Shelby
Nies
Religion
319—Dr. Westblade
November
2015
A Beautiful God:
Jonathan EdwardsÕ Theology of Beauty
When the
average person thinks about Jonathan Edwards, his Calvinism, fire and
brimstone, or perhaps his emphasis on the sovereignty of God stand out in their
minds. Though he did preach those doctrines, woven throughout his thought one
finds an unexpected thematic thread. A fascination with nature that began in
his youth and continued throughout his life, tied to his desire to explore the
Calvinistic conceptions of the Trinity and the nature of God, led him to a
theology of beauty that became essential to his understanding of the Christian
faith. Edwards found God not only good and true, but also intrinsically
beautiful. He weaves this theme into many of his greatest works, including A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections
and his posthumously complied History of
the Work of Redemption, as well as writing about it specifically in his
miscellaneous notebooks and in an essay called ÒConcerning the Secondary and
Inferior Kind of BeautyÓ in his Ethical
Writings. Beginning with that essay, one can compile an Edwardsian
definition of beauty, which leads to his view of God as beautiful and the
impact that sight has on the soul.
In mimicry of
EdwardsÕ writing itself, one must begin with a definition of terms before drawing
out doctrines or applications. Thus by turning to that essay, ÒConcerning the
Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó one can delineate EdwardsÕ definition
of beauty. He opens the paper by differentiating between the two types of
beauty: primary and secondary. He describes primary beauty as a spiritual unity
of being to being or minds to a mental or spiritual existence in a kind of
moral beauty, which he rephrases as a union of the mind and heart.[1]
Sang Hyun Lee also restates this concept by saying it is Òconsent or love
between perceiving beings.Ó[2]
In contrast, Edwards depicts secondary beauty as the mutual consent or
agreement of things in form or end (order, symmetry, proportion, harmony, etc.)
such as the human body or a melodious tune.[3]
To Edwards, uniformity in the midst of variety constitutes beauty. For example,
Kin Yip Louie synthesizes EdwardsÕ conception of the symmetry of geometric
figures as a form of mutual consent,[4]
which Edwards describes as a visible end or unity of design[5]
in proportionate shapes. This uniformity and consent of nature, he argues, is
natural beauty.[6]
Robert W. Jenson summarizes EdwardsÕ view by saying, ÒAs to wherein natural
beauty consists, [Edwards] is provided with an explicit doctrineÉby the nature
of his experience of it: ÔThe beauty of the world consists wholly of sweet
mutual consents, either within itself, or with the Supreme Being.ÕÓ[7]
Consequently, Edwards defines both kinds of beauty as a sort of uniformity or
consent, but primary beauty exists only amongst rational beings whereas
secondary beauty lies in the rest of the natural world.
Yet the two
profoundly relate to one another in that secondary beauty enlivens people to the
sight of primary beauty, per EdwardsÕ observation that it contains some image
of true or spiritual beauty. He says, Ò[God] has constituted the external world
in an analogy to things in the spiritual world,Ó and, ÒHe makes an agreement or
consent of different things, in their form, manner, measure, etc. to appear
beautiful, because here is some image of a higher kind of agreement and consent
of spiritual beings.Ó[8]
Lee condenses this statement by reasoning that Edwards believes secondary
beauty is beautiful simply because of its analogous relation to the beauty of
God.[9]
EdwardsÕ uses the harmony of sounds and the beauties of nature as the primary
examples of such a resemblance to GodÕs beauty in secondary sources. He
describes these as assisting the virtuous in disposing them to Òthe exercises
of divine loveÓ and enlivening in them Òa sense of spiritual beauty.Ó[10]
Though he distinguishes this kind of beauty from the beauty of true holiness,
because it does not increase menÕs virtue to appreciate the excellency
of such things, it remains analogous to spiritual and virtuous beauty,[11]
and thereby enlightens peopleÕs eyes to see the beauty of God.
