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The
Great Revival of 1740-45
part 1 Part
2, Part
3
From The
Constitutional History of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America.
(Philadelphia: William S. Martien, 1839-40)
THE
GREAT REVIVAL, which about a hundred years ago
visited so extensively the American Churches,
is so much implicated with the ecclesiastical
history of our own denomination, that the
latter cannot be understood without some
knowledge of the former. The controversies
connected with the revival are identical with
the disputes which resulted in the schism
which divided the Presbyterian Church in 1741.
Before entering, therefore, upon the history
of that event, it will be necessary to present
the reader with a general survey of that great
religious excitement, which arrayed in
conflicting parties the friends of religion in
every part of the country.
This division of
sentiment could hardly have occurred, had the
revival been one of unmingled purity. Such a
revival, however, the church has never seen.
Every luminous body is sure to cause shadows
in every direction and of every form. Where
the Son of man sows wheat, the evil one is
sure to sow tares. It must be so. For it needs
be that offenses come, though woe to those by
whom they come. The men who, either from their
character or circumstances, are led to take
the most prominent part, during such seasons
of excitement, are themselves often carried to
extremes, or are so connected with the
extravagant, that they are sometimes the last
to perceive and the slowest to oppose the
evils which so frequently mar the work of God,
and burn over the fields which he bad just
watered with his grace. Opposition to these
evils commonly comes from a different quarter;
from wise and good men who have been kept out
of the focus of the excitement. And it is well
that there are such opposers, else the church
would soon be over-run with fanaticism.
The
term revival' is commonly used in a very
comprehensive sense. It includes all the
phenomena attending a general religious
excitement; as well those which spring from
God, as those which owe their origin to the
infirmities of men. Hence those who favor the
work, for what there is divine in it, are
often injuriously regarded as the patrons of
its concomitant irregularities, and those who
oppose what is unreasonable about it, are as
improperly denounced as the enemies of
religion. It is, therefore, only one
expression of that fanaticism which haunts the
spirit of revivals, to make such a work a
touchstone of character; to regard all as good
who favor it, and all as bad who oppose it.
That this should be done during the
continuance of the excitement, is an evil to
be expected and pardoned; but to commit the
same error in the historical review of such a
period, would admit of no excuse. Hard as it
was then either to see or to believe, we can
now easily perceive and readily credit that
some of the best and some of the worst men in
the church, were to be found on either side,
in the controversy respecting, the great
revival of the last century. The mere
geographical position of a man, in many cases,
determined the part he took in that
controversy. A sober and sincere Christian,
within the sphere of Davenport's operations,
might well be an opposer, who, had he lived in
the neighborhood of Edwards, might have
approved and promoted the revival. Yet Edwards
and Davenport were then regarded as leaders in
the same great work. That there had been a
lamentable declension in religion both in
Great Britain and in this country, is
universally acknowledged by the writers of
this period.
The Rev. Samuel Blair, speaking
of the state of religion in Pennsylvania at
that time, says: 'I doubt not but there were
some sincerely religious persons up and down ;
and there were, I believe, a considerable
number in several congregations pretty exact,
according to their education, in the
observance of the external forms of religion,
not only as to attendance upon public
ordinances on the Sabbath, but also as to the
practice of family worship, and perhaps secret
prayer too ; but with those things, the most
part seemed, to all appearance, to rest
contented, and to satisfy their conscience
with a dead formality in religion. A very
lamentable ignorance of the essentials of true
practical religion, and of the doctrines
relating thereto, very generally prevailed.
The nature and necessity of the new birth were
little known or thought of: the necessity of a
conviction of sin and misery by the Holy
Spirit opening and applying the law to the
conscience, in order to a saving closure with
Christ. was hardly known at all to most, The
necessity of being first in Christ by a vital
union and in a justified state, before our
religious services can be well pleasing or
acceptable to God, was very little understood
or thought of; but the common notion seemed to
be, that if people were aiming to be in the
way of duty as well as they could, as they
imagined, there was no reason to be much
afraid." In consequence of this ignorance
of the nature of practical religion, there
were, he adds, great carelessness and
indifference about the things of eternity;
great coldness and unconcern in public
worship; a disregard of the Sabbath, and
prevalence of worldly amusements and follies.
(Narrative
of the late remarkable revival of religion in
the congregation of New Londonderry, and in
other parts of Pennsylvania. By Rev. Samuel
Blair, printed in his works, P. 336; and in
Gillies' Collections, vol. ii. p. 150.)
In 1734, the Synod of
Philadelphia found it necessary to issue a
serious admonition to the presbyteries to
examine candidates for the ministry and for
admission to the Lord's supper, "as to
their experience of a work of sanctifying
grace in their hearts; and to inquire
regularly into the life, conversation, and
ministerial diligence of their members,
especially as to whether they preached in an
evangelical and fervent manner?"*(See
Part I. of this History, p. 240)This
admonition shows that there was a defect as to
all these points, on the part of at least some
of the members of the Synod.
In 1740, Messrs.
Gilbert Tennent and Samuel Blair presented two
representations, complaining of "many
defects in our ministry," that are, say
the Synod, "matter of the greatest
lamentation, if chargeable upon our members.
The Synod do therefore solemnly admonish all
the ministers within our bounds, seriously to
consider the weight of their charge, and, as
they will answer it at the great day of
Christ, to take care to approve themselves to
God, in the instances complained of. And the
Synod do recommend it to the several
presbyteries to take care of their several
members in these particulars."
(Minutes of Synod, vol. ii. p. 72)
In these papers, which will be noticed more at
length in the following chapter, complaint is
made of the want of fidelity and zeal in
preaching the gospel, and in the discharge of
other ministerial duties; and the strong
conviction is expressed that many of the
members of the Synod were in an unconverted
state. It is true indeed that such general
complaints might be uttered now, or at almost
any period of the church, and that of
themselves they give us but little definite
information of the character of the clergy.
