Preaching, Presence and Power

Luke 5:17, “And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching... the power of the Lord was present to heal them.”


This is a vital combination—teaching along with the presence of the power of the Lord. Such a combination also occurred on this day (8thJuly) 1741. Jonathan Edwards on that day preached a sermon that he could not complete. It was on the text “Their foot shall slide in due time” (Deut. 32:35). He was a visiting preacher in Enfield. The state was in the midst of an awakening but Enfield was resisting the work of God at the time and had seen no conversions. He had preached the sermon (known as “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God”) before in his own church in Northampton without any effect. However in Enfield something extraordinary took place. People listening shrieked and cried out, and the crying and weeping became so loud that Edwards was forced to cease preaching. He went down among the people to pray and counsel. It was known that day that Enfield had joined the Revival.


“We ought not to limit God where He has not limited Himself” (Edwards).