To Gerrit Parmele Judd
22 October 1827
[MS Group 70 Box 1.6ff, Judd Family Papers, Bernice P. Bishop Museum Library, Honolulu, Hawaii.]
Address: Doct G. P. Judd.
Boston.
Massachusetts.
Letter:
Stephentown Oct. 22nd 1827.
Doct & Mrs Judd. Beloved Brother & Sister.
We have with no ordinary
degree of interest heard from you, once & again,
& regret exceedingly that Providence prevented
our seeing you once more before you left these
shores of America. But the good work of our
God was in such a state, both when we recd
your first & last letter, that I deemed it inco
mpatible with duty to leave the ground even
for a day. The work is still in as interesting a
state, so far as I can understand the state
of things, as it has been at any time.
My anxiety to see you is so great, that were
it possible for me to leave, I should visit
you at Boston before you embarked.
I should have written to you, but have all
along until now, indulged the hope of seeing
you. When you mentioned that Miss Fanny
Thomas was to make one of your number,
I could not recollect that I knew any such person.
And never learned until the arrival of Broth Frost
on Saturday evening who she was. O, Is it possible
that that dear girl is going to carry the blessed
gospel to the poor heathen. "Bless the Lord O, my
soul". I have desired exceedingly to see her, & really
it seems to me that I can hardly deny myself the
luxury of seeing you all before you go. But, I must
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be still. Give my dearest love to her & to her husband
whom I suppose I have never seen.
O I have ten thousand things to say to you & to
her. & O that we could pray together once more
While you & we live I trust myself & wife shall
not forget to pray for you "exceedingly". You are
almost constantly on our minds & we can pray for
you with many tears. O may "the arms of your hands be
made strong, with the strength of the Mighty God
of Jacob."!
And now My dear Garret, & Laura, & Fanny
beloved for the Lords sake, blessed servants of Jesus,
& Missionaries of his cross, if when you arrive at the
place of your destination, you can get time from
your other labours to write to your unworthy friends,
brother & sister F you confer on us a great favour.
Direct your letters to Utica to the care of Thomas
Hastings if you get time to write.
My dear Wife mourns sore like a dove, because she cant
see Laura once more. She would have visited Troy at the
time you was there but for the rain on monday, in
which I thought it would not do for her to venture
out, in her feeble state of health.
But I must drop my pen.
Yours most affectionately in the
bonds of the gospel.
C. G. Finney.
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Charles Finney (1792 - 1875)
Known as one of the leaders in the Second Great Awakening revival in America. He was a revivalist who called for deep introspection of sin and preaching of the law to bring about sin. He was known to preach 30+ nights on sin and than the last night on Christ to have people flee to Him for mercy. Used greatly in the book: "Revivals of Religion" which is a classic on the subject of revival.He preached on the true Baptism of the Holy Spirit and its necessity. In his revivalistic campaigns he was used of the Lord to bring some estimate over 50,000 souls to the Lord which many were sound converts. There has been questions raised surrounding his theology in the later years of his ministry but this does not discredit that God used him powerfully in revival and for God's kingdom.
Charles Finney was born in Connecticut to an ordinary family and life that gave little hint of the great things God had in store for him. He was a schoolteacher and then a lawyer before his conversion at age 29. Finney was filled with the Holy Spirit on the same day he was saved and immediately began witnessing to friends and family members. More than twenty people were saved in the 24 hours following Finney's conversion. Finney's personal evangelism soon became public evangelism as he began to travel and preach in extended revival meetings. He considered revival to be a natural result of following the instructions God had laid out in His Word.
During Finney's fifty years of preaching, more than 500,000 were saved. He wrote many books, the most enduring of which are The Autobiography of Charles Finney and Lectures on Revival of Religion. After ill health forced him to stop traveling in meetings, he accepted the pastorate of a church in New York City. From 1852 until 1866 he served as president of Oberlin College in Ohio. Although some of his theology was lacking, he was a powerful, Spirit-filled soul winner who brought revival to cities and towns across the eastern United States.