was very great. In July, 1731, he delivered the
Thursday lecture in Boston, and his discourse was
printed and much approved. He regarded the
Arminian doctrines, then very prevalent, as dan-
gerous in their practical tendency, and in 1784
preached a series of sermons of a Calvinistic char-
acter, among which was an elaborate discourse on
"Justification by Faith alone." Soon afterward a
wonderful religious awakening began in his con-
gregation, exceeding anything that had been known
in any part of the country. In the year 1740 the
Rev. George Whitfield visited Mr. Edwards, spend-
ing four days with him, and preaching several
times. In this and the year following, the revival
extended far and wide through New England, and
Mr. Edwards's services were eagerly sought by
ministers and people in promoting the work. His
preaching was attended with great success, and one
sermon in particular, entitled " Sinners in the
Hands of an Angry God," delivered at Enfield,
was attended with extraordinary impressions. To
guard against fanatical excesses he wrote and
published about this time " The Distinguishing
Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God," " Thoughts
concerning the Present Revival of Religion," and
his famous " Treatise on Religious Affections."
At this moment of general religious prosperily,
and when iMr. Edwards was at the height of his
fame and usefulness, a great reverse came, entail-
ing the heaviest trial of his life. In 1744 he re-
ceived information that some young persons, mem-
bers of his church, had in their possession impure
books, which were causing an alarming demoraliza-
tion. He sought to have the church investigate
the matter, with a view to suitable discipline. The
church, finding that a great scandal was likely to
follow inquiry, refused to comply with the pastor's
wishes, and let the matter drop. This painful af-
fair weakened his influence, especially as it was
connected with a system of organization to which
the Northampton church was committed, and to
which Mr. Edwards was now strongly opposed.
His predecessor had favored what was known as
the " half-way covenant," and under his ministry
the church had practically, though not formally,
adopted it. According to this plan, unconverted
persons were admitted to the Lord's supper, and
their children to the rite of baptism. This was a
distinct departure from the old Congregational
rule, which restricted admission to the church and
its ordinances to those who professed personal re-
ligious convictions and aims. When it was known
that Mr. Edwards desired to enforce the old rule, a
storm of opposition rose against him, and thei'e
was a general cry that he should be dismissed. He
proposed to deliver a course of lectures on the sub-
jects in dispute, but his request was refused, and
at length, 22 June, 1750, after long and fruitless
efforts to avoid this result, he was forced to resign,
thus closing a ministry in Northampton of nearly
twenty-four years. With a large family and little
income aside from his salary, his situation was
painful in the extreme. He was not left, however,
without substantial tokens of sympathy. His
friends in Scotland invited him to establish him-
self in that country, and at once forwarded to him
a considerable sum of money. Samuel Davies, of
Virginia, entreated him to remove to that state,
offering to surrender to him his own parish, and
not a few of the people of Northampton adhered
to him, and would have been glad to maintain him,
had he consented to remain in the town. He pre-
ferred to accept an offer, from the London society
for propagating the gospel, to become a missionary
to the remnant of the Housatonnuck Indians at
Stockbridge. whither he removed in August, 1751.
At the same time the white inhabitants of the
town asked him to become their pastor. This exile
at Stockbridge was not without its compensations,
especially in the fact that he had more leisure than
ever before to prosecute the studies that were dear
to him. His preaching to the Indians was without
notes, aided by an interpreter. His slender income
was slightly augmented by the delicate handiwork
of his wife and daughters, which was sent to Boston
to be sold. While discharging his duties as a mis-
sionary with fidelity, he was able in this ppriod of
retirement to complete several of those master-
pieces on which his fame especially rests. His
mind was filled with plans of numerous treatises,
when his studies were interrupted by the death of
his son-in-law. President Burr, of Princeton col-
lege, and an unexpected call to succeed hira. With
modest reluctance he accepted the call, and was in-
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stalled as pi-esident, 16 Feb., 1758. The original building. Nassau Hall, is shown in the engraving. Plis brief service o^f thirty-four days was long enough to excite among the students satisfaction and wonder. The small-pox was prevailing in the neighborhood, and he was inoculated, but died of it, leaving as his last words. '• Trust in God, and ye need not fear." He was interred at Princeton. In 1872 his descendants erected to his memory at Stockbridge a monument of red granite twenty- five feet high. Edwards as a pastor and preacher cannot be considered apart from Edwards as a man. His excellence was of the kind that has long been described as saintly. The seventy " Resolutions" that he framed when a young man expressed an extraordinary piety and elevation of cliaracter, and i-eacted in consistently maintain- ing his high spiritual tone. His reputation was without a blemish. Though grave and reserved, he was not austere. His benevolence and pity for the poor were large and practical. He was self-restrained, and bore himself with calm dig- nity under all circumstances, even amid the bit- ter provocations that attended the rupture of his pastorate at Northampton. If somewhat over- stern and exacting as a father, he was far from be- ing unkind. He was an eager student, with a genuine thirst for knowledge. He read all the books that came in his wav, but studied the Bible more than all the rest. He had been trained by his father to read with pen in hand, and this be- came so much his habit that his pen was with him, even in his solitary walks for exercise, always ready to jot down the thoughts that might come to him. If not an eloquent preacher, he was certainly a most powerful and effective one. He was tall and slender, a little more than six feet in stature, and had a countenance expressive of intelligence
