The Surprising Work of God

In 1737 and 1738 Jonathan Edwards manuscript, A Faithful Narrative Of The Surprising Work of God, describing the awakening of 1735 was published in London and America. He wrote the manuscript to give ministers and others who had inquired an accurate description of this profound work of God during his ministry at Northhampton Massachusetts.

I enjoy repeatedly picking up this work to be encouraged by what God has done in the past in his church and to goad my hope and praying for this kind of work of God in the present. While reading an excerpt over lunch today I was struck by these words of Edwards describing the effect he was seeing among the people in their town:

"Presently upon this a great earnest concern about the great things of religion and the eternal world became universal in all parts of the town, and among persons of all degrees and all ages; the noise among the dry bones waxed louder and louder; all other talk but about spiritual and eternal things was soon thrown by; all the conversations in all companies, and upon all occasions, was upon these things only, unless so much as was necessary for people carrying on their ordinary secular business. Other discourse than of the things of religion would scarcely be tolerated in any company. The minds of people were wonderfully taken off from the world; it was treated among us as a thing of very little consequence; they seemed to follow their worldly business more as a part of their duty than from any disposition they had to it; ... But though the people did not ordinarily neglect their worldly business, yet there then was the reverse of what commonly is: religion was with all classes the great concern, and the world was a thing only by the by. The only thing in their view was to get to the kingdom of heaven, and every one appeared pressing into it; the engagedness of their hearts in this great concern could not be hid; it appeared in their countenances. It then was a dreadful thing amongst us to lie out of Christ, in danger everyday of dropping into hell; and what persons minds were intent upon was to escape for their lives, and to fly from the wrath to come."

This work of God that Edwards witnessed was profound in that it made the business of the world as insignificant in comparison to the matters of God's kingdom. During this period of history in America a little over 10% of the population were church members. Their minds, hearts and lives were greatly engaged in their affairs, their business in the world. But when the Holy Spirit fell upon them through the faithful preaching of God's Word and the earnest prayers of the saints, they suddenly became engaged by God and those things associated with his gospel and kingdom.

We scarcely today walk away from the pew before a conversation begins about our business or someone else's business in the world. In our day the opposite is true as that of the awakening in 1735. People do not tolerate talk about the gospel or the kingdom in our towns. That is a private matter that is not to be tolerated in our cities. We must talk about the business of the day and only of God as he benefits our prosperity, power and leisure. Can you imagine living in a town, city or church where the things of the world pale in significance to the things of the kingdom, where peoples greatest concern is their assurance of salvation through God's grace in Christ and their holiness of life lived by faith in Christ?

I respond to this by weeping for my own coldness of heart, the state of the church, and the city I live in where God and his kingdom is treated so trivially. But I turn to the Scriptures to study and pray over them that God's Word may be preached faithfully this coming week, I plead with God to come with power to bring his church to repentance and faith, and I plead with him to come with converting power upon those dead in their sins and suffering under his wrath. I long for a surprising work of God.