Monday, May 11, 2009

Jonathan Edwards and Manifestations of the Holy Spirit


Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) was the preacher of record when the Holy Spirit descended upon American in what's known as the Great Awakening.  He  is widely acknowledged to be America's most important and original philosophical theologianHe was totally unprepared for what happened, especially when he saw his congregants showing such audacious and public manifestations of the Holy Spirit.  

Just like today, Edwards had a multitude of critcs who accused him of being unorthodox at best, and heretical at worst.  History tells the truth.  This was his reply to critics of public physical manifestations of the Holy Spirit

  "But if god is pleased to convince the consciences of persons, so that they cannot avoid great outward manifestations, even to interrupting and breaking off those public means they were attending, I do not think this is confusion or an unhappy interruption, any more than if a company should meet on the fireld to pray for rain, and should be broken off from their exercise by a plentiful shower.
  Would to God that all the public assemblies in the land were broken off from their public exercises with such confusion as this the next Sabbath day! We need not be sorry for breaking the order of means, by obtaining the end to which that order is directed. He who is going to fetch a treasure need not be sorry that his is stopped by meeting the treasure in the midst of his journey."
Jonathan Edwards, “The Distinguishing Marks of a Word of the Spirit of God (Click here to read online).” In Jonathan Edwards on Revival (Carlisle, Pa.: the Banner of Truth trust, 1984), p.127

No comments: