One of the most remarkable collections on the internet is the Jonathan Edwards Center‘s digital edition of Edwards’s vast corpus of writings and sermons. Many of these are contained in the published volumes of the Works of Jonathan Edwards, but many remain in manuscript and are only publicly available in the digital edition at the Edwards website.
It is easy to find treasures from Edwards in this collection. For example, here’s an excerpt from Sermon Series II, 1723-1727 (online vol. 42) in which Edwards is preaching on Psalm 115:1, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”
In the rough notes he made for this sermon (which I edit here for clarity), Edwards reflects on the motivations of a believer who would want to give God this kind of glory:
He loves to attribute to God the Glory of what he is what he has and what he does.
The believer delights in attributing giving the praise of all that he has all that he is and all that he enjoys to God in acknowledging that it comes from Him, and that it is all the fruit of His benignity and is not owing to himself.
That it is not owing to his own strength to get it or to his own merit to deserve it, but alone to the power of God and mercy of God in being willing to bestow it. And to His Power in procuring it . . . thus he loves to Give God the Glory of all his temporal things.
Even in his Common Enjoyments he is not as some are, living continually on the bounty of God, and not Once Considering Who they are Owing to, nor sincerely once praising him for them. But Especially is the Joy of his heart to Give God all the Glory of his spiritual Enjoyments.
He loves to Give him the Whole Praise of his Redemption and Salvation, admires of God’s Goodness in electing him from all Eternity. Admires that he should be of his Distinguishing Goodness Chosen Out from amongst so many to be made the subject vessel of honour and subject of Glory.
He wonders at God’s Goodness in sending his Son to Redeem him, he likewise admires at his Grace in Calling of him to Christ by his Holy Spirit. He delights to acknowledge that his Conversion is not at all owing in any Respect to himself but to God alone the Grace of God alone.
So he loves to Give God the Glory of All His works whereby Glory Redounds to God. He is not for attributing any thing to his own power or Goodness.
When he overcomes a temptation, he exalts God that his Grace was sufficient for him; when he doth a Good Work by feeding the Poor or otherwise, he takes none of the Glory of it to himself, as if he had done some great thing that made him worthy of God’s love, and therefore he will do it as secretly as possibly he can, he will not sound a trumpet before him to give notice of it, as if he gloried in it but will do as secretly as possibly he can.
For he knows that the he doth only his duty: he desires not that any should know of it but God, and to him he will say not unto me, O Lord not unto me but unto thy Name be who hast enabled me to do any Good work be the Glory.
As you can see, Edwards had a remarkable ability (giftedness) to portray for his congregation what it means to have a sanctified, heavenly minded devotion to God.
Sign up here for the Thomas S. Kidd newsletter. It delivers weekly unique content only to subscribers.
