[b]Rev. Asahel Nettleton And His Evangelistic Work.[/b]

In the middle portion of what is regarded by some writers as the most remarkable age of revivals in the history of the American Church, there appeared upon the stage, following each other in quick succession, three men, wonderfully endowed of God and wonderfully successful in their evangelical labor. These were Asahel Nettleton of New England, Daniel Baker of the Southern States, and Charles G. Finney of New York and Ohio. They were, for a considerable portion of their lives, cotemporaries, and yet their entrance upon the field of labor, as well as the chief work accomplished by each, was not synchronous, but following one the other, in the order in which their names have just been mentioned.

It is proposed in this chapter to give some account of the first of the three, Rev. Asahel Nettleton. He was himself a child of the great revival epoch just referred to, and from his early manhood, no one contributed more to its distinctive character and success. He had the distinction of being a sort of pioneer in the revival work, and in the end, he became as true a representative and exemplar of what are called American revivals, as any man who has ever preached amongst us. He seemed to possess a double portion of the evangelical spirit, and to combine, in his own character, all the highest and best gifts that fit a man for such work.

The epoch of revival in which these men of God successively commenced their ministry, had its beginning about the opening of the present century. It is sometimes called the Great Revival of 1800. But it is more appropriately styled the Revival of Development and Organization. It would be a great mistake to suppose that, the evangelists just named and others of the same order accomplished its chief or only work. They indeed acted an important, and, it may be, indispensable part, in their burning zeal, and by their itinerant labors. But in all parts of the land, especially in the New England States, in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, the Carolinas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio, the revival spirit took possession both of pastors and churches. Scores and hundreds of pastors had their own faithful labors sealed with the Divine blessing, in great and often repeated revivals; while most of the Colleges and Seminaries were visited in like manner.

Among the Colleges visited with seasons of refreshing and ingathering during all this period, may be mentioned, Yale, under the presidencies of Drs. Dwight, and Day, Princeton, under Dr. Ashbel Green, Dartmouth, under Dr. Lord, and Amherst, under Dr. Humphrey. As an illustration of leading pastors, in widely separated parts of the Church, whose charges witnessed continual outpourings of the Spirit, in what might be called an unbroken series of revivals, may be named, Dr. Gardiner Spring of New York, Dr. Heman Humphrey of Pittsfield, Mass., Dr. Lyman Beecher of Litchfield, Conn., and afterwards of East Hampton, L.I., Dr. John McDowell of Elizabeth, N.J., and afterwards of Philadelphia, Dr. James Patterson of Philadelphia, Dr. David McGee of Elizabeth, N.J., Dr’s. Christmas and Baldwin of New York, Dr. Ichabod Spencer of Brooklyn, Dr. William Nevins of Baltimore, Dr. Edward Payson of Portland, Me., Dr. Alvan Hyde of Lee, Mass., Dr. Edward G. Griffin of Newark, N. J., Drs. Benjamin H. Rice, and George A. Baxter of Virginia, and many others too numerous to mention. This revival did not soon exhaust its force and pass away, as did the Great Awakening of the preceding century, in the times of Whitefield, Edwards and the Tennents. But it spread its blessed influences over the whole first quarter of the century, or more properly dating from its earliest beginnings in 1790, it covered the whole period of half a century. During its continuance, and under its blessed influences, were inaugurated nearly all the great benevolent associations, and all the evangelical, missionary and educational Boards and agencies of the Church. Thus originated in rapid succession, the Bible, Tract, Sunday School, Temperance, Educational, Foreign and Rome Missionary Societies, and our Theological Seminaries, with other kindred institutions for the spread of the gospel, and conversion of the world.

Says Dr. Gardiner Spring, who was himself one of the early converts of this great movement, and lived to witness all its triumphs: “From the year 1800 down to the year 1825, there was an uninterrupted series of these celestial visitations spreading over different parts of the land. During the whole of these twenty-five years there was not a month in which we could not point to some village, some city, some seminary of learning, and say, ‘Behold what God hath wrought!’ “At a later period of his ministry, the same venerable writer, taking a wider survey, says: “The period, commencing with the year 1792, and terminating with 1842, was a memorable period in the history of the American Church. Scarcely any portion of it but was graciously visited by copious effusions of the Holy Spirit. From north to south, and from east to west, our male, and more especially our female academies, our colleges, and our churches drank largely of this fountain of living waters. It was my privilege to enter upon the course of academical life not far from the meridian of this bright day. There were no subjects that interested my mind more deeply, when I began my ministry among this people, than those revivals of religion which passed over the land of my boyhood.”

