The friendly correspondence which we maintain with our brethren of New
England, gives us now and then the pleasure of hearing some remarkable instances
of divine grace in the conversion of sinners, and some eminent examples
of piety in that American part of the world. But never did we hear or read,
since the first ages of Christianity, any event of this kind so surprising
as the present Narrative hath set before us. The Rev, and worthy Dr. Colman,
of Boston, had given us some short intimations of it in his letters; and
upon our request of a more large and particular account, Mr. Edwards, the
happy and successful minister of Northampton, which was one of the chief
scenes of these wonders, drew up this history in an epistle to Dr. Colman.
There were some useful sermons of the venerable and aged Mr. Wm. Williams,
published late in New England, which were preached in that part of the country
during this season of the glorious work of God in the conversion of men;
to which Dr. Colman subjoined a most judicious and accurate abridgment of
this epistle: and a little after, by Mr. Edwards's request, he sent the
original to our hands, to be communicated to the world under our care here
in London.
We are abundantly satisfied of the truth of this narrative, not only from
the pious 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
in a corner. There is a spot of ground, as we are here informed, wherein
there are twelve or fourteen towns and villages, chiefly situate in New
Hampshire, near the banks of the river of Connecticut, within the compass
of thirty miles, wherein it pleased God, two years ago, to display his free
and 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 in 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the Spirit of God in his saving influences is much withdrawn from the ministrations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 report 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 a 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 out-goings of God our King in his sanctuary.
Certainly it becomes us, who profess the religion of Christ, to take notice
of such astonishing exercises of his power and mercy, and give him the glory
which is due, when he begins to accomplish any of his promises concerning
the latter days: and it gives us further encouragement to pray, and wait,
and hope for the like display of his power in the midst of us. The hand
of God is not shortened that it cannot save, but we have reason to fear
that our iniquities, our coldness in religion, and the general carnality
of our spirits, have raised a wall of separation between God and us: and
we may add, the pride and perverse humour of infidelity, degeneracy, and
apostacy from the Christian faith, which have of late years broken out amongst
us, seem to have provoked the Spirit of Christ to absent himself much from
our nation. "Return, 0 Lord, and visit thy churches and revive thine
own work in the midst of us."
From such blessed instances of the success of the gospel, as appear in this
narrative, we may learn much of the way of the Spirit of God in his dealing
with the souls of men, in order to convince sinners, and restore them to
his favour and his image by Jesus Christ, his Son. We acknowledge that some
particular appearances in the work of conversion among men may be occasioned
by the ministry which they sit under, whether it be of a more or less evangelical
strain, whether it be more severe and affrighting, or more gentle and persuasive.
But wheresoever God works with power for salvation upon the minds of men,
there will be some discoveries of a sense of sin, of the danger of the wrath
of God, and the all-sufficiency of his Son Jesus, to relieve us under all
our spiritual wants and distresses, and a hearty consent of soul to receive
him in the various offices of grace, wherein he is set forth in the Holy
Scriptures. And if our readers had opportunity (as we have had) to peruse
several of the sermons which were preached during this glorious season,
we should find that it is the common plain protestant doctrine of the Reformation,
without stretching towards the antinomians on the one side, or the Arminians
on the other, that the Spirit of God has been pleased to honour with such
illustrious success.
We are taught also by this happy event, how easy it will be for our blessed
Lord to make a full accomplishment of all his predictions concerning his
Kingdom, and to spread his dominion from sea to sea, through all the nations
of the earth. We see how easy it is for him with one turn of his hand, with
one word of his mouth, to awaken whole countries of stupid and sleeping
sinners, and kindle divine life in their souls. The heavenly influence shall
run from door to door, filling the hearts and lips of every inhabitant with
importunate inquiries, What shall we do to be saved? And how shall
we escape the wrath to come? And the name of Christ the Saviour shall
diffuse itself like a rich and vital perfume to multitudes that were ready
to sink and perish under the painful sense of their own guilt and danger.
Salvation shall spread through all the tribes and ranks of mankind, as the
lightning from heaven in a few moments would communicate a living flame
through ten thousand lamps and torches placed in a proper situation and
neighbourhood. Thus a nation shall be born in a day when our Redeemer
please, and his faithful and obedient subjects shall become as numerous
as the spires of grass in a meadow newly mown, and refreshed with the showers
of heaven. But the pleasure of this agreeable hint bears the mind away from
our theme.