When or where might it not be said, that many
of the preachers of the Gospel were too
worldly in their conversation, too little
urgent, discriminating, and faithful in their
preaching?
That these faults, however,
prevailed at the period under consideration,
to a greater extent than usual, there is
little reason to doubt. Mr. Thompson, in his
answer to these charges, says, with respect to
the complaint, "concerning the low state
of religion and experimental godliness, and
the influence which the negligence and
remissness of ministers in the duties of ,
their office have upon the same, I acknowledge
thatI believe there is too much ground for it,
and that it is just matter of mourning and
lamentation to all who have the welfare of
Zion and the prosperity of souls at heart;
yea, I am firmly persuaded that our barrenness
and fruitlessness under the means of grace,
the decay of vital godliness in both ministers
and people, our too great contentedness with a
lifeless lukewarm orthodoxy of profession, is
one principal evil whereby our God hath been
provoked against us, to suffer us to fall into
such divisions and confusions as we are
visibly involved in."(Church
of Christ p. 29).
He makes the same acknowledgment with regard
to some of the more specific charges. In
reference to that respecting their talking to
the people more about secular matters than
about religion, he says: "I may charge
myself in particular with being guilty of mis-improving
many a precious opportunity that might have
been improved to much better purpose for
edification of myself and others. Yet I hope
the generality of us are not degenerate to
that desperate degree in this matter as to
prove us altogether graceless; or to give our
hearers just ground to believe that we do not
desire them to be deeply and heartily
concerned about their eternal estate."
As
to the more serious charge of
"endeavoring to prejudice people against
the work of God's power and grace in the
conviction and conversion of sinners," he
pronounces it to be, as far as he knows,
" a, downright calumny." "It is
true, he adds, "there are some things in
our brethren's conduct which we cannot but
condemn, and have condemned and spoken against
both in public and private; and some things
also which are the frequent effects of their
preaching on many of their hearers which we
cannot esteem so highly of, as both they and
their admirers do." He then refers to
their censoriousness, to their endeavors to
prejudice their people against them as
unconverted their intruding into other men's
congregations against their will, and the
extravagances which they allowed and
encouraged in public worship. He also denies
the charge, that they insisted on external
duties to the "neglect of vital religion
and the necessity of regeneration ;" and
the assertion that they "seldom or never
preached on the nature and necessity of
conversion," he declares to be another
slander taken up from prejudiced persons.
It is
worthy of remark that neither Mr. Tennent nor
Mr. Blair, when professedly bringing forward
grounds of complaint against their brethren,
mentions either the denial of any of the
leading doctrines of the Bible, or open
immorality. It is not to be doubted, that had
error or immoral conduct prevailed, or been
tolerated among the clergy, it would have been
prominently presented.
(The charge which Mr. Tennent makes against
the Synod, of error in doctrine, respecting
the foundation of moral obligation, is so
evidently unjust, that it may be safely
disregarded. It will be remembered that he and
Mr. Cowell had a long dispute upon this
subject, which was brought before the Synod,
and that President Dickinson and others, ad a
committee, brought in a report condemning the
opinions against which Mr. Tennent contended,
in such terms that he himself voted for the
adoption of the report. He has certainly,
therefore, no right to charge the adoption of
that report as a proof of unsound doctrine. As
to the other point, which he specifies, viz.:
that there is a certainty of salvation annexed
to the efforts of unrenewed men, we know
nothing, except that Mr. Thompson says,
"If there be any of the members of the
Synod of this judgment, it is more than I
know, and I am persuaded there are very few;
for my own part, I know not one whom I so much
as suspect, in this particular.)
We know, however, from other sources, that
there was no prevalent defection from the
truth among the ministers of our church. The
complaint against the old-side was, that they
adhered too rigidly to the Westminster
Confession; and the theology of every leading
man on the new-side, is known from his
writings, to have been thoroughly Calvinistic.
There is not a single minister of that age in
connection with our church, whose name has
come down to us under the suspicion of
Arminianism. False doctrine, therefore, was
not the evil under which the church then
suffered. It was rather a coldness and
sluggishness with regard to religion. There
was, undoubtedly, before the revival, a
general indifference and lukewarmness among
the clergy and people; and there is too much
reason to fear, that in some cases the
ministers, though orthodox, knew nothing of
experimental religion. These cases were indeed
not so numerous as the representations of
Tennent would lead us to expect, as he himself
afterwards freely acknowledged. As far, then,
as the Presbyterian Church is concerned, the
state of religion was very low before the
Commencement of the great revival.
As that
work extended over the whole country, and was
perhaps more general and powerful in New
England than any where else, in order to have
any just idea of its character, our attention
must be directed to the congregational
churches, as well as to those of our own
denomination. After the first generation of
Puritans had passed away, religion seems to
have declined very rapidly, so that the
writings of those who had seen what the
churches in New' England were at the
beginning, are filled with lamentations over
their subsequent condition, and with gloomy
prognostications as to the future. As early as
1678, Dr. Increase Mather says, "The body
of the rising generation is a poor, perishing,
unconverted, and (unless the Lord pour down
his Spirit) an undone generation. Many are
profane, drunkards, swearers, lascivious,
scoffers at the power of godliness, despisers
of those that are good, disobedient. Others
are only civil and outwardly conformed to good
order by reason of their education, but never
knew what the new birth means."(
Prince's Christian History, vol. i. p. 98.)
