New York, New Haven and Hartford

My mind was at this time directed to the northern States of America; and I accordingly took my daughter with me, and went to New York, where I abode some few weeks, and then went, accompanied by many of the brethren, to Oyster Bay, to attend a camp-meeting held there, which proved a very blessed season to many hundreds of persons; and numbers were, on that occasion, savingly converted to God. On the second time of my appearing in public at that place, I preached from Deut. v. 29, “Oh, that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever;” and under this discourse, it pleased God to capture my own daughter in the gospel net; she cried out aloud, during the service, and exclaimed, “Oh, Lord! have mercy upon me, for I can hold out no longer. Oh, Lord! have mercy upon me.” This occurred in the midst of listening hundreds, and it produced a most thrilling sensation upon the congregation; for, said they, “It is her own daughter!” and their emotions of sympathy were still more excited, when they learnt that she was my only child. Many a mother strongly felt with me on that occasion; and though my position would not allow me to leave the pulpit, to go and pour the oil of consolation into her wounded spirit, yet, thank God, there were abundance of dear friends present who were ready for every good word and work. The conversion of a soul is not to be effected by the mere effort of man; none but God can communicate a full pardon to the guilty soul; but, ere that meeting dissolved, the glorious work was accomplished, and Christ, the chiefest of ten thousand and the altogether lovely, was manifested in her heart, the hope of glory: thus she experienced the knowledge of salvation by the remission of her sins, being called out of darkness into God’s marvellous light; the Spirit of adoption was imparted to her; she rejoiced in the Lord with all her soul; and His love was shed abroad in her heart by the Holy Ghost.

We then returned to New York, where I apprenticed her to the dress-making business: and taking my leave of her and the friends there, I departed for Newhaven, in the State of Connecticut, being richly replenished by Him who hath said, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee;” and as I went to and fro in the earth, from place to place, embracing a scope of space and effort too vast for minute detail, the Lord blessed my labours wherever I went, to the conversion of sinners and the edification of saints; but I was not wholly exempted from those trials and persecutions, which are the common lot of the servants of Jesus. The principalities and powers of evil spirits, (Ephes. vi. 12) which Christians have to contend against, which Christ despoiled, (Colos. ii. 15) and which constitute the strength of the empire of darkness, the world of evil spirits, the right hand of the prince of the power of the air, (Ephes. ii. 2) who is the god or deity of this world, (2 Cor. iv. 4); these principalities occasionally obstructed me much; and, by blinding and infatuating the sons of men, inspired them with a hostile zeal against me. This was particularly the case at Hartford; in which city some of the most influential ministers of the Presbyterian body greatly opposed me; and one of them, a Mr. House, resolutely declared that he would have my preaching stopped; but he, like Sanballat, imagined a vain thing; for the work was of God, who made bare his arm for the salvation of men by my ministry. Thanks be unto God who always caused me to triumph in Christ; and made manifest the savour of his knowledge by me in every place.

While the opponents of my ministry were pursuing their plans of opposition, it happened that I was sent for one day to visit a Mr. Freeman, who was dangerously ill; I accordingly went to see him: and while occupied in praying with him, his medical attendant, a physician of the first eminence, and moving in the highest rank in society, came into the chamber; he waited patiently until my supplications were concluded, and I had withdrawn; he then inquired into the condition of his patient, and finding him much better, he exclaimed with surprise, “It is the woman who has made you better.” No, dear reader, it was not by my power or holiness that the sick man was benefitted, but the power of God through faith in the name of Jesus; for the Scriptures say, that “the prayer of faith shall save the sick.” On my departure from the house, the doctor inquired who I was, and from whence I came; and expressed his wish to hear me himself, desiring them to inform him when and where I should next preach. It appeared that he had previously heard many reports respecting me, for my ministry had been attended by persons of every rank in life.

