PETER CARTWRIGHT

A Young Man Caught in the Wave of Revival

Peter was sixteen when the four-day Communions led by James McGready and others brought revival to Kentucky. He found himself in the thick of this wave of the Holy Spirit—a wave that ultimately led to his conversion. In his Autobiography, he described his conversion:

A Wedding Marked by Worldly Pleasures

In 1801, when I was in my sixteenth year, my father, my eldest half-brother, and I attended a wedding about five miles from home. There was a great deal of drinking and dancing, which was very common at marriages in those days. I drank little or nothing; my delight was in dancing.

Conviction Falls on the Journey Home

After a late hour in the night, we mounted our horses and started for home. I was riding my racehorse. A few minutes after we had put up the horses and were sitting by the fire, I began to reflect on the manner in which I had spent the day and evening.

I felt guilty and condemned. I rose and walked the floor. My mother was in bed. Suddenly, it seemed to me that my blood rushed to my head and my heart began to palpitate. Within a few minutes, I became blind. An awful impression rested on my mind that death had come and I was unprepared to die. I fell on my knees and began to ask God to have mercy on me.

A Mother’s Prayers and a Sacred Promise

My mother sprang from her bed and was soon on her knees by my side, praying for me and exhorting me to look to Christ for mercy. Then and there, I promised the Lord that if He would spare me, I would seek and serve Him; and I never fully broke that promise.

Restless Nights and Deep Distress

My mother prayed for me for a long time. At length, we lay down, but I had little sleep. The next morning, I rose feeling wretched beyond expression.

I tried to read the Testament and retired many times for secret prayer throughout the day, but found no relief. I gave up my racehorse to my father and requested that he sell it. I also went and brought my pack of cards to my mother, who threw them into the fire, where they were consumed.

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Separation from Former Ways

I fasted, watched, and prayed, and engaged in regular reading of the Testament. I was so distressed and miserable that I was incapable of attending to any regular business.

My father was greatly distressed on my account, thinking I must die and that he would lose his only son. He bade me retire altogether from business and take care of myself.

Misunderstood by Others

Soon, word spread that I was distracted. Many of my former associates in wickedness came to see me, hoping to divert my mind from those gloomy thoughts of my wretchedness. But all their efforts were in vain.

Instead, I exhorted them to desist from the course of wickedness in which we had been guilty together.

No Comfort Found

The class leader and local preacher were sent for. They tried to point me to the bleeding Lamb and prayed for me most fervently. Still, I found no comfort.

Although I had never believed in the doctrine of unconditional election and reprobation, I was sorely tempted to believe that I was a reprobate, doomed and eternally lost, without any chance of salvation.

A Voice in the Midst of Despair

At length, one day, I retired to the horse lot. I was walking and wringing my hands in great anguish, trying to pray while standing on the borders of utter despair.

It appeared to me that I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Peter, look at Me…”