In 1721, he writes thus: "I am now in the
eighty third year of my age; and having had an
opportunity to converse with the first
planters of this country, and having been for
sixty-five years a preacher of the Gospel, I
cannot but be in the disposition of those
ancient men, who had seen the foundation of
the first house, and wept to see the change
the work of the temple had upon it. I wish it
were no other than the weakness of Horace's
old man, the laudator temporis acti, when I
complain there is a grievous decay of piety in
the land, and a leaving of her first love; and
that the beauties of holiness are not to be
seen as once they were; a fruitful Christian
grown too rare a spectacle; yea, too many are
given to change, and leave that order of the
Gospel to set up and uphold which, was the
very design of these colonies; and the very
interest of New England seems to be changed
from a religious to a worldly one."(Prince,
vol. i. p. 103. This writer, in Nos. 12, 13,
and 14, has collectedmany other testimonies
" to the great and lamentable decay of
religion" in the generations following
the first settlement of New England.)
We must, however, be on our guard against
drawing false conclusions from such
statements. We should remember how high was
the standard of piety which such writers had
in view, and how peculiarly flourishing was
the original condition of those churches whose
declension is here spoken of. There may have
been, and doubtless was much even in that age,
over which we, in these less religious days,
would heartily rejoice. What was decay to
them, would be revival to us . The declension,
however, did not stop at this stage. The
generation which succeeded that over which
Increase Mather mourned, departed still
further from the doctrines and spirit of their
pious ancestors. " The third and fourth
generations," says Trumbull, "became
still more generally inattentive to their
spiritual concerns, and manifested a greater
declension from the purity and zeal of their
ancestors. Though the preaching of the Gospel
was not altogether without success, and though
there were tolerable peace and order in the
churches; yet there was too generally a great
decay as to the life and power of godliness.
There was a general ease and security in sin.
Abundant were the lamentations of pious
ministers and good people poured out before
God, on this account."(History
of Connecticut, vol. ii. P. 135).
As
a single example of such lamentations, we may
quote the account of the state of religion in
Taunton, in 1740, as given by the Rev. Mr.
Crocker. "The church was but small,
considering the number of inhabitants; and
deadness, dullness, formality, and security
prevailed among them. Any who were wise
virgins (and I trust there were a few such)
appeared to be slumbering and sleeping with
the foolish ; and sinners appeared to be at
ease in Zion. In a word, it is to be feared
there was but little of the life or power of
godliness among them, and irreligion and
immorality of one kind or another seemed
awfully to increase." (See
Prince, No. 93, and also Nos. 30 and 50, for
similar accounts.) The
defection from sound doctrine was also very
extensive at this period; an evil which the
revival but partially arrested, and that only
for a few years. Edwards speaks of Arminianism
as making a great noise in the land in 1734,(Dwight's
Life of Edwards, p. 140)
and his biographer says, there was a
prevailing tendency to that system, at that
time, not only in the county of Hampshire, but
throughout the province.(Dwight's
Life of Edwards, p. 434)
This
tendency was not confined to Massachusetts; it
was as great, if not greater, in Connecticut.
President Clapp, though himself a Calvinist,
was elected to the presidency of Yale College
in 1739, "by a board of trustees
exclusively Arminian, and all his associates
in office held the same tenets."(Ibid.
p. 2". Trumbull, vol. ii. p. 335.)
We know not on what authority this specific
statement rests, but it is rendered credible
by other facts; such, for example, as the
ordination of Mr. Whittlesey at Milford,
notwithstanding the strenuous opposition of a
large majority of people, founded on the
belief "that he was not sound in the
faith, but had imbibed the opinions of
Arminius;" in which matter the ordaining
council were fully sustained by the
Association of New Haven. In Scotland there
had been a general decay in the power of
religion from the revolution in 1688 to the
time of which we are now speaking. In 1712
Halyburton complained, upon his death-bed, of
the indifference to the peculiarities of the
gospel and to the power of godliness which
prevailed among a great portion of the clergy.
There had indeed been no' general defection
from the truth; though the lenity with which
the Assembly treated the errors of Professor
Simson of Glasgow, and Professor Campbell of
Aberdeen, is appealed to by the Seceders, in
their Act and Testimony of 1736, with too much
reason, in proof of a criminal indifference to
the doctrines of the church.
Though there had
been extensive revivals in the West of
Scotland in 1725, and a most remarkable
effusion of the Spirit at the kirk of Shotts
in 1730, as well as in other parts of the
kingdom, the general state of religion was
low, and upon the decline. In England the case
was far worse. From the accession of Charles
II. in 1660 and the exclusion of the
non-conformists, true religion seems to have
declined rapidly in the established church.
Bishop Butler says, in his Introduction to his
Analogy, that in his day Christianity itself
seemed to be regarded as a fable " among
"persons of discernment;" and in his
first charge to the clergy of
the diocese of Durham he laments over "
the general decay of religion in the
nation," the influence of which, he says,
seems to be wearing out the minds of men.*
Before the rise of the Methodists, says John
Newton, " the doctrines of grace were
seldom heard from the pulpit, and the life and
power of religion were little known."
Such in few words was the state of religion in
England, Scotland and America, when it pleased
God, contemporaneously in these several
countries, remarkably to revive his work. The
earliest manifestation of the presence of the
Holy Spirit, in our portion of the church,
during this period, was at Freehold, N. J.
under the ministry of the Rev. John Tennent,
who was called to that congregation in 1730,
and died in 1732. " The settling of that
place," says his brother, the Rev. Wm.
Tennent, 'with a gospel ministry, was owing
under God, to the agency of some Scotch
people, that came to it; among whom there was
none so pains-taking in this blessed work as
one Walter Ker, who, in 1685, for his faithful
and conscientious adherence to God and his
truth as professed by the church of Scotland,
was there apprehended and sent to this
country, under a sentence of perpetual
banishment. By which it appears that the devil
and his instruments lost their aim in sending
him from home, where it is unlikely he could
ever have been so serviceable to Christ's
kingdom as he has been here. He is yet (1744)
alive; and, blessed be God, flourishing in his
old age, being in his 88th year."
