Hey all, I’ll be away for the next couple weeks getting married and with my new bride. I thought I’d leave you with the first five resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is considered to be among the greatest theologians and philosophers in American history. He was a noted preacher, and was the leading theologian of the First Great Awakening. His sermon “Sinners in the Hands of God” is still famous for its striking descriptions of judgment and for the reaction it prompted from those who heard it.
Edwards was also known for his godliness, and his desire to honor his Lord with a holy life. At the young age of nineteen, the young Jonathan Edwards wrote a number of resolutions that he sought to follow. I thought I’d get things rolling by giving you the first five of them. This is what he wrote:
Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.
Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.
1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad’s of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.
2. Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the aforementioned things.
3. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.
4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.
5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
This was a common practice at the time. For example, see Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography where he describes not only his list of resolutions but his means of tracking his progress in attaining them.Jesus said we are the salt of the earth. The decay in our culture would imply we have lost some of our savor. I suspect were we to imitate Jonathan Edwards — even if only by reading his resolutions on a regular basis — that we would recover our saltiness and have the kind of impact on our society that he had on his.