The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards Being sensible that
I am unable to do anything without God's
help, I do humbly entreat Him, by His
grace, to enable me to keep these resolutions
so far as they are agreeable to His
will, for Christ's sake.
Remember to read over these resolutions once a
week.
1.
Resolved that I will do whatsoever I think
to be most to the glory of God
and my own good, profit, and pleasure in
the whole of my duration, without any consideration
of the time, whether now or never so
many myriads of ages hence.
2.
Resolved to be continually endeavoring to find out
some new contrivance and invention to promote the
aforementioned things.
3.
Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow
dull, so as to neglect to keep any
part of these resolutions, to repent of all
I can remember, when I come to myself
again.
4.
Resolved never to do any manner of thing,
whether in soul or body, less or more,
but what tends to the glory of God,
nor be nor suffer it, if I can
possibly avoid it.
5.
Resolved never to lose one moment of time,
but to improve it in the most profitable
way I possibly can.
6.
Resolved to live with all my might, while
I do live.
7.
Resolved never to do anything which I should
be afraid to do, if it were the
last hour of my life.
8.
Resolved to act in all respects, both speaking
and doing, as if nobody had been so
vile as I, and as if I had
committed the same sins, or had the same
infirmities or failings as others, and that I
will let the knowledge of their failings promote
nothing but shame in myself, and prove only
an occasion of my confessing my own sins
and misery to God.
9.
Resolved to think much, on all occasions, of
my dying, and of the common circumstances which
attend death.
10.
Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of
the pains of martyrdom and of hell.
11.
Resolved, when I think of any theorem in
divinity to be solved, immediately, to do what
I can towards solving it, if circumstances do
not hinder.
12.
Resolved, if I take delight in it, as
a gratification of pride or vanity, or on
any such account, immediately, to throw it by.
13.
Resolved to be endeavoring to find out fit
objects of liberality and charity.
14.
Resolved never to do anything out of revenge.
15.
Resolved never to suffer the least motions of
anger towards irrational beings.
16.
Resolved never to speak evil of anyone, so
that it shall tend to his dishonor, more
or less, upon no account except for some
real good.
17.
Resolved that I will live so, as I
shall wish I had done, when I come
to die.
18.
Resolved to live so at all times, as
I think is best in my most devout
frames, and when I have the clearest notions
of the things of the gospel and another
world.
19.
Resolved never to do anything which I should
be afraid to do, if I expected it
would not be above an hour before I
should hear the last bump.
20.
Resolved to maintain the strictest temperance in eating
and drinking.
21.
Resolved never to do anything which, if I
should see in another, I should count a
just occasion to despise him for, or to
think any way the more meanly of him.
22.
Resolved to endeavor to obtain for myself as
much happiness in the other world as I
possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor,
and vehemence, yea, violence, I am capable of,
or can bring myself to exert, in any
way that can be thought of.
23.
Resolved frequently to take some deliberate action which
seems most unlikely to be done for the
glory of God, and trace it back to
the original intention, designs, and ends of it,
and if I find it not to be
for God's glory, to repute it as a
breach of the fourth resolution.
24.
Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action,
to trace it back till I come to
the original cause, and then, both carefully endeavor
to do so no more, and to fight
and pray with all my might against the
original of it.
25.
Resolved to examine carefully and constantly what that
one thing in me is which causes me
in the least to doubt of the love
of God, and so direct all my forces
against it.
26.
Resolved to cast away such things as I
find do abate my assurance.
27.
Resolved never willfully to omit anything, except the
omission be for the glory of God, and
frequently to examine my omissions.
28.
Resolved to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly,
and frequently, as that I may find and
plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge
of the same.
29.
Resolved never to count that a prayer, nor
to let that pass as a prayer, nor
that as a petition of a prayer which
is so made that I cannot hope that
God will answer it, nor that as a
confession which I cannot hope God will accept.
30.
Resolved to strive every week to be brought
higher in religion, and to a higher exercise
of grace, than I was the week before.
31.
Resolved never to say anything at all against
anybody, but when it is perfectly agreeable to
the highest degree of Christian honour, and of
love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility,
and sense of my own faults and failings,
and agreeable to the golden rule, often, when
I have said anything against anyone, to bring
it to, and try it strictly by, the
test of this resolution.
32.
Resolved to be strictly and firmly faithful to
my trust that, that in Proverbs 20, 6,
a faithful man who can find, may not
be partly fulfilled in me.
33.
Resolved, in do always what I can, towards
making, maintaining, and preserving peace, when it can
be done without an overbalancing detriment in other
respects.
34.
Resolved, in narrations, never to speak anything but
the pure and simple verity.
35.
Resolved, whenever I so much question whether I
have done my duty, as that my quiet
and calm is thereby disturbed, to set it
down, and also how the question we resolved.
36.
Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except
I have some particular good call to it.
37.
Resolved, to inquire, every night, as I am
going to bed, wherein I have been negligent,
what sin I have committed, and wherein I
have denied myself, also, at the end of
every week, month, and year.
38.
Resolved, never to utter anything, that is sportive,
or matter of laughter, on a Lord's day.
39.
Resolved, never to do anything, of which I
so much question the lawfulness, as that I
intend, at the same time, to consider, and
examine afterwards, whether it be lawful or not,
unless I as much question the lawfulness of
the omission.
40.
Resolved, to inquire, every night, before I go
to bed, whether I have acted, in the
best way I possibly could, with respect to
eating and drinking.
