Samuel Davies: One Of America’s Greatest Revival Preachers

By John E. Skidmore

Samuel Davies was one of America’s greatest preachers. That assessment was made by the late Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones to students at Westminster Theological Seminary in 1967. [1] Lloyd-Jones was astounded that so great a preacher as Davies was unknown in the country where he ministered. Ashbel Green, a President of Princeton College after Davies, wrote of him, “President Davies was probably the most accomplished preacher that our country has produced.” [2] These statements about Davies are even more remarkable considering that he died at the age of thirty-seven. During his short ministry in Virginia in the 1740s and 1750s, he regularly preached to seven congregations scattered over a three-county area. Under his ministry, the number of people gathering to hear the Word of God preached grew from tens to hundreds. His sermons were well received by both gentlemen farmers and slaves. His persuasiveness as an orator gained him and the dissenters to whom he ministered the favor of the governor of the colony, and his winsome demeanor and eloquence enabled him to have an influence on many people, including King George of England. His preaching style also influenced the oratory of the legendary leader of the American Revolution, Patrick Henry. [3]

During his short ministry of a dozen years in Colonial Virginia, Davies saw the church grow from several clusters of people hungry for God’s Word to seven congregations of hundreds of people who experienced the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. Davies’s sermons were published individually in America and Great Britain during his lifetime and several editions of his collected sermons were printed in the nineteenth century. His sermons were studied by ministers for a hundred years after his death, enabling his ministry of the Word to long outlive his short life. [4] Interestingly, in his diary, Davies expressed the desire to publish his sermons so that he might “be of service in places far remote from the sphere of my usual labours.” [5]

The first part of this article will briefly sketch the life and ministry of Samuel Davies and the historic context in which he served; the second will present Davies’s theology of revival as it emerges from some of his sermons. Davies believed that sound doctrine is essential to a revival of religion. In his sermons, he emphasized doctrines that he identified as essential to revival, yet neglected in his day. Four of the “neglected” doctrines that Davies emphasized in his preaching are the depravity of man, the sovereignty of God, the doctrine of the eternal state, and justification by faith. An analysis of his sermon on 1 John 3:1-2 will demonstrate how Davies presented Reformation doctrines in his sermons.

Davies believed that a preacher has two types of people in his audience: the children of God and the children of the devil. A subcategory of the latter type are those who are Christian in name only. Davies makes a special effort to reach this special and difficult audience. In the sermon on 1 John 3:1-2, Davies addresses all three types of people. The sermon reveals the burden Davies bore to see the saints of God working out their faith through holy living. It also reveals his conviction that mankind is hopelessly lost and destined for an eternity of torment unless God intervenes on their behalf. Davies taught his congregation that man’s salvation is wholly dependent upon divine intervention; yet he did not hesitate to urge sinners to repent and place their trust in Christ alone for salvation. Of particular interest for our times is Davies’s addresses to those who called themselves Christians but whose religion lacked fervency. Davies sternly warns these nominal or lukewarm Christians that they are in danger of spending eternity in hell.

Historical Sketch

Early Life And Education

Samuel Davies was born in New Castle County, Delaware, in 1723, to devout parents who provided young Samuel with examples of true piety. At the age of twelve, Samuel was converted and at age fifteen he made a profession of faith and joined the Presbyterian Church. He received a classical and theological education at Fagg’s Manor, Pennsylvania, under the tutelage of the Rev. Samuel Blair, one of the great preachers of the First Great Awakening in the middle colonies. [6]

Davies learned about spiritual awakening while studying under Blair. When Blair first settled among the Presbyterians in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1739, he found them ignorant of any knowledge of saving faith in Christ. In 1757, Davies recalled preaching with Blair in Pennsylvania in 1741. He describes the state of religion in that colony as “out of fashion” and the inhabitants as lying “in a dead sleep in sin.” Davies reports that “suddenly, a deep general concern about eternal things spread through the country.” According to Davies, thousands were converted and were changed and “still remain shining monuments to the power of divine grace.” [7] Davies experienced another awakening while assisting the Rev. William Robinson in Maryland in 1745, calling it “the most glorious display of divine grace.” In 1747, Davies was licensed to preach by Newcastle Presbytery and sent to Hanover, Virginia, to preach to several groups of settlers who regularly gathered to have sermons read to them. These experiences under Blair and Robinson prepared him for the ripe fields he would face in Virginia. [8]

Sketch Of The Revivals In Virginia, 1740-1754

Eighteenth-century Virginia was controlled by a few hundred wealthy and powerful plantation families who resided in the lowlands along the coast. In the 1730s, the leaders of Virginia began to invite settlers from Pennsylvania and northern colonies to settle their western lands to provide security against Indian attacks and to expand their commercial markets. In 1738, Governor William Gooch notified the Synod of Philadelphia that he was inclined to allow nonconformist churches to send ministers west of the Blue Ridge to minister among the new settlers there. In response, the Synod sent Scotch Irish preachers to the Great Valley area, west of the Blue Ridge.