Fundamentally,
beauty stems from proportion or harmonious agreement. Men find secondary beauty
appealing because of its agreement and proportion, which form the ground and
rule of beauty[12] according
to Edwards. Louie extends EdwardsÕ argument so far as to say that God designs
the laws of nature so they speak to humans about spiritual beauty.[13]
Edwards upholds this idea in his Religious
Affections when he says, ÒThere is a symmetry and a beauty in GodÕs
workmanshipÉÓ[14]
as if He purposed all His works to unveil such a beauty. This statement
intertwines with his argument in ÒConcerning the Secondary and Inferior Kind of
BeautyÓ wherein he outlines symmetry as greater in proportion to the greatness
of the thing (i.e. the symmetry of a flower compared to that of the human face),[15]
yet finds that all reveal aspects of beauty in their proportion. For Edwards,
this symmetry must be seen in the totality of the object. Louie indicates that
Edwards argues the beauty of the world cannot be appreciated unless one knows GodÕs
purpose for the world,[16]
and that Òbeauty reveals the essence of realityÓ and Òreality and totality is
based on God.Ó[17]
EdwardsÕ illustration of the pillars fits this concept: pillars randomly placed
cannot be found nearly as beautiful as those that make up a building, which are
beautiful in their uniformity.[18]
Thus the totality of the building rather than the pillars themselves stands as
the cause of its symmetry and the beauty seen therein. Jenson states, ÒThe
whole of reality is a great harmony,Ó[19]
which explains how beauty reveals its essence. Since beautyÕs nature lies in
harmonious relations[20]
of proportion or uniformity[21]
and reveals the quintessence of reality, a reality based on God intrinsically relies
upon His beauty.
It follows,
then, that one can define true beauty in its highest sense as the union of the
heart to God, the Being of beings.[22]
Edwards considers this superior to the beauty found in uniformity in the midst
of variety: he says, ÒJust affections
and acts have a beauty in them
distinct from, and superior to, the uniformity and equality there is in
themÉand that is the expression and manifestation there is in them of
benevolence to Being in general.Ó[23]
He observes that a just gratefulness to a benevolent heart from a rational
being contains the same kind of uniformity and proportion that he sees in the
natural world, which tends toward the glory of God and the general good. Michael
J. McClymond and Gerald R. McDermott restate this idea by saying that the
beauty of the natural world consists of the Òmutual loveÓ between intelligent
beings, and that the Òtruest idea of divinityÓ exists therein.[24]
Through such a proportionate mutual love, the heart can be united to God as the
union of an intelligent, created being to the divine Being of beings and Creator
in beautiful harmony.
Appending
EdwardsÕ definition of beauty, one moves to view GodÕs supreme beauty on
display. Louie states that beauty is the Òvery essence and purpose of the
world,Ó[25]
or rather that God created the material world so that His beauty would be known
to intelligent beings besides Himself. Within the framework of creation, God both
receives and communicates good.[26]
McClymond and McDermott write, ÒGodÕs self-communication or overflow transpired
from all eternityÓ in the Trinity and then again in the creation of the world.[27]
Expounding upon this idea Jenson quotes from Edwards that ÒÔthe communication
of the happiness of the Son of GodÕÓ is the end of creation.[28]
In connection with JensonÕs point, McClymond and McDermott summarize that God
created the world to manifest ChristÕs beauty,[29]
and Amy Plantinga Pauw cites
Edwards in agreement: ÒÔthe beauty of the world is a communication of GodÕs
beauty.ÕÓ[30] Hence,
God primarily displays His beauty to humans through the created world.
