Chapter 7.
“My prayer hath power with God; the grace
Unspeakable I now receive;
Through faith, I see Thee face to face,
I see Thee face to face and live;
In vain, I have not wept and strove;
Thy nature and Thy name is Love.” ―Wesley.
The angel has seemed of late to trouble the waters, “said Brainerd in the month of August, 1745, and the time had come when the multitude of his poor sin-stricken Indians should hasten down the steps of repentance to find restoration and salvation in the fountain open for sin and uncleanness. At last, the burden of so many prayers of strong crying’s after God in the darkness of the forest and of languishing longings for the souls of the benighted was answered abundantly, and the very windows of heaven opened to shower down the blessing of grace Divine. The servant had long to wait and, sometimes in the cloudy prospect of continued disappointment, Brainerd had felt need enough to pray for himself that his own faith fail not.” My rising hopes, respecting the conversion of the Indians, “he says,” have been so often dashed, that my spirit is as it were broken and courage wasted, and I dare hardly hope. “Not only so, his power in preaching sometimes showed a conscious droop, and perhaps because of the depression of his own heart, seeing so little fruit of his incessant labors, the liberty and zeal of his utterances flagged. Here we see how wonderfully God was educating him, and how in the right spirit he learned the lesson of discipline.” It pleased God to leave me very dry and barren, “he says in a note after preaching one day,” so I do not remember to have been so straitened for a whole twelvemonth past. God is just, and He has made my soul acquiesce in His will in this regard. It is contrary to flesh and blood to be cut off from all freedom in a large auditory, where their expectations are much raised, but so it was with me, and God helped me to say Amen to it― “Good is the will of the Lord.”
Now, however, the cloud lifts and the heart compelling light of the Spirit of the Lord scatters the darkness. The revival in Susquehannah will stand on record as one of the most remarkable events in the history of Christian enterprise. Suddenly upon the whole Indian population fell what Brainerd calls “a most surprising concern.” From all parts, the people came streaming in, holding his bridle and crowding round his horse to catch a few words of instruction, standing in speechless interest to hear his preaching, and falling down in frantic distress of soul. He stood among them and talked about those wondrous words, “Herein is love,” while the air was full of their cries for mercy. “Not three in forty,” he says, “were unaffected in this manner.” One of the striking features of this revival was the fact that the preaching to which they listened had nothing of the terrors of the law in it. Brainerd specially observes this, and is surprised to find the hearts of these Indians so melted by the story of the love of Jesus. He walks up to a group of men who are bitterly weeping, and asks them what they want God to do for them. They replied, “They wanted Christ should wipe their hearts quite clean, etc. Surprising were now the doings of the Lord, that I can say no less of this day―and I need say no more of it―than that the arm of the Lord was powerfully and marvelously revealed in it.” The cry of those penitents is well expressed by one who himself had preached the Gospel to the Indians in Georgia: ―
“O my God what must I do?
Thou alone the way canst show;
Thou canst save me in this hour,
I have neither will nor power;
God, if over all Thou art,
Greater than my sinful heart,
All Thy power on me be shown,
Take away the heart of stone.”
Here is a brief extract from Brainerd’s journal, describing in his own words at the time, some of these extraordinary scenes of spiritual awakening: ―
“In the afternoon I preached to the Indians, their number was now about sixty-five persons, men, women, and children. I discoursed from Luke 14:16-2316Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. (Luke 14:16‑23), and was favored with uncommon freedom in my discourse. There was much visible concern among them while I was discoursing publicly, but afterward when I spoke to one and another more particularly, whom I perceived under much concern, the power of God seemed to descend upon the assembly like “a rushing mighty wind,” and with an astonishing energy bore down all before it.
“I stood amazed at the influence which seized the audience almost universally and could compare it to nothing more aptly than the irresistible force of a mighty torrent or swelling deluge, that with its insupportable weight and pressure bears down and sweeps before it whatever is in its way. Almost all persons of all ages were bowed down with concern together, and scarce one was able to withstand the shock of this surprising operation. Old men and women who had been drunken wretches for many years, and some little children, not more than six or seven years of age, appeared in distress for their souls, as well as persons of middle age. And it was apparent these children (some of them at least) were not merely frightened with seeing the general concern, but were made sensible of their danger, the badness of their hearts, and their misery without Christ, as some of them expressed it. The most stubborn hearts were now obliged to bow. A principal man among the Indians, who before was most secure and self-righteous, and thought his state good because he knew more than the generality of the Indians had formerly done, and who with a great degree of confidence the day before told me he had been a Christian more than ten years, was now brought under solemn concern for his soul and wept bitterly. Another man, advanced in years, who had been a murderer, a pow-wow (or conjuror), a notorious drunkard, was likewise brought now to cry for mercy with many tears, and to complain much that he could be no more concerned when he saw his danger so very great.
