Edwards usually rose at four or five in the morning in order to spend thirteen hours in his study. In his only diary entry during his early years in Northampton he wrote, in January 1728, “I think Christ has recommended rising early in the morning, by his rising from the grave very early.” The discipline was part of a constant, heroic effort to make his life a type of Christ. He began the day with private prayers followed by family prayers, by candlelight in winter. Each meal was accompanied by household devotions, and at the end of each day Sarah joined him in his study for prayers. Jonathan kept secret the rest of his daily devotional routine, following Jesus’ command to pray in secret. –Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M. Marsden (p. 133)Edwards was a young pastor in Northampton, so much of the thirteen hours he spent in his study was probably devoted to church business, but we shouldn’t miss the fact that his devotional life wasn’t limited to twenty minutes in the morning. Instead, he modeled his day on his understanding of the Scriptures, leading his family in prayer and taking frequent opportunities throughout the day to converse with God.
How different might our homes look if we, as men, rose early every day to meet with the Almighty, then led our family in prayers and devotions at mealtime, and then ended each day with our wives in prayer? Writing as a single person, this makes me want to model my own life in such a fashion so that if/when I do get married, it would make for an easier spiritual transition. And even if I never marry, my soul would be the better for it.
I’m a work in progress when it comes to my daily devotional routine. How about you?
Edwards has always been a favorite historical figure of mine. I doubt as a devoted Calvanist that Edwards would enjoy much of a following today. You cannot have the loose life styles we lead if we believed that "Man was in the Hands of an Angry God". We prefer to see our new version of God as the Spirit of fairness. In such a world no man is bound to hell for his sins because his sins are the fault of society.
ReplyDeleteYou may have a point, but I tend to think we need to appreciate saints of old for the church and societal culture they lived in. A number of Calvinists of our era have a following, including R.C. Sproul, D. James Kennedy, J.I. Packer, Al Mohler, John Piper, Tim Keller and a number of others.
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