BINGHAM: Hi, Nathan W. Bingham here with Ligonier Ministries. This
weekend, Ligonier is in Princeton. And right now, we’re actually in Princeton
Cemetery, standing in front of Jonathan Edwards’ grave, and we’re joined by
the president of Reformation Bible College, Dr. Steve Nichols.
Dr. Nichols, this cemetery is often referred to as the “Westminster Abbey of
America.” Obviously, Jonathan Edwards is buried here, but who else is buried
in the cemetery? NICHOLS: Right! So, we do have this
grave of this outstanding figure in church history, Jonathan Edwards, but he’s in
what’s called Presidents’ Row, and these are the early presidents of Princeton University.
There’re many notable figures here.
Right in front of us are many notable figures associated with Princeton
Theological Seminary. There’s the Alexander family. Archibald Alexander was
the first professor at Princeton in 1812. And in fact, that year, its opening year,
he was the only professor. Next to the Alexanders are the Hodges, and we
have the grave of Charles Hodge. There’s also a grave of a United
States President here. The grave of Grover Cleveland is behind me. And many other notable
folks are buried in this cemetery.
BINGHAM: Well, let’s go back to Jonathan Edwards. His grave is interesting for
a number of reasons. Firstly, because of what’s written on the top of the grave.
NICHOLS: Right! The entire top of that grave is a Latin inscription. This is
fitting; Edwards is an academic. And it details a number of his accomplishments
in life, the positions he’s held. And then it extols his virtues. It ends with a
command to the reader, for you now to go and follow in his pious footsteps as if
his life is still a testimony from the grave. But one of the lines from his accomplishments
identifies him as the president of the College of New Caesar—in Latin,
of course. And so, before it was New Jersey, it was New Caesar’s Island,
and it was originally the College of New Caesar, or New Jersey, and then it became
Princeton University. So, there it is on the top of Edwards’ grave.
BINGHAM: Well, another reason why his grave is interesting is, unlike the other
graves here in Presidents’ Row, he’s actually buried with his wife.
NICHOLS: He is! Sarah Edwards is also buried here. If you go to the other side
of his grave, you’ll see her epitaph, which also lists her duties and roles in life,
speaks of her as being a judiciously indulgent mother, speaks of her as being a
prudent wife, and then it ends with this wonderful testimony that she was a
rather eminent Christian. But Jonathan and Sarah are buried together here.
BINGHAM: Now, when Sarah received the news of Jonathan’s death, she
penned a letter to her daughter Esther. Could you share that with us?
NICHOLS: Yeah, sure. I’ve written down a copy of the letter. It’s such a
beautiful letter. And not only do I love it for the content, but I think it’s a great
testimony to the theology of Edwards to see how Sarah is responding to this
dark moment in her life, the passing of her husband.
So she writes to Esther, “Oh my dear, oh my very dear child, what shall I say? A
holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. Oh, that we may kiss the
rod and lay our hands on our mouths. The Lord has done it. God has made me
adore His goodness, that we had him so long. But my God lives, and He has
my heart. Oh, what a legacy my husband and your father has left us. We are all
given to God, and there I am, and there I love to be.”
It’s just a beautiful letter that just shows Sarah’s reaction, her impulse in this
dark moment in her life. BINGHAM: And it is just so
wonderful that in that moment of sorrow, her impulse is to say God is holy and God is good.
NICHOLS: Yes. R.C. would say, “Edwards is my guy.” He just really admired
the theology, the preaching, the passion of Edwards. And what is at the center
of that is Edwards’ doctrine of God. And so, you see it in this letter, that she
speaks of God as a holy God and a good God, and she just rests and trusts in
Him. BINGHAM: Can you speak
to some of the other men that are buried here in Presidents’ Row? Because there’s even a signer
of the Declaration of Independence!
NICHOLS: There is indeed. So, before Edwards is actually his son-in-law,
Aaron Burr. Aaron Burr was the second president of the college. He was
married to Esther, a daughter of Jonathan and Sarah. Next to Edwards is
Samuel Davies. He was the “apostle” or “missionary to Virginia.” This is
Anglican Virginia. Very nominal, very Anglican. And Davies converted in the Great Awakening,
trained as a minister in the spirit of the Great Awakening, and just had that
passion of preaching for awakening. He spent many years in Virginia
planting churches. He even wrote hymns; he wrote a beautiful hymn, “Great God of Wonders.”
And he is the third president of Princeton.
And a few down is John Witherspoon, the sixth president. And in addition to
being president of Princeton, he’s a signer of
the Declaration of Independence. In fact, he’s the only clergyman
to sign the Declaration of Independence. BINGHAM: Well, we spoke about Jonathan and
Sarah and their relationship. There’s another couple that’s
buried here that’s also significant. NICHOLS: Yes, there is. Behind us are
the graves of B.B. and Annie Warfield. Warfield, of course, was the “Lion of
Princeton.” He held sway here at Princeton Theological Seminary for decades
and pioneered and championed that doctrine of inspiration and inerrancy
of Scripture that’s so crucial and so important for us.
Well, he married Annie Kinkead, and they spent a year in Germany. And as
they were hiking through the mountains, they got caught in a very severe
thunderstorm, and this had a terrible impact on Annie.
In fact, the rest of her life, she was basically an invalid. And when they moved
here to Princeton, the testimony is that for many years, Warfield would not
leave his wife’s side for more than two hours. So, he’d step out of their home
and go over and teach his class, or step out of his home and go over to chapel
at Miller Chapel with the students, and then he’d go right back to his home and
be with his wife. He had a habit of reading out loud
to her at regular times during the day. And when she died, and when, afterwards,
when Warfield died, one of the other faculty wives said that Warfield had
two loves. He loved his work (which, of course, was teaching students, serving
the church, writing those classic texts) and his wife, his beloved wife, Annie. So,
as Jonathan and Sarah are here, B.B. and Annie Warfield are also buried
together here in the cemetery. BINGHAM: Well, Dr. Nichols, it’s
just been a treat to have you here with us this weekend and to share some of the history of
Princeton, and particularly Princeton Cemetery.
NICHOLS: It’s my pleasure. It’s wonderful to be around these folks and think
not only of the impact they had in their lifetime, but the continued impact they
have on the church through their legacies and through their testimonies, which
is really a testimony to the faithfulness of God to His people.
BINGHAM: Well, if you’d like to travel with Ligonier Ministries and join us for an
upcoming study tour, you can find them all listed at LigonierTours.com.