“They were almost universally praying and crying for mercy in every part of the house and many out of doors, and numbers could neither go nor stand. Their concern was so great, each one for himself, that none seemed to take any notice of those about them, but each praying freely for himself. And I am to think they were to their own apprehension as much retired as if they had been individually by themselves in the thickest desert, or believe rather that they thought nothing about any but themselves, and their own states and so here every one praying apart although all together.
“It seemed to me there was now an exact fulfillment of that prophecy, Zechariah 12 to, 11, 12 for there was now a great mourning like the mourning of Hadadrimmon, and each seemed to mourn apart. We thought this had a near resemblance to the day of God’s power mentioned, Joshua 10:1414And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. (Joshua 10:14), for I must say I never saw any day like it in all respects; it was a day wherein I am persuaded, the Lord did much to destroy the kingdoms of darkness among this people.
“This concern in general was most rational and just, those who had been awakened any considerable time complained more especially of the badness of their hearts, and those newly awakened of the badness of their lives and actions past, and all were afraid of the anger of God, and of everlasting misery as the desert of their sins. Some of the white people who came out of curiosity to hear what this babbler would say to the poor ignorant Indians were much awakened, and some appeared to be wounded with a view of their perishing state.”
The picture of these poor children of the woods stretching out hands of faith to the Saviour, and weeping their way to forgiveness and peace, is full of spiritual beauty and interest. As Brainerd tells us, there were some white men who stood at a distance, possibly to criticize, of whom a few at any rate “who came to scoff remained to pray.” But others did as some do now, look on incredulously and with scarce concealed scorn at the sight of sinners finding salvation. They stand aside while as the great Master Himself said, “the publicans and the harlots” crowd into the kingdom, and the heathen who aforetime were afar off are now brought nigh by the blood of Jesus.
Human hearts in their bondage of misery and happy release by the atonement of Christ are still the same; there is a wonderful similarity between the three thousand who were pricked in their heart on the day of Pentecost, the crying Indians in Susquehannah, and those who gladly receive the Word to-day. This is evidenced by the following extract from Brainerd’s journal: ―
“A young Indian woman who I believe never knew before she had a soul, nor ever thought of any such thing, hearing that there was something strange among the Indians, came, it seems, to see what was the matter. On her way to the Indians she called at my lodgings, and when I told her I designed presently to preach to the Indians, laughed and seemed to mock; but went, however, to them. I had not proceeded far in my public discourse before she felt effectually that she had a soul, and before I had concluded my discourse, she was so convinced of her sin and misery and so distressed with concern for her soul’s salvation, that she seemed like one pierced through with a dart, and cried out incessantly. She could neither go, nor stand, nor sit on her seat without being held up. After public service was over she lay flat on the ground praying earnestly, and would take no notice of nor give any answer to any that spoke to her. I hearkened to know what she said, and perceived the burden of her prayer to be, Guttummaukalummeh weehaumeh Kineleh Ndah; that is Have mercy on me and help me to give you my heart.” And thus she continued praying incessantly for many hours together. This was, indeed, a surprising day of God’s power, and seemed enough to convince an atheist of the truth, importance, and power of God’s Word.
“I spent almost the whole day with the Indians, the former part of it in discoursing to many of them privately, and especially to some who had lately received comfort, and endeavoring to inquire into the grounds of it as well as to give them some proper instructions, cautions, and directions.
“In the afternoon I discoursed to them publicly. There were now present about seventy persons, old and young. I opened and applied the parable of the sower, Matthew 13. I was enabled to discourse with much plainness, and found afterward that this discourse was very instructive to them. There were many tears among them while I was discoursing publicly, but no considerable cry, yet some were much affected with a few words spoken from Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28), “Come unto Me all ye that labor,” etc. with which I concluded my discourse. But while I was discoursing near night to two or three of the unknown persons a Divine influence seemed to attend what was spoken to them in a peaceful manner, which caused the persons to cry out in anguish of soul although I spoke not a word of terror, but on the contrary set before them the fullness and all suffering of Christ’s merits and His willingness to save all that came to Him, and therefore pressed them to come without delay.
