seven thousand men, it seems as if there
was a general slaughter of all the enemies of the church, through the
world. And besides, if we read this 11th chapter through, we shall see
that the falling of the tenth part of the city and the rising of the
witnesses, and their standing on their feet and ascending into heaven,
are represented there as entirely distinct from the accomplishment of
the church's glory, after the fall of antichrist, and God's judging
and destroying the enemies of the church. The judgment here spoken of,
as executed on God's enemies, are under another woe, and the benefits
bestowed on the church, are under another trumpet: for immediately
after the account of the rising and ascending of the witnesses, and
its consequences, follow these words, ver.14, 15. `The second woe is
past, and behold the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel
sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms
of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he shall reign for ever and ever.' And in the following verses, we
have an account of the praises sung to God on the occasion; and in the
last verse we have a brief hint of that same great earthquake, and the
great hail, and those thunders, and lightnings, and voices, that we
have an account of in the latter part of chap. xvi. so that the
earthquake mentioned in the last verse of Rev. xi.chap. xi. seems to
be the great earthquake, that attends the last great conflict of the
church and her enemies, rather than that mentioned ver. 13.
The grand objection against all this is, that it is said, that the
witnesses should prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days,
clothed in sackcloth; and when they have finished their testimony, the
beast should make war against them, and kill them, &c. and that it
seems manifest that after this they are no longer in sackcloth; for
henceforward they are in an exalted state in heaven: and that
therefore, seeing the time of their wearing sackcloth is one thousand
two hundred and sixty days, i.e. during the time of the continuance of
antichrist; hence their being slain, and their rising again, must be
at the conclusion of this period, at the end of antichrist's reign.
In answer to which I would say, with submission to better judgments,
that I humbly conceive that we can justly infer no more from this
prophecy than this, viz. that the one thousand two hundred and sixty
days is the proper time (as it were) of the church's trouble and
bondage, or being clothed in sackcloth, because it is the appointed
time of the reign of antichrist; but this don't hinder but that God,
out of great compassion to his church, should, in some respect,
shorten the days, and grant that his church should in some measure
anticipate the appointed great deliverance that should be at an end of
these days, as he has in fact done in the Reformation; whereby his
church has had a great degree of restoration granted her, from the
darkness, power, and dominion of antichrist, before their proper time
of restoration, which is at the end of the one thousand two hundred
and sixty days; and so the church, through the compassion of her
Father and Redeemer, anticipates her deliverance from her sorrows; and
has, in some respects, an end put to her testifying in sackcloth, as
many parts of the church are henceforward brought out from under the
dominion of the antichristian powers, into a state of liberty; though
in other respects, the church may be said still to continue in her
sackcloth, and in the wilderness, (as chap. xii. 14.) till the end of
the days. And as to the witnesses standing on their feet, and
ascending into heaven; I would propose that it may be considered,
Whether any more can be understood by it, than the protestant church's
being now (at least as to many parts of it) able to stand on her own
legs, and in her own defence, and being raised to such a state, that
she henceforward is out of the reach of the Romish powers; that, let
them do what they will, they shall never any more be able to get the
church under their power, as they had before; as oftentimes in the
Scriptures God's people dwelling in safety, out of the reach of their
enemies, is represented by their dwelling on high, or being set on
high; Ps. lix. 1. Isa. xxxiii. 16. Ps. lxix. 29. and Ps. xci. 14. and
Ps. cvii. 41. Prov. xxix. 25.; and the children of Israel, when
brought out of Egypt, were said to be carried on eagle's wings, that
is lofty in its flight, flies away towards heaven where none of her
enemies can reach her.
I might here observe, that we have other instances of God's shortening
the days of his church's captivity and bondage, either at the
beginning or latter end, in some measure parallel with this. Thus the
proper time of the bondage of the posterity of Abraham, in a strange
land, was four hundred years, Gen. xv. 13.; but yet God in mercy
delayed their bondage, whereby the time was much shortened at the
beginning. So the time wherein it was foretold, that the whole land of
Israel should be a desolation and an astonishment, and the land should
not enjoy her sabbaths, was seventy years, Jer. xxv. 11, 12.; and
these seventy years are dated in 2 Chron. xxxvi. 20, 21. from
Zedekiah's captivity; and yet from that captivity to Cyrus's decree
was about fifty-two years, though it was indeed about seventy years
before the temple was finished. So the proper time of the oppression
of Antiochus Epiphanes, wherein both the sanctuary and the host should
be trodden under-foot by him, was two thousand and three hundred days,
Dan. vii. 13, 14. and yet God gave Israel a degree of deliverance by
the Maccabees, and they were holpen with a little help, and the host
ceased to be trodden under-foot before that time was expired. Dan. xi.
