Jonathan Edwards's own analysis of the revivals: the Word is the occasion for awakening, and a necessary one, but the Spirit of God does the work, and he “blows where he wills.” His passing could be seen in lasting changes: People made humble, faithful, prayerful, holy. Churches made earnest in worship and hungry for the Word. Towns where, to quote Charles Simeon, a century later, “goodness” became “fashionable” (Stephen Holmes).
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