* Butler's Works,3, vol.
ii. p. 238 The state of religion for a time in
this congregation was very low. The labors of
Mr. J. Tennent, however, were, greatly
blessed. The place of public worship was
generally crowded with people, who seemed to
hear as for their lives. Religion became the
general subject of discourse ; though all did
not approve of the power of it. The Holy
Scriptures were searched by people on both
sides of the question; and knowledge
surprisingly increased. The terror of God fell
generally on the inhabitants of the place, so
that wickedness, as ashamed, in a great
measure hid its head. Mr. William Tennent, who
succeeded his brother in 1733 as pastor of
that church, says the effects of the labors of
his predecessor were more discernible a few
months after his death, than during his life.
The religious excitement thus commenced
continued, with various alternations, until
1744, the date of this account. As to the
number of converts, Mr. T. says, "I
cannot tell; my comfort is, that the Lord will
reckon them, for he knows who are his."
Those who were brought to the Savior, "
were all prepared for it by a sharp law-work
of conviction, in discovering to them, in a
heart-affecting manner, their sinfulness both
by nature and practice, as well as their
liableness to damnation for their original and
actual transgressions. Neither could they see
any way in themselves by which they could
escape the divine vengeance. For their whole
past lives were not only a continued act of
rebellion against God, but their present
endeavors to better their state, such as
prayers and the like, were so imperfect, that
they could not endure them, and much less,
they concluded, would a holy God.
They all
confessed the justice of God in their eternal
perdition ; and thus were shut up to the
blessed necessity of seeking relief by faith
in Christ alone." The sorrows of the
convinced were not alike in all, either in
degree or continuance. Some did not think it
possible for them to be saved, but these
thoughts did not continue long. Others thought
it possible, but not very probable on account
of their vileness. The greatest degree of hope
which any had under a conviction which issued
well, was a may-be: peradventure, said the
sinner, God will have mercy on me. The
conviction of some was instantaneous, by the
Holy Spirit applying the law and revealing all
the deceit of their hearts, very speedily. But
that of others was more progressive. They had
discovered to them one abomination after
another, in their lives, and hence were led to
discover the fountain of all corruption in the
heart, and thus were constrained to despair of
life by the law, and consequently to flee to
Jesus Christ as the only refuge, and to rest
entirely in his merits. After such sorrowful
exercises such as were reconciled to God were
blessed with the spirit of adoption, enabling
them to cry, "Abba, Father." Some
had greater degrees of consolation than others
in proportion to the clearness of the
evidences of their sonship.
The way in which
they received consolation, was either by the
application of some particular promise of
Scripture; or by a soul-affecting view of the
method of salvation by Christ, as free,
without money and without price. With this way
of salvation their souls were well pleased,
and thereupon they ventured their case into
his hands, expecting help from him only. As to
the effects of this work on the subjects of
it, Mr. Tennent says, they were not only made
to know but heartily to approve of the great
doctrines of the Gospel, which they were
before either ignorant of, or averse to (at
least some of them;) so that they sweetly
agreed in exalting free, special, sovereign
grace, through the Redeemer; being willing to
glory only in the Lord, who loved them and
gave himself for them. They approved of the
law of God after the inward man, as holy,
just, and good, and prized it above gold. They
judged it their duty as well as privilege to
wait on God in all his ordinances. A reverence
for his commanding authority and gratitude for
his love conspired to incite them to a
willing, unfeigned, universal, unfainting
obedience to his laws; yet they felt that in
every thing they came sadly short, and
bitterly bewailed their defects. They loved
all such as they bad reason to think, from
their principles, experience and practice,
were truly godly, though they differed from
them in sentiment as to smaller matters; and
looked upon them as the excellent of the
earth. They preferred others to themselves, in
love; except when under temptation; and their
failures they were ready to confess and
bewail, generally accounting themselves that
they were the meanest of the family of God.
Through God's mercy, adds Mr. Tennent, we have
been quite free from enthusiasm. Our people
have followed the holy law of God, the sure
word of prophecy, and not the impulses of
their own minds. There have not been among us,
that I know of, any visions, except such as
are by faith; namely, clear and affecting
views of the new and living way to the Father
through his dear Son Jesus Christ; nor any
revelations but what have been long since
written in the sacred volume.* The leading
characteristics of this work were a deep
conviction of sin, arising from clear
apprehensions of the extent and spirituality
of the divine law. This conviction consisted
in an humbling sense both of guilt and
corruption. It led to their acknowledgment of
the justice of God in their condemnation, and
of their entire helplessness in themselves.
Secondly, clear apprehensions of the mercy of
God in Christ Jesus, producing a cordial
acquiescence in the plan of salvation
presented in the Gospel, and a believing
acceptance of the offers of mercy. The soul
thus returned to God through Jesus Christ,
depending on his merits for the divine favor.
Thirdly, this faith produced joy and peace; a
sincere approbation of the doctrines of the
Gospel; delight in the law of God; a constant
endeavor to obey his will; love to the
brethren, and a habitually low estimate of
themselves and their attainments. This surely
is a description of true, religion. Here are
faith, hope, charity, obedience, and humility,
and where these are, there is the Spirit of
God, for these are his fruits. The revival in
Lawrence, Hopewell, and Amwell, three
contiguous towns in New Jersey, commenced
under the ministry of Rev. John Rowland, of
the Presbytery of New Brunswick. As the
churches in two of these towns belonged to the
Presbytery of Philadelphia, and as a large
portion of the people did not unite in the
call to Mr. Rowland, he at first preached in
barns. In 1744, however, a new congregation
was formed under the care of the Presbytery of
New Brunswick.++
* Letter to Rev. Mr.
