thinking, they have been so long used to. Resolved, if ever live to years, that I will be impartial to hear the reasons of all pretended discoveries, and receive them, if rational, how long soever I have been used to another way of thinking.

Thursday, Oct. 18. To follow the example of Mr. B who, though he meets with great difficulties, yet undertakes them with a smiling countenance, as though he thought them but little; and speaks of them as if they were very small.

Thursday, Nov. 26. It is a most evil and pernicious practice in meditations or afflictions, to sit ruminating on the aggravations of the affliction, and reckoning up the evil, dark circumstances thereof, and dwelling long on the dark side; it doubles and trebles the affliction. And so when speaking of them together, to make them as bad as we can, and use our cloquence to set forth our own troubles, and are all the while making new trouble, and feeding and pampering the old; whereas the contrary practice would starve our afflictions. If we dwelt on the light side of things in our thoughts, and extenuated them all that possibly we could, when speaking of them, we should think little of them ourselves; and the affliction would really, in a great measure, vanish away.

Thursday night, Dec. 12. If at any time I am forced to tell others of that wherein I think they are something to blame: for the avoiding the important evil that would otherwise ensue, not to tell it to them, so that there shall be a probability of their taking it as the effect of little fretting, angry emotions of mind.

Dec. 31. at night. Concluded never to suffer nor express any angry emotions of mind more or less except the honour of God calls for it, in zeal for him, or to preserve myself from being trampled on.

Wednesday, Jan. 1, 1523-4. Not to spend too much time in thinking even of important and necessary worldly business. To allow every thing its proportion of thought, according to its urgency and importance.

Friday, Jan. 10. [After having wrote considerable in a shorthand, which he used when he would have what he wrote effectually concealed from every body but himself, he notes the following words in round hand], remember to act according to Prov. xii. 23, “A prudent man concealeth knowledge."

Monday, Feb. 3. Let every thing have the value now, that it will have on a sick-bed: and frequently in my pursuits of whatever kind, let this come into my mind; how much shall I value this on my death-bed?"

Wednesday, Feb. 5. Have not in time past, in my prayers, enough insisted upon the glorifying God in the world, and the ad

vancement of the kingdom of Christ, the prosperity of the church, and the good of men. Determined that this objection is without weight, viz. that it is not likely that God will make great alterations in the whole world, and overturnings in kingdoms and nations, only for the prayers of one obscure person, seeing such things used to be done in answer to the united, earnest prayers of the whole church: and if my prayers should have some influence, it would be but imperceptible and small.

Thursday, Feb. 6. More convinced than ever of the usefulness of a free religious conversation. I find by conversing on natural philosophy, I gain knowledge abundance faster, and see the reasons of things much clearer than in private study. Wherefore earnestly to seek at all times for religious conversation; for those that I can with profit and delight, and freedom so converse with.

Sabbath-day, Feb. 23. If I act according to my resolution, I shall desire riches no otherwise than as they are helpful to religion. But this I determine, as what is really evident from many parts of scripture, that to fallen man they have a greater tendency to hurt religion.

Saturday, May 23. How it comes about I know not; but I have remarked it hitherto, that at those times when I have read the scripture most, I have evermore been most lively, and in the best frame.

Saturday night, June 6. This week has been a remarkable week with me with respect to despondencies, fears, perplexities, multitudes of cares, and distraction of mind; being the week I came hither to New Haven, in order to entrance upon the office of tutor of the college. I have now abundant reason to be convinced of the troublesomeness and vexation of the world, and that it never will be another kind of world.

Tuesday, July 7. When I am giving the relation of a thing, to abstain from altering either in the matter or manner of speaking, so much, as that if every one afterward should alter as much, it would at last come to be properly false.

Tuesday, Sept. 2. By a sparingness in diet, and eating, as much as may be, what is light and easy of digestion, I shall doubtless be able to think clearer, and shall gain time. 1. By lengthening out my life. 2. Shall need less time for digestion after meals. 3. Shall be able to study closer without wrong to my health. 4. Shall need less time to sleep. 5. Shail seldom be troubled with the head-ache.

Sabbath-day, Nov. 22. Considering that by-standers always espy some faults which we do not see ourselves, or at least are not so fully sensible of: there are many secret workings of corruption

which escape our sight, and others only are sensible of: resolved therefore, that I will, if I can by any convenient means, learn what faults others find in me, or what things they see in me, that appear any way blame-worthy, unlovely, or unbecoming.