The settling of the uplands of Virginia east of the Blue Ridge took place along the various rivers. Inland settlements were small and a small group of elites exerted coercive control over the affairs of the inhabitants. One arm of this coercive social structure was the Anglican Church, which was established by law in Virginia. [9] Settlers east of the Blue Ridge were expected to attend and pay tithes to the Anglican Church. Absence from the established church was punished by fines and ostracism.

At the request of several small groups of settlers stirred up by the preaching of George Whitefield, New Side Presbyterians from the Synod of New York began to preach to these groups of settlers east of the Blue Ridge. This agitated Anglicans in Virginia and in England. Davies, an eloquent spokesman for the cause of religious liberty, was able to effectively lobby the governor of Virginia for permission to preach to these groups. [10] He was the first dissenting minister licensed to preach in Virginia. Throughout his career in Virginia, Davies was opposed by the Anglican clergy who felt that his ministry succeeded at their expense. [11]

Samuel Morris, a member of one of Davies’s congregations, recounted the origins of the revivals that swept through Virginia in the 1740s.12 In 1740, Morris had been unable to make the sixty-mile journey to Williamsburg to hear George Whitefield preach, but, in 1743, he purchased a book that reprinted a few of Whitefield’s sermons. Eventually, the reading material was expanded to include the writings of some of the most well-known names in seventeenth-century England, Robert Bolton, Richard Baxter, John Flavel, and John Bunyan. After he read the sermons, he invited his neighbors to come and hear the sermons read. Many were convicted of their “undone condition” and “sought the Lord’s remedy with earnestness.” Morris reports that a great number began to gather every Sunday, and sometimes on weekdays, to hear sermons read. Morris began to receive requests to read sermons at locations some distance from his home. Eventually, he wrote a letter to the Synod of New York requesting that a preacher be sent to them. New-light Presbyterian ministers from Pennsylvania were sent by the synod to the new settlements in Virginia. Those who had been listening attentively to the read sermons were “lost in agreeable surprise and astonishment” at the preaching of William Robinson. Many who came to hear Robinson preach out of curiosity “were pricked to the heart,” were “alarmed with apprehensions about their dangerous condition,” and were “earnestly enquiring what they should do to be saved.” [13]

After the Rev. Robinson left, the sermon readings continued, attended by “considerable numbers,” and many more people were converted. The assemblies became so large that meetinghouses had to be constructed. Morris continued to be invited to read sermons at places thirty to forty miles from his home. Several other ministers passed through this part of Virginia, preaching the gospel to eager ears; John Blair, John Roan, Gilbert Tennant, and Samuel Finley. From the ministries of these men “the people of God were refreshed, and several careless sinners were awakened.” [14] The attendees of the illegal meetings were elated when Samuel Davies arrived in April 1747, with a license to preach in four meetinghouses. [15]

In 1748, three more meetinghouses were approved by the government and Davies divided his time among the seven scattered congregations. Some of the members lived forty miles from the nearest meetinghouse. Davies reported that some people also traveled to meetinghouses other than their own. At first he suspected that these people were merely attending out of curiosity but later concluded that they were “thoroughly wrought upon” by the preached Word. Some curiosity seekers apparently did attend Davies’s meetings, for he estimated that fifty or sixty families were “entangled in the net of the Gospel by their own curiosity.” Davies attributed the success in Virginia to nothing else than a “work of the Lord.” In the span of only a few years, the number of people who professed faith in Christ rose from fewer than ten to several hundred. [16] Davies reported that he had about three hundred communicants in his congregation and many other regular attendees, including one hundred slaves. Davies baptized approximately forty slaves in his first three years in Hanover. [17] In addition to his members, Davies was preaching to between five hundred and six hundred non-communicants in the various meetinghouses by 1753. [18] Davies pleaded with Joseph Bellamy to send pastors for the six or seven “destitute” congregations in Virginia, some of whom had gone more than a year without hearing a sermon. [19]

In 1758, Davies was invited to become the President of the College of New Jersey. This greatly distressed his congregation in Hanover, who appealed to the Presbytery and Synod not to take their beloved minister from them. [20] At first Davies declined the position at Princeton, but eventually he was persuaded to take the position. His tenure was brief, lasting only eighteen months. In 1762, at the age of 37, Davies died after being bled for a severe cold.

Davies And Revival

When Davies arrived in Virginia in 1747, he began his preaching ministry to people who had been sustained only by reading sermons and occasionally hearing an itinerant preacher. Under his ministry, the small gatherings would multiply and swell to hundreds over the next twelve years. How can one account for this phenomenal growth during the ministry of this young and relatively inexperienced preacher? Some would point to Davies’s great gifts of oratory as the reason.

Davies himself attributed it to a work of God, not to his or to any other man’s abilities. Davies believed that his duty, like that of all ministers, was simply to preach sound biblical doctrine, for this is the means God employs to enliven His church.

Davies attributed the languid condition of the church in his day largely to the neglect of sound doctrine. For him, the doctrines of the Reformation were the doctrines of revival. On his trip to Great Britain on behalf of the founding College of New Jersey, he was appalled at the content of many of the sermons he heard. In his diary, he noted the decline of a particular Presbyterian church and comments, “the Presbyterians have gone off from the good old doctrines of the Reformation.” [21] Drawing on several of Davies’s sermons, his theology of revival can be constructed to the benefit of the modern church.

After presenting some of the doctrines Davies considered essential to revival, an analysis of Davies’s sermon on 1 John 3:1-2 will be presented as an example of how he communicated the doctrines of the Reformation to his congregation.

The Neglected Doctrines

Davies believed that sound doctrine is requisite for a living church. Davies’s experience in America and Great Britain convinced him that neglect of the doctrines of the Reformation had led to the decline in the church. Four of the “neglected” doctrines that Davies emphasized in his preaching are the depravity of man, the sovereignty of God, the doctrine of the eternal state, and justification by faith. These themes recur in many of Davies’s sermons; sometimes an entire sermon is devoted to one of them.

The Doctrine Of Man’s Depravity

Davies believed that preaching the doctrine of depravity is necessary to the practice of true religion. Davies considered the neglect of the teaching of depravity to be one of the major defects in the preaching of his day. He believed that teaching men that they can “do something very considerable in religion” causes them to scorn total dependence upon divine grace. In response, God withdraws the influence of His Spirit from them until “they are brought to the dust.” [22]

Davies believed that the Scriptures plainly teach the degeneracy of mankind, but it is also confirmed by universal experience. He argued that

the whole bent of our souls by nature is contrary to the gospel. The gospel is designed to reclaim men from sin; but they are obstinately set upon it; it is designed to make sin bitter to them, and to dissolve their hearts into tender sorrows for it; but we naturally delight in sin, and our hearts are hard as the nether millstone; it is intended to bring apostate rebels back to God, and the universal practice of holiness; but we love estrangement from him, and have no inclination to return. We abhor the ways of strict holiness, and choose to walk in the imaginations of our own hearts. [23]

Davies said that “such is the present degeneracy of human nature, that all the ministrations of the gospel cannot remedy it, without the concurring efficacy of divine grace. So barren is the soil, that the seed of the word falls upon it and dies and never grows up; as though it had never been sown there, till it be fructified by divine grace.” [24] Depravity renders the gospel useless unless accompanied by the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the hearer.

The Doctrine Of God’s Sovereignty

As a consequence of Davies’s belief in the depravity of man, he also believed that man cannot be saved without the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit. Davies credited the large number of conversions that had taken place in Virginia not to anything good in the converts or the gifts of the preacher, but to the outpouring of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit. [25] The doctrine of sovereignty, or divine influence as Davies refers to it, was a central theme of his preaching.

Davies taught his congregation that “the design of God in all his works of creation, providence, and grace, is to advance and secure the glory of his own name.” Drawing on the text of 1 Corinthians 3:7-8, “then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase,” Davies noted that “God uses a variety of suitable means to form degenerate sinners into his image, and fit them for a happy eternity. All the institutions of the gospel are intended for this purpose.” It is often through the painful toil of the minister that God brings forth a harvest, but, Davies argues, unless God pours out His spirit from on high, the minister’s labors will not be successful. Davies illustrates from the realm of agriculture: “the agency of his Holy Spirit is as necessary to fructify the word, and make it the seed of conversion, as the influences of heaven are to fructify the earth and promote vegetation.” [26]

By 1757, the revival had come to an end in Virginia. In a sermon to his Hanover congregation, he reminds them, “You hardly know one careless sinner that has been made seriously religious, within these two or three years.” Davies attributes the decline of religion to the Lord’s withholding of His influence. In Davies’s view, the reason God had withdrawn from them was because the people had become dependent upon the minister and themselves, rather than on God. He laments that “in general, it is evident that a contagious lukewarmness and carnal security have spread themselves among us.” [27] At times, God gives an extra measure of the Holy Spirit to effect revival; at other times, He withdraws the Spirit, bringing a revival to an end.

