Sarah was from New Haven in Connecticut where her dad, James Pierrepont, was the local pastor. Her father was also involved in the founding of the Yale College. Sarah came from a wealthy family and because of it she received a good education, she was also characterized not only by an outward beauty but also an inner beauty. Recordings of Sarah’s life say that she loved meditating on God, walking alone in the fields, she loved singing and always seemed very happy and pleased with life. She played the lute and knew how to put people at ease.
This is what Jonathan Edwards wrote about her in the front page of a Greek grammar:
“They say there is a young lady in [New Haven] who is beloved of that great Being who made and rules the world, and that there are certain seasons in which this great Being, in some way or other invisible, comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight, and that she hardly cares for anything, except to meditate on him—that she expects after a while to be received up where he is, to be raised up out of the world and caught up into heaven; being assured that he loves her too well to let her remain at a distance from him always. There she is to dwell with him, and to be ravished with his love and delight forever…. She has a strange sweetness in her mind, and singular purity in her affections; is most just and conscientious in all her conduct; and you could not persuade her to do anything wrong or sinful, if you would give her all the world, lest she should offend this great Being. She is of a wonderful sweetness, calmness and universal benevolence of mind; especially after this great God has manifested himself to her mind…. She loves to be alone, walking in the fields and groves, and seems to have someone invisible always conversing with her.”
Jonathan was a Yale graduate and after college he was pastoring in New York for a year when he accepted a teaching job at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. It was there at New Haven, that he met Sarah in 1723, at this point Sarah was thirteen and Jonathan was twenty (it was very common for women to get married by age 16).
Jonathan Edwards is one of the most important, towering figures in church history. He wrote a lot and impacted many of his day and still impacts many more today. Jonathan Edwards was very different from Sarah. He was introvert, not a people person and by his own testimony, not very kind in his manners. He didn’t eat much, had a rigorous diet and didn’t drink much. The one thing that they had in common was their love for music.
They got engaged in 1725 and married on July 28, 1727. Sarah was 17 while Jonathan was 24 years old.
A few months before they got married Jonathan accepted a position as a pastor in the church of Northampton where his grandfather was a pastor.
Being a pastor’s wife at that time was interesting. Since they were just married, on her first Sunday she had to wear her wedding dress and turn around slowly so that everybody could get a good look at it. She had a special seat in the church, facing the congregation, that symbolized he role as pastor’s wife.
Jonathan used to study a lot, 13 hours a day. He did some work around the house, this was part of the things that he would do to keep his body in shape. He would chop wood, mend the fence or take care of the garden, but most of the housework was on Sarah’s shoulders. He used to wake up early and so did the family, they would together read a passage of Scripture before starting the day.
They had 11 kids, so Sarah’s life was pretty busy. She was always welcoming and hospitable. In fact a lot that we know about them is from a man named Hopkins who stayed with the family for a while wanting to learn from Jonathan. Sarah’s idea was that she was spiritually responsible for the people who entered her house. In fact there are testimonies of people saying how well they were treated and how godly Sarah was in her care for them and for the family at the same time.
George Whitefield says about them:
“Felt wonderful satisfaction in being at the house of Mr. Edwards. He is a Son himself and hath also a daughter of Abraham for his wife. A sweeter couple I have not yet seen. Their children were dressed nor in silk and satins, but plain, as becomes of those who, in all things ought to be examples of christian simplicity. She is a woman adorned with a meek and quiet spirit, talked feelingly and solidly of the Things of God, and seemed to be such a help meet for her husband, that she cause me to renew those prayers, which for many months, I have put up to God, that he would be pleased to send me a daughter of Abraham to be my wife.”
Sarah’s life wasn’t easy, she had 11 kids to care for, guests to serve, church members always looking at her to learn from her or to criticize her, and a husband who was always busy. At one point in her life she also experienced something of a breakdown. They were going through some financial difficulties and asked the church for a steady set amount as a “paycheck.” The church responded that maybe they needed to investigate as to how the Edwards’ were spending their money. It seems after that Sarah’s went into an emotional breakdown. It is probable that not many people realized what had happened, because Sarah, for as much as she was able, kept on taking care of her family and guests. Jonathan, from his writings, lets us know that they considered this experience as a spiritual struggle. The difficulties they were going through brought her to a closer relationship with God and trust in Him.
After 20 years of service as a pastor of Northampton, Jonathan was dismissed. We have to say that he was a man of no compromise, in fact, he was known for not wanting to distribute communion to just anybody but only to the believers. At that time everybody that would attend church, born again or not, would take part in communion. Jonathan’s stance did not always make him likable. We can only imagine how difficult it must have been for Sarah to witness the events surrounding her husband’s dismissal.
Since no other position was available, they had to stay in the same city for a year and we can imagine that this must not have been easy for Sarah, to stay in the same town were her husband was rejected and being without an income.
The next job for Jonathan was in a town called Stockbridge, were there was a community of Indians and a few whites looking for a pastor. They served there together for 6 years.
In 1757, Sarah’s son in law died unexpectedly, leaving behind his wife, Esther and two small kids. He was the president of the College of New Jersey, that would later be called Princeton. After his death, Jonathan was asked to take his position. Jonathan left for Princeton in January 1758 and his family would have reached him in the spring. While at Princeton, he was inoculated for smallpox, then contracted the disease and died in March. Jonathan’s last words were for his wife:
“Give my kindest love to my dear wife, and tell her that the uncommon union…will continue forever: I hope she will be supported under so great a trial, and submit cheerfully to the will of God”.
After Jonathan’s death, Sarah wrote to her daughter Esther, trying to encourage her and remind her of God’s goodness. Her daughter never got that letter for less than a month later Esther died. Sarah wrote,
“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 upon 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 us! We are all given to God; and there I am, and love to be.”
That same year, while Sarah was returning to Stockbridge with Ether’s kids, she left this earth after contracting dysentery.
Sarah was an amazing woman of God married to one of the greatest theologians in church history.
There are so many things that we can learn from Sarah’s example:
I love how Sarah was holding on to God even in the midst of difficult times. After being without an income, having lost a job, having lost family, she was encouraged because she knew that her life was in the Hands of an amazing God. She kept her trust in Him no matter what.
She was hospitable, considering others as a blessing in her life she was able to bless others with her kindness.
She was faithful in the ministry God had for her, she took care of her family. The way others spoke about her kids being dressed in simplicity, reminds us that as mothers we need to help our children look at the eternal and not the temporal and material.
She was a helpmate to her husband. Her husband would have not been able to be and do as much as he did if he didn’t have a supporting wife like Sarah.
Her mind was set on the things above. The way she raised her kids, the way she supported her husband, the ways she served others, all of these things show that her all life was set on God and walking in a way worthy of the Gospel!
