Matthew
9:12
They that be whole, need
not a physician; but they that are sick.
Several valuable pieces on
this subject have lately been published, upon the same side of the question. But
he had no notice of so much as the very first of them, till he had wholly
concluded what he had in view: nor has it been thought, that anything already
printed should supersede this work; being designed on a more extensive plan —
comprising a variety of arguments, and answers to many objections, that fell not
in the way of the other worthy writers — and the whole done with a care of
familiar method and language, as well as clear reasoning, accommodated very much
to common capacities. It must be a sensible pleasure to every friend of truth,
that so masterly a hand undertook a reply to Dr. Taylor; notwithstanding the
various answers already given him, both at home and abroad.
Since it has been thought
unfit, that this posthumous book should go unattended with a respectful memorial
of the author, it is hoped, the reader will candidly accept the following:
As he lived cheerfully
resigned in all things to the will of heaven, so he died, or rather, as the
Scripture emphatically expressed it, in relation to the saint in Christ Jesus,
he fell asleep, without the least appearance of pain, and with great calm
of mind. Indeed, when he first perceived the symptoms upon him to be mortal, he
is said to have been a little perplexed for a while, about the meaning of this
mysterious conduct of providence, in calling him out from his beloved privacy,
to a public scene of action and influence; and then so suddenly, just upon his
entrance into it, translating him from thence, in such a way, by mortality!
However, he quickly got believing and composing views of the wisdom and goodness
of God in this surprising event: and readily yielded to the sovereign disposal
of heaven, with the most placid submission. Amidst the joy of faith, he departed
this world, to go and see Jesus, whom his soul loved; to be with him, to behold
his glory, and rejoice in his kingdom.
In person, he was tall of
stature, and of a slender make. There was something extremely delicate in his
constitution; which always obliged him to observe the exactest rules of
temperance, and every method of cautious and prudent living. By such means he
was helped to go through incessant labors, and to bear up under much study,
which, Solomon observes, is a weariness to the flesh. Perhaps, never was a man
more constantly retired from the world; giving himself to reading and
contemplation. And a wonder it was, that his feeble frame could subsist under
such fatigues, daily repeated and so long continued. Yet upon occasion of some
remark upon it by a friend, which was only a few months before his death, he
told him, “He did not find but he was then as well able to bear the closest
study, as he was thirty years before; and could go through the exercises of the
pulpit with as little weariness of difficulty.” In his youth he appeared
healthy, and with a good degree of vivacity; but was never robust. In middle
life, he appeared very much emaciated (I had almost said, mortified) by severe
studies, and intense applications of thought. Hence his voice was a little
languid, and too low for a large assembly; though much relieved and advantaged
by a proper emphasis, just cadence, well-placed pauses, and great distinctness
in pronunciation.
He had a piercing eye, the
truest index of the mind. His aspect and mien had a mixture of severity and
pleasantry. He had a natural turn for gravity and sedateness; ever
contemplative; and in conversation usually reserved, but always observant of a
genuine decorum in his deportment; free from sullen, supercilious, and
contemptuous airs, and without any appearance of ostentation, levity, or vanity.
As to imagination, he had enough of it for a great and good man: but the
gaieties of a luxuriant fancy, so captivating to many, were what he neither
affected himself, nor was much delighted with in others. He had a natural
steadiness of temper, and fortitude of mind; which being sanctified by the
Spirit of God, was ever of vast advantage to him, to carry him through difficult
services, and support him under trying afflictions, in the course of his life.
Personal injuries he bore with a becoming meekness and patience, and a
disposition to forgiveness. The humility, modesty, and serenity of his behavior,
much endeared him to his acquaintance; and made him appear amiable in the eyes
of such as had the privilege of conversing with him. He was a true and faithful
friend; and showed much of a disinterested benevolence to his neighbor. The
several relations sustained by him, he adorned with an exemplary conduct; and
was solicitous to fill every station with its proper duty. He kept up an
extensive correspondence, with ministers and others, in various parts; and his
letters always contained some significant and valuable communications. In his
private walk, as a Christian, he appeared an example of truly rational,
consistent, uniform religion and virtue: a shining instance of the power and
efficacy of that holy faith, to which he was so firmly attached, and of which he
was so strenuous a defender. He exhibited much of spirituality, and a heavenly
bent of soul. In him one saw the loveliest appearance, a rare assemblage of
Christian graces, united with the richest gifts, and mutually subserving and
recommending one another.
As a scholar, his
intellectual furniture exceeded what is common, considering the disadvantages we
labor under in this remote corner of the world. He very early discovered a
genius above the ordinary size; and gradually ripened and expanded, by daily
exertion and application. He was remarkable for the penetration and extent of
his understanding, for his powers of criticism and accurate distinction,
quickness of thought, solidity of judgment, and force of reasoning; which made
him an acute and strong disputant. By nature he was formed for a logician, and a
metaphysician; but by speculation, observation, and converse, greatly improved.
