Who was David Brainerd?

Answer

David Brainerd (1718—1747) was a pioneering missionary who worked with Native Americans during the First Great Awakening in North America. He is primarily remembered for the remarkable account of his life published by Jonathan Edwards, a renowned Puritan theologian and revivalist. This book, which contains Brainerd’s personal diary, had a profound impact on future missionaries such as Thomas Coke, William Carey, David Livingstone, and Jim Elliot.

David Brainerd was born in Haddam, Connecticut, a farming community on the Connecticut River. His parents, Hezekiah and Dorothy, brought up David and his eight siblings in the Scriptures; however, both his father and mother passed away before his fourteenth birthday. David spent the remainder of his youth in his sister’s home, focusing on his education and preparing for Christian ministry. Brainerd’s genuine conversion occurred on July 12, 1739, when David embraced Jesus Christ as his Sovereign Lord and Savior at the age of twenty-one.

Two months later, David enrolled at Yale University. In his initial years at college, he displayed early symptoms of tuberculosis, the illness that would ultimately claim Brainerd’s life at the age of twenty-nine. While at college, David also underwent a spiritual revival by participating in meetings led by George Whitefield, James Davenport, and Gilbert Tennent. Despite excelling academically, the Yale faculty disapproved of Brainerd’s enthusiasm for the Great Awakening movement. When David casually mentioned to a college tutor that he “had no more grace than a chair,” this comment led to Brainerd’s expulsion from Yale.

With his formal education cut short, Brainerd promptly sought an alternative path to complete his ministry training. Under the guidance of Congregational pastor Joseph Bellamy, Brainerd obtained a preaching license. In 1742, he was approved by the Presbyterian Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge and began his mission work.issioned to work among the Native Americans starting in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Later, he labored among the Indians in New York, in Pennsylvania, at the Forks of the Delaware River, and finally at Crossweeksung, New Jersey. In June of 1744, David Brainerd was ordained by the Presbytery of New York.

Due to his early losses, David Brainerd was often plagued with severe depression and self-doubt. His work was lonely, taking him more than 3,000 miles, often alone, on horseback. In his five years of ministry to native peoples, he encountered many disappointments, struggled with frequent illness, and saw relatively few converts. But he was deeply committed to obeying God’s call on his life. Brainerd’s greatest successes were achieved in his final two years of life while ministering among a receptive group of Delaware Indians at Crossweeksung. After sharing the gospel for several weeks, Brainerd saw a response, and a thriving congregation of more than one hundred new believers was established. Brainerd poured his last bit of energy into securing the community’s material and spiritual needs.

In the spring of 1747, Brainerd’s ever-worsening tuberculosis forced him to leave his mission field. Intending to recuperate, he went to live in the home of Jonathan Edwards. David was engaged to be married to Edwards’ daughter, Jerushah, who nursed him until his death in October 1747.

Two years later, Jonathan Edwards published The Life and Diary of the Rev. David Brainerd, telling the story from his friend’s private missionary journal. The book reveals what God can do when “fragile clay jars” (see 2 Corinthians 4:1-18) are willing to be used as vessels of mercy in God’s hands. The title became one of Edwards’ most famous works and a groundbreaking Christian missionary classic. David Brainerd’s life was short, his ministry brief, but his legacy lived long through those he inspired.

Here are some quotes from The Life and Diary of the Rev. David Brainerd:

Life and Journal of the Rev. David Brainerd:

“My soul desires to experience more of a pilgrim and stranger’s feeling here below; so that nothing may distract me from advancing through the solitary desert until I reach my Father’s home.”

“Oh, if I ever reach heaven, it will be solely by God’s will, and nothing else; for I have never done anything by myself, but rather moved away from God!”

“I have received everything from God; Oh, if only I could give everything back to God! Surely God deserves my deepest love and most sincere worship; He is infinitely deserving of me making Him my ultimate goal and living eternally for Him.”

“It is beneficial for me to be afflicted so that I may completely die to this world and everything in it.”

“Oh, a barn, stable, hedge, or any other place is desirable, as long as God is present there.”