41.
Resolved, to ask myself, at the end of
every day, week, month, and year, wherein I
could possibly, in any respect, have done better.
42.
Resolved, frequently, to renew the dedication of myself
to God, which was made at my baptism,
which I solemnly renewed, when I was received
into the communion, or the church, and which
I have solemnly remade this twelfth day of
January, 1723.
43.
Resolved, never, henceforward, till I die, to act
as if I were, anyway, my own, but
entirely and altogether God's, agreeable to what is
to be found in Saturday, January 12th, 1723.
44.
Resolved, that no other end but religion shall
have any influence at all on any of
my actions, and that no action shall be,
in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the
religious end will carry it.
45.
Resolved, never to allow any pleasure or grief,
joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all,
nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance
relating to it, but what helps religion.
46.
Resolved, never to allow the least measure of
any fretting or uneasiness at my father or
mother.
Resolved, to suffer no effects of it, so
much as in the least alteration of speech
or motion of my eye, and to be
especially careful of it with respect to any
of our family.
47.
Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost, to deny
whatever is not most agreeable to a good
and universally sweet and benevolent, quiet, peaceable, contented
and easy, compassionate and generous, humble and meek,
submissive and obliging, diligent and industrious, charitable and
even, patient, moderate, forgiving, and sincere, temper, and
to do, at all times, what such a
temper would lead me to, and to examine
strictly, at the end of every week, whether
I have so done.
48.
Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence,
and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into
the state of my soul, that I may
know whether I have, truly, an interest in
Christ or not.
That, when I come to die, I may
not have any negligence respecting this to repent
of.
49.
Resolved, that this never shall be, if I
can help it.
50.
Resolved, that I will act so, as I
think I shall judge would have been best
and most prudent, when I come into the
future world.
51.
Resolved, that I will act so, in every
respect, as I think I shall wish I
had done, if I should, at last, be
damned.
52.
I frequently hear persons in old age say
how they would live, if they were to
live their lives over again.
Resolved, that I will live just so, as
I can think I shall wish I had
done, supposing I live to old age.
53.
Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am
in the best and happiest frame of mind,
to cast and venture my soul on the
Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in
Him, and consecrate myself wholly to Him, that
from this I may have assurance of my
safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer.
54.
Resolved, whenever I hear anything spoken, in commendation
of any person, if I think it would
be praiseworthy in me, that I will endeavor
to imitate it.
55.
Resolved, to endeavor, to my utmost, so to
act, as I can think I should do,
if I had already seen the happiness of
heaven and hell torments.
56.
Resolved, never to give over, nor in the
least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions,
however unsuccessful I may be.
57.
Resolved, when I fear misfortunes and adversity, to
examine whether I have done my duty, and
resolve to do it, and let the event
be just as providence orders it.
I will, as far as I can, be
concerned about nothing but my duty and my
sin.
58.
Resolved, not only to refrain from an air
of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but
to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness, and
benignity.
59.
Resolved, when I am most conscious of provocations
to ill nature and anger, that I will
strive most to feel and act good-naturedly,
yea, at such times, to manifest good nature,
though I think that in other respects it
would be disadvantageous, and so as would be
imprudent at other times.
60.
Resolved, whenever my feelings begin to appear in
the least out of order, when I am
conscious of the least uneasiness within, or the
least irregularity without, I will then subject myself
to the strictest examination.
61.
Resolved, that I will not give away to
that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes
my mind from being fully and fixedly set
on religion, whatever excuse I may have for
it, that what my listlessness inclines me to
do is best to be done, etc.
62.
Resolved, never to do anything but my duty,
and then, according to Ephesians 6, verses 6
-8, to do it willingly and cheerfully as
unto the Lord, and not to man, knowing
that whatever good thing any man doth, the
same shall he receive of the Lord.
63.
On the supposition that there never was to
be but one individual in the world, at
any one time, who was properly a complete
Christian, in all respects of a right stamp,
having Christianity always shining in its true luster,
and appearing excellent and lovely, for whatever part
and under whatever character viewed.
64.
Resolved, to act just as I would do,
if I strove with all my might to
be that one who should live in my
time.
64.
Resolved, when I find these groanings which cannot
be uttered, of which the Apostle speaks, and
those breathings of soul for the longing it
has, of which the Psalmist speaks, Psalm 119,
verse 20, that I will promote them to
the utmost of my power, and that I
will not be weary of earnestly endeavoring to
vent my desires, nor of the repetitions of
such earnestness.
65.
Resolved, very much, to exercise myself in this
all my life long, with the greatest openness
of which I am capable, to declare my
ways to God, and lay open my soul
to Him, all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows,
fears, hopes, desires, and every thing and every
circumstance, according to Dr. Manton's sermon on the
119th Psalm, July 26th and August 10th, 1723.
66.
Resolved, that I will endeavor always to keep
a benign aspect and an air of acting
and speaking in all places and in all
companies, except it should so happen that duty
requires otherwise.
67.
Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire what I am
the better for them, what good I have
got by them, and what I might have
got by them.
68.
Resolved, to confess frankly to myself all that
which I find in myself, either infirmity or
sin, and, if it be what concerns religion,
also to confess the whole case to God,
and implore needed help.
69.
Resolved, always to do that which I shall
wish I had done, when I see others
do it.
70.
Let there be something of benevolence in all
that I speak.
August 17th, 1723.