From The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol 1:
Once, as I rode out into the woods for my health, in 1737, having alighted from my horse in a retired place, as my manner commonly has been, to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, I had a view that for me was extraordinary, of the glory of the Son of God, as Mediator between God and man, and his wonderful, great, full, pure and sweet grace and love, and meek and gentle condescension. This grace that appeared so calm and sweet, appeared also great above the heavens. The person of Christ appeared ineffably excellent, with an excellency great enough to swallow up all thought and conception — which continued, as near as I can judge, about an hour; which kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears, and weeping aloud. I felt an ardency of soul to be, what I know not otherwise how to express, emptied and annihilated; to lie in the dust, and to be full of Christ alone; to love him with a holy and pure love; to trust in him; to live upon him; to serve and follow him; and to be perfectly sanctified and made pure, with a divine and heavenly purity. I have several other times had views very much of the same nature, and which have had the same effects.
6 Comments
Edwards did a good job of approximating in words the ineffable, those times when the Lord shows us His glory.
From what I remember of him, he was a child of the Enlightenment but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have good insights here and there. But he definitely had the linguistic know-how to describe what eludes the rational, as you mention.
It’s been some time since I’ve read mystical writing. If I’m being honest, I can’t say I’ve had a religious experience quite of the kind Edwards writes about here, though I do find reading about such experiences fascinating–perhaps because they impart a sense of imagination and hope?
Edwards had interesting thoughts about God’s relation to the world. I read about it earlier this year in “Panentheism: the Other God of the philosophers” by John W. Cooper. Basically, God’s sovereignty was so strong for Edwards that it led him to believe that creation in its various forms were ideas in the mind of God.
“I can’t say I’ve had a religious experience quite of the kind Edwards writes about here”
You and me both, brother, although I feel like I’ve had a few things that have come close.
Thank you for the book recommendation. I put it on my list. Not super familiar with panentheism (Chrome is telling me that word is misspelled), but there might something useful I can pull from it. It seems to me that it blurs the distinction a little too much between God and creation, where scripture is pretty clear that they are separate things…not just nature but also other created beings.
“It seems to me that it blurs the distinction a little too much between God and creation”
Yeah, that sums up my attitude toward panentheism pretty well! I’ve never found myself utterly convinced after reading a panentheist’s account of the God-world relation. Of course, metaphysics can get rather…speculative.
“Of course, metaphysics can get rather…speculative.”
Definitely! I think that a lot of times the answers we arrive at with metaphysics can “convince” ourselves, but it won’t work as evidence for someone else because of the limitations of language. A belief can be proper even if the evidence for that belief can’t be externalized for others (at least I think so).