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Enjoying God Blog

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Yesterday I posted a quote of Jonathan Edwards from his treatise, Religious Affections, that asked the question: What is the first and foundational cause or ground or reason for your joy? Here Edwards continues his answer in one of the more remarkably glorious and soul-stirring sections of his famous work. Continue reading . . .

Yesterday I posted a quote of Jonathan Edwards from his treatise, Religious Affections, that asked the question: What is the first and foundational cause or ground or reason for your joy? Here Edwards continues his answer in one of the more remarkably glorious and soul-stirring sections of his famous work:

“The first foundation of the delight a true saint has in God, is his [God’s] own perfection; and the first foundation of the delight he has in Christ, is his [Christ’s] own beauty; he appears in himself the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely: the way of salvation by Christ, is a delightful way to him, for the sweet and admirable manifestations of the divine perfections in it; the holy doctrines of the gospel, by which God is exalted and man abased, holiness honored and promoted, and sin greatly disgraced and discouraged, and free and sovereign love manifested; are glorious doctrines in his eyes, and sweet to his taste, prior to any conception of his interest in these things. Indeed the saints rejoice in their interest in God, and that Christ is theirs; and so they have great reason; but this is not the first spring of their joy: they first rejoice in God as glorious and excellent in himself, and then secondarily rejoice in it, that so glorious a God is theirs: they first have their hearts filled with sweetness, from the view of Christ’s excellency, and the excellency of his grace, and the beauty of the way of salvation by him; and then they have a secondary joy, in that so excellent a Saviour, and such excellent grace is theirs” (Yale, 2:250).

2 Comments

This is absolutely breathtaking! Edwards’ insights and descriptive language are incomparable expressions of a religious experience that I suspect is rarely known today. I am committed by God’s grace to continue to seek one beauty (Ps.27:4), select one necessity (Luke 10:42) and seize one prize (Phil. 3:13-15). Thanks for another great reminder!

amen

one hope....we exult in hope of the glory of God; we will see His face and His name will be on our foreheads; and creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Rom 5: 2b ; Rev 22:4 ; Rom 8:21
now may our God of hope fill us with all joy in believing, abounding in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom 15:13

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