This makes God
the essence of manÕs aesthetic experience. Because GodÕs beauty has touched
humans through the world,[31]
as it images His beauty,[32]
man sees ChristÕs manifold excellencies in nature.[33]
Extending this concept, McClymond and McDermott say, ÒBeauty is the first
principle of beingÓ as the first of GodÕs perfections.[34]
Edwards offers some clarity on this idea in his Religious Affections: ÒThe beauty of all arises from GodÕs moral
perfection. This shows the glory of all GodÕs worksÉÓ[35]
Therefore, since only divine beauty is truly beautiful,[36]
and beauty arises from and abides as first of GodÕs moral perfections, being
one of GodÕs works bestows glory and a form of divine beauty on humanity. Isaiah
60 affirms that God will be the glory, also translated Ôbeauty,Õ of His people,
and that through the work of His hands He will display His beauty.[37]
Pauw identifies that the Òbeauty of the created world
derives from the fact Ôthat God does purposefully make and order one thing to
be in an agreeableness and harmony with another.ÕÓ[38]
This suggests that humanity itself, as one part of GodÕs beauty displayed in
the world, can become a partaker of the divine nature of harmonious agreement
and moral perfection.
In the Trinity,
the overflow of GodÕs love as the fountain of the infinite, harmonious
happiness He has in Himself rises as the source of created beauty.[39]
If, as Lee says, Òevery created entity is to be a repetition or image of GodÕs
beauty,Ó[40]
then the harmony of those entities that are spiritual, and therefore possessing
of divine beauty,[41]
reflects the harmony of the Trinity itself.[42]
Edwards says the harmony of creation ÒÔis indeed a very true picture and shadow
of the real glories of religion,ÕÓ and thence the personal communal harmony of
human souls, other created spirits, and God can be seen as the image of the Trinity
on earth.[43] Practically,
one can express this harmonious beauty of God through music. Edwards believed,
ÒÔThe best, most beautiful, and most perfect way that
we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other, is music.ÕÓ[44]
In his essay ÒThe End is Music,Ó Jenson articulates this idea by saying, Òthe
heart of mutual love is music.Ó[45]
He continues, ÒÔAmiable proportionÕ would be as close to a definition of deity as Edwards wouldÉcome,Ó and Edwards described
singing as amiable because of its proportion.[46]
This returns to the concept that mutual love, which has music at its heart, is
the truest idea of divinity.[47]
The singing in parts that proportionally relate to one another depicts PauwÕs statement that the beauty of the whole is a complex
harmony.[48]
That harmony typifies the divine unity and exquisite proportion found in the
Trinity, which Edwards views as the beauty of God on
display.[49]
Edwards asserts
that God as Trinity ÒÔis the supreme Harmony of all,ÕÓ[50]
of Father, Son, and Spirit.[51]
God exists as the ÔtelosÕ of all beauty:[52]
ÒThe deity of EdwardsÕs God is beautyÉ moreover, [he] isÉbeautiful only because
he is triune,Ó which explains why the Trinity, not simply God the Father or
Christ, is the supreme harmony of
all. Edwards depicts this unanimity as GodÕs infinite mutual love of Himself,
which he also describes as His infinite beauty,[53]
in a communal harmony that can and does embrace others—especially the
Church as ChristÕs bride.[54]
Lee says, ÒIntelligent beings are created so that they can know and love GodÕs
beauty, thereby repeating in time and space GodÕs inter-trinitarian knowing and
loving of beauty.Ó[55]
Thus God, distinguished as such by His divine beauty,[56]
in His Trinitarian nature displays a harmony that He created humans to see,
love and emulate.
