CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head><script type='text/javascript' src='//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/yui/3.6.0/yui/yui-min.js'></script><script type='text/javascript' src='//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.2/jquery.min.js'></script><script type='text/javascript' src='https://assets.adobedtm.com/4a848ae9611a/d0e96722185b/launch-d525bb0064d8.min.js'></script><script type='text/javascript' src=/assets/nr_browser_production.js></script>  <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width"> <title> "God’s Controversy with New-England (1662, 1871)" by Michael Wigglesworth and Reiner Smolinski , Editor </title>  <meta itemprop="name" content="God’s Controversy with New-England (1662, 1871)"> <meta property="og:title" content="God’s Controversy with New-England (1662, 1871)"> <meta name="twitter:title" content="God’s Controversy with New-England (1662, 1871)"> <meta property="article:author" content="Michael Wigglesworth"> <meta name="author" content="Michael Wigglesworth"> <meta property="article:author" content="Reiner Smolinski, , Editor"> <meta name="author" content="Reiner Smolinski, , Editor"> <meta name="robots" content="noodp, noydir"> <meta name="description" content="Presented here is Wigglesworth’s manuscript poem "God’s Controversy with New-England" (1871)—courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Composed in 1662 on the occasion of a terrible drought, the poem is a versified jeremiad bewailing the backsliding of the rising generation. Thus, God uses nature’s drought as a secondary cause to punish the exsiccation of the spirit among the offspring of New England’s patriarchs, whose children were either unable (or unwilling) to accept the Half-Way Covenant (1662) governing church admission. More than that, "God’s Controversy" encapsulates the Federal Covenant between God and Saints, whose chastisement, paradoxically, is a sign of God’s loving kindness for the whole colony."> <meta itemprop="description" content="Presented here is Wigglesworth’s manuscript poem "God’s Controversy with New-England" (1871)—courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Composed in 1662 on the occasion of a terrible drought, the poem is a versified jeremiad bewailing the backsliding of the rising generation. Thus, God uses nature’s drought as a secondary cause to punish the exsiccation of the spirit among the offspring of New England’s patriarchs, whose children were either unable (or unwilling) to accept the Half-Way Covenant (1662) governing church admission. More than that, "God’s Controversy" encapsulates the Federal Covenant between God and Saints, whose chastisement, paradoxically, is a sign of God’s loving kindness for the whole colony."> <meta name="twitter:description" content="Presented here is Wigglesworth’s manuscript poem "God’s Controversy with New-England" (1871)—courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Composed in 1662 on the occasion of a terrible drought, the poem is a versified jeremiad bewailing the backsliding of the rising generation. Thus, God uses nature’s drought as a secondary cause to punish the exsiccation of the spirit among the offspring of New England’s patriarchs, whose children were either unable (or unwilling) to accept the Half-Way Covenant (1662) governing church admission. More than that, "God’s Controversy" encapsulates the Federal Covenant between God and Saints, whose chastisement, paradoxically, is a sign of God’s loving kindness for the whole colony."> <meta property="og:description" content="Presented here is Wigglesworth’s manuscript poem "God’s Controversy with New-England" (1871)—courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Composed in 1662 on the occasion of a terrible drought, the poem is a versified jeremiad bewailing the backsliding of the rising generation. Thus, God uses nature’s drought as a secondary cause to punish the exsiccation of the spirit among the offspring of New England’s patriarchs, whose children were either unable (or unwilling) to accept the Half-Way Covenant (1662) governing church admission. More than that, "God’s Controversy" encapsulates the Federal Covenant between God and Saints, whose chastisement, paradoxically, is a sign of God’s loving kindness for the whole colony."