Prince, of Boston, by William Tennent, dated
Oct. 9, 1744; published in the Christian
History, Nos. 90, 91, and reprinted in Gillies'
Collections, vol. ii. p. 28. In the preceding
account the language of the original narrator
is almost uniformly retained, though his
statements are very much abridged and
condensed. The usual indication of quotation,
therefore, has not been given. We shall pursue
the same plan in giving an account of the
revival in other places. ++ In a letter from
Mr. William Tennent to Mr. Prince, dated
October ", 1744, he says, " About
four weeks since, at the invitation of the
people, and desire of our Presbytery, I
gathered a church, and celebrated the Lord's
supper at a newly-erected congregation in the
towns of Maidenhead (Lawrence) and Hopewell.
1- Christian History, No. 91
According to the account
of Mr. Rowland, the revival in these towns was
at first slow in its progress, one or two
persons only being seriously affected under
each sermon. In the spring of 1739, the number
increased; and the power of the Spirit
evidently attended the word on several
occasions, until May, 1740, when the work
became more extensive. On one occasion the
people cried out so awfully that the preacher
was constrained to conclude. After the sermon
he inquired of those whose feelings had thus
overcome them, what was the real cause of
their crying out in such a manner. Some
answered, "They saw hell opening before
them and themselves ready to fall into
it." Others said, "They were struck
with such a sense of their sinfulness that
they were afraid the Lord would never have
mercy upon them." During the summer of
1740, the people, on several occasions, were
deeply affected, and at times their
convictions were attended with great horror,
trembling, and loud weeping. Many continued
crying in the most doleful manner, along the
road, on their way home, and it was not in the
power of man to restrain them, for the word of
the Lord remained like fire upon their hearts.
Of those who were thus affected by a sense of
their guilt and danger, many became to all
appearance, true Christians ; many went back,
and became stiffnecked.
The number in the
latter class was small, Mr. Rowland says in
comparison to what he had seen in most other
places of his acquaintance. Those who were
regarded as real converts gave a very distinct
account of sin both original and actual. Their
views of the corruption of their own hearts,
and of their distance from God, were very
clear and affecting. Their hardness, unbelief,
ignorance, and blindness, pressed very heavily
upon them. Their apprehension of their need of
Christ, and of his Spirit, was such that they
could find rest or contentment in nothing,
until they bad obtained an interest in Jesus
Christ, and had received his Spirit to
sanctify their hearts. Those under conviction
were very watchful over themselves, lest they
should receive false, comfort, and thus rest
in unfounded hopes. Their views of the Lord
Jesus, as to his person, nature, and offices,
and of the acting of their own faith and love.
towards him, were clear and satisfactory. They
continued, until the date of this account,
careful to maintain a holy communion. with
God, in the general course of their lives,
were zealous for his truth, and walked
steadily in his ways.* Here, as in the case of
Freehold, are to be recognized the essential
features of a genuine revival, conviction of
sin, faith in Christ, joy and peace in
believing, and a holy life. There was,
however, apparently, a greater admixture of
mere animal feeling in this than in the
preceding case. In Newark and Elizabeth town,
according to President Dickinson, ,religion
was in a very low state until 1739.
In August
of that year a remarkable revival, especially
among the young, commenced in Newark, which
continued and increased during the months of
November, December, and January following.
There was a general reformation among the
young people, who forsook the taverns and
other places of amusement. All occasions for
public worship were embraced with gladness.
Great solemnity and devout attention were
manifested in their assemblies. In March the
whole town was brought under an uncommon
concern about eternal things; which, during
the summer, sensibly abated, though it did not
entirely die away. Nothing remarkable occurred
until February, 1741, when they were again
visited with the special effusion of the
Spirit of God. A plain, familiar sermon then
preached, without any peculiar terror, fervor,
or affectionate manner of address, It was set
home with power. Many were brought to see and
feel that till then they had no more than a
name to live; and professors in general were
put upon solemn inquiry into the foundation of
their hope. During the following summer, this
religious concern sensibly decayed; and,
though the sincere converts held fast their
profession without wavering, too many of those
who had been under conviction grew careless
and secure. What seemed greatly to contribute
to this growing security, was the pride, false
and rash zeal, and censoriousness among some
who made high pretences to religion. This
opened the mouths of many against the whole
work, and raised that opposition which was not
before heard of.
* Letter of Rev. Mr.
Rowland to Mr. Foxcroft, of Boston, printed at
Philadelphia, in 1745, and reprinted in
Gillies' Collections, vol. ii. p. 132.
Almost every body seemed
to acknowledge the finger of God in those
wonderful appearances, until this handle was
given to their opposition; and the dreadful
scandals of the Rev. Mr. C., which came to
light about this time, proved a means to still
further harden many in their declension and
apostasy. That unhappy gentleman having made
such high pretensions to extraordinary piety
and zeal, his scandals gave the deeper wound
to vital and experimental godliness. Thus far
regarding Newark. In the fall of 1739, the
Rev. Mr. Whitefield preached in Elizabethtown
to a numerous and attentive audience, but
without any marked result. There was no
apparent success attending the labors of Mr.
Dickinson during that winter; which severely
tried his faith and patience, as the
neighboring town was then so remarkably
visited. In June, 1740, he invited the young
people to hear a discourse designed
particularly for their benefit. A large
congregation assembled, and he preached a
plain, practical sermon, without any special
liveliness or vigor, as he was himself in a
remarkably dull frame, until enlivened by a
sudden and deep impression which visibly
appeared on the whole congregation. There was
no crying out, or falling down, (as elsewhere
happened,) but the distress of the
audience discovered itself by tears and by
audible sobbing and sighing in almost all
parts of the house. From this time the usual
amusements of the young were laid aside, and
private meetings for religious exercises were
instituted by them in different parts of the
town. Public worship was constantly attended
in a very solemn manner by the people
generally. More persons applied, in a single
day, during this period, to their pastor for
spiritual direction, than in half a year
before.
In another letter, dated September 4,
1740, Mr. Dickinson says: "I have had
more young people address me for direction in
their spiritual concerns within these three
months than within thirty years before."