When such
intelligent beings appreciate the beauty of God, they participate in the Holy
Spirit as GodÕs infinite beauty.[57]
Because humans lack the natural faculty to perceive God, He provides a
spiritual sense through which He presents divine beauty to their souls.[58]
Pauw refers to this as the ÒinfusionÓ of the Holy
Spirit, which produces true virtue in the saints.[59]
Describing loving affection towards God as the essence of the Holy Spirit,
Louie says, ÒHoliness, which is as it were the beauty and sweetness of the
divine nature, is as much the proper nature of the Holy Spirit, as heat is the
nature of fire.Ó[60] Jenson
indicates that Edwards sees manÕs knowledge and love of God as Òa ÔconformityÕ
to GodÕs holiness, to his knowledge and love of himself.Ó[61]
Again, Pauw reasserts that God enables those indwelt
by the Holy Spirit Òto partake of GodÕs own Ôexcellence and beauty; that is of
holiness, which consists in love.ÕÓ[62]
For Edwards, the ability to partake in the holiness of GodÕs love, excellence
and sweetness through the presence of the Holy Spirit is a joyful, voluntary
engagement in GodÕs beauty.[63]
The beauty of
God, in all its supreme excellence, necessarily impacts humanity. Louie calls
spiritual beauty the Òontological bridgeÓ between God and human beings.[64]
He says, ÒThe triune life of God is the bridge between God and humanity, while
the essence of God makes clear the infinite gap between God and humanity.Ó[65]
By beholding the divine beauty of the triune God and acquiring that same beauty
in oneÕs soul, he partakes in the divine nature,[66]
despite his inherent inability to bridge the gap to God in himself. Edwards
states that nothing pertains to divine things Òbesides the beauty of their
moral excellency,Ó and that Òspiritual understanding consistsÉin a sense of the
heart, of the supreme beauty and sweetness of the holiness or moral perfection
of divine things, together with all that discerning and knowledge of things of
religion, that depends upon, and flows from such a sense.Ó[67]
Hence the saintsÕ participation in the moral excellency
of divine things increases their sense of the beauty of them and their
spiritual understanding of the things of religion, thereby bridging the gap that
exists between God and man. Through this participation in GodÕs triune beauty,
God makes His creatures beautiful[68]
as an extension of the beauty He communicates to them.[69]
Particularly,
this union of beauty that ties God to the world[70]
reveals itself as the Òpeculiar beauty of the church of Christ.Ó[71]
Since the SpiritÕs love binds believers together as a community, the
preeminence of the saintsÕ love must be visible to their neighbors.[72]
Isaiah 60 depicts this as the LORD arising upon His people, His glory being
seen upon them and, as a result, the Ònations shall come to [their] light, and
kings to the brightness of [their] rising.Ó[73]
Such a Christian harmony and beauty that attracts the nations parallels the
harmony of heaven itself.[74]
Edwards says that by seeing the beauty of holiness, men Òunderstand
the true glory of heaven, which consists in the beauty and happiness that is in
holiness.Ó[75] In
that beautiful sight, the saints unite themselves as citizens of a heavenly
kingdom while yet on earth.
As
another outcome of their increased sense of the sweetness of GodÕs perfections,
those who see the beauty of GodÕs holiness will also see the hatefulness of sin.[76]
McClymond and McDermott highlight that the effect of beauty lies in the
affections[77]
of the heart. Due to the impact beauty has on the affections, Edwards weaves it
throughout the end of his Religious
Affections treatise. He argues that a true sense of beauty comes from a
correct ordering of the affections,[78]
and furthers the idea that Òall true experimental knowledge of religionÓ arises
from a sense of spiritual beauty.[79]
Because Edwards believes that spiritual knowledge Òprimarily consists in a
taste or relish [a sense] of the amiableness and beauty of that which is truly
good and holy,Ó[80] and
God gives this spiritual sense to the heart through regeneration, the saints
acquire a beauty that is Òthe moral image of God in them.Ó[81]
This moral image lies in a comprehensive, well-ordered moral and spiritual
character, Òso that they become Ôproportioned Christians.ÕÓ[82]
As such, they possess proportionate taste for GodÕs holiness and distaste for
the filthiness of sin.