The Doctrine Of The Eternal State

Davies was distressed by the neglect of the Virginia clergy to teach on the eternal destiny of unbelievers. In his words, the preaching of the Virginia clergy was “as though their hearers were crowding promiscuously into heaven.” These preachers “do not represent their miserable condition in all its horrors; do not alarm them with solemn, pathetic and affectionate warnings.” He wrote to the Bishop of London in 1752, “The plain truth is, a general reformation must be promoted in this colony by some means or other, or multitudes are eternally undone: and I see alas! but little ground to hope for it from the generality of the clergy here, till they be happily changed themselves.” [28] Davies’s assessment was that most of the ministers in Virginia were unconverted men.

Davies unashamedly affirms that the unbeliever will perish in eternity. This belief compelled him to fervently preach the damnation of sinners in order to stimulate them to repent. In his letter to the Bishop of London, Davies expressed the burden that he felt. He wrote, “[B]ut I dare profess, I cannot be an unconcerned spectator of the ruin of my dear fellow mortals; I dare avow my heart at times is set upon nothing more than to snatch the brands out of the burning, before they catch fire and burn unquenchably.” [29] Davies also taught on the eternal state of believers, hoping thereby to motivate them in their Christian walk. This is the major emphasis of his sermon on 1 John 3:1-2.

The Doctrine Of Justification By Faith

Davies’s belief in hell motivated him to clearly articulate the only remedy for hell—justification by faith in Christ alone. After recovering from an illness that almost took his life, Davies sought to preach a sermon to his congregation that would have “the most tendency to save your souls.” [30] He believed that many of those assembled before him were sinners in need of a Savior. Davies was uncompromising in his belief that the only means of salvation was through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. He tells his audience, “Without Christ you are all in a perishing condition.” Davies believed this condition obtained not only for his immediate audience, but for all the world. There is no other way of salvation than in the death of God’s Son.

Davies taught that salvation consists of two parts: the deliverance from punishment for sins committed and the advancement to a state of perfect happiness. [31] The honor and justice of God as sovereign of the universe makes it absolutely necessary that He punish sin. There is, however, no such necessity that sinners be saved from their sin. If a sinner were to die for his own sins, the justice of God would be satisfied, but the sinner would still be alienated from God. The good news of the gospel is that Christ suffered “in the stead of sinners” so that the demands of justice are satisfied. Christ’s “infinite dignity” made him alone a suitable substitute for sinners. The sinner can neither keep the rigorous demands of the law nor endure its penalty without being forever miserable. In Christ, all the demands of the law were met so that rebellious sons can be restored to favor with God. Davies calls those who make light of sin to look to the cross and see how greatly they have offended God that the only remedy for sin is the death on the cross of His only Son. [32]

After presenting the need for Christ’s atoning sacrifice, Davies turns to the subject of faith on the part of the sinner. He rejects the assertion common in his day and ours that God removed all obstructions to heaven so that nothing remains “to hinder our crowding into heaven promiscuously.” In Davies’s words, faith in Jesus Christ is the “grand prerequisite” for sinners to obtain the benefits of His work on the cross. He argues that one obstruction remains within the sinner which, while it remains, renders his salvation impossible: the depravity and corruption of his nature. Until his nature is changed, he cannot “relish those fruitions and employments in which the happiness of heaven consists.” Davies explains that faith is the root of all holiness in a sinner. [33] Faith on the part of the sinner is necessary because it would be “highly incongruous” to save a sinner against his will or in a way he dislikes. Davies argues that we cannot be saved through Jesus Christ until His righteousness becomes ours. In this way, all the demands of the law are met and we obtain the favor of God. But the righteousness of Christ cannot be imputed to us legally until we are one legal person with Him, and faith is that bond of union between us and Christ. Without faith, we cannot receive any benefit from his righteousness. [34]

Davies says that faith in Christ is comprised of four parts. First, faith “presupposes a deep sense of our undone, helpless condition.” Second, “faith implies the enlightening of the understanding to discover the suitableness of Jesus Christ as a savior, and the excellency of the way of salvation through him.” Third, “the sinner is enabled to embrace this savior with all his heart, and to give a voluntary, cheerful consent to this glorious scheme of salvation.” Fourth, “faith implies a humble trust or dependence upon him alone for the pardon of sin, acceptance with God, and every blessing.” [35]

Davies warns his hearers that there is such a thing as a false faith and exhorts them to examine whether their trust in God will stand this test:

