REVIVAL AND JONATHAN EDWARDS

By Jay Rogers

The men who led the great awakenings of past centuries were ordinary men. They were intelligent, but they carried none of the distinguishing marks that accompany those who are capable of changing a nation. There is no money or fame here - no power or prestige. In fact, the greatest characteristic of these men was that they were consumed with a passionate love for Jesus Christ. They were humble men who loved the holiness of God. They were jealous of God's glory and refused to compromise with those who would lower the standard of His holiness.

Jonathan Edwards
One of the most notable examples of such a great man of God is Jonathan Edwards. Although little honor is given to him in most history classes, historians will testify that Jonathan Edwards' life had such an impact on the American colonies that our nation was born.

Out of the unity of the Spirit that was the Great Awakening came Independence and Freedom. America was transformed by this Great Awakening which began in the ministry of one man - Jonathan Edwards.

Mason Lowance, a literary critic and historian at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has this to say about Jonathan Edwards:
"Edwards was clearly the most important figure in the eighteenth century, perhaps even more critical to the development of Western thought than his contemporary Benjamin Franklin ... Franklin's political thinking far exceeded Edwards' ... However, Edward's writing has had far greater influence than has Franklin's..."1

John Fiske, a 19th century philosopher and historian, who taught at Harvard University, adds this assessment of Edwards:
"One of the great names in the history of philosophy is that of Jonathan Edwards, the profoundest thinker that America has ever produced. His best known work is his 'Treatise on the Will,' a marvellous specimen of deep and powerful reasoning, a book that no student of philosophy for many a year to come, can afford to neglect"2

Jonathan Edwards was the congregationalist minister who preached the Word of God in his home church in Northampton, Massachusetts. His preaching was the spark that set the fire that later became known as the Great Awakening. Edwards delivered intense sermons enlivened by concrete and vivid illustrations.

The most notable of these, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," was so pointed in its portrayal of the horrendous evil in the hearts of men compared to the virtue which is God, that his listeners became suddenly aware of the uncertainty of life and their own sinfulness. There was a marked intrusion from the heavenlies into their midst.

Edwards delivered this sermon in Enfield, Connecticut, a town about 30 miles south of Northampton, on Sunday, July 8, 1741. We are told that Edwards read his sermon in a level voice with his sermon book in his left hand, and in spite of his calm "there was such a breathing of distress, and weeping, that the preacher was obliged to speak to the people and desire silence, that he might be heard."3

Where did such anointing and conviction come from? What was it that set Edwards apart for such a great destiny? Where did the seeds of greatness begin to germinate? What were the conditions that brought about such a complete reformation of society? To answer these questions we need to look at Edwards' inner life - a life of prayer that is hid in Jesus Christ.

From his youth, Edwards spent much time in secret with God seeking His Presence. He would often walk alone in the fields or the mountains praying to God with a deep affection. He spent much time reading and meditating on the Song of Solomon until he had a deep understanding of God's sweetness and light. He experienced God's presence as a sudden intrusion from "the other world" upon his natural senses. Edwards was used in a great way because he sought to be intimate with the actual Presence of God.

"I had an inward, sweet sense of these things, and my soul was led away in pleasant views and contemplations of the loveliness and sweetness of Jesus Christ. The sense I had of divine things would often kindle up a sweet burning in my soul, that I know not how to express."4

He continued his pursuit until he found an undeniable, unquenchable longing after the holiness of God. "The heaven I desired was a heaven of holiness, to be with God, and to spend my eternity in divine love, and holy communion with Christ"5

The Great Awakening
These experiences led Edwards to confront the members of his congregation with the holiness of God, especially the young people of Northampton. The result of this preaching was a revival in Northampton in 1734, which was the first of a series of revivals, now known as the "Great Awakening," which spread from Maine to Georgia, and did much to unite the colonies in spiritual fervor. This was the foundation of a new feeling of strength and unity among the colonies which resulted in the birth of a new nation in 1776.

The Northampton revival continued for about 15 years until Edwards once again began to confront sin in his congregation by naming backsliders from the pulpit and refusing communion and church membership to those who had not had a personal salvation experience. As a result of his renewed zeal, Edwards was ousted as minister on June 22, 1750.

Joseph Hawley, a man whose father had committed suicide during the early years of the revival, blamed Edwards for "religious hysteria." In a noble farewell sermon, Edwards resolved, "Let God be judge." Although the congregation had difficulty in naming a successor to Edwards, they preferred no sermons rather than let Edwards preach.

Joseph Hawley later repented of his part in the controversy and begged for the forgiveness of the slandered minister. Edwards simply removed himself from Northampton. Edwards spent the rest of his life as a missionary to the Indians at Stockbridge, Massachusetts and later as president of Princeton University. It could be argued that if Edwards had been more easy-going and less intense he would never have had any problems with his flock - but then he wouldn't have been Jonathan Edwards.

Edwards was a reasonable and intelligent man but he was also keenly aware of the holiness of God and would not allow compromise. He could not accommodate the intrusion of an increasingly secularized society into his church. He disdained the outward show of religion as wood, hay and stubble that would only be consumed by the fires of a holy God. The townspeople were unwilling to put up with these standards and opted for a more comfortable faith. Thus Northampton, Massachusetts holds the distinction of having rejected the greatest social philosopher that America has ever produced.

To most of Northampton's citizens today, Edwards is a shadowy figure of antiquity. Yet he remains her preeminent genius. The curious may see Edwards' likeness in a bronze memorial tablet in the First Church on Main Street. His sermons and other writings are his true memorial; they belong to all who seek after seek after the heart of God and love His holiness.

1. Mason I. Lowance, Dictionary of Literary Biography, "Jonathan Edwards." 2. John Fiske, A History of the United States, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1899. 3. Benjamin Trumbull, A Complete History of Connecticut. 4. Jonathan Edwards, Personal Narrative. 5. Ibid.