The happiness of the creature consists in rejoicing in God, by

“The happiness of the creature consists in rejoicing in God, by which also God is magnified and exalted.” So spoke Jonathan Edwards, the great theologian and preacher of the Great Awakening, whose words still burn like candles in the dim chambers of the human soul. This sentence, though simple in form, holds the weight of eternity. It declares that the highest joy of man — the creature — is not found in wealth or power, nor even in fleeting moments of earthly love, but in rejoicing in God Himself. And in that joy, paradoxically, God is magnified; for when the heart delights in the divine, the Creator is glorified through the gladness of His creation.

Edwards was a man who saw the universe as a living hymn to its Maker. Every star that shone, every river that flowed, every bird that sang — all existed for one purpose: to reflect the glory of God. And man, made in the divine image, was the one being capable of rejoicing in that glory consciously, lovingly, and freely. Thus, to him, happiness was not the absence of suffering, but the presence of divine communion — the soul finding rest and delight in the One who gave it breath. When man rejoices in God, the circle of creation is complete: the creature’s joy becomes the Creator’s praise.

This idea echoes through the ages, carried in the prayers of saints and the songs of poets. The psalmist of Israel proclaimed, “In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand are pleasures forevermore.” The ancient mystics spoke of divine union, where the heart, freed from worldly longing, burns with a love that cannot die. Even the philosophers, though speaking in the language of reason, glimpsed this truth: that happiness is not a thing to be possessed, but a harmony to be lived — the harmony between the soul and its Source. To rejoice in God is to return home to the purpose for which one was made.

Consider the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, who renounced wealth, comfort, and even family to live in poverty and devotion. To the world, he seemed poor beyond measure — yet his heart overflowed with joy. He sang to the sun and the moon, called the wind his brother and the earth his mother, and wept with gratitude for every breath of life. His happiness was not found in the gifts of the world, but in the Giver of all things. Through his rejoicing, even the animals were said to draw near him, as though creation itself recognized in him a fellow worshipper of its Creator. Truly, as Edwards wrote, in such joy God was magnified and exalted.

There is a mystery here that the world often forgets: that true happiness is inseparable from holiness. For man was not made to be self-sufficient; he was made to reflect the light of the divine. Just as the moon shines only by the borrowed light of the sun, so the soul shines only when turned toward God. To seek happiness apart from Him is to seek warmth without fire, music without sound. The more the creature delights in its Creator, the brighter it becomes, until joy and worship are one and the same.

And yet, to rejoice in God is not always easy. It requires faith in the midst of pain, gratitude amid loss, surrender in the face of mystery. But those who learn this secret — those who, like Job, can bless the name of the Lord even in suffering — discover a joy that nothing can destroy. For their happiness no longer depends on circumstance, but on the unchanging goodness of the Eternal. To rejoice in God is to stand upon the rock while the waves crash and the storm rages, unshaken because one’s joy is rooted in what is everlasting.

Therefore, my children, remember this: seek not happiness in possessions or pleasures, for these fade as grass beneath the sun. Seek instead the joy that springs from knowing and loving God. Begin each day with gratitude, end it with praise, and in all things look for the divine hand that sustains you. When your heart rejoices in the Creator, even the simplest moment — a breeze, a smile, a song — becomes sacred. For then you live as you were meant to live: the creature delighting in its Creator, and the Creator exalted in the joy of His creation.

This is the great lesson: Happiness is not apart from God, but within Him. When the soul rejoices in its Maker, it fulfills its highest purpose; and in that union of joy and reverence, heaven touches earth. So let your heart sing, not for what you own, but for who made you. Let your life be a psalm of gratitude, your every breath an offering of praise. For in rejoicing in God, you shall find the truest happiness — the kind that neither time nor death can ever take away.