Let us return to the present narrative: It is worthy of our observation,
that this great and surprising work does not seem to have taken its rise
from any sudden and distressing calamity of public terror that might universally
impress the minds of a people: here was no storm, no earthquake, no inundation
of water, no desolation by fire, no pestilence or any other sweeping distemper,
nor any cruel invasion by their Indian neighbours, that might force the
inhabitants into a serious thoughtfulness, and a religious temper, by the
fears of approaching death and judgment. Such scenes as these have sometimes
been made happily effectual to awaken sinners in Zion, and the formal professor
and the hypocrite have been terrified with the thoughts of divine wrath
breaking in upon them, Who shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
But in the present case the immediate hand of God in the work of his Spirit
appears much more evident, because there is no such awful and threatening
Providence attending it.
It is worthy also of our further notice, that when many profane sinners,
and formal professors of religion, have been affrighted out of their present
carelessness and stupidity by some astonishing terrors approaching them,
those religions appearances have not been so durable, nor the real change
of heart so thoroughly effected; many of this sort of sudden converts have
dropped their religious concerns in a great measure when their fears of
the threatening calamity were vanished. But it is a blessed confirmation
of the truth of this present work of grace, that the persons who were divinely
wrought upon in this season continue still to profess serious religion,
and to practise it without returning to their former follies.
It may not be amiss in this place to take notice, that a very surprising
and threatening Providence has this last year attend the people of Northampton,
among whom this work of divine grace was so remarkable: which Providence
at first might have been construed by the unthinking world to be a signal
token of God's displeasure against that town, or a judgment from heaven
upon the people; but soon afterwards, like Paul's shaking the viper off
from his hand, it discovered the astonishing care and goodness of God expressed
towards a place where such a multitude of young converts were assembled:
nor can we give a better account of it than in the language of this very
gentleman, the Rev. Mr. Edwards, minister of that town, who wrote the following
Letter, which was published in New England.
Northampton, March 19, 1737.
"We in this town, were the last Lord's Day 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 land. 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 bottom; the cells 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 under-pinning
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 sermon, the whole gallery--full of people, with all the seats and timber,
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, and 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 them who fell, knew
nothing at the time what it was 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, were 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 account, or conceive, by what means peoples 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 he 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 full, 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 ally, 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 to set a part 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."
Thus far the letter.
But it is time to conclude our Preface. If there should be any thing found
in this narrative of the surprising conversion of such numbers of souls,
where the sentiments or the style of the relater, or his inferences from
matters of fact, do not appear so agreeable to every reader, we hope it
will have no unhappy influence to discourage the belief of this glorious
event. We must allow every writer his own way; and must allow him to choose
what particular instances he would select from the numerous cases which
came before him. And though he might have chosen others perhaps, of more
significancy in the eye of the world, than the woman and the child,
whose experiences he relates at large; yet it is evident he chose that of
the woman, because she was dead, and she is thereby incapable of knowing
any honours or reproaches on this account. And as for the child, those who
were present, and saw and heard such a remarkable and lasting change, on
one so very young, must necessarily receive a stronger impression from it,
and a more agreeable surprise, than the mere narration of it can communicate
to others at a distance. Children's language always loses its striking beauties
at second-hand.
Upon the whole, whatever defects any reader may find or imagine in this
narrative, we are well satisfied, that such an eminent work of God ought
not to be concealed from the world: and as it was the reverend author's
opinion, so we declare it to be ours also, that it is very likely that this
account of such an extraordinary and illustrious appearance of divine grace
in the conversion of sinners, may, by the blessing of God, have a happy
effect upon the minds of men, towards the honour and enlargement of the
kingdom of Christ, much more than any supposed unperfection in this representation
of it can do injury.
May the worthy writer of this epistle, and all those his reverend brethren
in the ministry, who have been honoured in this excellent and important
service, go on to see their labours crowned with daily and persevering success!
May the numerous objects of this surprising work hold fast what they have
received, and increase in every Christian grace and blessing! May a plentiful
effusion of the blessed Spirit, also, descend on the British Isles, and
all their American plantations, to renew the face of religion there! And
we entreat our readers in both Englands, to join with us in our hearty addresses
to the throne of grace, that this wonderful discovery of the hand of God
in saving sinners, may encourage our faith and hope of the accomplishment
of all his words of grave, which are written in the Old Testament and in
the New, concerning the large extent of this salvation in the latter days
of the world. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly, and spread thy dominion
through all the ends of the earth. Amen.
ISAAC WATTS.
JOHN GUYSE.
London Oct. 12, 1737 |