Though there were so many brought under
conviction at the same time, there was little
appearance of those irregular heats of which
so much complaint was made in other parts of
the land. Only two or three occurrences of
that nature took place, and they were easily
and speedily regulated. This work was
substantially the same in all the subjects of
it. Some indeed suffered more than others, yet
all were brought under a deep sense of sin,
guilt and danger, and none obtained
satisfactory discoveries of their safety in
Christ, till they were brought to despair of
all help for themselves, and to feel that they
lay at the mercy of God. There were no
instances of such sudden conversions, nor of
those ecstatic raptures spoken of in other
places. Some who at one time were deeply
affected, soon wore off their impressions, but
Mr. Dickinson says he did not know of any two
persons who gave reasonable evidence of
conversion, who had disappointed his hopes.
About sixty persons in Elizabethtown, and a
number in the adjoining parish, were regarded
as having experienced a change of heart during
this revival.*
In New Brunswick and its
neighborhood, Mr. Gilbert Tennent informs us,
the labors of the Rev. Mr. Frelinghuysen, of
the Dutch Reformed Church, had been much
blessed, especially about the time of his
first settlement over that people in the year
1720. When Mr. Tennent took charge of the
Presbyterian Church in New Brunswick, about
1727, he had the pleasure of seeing many
proofs of the usefulness of his worthy
fellow-laborer in the cause of Christ. Mr.
Tennent was much distressed at his own
apparent want of success; for eighteen months
after his settlement, he saw no evidence that
any one had been savingly benefited by his
labors. He then commenced a serious
examination of the members of his church, as
to the grounds of their hope, which he found,
in many cases, to be but sand. Such he
solemnly warned and urged to seek converting
grace. By this method many were awakened, and
not a few, to all appearance, converted. As
the effect of his labors increased,
adversaries were multiplied; and his character
was unjustly aspersed, which, however, did not
discourage him. He preached much, at this
time, upon original sin, repentance, the
nature and necessity of conversion; and
endeavored to alarm the secure by the terrors
of the Lord, as well as to affect them by
other topics of persuasion.
* President Dickinson's
Letter to Rev. Mr. Foxcroft, dated August 23,
1743, in the Christian History, No. 32.
These efforts were
followed by the conviction and conversion of a
considerable number of persons at various
places, and at different times. During his
residence at New Brunswick there was no great
ingathering of souls, at any one time, .though
there were frequent gleanings of a few here
and there. During the revival of 1740, New
Brunswick, he says, felt some drops of, the
spreading rain, but no general shower.* In his
Journal, under the date of November 20, 1739,
Whitefield has the following entry, relating
to New Brunswick: " Preached about noon
near two hours, in worthy Mr. Tennent's
meeting-house, to a large assembly gathered
from all parts. About 3 P.M. I preached again,
and at 7 I baptized two children and preached
a third time with greater freedom than at
either of the former opportunities. It is
impossible to tell with what pleasure the
people of God heard those truths confirmed by
a minister of the Church of England, which,
for many years, had been preached by their own
pastor." With regard to the revival at
Baskinridge, about twenty miles to the north
of New Brunswick, we know little, beyond what
is stated in Mr. Whitefield's Journal, under
the date just quoted. He there speaks of what
be had heard of the wonderful effusions of the
Spirit in that congregation, of the 'frequent
sudden conversions which had there occurred,
etc. These are all, however,second-hand
reports, on which little reliance can be
placed, especially as the pastor of that
church, though making the highest pretensions
to zeal and piety, was left to bring a sad
disgrace upon the ministry and upon the
revival of which he was one of the most
prominent advocates. Whitefield visited
Philadelphia in November, 1739. He found the
Episcopal churches, for a time, freely opened
to him. On one occasion, he says, " After
I had done preaching, a young gentleman, once
a minister of the Church of England, but now
secretary to Mr. Penn, stood up, and with a
loud voice warned the people against the
doctrine which I had been delivering; urging
that there was no such term as imputed
righteousness in Holy Scripture, and that such
a doctrine put a stop to all goodness.
* Letter to Rev. Mr.
Prince, dated Philadelphia, August 24,
1744.-Christian History, Nos. 88, 89, 90.
When he had ended, I
denied his first proposition, and brought a
text to prove that imputed righteousness was a
scriptural expression; but thinking the church
an improper place for disputation, I said no
more at that time. The portion of Scripture
appointed to be read, was Jeremiah xxiii.,
wherein are the words, I The Lord our
righteousness.' Upon them I discoursed in -the
afternoon, and showed how the Lord Jesus was
to be our whole righteousness; proved how the
contrary doctrine overthrew divine revelation;
answered the objections that were made against
the doctrine of an imputed righteousness ;
produced the Articles of our Church to
illustrate it ; and concluded with an
exhortation to all, to submit to Jesus Christ,
who is the end of the law for righteousness to
every one that believeth. The word came with
power. The church was thronged within and
without; all wonderfully attentive, and many,
as I was informed, convinced that the Lord
Jesus Christ was our righteousness."
Whitefield's, sentiments, manner of preaching,
and clerical habits were so little in
accordance with those of the majority of his
Episcopal brethren, that this harmonious
intercourse did not long continue. Their
pulpits were soon closed against him, and he
commenced preaching in the open air. One of
his favorite stations was the balcony of the
old court-house in Market street. Here he
would take his stand, while his audience
arranged themselves on the declivity of the
hill on which the court-house stood.* The
effects produced in Philadelphia by his
preaching, "were truly astonishing.
Numbers of all denominations, and many who had
no connection with any denomination, were
brought to inquire, with the utmost
earnestness, what they must do to be saved.
Such was the eagerness of the multitude for
spiritual instruction, that there was public
worship regularly twice a day for a year; and
on the Lord's day it was celebrated thrice,
and frequently four times."++
* It is said that his
voice was so distinct, that every word he
uttered, while reaching from the court-house,
could be heard by persons in a vessel at treet
wharf, at a distance of more than four hundred
feet. It is even stated hat his voice was
heard on the Jersey shore, a distance of at
least a mile. Gillies'Life of Whitefield, p.
