Jonathan Edwards was part of an extraordinary revival in the 1730s and 1740s. Few Christians would argue that the First Great Awakening was the result of manufactured or manipulated revivalism. But what many have missed is that before revival visited Edwards’ church and nation, Edwards sought it. He longed for it and prayed for it, and when it came he urged others to fan its flames through the use of certain means.
My claim will come as a surprise to those who have seen the First Great Awakening as a series of revivals in which “the instruments are not apparent,” but “seemed to come directly from the presence of the Lord, unasked for, unexpected.”[1]For decades, historians and pastors have contrasted the First and Second Great Awakenings in part by claiming that the leaders of 19th century revivalism used means to pursue revival, while Edwards and his 18th century colleagues did not. This common narrative obscures the fact that Edwards called for a vigorous use of what he saw as biblical means for the explicit purpose of seeing God send an extraordinary revival.
Edwards steadfastly believed that revival was a work of God, not man: “There is very much to convince
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