There are many that flatter themselves they put their trust in God; but their trust wants sundry qualifications essential to a true faith. It is not the trust of an humble, helpless soul, that draws all its encouragement from the mere mercy of God, and the free indefinite offer of the Gospel, but it is the presumptuous trust of the proud, self-confident sinner, who draws his encouragement in part at least from his own imaginary goodness and importance. It is not a trust in the mercy of God, through Jesus Christ, as the only medium through which it can be honorably conveyed; but either in the absolute mercy of God, which, without a proper reference to a mediator, or in his mercy, as in some measure deserved or moved by something in the sinner. [36]

Davies continues by describing the “inseparable effects” of true faith on the sinner. True faith, according to Davies, purifies the heart and is a lively principle of inward holiness. True faith “always produces good works,” “overcomes the world and all its temptations,” and “realizes eternal things and brings them near.” [37]

Davies concludes by encouraging his hearers that “everyone who is enabled to believe in Jesus Christ, no matter how notorious his past, shall certainly be saved.” [38] Davies presses his audience to make a “full decisive answer to this proposal” before leaving the building, about whether they believe in Jesus Christ or not. He argues the matter will not admit of a delay and the duty is so plain, that there is no need of time to deliberate. Davies anticipates the objection that, since faith is a gift of God, his hearers cannot choose to exercise it. Davies answers that he is not encouraging the “spontaneous growth of corrupt nature” but the exercise of the means which God is pleased to bless for salvation. Davies exhorts his hearers to believe in order to “set you upon the trial” which will convince them of their total inability to believe. By actively engaging in prayer and other means of grace with “natural seriousness,” the sinner will become acquainted with his own helpless condition and cast himself upon the divine mercy.

Davies affirmed that faith is a gift from God, yet never was faith produced in one soul while “lying supine, lazy and inactive.” [39]

An Example Of Revival Preaching

What was the nature of preaching that captivated hundreds of gentlemen farmers and slaves in the middle of the eighteenth century, causing them to turn in life-changing faith to Christ? An example of Davies’s preaching during the years of revival in Virginia is found in his sermon preached at Henrico, Virginia, on April 29, 1753. [40] This sermon demonstrates how Reformation doctrines can effectively be taught from the pulpit. It also demonstrates that both believers and non-believers need to hear the Word of God addressed to them.

Synopsis Of The Sermon

The text for Davies’s Henrico sermon was 1 John 3:1 and 2,

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it kneweth him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Davies addresses the three types of people that may be listening to his sermons—believers, non-believers, and lukewarm professors. Davies admonishes believers to contemplate how great the love of God is toward them, that He has made them to be His children. To assist the saint in this contemplation, Davies calls them to speculate about what they will become in the eternal state. He paints a picture of the perfect state of the saint, growing ever more perfect through the ages of eternity. The sons of God, he says, will be enlarged in soul and body and will obtain the degree of righteousness suitable for God’s presence. By showing them what they shall become, he attempts to draw their attention away from the “eager attachment to the world” that so often enslaves and imprisons God’s people. He encourages them to pursue holiness in this life, for that is the destiny of the sons of God.

True to his commitment to seek the conversion of sinners, Davies calls upon the unbeliever also to contemplate the glories that await the sons of God. Like the sons of God, the unregenerate “sons of the devil” will be enlarged, but their enlargement will be the exact opposite of God’s children. Their enlargement will be the achievement of “a horrid perfection in sin” and will be “full of torments.” Davies also addresses a third type of audience, those who profess faith yet are ambivalent or hostile toward the true exercise of religion. These nominal Christians are addressed as unbelievers and are warned that one day they will observe the glory of the sons of God from a distance. [41]

Address To The Sons Of God

In his address to the believers in his congregation, Davies tells them what they are by nature, and invites them to contemplate the privilege of being the sons of God and to imagine what they will be in the eternal state. By this contemplation of their privilege and destiny, he hopes to motivate the believers to seek to live holy lives in the present world.

Davies laces this sermon with terms that make it clear to its hearers that man, in his natural state, is fallen and lives in a fallen world. He uses terms such as “rebellious sinners,” “heirs of ruin,” and “rebellious worms” to describe what the regenerate are by nature. It is necessary that the saint recognize what he is by nature in order to recognize how great the grace and love of God are that He now calls them sons. Davies uses these derogatory terms so that the saints will not fall into Satan’s trap of trusting in their own righteousness and thus provoke the Spirit of God to withdraw from them.

In the course of the sermon, Davies reminds his believing hearers that they are not sons of God by nature; they are God’s sons because He has adopted them. Davies includes himself as one of the “rebellious sinners and heirs of ruin” that are now the heirs of future glory. Because of God’s love for them, “rebellious worms” are now distinguished with the most glorious title imaginable: “sons of God.”

