I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart

by chuckofish

Today we celebrate the birthday of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)–here are 10 things you should know about him.

“Men have a great deal of pleasure in human knowledge, in studies of natural things; but this is nothing to that joy which arises from divine light shining into the soul. This spiritual light is the dawning of the light of glory in the heart. There is nothing so powerful as this to support persons in affliction, and to give the mind peace and brightness in this stormy and dark world. This knowledge will wean from the world, and raise the inclination to heavenly things. It will turn the heart to God as the fountain of good, and to choose him for the only portion. This light, and this only, will bring the soul to a saving close with Christ. It conforms the heart to the gospel, mortifies its enmity and opposition against the scheme of salvation therein revealed: it causes the heart to embrace the joyful tidings, and entirely to adhere to, and acquiesce in the revelation of Christ as our Savior.”
― Jonathan Edwards

So live with all your might, never suffer the least motions of anger to irrational beings, tell the truth, do your duty willingly and cheerfully, and…