My very dear child, what shall I say: A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod and lay our hands on our mouths! The Lord has done it. He has made me adore his goodness that we had him so long. But my God lives; and he has my heart. O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left to us! We are all given to God: and there I am and love to be.  

The words above are those of Sarah Edwards, wife of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), quite possibly the greatest theologian ever born in the New World.  Jonathan was a missionary, a pastor, and a theologian.  When his sudden death occurred in 1758, he was serving as the president of Princeton College, then a prestigious training ground for young men hoping to become pastors.  It is now, sadly, a liberal bastion of all things progressive in our nation.  Edwards is also the author of the most famous sermon ever delivered in the Americas—the infamous “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” delivered on July 8, 1741, in the parish of Enfield, Connecticut.  The sermon, based on Deuteronomy 32:35, was one of the main impetuses for the first Great Awakening in the British Colonies.  

The quote above comes from a letter that Sarah wrote to her daughter, Esther, after receiving news that Jonathan had passed away as the result of an inoculation that had taken hold and brought with it a full dose of smallpox to her husband.  Sadly, Esther never got a chance to read the letter.  Just two weeks after her father's death, Esther contracted a fever that took her from this world quickly.  She left behind two infant children, one of whom (Aaron) would eventually rise to the Vice Presidency of the United States.  And the sad news doesn't stop there.  Sarah herself did not live long without her husband.  She died in October of the same year from dysentery. She never had to observe a special day separated from the husband that she loved and respected so much.

Sarah was a godly woman and a source of both joy and support to Jonathan.  She was intelligent and wise, leading their family from the home while Jonathan labored most of their married life as a pastor and theologian of a small parish church.  Anyone who assumes that Christian women are mousy, demure, and ignorant would be laughed off by anyone who knew Sarah or countless millions of other Christian women past and present who choose to listen to the wisdom of Scripture rather than the wisdom of this world. A few of those women died for their Christian faith, and many more lived boldly in and for that faith. A true Christian woman who understands who she is in light of Scripture is a wonder to behold.  

I am impressed with Sarah Edwards.  Not just in how she handled the news of her beloved husband’s passing, but in the confidence she placed in her own faith in God despite her current circumstances.  Death shadowed almost everyone in 18th-century America.  It surprised no one.  Virtually every family in the colonies experienced it firsthand in the loss of children, siblings, parents, etc.  That did not make it any easier, however, to experience.  In fact, in a world without life insurance and ample opportunities for work, it often left survivors destitute.  We have much to be thankful for today.  Sarah Edwards, despite her circumstances, knew she had much to be thankful for as well.

“God is good…all the time,” we like to say.  It is undoubtedly true.  But oh, so hard to accept when our bank accounts are dwindling, and our health is declining, or when we get that dreaded phone call with life-altering news on the other end.  Easy to say, easy to write, harder to experience.  But it remains as true as the blue sky above.  Our God is an awesome God.  He is also beautifully gracious and kind to those who know him intimately.  The apostle Paul, who knew a bit about hardship, wrote this: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”  Never were truer words written.  We have a delightful inheritance ahead of us, but in this world, we do struggle at times.  Amid those struggles, Sarah Edwards helps me to remember that my God lives, and he has my heart.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jym

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