32, 34.
But in these things, dear Sir, I am by no means dogmatical; I do but
humbly offer my thoughts on what you suggested in your letter,
submitting them to your censure. `Tis pity that we should expect such
a terrible devastation of the church, before her last and most
glorious deliverance, if there be no such thing to be expected. It may
be a temptation to some of the people of God, the less earnestly to
wish and pray for the near approach of the church's glorious day, and
the less to rejoice in the signs of its approach.
But, let us go on what scheme we will, it is most apparent from the
Scriptures, that there are mighty strugglings to be expected, between
the church of God and her enemies, before her great victory; and there
may be many lesser strugglings before that last, and greatest, and
universal conflict. Experience seems to show that the church of God,
according to God's method of dealing with her, needs a great deal
gradually to prepare her for that prosperity and glory that he has
promised her on earth; as the growth of the earth, after winter, needs
gradually to be prepared for the summer heat: I have known instances,
wherein by the heat's coming on suddenly in the spring, without
intermissions of cold to check the growth, the branches, many of them,
by a too hasty growth, have afterwards died. And perhaps God may bring
on a spiritual spring as he does the natural, with now and then a
pleasant sunshiny season, and then an interruption by clouds and
stormy winds, till at length, by the sun more and more approaching,
and the light increasing, the strength of the winter is broken. We are
extremely apt to get out of the right way. A very great increase of
comfort that is sudden, without time and experience, in many
instances, has appeared to wound the soul, in some respects, though it
seems to profit it in others. Sometimes, at the same time that the
soul seems wonderfully delivered from those lusts, that are more
carnal and earthly, there is an insensible increase of those that are
more spiritual; as God told the children of Israel, that he would put
out the former inhabitants of the land of Canaan, by little and
little, and would not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the
field should increase upon them.--We need much experience, to teach us
the innumerable ways that we are liable to err, and to show us the
evil and pernicious consequences of those errors. If it should please
God, before many years, to grant another great revival of religion in
New England, we should perhaps be much upon our guard against such
errors as we have run into, and which have undone us this time, but
yet might run insensibly into other errors that now we think not of.
You inquire of me, Rev. Sir, whether I reject all those for
counterfeits that speak of visions and trances. I am far from doing of
it: I am and always have been, in that matter, of the same opinion
that Mr. Robe expresses, in some of those pamphlets Mr. M'Laurin sent
me, that persons are neither to be rejected nor approved on such a
foundation. I have expressed the same thing in my discourse on `the
Marks of a Work of the True Spirit,' and have not changed my mind.
I am afraid, dear Sir, that I have been too bold with you, in being so
lengthy and tedious, and have been too impertinent and forward to
express my opinion upon this and that; but I consider myself as
writing to a candid, christian friend and brother, with whom I may be
free and bold, and from whom I may promise myself excuse and
forgiveness. Dear brother, asking your earnest prayers for me and for
New England, I am your affectionate brother, and engaged friend and
servant,
jonathan edwards."
The opinion here expressed by Mr. Edwards, was not the result of a
slight and cursory examination of the subject in discussion. He had a
considerable time before examined, at great length, the prophecies of
Daniel and John, with regard to this very point; and, as we shall soon
have occasion to remark, had been convinced that the opinion, then
commonly received, that the severest trials of the church were yet
future, was erroneous.
The Rev. Samuel Buell, whom I have already mentioned, as having
preached at Northampton during the absence of Mr. Edwards, in January,
1742, with uncommon fervour and success, continued his labours, as an
evangelist among the churches, upwards of four years; and at length
accepted of an invitation from the people of East Hampton, a village
in the S. E. corner of Long Island, to become their minister. At his
request, Mr. Edwards went to East Hampton, and there preached his
installation sermon, on the 19th of September, 1746, from Isaiah lxii.
4, 5..