Davies informs believers that “such is the present degeneracy of human nature, that all the ministrations of the gospel cannot remedy it, without the concurring efficacy of divine grace.” He adds, “So bare is the soil, that the seed of the word falls upon it and dies, and never grows up; as though it had never been sown there.... It is a soil fruitful of briars and thorns.” [42] He shows that Scripture teaches that “the whole bent of our souls by nature is contrary to the gospel.” [43] Without God’s intervention, no man could be saved.

Davies contrasts the present world with the eternal state. He characterizes the present world as an “infant state” in which confusion reigns. Everything is small and obscure. In contrast, in the mature world of the eternal state, the saint will be able to see the greatness and glory of God and His creation with clear vision.

Redeemed saints, while in this world, exist in “a state of darkness and imperfection” and cannot fathom the glory that awaits them when Christ appears. God gives the saints a foretaste, a “pre-libation,” of the future state, but their present knowledge is only a glimpse intermingled with the “gall and wormwood” of this world. Davies asserts that the full manifestation of the glory of the sons of God has been, by the design of providence, wisely put off to the most proper season. Having a full manifestation now, Davies argues, would cause the saint to become utterly impatient with this life and cease engagement in the necessary activities of this world. He reminds those who have tasted of this glory that the amazing scenes may be only a few years, even a few moments, away. By emphasizing the shortness of life on earth, Davies impresses on his hearers the importance of the future life and their need to prepare for it.

Having shown them their low natural state, Davies encourages saints to stretch their minds in contemplating the grace that has bestowed on them the privileged title “sons of God.” Davies suggests that, upon entering the eternal state, the saints will undergo an “enlargement” from their present state.

In his present state, the saint is incapable of handling the “intolerable glory of heavenly brightness.” He cites as an example of this inability the conversion experience of the Apostle Paul when Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Christ was so splendid in His appearance that all those present were struck to the ground and the future apostle was temporarily blinded. In order to grasp infinity and join in the exalted services of the mature world, the soul must be enlarged. Davies assures the saints that, though incapable of these things now, God will make them what they need to be—the Father can make prodigies of His children. Davies illustrates the difference between the present state of the saint and his future glory by using the analogy of human life. As the adult differs from the infant, so the saint will be taken by God from an immature state to a mature state. In eternity, the soul of the saint will grow in degrees of perfection through the series of everlasting ages.

The enlarged soul of the glorified saint requires an enlarged body in which to dwell. Davies argues that the body will be changed “in a most amazing manner,” yet will remain substantially the same. The body will retain its materiality, yet will be “exquisitely refined” so as also to be a spiritual body. These bodies will be incapable of pain, hunger, thirst, sickness, and death. In the glorious state, the body will become capable of experiencing the most excellent sensations of pleasure. The enlarged body will become a suitable companion for the enlarged soul.

Finally, the saint will become perfect in holiness. Davies argues that, no matter how enlarged the soul and body, without a proportional increase in holiness, we would still be miserable. The saint can now experience “a spark of divine love” and exert his feeble powers in the service of God and contemplation of His excellencies, but that experience is cut short by “numberless imperfections” and sin, which “deadens our powers” of experience. When all the powers of the soul and body are enlarged and those powers are animated and guided by perfect holiness, the saint will be capable of participating fully in the “exercises” of heaven, unhindered by guilt and sin; he will find all his powers “full of unwearied immortal vigor.”

According to Davies, Scripture declares that, in the eternal state, the sons of God will be employed in the contemplation of the divine perfections and their displays in the works of nature and grace. The saints will celebrate the praises of God and make “prostrate adorations” before Him. All of these things will be a large part of the happiness of the mature state. But, Davies speculates, these are not the only activities in which the saint will engage. The perfected state of vigorous immortals has prepared them for a state of activity in eternity.

The saint in his present state cannot fully understand the “wonders that open” before him in the eternal state. Davies utilizes some of the satisfactions obtained in this life to illustrate the bliss of eternity. Davies perhaps overstates the case when he says, “In eternity every want will be supplied, every desire satisfied, all of our vast capacities filled to the utmost.” He summarizes that the eternal state of the saints in eternity will be “exquisitely happy.”

Davies concludes his address to the regenerate by entreating them not to set their hearts and minds upon the things of this world “as if they were your portion.” He admonishes them to preoccupy their minds with the contemplation of their inheritance. He asks them to consider how they would have sleepless nights contemplating their riches were they to be informed that they had inherited a large estate. He laments how the saints of God depreciate their inheritance by focusing on the things of this world rather than on heaven.