Not only will
this view of GodÕs sacrificial love for the undeserving attract the nations and
augment the holiness of the saints, it will also enthrall those who are given
eyes to see that Òineffable beauty.Ó[83]
George M. Marsden says, ÒSeeing the beauty of the redemptive love of Christ as
the true center of reality, they will love God and all that he has createdÓ[84]
as the intrinsic impact such a sight has on the soul. As Louie puts it, ÒGod is
beautiful both in himself and as the redeemer of the world.Ó[85]
His love as redeemer can be described as the principal and original beauty that
then creates love—the virtue in which Edwards sees the true beauty of a
Christian appear[86]—among
rational beings.[87] The
triumph of such a love, irrespective of the nature of the subject, over evil will
cause them to love the goodness and beauty therein.[88]
Furthermore,
beauty not only provides man a bridge to God, a union in the church with His
triune nature, a more perfect ordering of the affections and a profound love
for the beauty of His redemption, but also impacts the course of history. In
his History of the Work of Redemption,
Edwards claims that GodÕs providence in history Òcompletes the glory of all the
elect by Christ, by bringing them to perfect excellency
and beauty in his holy image.Ó This design both advances them in honor and
increases their joy as He unites them with the elect angels in elevated glory
under one head, Jesus Christ.[89]
Knowing that God has a regular and certain end, chiefly the glory of Himself
and of those who believe in Him, Òmay greatly serve to show [man] the
consistency, order, and beauty, of GodÕs works of providence.Ó[90] Edwards later restates
this idea to reemphasize that the existence of a purpose toward which God moves
all of history on earth images His harmonious, orderly and beautiful wisdom.[91] He makes the happiness of
the Son complete in a spouse—whom He acquires by redeeming her as the end
of all creation,[92]
and for which He orchestrates all of history.
Ultimately the
world will come to rest, according to Edwards, in perfect harmony through the
means of its beautiful God. Jenson writes, ÒThe harmony of our love, finally
perfectly harmonized with the supreme harmonyÓ will conclude all things.[93]
God will unite the church, the earthly picture of harmony, to its heavenly
counterpart, the Trinity, through the marriage of the Son to His bride. Edwards
Òdesire[s] that the Ôadmirable contexture and harmony of the wholeÕ of reality
would shine forth, to the glory of the triune God, Ôthe supreme harmony of
all.ÕÓ[94]
In the millennium, toward which all things move in EdwardsÕ view, the whole
world would experience union ÒÔin peace and love in one amiable societyÉknit
together in sweet harmonyÕÓ as one beautifully proportionate body.[95]
In that final orderly harmony, GodÕs triune beauty will most fully shine forth
and His glory cover the earth like water covers the sea.
Thus the
theology and faith of Jonathan Edwards rests heavily upon his perception of
GodÕs beauty as fundamental to His nature. Considering that God infused His
creation with secondary beauties, each form of which reveals various aspects of
the excellent nature of Christ, He enlivens men to the sight of primary
spiritual beauties as well. Edwards saw that the harmonious and proportionate
nature of the natural world mirrors the essence of the Trinity, which possesses
perfect love and unity within itself. Without the communal nature of God
existing with the Holy Spirit as the bond of love between the Father and the
Son, men could not partake in the mutual love of God. Because God communicates
goodness to intellectual beings through creation, and makes His people
beautiful by giving them the Holy Spirit, men can participate in the moral
perfection of God. The Holy Spirit works in the saints to give them the
spiritual sense[96]
that necessarily reorders their affections to enable them to recoil from sin,
gain an understanding of the things of religion and engage in the excellence
and beauty of God. This spiritual beauty given to Christians increases both
their ability and desire to love God and to reflect His glories to their
neighbors. Redemption, being the foremost example of GodÕs love to man,
captures their gaze, while His providence in completing His purpose to unite
all in perfect harmony to Himself displays to them the consistency, order and
beauty of His nature. God thereby accomplishes the fulfillment of all things
through the perfect image of His beauty seen in the union of Christ to the
church. Only then will He, the beautiful God, receive the infinite glory He
deserves.
