Emmons, Nathanael. The Giver more Blessed than the Receiver : A Discourse, Addressed to the Congregation in Franklin. Boston: Printed by Lincoln & Edmands, 1809. First Edition. [11621]
Removed, no wrapper, 8 1/2 x 5 inches, 24 pp., foxing. Good. Pamphlet.
The text is Acts 20:35, "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."
The text is proven, with examples. An appeal for contributions to "the Missionary Societies, the Tract Societies, the Bible Societies, the Theological Societies, and the various species of Humane Societies..." Ends with extracts of Missionary Sermons by Dr. Griffin, Mr. Worcester, and Dr. Emmons.
Nathanael Emmons (1745-1840), born at East Haddam, Connecticut, which was also the birthplace of David Brainerd (1718). He graduated with honor at Yale in 1767, studied theology with Rev. Nathan Strong and afterwards with Dr. John Smalley. In 1773 he was ordained pastor of the Congregational church in Franklin, Massachusetts, and remained as pastor of that congregation for the next fifty-four years. Revivals of religion blessed his ministry in the years 1784, 1794, and 1808-9, and two others in later years. It is said that he lived to see over four hundred of his parishioners profess their faith in Christ. His examinations for church membership were strict, and he was very active in teaching young men for the ministry - close to one hundred young men were tutored and guided by him personally to that end. He was a founder and first president of the Massachusetts Missionary Society and one of the original editors of the Massachusetts Missionary Magazine. He was a zealous anti-mason and an active abolitionist, and a Federalist in politics. He was also "Hopkinsian" in his theological views, that is, he considered himself a Calvinist who would speak plainly on all texts of scripture, rather than bending all texts to fit a theological preconception. He was very widely esteemed.
"A peculiar little fellow with a sharp tongue and a wad of tobacco in his cheek, Emmons is hardly typical of the New England preachers. He was educated at Yale at a time when it was in a very low state spiritually, but despite his rather weak preparation for ministry, he was an unusually effective communicator. His sermons were very pungent and large numbers of students delighted to sit under his ministry. The bulk of his life was spent in the pastorate in Franklin, Massachusetts where a major revival occurred in 1784 and at periodic intervals thereafter." - Roberts, Revival Literature: An Annotated Bibliography.