The time soon arrived for my appearance again in the pulpit, and many of the great folks were present, and amongst them, the physician; and the Spirit of the Lord was there also, to direct and bless and own his word, or the efforts of a poor weak female would have been feeble and insipid indeed: but on that occasion a very great interest was excited in the minds of the audience, for greater and mightier is He that is in us, than the spirit which directs the world; and the more we live and walk in the Spirit, the more the might of God dwells in us and breathes in our words. The doctor then visited his minister, the Rev. Mr. House, the very gentleman who had declared that he would stop me from preaching in that city, and spoke of me to him in such terms as induced the clergyman to exclaim, “Well, if God has sent her, I bid her God’s speed.” The work of the Lord spread throughout the city, and amongst people of every denomination; and such a revival took place as filled the city with astonishment; and Mr. House, my former opponent, seeing the wonderful works of God, exhorted his congregation to be sober and stand at their posts, “for,” said he, “I perceive that God is about to do a great work in this city, therefore be ye still, and know that it is of God.” Being encouraged by the smiles of my heavenly Father, and animated to increased zeal in his holy cause, I went from house to house and preached Christ and Him crucified to the people; I even ventured into houses of ill fame, and exhorted the debased inmates to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus Christ: and many of these unfortunate females became the genuine disciples of Jesus. I also penetrated into the alleys and courts, and the different outskirts of the town, where vice and immorality abounded; and it pleased God to effect a mighty change in the morals and habits of the people, especially in the south quarter of the town. I met with many persons here, who called themselves Universalists; but they might more properly be named Deistical Sceptics; they pretended to believe that the whole human family would eventually be saved, irrespectively of their principles and conduct. Many of these gentlemen came to hear me preach, at the house of a friend, in the skirts of the city, to which I had been invited, but very little to their satisfaction; they much approved of my prayers, because my intercessions included all the human family: but they were unable to reconcile them with my preaching, in which I insisted on salvation by the remission of sins, through genuine faith in the crucified Redeemer; described the lost condition of mankind, and exhorted men to flee from the wrath to come. Blessed be the Lord, there were several of these very persons who believed and turned to Him with all their heart; and among them was Mrs. Spring, a lady connected with the third Presbyterian chapel in the city, who attended at that meeting with three of her daughters; they were attired in mourning for another daughter, who had recently died: and, as I was expatiating, on the attendance of kind angels on the death bed scenes of the saints, I observed these ladies weeping with great emotion. In a few weeks afterwards, I was again invited to spend a few days at the same house; and I was then informed that this lady and her three daughters had, from that evening, evinced a saving conversion to God, having been under that sermon convinced of sin, of righteousness and of judgment to come. Mrs. Spring stated that she felt more under that discourse, in reference to the death of her daughter, than she did at the time of her decease: and from that time they had no rest until they obtained the assurance of peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ: they were soon after introduced to me, and I received much kindness from them.

I met with a young woman in the course of my ministry in Hartford, who was very unsteady and depraved in her habits; her mother was a member of the Methodist Society, and at that time ill; she wished me to be sent for to visit her, but the daughter insisted that I should not come there; or, if I did, she threatened to swear and dance in my presence during my visit, and to treat me with all possible disrespect. However, this young woman was by some means or other induced to come and hear me preach; and the Lord was pleased to open her heart, that she attended unto the things that were spoken; at the conclusion of the service, she came to me and invited me to come and visit her mother; and the next morning she called upon me again. I exhorted her, prayed with and for her, and she became so attached to me, that my company was continually sought by her: she was soon after admitted into the household of faith, and I afterwards preached in their cottage: thus one of my enemies became my child in the gospel, and my sister in the Lord.

Intending to take my departure from this city, I went to the coach office, and paid my fare, was booked as a passenger for the next day, leaving directions for the coach to call for me on the following morning; but so eager were the people for my further stay amongst them, that some of the brethren went and took up my fare at the coach office, and would not listen to any proposition for my departure. I therefore resumed my labours among them, being constantly engaged by day and night in the work of the Lord, without an intervening cloud, for the space of three months, preaching in the chapel on the Lord’s-day, and on one evening in the week.

On one occasion, a number of persons, amounting to between twenty and thirty, presented themselves in the chapel, in great distress, and deep penitence on account of their sins. The excess of their emotions were such, that the order of worship was suspended; for some were calling upon the name of the Lord, some were groaning to receive the atonement of Jesus, while others were rejoicing in his salvation and giving glory to God. Our services were not unfrequently interrupted by scenes of this description; for the operations of the Holy Ghost can no more be circumscribed within the limits of man’s arrangement, than the wind and rain and sunshine can be restricted to man’s times and opportunities. Order in divine worship and in the house of God is graceful and appropriate; but the life and power of religion is not identified with, nor in proportion to, the polish of the minister, the respectability of the congregation, or the regularity and method of its services: the most abrupt and extraordinary vicissitudes of weather are frequently productive of more benefit than the nicest graduated scale of temperature; and had it not been for some of these instances, in which the Almighty displayed the wonders of his victorious grace, even though the accustomed proprieties and regularity of divine service were at the time abruptly trenched upon and suspended, there are many churches now lively and flourishing, which, notwithstanding the exactness of the order of their worship, and the beauty of their arrangements, would now be but little more than so many religious automata. Our duty is humbly to submit to, rather than attempt to limit, the Holy One of Israel; and when God is at work, though the ark may seem to rock with irregular motion, let not men pretend to more wisdom than their Creator, lest, like Uzzah, they fall themselves in their attempts to direct His energies, and regulate His movements.