Bibliography
Jenson, Robert W. AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Jenson, Robert W. ÒThe End is Music.Ó In Edwards in our Time: Jonathan Edwards and
the Shaping of American Religion, edited by Sang Hyun Lee and Allen C. Guelzo, 161-171. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1999.
Lee, Sang Hyun. ÒEdwards on God and Nature:
Resources for Contemporary Theology.Ó In Edwards
in our Time: Jonathan Edwards and the Shaping of American Religion, edited
by Sang Hyun Lee and Allen C. Guelzo, 15-44. Grand
Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999.
Louie, Kin Yip. The Beauty of the Triune God: The Theological Aesthetics of Jonathan
Edwards. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013.
Marsden, George M. Jonathan Edwards: A Life. New Haven:
Yale University Press, 2003.
McClymond, Michael J. and Gerald R. McDermott. The Theology of Jonathan Edwards. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2012.
Pauw, Amy Plantinga. The Supreme Harmony of All: The Trinitarian
Theology of Jonathan Edwards. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
2002.
Works of Jonathan Edwards used and referenced:
Concerning the Secondary and Inferior Kind of
Beauty; Accessed Nov. 2015 http://edwards.yale.edu/archive?path=aHR0cDovL2Vkd2FyZHMueWFsZS5lZHUvY2dpLWJpbi9uZXdwaGlsby9nZXRvYmplY3QucGw/Yy43OjY6Mi53amVv
A
Treatise Concerning Religious Affections; Accessed Nov.
2015
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/affections.pdf
The History of the Work of Redemption; Accessed Nov. 2015
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/works1.xii.html
A Divine and Supernatural Light;
Accessed Nov. 2015
http://www.ccel.org/e/edwards/sermons/supernatural_light.html
[1] Jonathan Edwards, ÒConcerning
the Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó 561 and 565.
[2] Sang Hyun Lee, ÒEdwards on God
and Nature: Resources for Contemporary Theology,Ó in Edwards in our Time: Jonathan Edwards and the Shaping of American
Religion, ed. Sang Hyun Lee and Allen C. Guelzo
(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), 31.
[3] Edwards, ÒConcerning the
Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó 561-562.
[4] Kin Yip Louie, The Beauty of the Triune God: The Theological Aesthetics of Jonathan Edwards (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013), 57.
[5] Edwards, ÒConcerning the
Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó 563.
[6] Ibid., 565.
[7] Robert W. Jenson, AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of
Jonathan Edwards (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), 16.
[8] Edwards, ÒConcerning the Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó 564.
[9] Lee, 31.
[10] Edwards, ÒConcerning the
Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó 565.
[11] Ibid.,
573.
[12] Ibid., 566; also note that
Michael J. McClymond and Gerald R. McDermott argue that Edwards linked beauty
to his concept of proportion in their book on page 96.
[13] Louie, 80.
[14] Edwards, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections,
365.
[15] Edwards, ÒConcerning the Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó 567.
[16] Louie, 60.
[17] Louie, 62.
[18] Edwards, ÒConcerning the Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó 567.
[19] Jenson, AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards, 20.
[20] McClymond and McDermott state this concept in a slightly different way: all beauty comes from a similarity or identity of relations, 97.
[21] Also note that uniformity and
proportion can be found in immaterial things such as wisdom, justice and virtue
(Edwards, ÒConcerning the Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó 568-569). He
defines wisdom as a united tendency of thoughts, ideas, etc. to one general
purpose, which McClymond and McDermott restate as a sweet mutual consent
between people, 94. This mutual consent is the harmony or uniformity that
Edwards sees as beautiful. He defines justice as the agreement of different
things that have relation to one another in nature, and virtue as an agreement
of inclinations/action with truth—both of which are further forms of the
Òsame sort of beauty.Ó
[22] Edwards, ÒConcerning the Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó 571.
[23] Edwards, ÒConcerning the Secondary and Inferior Kind of Beauty,Ó 572.