‘We have a similar testimony from Dr. Humphrey, President of Amherst College, in his “Revival Sketches.” “In looking back fifty years and more, the great revival of that period strikes me, in its thoroughness, in its depth, in its freedom from animal, unhealthy excitement, and its far-reaching influence on subsequent revivals, as having been decidedly in advance of any that had preceded it. It was the opening of a new revival epoch which has lasted now more than half a century, with but short and partial interruptions—and blessed be God, the end is not yet.”

During the entire period covered by the successive ministry of Drs. Nettleton, Baker and Finney, and in fact for more than ten years before Dr. Nettleton began his public labors, the Spirit of God was present in the churches and wrought mightily in the conversion of sinners. Not alone under the direct agency of these itinerating evangelists did the great movement go on. While they were working, all good pastors were everywhere at work with revived zeal and a fresh baptism of the Spirit. God himself was present in the churches. In whole regions of country, and in multitudes of churches, not visited by the evangelists, there were great and precious revivals. This was specially the case in New Jersey, in Pennsylvania, in Kentucky, in Virginia and New England. Says Dr. Humphrey, speaking of the twenty years when Dr. Nettleton was in active service on the field, “Hundreds and thousands of churches connected with the various evangelical denominations in all parts of the country, were visited and blessed by the gracious outpourings of the Spirit, notice of which constantly appeared in weekly and other periodicals of the time.” And it was well for the Church and for the Nation that it was so. For this was the very hour when our young, growing country, spreading its population in all directions, most needed God’s presence. This was the very hour when our whole American Church, passing through her formative and organizing state, most needed the saving, plastic influences of the Holy Ghost, upon her people and her institutions.

Asahel Nettleton, who was honored of God to perform so important a part in this great revival era, was born in North Killingworth, Connecticut, on the 21st of April 1783. In the eighteenth year of his age he was converted to God in a season of revival in the Church where he resided. It had been his expectation to spend his days in agricultural pursuits, as he had been reared on a farm. He was the oldest son of a family of six, and his father dying in 1801, the care of the family and the management of the farm seemed to devolve on him. But God designed him for a different course of life. While laboring in the field he would often say to himself: If I might be the means of saving one soul, I should prefer it to all the riches and honors of this world, he would frequently look forward to eternity, and put to himself the question: What shall I wish I had done thousands and millions of years hence? Reading the missionary magazines of the period, a strong desire was awakened in his breast to become a missionary to the heathen, and he decided to devote his life to the missionary service if God, in his providence, should prepare the way. This was at a time when no foreign missionaries had yet gone from our land. Born on the same day with Samuel J. Mills, the pioneer of our American Missionary Boards, young Nettleton shared fully in the feeling expressed by the former: “That he could not conceive of any course of life in which to pass the rest of his days, that would prove so pleasant, as to go and communicate the gospel salvation to the poor heathen.”

As there were no education societies in the land in his time, and his means were limited, he had much difficulty in obtaining a collegiate education. So strong, however, was his desire to become a minister of the gospel and a missionary to the heathen, that he resolved to make the attempt, even while laboring on the farm and devoting his leisure moments to study. After much difficulty and some delay, he succeeded in entering Yale College in 1805, and graduated after a four years’ course of study. He was licensed to preach the gospel in 1811, and was ordained as an evangelist in the summer of 1817 by the South Consociation of Litchfield.

After receiving license to preach, Mr. Nettleton refused to consider himself a candidate for settlement as pastor, because he intended and expected to engage in the missionary service as soon as the providence of God should prepare the way. He chose therefore to commence his labors in waste places, and in some of the most desolate places of the Lord’s vineyard. He accordingly went to the eastern part of’ Connecticut on the borders of Rhode Island, and preached for a few months in a region entirely destitute of settled pastors. But he was never permitted to go to the heathen. The reasons why he did not go are thus stated in his Memoir by Dr. Tyler: Soon after he began to preach, his labors were crowned With signal success. Wherever he went, the Spirit of God seemed to accompany his preaching. His brethren in the ministry, witnessing the success of his labors, were of opinion that he ought, at least, to delay the execution of his purpose to leave the country. In deference to their opinion, he consented to delay; and as his labors became increasingly successful, his brethren were more and more convinced that God had called him to labor as an evangelist at home. Still, he never entirely abandoned the idea of a foreign mission, until his health failed in 1822.”

