"He was one of distinguished natural abilities, as all are sensible who had acquaintance with him. As a minister of the gospel, he was called to unusual services in that work; and his ministry was attended by very remarkable and unusual events ... He had a peculiar opportunity of acquaintance with the false appearances and counterfeits of religion; was the instrument of a most remarkable awakening ...In the following account, the reader will have an opportunity to see not only what were the external circumstances and remarkable incidents of the life of this person, and how he spent his time from day to day, as to his external behavior; but also what passed in his own heart." --Jonathan Edwards David Brainerd, an early missionary to the American Indians in New York, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania, died in 1747 at the age of twenty-nine at the home of his long-time friend and supporter, the eminent Puritan theologian and preacher Jonathan Edwards. It is thanks to Edwards' careful preservation and thoughtful editing of his friend's Diary and Journal that Brainerd has influenced Christians all over the world for over 250 years. As he labored in what was still the untamed American frontier to bring the Gospel to the Indians, Brainerd faced many challenges, including depression, loneliness, and physical illness. Yet his genuine piety and single-minded devotion to God, both in heart and in practice, form a consistent backdrop to his turbulent inner world. This compilation offers a rare glimpse into the life of a man compelled by God to share His love with others in the most difficult of circumstances.

David Brainerd was a pioneer missionary to the American Indians in New York, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania in the 1700s. he died at the tender age of 29 from tuberculosis. This is his diary.

Missionary to Native Americans Struggled with depression Had a short but deeply impacting life

The Life and Diary of David Brainerd with Notes and Reflections by Jonathan Edwards (Illustrated)David Brainerd (April 20, 1718-October 9, 1747) was an American missionary to the Native Americans who had a particularly fruitful ministry among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey. During his short life he was beset by many difficulties. Jonathan Edwards, a pastor during the first Great Awakening published is diary and his biography has become a source of inspiration and encouragement to many Christians, including missionaries such as William Carey and Jim Elliot, and Brainerd's cousin, the Second Great Awakening evangelist James Brainerd Taylor (1801-1829).Much of Brainerd's influence on future generations can be attributed to the biography compiled by Jonathan Edwards and first published in 1749 under the title of An Account of the Life of the Late Reverend Mr. David Brainerd. Edwards believed that a biography about Brainerd would have great value and set aside the anti-Arminian treatise he was writing (later published as Freedom of the Will) in order to create one. The result was an edited version of Brainerd's diary, with some passages documenting Brainerd's despair removed. It gained immediate recognition, with eighteenth-century theologian John Wesley urging: 'Let every preacher read carefully over the Life of David Brainerd. The most reprinted of Edwards's books, it has never been out of print and has thus influenced subsequent generations, mainly because of Brainerd's single-minded perseverance in his work in the face of significant suffering. Clyde Kilby summarised Brainerd's influence as being based on the fact that, 'in our timidity and our shoddy opportunism we are always stirred when a man appears on the horizon willing to stake his all on a conviction'. From the eighteenth century, missionaries also found inspiration and encouragement from the biography. Gideon Hawley wrote in the midst of struggles: 'I need, greatly need, something more than humane [human or natural] to support me. I read my Bible and Mr. Brainerd's Life, the only books I brought with me, and from them have a little support'. Other missionaries who have asserted the influence of Jonathan Edwards's biography of Brainerd on their lives include Henry Martyn, William Carey, Jim Elliot. and Adoniram Judson.

Few lives, since biblical times at least, have had a greater impact on Christian missionary vision and enterprise, or set a higher example of personal holiness and devotion to God, than that of David Brainerd. William Carey, often called the father of modern missions, valued the story of Brainerd's life so highly that he encouraged his co-workers to read it through three times a year. John Wesley urged all his preachers to read carefully the life of Brainerd and to 'be followers of him, as he was of Christ'. Henry Martyn, Robert Murray M'Cheyne, Jim Eliot and Oswald J. Smith all testified to their esteem of David Brainerd and to the encouragement to greater holiness and faithfulness in service for God that they derived from his example. In making the life of Brainerd available for the modern reader John Thornbury draws frequently on Brainerd's own account in his personal Diary and his letters as well as the writings of his friend and mentor Jonathan Edwards. He also helps us to understand and evaluate the life and achievements of Brainerd in the context of the times in which he lived. The story of this remarkable man, whose life was so short but so full, will encourage God's people today, like those of previous generations, in their pilgrim walk and inspire them to greater commitment to evangelism and missions.