Jonathan Edwards and the Psalms: A Redemptive-Historical Vision of Scripture

God and Scripture

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
but unto thy name give glory,
for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
Psalm 115:1

in light of the diversity of themes treated in the book of Psalms, it is not surprising that Edwards developed several theological themes in his engagement with the Psalter. But this variety of topics does not imply chaos in Edwards’ reading of the Psalms. Rather, the history of redemption guided him in his engagement with the Psalter, and at the fountainhead of all redemptive work in history stands God, from whom every severe judgment and every good grace flows. To speak of redemption, one must first speak of God. As Edwards delved into the Psalms, he found a deep reserve of instruction on the nature of God and his ways. His exegesis of the Psalms informed his understanding of God, as both an unknowable and a revelatory Being, and from God’s revelation in the Psalms, Edwards saw God’s glory upheld as his supreme aim in creation. He also detected God’s merciful aims of redemption and his sovereign oversight of that redemptive history. His doctrine of inspiration, informed by the Psalter, gave him the theological grounds for exploring the Psalms for such truth about God. Thus Edwards never doubted the reliability of the Bible, and as he interpreted the Psalms, he soaked up all he could from the new critical learning, fully expecting it to harmonize with God’s divinely inspired Word. This openness to the new learning only moderately affected his exegesis as he grounded himself in a redemptive-historical approach to the Psalms. In this chapter we see how Edwards, as he engaged the Psalms, discussed God’s glory, sovereignty, mystery, mercy, and revelation.

The Glory of God

One of Edwards’ favorite verses from the Psalms, one that he said “has often been sweet to me,” was Ps 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.”[1] He preached on this passage in the fall of 1723 to highlight the preeminence of God’s glory. As was his custom, he described the psalm’s context, apparently a psalm of praise to God for delivering Israel out of trouble. He observed that the psalmist offers praise to the Lord in a manner that is “always most acceptable to God,” namely by “acknowledging [Israel’s] insufficiency” and ascribing their success solely to “the power and mercy of God.”[2] Moving further into the psalm, Edwards noted the contrast between the God of Israel and the pagan gods: Israel’s God is the God of the heavens who does “whatsoever he hath pleased” (Ps 115:3), while the heathen gods are the senseless “work of men’s hands” (Ps 115:4–5).[3] So the psalmist boasts, as all Christians ought, not in his own work but in God’s glory. Edwards made three observations on the text. First, as the psalmist repeats, “not unto us,” he “lays himself and his people low,” so that even though God used the people as a means of their own deliverance, the psalmist deflects all glory to God, the source of the power and wisdom that led to salvation.[4] Second, the psalmist exalts God, who “wholly and solely” deserves the glory, for only he can do whatever he pleases, while we “depend on him for his help.”[5] And third, the psalmist takes particular “delight” in “abasing himself and exalting God”; “[h]e has not the least inclination to assume the glory to himself, but to abhor the thoughts of it and delight in attributing all to God.”[6] Thus Edwards preached this doctrine: “It is the temper of the truly godly to delight to exalt God and to lay themselves low.”[7] The godly man lives to see God honored in his heart, by his life, and in public, and he especially loves to attribute glory to God for his redemption:

But especially it is the joy of his heart to give God all the glory of his spiritual enjoyment. He loves to give him the whole praise of his redemption and salvation, admires of God’s goodness in choosing him from all eternity. Admires that he should be of his distinguishing goodness, chosen out from among so many, to be made the vessel of honor 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 the grace of God alone.[8]

Paradoxically, while he exalts in God’s glorious redemption, he also rejoices in humbling himself, not that he feels forced to abase himself but rather he is grieved that he cannot humble himself more, in light of his sin. As Edwards moved into the application, God’s glory became the prism through which people could examine themselves to see if they were truly godly. God’s glory is so infinite that the godly, when they see his grandeur, will humble themselves at his feet and cry, “not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory.”[9]

As this sermon illustrates, the exaltation of God featured prominently in Edwards’ theology and ministry, and the Psalms provided a biblical basis for this focus. Using the Psalms to make a pronounced emphasis on God’s glory fell in line with Edwards’ Reformed predecessors. In commenting on Ps 115:1, Matthew Henry noted that “[b]oasting is here for ever excluded,” for we ought to have “no opinion of our own Merits” but rather center on “God’s Glory.”[10] And Matthew Poole likewise noted that glory should be attributed to God alone, not to humans, who do not merit it.[11] John Trapp called this verse “the godly man’s motto,” and he pulled from Augustine to say, “In all thy good deeds give God the glory, and take up lowly thoughts of thy self.”[12] While Edwards did not cite Henry, Poole, or Trapp in his notes on this verse, he mirrored them all in his interpretation.[13]

