“The very remarkable outpouring of the Spirit of God still continues: but I have reason to think that it is in some measure diminished; yet, I hope, not much. Three have joined the church since you last heard; five now stand propounded for admission; and I think above thirty persons come commonly on a Monday to converse with father about the condition of their souls.”
In September, 1716, when in his thirteenth year, Jonathanentered Yale College. He devoted himself assiduously to study; and the character of his mind may be inferred from the fact, that, when but fifteen years of age, he was discussing with the utmost interest such questions as “whether it were possible to add to matter the property of thought:” he argued that “every thing did exist from all eternity in uncreated idea;” that “truth is the agreement of our ideas with the ideas of God;” that “the universe exists nowhere but in the divine mind;” &c.
When about sixteen years of age, while in college, his mind seems to have settled into a calm trust in God. His theological opinions became unalterably formed. The peace which thus dawned upon his mind he describes in his diary in glowing language:—
“The appearance of every thing was altered. There was, as it were, a calm, sweet cast, or appearance, of divine glory in almost every thing. God’s excellency, his wisdom, his purity and love, seemed to appear in the sun, moon, and stars; in the clouds and blue sky; in the grass, flowers, trees; in the water, and in all nature.”
After taking his degree, he remained for two years at New Haven, studying theology; and, before he was nineteen years of age, was invited to preach in a Presbyterian church in New York. He preached with great fervor, and in the enjoyment of intense spiritual delight, for eight months, when he returned to his father’s home in East Windsor, where he continued his severe and unremitting studies. Here, with much prayer, the young Christian wrote a series of seventy resolutions to guide him in the conduct of life. We find in them the resolves,—
To act always for the glory of God and for the good of mankind in general; to lose not one moment of time; to live with all his might while he did live; to let the knowledge of the failings of others only promote shame in himself; to solve, as far as he could, any theorem in divinity he might think of; to trace actions back to their original source; to be firmly faithful to his trust; to live as he would if it were but an hour before he should hear the last trump; to strive every week for a higher and still higher exercise of grace.
In the diary of this young man of nineteen we find the following narrative: “They say there is a young lady in New Haven who is beloved of that great Being who made and rules the world; and that there are certain seasons in which this great Being, in some way or other, comes to her, and fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight; and that she hardly cares for any thing except to meditate on him; that she expects after a while to be received up where he is,—to be raised up out of the world, and caught up into heaven, being assured that he loves her too well to let her remain at a distance from him always. There she is to dwell with him, and to be ravished with his love and delight forever. Therefore, if you present all the world, with the richest of its treasures, she disregards it, and cares not for, and is unmindful of, any path of affliction.
“She has a singular purity in her affections; is most just and conscientious in all her conduct; and you could not persuade her to do any thing wrong or sinful if you would give her all this world, lest she should offend this great Being. She is of a wonderful sweetness, calmness, and universal benevolence, especially after this great God has manifested himself to her mind. She will sometimes go about from place to place, singing sweetly; and seems to be always full of joy and pleasure, and no one knows for what. She loves to be alone, walking the fields and groves; and seems to have some one invisible always conversing with her.”
This young lady, Sarah Pierrepont, eventually became the wife of Mr. Edwards. Though several congregations invited him to become their pastor, he decided to devote two more years to study before assuming the responsibilities of a parish. In June, 1724, he was appointed tutor in Yale College. The duties of this station he fulfilled with great success, devoting himself with tireless assiduity to study, practising great abstinence both from food and sleep. In February, 1727, he entered upon the office of colleague-pastor with Rev. Solomon Stoddard, his mother’s father, in Northampton, Mass., then, as now, one of the most beautiful towns in New England. Immediatelyafter his settlement, he sought the hand of Sarah Pierrepont as his bride.
“She listened to his urgency; and on July 28, about five months after he was settled, the youthful preacher was joined in wedlock at New Haven with the wonderfully-endowed bride of his choice. She was pure and kind, uncommonly beautiful and affectionate, and notable as a housekeeper; he, holy and learned and eloquent, and undoubtedly the ablest young preacher of his time; she seventeen, he twenty-three. What was wanting to their happiness? The union continued for more than thirty years; and she bore him three sons and eight daughters.”