The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1905-11-04

gous communities. There is no doubt
that the influence Of the great awakening
went far TO prevent the decay Of retg-
ious faith and life in the period of the
Revolutionary War, when imported ir-
regularities and French inidelity first
got strong foothold on American soil.
! Edwards ) analysis Of the great awak-
ening is avery calm and judicial exam
ination Of the social. religious and theo-
logical conditions which characterized it,
and while he confesses to some failures
and partial results, he afiirms the posi-
| tive and lasting good secured by the
movement He claimed that the revival
! was not attended by any extraordinary
circumstances or excitement, and SAID
that, thought it had been noised abroad
that 'the people had symbolized with
the Quakers,' yet when some of Athat
seer had come to the scene, hoping for
| good waters to fish in, they were disap-
! pointed and left off coming.
| The great awakening was character
| lied by deep feeling, conviction Of sin
/ and awakened consciences, brought about
| by the spiritual life, and the clear Scrip
tural teachings of Jonathan Edwards as
/ instrument He appealed primarily to
the understanding, and through that to
the will.
With the revival inaugurated through
Edwards were commingled the move
ments which had Whitehall and Wesley
as leaders. Whitefeld first visited Amei-
lea in 1888, coming as the Wesleys had
previously come to Georgia. Oa his sec
ond visit, in 1740, he preached in the
/ month of October at Northampton, and
reminded the people of what God mad
formerly done for them,' at which they
We're greatly affected. In November he
/ preached in Newark ,Basking Ridge and
| Trenton. Whitefeld's record of his
work at this time in Newark is as fol-
lows:
4 Rode after sermon (he had been
preaching from a wagon that morning
on Staten Island to Newark. Preached
to considerable congregation, but with
| little influence. However, at night the
Lord manifested his glory In coming
| down to family prayer where lodged,
and perceiving many young men around
me, my soul was, as it We're, melted
down with concern for them. After
singing gave word of exhortaticn.
But how did the Word fall like a ham
mer and like fire, What a weeping was
there! One poor creature in particular
was ready to sing into the earth"
| The Wesleyan movement also crossed
| the sea from England and added its
practical Christianity and marked en-
! ergy and enthusiasm to the great awak-
| ening. becoming mighty factor in
strengthening faith and the religious kfe.
The Revolutionary period brought in
| tile various hindrances to religion that
are apt TO follow wars and great revo-
htions of thought and habits. 1t brougls
to our people irreligion and unrelig,on in
! the persons of foreign soldiers and adj
| yenturers. Also the period in which the
constitution was born, influenced as it
was by an overestimation of natural
rights and liberties, as compared with
| spiritual ideals, and assailed by Euro
pean infdelity, saw, much indifference
and backsEding Perhaps toward this
condition of things Thomas Paine con-
| tributed more than his share
Following this period of comparative
| depression. the religious life of the coun-
try at the commencement of the nine
teenth century began to spring up afresh.
| A new period of awakenings was ushered
in by the new century. The revivals oc-
Cured at different places. with no ap-
parent connection between them, and the
awakened spirit of the time permeated
most of the various denominations. The
foreign missionary movement previously
begun in Great Britain was no doubt
one great force that aroused the churches
to deeper interest in Christian work,
| and led them to see their own betterment
as basis for sending the Gospel to far
off lands.
| In Hollis. n. H, a revival began. un-
der the ministry of Rev. Eli Smith, in
1861, and resulted in large ingather-
| ing. Smith, in his account Of the events,
states that the awakening began with
the young people of his church, follow
ing upon special attention being given
in their needs and condition. The ex-
perience Of this pastor was very similar
to that of Edwards sixty-fve years be-
fore him.
| At Bloomfield then an almost exclu-