“The cry of these was soon heard by others, who though scattered before, immediately gathered round. I then proceeded in the same strain of Gospel invitation, till they were all melted into tears and cried except two or three, and seemed in the greatest distress to find and secure an interest in the great Redeemer; some who had but little more than a ruffle made in their passions the day before, seemed now to be deeply affected and wounded at heart, and the concern in general appeared to us as prevalent as it was on the day before. There was indeed a very treat mourning among them, and yet everyone seemed to mourn apart. For so great was their concern that almost everyone was praying and crying for himself, as if none had been near; Guttummaukalummeh, guttummaukalummeh; that is, “Have mercy upon me, have mercy upon me,” was the common cry.
“It was very affecting to see the poor Indians, who the other day were hallooing and yelling in their idolatrous feasts and drunken frolics now crying to God with such importunity for an interest in His dear Son. I found two or three persons who I had reason to hope had taken comfort upon good grounds since the evening before, and these with others that had obtained comfort were together, and seemed to rejoice much that God was carrying on His work with such force upon others.”
Faith we know without works is dead, and the reality of this great spiritual stir among the Indians was proved by this thoroughness of their change of life. When they had received the inexpressible comfort of Christ’s peace, these converts asked Brainerd for instruction as to their mode of life, and were willing to do anything which would conform their conduct to the principles of the Christian religion. Questions of morality, of honesty in trading, of kindness to children, and duty to wives and husbands, were discussed freely with a desire to know the way of God in these matters. One chief who had deserted his wife was ready now to return to her, and behave as a good and faithful husband, and this he publicly promised. She being also a Christian convert did likewise solemnly vow to be faithful and forgiving to him. Brainerd is not far wrong in estimating this action at its proper value when he says, “There appeared a clear demonstration of the power of God’s Word upon their hearts. I suppose a few weeks before the whole world could not have persuaded this man to a compliance with Christian rules in this affair.”
Others seem to have caught the spirit of their teacher, and were so happy in their communion with God, that they cared not how soon the earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved that they might be with Him for evermore. To them Brainerd explained the doctrine of the resurrection, and they evidently understood the glorious hope which lights the Christian’s grave with radiance from the other side.
Another simple incident very strikingly portrays the effect of the tenderness which the heart felt now under the power of Christ. An Indian squaw, who had been converted in those days of blessing, was found one morning weeping very bitterly. She had spoken in anger to her child the evening before, and the thought of it had made her so grieved and sorry that until daylight she wept over her misdoing. The poor woman with her enlightened conscience had reached a point of sensitiveness to which perhaps many of the more privileged mothers of to-day have not by any means attained.
As we have seen, these remarkable results of the work of Brainerd attracted the attention of his own countrymen, and he tells us on more than one occasion how his congregation was augmented by Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, etc. From these, however, he does not seem to have had much encouragement, and on one occasion makes a note of “There being a multitude of white people present, I made an address to them at the close of my discourse to the Indians, but could not so much as keep them orderly, for scores of them kept walking and gazing about, and behaved more indecently than any Indians I ever addressed, and a view of their abusive conduct so sunk my spirits that I could scarce go on with my work.”
But the love of his own people warmed his heart; and those for whose sake he had given up everything dear in life now clustered round the pale, young, missionary with gratitude and attachment. The sight of whole tribes of Indians hungering and thirsting after the righteousness which is in Christ Jesus, gave him comfort and joy beyond all expression, and compensated him for the weary waiting, the sufferings, bodily and mentally, the exposure, privations, and lonely distress he had endured, for at last he saw the work of the Lord prospering in his hands.
“There are no words like these words; how blessed they be!
How calming when Jesus says, Come unto Me.
O hear them, my heart, they were spoken to me,
And still they are calling thee― Come unto Me.”
“I will walk through the world with these words on my heart;
Through sorrow or sin they shall never depart;
And when dying I hope He will whisper to me,
I have loved thee, and saved thee, come, sinner, to Me.”
Paxton Hood.