Jonathan Edwards and Orphan Care

Jonathan Edwards (1703 - 1758), the famous American pastor and theologian, talked about the care of  orphans in a couple of sermons. He considered the care of orphans to be evidence of the success of the gospel in the world and a part of a divine history of redemption. He believed that acts of generosity were a vital path toward spiritual growth. He took particular note of the work of August Hermann Franke (1665-1727), a professor of theology, who helped to establish a major school for orphans in Saxony, Germany beginning in 1704. As well as the work of George Whitefield (1714-1770) in Georgia in establishing an orphanage.

See Jonathan Edwards, "Much in the Deeds of Charity" in The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999) and a sermon in his series called History of Redemption.