> <meta name="bepress_citation_series_title" content="Electronic Texts in American Studies"> <meta name="bepress_citation_author" content="Wigglesworth, Michael"> <meta name="bepress_citation_author" content="Smolinski , Editor, Reiner"> <meta name="bepress_citation_author_institution" content="Georgia State University"> <meta name="bepress_citation_title" content="God’s Controversy with New-England (1662, 1871)"> <meta name="bepress_citation_date" content="1662">   <meta name="bepress_citation_pdf_url" content="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=etas"> <meta name="bepress_citation_abstract_html_url" content="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/36"> <meta name="bepress_citation_online_date" content="2007/8/1"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width">  <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary">  <meta property="og:type" content="article"> <meta property="og:url" content="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/36"> <meta property="og:site_name" content="DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln">  <script type="text/javascript"> (function(e,t){var n=e.amplitude||{_q:[],_iq:{}};var r=t.createElement("script") ;r.type="text/javascript";r.async=true ;r.src="https://cdn.amplitude.com/libs/amplitude-4.5.2-min.gz.js" ;r.integrity="5ceGNbvkytO+PTI82JRl6GwJjVCw6k79kP4le5L5/m0Zny1P7taAF6YVvC4z4Pgj" ;r.onload=function(){if(e.amplitude.runQueuedFunctions){ e.amplitude.runQueuedFunctions()}else{ console.log("[Amplitude] Error: could not load SDK")}} ;var i=t.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];i.parentNode.insertBefore(r,i) ;function s(e,t){e.prototype[t]=function(){ this._q.push([t].concat(Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)));return this}} var o=function(){this._q=[];return this} ;var a=["add","append","clearAll","prepend","set","setOnce","unset"] ;for(var u=0;u<a.length;u++){s(o,a[u])}n.Identify=o;var c=function(){this._q=[] ;return this} ;var l=["setProductId","setQuantity","setPrice","setRevenueType","setEventProperties"] ;for(var p=0;p<l.length;p++){s(c,l[p])}n.Revenue=c ;var d=["init","logEvent","logRevenue","setUserId","setUserProperties","setOptOut","setVersionName","setDomain","setDeviceId","setGlobalUserProperties","identify","clearUserProperties","setGroup","logRevenueV2","regenerateDeviceId","groupIdentify","logEventWithTimestamp","logEventWithGroups","setSessionId","resetSessionId"] ;function v(e){function t(t){e[t]=function(){ e._q.push([t].concat(Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}} for(var n=0;n<d.length;n++){t(d[n])}}v(n);n.getInstance=function(e){ e=(!e||e.length===0?"$default_instance":e).toLowerCase() ;if(!n._iq.hasOwnProperty(e)){n._iq[e]={_q:[]};v(n._iq[e])}return n._iq[e]} ;e.amplitude=n})(window,document); amplitude.getInstance().init("1d890e80ea7a0ccc43c2b06438458f50"); </script>  <meta name="bepress_is_article_cover_page" content="1">  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/ir-style.css" type="text/css" media="screen"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/ir-custom.css" type="text/css" media="screen"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../ir-custom.css" type="text/css" media="screen"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/ir-local.css" type="text/css" media="screen"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../ir-local.css" type="text/css" media="screen"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/ir-print.css" type="text/css" media="print"> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/floatbox/floatbox.css"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Site Feed" href="/recent.rss"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon">   <script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/jsUtilities.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/footnoteLinks.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/scripts/yui-init.pack.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/scripts/bepress-init.debug.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/scripts/JumpListYUI.pack.js"></script>  <script type="text/javascript">var pageData = {"page":{"environment":"prod","productName":"bpdg","language":"en","name":"ir_series:article","businessUnit":"els:rp:st"},"visitor":{}};</script> </head> <body id="geo-series">   <script src="/assets/scripts/dc-mobile/dc-responsive-nav.js"></script> <header id="mobile-nav" class="nav-down device-fixed-height" style="visibility: hidden;"> <nav class="nav-collapse"> <ul> <li class="menu-item active device-fixed-width"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu" title="Home" data-scroll >Home</a></li> <li class="menu-item device-fixed-width"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/do/search/advanced/" title="Search" data-scroll ><i class="icon-search"></i> Search</a></li> <li class="menu-item device-fixed-width"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/communities.html" title="Browse" data-scroll >Browse Collections</a></li> <li class="menu-item device-fixed-width"><a href="/cgi/myaccount.cgi?context=etas" title="My Account" data-scroll >My Account</a></li> <li class="menu-item