CHRISTIANS-FAMOUS-EDWARDS
Jonathan
Edwards is described as a husband and father whose care and oversight of his
family was thoroughly spiritual. He took
seriously anything that troubled his children, and would save the evening hours
to be spent in prayer and close fellowship with his family. Primarily concerned for the condition of
their souls, Edwards taught each of his children to earnestly seek salvation,
“to have God our friend, and to be united to Christ.”
Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, p. vi, Soli Deo Gloria.
(Jonathan
Edwards) seemed to manage very well by what he said rather than how he said
it. There was always the memory of
Enfield. In that village, in his calm
way he had preached a sermon on “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The content of the message had so grabbed
hold of his congregation that people held on in terror to the pews lest they
slip into the great abyss of hell which they saw yawning at their feet.
Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, p. 99,
Soli Deo Gloria.
(In the
Edwards family) there was never an attempt to shield them from depressing
experiences, death or taxes. This was an
evil world. There was “vinegar in life.” There were “frowns from heaven.” The children were aware of it. And each one, when a shadow fell across his
path, had been taught first of all to anxiously examine himself to discover if
this were the chastening rod of God. No
circumstance was considered apart from the hand of the Almighty. If, after careful prayerful analysis, he felt
his course was right, he continued serene in his position in the midst of
conflict.
Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, p.
114, Soli Deo Gloria.
Jonathan
Edwards was a zealous pastor who never forgot for a moment that his own family
was a part of that flock, and that he had been appointed to be a shepherd to
these sheep also, those within his own fold.
He was ever concerned for the salvation of the souls of men, all men,
not overlooking those closest to him. He
never for one moment assumed that his own children were of the elect. George Perry Norris describes him as a
“tender brooding parent.”
Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, p.
133, Soli Deo Gloria.
(Jonathan
Edwards wrote of Sarah), “They say there is a young lady in (New Haven) who is
loved of that Great Being, who made and rules the world, and that there are
certain seasons in which this Great Being, in some way or other invisible,
comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight; and she hardly
cares for anything, except to meditate on him… she has a strange sweetness in
her mind, and singular purity in their affection… you could not persuade her to
do anything wrong or sinful…. She is of
a wonderful sweetness, calmness and universal benevolence of mind…. She will
sometimes go about from place to place, singing sweetly; and seems to be always
full of joy and pleasure; and no one knows for what. She loves to be alone, walking in the fields
and groves, and seems to have some one invisible
always conversing with her.”
Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, p.
153- 154, Soli Deo Gloria.
(Sarah
Edwards) did not permit this soul communion to interfere with her daily duties
and tasks, but somewhere in her busy schedule there was always time for a quiet
walk with God. The children early
learned to respect their father’s study hours, but they also recognized these
times which were necessary for their mother, these moments when she needed to
be alone to lose herself in God. They
sensed their mother was Martha; but also she was Mary who sat at the feet of
her Lord.
Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, p.
154, Soli Deo Gloria.
When all were
in their places Father said grace and, excusing himself, left the family to
retire to his study. He frequently spent
thirteen hours a day studying. He
managed this amazing amount of time by husbanding every hour of the day. He usually arose at four in the morning,
indulging himself in the later rising time of five in the winter. In this way he was far along in his studies
while the household slept. He preferred
to eat alone, usually certain foods which he had by
experimentation discovered kept his mind and body most sprightly. This morning he did not eat the rich menu
which Venus set before the rest of the household, the home-cured bacon and the
delicious hot breads. But at the end of
the meal, he rejoined his family for morning devotions.
Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, p.
192, Soli Deo Gloria.
(Esther
Edwards Burr at the death of her husband Aaron said), “Had not God supported me
by these two considerations: first, by
showing the right he has to his own creatures, to dispose of them when and in
what manner he pleases; and secondly, by enabling me to follow him beyond the
grave, into the eternal world, and there to view him in unspeakable glory and
happiness, freed from all sin and sorrow; I should, long before this, have been
sunk among the dead, and been covered with the clods of the valley- God has
side ends in all that he doth. This
thing did not come upon me by chance; and I rejoice that I am in the hands of
such a God.”
Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, p.
228, Soli Deo Gloria.
(Sarah
Edwards in writing to her daughter Esther at the death of her husband,
Jonathan, said), “My Very Dear Child, What shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a
dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod,
and lay our hands on our mouths! The Lord
has done it. He has made me adore his
goodness, that we had him so long. But
my God lives; and he has my heart. O
what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left us! We are all given to God; and there I am, and
love to be. Your ever
affectionate mother, Sarah Edwards.”
Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, p.
233, Soli Deo Gloria.
Does any of
us know what an incredible thing it is that (Jonathan Edwards), who was a
small-town pastor for 23 years in a church of 600 people, a missionary to
Indians for 7 years, who reared 11 faithful children, who worked without the
help of electric light, or word-processors or quick correspondence, or even
sufficient paper to write on, who lived only until he was 54, and who died with
a library of 300 books – that this man led one of the greatest awakenings of
modern times, wrote theological books that have ministered for 200 years and
did more for the modern missionary movement than anyone of his generation?
The Pastor as Theologian - Reflections on the
Ministry of Jonathan
Edwards, April 15, 1988, Used by Permission, www.DesiringGod.org.
Consider the
impact of one godly father, Jonathan Edwards.
This famous early American pastor, writer, and one-time president of
Princeton University had 11 children. Of his known male descendants:
More than 300
became pastors, missionaries or theological professors
120 were
professors at various universities;
110 became
attorneys;
60 were
prominent authors;
30 were
judges;
14 became
presidents of universities or colleges;
3 served in
the U.S. Congress;
1 became vice
president of the United States.