My mental hemisphere soon after this became obscured and cloudy, and my mind became exceedingly heavy and sorrowful; satanic spirits also gained access to my soul and harrassed me much, and I seemed oppressed with fearful forebodings of some impending evil; I knew not any cause in myself for this reverse of my spiritual condition, and was wholly unable to account for, and comprehend the reason thereof. The following words constantly ran through my mind during this affliction:

“Lord, what are all my sufferings here,
If thou but make me meet,
With that enraptured host to appear
And worship at thy feet.”

I waded through much gloominess and sorrow; the dial of my spirit was beclouded with great darkness, and I wept much and frequently; but the cause was beyond my comprehension.

The chapel in which I had been preaching was called an union chapel, and was not the property of any particular sect of Christians; but the majority of the persons worshipping therein were Presbyterians; and by them, at length, a great jealousy against me was excited, fostered and hatched under the influence of the rulers of the darkness of this world, professedly on account of my being a Methodist. The chapel was to some extent involved in debt; and this Presbyterian faction came forward before the managers with a proposition to procure a minister to supply the pulpit for three months free of expense; requesting, at the same time, that I might not be informed of their proposal: the volunteer preacher was accordingly introduced and tendered his services to supply the pulpit every Lord’s-day; and as the chapel was in debt, the proposition was accepted, and the matter arranged and settled. Upon this, one of our friends came and informed me, that it had been arranged by the managers, that Mr. A. should preach on next Lord’s-day, in the morning, myself in the afternoon, and Mr. B. in the evening: this somewhat enlightened my understanding into this mystery of iniquity. I attended the morning service on the next Lord’s-day, and heard Mr. A. preach; and in the afternoon, as I was proceeding to the chapel, one of the managers met me and informed me he had learnt that Mr. C. was appointed to preach there on that afternoon, and advised me not to enter the pulpit: thus instructed, I took my seat with the congregation: soon afterwards the deacons entered the chapel, and seeing me setting in a private seat, they came and desired me to ascend the pulpit according to the recent arrangements: I then related to them what the manager had said to me; they assured me his statement was untrue, and urged me to take the pulpit; having been informed of all the circumstances, when I appeared in the pulpit I was obliged to vent my feelings in a shower of tears, before I could utter a word; and my dear flock were very much affected at the sight; but we afterwards enjoyed a very blessed meeting. In the evening, I went again and heard the Rev. Mr. B.; there were many of the officials present; and on the conclusion of the service the congregation still kept their seats, none offered to leave, but maintained a profound silence, and the eyes of many of them were fixed in expectation upon me; I felt called forth by the assembly, and rising to my feet, I said, If there are any present who feel anxious about their souls, and will come forward, we will hold a prayer-meeting. A great number then came forward; and when they were seated, the preacher descended from the pulpit, and with the official gentlemen present, without deigning the least notice of me, went and conferred with the persons who were seeking the salvation of their souls, and instructed them in the way of life; after which, they announced that their minister would preach again on Wednesday evening, and closed the meeting, without giving me an opportunity of saying a word: this conduct seemed much like gospel rivalship, a thing which unhappily too greatly prevails amongst Christians: the apostle Paul intimated that some in his day preached Christ of contention, for the purpose of increasing his affliction; and I cannot but think that this treatment was intended for my affliction; it was too plainly marked to be mistaken; for they all sat waiting in mute silence, until I had invited the inquiring souls to come forward; and then coolly obtruded their grave admonitions on those who had been pricked in their hearts, and were become impatiently violent to grasp the kingdom of heaven; shutting me out entirely, and concluding with a notice that their new minister would preach on the following Wednesday evening, and the next Lord’s-day; directing those who wished for further instructions to apply to them at their several residences. My affections were, however, very strongly attached to my little flock; and on the Wednesday evening, I went again to hear the new minister; but the Lord said unto me, “It is enough; I will take thee away from them, and I will put bands upon thee, and thou shalt not go out amongst them; and I will make thy tongue cleave to the root of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be a reprover to them, for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak unto thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.” Ezek. iii. 25—27. Thus it was partly with me, for on that very night, I was suddenly attacked with a very severe fit of illness, and confined by it for five weeks, so that I became dumb to them indeed. After I had been ill three weeks, the Rev. Mr. Moffit, one of our principal Methodist preachers, came to Hartford; and, under his ministry, the revival which the Lord had began by my instrumentality was renewed again; the chapel became completely deserted, the new minister became discouraged, and shortly withdrew altogether.