[24] McClymond and McDermott, 95.
[25] Louie, 76.
[26] Louie, 75.
[27] McClymond and McDermott, 5 and
97.
[28] Jenson, AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards, 42.
[29] McClymond and McDermott, 95.
[30] Amy Plantinga
Pauw, The
Supreme Harmony of All: The Trinitarian Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Grand
Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002), 83.
[31] Louie, 82.
[32] Jenson, AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards, 17.
[33] Lee, 32.
[34] McClymond and McDermott, 5.
[35] Edwards, A
Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, 273.
[36] Louie, 82.
[37] Isaiah 60:19 and 21, English
Standard Version, Holy Bible.
[38] Pauw, 81.
[39] McClymond and McDermott highlight that his beauty is created, not discovered, 8.
[40] Lee, 40.
[41] Louie discusses that the beauty
of spiritual beings is also divine, 82-83.
[42] Jenson, AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards, 19.
[43] Jenson quotes Edwards, AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards, 17.
[44] Jenson quotes Edwards, AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards, 20.
[45] Robert W. Jenson, ÒThe End is
Music,Ó in Edwards in our Time: Jonathan
Edwards and the Shaping of American Religion, edited by Sang Hyun Lee and
Allen C. Guelzo (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1999), 169.
[46] Jenson, ÒThe End is Music,Ó 170.
[47] See page four and footnote 24.
[48] Pauw,
84.
[49] In Isaiah 60:21, God says that
the branch of His planting, the work
[50] Jenson quotes Edwards, AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of
Jonathan Edwards, 91.
[51] Jenson, ÒThe End is Music,Ó 166.
[52] Louie, 62.
[53] Pauw
cites Edwards, 83.
[54] Jenson, ÒThe End is Music,Ó 166.
[55] Lee, 20.
[56] Pauw
quotes Edwards, 85.
[57] Louie, 83.
[58] Louie, 87-88.
[59] Pauw,
153.
[60] Louie, 89.
[61] Jenson, AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards, 40.
[62] Pauw,
182-183.
[63] McClymond and McDermott, 5.
[64] Louie, 91.
[65] Louie, 94.
[66] Louie, 92.
[67] Edwards, A Treatise
Concerning Religious Affections, 272.
[68] Isaiah 60:9 affirms that God will
make His people beautiful.
[69] McClymond and McDermott, 96-97.
[70] McClymond and McDermott, 5.
[71] McClymond and McDermott, 101.
[72] Pauw,
166.
[73] Isaiah 60:1-3, English Standard
Version, Holy Bible.
[74] Pauw, 169.
[75] Edwards, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, 274.
[76] Edwards, A
Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, 274.
[77] McClymond and McDermott, 99.
[78] Louie accentuates this point on
page 63.
[79] Edwards, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, 275.
[80] Edwards, A
Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, 281.
[81] McClymond and McDermott, 99-100.
[82] McClymond and McDermott, 100.
[83] George M. Marsden, Jonathan Edwards: A Life (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003), 505.
[84] Marsden, 505.
[85] Louie, 94.
[86] Pauw, 166.
[87] Pauw,
82.
[88] Marsden, 505.
[89] Edwards, History of the Work of
Redemption, 3.10.
[90] Edwards, History of the Work of
Redemption, 3.10.4.
[91] Edwards, History of the Work of
Redemption, 3.10.4.
[92] Jenson, AmericaÕs Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards, 41-42.
[93] Jenson, ÒThe End is Music,Ó 170.
[94] Pauw,
89.
[95] Pauw quotes Edwards, 175.
[96] Aside from what has already been
discussed regarding this spiritual sense, Edwards also says in ÒA Divine and
Supernatural LightÓ that a sense of the heart, not reason, perceives beauty,
and that the immediately imparted light to the soul from God is an emanation of
His beauty that enables the creature to participate in the Deity.