The Life of Rev. David Brainerd, Chiefly Extracted from His DiaryBrainerd, David
Religion
The Life of Rev. David Brainerd, Chiefly Extracted from His Diary
Brainerd, David
Indians of North America -- Missions -- Early works to 1800
“Yet it must be acknowledged that, when this work became so universal
and prevalent, and gained such general credit and esteem among the
Indians that Satan seemed to have little advantage of working against it
in his own proper garb, he then transformed himself ‘into an angel of
light,’ and made some vigorous attempts to introduce turbulent
commotions of the passions in the room of genuine convictions of sin,
imaginary and fanciful notions of Christ, as appearing to the mental eye
in a human shape, and in some particular postures, &c. in the room of
spiritual and supernatural discoveries of his divine glory and
excellency, as well as many other delusions. I have reason to think,
that, if these things had met with countenance and encouragement, there
would have been a very considerable harvest of this kind of converts
here.
“_Spiritual pride_ also discovered itself in various instances. Some
persons, whose feelings had been greatly excited, seemed very desirous
from thence of being thought truly gracious; who, when I could not but
express to them my fears respecting their spiritual state, discovered
their resentments to a considerable degree. There also appeared in one
or two of them, an unbecoming ambition of being teachers of others. So
that Satan has been a busy adversary here as well as elsewhere. But,
blessed be God, though something of this nature has appeared, yet
nothing of it has prevailed, nor indeed made any considerable progress
at all. My people are now apprised of these things, are made acquainted,
that Satan in such a manner ‘transformed himself into an angel of
light,’ in the first season of the great outpouring of the divine Spirit
in the days of the apostles; and that something of this nature, in a
greater or less degree, has attended almost every revival and remarkable
propagation of true religion ever since. They have learned so to
distinguish between the gold and dross, that the credit of the latter
‘is trodden down like the mire of the streets;’ and, as it is natural
for this kind of stuff to die with its credit, there is now scarce any
appearance of it among them.
“As there has been no prevalence of irregular heats, imaginary notions,
spiritual pride, and satanical delusions among my people; so there have
been very few instances of scandalous and irregular behavior among those
who have made a profession, or even an appearance of seriousness. I do
not know of more than three or four such persons who have been guilty of
any open misconduct, since their first acquaintance with Christianity;
and I know of no one who persists in any thing of that nature. Perhaps
the remarkable purity of this work in the _latter_ respect, its freedom
from frequent instances of scandal, is very much owing to its purity in
the _former_ respect, its freedom from corrupt mixtures of spiritual
pride, wild-fire, and delusion, which naturally lay a foundation for
scandalous practices.
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