39. ++ Memoirs of Mrs. Hannah Hodge,
Philadelphia, 1806.
During the winter of
1739-40, Whitefield visited the South, and
returned to Philadelphia by sea the following
spring. His friends now erected a stage for
him on what was called Society Hill, where he
preached for some time to large and deeply
affected audiences. When he left the city, he
urged his followers to attend the ministry of
the Tennents and their associates. These
gentlemen, accordingly, continued to labour
among the people, and thus cherished and
extended the impressions produced by
Whitefield's preaching. In the course of this
year, he collected funds for the erection of a
permanent building for the use of itinerant
ministers. This house afterwards became the
seat of the college, and subsequently,
university of Pennsylvania. Here Whitefield
preached whenever he visited the city, and
here his associates, especially the Tennents,
and Messrs. Rowland, Blair, and Finley,
ministered daring his absence. In 1743, the
people who had been accustomed to attend upon
the occasional ministrations of the
above-named gentlemen, determined to form
themselves into a church, and to call a stated
pastor. They Accordingly presented a call to
the Rev.Gilbert Tennent, who accepted their
invitation, and was installed over them by the
Presbytery of New Brunswick. In the letter
already quoted, Mr. Tennent, after speaking of
the low state of religion in Philadelphia,
before the visits of Mr. Whitefield, and of
the immediate effects of his preaching, says,
that though some who were then awakened had
lost their seriousness, and others fallen into
erroneous doctrines, yet many gave every
rational evidence of being true Christians.
That some should have been led astray by the
fair speeches and cunning craftiness of those
that lie in wait to deceive, he thought was
not to be wondered at, considering that the
greater portion of them had not had the
benefit of a strict religious education. He
says he knew of none, who had been well
acquainted with the doctrines of religion, in
their connection, and established in them, who
bad been thus turned aside. In May, 1744, he
administered the Lord's supper to his people,
for the first time, as a distinct church. The
number of communicants was above one hundred
and forty, almost all of whom were the fruits
of the recent revival. Besides these, many
others connected with other churches were
regarded as Mr. Whitefield's converts. Mr.
Tennent concludes his account by stating, that
though there was a considerable falling off in
the liveliness of the religious feeling of the
people, yet they were growing more humble and
merciful, and that their whole conversation
made it evident that the bent of their hearts
was towards God.* The Rev. Samuel Blair gives
substantially the following account of the
revival in New Londonderry, (Fagg's Manor,) in
Pennsylvania. The congregation was formed in
that place about the year 1725, and consisted,
as did all the Presbyteritn churches in
Pennsylvania, with two or three exceptions, of
emigrants from Ireland. Mr. Blair, who was the
first pastor of the church at Londonderry, was
installed there, November, 1739.
During that
winter, some four or five persons were brought
under deep convictions; and in the following
March, during a temporary absence of the
pastor, while a neighbouring minister was
preaching in his place, such a powerful
impression was made upon the people, that some
of them broke out into audible crying; a thing
previously unknown in that part of the
country. A similar effect was produced by the
first sermon preached by Mr. Blair, after his
return. The number of the awakened now
increased very fast, and the Sabbath
assemblies were exceedingly large, people
coming from all quarters to a place where
there was an appearance of the divine presence
and power. There was scarcely a sermon
preached during that summer, without manifest
evidence of a deep impression being made upon
the hearers. Often this impression was very
great and general; some would be overcome to
fainting; others deeply sobbing; others crying
aloud; while others would be weeping in
silence. In some few cases, the exercises were
attended by strange convulsive agitations of
the body. It was found that the greater
portion of those thus seriously affected were
influenced by a fixed and rational conviction
of their dangerous condition.
The general
behaviour of
the people was soon very manifestly altered.
Those who were concerned, spent much time in
reading the Bible and other good books, and it
was a great satisfaction to the people to find
how exactly the doctrines which they daily
heard preached to them, agreed with those
taught by godly men in other places and in
former times. Mr. Blair insisted much in his
preaching upon the miserable state of man by
nature, on the way of recovery through Jesus
Christ, on the nature and necessity of faith,
warning his hearers not to depend upon their
repentance, Prayers, or reformation ; nor to
seek peace in extraordinary ways, by visions,
dreams, or immediate inspirations, but by an
understanding view and believing persuasion of
the way of life, as revealed in the gospel,
through the suretyship-obedience and
sufferings of Jesus Christ. His righteousness
they were urged to accept as the only means of
justification and life. Many of those who were
convinced, soon gave satisfactory evidence
that God had brought them to a saving faith in
Christ. In most cases the Holy Spirit seemed
to use for this purpose, some particular
passage of the Scriptures, some promise or
some declaration of the way of salvation
through Jesus Christ. In others, there was no
such prominence in the mind of the inquirer
given to an one particular passage. Those who
experienced such remarkable relief could not
only give a rational account of the change in
their feelings, but also exhibited the usual
fruits of a genuine faith: particularly
humility, love, and affectionate regard to the
will and honour of God. Much of their
exercises was in self-abasing and self
loathing, and admiring the astonishing
condescension and grace of God towards those
who were so unworthy. They freely and sweetly
chose the way of his commands, and were
desirous to live according to his will and to
the glory of his name. There were others who
had no such lively exercises, and yet, gave
evidence of faith in Christ, though it was not
attended with such a degree of liberty and
joy. Such persons, however, generally long
continued to be suspicious of their own case.
* Letter to Mr. Prince,
No. 89. As to the permanent results of this
work, it is stated that those who had merely
some slight impressions of a religious
character, soon lost,them; and some who were
for a time greatly distressed, seemed to have
found peace in some other way than through
faith in Christ. There were, however, a
considerable number who gave scriptural
evidence of having been savingly renewed.
