The Sermon at the Treaty

On August 16, 1751, Jonathan Edwards was invited to give a sermon on a special occasion. It was the signing of a treaty between the Mohawk tribe of Native Americans and the colony of Massachusetts. All of the were governors there, members of the Massachusetts Assembly were there, and a number of ministers were there, and also the Mohawk chiefs were there and members of the Mohawk tribe—and there was Jonathan Edwards.

A number of people gave speeches, but the highlight of the moment was Edwards' sermon. "These honorable gentlemen treat [or come] in the name of King George, but I in the name of Jesus Christ," he said. And then he went right to his text, 2 Peter 1:19: "We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you do well that you take heed as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn and the daystar arise in your hearts."

As he began his sermon, Edwards unfolded the history of redemption. He started with Adam and how God made Adam upright, but then Adam fell, and sin became the new reality of the world. But then he also talked about the coming of Christ and the promise of redemption.

And then he said something that I think made those Englishmen squirm. "This was the real reason that we came here to these colonies—to bring the light of the gospel to you," he said. "But, we haven't done it. In fact, we've kept you in ignorance."

Referring to the colonials, he said, "They have chosen to keep you in the dark for the sake of making a gain of you, for as long as they keep you in ignorance, it is more easy to cheat you in trading with you."

And then Edwards turned to the Mohawk tribesmen and said, "We are no better than you in any respect. But we do have something that you don't have, and that is that God has given us the gospel. He's revealed to us the gospel in the pages of the New Testament, and so our task is to proclaim that gospel to you."

Edwards began to do just that:

We invite you to come and enjoy the light of the Word of God, which is ten thousand times better than the light of the sun. See, this light of the Word of God is like when you hold a glass out in the light of the sun, the glass will shine with the resemblance of the sun's brightness. It is like a sweet and beautiful flower in the spring....If you receive this light into your hearts, you will be prepared to die and fitted to dwell in heaven, which is a world of light, and there you yourselves will shine forth forever as the sun in the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

I'm not sure this is exactly what the governor of Massachusetts had in mind when he invited Edwards to give the sermon at the signing of the treaty with Mohawks, but this is what he got.