device-fixed-width"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/about.html" title="About" data-scroll >About</a></li> <li class="menu-item device-fixed-width"><a href="https://network.bepress.com" title="Digital Commons Network" data-scroll ><img width="16" height="16" alt="DC Network" style="vertical-align:top;" src="/assets/md5images/8e240588cf8cd3a028768d4294acd7d3.png"> Digital Commons Network™</a></li> </ul> </nav> </header> <script src="/assets/scripts/dc-mobile/dc-mobile-nav.js"></script>   <div id="unl"><div id="container"><a href="#main" class="skiplink" accesskey="2" >Skip to main content</a> <div id="header">  <div id="logo"> <a href="http://libraries.unl.edu" title="University of Nebraska - Lincoln" > <img width="240" height="125" alt="DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln" border="0" src="/assets/md5images/f2a887c34b9744d8441164011e9a465d.gif"> </a> </div>  <div id="pagetitle"> <h1><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu" title="DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln" >DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln</a></h1> </div> </div><div id="navigation"><div id="tabs" role="navigation" aria-label="Main"><ul><li id="tabone"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/myaccount.cgi?context=etas" title="My Account" ><span>My Account</span></a></li><li id="tabtwo"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/faq.html" title="FAQ" ><span>FAQ</span></a></li><li id="tabthree"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/about.html" title="About" ><span>About</span></a></li><li id="tabfour"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu" title="Home" ><span>Home</span></a></li></ul></div> </div> <div id="wrapper"> <div id="content"> <div id="main" class="text"> <script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/floatbox/floatbox.js"></script>  <div id="breadcrumb"><ul id="pager"> <li>< <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/69" class="ignore" >Previous Archival Material</a></li> <li><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/23" class="ignore" >Next Archival Material</a> ></li> <li> </li></ul><div class="crumbs"> <div class="crumbs" role="navigation" aria-label="Breadcrumb"> <p> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu" class="ignore" >Home</a> <span aria-hidden="true">></span> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libraries" class="ignore" >Libraries</a> <span aria-hidden="true">></span> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas" class="ignore" >E-Texts in American Studies</a> <span aria-hidden="true">></span> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/36" class="ignore" aria-current="page" >36</a> </p> </div> </div> </div> <h2 id="group"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libraries" class="ignore" >Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln</a></h2>       <div id="series-header">  <img alt="Electronic Texts in American Studies" style="height:auto;width:180px;" class="ignore" width='170' height='128' src="../../assets/md5images/9b8d090ad7929f1faf9ae9d1e80f5682.jpg"> <h2 id="series-title"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas" >Electronic Texts in American Studies</a></h2></div> <div style="clear: both"> </div> <div id="sub"> <div id="alpha"> <div id='title' class='element'> <h1><a href='https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=etas'>God’s Controversy with New-England (1662, 1871)</a></h1> </div> <div class='clear'></div> <div id='authors' class='element'> <h2 class='visually-hidden'>Authors</h2> <p class="author"><a href='https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/do/search/?q=author%3A%22Michael%20Wigglesworth%22&start=0&context=52045'><strong>Michael Wigglesworth</strong></a><br /> <a href='https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/do/search/?q=bp_author_id%3A%2289246714-6a29-403d-a97b-59d3ca4a67a8%22%20OR%20%28author%3A%22Reiner%20Smolinski%20%2C%20Editor%22%20AND%20-bp_author_id%3A%5B%2A%20TO%20%2A%5D%29&start=0&context=52045'><strong>Reiner Smolinski , Editor</strong>, <em>Georgia State University</em></a><a rel="nofollow" href="https://network.bepress.com/api/follow/subscribe?user=YjA1NGJkMjdiZjM1M2MxYQ%3D%3D&institution=MmZmZmExNzVkZDc0MDU1Ng%3D%3D&format=html" data-follow-set="user:YjA1NGJkMjdiZjM1M2MxYQ== institution:MmZmZmExNzVkZDc0MDU1Ng==" title="Follow Reiner Smolinski , Editor" class="btn followable">Follow</a><br /> </p></div> <div class='clear'></div> <div id='document_type' class='element'> <h2 class='field-heading'>Document Type</h2> <p>Archival Material</p> </div> <div class='clear'></div> <div id='publication_date' class='element'> <h2 class='field-heading'>Date of this Version</h2> <p>1662</p> </div> <div class='clear'></div> <div