Mr. Moffit spent several weeks in Hartford, and preached every evening in the week for the greater part of the time; the people flocked, from every part of the town, to his ministry; and many people were turned unto the Lord. Many of the Methodists and many of my congregation also experienced, under him, a great revival of the work of the Lord in their souls. Before he left the city, it pleased God to raise me up and enable me to go and hear him, and render my thanksgivings to God for His great goodness and tender care towards me in my illness: before I was able to go abroad, those very persons who had treated me so unhandsomely called to inquire after my health; and expressed their hope that God would bless and restore me to health, that I might soon resume my labours among them again, saying, that I had already effected much good to many souls; but as the Lord had said unto me, “when I speak, thou shalt hear: and I will put words in thy mouth and thou shalt speak;” on my recovery, I left the city for a short time; when I returned again, these people were extremely anxious for me to preach to them, and by the grace of God, I resumed my former station and continued my labours amongst them for some time without interruption; the Lord having made it increasingly manifest that He had sent me, and that my ministry was from Him.

A few weeks before I finally left this city, I learnt that Mrs. Adams, the wife of a gentleman in the legal profession, had been dangerously ill for a long time, and had expressed a great desire to see me; I, therefore, without an invitation, called at her residence, but I was so weak at the time, that when I arrived there I fainted, and was taken to bed; when I recovered, I was conducted into her chamber, where Mr. Adams, and all the family were collected, expecting to see her breathe her last; she had been ill so long a time, and wasted so much, that her skin had been broken through by the pressure of the bones. After a little conversation, I inquired if I should pray with her; consent being given, I bowed down before God, and lifted up my heart in supplication to Him on her behalf. It was a time of much power; and all the family were bathed in tears. Mrs. Adams’ sister accompanied me to the door on my retiring, and asked me if I did not think her sister was very near her end. I said, ‘no: I think she will recover, for God showed me this in the time of prayer.’ She then sent one of the servants to lead me home; the next morning I was so ill as to require medical aid; and the physician who attended Mrs. Adams was sent for. He seemed much pleased to communicate to me the intelligence that Mrs. Adams was vastly better; and before I left the city, she was down stairs, at the head of the family. This circumstance made a great impression on the inhabitants of the city, who thought it strange, indeed, that God, in answer to my prayer, should heal the sick: the intelligence flew from street to street, that Mrs. Adams was recovered; and those reverend gentlemen, who had so strenuously exerted themselves to silence my ministry, were themselves completely disconcerted, and their objections silenced. I might add many more of the kind and condescending corroborations, the Lord was pleased to manifest on my behalf in that city; but I forbear narrating any further instances, and leave them to be further revealed in the disclosures of another life.

The wonderful revivals of the work of God, some of which I have attempted to describe, were not done in a corner; but extended throughout the greater part of the vast territory of the United States: many were the labourers, zealous and devoted their spirits, and indefatigable their exertions, whom the Lord raised up, and sent forth to achieve these blessed conquests, the reports of which have long since reached the ears even of British Christians, and excited amongst them some searchings of heart, and some curiosity to have further information respecting them; insomuch that I have understood that men of high repute for learning and wisdom, have been sent over to ascertain the nature, as well to investigate the means and extent of those great transatlantic revivals: what report of the good land they returned with, I have not been informed, but generally I have found that the wise and learned have seldom experienced much of the heavenly discipline of God’s Holy Spirit; “the world by wisdom knew not God;” and though many Christians are at immense pains to acquire the wisdom of this world, God bringeth it to nought, and taketh them in their own craftiness; He hideth His counsel from the “wise and prudent, and revealeth it to babes.” The man who would judge of so high a matter as a revival of the kingdom of heaven upon earth, must be spiritual (he need not be learned) himself; for the spiritual man judgeth all things; yea, even the deep things of God, yet he himself is judged of no man, for no man can fathom the sacred Urim and Thummim, or as St. John says, the holy anointing or unction which abides in his soul.