The foregoing extracts were wrote by Mr. Edwards in the twentieth and twenty-first years of his age, as appears by the dates. This being kept in mind, the judicious reader will make proper allowance for some things, which may appear a little juvenile, or like a young Christian, as to matter or manner of expression; which would not have been found, had it not have been done in early life. Which, indeed are no blemishes, the whole being taken together: as by this it appears more natural, and the strength of his resolution and fervour of mind; and his skill and discerning in divine things, so seldom found even in old age, are the more striking. And in this view, we shall be led to admire his conscientious strictness, his zeal and painfulness, his

experience and judgment in true religion, at so early an age. For here are not only the most convincing evidences of sincerity and thorough religion, of his engaging in a life devoted to God in good earnest, so as to make religion his only business; but through his great attention to this matter, he appears to have the judgment and experience of

gray

hairs. This is the beginning of a life so eminently holy and useful as Mr. Edwards's was. He who became one of the greatest divines in this age, has had the applause and admiration of America, Britain, Holland, and Germany, for his piety, and great judgment and skill in divinity; and has been honoured above most others in the christian world in this century, in his being made the instrument of doing so much good: he began his life thus: he entered on a public life with such views, such exercises, such resolutions.

a

AN ACCOUNT OF HIS CONVERSION, EXPERIENCES, AND RELIGIOUS

EXERCISES, GIVEN BY HIMSELF. I had a variety of concerns and exercises about my soul from my childhood; but had two more remarkable seasons of awakening before I met with that change by which I was brought to those new dispositions, and that new sense of things that I have since had. The first time was when I was a boy, some years before I went to college, at a time of remarkable awakening in my father's congregation. I was then very much affected for many months, and concerned about the things of religion, and my soul's salvation; and was abundant in duties. I used to pray five times a day in secret, and to spend much time in religious talk with other boys, and used to meet with them to pray together. I experienced I knew not what kind of delight in religion. My mind was much engaged in it, and had much self-righteous pleasure, and it was my delight to abound in religious duties. I, with some of my school-mates joined together, and built a booth in a swamp, in a very secret and retired place, for a place of prayer. And besides, I had particular secret places of my own in the woods, where I used to retire by myself; and used to be from time to time much affected. My affections seemed to be lively and easily moved, and I seemed to be in my element when I engaged in religious duties. And I am ready to think, many are deceived with such affections, and such a kind of delight, as I then had in religion, and mistake it for grace.

“But in process of time, my convictions and affections wore off, and I entirely lost all those affections and delights, and left off secret prayer, at least as to any constant performance of it, and returned like a dog to his vomit, and went on in ways of sin.

“ Indeed I was at some time very uneasy, especially towards the latter part of the time of my being at college, till it pleased God, in my last year at college, at a time when I was in the midst of many uneasy thoughts about the state of my soul, to seize me with a pleurisy, in which He brought me nigh to the grave, and shook me over the pit of hell.

“ But yet it was not long after my recovery, before I fell again into my old ways of sin. But God would not suffer me to go on with any quietness, but I had great and violent inward struggles; until after many conflicts with wicked inclinations, and repeated resolutions, and bonds that I laid myself under by a kind of vows to God, I was brought wholly to break off all former wicked ways, and all ways of known and outward sin, and to apply myself to seek my salvation, and practise the duties of religion; but without that kind of affection and delight that I had formerly experienced. My concern now wrought more by inward struggles and conflicts, and self-reflections. I made seeking my salvation the main business of my life. But yet it seems to me, I sought after a miserable manner, which has made me sometimes since to question, whether ever it issued in that which was saving; being ready to doubt whether such miserable seeking was ever succeeded. But yet I was brought to seek salvation in a manner that I never was before. I felt a spirit to part with all things in the world for an interest in Christ. My concern continued and prevailed, with many exercising thoughts and inward struggles; but yet it never seemed to be proper to express my concern that I had by the name of terror.

“ From my childhood up, my mind had been wont to be full of objections against the doctrine of God's sovereignty, in choosing whom he would to eternal life, and rejecting 'whom he pleased, leaving them eternally to perish, and be everlastingly tormented in hell. It used to appear like a horrible doctrine to me. But I remember the time very well when I seemed to be convinced and fully satisfied as to this sovereignty of God, and his justice in thus eternally disposing of men, according to his sovereign pleasure. But never could give an account, how, or by what means, I was thus convinced; not in the least imagining, in the time of it, nor a long time after, that there was any extraordinary influence of God's Spirit in it; but only that now I saw further, and my reason apprehended the justice and reasonableness of it. However my mind rested in it, and it put an end to all those cavils and objections that had till then abode with me all the preceding part of my life. And there has been a wonderful alteration in my mind, with respect to the doctrine of God's sovereignty, from that day to this, so that I scarce ever have found so much as the rising of an objection against God's sovereignty in the most absolute sense, in showing mercy to whom he will show mercy, and hardening and eternally danıning whom he will. God's absolute sovereignty and justice, with respect to salvation and damnation, is what my mind seems to rest assured of, as much as of any thing that I see with my eyes; at least it is so at times.

“ The first that I remember that ever I found any thing of that sort of inward, sweet delight in God and divine things, that I have lived much in since, was on reading those words, 1 Tim. i. 17. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever, and ever, Amen. As I read the words, there came into my soul, and was as it were diffused through it, a sense of the glory of the Divine Being, a new sense, quite different from any thing I ever experienced before. Never any words of scripture seemed to me as these words did. I thought with myself, how excellent a Being that was, and how happy I should be if I might enjoy that God, and be wrapt up to God in heaven, and be as it were swallowed up in him. I kept saying,

. and as it were singing over these words of scripture to myself; and went to prayer, to pray to God that I might enjoy him, and prayed in a manner quite different from what I used to do, with a new sort of affection. But it never came into my thought, that there was any thing spiritual, or of a saving nature in this.

" From about that time, I began to have a new kind of apprehensions and ideas of Christ, and the work of redemption, and