In the year 1812 Mr. Nettleton went to South Britain, Conn., and then to South Salem, N. Y. He preached a week in one of these places and two months in the other with great solemnity, and with the manifest blessing of God on his labors. From that time onward through the next ten years it was his happy lot to be employed almost constantly in revivals of religion. These two meetings formed but the beginning of a series of the most wonderful outpourings of the Spirit of God, to be found in the history of the Church. His biographer, Dr. Tyler, heard him for the first time on one of these occasions, and thus describes his manner: “ It was in a school—house, crowded with people, not a few of whom were under deep conviction of sin. As he arose, being an entire stranger, every eye was fixed upon him, and a breathless silence pervaded the assembly. With great solemnity he looked upon the congregation, and thus began: ‘what is that murmur which I hear? —I wish I had a new heart. What shall I do? — They tell me to repent—I can’t repent—I wish they would give me some other direction.’ He thus went on for a short time, personating the awakened sinner, and bringing out the feelings of his heart. He then changed the form of his address, and in a solemn and affectionate manner, appealed to the consciences of his hearers, and showed them that they must repent or perish, that it was their reasonable duty to repent immediately, and that ministers could not direct them to anything short of repentance, without being unfaithful to their souls. The address produced a thrilling effect, and served greatly to deepen the convictions of those who were anxious.”

During this decade, from 1812 to 1822, his services were in great demand among the Churches, he was constantly acting as an evangelist, and wherever he went, a remarkable blessing attended his labors. It is impossible in our brief limits, to give an account of the wonderful results accomplished in these meetings, or even to enumerate the places in which he labored. Within the period just mentioned he was engaged in connection with more or less extensive revivals in from sixty to one hundred towns and parishes all over Connecticut, and in the adjacent parts of Massachusetts and New York. In most of these places there were scores, and in some of them hundreds, added to the Church through his instrumentality.

The amount of labor, which Mr. Nettieton performed during this period, would seem almost incredible when it is remembered that he never possessed much vigor of constitution. During this time he preached generally three sermons on the Sabbath and several during the week, besides spending much time in visiting from house to house and conversing with individuals on the concerns of their souls. How he could endure such accumulated labors was a mystery to many. But at length, in the autumn of 1822, he was brought so low by a violent attack of typhus fever, that neither he nor his friends had, for some time, any expectation of his recovery.

Dr. Sprague, in the Annals of the American Pulpit, thus speaks of his career at this early period of his ministry: “From the commencement of his course as a preacher, he evinced a remarkable power over the conscience, and it was quickly apparent that his ministrations were destined to produce no ordinary effect upon the public mind. The world did not indeed crowd after him as an eloquent man; but multitudes went to hear him, because they could not stay away. There was in all that be said a directness and pungency, which it was not easy to resist, and wherever he went, a rich blessing seemed to hang upon his footsteps. In these circumstances, he was earnestly solicited by many of his brethren to abandon the idea of a foreign mission, which had been with him the cherished idea of many years, and devote himself to the work of an evangelist, in his own country. He, however, consented only to postpone the carrying into effect of his purpose to be a missionary, and he never relinquished it till the failure of his health in 1822 obliged him to do so.”

There is no way by which we can give the reader a better idea of the character and extent of Mr. Nettleton’s labors at this time, than by presenting a brief summary of his meetings during the last few years of this period, taken partly from Dr. Humphrey’s Revival Sketches, and partly from his Memoir. Exhausted by his incessant work in Connecticut, he went to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in the summer of 1819, not for the purpose of preaching, but simply for rest. But his services were soon in demand, and he commenced preaching in the neighborhood. The result is thus stated: “This year, 1819, was a remarkable year of the right hand of the Most High in the county of Saratoga, New York. The work commenced in the summer, at Saratoga Springs, and about forty made a profession of religion, including some of the most prominent persons in the village. About the same time, there was a remarkable revival in Stillwater. In February a hundred and three were added to the church, and about a hundred more were rejoicing in hope, expecting soon to be received. In Ballston, too, the work was very powerful, and at two communion seasons a hundred and eighteen were added to the church, while the work was still increasing. In the adjoining town of Milton the work was overwhelming. In less than two months, more than a hundred and fifty were brought to rejoice in hope. In Amsterdam there were about fifty hopeful conversions.”

