N04004:75
Some thoughts concerning the present revival of religion in New-England, and the way in…
Some thoughts concerning the present revival of religion in New-England, and the way in which it ought to be acknowledged and promoted, humbly offered to the public, in a treatise on that subject. : In five parts; Part I. Showing that the work that has of late been going on in this land, is a glorious work of God. Part II. Showing the obligations that all are under, to acknowledge [sic], rejoice in and promote this work, and the great danger of the contrary. Part III. Showing in many instances, wherein the subjects, or zealous promoters, of this work have been injuriously blamed. Part IV. Showing what things are to be corrected or avoided, in promoting this work, or in our behaviour under it. Part V. showing positively what ought to be done to promote this work. / By Jonathan Edwards, A.M. Pastor of the Church of Christ at Northampton. ; [Two lines from Isaiah]Some thoughts concerning the present revival of religion in New-England, and the way in which it ought to be acknowledged and promoted, humbly offered to the publick, in a treatise on that subject. : In five parts; Part I. Shewing that the work that has of late been going on in this land, is a glorious work of God. Part II. Shewing the obligations that all are under, to acknowlege [sic], rejoice in and promote this work, and the great danger of the contrary. Part III. Shewing in many instances, wherein the subjects, or zealous promoters, of this work have been injuriously blamed. Part IV. Shewing what things are to be corrected or avoided, in promoting this work, or in our behaviour under it. Part V. shewing positively what ought to be done to promote this work. / By Jonathan Edwards, A.M. Pastor of the Church of Christ at Northampton. ; [Two lines from Isaiah]
Boston: printed by S. Kneeland and T. Green, 1742
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Censuring others is the worst Disease with which this Affair has been attended: But yet such a Time as this is indeed a Time of great Temptation to this sinful Error. When there has been such a Time of great and long continued Deadness, and many are brought out of a State of Nature into a State of Grace, in so extraordinary a Manner, and filled with such uncommon Degrees of Light, 'tis natural for such to form their Notions of a State of Grace wholly from what they experience; many of them know no other Way; for they never have been taught much about a State of Grace, and the different Degrees of Grace, and the Degrees of Darkness and Corruption that Grace is consistent with, nor concerning the Manner of the Influences of the Spirit in converting a Soul, and the Variety of the Manner of his Operations: They therefore forming their Idea of a State of Grace only by their own Experience, no Wonder that it appears an insuperable Difficulty to them to reconcile ⟨p. 47⟩such a State, of which they have this Idea, with what they observe in Professors that are about them. 'Tis indeed in it self a very great Mystery, that Grace should be consistent with so much and such Kind of Corruption as sometimes prevails in the truly godly; and no Wonder that it especially appears so to uninstructed new Converts, that have been converted in an extraordinary Manner.
Tho' Censoriousness be a Thing that is very sinful, and is most commonly found in Hypocrites and Persons of a pharisaical Spirit, yet it is not so inconsistent with true Godliness as some imagine. We have remarkable Instances of it in those holy Men that we have an Account of in the Book of Job: Not only were Job's three Friends, that seem to have been eminently holy Men, guilty of it, in very unreasonably censuring the best Man on Earth, very positively determining that he was an unconverted Man; But Job himself, that was not only a Man of true Piety, but excelled all Men in Piety, and particularly excelled in a humble, meek and patient Spirit, was guilty of bitterly censuring his three Friends, as wicked, vile Hypocrites. Job 16. 9, 10. 11. He teareth me in his Wrath who hateth me, he gnasheth upon me with his Teeth; mine Enemy sharpeneth his Eyes upon me: They have gaped upon me with their Mouth.—GOD hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the Hands of the Wicked. So he is very positive in it that they are Hypocrites, and shall be miserably destroyed as such, in the next Chapter, v. 2, 3, 4. Are