The Divinity of Christ

From "Miscellanies" No. 1349, a lengthy discussion and collection of notes on the Divinity of Christ:

'TRUSTING is abundantly represented as a principal thing in that peculiar respect due to God alone, as a peculiar part of the essence of divine adoration, due to no other than God. And yet how is Christ represented as the peculiar object of the faith and trust of all God's people, of all nations, as having all-sufficiency for them. Trusting in any others is greatly condemned, is a thing than which nothing more is represented as dangerous, provoking to God and bringing his curse on men. Men are abundantly called upon to trust in Christ, not only in the New Testament but the Old, as in the end of the second Psalm and elsewhere.'

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Billy Graham Preaches "Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God"

In the Fall of 1949, at the height of his famous Los Angeles "Canvas Cathedral" Crusade, Billy Graham preached Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. That night, America's most famous sermon was preached by the man who was to become America's most famous evangelist. This was no ordinary revival meeting!

The Jonathan Edwards Center has worked in conjunction with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Billy Graham Center Archives in Wheaton, Illinois to present an engaging digital exhibit on this remarkable event in American religious history.

Check the exhibit out at http://edwards.yale.edu/graham

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2003 Desiring God Conference

The 2003 Desiring God conference on Edwards is available online here.

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"cool trinitarian speculation"

Jeff Meyers is enjoying Edwards here.

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Matthew Poole: Synopsis Criticorum aliorumque Sacrae Scripturae Interpretum

In the "Blank Bible" Edwards references Matthew Poole's Synopsis Criticorum aliorumque Sacrae Scripturae Interpretum 792 times. Poole's work is a massive scholarly work on Scripture. There is a version of the work in the JEC and it is vast.

So here is the interesting suggestion for a doctoral thesis: Examine Edwards use of the SSS (as JE refers to it!) and see how his reading of the SSS influenced his reading of the OT. Most of the references are to OT texts. In particular, how his reading of the SSS can be seen in his OT sermons. So the link between exegesis and homiletics would be clarified.

Any takers? I am working on an article on his use of Doddridge - there are only 303 references to Doddridge and they are nearly all in the NT.

For more on this all see "Blank Bible": Works, 24, 59ff.

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A Sweet Flame

JE is looking a bit sickly in this new volume - don't you think?

A Sweet Flame: Piety in the Letters of Jonathan Edwards

Author: Haykin, ed., Michael A. G.
Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
Publish Date: 2007
Cover Type: Paperback
Pages: 169
ISBN: 9781601780119

“A Sweet Flame” introduces readers to the piety of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). Dr. Haykin’s biographical sketch of Edwards captures the importance the New England minister placed on Scripture, family piety, and the church’s reliance upon God. The remainder of the book presents 26 selections from various letters written by Edwards, two written by family members at his death, and an appendix drawing upon Edwards’s last will and the inventor of his estate. “In this collection of letters Michael Haykin offers you a behind-the-scenes look into the life of Jonathan Edwards. As you look, you will see him dealing with sick children, trying to make sense out of the conflict with his Northampton congregation, and reveling in the serendipities of friendship. Read these letters and you will find Edwards becoming your own ‘most obliging and affectionate friend in the labors of the gospel.’” --Stephen J. Nichols

“Jonathan Edwards was not only a brilliant theologian, but also a devoted husband, father, pastor, and friend. Underneath it all, he was a man passionate about living in joyful obedience to God. In this highly recommended collection of letters, skillfully edited and annotated by historian Michael Haykin, Edwards’s warm-hearted piety shines through on every page, giving us a glimpse into the heart and mind of this servant of God.” --Justin Taylor

“A rare privilege awaits you. In these pages, you are about to meet one of the great Christians of all time: Jonathan Edwards! Your guide is reliable. Dr. Haykin has gathered some of the choicest letters of Edwards. In them, you will discover the insights of this noble leader on “Piety,” up close and personal. Piety? That is the way we tap the resources God provides, to live for His glory and help others find them, too. Before going on to the high ridges of thought, your escort will sketch the chief events of Edwards’ life. Then, in the letters, you will find Edwards’ views on piety, in his own words. Treasures for all ages are here. Edwards tells how he found heaven within, God’s mighty presence, enabling him to meet every challenge and be more than conqueror. Best of all, he had the radiant hope of being at home with the Lord in the life beyond. Bringing the eternal into practical situations is no mean feat. Edwards, however, accomplishes just that. We see his role as a child, husband, parent, pastor, mentor, and educator—with pungent thoughts on conversion, prayer, the Bible, revival, evangelism, and other vital topics. Each fruit of the Spirit is to be found here, expressed in Edwards’ own words, dem¬onstrated in his life. The selections were chosen wisely. We are all indebted to Dr. Haykin for his outstanding service in making these classics available in such an attractive format. Now, to savor them!” --George S. Claghorn
This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 16 May, 2007

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Did JE expect too much of Northampton?

Just came across this article and will post some notes on it if it is interesting.

Jonathan Edwards's Life of David Brainerd and the Northampton Dismissal

John Grigg

Abstract

By the middle of the 1740s, the relationship between Jonathan Edwards and his congregation at Northampton had begun to slowly unravel. Prompted by Edwards's attempts to combat what he saw as a growing lack of spirituality, the debate became focused on the requirements for church membership and communion. Heretofore unnoticed in this debate was the role of Edwards's most popular work, the Life of Brainerd. Although the Life of Brainerd addressed broader questions such as Arminianism and enthusiasm, its central message was a real example of the normative Christian life. Edwards intended this to buttress his position on church membership but the impossible standard set forth in the Life of Brainerd instead contributed to the growing sentiment in the town for his dismissal.

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Michael McClymond reviews Avihu Zakai's Jonathan Edwards's Philosophy of History here in PDF and here in HTML. The book is also featured by the publisher here. The reviewer is a well-regarded scholar and the review is, for want of a better expression, robust.

Here are a few lines from the review:

'Jonathan Edwards's Philosophy of History is a disappointing book that offers little beyond the existing studies of its topic in book chapters, articles, and dissertations. It is most convincing where least original and least convincing where most original as, especially, in its assertion of Edwards's theologia gloriae. In repudiating what he calls "a particularistic center in history" (p. 254), Zakai dissolves the particularities of Edwards's perspective. Redemptive history loses its sense of drama and becomes predictable. Edwards's intellectual biography receives scant attention. This reader would have liked to know how the euphoria of the Great Awakening and the later disappointments molded Edwards's thinking on hope and history. Edwards was, if nothing else, a complex thinker, and yet the complexity of his thought is not in evidence here. Jonathan Edwards's philosophy of history is still in need of a book-length monograph.'

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The Holy Wrath and Vengeance of God

From Christ's Example an Inducement to Ministers - text from the online archive

'yea gave himself in both body and soul and offering for sin and as the price of the Et. Happiness of the souls of Men as it were in a fur- nace and that the most terrible the furnace of the holy wrath and vengeance of God for the sins of men He did not die a natural but a violent death and that not an accidental death but he was executed as a male factour. and suffered that Kind of Execution that of all that was then in use in the O was the most painfull and the most Ignominious wherein he suffered the most extreme degree of the Contempt and cruelty of the vilest and worst of men and of all Ranks of men and of devils and which was more than all He suffered the terrible Effects of the holy wrath of God .'

A remarkably clear statement of penal substitutionary atonement.

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