Address To The Sons Of The Devil

Having painted a picture of the state of bliss that awaits the saints in heaven, Davies addresses the “unhappy sinners” in the congregation. Everything he said about the natural state of the sons of God applies to unbelievers as well. But these sinners, he says, are not the sons of God by regeneration, but are the “children of the devil.” He calls upon them to contemplate the future glories that await the sons of God, as if to motivate them to convert out of jealousy. Davies does not allow them to remain comfortable in their unbelief but contrasts their future with that of the sons of God. Similar to the regenerate, the unregenerate will undergo a threefold enlargement in eternity; however, their enlargement will be the reverse of the enlargement of the regenerate. Their souls will be enlarged so that they will have a greater capacity for torment. Their bodies will be made strong and immortal, so that it will be able to bear strong, immortal misery. Instead of being enlarged in holiness like the saint, the unbeliever will arrive at a “horrid perfection in sin.” To the degree that the regenerate will be made free from sin, the unregenerate will degenerate into “pure, unmingled wickedness.” To the degree that the saint will be made happy and full of bliss, the sinner will be made miserable and full of torments.

Davies assures the sinners that they, too, are “near the eternal world and all its solemn wonders.” He argues that they might even land there tonight, in their present condition. He minces no words describing their condition; “you are undone, you are ruined, you are inconceivably miserable forever.” He warns them that, if they continue in their present condition, they will be “prodigies of misery” and “monuments of vengeance.” They will soon be initiated into the “horrid mysteries of woe” and will be taught these horrors by personal experience. Until they are born again—that is, until they have dispositions of children toward God—they have no hope of escaping the “intolerably dreadful” conditions that await them. He calls upon the unregenerate sinners to awake from their carelessness and neglect and seek earnestly to become children of God.

Address To The Lukewarm

Having contrasted the future estate of the sinner and the saint, Davies shifts his focus to how the sons of God are not recognized by the world. Davies uses the term “world” here in a narrow sense for those who would call themselves Christians, but who oppose true and living Christianity; that is, those who are Christian in name only. Davies says that the world fails to recognize the sons of God because they fail to recognize the features of the Father in them, and they do not recognize the features of the Father in the saints because they do not know the Father. Davies shows how the world, while professing to love religion, shows contempt for the true exercise of it. They cloak their contempt for true religion in a professed hatred of hypocrisy. Wherever true religion appears, they oppose and ridicule it, especially when a person appears “remarkably religious.” No doubt, Davies had encountered in his ministry many who professed to be Christians who were nonetheless critical of those who were zealous to live a godly life after experiencing the love of God in conversion. Davies comments that, for these zealous sons of God, the world reserves the most negative names. Rather than recognizing the “peculiar glory and excellency” of God’s children on earth, the world considers them an “odious irregularity.” The world describes the saints as “stupid, mopish [gloomy] creatures” that have no taste for the pleasures of life. Here Davies exposes the god of these nominal Christians: pleasure.

By showing how the world fails to recognize the sons of God, Davies subtly exposes the religious unconverted for what they are—sons of the devil. He admonishes them to consider that these “professors of living Christianity” are “princes in disguise” and will soon be shining more glorious than the sun. The nominal Christian will be observing the glory of these princes from a distance, for they will not be among the saints in glory, but with the sons of the devil suffering eternal punishment.

Davies addresses the theme of nominalism, or “lukewarmness,” as he prefers to call it. [44] He argues that all the means of grace solicit man’s consent to the gospel and are intended to engage the affections of the participants to Christ, yet so many are unaffected by them. These unaffected ones are those who are Christians in name only. Davies provides an illustration that captures the essence of nominalism. It is like a sick person “infatuated with the imagination that the mere grateful remembrance of Galen or Hippocrates...will be sufficient for his recovery, without following their prescriptions.” Davies considered lukewarmness in religion or nominalism to be “the most absurd and inconsistent thing imaginable: more so than avowed impiety, or a professed rejection of all religion.” [45] Davies reveals its essence when he says,

[if you] looked upon religion as a cheat and openly rejected the profession of it, it would not be strange that you should be careless about it, and disregard it in practice. But to own it true and make profession of it, and yet be lukewarm and indifferent about it, this is the most absurd conduct that can be conceived; for if it be true, it is certainly the most important and interesting truth in all the world, and requires the utmost exertion of all your powers. [46]

Davies exhorts the lukewarm to “shake off your sloth and be fervent in spirit,” adding a word of warning that if they do not, it will be to their peril, for the judgment of God is near.

Conclusion

Samuel Davies was indeed a great preacher. Contemporary accounts indicate that he was a master communicator, but that ability would only enable him to draw crowds, not to change lives. What changed the lives of hundreds of people in Virginia three decades before the Revolutionary War was not his oratory skill but his commitment to preaching God’s Word, no matter how out of fashion its teachings might be. He was out of step with most of his contemporaries in preaching the doctrines of man’s depravity, God’s sovereignty, an eternal state that included hell for nonbelievers, and justification by faith in Christ alone. Davies recognized that these were the doctrines that revived the church in the Reformation and these doctrines needed to be preached in his day. They also need to be preached in twenty-first-century churches.