He had a good insight into the whole circle of liberal arts and sciences;
possessed a very valuable stock of classic learning, philosophy, mathematics,
history, chronology, etc. By the blessing of God on his indefatigable
studiousness, to the last, he was constantly treasuring up useful knowledge,
both human and divine.
Thus he appears uncommonly
accomplished for the arduous and momentous province to which he was finally
called. And had heaven indulged us with the continuance of his precious life, we
have reason to think, he would have graced his new station, and been a signal
blessing to the college, and therein extensively served his generation,
according to the will of God.
After all, it must be owned,
divinity was his favorite study; and the ministry, his most delightful
employment. Among the luminaries of the church, in these American regions, he
was justly reputed a star of the first magnitude; thoroughly versed in all the
branches of theology, didactic, polemic, casuistic, experimental, and practical.
In point of divine knowledge and skill, he had few equals, and perhaps no
superior, at least in these parts. On the maturest examination of the different
schemes of principles, obtaining in the world, and on comparing them with the
sacred Scriptures, the oracles of God and the great standard of truth, he was a
Protestant and a Calvinist in judgment; adhering to the main articles of the
reformed religion with an unshaken firmness, and with a fervent zeal, but
tempered with charity and candor, and governed by discretion. He seemed as
little as most men under the bias of education, or the influence of bigotry. As
to practical and vital Christianity, no man appeared to have a better
acquaintance with its nature and importance; or to understand true religion, and
feel its power, more than he; which made him an excellently fit guide to
inquiring souls, and qualified him to guard them against all false religion. His
internal sense of the intercourse between God and souls, being brought by him to
the severe test of reason and revelation, preserved him, both in sentiment and
conduct, from the least tincture of enthusiasm. The accomplished divine enters
deep into his character.
As a preacher, he was
judicious, solid, and instructive. Seldom was he known to bring controversy into
the pulpit; or to handle any subject in the nicer modes and forms of scholastic
dissertation. His sermons, in general, seemed to vary exceedingly from his
controversial compositions. In his preaching, usually, all was plain, familiar,
sententious, practical; and very distant from any affectation of appearing the
great man, or displaying his extraordinary abilities as a scholar. But still he
ever preserved the character of a skillful and thorough divine. The common
themes of his ministry were the most weighty and profitable; and especially, the
great truths of the gospel of Christ, in which he himself lived by faith. His
method in preaching was, first to apply to the understanding and judgment,
laboring to enlighten and convince them; and then to persuade the will, engage
the affections, and excite the active powers of the soul. His language was with
propriety and purity, but with a noble negligence; nothing ornamented. Florid
diction was not the beauty he preferred. His talents were of a superior kind. He
regarded thought, rather than words. Precision of sentiment and clearness of
expression are the principal characteristics of his pulpit style. Neither quick
nor slow of speech, there was a certain pathos in his utterance, and such
skill of address, as seldom failed to draw the attention, warm the hearts, and
stimulate the consciences of the auditory. He studied to show himself approved
unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth. And he was one who gave himself to prayer, as well as to the ministry of
the word. Agreeably it pleased God to put great honor upon him, by crowning his
labors with surprising successes, in the conversion of sinners, and the
edification of saints, to the advancement of the kingdom and glory of God our
Savior Jesus Christ.
As a writer, Mr. Edwards
distinguished himself in controversy, to which he was called on a variety of
occasions. Here the superiority of his genius eminently appeared. He knew to
arrange his ideas in an exact method; and close application of mind, with the
uncommon strength of his intellectual powers, enabled him in a manner to exhaust
every subject he took under consideration. He diligently employed the latter
part of his life in defending Christianity, both in its doctrinal and practical
views, against the errors of the times. Besides his excellent writings in behalf
of the power of godliness, which some years ago happily prevailed in many parts
of the British America, he made a noble stand against enthusiasm and
false religion, when it threatened to spread, by his incomparable treatise upon
religious affections. And more lately in opposition to Pelagian, Arminian, and
other false principles, he published a very elaborate Treatise upon the
Liberty of the Human Will. A volume, that has procured him the elogy of
eminent divines abroad. Several professors of divinity in the Dutch universities
very lately sent him their thanks for the assistance he had given them in their
inquiry into some controverted points; having carried his own further than any
author they had ever seen. And now this volume of his, on the great Christian
doctrine of original sin, is presented to public view; which, though studiously
adapted to lower capacities, yet carries in it the evident traces of his great
genius, and seems with superior force of argument to have entirely baffled the
opponent.
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