Edwards defined God’s “glory” as his “excellency . . . consisting either in greatness or in beauty, or as it were preciousness, or in both conjunctly,” and he cited several psalms as supporting this concept (Pss 19:1; 45:13; 63:2–3; 66:2; 72:19; 87:3; 102:16; 145:5, 12–13).[14] Because of God’s excellent greatness and beauty, he deserves all glory from humanity. In his treatise Freedom of the Will, Edwards pointed to Ps 29:1–2—“Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”—and “many other psalms,” to show that men are to be “ ‘giving unto him all the glory,’ of the good which is done or received, rather than unto men; . . . he should be regarded as the being to whom all glory is due.”[15]

Whether people honor him or not, God’s glory will eventually be made manifest everywhere, as Edwards taught in his sermon on Ps 66:5, “Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.” Edwards explained that great blessing awaits those who make the effort to “come and see” God’s works and reflect on the glory contained in them: “[T]he Glory of them is so Great & wonderfull that we shall be well Rewarded for our taking the Pains to Go to see them.”[16] By “terrible” the psalmist meant that “God is awfull in his works. [H]is works are such as not only tend to strike with admiration but also with Aw[e] & Dread to Possess us with fear & trembling.”[17] Either way, whether eliciting admiration or dread, God’s works bring glory to his name. Thus Edwards preached this doctrine: “That ’tis to the Glory of G[od] that he is terrible in his doings towards the Children of men.”[18] God is “terrible” in his excellency, infinite power, abhorrence of sin, and works of creation and providence, but his doings toward humanity are especially terrible, whether his work of redemption—manifested in Christ’s terrible suffering and in a terrible blow to Satan—or “his works of vengeance towards the Children of men,” specifically in his temporal, spiritual, and eternal judgments.[19] While Edwards’ understanding of “terrible” as awe-inspiring stood in continuity with the Reformed tradition, his view that God’s “terrible” works also had a dreadful, fear-inducing nature manifested his unique emphasis on the passage.[20] He forwarded this idea in part because he wanted to connect God’s works with his glory, for God’s terrible works are “a Great manifestation of his Glory & excellency” that “will be forever to his honour.”[21] While some thought it unjust of God to judge humans with such powerful displays of his might, Edwards held that it is God’s glory to get the victory over his enemy, vindicate his authority and majesty, manifest his justice and hatred of sin, reveal his truth, display his sovereignty, and “make men see how valuable and Precious [is] his mercy.”[22] In his application, Edwards exhorted his people to take notice of God’s “Perfect Gloriousness[,] that he is Glorious without exception in all that he is and does,” for “these works are no spots or blemishes that obscure the Glory of G[od] but in Every one of them[—]even the most terrible of them all[—]God[’]s Glory does & forever will Gloriously shine forth.”[23]

Edwards explained from the Psalms that God’s infinitely glorious nature demands that all humanity bow in homage to him. Preaching on Ps 89:6, “For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?” Edwards showed that the writer portrays God’s glory by comparing it to the highest of created beings, whether the angels in heaven or the kings on earth, for “none, of the angels or of those spotless, pure, wise, bright, and active spirits there, are worthy to be compared with him,” and “[t]he great kings, princes, emperors, and monarchs of the world, that look like gods [to] the wondering and amazed eyes of men, are nothing to him.”[24] Having encompassed all of creation and established that God is greater than the whole of it, Edwards declared his doctrine: “God is infinitely exalted in gloriousness and excellency above all created beings.”[25] While he did not cite Henry in his sermon or notebooks on this verse, Edwards’ sermon echoes Henry’s observation: “If there be any Beings that can pretend to vie with God, sure they must be found among the Angels; but they are all infinitely short of him”; indeed, “[n]o angel, no earthly Potentate, whatsoever, is comparable to God.”[26] As Edwards continued his sermon, he “set forth the greatness, gloriousness, and transcendent excellency of that God who made us,” arguing that God’s gloriousness is “the highest theme that ever man . . . entered upon yet.”[27] To prove his doctrine he showed that God is infinitely exalted above all creatures in duration, greatness, loveliness, power, wisdom, holiness, and goodness. So foundational is the doctrine of God’s glory that “the whole of Christianity follows as an improvement from this doctrine,” from the dreadfulness of sin and the terribleness of his wrath to the wonder of the incarnation and the privilege and happiness enjoyed by those he makes holy—in short, God’s redemptive-historical work.[28]

The Psalms speak often of God’s glorious nature by upholding his name. Edwards taught that God’s “name” represents his glory and perfections and that he created the world to make known his name, a teaching to which the Psalms frequently testify (Pss 23:3; 31:3; 109:21; 25:11; 79:9; 106:8; 76:1; 148:13; 135:13).[29] God’s “name” refers to his reputation, so when Ps 9:10 states, “they that know thy name will put their trust in thee,” it means they who know “thy name and fame which thou has gotten to thyself by thy faithfulness to thy people that have trusted.”[30] People trust in God because the saints report him to be trustworthy, for God’s name particularly refers to his reputation of faithfulness. So Ps 48:8, 10 testify: “As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God. . . . According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise.”[31] This psalm explains the meaning of Ps 138:2, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name”—“name” again referring to God’s glory and acts in human history.[32]

