WHILE TRAVELING recently through the New England States, I made it a point to visit Northampton, Massachusetts, scene of the great American revival of 1734-1735 and 1740- 1743. The Awakening began with a series of sermons on the subject of righteousness by faith, preached by Jonathan Edwards to his congregation. Only a stone slab marks the spot where his church stood. Nevertheless, what happened there soon spread to neighboring New Hampshire, and even into Connecticut.
News of the Northampton revival reached England, where an account of it was written up and circulated by Isaac Watts and John Guyse, and later John Wesley sent out another. In 1740 George Whitefield visited Northampton, and although the revival seems to have ceased there as quickly as it began, it burst forth into a mighty flame that swept across the Atlantic. Wesley and Whitefield became the central figures involved in Eng land.
A study of the Great Awakening and of other such revivals is most instructive, since we recognize that revival is our greatest need. Among the elements characteristic of genuine revival are the following:
1. The great revivals have always followed periods of in tense moral lapse. On this ground alone it is evident that revival is not only urgent today but long overdue.
2. Revivals have always been associated with Bible preaching on the great doctrinal foundations of the Christian faith with special emphasis on the theme of righteousness by faith. In recent years the new emphasis on the fundamentals of Christianity is encouraging. Discerning leaders among the more liberal main stream Protestant churches, as well as within the Roman Catholic communion, are urging a re turn to the basics of the gospel. The commendatory work of Pope John XXIII and Vatican II, in not only opening the way for laymen to read the Bible for themselves but encouraging them to do so, is perhaps the most promising event to occur within the Roman communion in recent times.
3. Revivals have always been associated with much prayer. Visiting Wesley's house (now a museum in London), one is deeply impressed with the little upstairs prayer room from whence came much of his power. So also with Whitefield, to whom prayer became his native air. "Oh, what sweet communion had I daily vouchsafed with God in prayer!" he exclaimed.
In revival, prayer and Bible study go together. Whitefield read the Bible on his knees, praying over every line and word. Wesley's soul was saturated with the Scriptures. So also was that of Jonathan Edwards and all the great revivalists. It was out of this closeness with the Bible that the prayers ascended that brought revival flames. As one of our leading Seventh-day Adventist theologians and educators, Edward Heppenstall, used to say as I sat in his college classes, "Prayer without Bible study leads to fanaticism. Bible study without prayer leads to cold formalism."
4. True revivals are always associated with reformation. Revival means a renewal of spiritual life, whereas reformation signifies a change in life style, a break with old habits and practices that are inconsistent with God's holy law. History records that revivals have always resulted in lower crime statistics and higher standards of morality. Only a genuine revival and reformation can bring a reversal to the sad state of morals and permissiveness so prevalent today. Only then will public opinion cause a change in the nauseating fare so often served up on our reading racks and TV shows.
Many voices are clamoring to be heard today, but what is re ally needed is a new spiritual awakening. Where are today's Edwards, Whitefields, and Wesleys? When such do appear we can anticipate that their voices will not always be well-received either. But it is time for many voices to cry out in the wilderness of bankrupt philosophies, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Will your voice and mine be heard among those sounding the call to a new great awakening?