Dr. Tyler, his biographer, says: “This revival, which commenced at Saratoga Springs, and spread into the surrounding region, resulted in the hopeful conversion of not less than two thousand souls.” Mr. Nettleton himself, writing from Union College in April 1820, writes: “ I have no time to relate interesting particulars. I only add that some of the most stout-hearted and heaven-daring rebels have been in the most awful distress, and within a circle whose diameter is about twenty-four miles, not less than eight hundred souls have been hopefully born into the kingdom of Christ since last September. In Malta there were such displays of the power of God’s Spirit in crushing the opposition of the natural heart, as are very seldom seen. The Deist and Universalist, the drunkard, the gambler and the swearer, were alike made the objects of this heart-breaking work. It was a place of great spiritual dearth, and, like the top of Gilboa, had never been wet by rain or dew; but the Lord now converted that wilderness into a fruitful field. A church was soon organized with eighty-five members.”

In the month of April 1820, Mr. Nettleton commenced his labors in Nassau, N. Y., near Albany, where he preached until the last of June, with similar results. More than a hundred had become subjects of Divine grace, of whom five young men prepared for the gospel ministry. Of this meeting he wrote out at the time a full account, which is given in his Memoir, and this is the only one of his revivals of which he has given a full record. In the same year was a powerful revival in New Haven, and about three hundred were added to the churches. It extended to most of the neighboring towns. Out of thirty-one congregations in the county of New Haven, at least twenty-five were visited, during the winter and spring, with the special presence of the Lord, and it was estimated that within those limits between fifteen hundred and two thousand souls were called out of nature’s darkness into marvelous light. In North Killingworth the revival was very powerful. It commenced about the last of August in a Bible-class, and rapidly spread over the town. The hopeful converts were a hundred and sixty-two, a hundred and seven of whom united with the church at the communion-season in January, and soon after twenty-five more.

In 1822 and 1823 were many extensive revivals in the eastern part of Connecticut, of which Mr. Nettleton gives the following summary view: “Most of these churches have, in years past, been favored with seasons more or less reviving, but never with such a general and powerful refreshing from the presence of God. The following towns have shared in the work: In Somers one hundred and fifty have been made the subjects of divine grace. In Tolland one hundred and thirty. In South Wilbraham one hundred. In North Coventry one hundred and twenty. In South Coventry, North and South Mansfield, about one hundred in each. In Columbia forty. In Lebanon ninety. In Goshen thirty. In Bozrah seventy. In Montville ninety. In Chaplin fifty.

“The work has recently commenced, and is advancing with power in Hampton, and within a few weeks fifty or more are rejoicing in hope. Also, within a few weeks past, the Spirit of God has descended with overwhelming power in Millington and Colchester. In the former place about seventy, and in the latter sixty, are already rejoicing in hope. They have never witnessed the like in the power and extent of the work. In the above cluster of towns, all contiguous, more than thirteen hundred souls have hopefully received a saving change since the work began. Of these, more than eight hundred have already made a profession of religion. In Chatham also the work is interesting, and about seventy are rejoicing in hope. The Lord has done great things for Zion, whereof we are glad; and let all her friends humbly rejoice, and bow, and give thanks, and exalt his name together.”

