THE GREAT AWAKENING
By Joseph Tracy
Banner of Truth. 472 pages. £17.00
Originally published in 1842. Published by
Banner in 1976, and reprinted 2019
ISBN 978 1 848 718 579
Some of the most rewarding peaks in Scotland require long hikes just to get to the beginning of the ascent. The path includes tedious stretches, worsened by drizzle or downpours, then tough climbs towards the summit. However, for those inclined to tackle them, not only is the view rewarding, but the whole trek worthwhile. Thus is it with reading Joseph Tracy’s definitive history of the Great Awakening.
Originally published in 1842, Tracy gathered many sources concerning the revival a century before his time. He tells the story of the Great Awakening through the accounts of pastors whose congregations were affected by it.
We learn of conversions and controversies, such as over the phenomena of people crying and fainting that accompanied the revival in some places. He introduces the reader to the preachers of the time, the doctrines they focussed on, and the problems they encountered. Tracy shows us the mixture of good and bad that accompanied the revival. He concludes by looking back over its lasting effects, from his perspective in 1842.
In all this, Tracy proves to be a judicious historian, weighing the evidence and being unafraid to criticise theological heavyweights like Edwards and Whitfield, including their own confessions, in his evaluation.
This is where both the challenge and the reward of this book arise. It can be hard to keep track of the places, names and dates of the various incidents recounted. However, for those willing to embrace the challenge there are many, many rewards. Not least is seeing how the Sovereign God brought revival in an unlikely time.
In Tracy’s concluding words: ‘The Great Awakening should teach a lesson of faith, encouragement, or cheerful hope, even in the darkest times.’
This book is a reminder and challenge to pray, to preach the great Reformation doctrines (especially of original sin and the need for regeneration), not to settle for being ‘contentedly unsuccessful’ in our ministries and churches, but to labour and pray that the Lord will revive our churches too.
For this reviewer, it was not the easiest walk, but it has been rewarding.