The Psalms also speak of God’s shekinah glory, particularly in Ps 36:9, “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” The image of light recalled to Edwards’ mind Rev 21:23, “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Thus he said that “[t]he Psalmist seems to have the light of the Shekinah in the temple in his eye, for he is speaking here of the pleasures and good things of God’s house,” and this light refers both to God’s glory and “the light that God enjoys, the light in which he is happy,” a light in which the saints can experience happiness themselves.[33] In fact, the saints only find happiness in God’s glory. So in Ps 89:15, “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance,” Edwards envisioned God’s glory in his light-emitting countenance. Thus as Moses heard the joyful sound at Mt. Sinai and was granted to see “God’s back parts,” giving him a brightness of countenance, so for those who delight in God’s glory, it will be “easy and sweet, that they may dwell in it and walk in it” for “God shall be their everlasting light.”[34]

In a sermon reflecting on the benefits of God’s presence, Edwards engaged the Psalms to explore further God’s glorious acts. In November 1735, on the heels of the Northampton awakening, Edwards preached a thanksgiving sermon on Isa 12:6, “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee,” and called his people to rejoice for all the benefits they had seen from God’s presence during the previous year. In this sermon Edwards made reference to the Psalms sixty-four times as he celebrated God’s glorious nature and beneficent works toward Northampton.[35] Edwards weaved a number of Psalm texts together (Pss 148:13; 89:6; 95:1–3; 77:13; 99:2–3, 5) to establish God’s glorious nature: “Because of his being so great and holy a God, he is worthy to be exceedingly rejoiced in and praised. The sum of the divine glory consists in his greatness, and in his holiness, and his goodness.”[36] Edwards also intertwined several texts from the Psalms (Pss 24:8; 35:5; 91:1, 5–6; 48:11–14; 76:3; 125:2; 89:18; 46:1–3, 7; 47:1) to establish that those who have God in their midst “have a most sufficient and sure defense from evil.”[37] The Psalms show further that when God is in a people’s midst, they lack nothing since in his greatness he can supply all their needs. So Ps 34:10 teaches that “they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing”; God is “the fountain of all good” and “an inexhaustible and infinite fountain”—“enough for the supply of everyone.”[38] So with God as their shepherd, they “shall not want” (Ps 23:1), and God shall provide for their bodily and spiritual needs, for “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Ps 84:11). Indeed, when God dwells in a people’s midst, “he himself is the sum of all good,” and because God embodies goodness for his people, they have all they need for happiness: “God is theirs, and therefore they are happy, if they have nothing else.”[39]

To Edwards, God’s glory was an all-encompassing concept for discussing Christian doctrine, embodying the whole purpose of God’s creation with the history of redemption serving as the vehicle for reaching that end. In his harmonic view of Scripture, Edwards found echoes of this redemptive-historical thrust in the Psalms. In a note on Ps 3:8, “Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people,” he observed that “Salvation is spoken of throughout the Old Testament as a peculiarly glorious work, and is celebrated as one of the principal glories of the God of Israel.”[40] Edwards developed this thought from Alexander Cruden, who explained that the Hebrews spoke of salvation not in “concrete terms” but in abstractions (e.g., “the joy of salvation”) and showed how often “salvation” was used in the Old Testament to refer to God’s deliverance of his people.[41] Also, in his “Miscellanies” notebook, he wrote an entry (no. 1080) on “God’s Glory the End of the Creation,” in which he cited dozens of scriptures attesting to God’s glory as the proper end of creation, including twenty references to the Psalms.[42] Edwards pursued this thinking further in his posthumously published Concerning the End for Which God Created the World (1765), and he used the Psalms to establish his overarching claim that God created the world and conducted his redemptive work for his glory. He quoted Ps 79:9, “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake,” as evidence that God’s glory is “the end of the work of redemption in the Old Testament.”[43] The Psalms testified in several places (Pss 8:1, 9; 104:31; 148:13) to “the glory of God” being “the last end of many of God’s works.”[44] Edwards held that “divine goodness, particularly forgiveness of sin, and salvation” are often spoken of as being for the sake of God’s goodness or name (Pss 25:7, 11; 6:4; 31:16; 44:26).[45] So Ps 106:8 summed up this concept that God accomplishes his works on earth to manifest his glory: “he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.”[46]

The Psalms functioned for Edwards both as a progenitor and corroborator of doctrine. As Edwards studied the Psalter and rehearsed it in worship, he observed God’s work of redemption being revealed in history, from creation through judgment and deliverance, and all these events telescoped on God’s glory, the goal of all God’s works, which tempered Edwards’ interpretation of the Psalms just as the Psalms guided him to such exegetical and theological conclusions.

This originally appeared in Jonathan Edwards and the Psalms: A Redemptive-Historical Vision of Scripture, by David P. Barshinger (Oxford University Press, 2014). Republished with permission.

About the Contributors

David Barshinger