For the next two years Dr. Nettleton was laid aside from all public service, he had been brought so near to death, and recovered so slowly from his prostration, that he did not attempt to preach till the close of 1824, and then very seldom. Indeed, he never afterwards fully regained his health. But, beginning sparingly at first, he was after a few years engaged again in evangelical meetings in many places, through Conneticut, Massachusetts and New York, and with the same manifestations of the Divine blessing, which had attended his earlier ministry. Some of his most remarkable revivals took place during this period, as those at Taunton, at Brooklyn and Jamaica, Long Island, at Durham and at Albany, N. Y., where he preached feeling that he was a dying man. Even in the Catskill Mountains to which he had retired for the sake of health, he was constrained to hold services, and many were converted. While at this place, in a letter to a theological student, he gave this striking counsel: “Every itinerant preacher, especially if he has been engaged in a revival of religion, must feel the need of this last direction, ‘Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile;’ or suffer greatly if he long neglect it. I could not advise any one to be employed in a powerful revival more than three months, without retiring into solitude for a short time, to review the past, and to attend to his own heart. He will find much to lament, and much to correct; and it is by deep and solemn reflection upon the past, and by this only, that he can reap the advantages of past experience.”

In the fall of 1827, Mr. Nettleton, being advised by his physicians, as a last resort, that he must seek a Southern climate in order to restore his health, went to Virginia where he remained till 1829, spending the winters in Prince Ed ward county, and his summers at the Springs in the mountains. But though so feeble, he could not be idle. As health and strength permitted, he labored in different parts of the State with much success, and was made the instrument of a great work of Divine grace. Writing to a friend in Connecticut at the end of the period, he says: “For three winters I have been in the Southern States, and my health has wonderfully improved, so that I have been able to labor almost incessantly. The scene of the deepest interest was in the county of Prince Edward, Virginia, in the vicinity of the Union Theological Seminary, and Hampden-Sidney College. Our first meeting of inquiry was at the house of Dr. Rice— the very mansion containing the Theological Students. More than a hundred were present, inquiring, ‘ What must we do to be saved?’ Among the subjects of divine grace were a number of lawyers, six or seven, and some of them among the leading advocates at the bar. Some were men of finished education, who are soon to become heralds of salvation.”

Dr. John H. Rice, here referred to, gives the following testimony as to the nature and extent of this revival: “When Mr. Nettleton had strength to labor, he soon was made instrumental in producing a considerable excitement. This has extended, and now the state of things is deeply interesting. Five lawyers, all of very considerable standing, have embraced religion. This has produced a mighty sensation in Charlotte, Mecklenburg, Nottaway, Cumberland, Powhattan, Buckingham and Albemarle. The minds of men seem to stand a-tiptoe, and they seem to be looking for some great thing. Mr. Nettleton is a remarkable man, and chiefly, I think, remarkable for his power of producing a great excitement, without much appearance of feeling. The people do not either weep or talk away their impressions. The preacher chiefly addresses Bible truth to their consciences. I have not heard him utter, as yet, a single sentiment opposed to what you and I call orthodoxy. He preaches the Bible. He derives his illustrations from the Bible.”

Dr. Nettleton’s influence during this visit was most marked and happy on the theological students. He also exerted a decided and salutary influence over many clergyman of the State as he became acquainted with them, by exciting in their minds an increased interest in revivals. One of them, after being with him two weeks, and hearing in conversation his theological views and methods, said, “On all these subjects he was the most interesting and instructive individual with whom I have ever had intercourse; and on the subject of revivals of religion, incomparably the wisest man I ever saw.” As an illustration of his wonderful tact and sagacity in winning souls, in the daily intercourse of life, which was indeed one of his most striking characteristics, we select from his Memoir a touching incident related by himself in a letter to a friend.

