Jonathan Edwards was born October 5, 1703. By August 17, 1723 the young man had penned his famous Resolutions at the ripe old age of 19. To read the seventy of them as if they were felt and written by a well-advanced theological scholar is delightful enough, but the knowledge of these things scribed by a 19 year old pastor in New York, shortly before he earned his Master's degree in September of the same year at the age of 20, and that he, though not long on years, was of such an advanced mind and affection that we may only ascribe his theological and pastoral supremacy to the blessed grace of God, is more than delightful, it is challengingly encouraging.My aim is to offer his Resolutions, first to my own consideration, and then to yours, with brief biblical commentary, and my own resolutions (though these may or may not be necessarily reflective of Edwards' own resolutions in each blog). Along with these, I would like to add (pastorally) my own confessions also, that my resolutions might be a matter of repentance as well as a source of accountability. I want to encourage you to take the time to meditate through the resolutions of Edwards that you might have a foundation for your own and that they will be in accord with the doctrine of Christ. To help you get started, I want to provide for you an exerpt from George Claghorn's introduction to Edwards' Resolutions. I have also added a link to Edwards' web page at the site that Yale has dedicated to him under "Educational Tools" down in the far right column. Please offer your thoughts also!
And just to wet your confessional whistle I will leave you with Edward's own introduction to his Resolutions, his humble and Christ-centered confession of his personal need of God's help in keeping such resolve:
"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."
Amen.
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