Though he was often depressed over his unsuccess as a missionary, David Brainerd maintained his faith and lived wholly for God. He was also often lonely and suffered illnesses.
Born in 1718 to a Puritan family in Haddam, Connecticut, he was orphaned at fourteen. He converted to Christianity during the Great Awakening. He attended Yale and was an excellent student. However, because of his calling a tutor “no more graceful than a chair,” he was dismissed in 1742, even though Brainerd felt regret over his statement and asked forgiveness. He was highly sensitive to criticism from then and tried to maintain Christian unity.
The Reverend Jedidiah Mills prepared Brainerd for missionary work. After he was licensed to preach, Brainerd learned the Kaunameek Indian language and worked among them in New York. But his ministry was unsuccessful.
He then became ordained and began missionary work among the Delaware Indians in Pennsylvania. Again, he had little success and became despondent.
During 1745-46 Brainerd ministered to Indians near Trenton, New Jersey. These Indians responded immediately, and he wrote in his journal that he wanted “to burn out in one continual flame for God” to these Indians. Over one hundred Indians converted at one time. When their land was threatened, Brainerd helped retain it for them. He also helped construct a church, school, carpenter’s shop, and an infirmary for them.
However, in fall of 1746, he became coughing up blood. Jonathan Edwards, the famous theologian and pastor, took him into his home in Northampton, Massachusetts, where Brainerd spent his final months.
Eighteen-year-old Jerusha, Jonathan Edwards' daughter, nursed Brainerd during his illness, and love developed between them. Edwards, it was written, had overheard Brainerd tell Jerusha, “If I thought I should not see you and be happy with you in another world, I could not bear to part with you. But we shall spend a happy eternity together.”
Brainerd died of tuberculosis on October 9, 1747. Jerusha died of tuberculosis a few months later.
Jonathan Edwards published Brainerd’s diary as an example of a devotional life “most worthy of imitation.” The diary influenced future missionaries, including William Carey, who worked in India, and Jim Eliot, the 20th-century missionary who died ministering to the Auca Indians.
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