Their walk was habitually tender and
conscientious; their carriage towards their
neighbours was just and kind, and they had a
peculiar love to all who bore the image of
God. They endeavoured to live for God, and
were much grieved on account of their
imperfections, and the plague of their hearts.
Entire harmony prevailed in the congregation.
Indeed there was scarcely any open opposition
to the work from the beginning, though some
few of the people withdrew, and joined the
ministers who unhappily opposed the revival.
During the summer of 1740, the shower of
divine influence spread extensively through
Pennsylvania, and beyond the borders of that
province. Certain ministers distinguished for
their zeal were earnestly sought for in all
directions; vacant congregations solicited
their services; and even some of the clergy
who were not disposed heartily to co-operate
in the work,. yielded to the importunity of
their people, and invited those ministers to
visit their congregations. Great assemblies
would ordinarily meet to hear them, upon any
day of the week, and frequently a surprising
power attended their preaching. Great numbers
were thus convinced of their perishing
condition, and there is every reason to
believe that many were savingly converted to
God.*
Among the places in Pennsylvania
particularly favoured during this season, were
New Providence, Nottingham, White Clay Creek,
and Neshaminy. With regard to the first of
these places, Mr. Rowland, who after leaving
New Jersey laboured much among those churches,
says that it was while he was travelling among
them that Cirod chose as the time of their
ingathering to Christ, and that since he
laboured statedly among those people he was as
much engaged in endeavouring to build up those
who had been called into fellowship with God,
as to awaken and convince the careless.
"As to their conviction, and conversion
unto God," he adds, "they are able
to give a scriptural account of them. I
forbear to speak of many extraordinary
appearances, such as scores crying out at one
instant,falling, and fainting.
* Letter of Mr. Blair to
Mr. Prince, dated August, 6, 1744, Christian
History, No. 83; published also in Mr. Blair's
Works, p. 336. VOL.II.-3
These people are still
increasing, blessed be the Lord, and are
labouring to walk in communion.with God and
one another."Gillies, vol. ii. p. 324
Whitefield mentions his having preached at
Neshaminy on the23d of April, 1740, to more
than five thousand persons; "upwards of
fifty," he adds, " I hear, have
lately been brought under conviction of sin in
this place." With regard to Nottingham he
gives the following account. " There a
good work had begun some time ago,by the
ministry of Mr. Blair, Messrs. Tennent, and
Mr. Cross; the last of whom was denied the use
of the pulpit, and was obliged to preach in
the woods, where the Lord manifested his
glory, and caused many to cry out, What shall
we do to be saved ? It surprised me to see
such a multitude gathered together at so short
a notice, in Such a desert place. I believe
there were near twelve thousand hearers. I had
not spoken long, when I perceived numbers
melting. And as I preached, the power
increased, till at last, both in the morning
and afternoon, thousands cried out, so that
they almost drowned my voice. Never before did
I see a more glorious sight. Oh what strong
crying and tears were shed and poured forth
after the dear Lord Jesus ! Some fainted; and
when they bad got a little strength, would
hear and faint again. Others cried out in a
manner almost as if they were in the sharpest
agonies of death. I think I was never myself
filled with greater power. After I had
finished my last discourse, I was so pierced,
as it were, and overpowered with God's love,
that some thought, I believe, that I was about
to give up the ghost."
The next day he
preached at Fagg's Manor, where the
congregation was nearly as large as it had
been at Nottingham, and " the commotion
in the hearts of the people" as great, if
not greater. It is evident there must have
been an extraordinary influence on the minds
of the people to produce such vast assemblies,
and such striking effects from the preaching
of the gospel. There reason to doubt that
there was much that was rational and
scriptural in the experience of the persons
thus violently agitated; yet there can be as
little doubt that much of the outward effect
above described was the result of mere natural
excitement, produced by powerful impressions
made upon excited imaginations by the fervid
eloquence of the preacher, and propagated
through the crowd by the mysterious influence
of symphathy. Mr. Whitefield preached in New
York repeatedly, during his second and third
visits to this country, and was kindly
received by the Rev. Mr. Pemberton, pastor of
the Presbyterian church in that city, but no
very remarkable results seem to have there
attended his ministry. In no part of our
country was the revival more interesting, and
in very few was it so pure as in Virginia. The
state of religion in that province was
deplorable.
There was "a surprising
negligence in attending public worship, and an
equally surprising levity and unconcernedness
in those that did attend. Family religion a
rarity, and a solemn concern about eternal
things a greater. Vices of various kinds
triumphant, and even a form of godliness not
common."* "Much the larger portion
of the clergy were, at this time, deficient in
the great duty of placing distinctly before
the people the fundamental truths of the
gospel." ++ Various circumstances had
conspired to supply the established church of
Virginia with ministers unfitted for their
stations; and under the influence of men
unqualified to be either the teachers or
examples of their flocks, religion had been
reduced to a very low state. There were indeed
some faithful ministers, and some who were
sincerely seeking the Lord in the communion of
the Church of England. Still all accounts
agree as to the general prevalence of
irreligion among both the clergy and the
laity. It seems that even before the year
1740, some persons had been led, partly by
their own reflections, and partly by the
perusal of some of the writings of Flavel and
others, to feel a deep interest in the
concerns of religion. This was the case
particularly with Mr. Samuel Morris, who
having obtained relief to his own mind, became
anxious for the salvation of his neighbours.
He accordingly began to read to them the works
which he had found so useful to himself,
especially Luther on the Galatians.
* Davies's Letter to Mr.
Bellamy, Gillies Collection, Vol. ii. p. 330.
++ Hawks's Contributions to the Ecclesiastical
History of the United States, Vol.i. P. "5. +
Davies's Narrative.
Part 2,
Part 3
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