Samuel Davies’s sermons should be read by Christians for a variety of reasons. First, Davies’s sermons provide great examples of how biblical doctrine can be effectively taught from the pulpit. Second, Davies teaches us that revival is a work of God and is dependent upon the outpouring of his Spirit, rather than upon man’s machinations. Third, Davies teaches us that revival sermons should be directed toward all types of hearers: believers, non-believers, and the lukewarm professor of Christianity.

He urges believers to pursue holy living, for that is their destiny; he urges non-believers to repent and turn to Christ or they will suffer eternal punishment; and he warned those who profess Christianity but scorn the holiness it demands that their eternal destiny is with the unbeliever in hell. Samuel Davies’s sermons are as relevant and needed today as they were in eighteenth-century colonial Virginia. They can be read with profit today for those who are interested in how God has enlivened His church in times past through the preaching of the Word. They should be read today to see how a local revival can be effected and sustained through preaching what Davies called the “good old doctrines of the Reformation.”

Notes

1. Iain H. Murray, Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism 1750-1858 (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth, 1994), 3.
2. Joseph Jones, Life of Ashbel Green (New York: Robert Carter, 1849), 251, quoted in Murray, Revival and Revivalism, 3n.
3. George William Pilcher, Samuel Davies, Apostle of Dissent in Virginia (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1971), 83-85.
4. Murray, Revival and Revivalism, 3.
5. George William Pilcher, ed., The Reverend Samuel Davies Abroad: The Diary of a Journey to England and Scotland, 1753-1755 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1967), entry for July 5, 1754.
6. Thomas Talbot Ellis, “Samuel Davies: Apostle of Virginia,” The Banner of Truth Magazine, no. 235, April 1983; reprinted in “Fire and Ice Sermon Series,” www.puritansermons.com, 2.
7. Murray, Revival and Revivalism, 5.
8. Ibid., 6.
9. D.W. Meinig, The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History, Vol. 1, 1492-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986), 155-160.
10. Carl Bridenbaugh, Mitre and Scepter: Transatlantic Faiths, Ideas, Personalities, and Politics, 1689 to 1775 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1962), 131-133. See also Richard M. Gummere, Seven Wise Men of Colonial America (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967), 41-49.
11. Ellis, “Samuel Davies,” 2.
12. Samuel Davies, State of Religion among the Protestant Dissenters in Virginia. An Account of a Remarkable Work of Grace, or the Great Success of the Gospel in Virginia. In a letter from the Rev. Mr. Davis...to the Rev. Mr. Bellamy.... With an account of the state of religion in several parts of North America, from 1743 to June 1751 (London: J. Lewis, and G. Englefield, 1752), 2.
13. Ibid., 3.
14. Ibid., 5.
15. Ibid., 7.
16. Ibid., 10.
17. Ibid., 8.
18. Murray, Revival and Revivalism, 10.
19. Ibid., 11-12.
20. “A Letter to Hanover Presbytery and the Synod of New York,” in Pilcher, Samuel Davies, 193-195.
21. Davies, Diary, July 21, 1754.
22. Samuel Davies, “The Success of the Ministry of the Gospel, Owing to a Divine Influence, a sermon preached at Hanover, Virginia, November 9, 1757” (Philadelphia: William W. Harding, 1864), 12.
23. Ibid., 4.
24. Ibid., 3.
25. Murray, Revival and Revivalism, 21-22.
26. Ibid., 1-2.
27. Samuel Davies, “The Success of the Ministry of the Gospel,” 13.
28. Quoted in Murray, Revival and Revivalism, n. 2, 26-27.
29. Ibid., 28.
30. Samuel Davies, Sermons on Important Subjects (Philadelphia: M. Carey and Son, 1818), 1:40.
31. Ibid., 46.
32. Ibid., 51-52.
33. Ibid., 53.
34. Ibid., 55.
35. Ibid., 56-57.
36. Ibid., 58.
37. Ibid., 59.
38. Ibid., 60.
39. Ibid., 64.
40. Samuel Davies, “A Sermon preached at Henrico, Virginia, April 29, 1753, and at Canongate, May 26, 1754.”
41. Ibid., 19.
42. Samuel Davies, “The Nature of Looking to Christ Opened and Explained,” 3.
43. Ibid., 4.
44. Ibid., 2.
45. Samuel Davies, “The Danger of Lukewarmness in Religion,” in Sermons on Important Subjects, 2:55.
46. Ibid.