List of Jonathan Edwards Quotes

Resolved, Never To Count That A Prayer, Nor To Let That Pass As A Prayer, Nor That As A Petition Of A Prayer, Which Is So Made, That I Cannot Hope That God Will Answer It; Nor That As A Confession, Which I Cannot Hope God Will Accept.

That There Should Absolutely Be Nothing At All Is Utterly Impossible. The Mind, Let It Stretch Its Conceptions Ever So Far, Can Never So Much As Bring Itself To Conceive Of A State Of Perfect Nothing.

When I Am Giving The Relation Of A Thing, Remember To Abstain From Altering Either In The Matter Or Manner Of Speaking, So Much, As That, If Every One, Afterwards, Should Alter As Much, It Would At Last Come To Be Properly False.

There Is, Therefore, No Difficulty In Answering Such Questions As These. What Cause Was There Why The Universe Was Placed In Such A Part Of Space? And, Why Was The Universe Created At Such A Time? For, If There Be No Space Beyond The Universe, It Was Impossible That It Should Be Created In Another Place; And If There Was No Time Before, It Was Impossible It Should Be Created At Another Time.

Whatever In Christ Had The Nature Of Satisfaction, Was By Virtue Of The Suffering Or Humiliation That Was In It; But Whatever Had The Nature Of Merit, Was By Virtue Of The Obedience Or Righteousness There Was In It.

Why Should Not He Had Made All Things, Still Having Something Immediately To Do With The Things That He Has Made? Where Lies The Great Difficulty, If We Own The Being Of A God, That He Created All Things Out Of Nothing, I'll Be Allowing Something Immediate Influence Of God On Creation Still?

The Beauty Of The World Consists Wholly Of Sweet Mutual Consents, Either Within Itself Or With The Supreme Being.

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.

The Soul Of A True Christian, As I Then Wrote My Meditations, Appeared Like Such A Little White Flower As We See In The Spring Of The Year; Low And Humble On The Ground, Opening Its Bosom To Receive The Pleasant Beams Of The Sun’s Glory; Rejoicing, As It Were, In A Calm Rapture; Diffusing Around A Sweet Fragrancy; Standing Peacefully And Lovingly, In The Midst Of Other Flowers Round About; All In Like Manner Opening Their Bosoms To Drink In The Light Of The Sun.

Almost All Men, And Those That Seem To Be Very Miserable, Love Life, Because They Cannot Bear To Lose Sight Of Such A Beautiful And Lovely World. The Ideas, That Every Moment Whilst We Live Have A Beauty That We Take Not Distinct Notice Of, Brings A Pleasure That, When We Come To The Trial, We Had Rather Live In Much Pain And Misery Than Lose.

But It Is Doubtless True, And Evident From [the] Scriptures, That The Essence Of All True Religion Lies In Holy Love; And That In This Divine Affection, And An Habitual Disposition To It, And That Light Which Is The Foundation Of It, And Those Things Which Are The Fruits Of It, Consists The Whole Of Religion.

Religion Consists Much In Holy Affection; But Those Exercises Of Affection Which Are Most Distinguishing Of True Religion Are These Practical Exercises. Friendship Between Earthly Friends Consists Much In Affection; But Those Strong Exercises Of Affection That Actually Carry Them Through Fire And Water For Each Other Are The Highest Evidences Of True Friendship.