RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS
JONATHAN EDWARDS
PART
I.
CONCERNING
THE NATURE OF THE AFFECTIONS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE IN RELIGION.
1 Peter 1:8: Whom having not
seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
IN these words, the apostle
represents the state of the minds of the Christians he wrote to, under the
persecutions they were then the subjects of. These persecutions are what he
has respect to, in the two preceding verses, when he speaks of the trial of
their faith, and of their being in heaviness through manifold
temptations.
Such trials are of threefold
benefit to true religion. Hereby the truth of it is manifested, and it appears
to be indeed true religion; they, above all other things, have a tendency to
distinguish between true religion and false, and to cause the difference
between them evidently to appear. Hence they are called by the name of trials,
in the verse nextly preceding the text, and in innumerable other places;
they try the faith and religion of professors, of what sort it is, as apparent
gold is tried in the fire, and manifested, whether it be true gold or no. And
the faith of true Christians being thus tried and proved to be true, is
"found to praise, and honour, and glory," as in that preceding
verse.
And then, these trials are of
further benefit to true religion; they not only manifest the truth of it, but
they make its genuine beauty and amiableness remarkably to appear. True virtue
never appears so lovely, as when it is most oppressed; and the divine
excellency of real Christianity, is never exhibited with such advantage, as
when under the greatest trials: then it is that true faith appears much more
precious than gold! And upon this account is "found to praise, and
honour, and glory."
And again, another benefit that
such trials are of to true religion, is, that they purify and increase it.
They not only manifest it to be true, but also tend to refine it, and deliver
it from those mixtures of that which is false, which encumber and impede it;
that nothing may be left but that which is true. They tend to cause the
amiableness of true religion to appear to the best advantage, as was before
observed; and not only so, but they tend to increase its beauty, by
establishing and confirming it, and making it more lively and vigorous, and
purifying it from those things that obscured its lustre and glory. As gold
that is tried in the fire, is purged from its alloy, and all remainders of
dross, and comes forth more solid and beautiful; so true faith being tried as
gold is tried in the fire, becomes more precious, and thus also is "found
unto praise, and honour, and glory." The apostle seems to have respect to
each of these benefits, that persecutions are of to true religion, in the
verse preceding the text.
And, in the text, the apostle
observes how true religion operated in the Christians he wrote to, under their
persecutions, whereby these benefits of persecution appeared in them; or what
manner of operation of true religion, in them, it was, whereby their religion,
under persecution, was manifested to be true religion, and eminently appeared
in the genuine beauty and amiableness of true religion, and also appeared to
be increased and purified, and so was like to be "found unto praise, and
honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." And there were two
kinds of operation, or exercise of true religion, in them, under their
sufferings, that the apostle takes notice of in the text, wherein these
benefits appeared.
1. Love to Christ: "Whom
having not yet seen, ye love." The world was ready to wonder, what
strange principle it was, that influenced them to expose themselves to so
great sufferings, to forsake the things that were seen, and renounce all that
was dear and pleasant, which was the object of sense. They seemed to the men
of the world about them, as though they were beside themselves, and to act as
though they hated themselves; there was nothing in their view, that could
induce them thus to suffer, and support them under, and carry them through
such trials. But although there was nothing that was seen, nothing that the
world saw, or that the Christians themselves ever saw with their bodily eyes,
that thus influenced and supported them, yet they had a supernatural principle
of love to something unseen; they loved Jesus Christ, for they saw him
spiritually whom the world saw not, and whom they themselves had never seen
with bodily eyes.
2. Joy in Christ. Though
their outward sufferings were very grievous, yet their inward spiritual joys
were greater than their sufferings; and these supported them, and enabled them
to suffer with cheerfulness.
There are two things which the
apostle takes notice of in the text concerning this joy. 1. The manner in
which it rises, the way in which Christ, though unseen, is the foundation of
it, viz., by faith; which is the evidence of things not seen: "In whom,
though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice." 2. The nature of
this joy; "unspeakable and full of glory." Unspeakable in the kind
of it; very different from worldly joys, and carnal delights; of a vastly more
pure, sublime, and heavenly nature, being something supernatural, and truly
divine, and so ineffably excellent; the sublimity and exquisite sweetness of
which, there were no words to set forth. Unspeakable also in degree; it
pleasing God to give them this holy joy, with a liberal hand, and in large
measure, in their state of persecution.
Their joy was full of glory.
Although the joy was unspeakable, and no words were sufficient to describe it,
yet something might be said of it, and no words more fit to represent its
excellency than these, that it was full of glory; or, as it is in the
original, glorified joy. In rejoicing with this joy, their minds were
filled, as it were, with a glorious brightness, and their natures exalted and
perfected. It was a most worthy, noble rejoicing, that did not corrupt and
debase the mind, as many carnal joys do; but did greatly beautify and dignify
it; it was a prelibation of the joy of heaven, that raised their minds to a
degree of heavenly blessedness; it filled their minds with the light of God's
glory, and made themselves to shine with some communication of that glory.
Hence the proposition or
doctrine, that I would raise from these words, is this:
DOCTRINE. True religion, in great part, consists in holy
affections.
We see that the apostle, in
observing and remarking the operations and exercises of religion in the
Christians he wrote to, wherein their religion appeared to be true and of the
right kind, when it had its greatest trial of what sort it was, being tried by
persecution as gold is tried in the fire, and when their religion not only
proved true, but was most pure, and cleansed from its dross and mixtures of
that which was not true, and when religion appeared in them most in its
genuine excellency and native beauty, and was found to praise, and honour, and
glory; he singles out the religious affections of love and joy, that
were then in exercise in them: these are the exercises of religion he takes
notice of wherein their religion did thus appear true and pure, and in its
proper glory. Here, I would,
1. Show what is intended by the
affections.
2. Observe some things which make
it evident, that a great part of true religion lies in the affections.
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