“During my residence in Virginia, I took a tour across the Alleghany Mountains, about two hundred miles, to spend a short time during the warm season. On my way, I spent a few weeks at a place called Staunton, where I left a pleasant little circle of young converts. On a certain Sabbath, as we were almost destitute of singers, I noticed a female voice, which from its fullness, and sweetness, and wildness, all combined, attracted my attention. On arriving at my lodgings I inquired of a young lady whose voice it could be, and whether we could not catch and tame it, and enlist it in our service? The name, I was informed, was S—L. ‘Will you not invite her to call and see us?’ ‘Oh, she is a very gay and thoughtless young lady; was never at our house, and we have no acquaintance with her.’ Tell her from me that I wish to see her—that I want the aid of her voice.’ N—went out, and in a few moments returned with the interesting stranger, who sat down with a pleasing, pensive countenance, which seemed to say, now is my time to seek an interest in Christ. And so it was that she and her sister, and fifteen or twenty others, became deeply impressed, and soon became joyful in Christ. This little circle would call on me daily, linking hand in hand, and smiling through their tears, would sing Redeeming Love. I bade them farewell—and now for the sequel. I have received a letter from Dr. Wardell, the worthy physician of that place, at whose house I resided, from which I will give an extract. ‘We have had several instances of death from typhus fever since you left us. The only individual whom you know, included in this number, was one of your little circle—S. L. It will be no less gratifying to you than it is to her friends here, to learn that she gave abundant evidence of the genuineness of the Christian profession. To go a little into detail, she had been complaining for several days, before she would consent to lie by; and did not call in medical aid for some days after her confinement. I first saw her six days from her first attack, when she was entirely prostrate. She said she believed she should not recover, nor had she any desire to live longer. So far from being dismayed at death, she seemed to view it as one of the most joyful events. I was in some perplexity to ascertain whether these were the feelings of a sound mind, and the vignrous exercise of faith; and closely watched for some incoherences which might settle the inquiry; but there was nothing of the kind. She was too weak to converse much, but had her friends summoned around her, to give them a word of exhortation; expressing a strong desire to be the means of leading one soul to heaven. She took great delight in gazing on those whom she had been accustomed to meet in your little religious circle, because she expected to meet them in heaven. She often spoke of you, and your little social meetings, prayed for you, and said she should meet you in a larger circle in heaven than she had ever done in Staunton. In order to test the correctness of her apprehension, I asked her if she would feel no diffidence in being admitted into the presence of a Holy God, and the holy beings who surround his throne? She had strength only to reply, ‘But I am washed—I am washed!’ She lived fourteen days after I saw her first. I have been thus particular, because she requested that some one would inform you of her death. You will pardon me for sending you this little story. It cannot touch your feelings as it does my own. You may read it to your young people as a token of affectionate remembrance from their unworthy friend.”

Returning to New England somewhat improved in health, though not restored, he preached at different places as his strength permitted. At Munson, Mass., in 1829, and in the cities of New York and Newark in 1830—1831, his preaching was again attended with the Divine blessing. In 1832, at the advice of his friends, he made a visit to England. After his return he preached for some time at Enfield, Conn., and in several other places, with precious revival influences on his labors. In 1833, he took an active part in the organization of the Theological Seminary at East Windsor, Conn., and was appointed one of its Professors. Here he continued to reside, giving occasional lectures to the students, again visiting the South from time to time for his health, and preaching as his infirmity allowed, until May 1844, when his useful life ended in a peaceful and happy death, and he entered into the glorious rest of the blessed.

Dr. Nettleton was never married. So devoted was he to the one great work of his life, so unselfish and self-sacrificing, that he sometimes even refused to accept money, which his friends had voluntarily raised for his support. It is stated by his biographer, that during the first ten years of his ministry, though constantly laboring in revivals, he received as a compensation for his services, a sum barely sufficient to defray expenses; so that when his health broke down in 1822, he was found so destitute that his friends in different places had to defray the expenses of his sickness.

After narrating, even in this brief and imperfect way, the prominent facts of a career like this, it will not be necessary to add much as to his style of preaching and his peculiar method of conducting revivals. No man could be more judicious and cautious in dealing with souls. This seemed to be his special gift. Probably no man was ever endowed, excepting those only who are inspired of God, with a more wonderful sagacity and insight, as it regards the workings of the human mind. In all his revivals he resorted to no extra means or agencies. He seemed to need none. Relying simply on the preaching of the truth, and the influence of the Holy Ghost accompanying the Word, in all his revivals, whether short or long continued, he was for the most part satisfied with the ordinary Sabbath services, with one or two evenings in the week for preaching. With great solemnity and directness he proclaimed the saving truths of the gospel. He then followed this up with inquiry meetings for the anxious, held in a smaller room, and with personal conversations held with individuals from house to house. There was an indescribable awe upon his congregations while he was preaching, making them feel that God was in the house, and there was an indescribable charm in his conversations and addresses when he met the anxious in the inquiry room. Says Mr. Cobb, of Taunton, one of his most intimate friends and fellow laborers, “His visits among the people were frequent, but short and profitable. He entered immediately on the subject of the salvation of the soul, and the great importance of attending to it without delay. He did not customarily propound questions and require answers, lest by this means he should turn the attention of sinners from their own wretched state, by leading them to think ‘how they should reply to the minister.’ He was so well acquainted with the human heart, that he seemed to have an intuitive perception of what was passing in the minds of those whom he was addressing. Thus he could so direct his conversation as to produce silence and self-condemnation, and confine their thoughts to their own lost and ruined state, sometimes remarking, ‘ You have no time to spend in conversation, before the salvation of the soul is secured.’

