God himself is the great good of our redemption

“The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ has purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God; he is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world.

The Lord God, he is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem; and is the ‘the river of the water of life’ that runs, and the tree of life that grows, ‘in the midst of the paradise of God.’ The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another: but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield them delight and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them.

—Jonathan Edwards, “God Glorified in the Work of Redemption,” in The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader, ed. Wilson H. Kimnach, et al (1999): 74-75

(HT: Reformation 21)

Published in:  on May 8, 2009 at 1:00 am Comments (3)

“Follow Christ as a little, poor, helpless child”

“In all your course, walk with God and follow Christ as a little, poor, helpless child, taking hold of Christ’s hand, keeping your eye on the mark of the wounds on his hands and side, whence came the blood that cleanses you from sin and hides your nakedness under the skirt of the white shining robe of his righteousness.”

—Jonathan Edwards, letter to Deborah Hatheway (June 3, 1741)

(HT: Tony Reinke)

Published in:  on January 23, 2009 at 2:09 am Comments (1)

Christ, the Conquering Captain

“When Satan, the grand enemy, had conquered and overthrown man, the business of resisting and conquering him was committed to Christ. He henceforward undertook to manage that subtle powerful adversary. He was then appointed the Captain of the Lord’s hosts, the Captain of their salvation.”

- Johnathan Edwards, Works, vol. 1 (Carlisle, PA.: Banner of Truth Trust, 1995), 537.

Published in:  on March 25, 2008 at 1:00 am Leave a Comment

Lord and Brother

“Though he be the great God, yet he has, as it were, brought himself down to be upon a level with you, so as to become man as you are that he might not only be your Lord, but your brother, and that he might be the more fit to be a companion for such a worm of the dust.

This is one end of Christ’s taking upon him man’s nature, that his people might be under advantages for a more familiar converse with him than the infinite distance of the divine nature would allow of.”

- Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ”

Published in:  on March 12, 2008 at 1:56 am Leave a Comment

The Lamb-like Lion

“If Christ accepts of you, you need not fear but that you will be safe, for he is a strong Lion for your defense. And if you come, you need not fear but that you shall be accepted; for he is like a Lamb to all that come to him, and receives then with infinite grace and tenderness.”

- Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ”

Published in:  on March 11, 2008 at 12:25 am Comments (1)

“God is the fountain of love . . .”

“God is the fountain of love, as the sun is the fountain of light. And therefore the glorious presence of God in heaven fills heaven with love, as the sun, placed in the midst of the visible heavens in a clear day, fills the world with light. The apostle tells us that ‘God is love’; and therefore, seeing he is an infinite being, it follows that he is a full and overflowing, and inexhaustibe fountain of love. And in that he is an unchangeable and eternal being, he is an unchangeable and eternal fountain of love.

There, even in heaven, dwells the God from whom every stream of holy love, yea, every drop that is, or ever was, proceeds. There dwells God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, united in one, infinitely dear, and incomprehensibe, and mutual and eternal love . . . . And there this glorious fountain forever flows forth in streams, yea, in rivers of love and delight, and these rivers swell, as it were, to an ocean of love, in which the souls of the ransomed may bathe with the sweetest enjoyment, and their hearts, as it were, be deluged with love!”

- Jonathan Edwards, Charity and Its Fruits (Carlisle, PA.: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1998), 327-328.

Published in:  on November 18, 2007 at 11:08 am Leave a Comment

The Beauty of Christ

“He is indeed possessed of infinite majesty, to inspire us with reverence an adoration; yet that majesty need not terrify us, for we behold it blended with humility, meekness, and sweet condescension. We may feel the most profound reverence and self-abasement, and yet our hearts be drawn forth sweetly and powerfully into an intimacy the most free, confidential, and delightful. The dread, so naturally inspired by his greatness, is dispelled by the contemplation of his gentleness and humility; while the familiarity, which might otherwise arise from this view of the loveliness of his character merely, is ever prevented by the consciousness of his infinite majesty and glory; and the sight of all his perfections united fills us with sweet surprise and humble confidence, with reverential love and delightful adoration.”

- Jonathan Edwards, Works, Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth), cxxxix

Published in:  on November 10, 2007 at 2:31 am Comments (1)
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