id='abstract' class='element'> <h2 class='field-heading'>Abstract</h2> <p>Presented here is Wigglesworth’s manuscript poem "God’s Controversy with New-England" (1871)—courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Composed in 1662 on the occasion of a terrible drought, the poem is a versified jeremiad bewailing the backsliding of the rising generation. Thus, God uses nature’s drought as a secondary cause to punish the exsiccation of the spirit among the offspring of New England’s patriarchs, whose children were either unable (or unwilling) to accept the Half-Way Covenant (1662) governing church admission. More than that, "God’s Controversy" encapsulates the Federal Covenant between God and Saints, whose chastisement, paradoxically, is a sign of God’s loving kindness for the whole colony.</p> </div> <div class='clear'></div> </div> </div> <div id='beta_7-3'>     <div class="aside download-button"> <a id="pdf" class="btn" href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=etas" title="PDF (173 KB) opens in new window" target="_blank" > <i class="icon-download-alt" aria-hidden="true"></i> Download </a> </div>         <div id="article-stats" class="aside hidden"> <p class="article-downloads-wrapper hidden"><span id="article-downloads"></span> DOWNLOADS</p> <p class="article-stats-date hidden">Since August 01, 2007</p> <p class="article-plum-metrics"> <a href="https://plu.mx/plum/a/?repo_url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/36" class="plumx-plum-print-popup plum-bigben-theme" data-badge="true" data-hide-when-empty="true" ></a> </p> </div> <script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.plu.mx/widget-popup.js"></script>  <script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/scripts/article-downloads.pack.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> insertDownloads(331707); </script>  <script> // bind to event when PlumX widget loads jQuery('body').bind('plum:widget-load', function(e){ // if Plum badge is visible if (jQuery('.PlumX-Popup').length) { // remove 'hidden' class jQuery('#article-stats').removeClass('hidden'); jQuery('.article-stats-date').addClass('plum-border'); } }); // bind to event when page loads jQuery(window).bind('load',function(e){ // if DC downloads are visible if (jQuery('#article-downloads').text().length > 0) { // add border to aside jQuery('#article-stats').removeClass('hidden'); } }); </script>  <script> $(function() { // This is the handler for Plum popup engagement on mouseover $("#article-stats").on("mouseover", "a.plx-wrapping-print-link", function(event) { // Send the event to Amplitude amplitude.getInstance().logEvent("plumPopupMouseover"); }); // This is the handler for Plum badge and 'see details' link clickthrough $("#article-stats").on("click", "div.ppp-container.ppp-small.ppp-badge", function(event) { // Send the event to Amplitude amplitude.getInstance().logEvent("plumDetailsClick"); }); // This is the handler for AddThis link clickthrough $(".addthis_toolbox").on("click", "a", function(event) { // Send the event to Amplitude amplitude.getInstance().logEvent("addThisClick"); }); // This is the handler for AddThis link clickthrough $(".aside.download-button").on("click", "a", function(event) { // Send the event to Amplitude amplitude.getInstance().logEvent("downloadClick"); }); }); </script>  <script> $(function() { // Download button click event tracker for PDFs $(".aside.download-button").on("click", "a#pdf", function(event) { pageDataTracker.trackEvent('navigationClick', { link: { location: 'aside download-button', name: 'pdf' } }); }); // Download button click event tracker for native files $(".aside.download-button").on("click", "a#native", function(event) { pageDataTracker.trackEvent('navigationClick', { link: { location: 'aside download-button', name: 'native' } }); }); }); </script>   <div id="beta-disciplines" class="aside"> <h4>Included in</h4> <p> <a href="https://network.bepress.com/hgg/discipline/439" title="American Studies Commons" >American Studies Commons</a> </p> </div>   <div id="share" class="aside"> <h2>Share</h2> <div class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_24 a2a_default_style"> <a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a> <a class="a2a_button_linkedin"></a> <a class="a2a_button_whatsapp"></a> <a class="a2a_button_email"></a> <a class="a2a_dd"></a> <script async src="https://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"></script> </div> </div>      <span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdigitalcommons.unl.edu%2Fetas%2F36&rft.atitle=God%E2%80%99s%20Controversy%20with%20New-England%20%281662%2C%201871%29&rft.aufirst=Michael&rft.aulast=Wigglesworth&rft.au=Reiner%20Smolinski&rft.jtitle=Electronic%20Texts%20in%20American%20Studies&rft.date=1662-01-01">COinS</span>    </div> <div class='clear'> </div>    </div> <div class="verticalalign"> </div> <div class="clear"> </div> </div> <div id="sidebar" role="complementary">    <h2>Search</h2> <form method='get' action='https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/do/search/' id="sidebar-search"> <label for="search" accesskey="4"> Enter search terms: </label> <div> <span class="border"> <input type="text" name='q' class="search" id="search"> </span> <input type="submit" value="Search" class="searchbutton" style="font-size:11px;"> </div> <label for="context" style="display:none;"> Select context to search: </label> <div> <span class="border"> <select name="fq" id="context"> <option value='virtual_ancestor_link:"https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas"'>in this series</option> <option value='virtual_ancestor_link:"https://digitalcommons.unl.edu"'>in this repository</option> <option value='virtual_ancestor_link:"http:/"'>across all repositories</option> </select> </span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="sort" value="date_desc"> </form> <p class="advanced"> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/do/search/advanced/?fq=virtual_ancestor_link:%22https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas%22" > Advanced Search </a> </p> <p class="advanced"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/help-search.html" title="Search Help" >Search Help</a></li></p>   <ul id="side-notify"> <li class="notify"> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/announcements.html" title="Email or RSS Notifications" > Notify me via email or <acronym title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</acronym> </a> </li> </ul>    <div id="sb-custom-middle"> <ul class="sb-custom-ul"> <li><a href="https://bepress.com/products/digital-commons/resources/reference-and-how-to-guides/" >Administrator Resources</a></li> <li><a href="http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/citing_articles.html" >How to Cite Items From This Repository</a></li> <li><a href="http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/copyright.html" >Copyright Information</a></li> </ul> </div>  <h2>Browse</h2> <ul id="side-browse"> <li class="collections"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/communities.html" title="Browse by Collections" >Collections</a></li> <li class="discipline-browser"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/do/discipline_browser/disciplines" title="Browse by Disciplines" >Disciplines</a></li> <li class="author"><a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/authors.html" title="Browse by Author" >Authors</a></li> </ul>  <h2>Author Corner</h2> <ul id="side-author"> <li class="faq"> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/faq.html" title="Author FAQ" > Author FAQ </a> </li> <li><a href="http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ir_information/80" title="Guide to Submitting" >Guide to Submitting</a></li> <li class="submit"> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/ir_submit.cgi?context=etas" > Submit your paper or article </a> </li> </ul>   <h2>Links</h2> <ul id="homepage-links"> <li class="sb-homepage"> <a href="https://libraries.unl.edu" title="libraries Home Page" > Libraries Website </a> </li> </ul>            <div class="verticalalign"> </div> </div> </div> <div id="footer" role="contentinfo"> <div id="bepress"> <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/digital-commons" title="Elsevier - Digital Commons" > <em>Elsevier - Digital Commons</em> </a> </div>  <p> <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu" title="Home page" accesskey="1" >Home</a> | <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/about.html" title="About" >About</a> | <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/faq.html" title="FAQ" >FAQ</a> | <a href="/cgi/myaccount.cgi?context=etas" title="My Account Page" accesskey="3" >My Account</a> | <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/accessibility.html" title="Accessibility Statement" accesskey="0" >Accessibility Statement</a> </p> <p> <a class="secondary-link" href="https://www.bepress.com/privacy" title="Privacy Policy" >Privacy</a> <a class="secondary-link" href="https://www.elsevier.com/legal/elsevier-website-terms-and-conditions" title="Copyright Policy" >Copyright</a> </p> </div>  </div> </div>  <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-5499681-6"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments)}; gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'UA-5499681-6'); </script>  <script type='text/javascript' src='/assets/scripts/bpbootstrap-20160726.pack.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>BPBootstrap.init({appendCookie:''})</script></body></html>