“When any indulged a hope which was not satisfactory, he would say, ‘you had better give it up, and seek your salvation in earnest.’ Well versed in all the doctrinal and experimental parts of the gospel; feeling deeply in his own heart the power of divine truth, he was qualified, beyond most, to judge of the character of others’ experience; and though mild and conciliatory in his manner, he was faithful in his warnings against false hopes and spurious conversions. All selfish considerations in the concerns of the soul he discarded; and he never used any art or cunning to entrap, or produce commitment on the part of sinners. In the anxious circle he was short, direct in his remarks, concluding with a short and fervent prayer; directing his petitions solely to God, and not displaying eloquence, or seeking to fascinate the congregation. He seemed to lose sight of man, and to be absorbed in a sense of the divine presence.”

“In his sermons, of which I heard sixty, he was, in manner, simple. He spoke with a clear voice— rather slow and hesitating at first, but gradually rising, till before the close, it was like a mighty torrent bearing down all before it. As the revival became more interesting and powerful he preached more doctrinally, He brought from his treasure the doctrines of total depravity, personal election, reprobation, the sovereignty of divine grace, and the universal government of God in working all things after the counsel of his own will. And these great doctrines did not paralyze, but greatly promoted the good work.”

Dr. Sprague and others tell us with what amazing power he sometimes uttered a single word or sentence, which would smite and penetrate like an arrow, and could never be forgotten. Dr. Edward Beecher gives the following illustration of this, in a sermon, which he heard on the parable of the lost sheep: “In one part of the sermon he came to a point in his description of the state of the sinner, where he rose to the climax of emotion and impression, by ringing out in clear and thrilling tones the words ‘lost! LOST!! LOST!!!’ It startled and electrified me at the time, but I did not know how great was its practical power till he told me that those words had been the arrows of the Almighty to many in the various places in which the sermon had been delivered.” Dr. Beecher adds,” So long as I knew Mr. Nettleton, he never resorted to what are called ‘anxious seats,’ nor did he call on his hearers to rise for prayer or to testify their purpose to serve God. Nor did he ever engage in protracted meetings. The services of the Sabbath and one or two weekly lectures he generally regarded as sufficient, in connection with meetings of inquirers, for religious conversation, and small social circles for exhortation and prayer. The tones of his voice were deep and solemn, his person was dignified and commanding, and in his countenance and whole aspect there was such a manifestation of absolute conviction of eternal realities, and of deep earnestness and emotion, that few could remain long in his presence unmoved.”

All the great revivals under Dr. Nettleton were in an eminent degree beneficial to the Churches; and their effects were as permanent as they were salutary. They invariably strengthened the Churches, and encouraged the hearts of their pastors. There is no instance on record, in which his ministry ever divided a church, or failed to augment the affection of the people for their pastor. It is the unvarying testimony of his contemporaries, that these revivals exerted a powerful and lasting influence for good upon society at large wherever they occurred. So striking was the evidence that they were not of man’s devising, but from divine agency, that in many cases a marked solemnity and awe took possession of the whole community. Such was the feeling of the aroused consciences of men, in those times, that the very name of a revival had a wonderful power. The announcement in a congregation that a revival had begun in a neighboring town would produce great solemnity on the whole assembly. The general feeling seemed to be that God had come nigh, and was calling men in solemn accents to meet him. As to the permanence of the results on the newly converted, Dr. Nettleton himself thus writes: “For a number of years I have kept a list of the names of those who have hopefully experienced religion, and made a profession of it in these revivals. I have watched them with anxious solicitude, and have made particular inquiry about the spiritual welfare of each one as opportunity presented. The thousands who have professed Christ, in this time, in general, appear to run well. Hitherto, I think they have exhibited more of the Christian temper, and a better example, than the same number who have professed religion when there was no revival.”

_________________
SI Moderator - Greg Gordon