The Glorious Work of Redemption
In his Thoughts on the New England Revival: Vindicating the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards shares how the work of redemption is “the most glorious work of God whatseover.” Edwards writes,
“It is the work of redemption (the great end of all other works of God, and of which the work of creation was but a shadow) in the event, success and end of it. It is the work of new creation, that is infinitely more glorious than the old. I am bold to say that the work of God in the conversion of one soul considered together with the source, foundation and purchase of it and also the benefit, end and eternal issue of it, is a more glorious work of God than the creation of the whole material universe. It is the most glorious of God’s works, as it above all others manifests the glory of God. It is spoken of in Scripture as that which shows the exceeding greatness of God’s power, and the glory and riches of divine grace, and wherein Christ has the most glorious triumph over his enemies, and wherein God is mightily exalted: and it is a work above all others glorious, as it concerns the happiness of mankind; more happiness and a greater benefit to man is the fruit of each single drop of such a shower than all the temporal good of the most happy revolution in a land or nation amounts to, or all that a people could gain by the conquest of the world.”
- Jonathan Edwards, Thoughts on the New England Revival: Vindicating the Great Awakening (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2005), 62-63.
That is a meaty paragraph to chew on! Should meditating on such a thought not cause us to desire to spend every waking moment of our lives experiencing and being a part of such a glorious work? More than the whole material universe is the glory of conversion of one soul. Greater than the conquest of the world is one single drop the happiness wrought in the work of redemption. Has such glories enraptured our affections?
Tags: Conversion, Great Awakening, happiness, Jonathan Edwards, redemption
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