byFaith: Samuel Davies (1723-1761)
By David Irving - Posted at byFaith:
Published July 30, 2026"As a Presbyterian, Davies was a dissenter, someone who did not conform to the Church of England establishment."Somewhere in the PCA, a pastor is preparing for Sunday with a book by British preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Hundreds of American Presbyterians reach for “the Doctor” to help their preaching. Lloyd-Jones, however, reached for an American Presbyterian to help him — Samuel Davies. He urged preachers to read Davies, and he told American audiences Davies was “the greatest preacher you have ever produced in this country.”
In another corner of our denomination, saints will gather for worship on Sunday. They might stand, turn to hymn 82 in the red “Trinity Hymnal” and joyfully sing, “Who is a pard’ning God like thee? Or who has grace so rich and free? Or who has grace so rich and free?” The hymn, “Great God of Wonders!” was written by Samuel Davies, described as “the first hymn writer of any moment in America.”
On Wednesday night, a church will meet for prayer. After the meeting, you could probably find a precocious covenant child to tell you who spoke the famous words, “Give me liberty, or give me death” -– the great orator of the American Revolution, Patrick Henry. As a boy, Henry’s mother took him to hear Samuel Davies preach. “Henry…declared Davies to be the greatest orator he had ever heard.”
Samuel Davies died in 1761 at the age of 37. He is little known today, even among American Presbyterians like us who share his evangelical convictions. But in his own time, he was a giant: a colleague and correspondent of Whitefield, Edwards, and the Wesleys, known throughout the Atlantic world as a powerful preacher of the awakening gospel. In less than 14 years of ordained ministry, he preached internationally, wrote dozens of spiritual hymns and poems, championed religious toleration, evangelized slaves and native Americans, secured the financial future of Princeton University, and birthed the presbytery that birthed the denomination that birthed the PCA.
Though his name is largely forgotten, Davies’ ministry continues to shape Presbyterianism in America.
