e Northampton revival, which had spread through the
Connecticut valley and whose fame had reached England and Scotland, was
followed in 1739-1740 by the Great Awakening, distinctively under the
leadership of Edwards. The movement met with no sympathy from the
orthodox leaders of the church. In 1741 Edwards published in its defence
_The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God_, dealing
particularly with the phenomena most criticized, the swoonings, outcries
and convulsions. These "bodily effects," he insisted, were not
"distinguishing marks" of the work of the Spirit of God; but so bitter
was the feeling against the revival in the more strictly Puritan
churches that in 1742 he was forced to write a second apology, _Thoughts
on the Revival in New England_, his main argument being the great moral
improvement of the country. In the same pamphlet he defends an appeal to
the emotions, and advocates preaching terror when necessary, even to
children, who in God's sight "are young vipers ... if not Christ's." He
considers "bodily effects" incidentals to the real work of God, but his
own mystic devotion and the experiences of his wife during the Awakening
(which he gives in detail) make him think that the divine visitation
usually overpowers the body, a view in support of which he quotes
Scripture. In reply to Edwards, Charles Chauncy anonymously wrote _The
Late Religious Commotions in New England Considered_ (1743), urging
conduct as the sole test of conversion; and the general convention of
Congregational ministers in the Province of Massachusetts Bay protested
"against disorders in practice which have of late obtained in various
parts of the land." In spite of Edwards's able pamphlet, the impression
had become widespread that "bodily effects" were recognized by the
promoters of the Great Awakening as the true tests of conversion. To
offset this feeling Edwards[1] preached at Northampton during the years
1742 and 1743 a series of sermons published under the title of
_Religious Affections_ (1746), a restatement in a more philosophical and
general tone of his ideas as to "distinguishing marks." In 1747 he
joined the movement started in Scotland called the "concert in prayer,"
and in the same year published _An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit
Agreement and Visible Union of God's People in Extraordinary Prayer for
the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom on
Earth_. In 1749 he published a memoir o