Before I went to sleep last night, I read a little more of Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections. This guy is incredible. My history of love for all things Piper has helped me ease into the difficulty of reading Edwards, but I find him nevertheless fascinating.
This book is Edward’s critique of the Great Awakening, that great renewal of religious fervor in the mid-18th century which resulted in fueling New England students, laypeople, pastors, and missionaries with a passion for God. Edwards was well aware people were taking things a bit far, and also that others thought that affections from a genuine work of grace were fake. He wanted to address what the true nature of religious affections (Christian emotions) were. He spends his introduction explaining terms, Part I explaining the nature of religious affections, Part II explaining what they are not, and Part III explaining what they are. So far I have been enamored with it, about a quarter of the way through and just starting Part III.
Last night, Edwards addressed something that has bothered me for some time, the idea of “rhemas” (from the Greek word rhema meaning “word” or “specific word”) being special revelations of God to us in His Word to give us specific direction for a specific task. It’s like a couple is trying to decide whether they should buy a piece of land, and check it out! They pick up their Bible and find: “See, the LORD your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deut 1:21) God must have given us a specific word to tell us what to do!
I’m simplifying it (perhaps oversimplifying), but in practice this would be a prime example of how “rhemas” operate. God speaks directly to you as you read His word every day with a specific promise. What Edwards said as I read last night sounded off the alarms in my head.
But let it be observed what it is that I say, viz., when this effect, even the immediate and extraordinary manner of words of Scripture’s coming to the mind, is that which excites the affections, and is properly the foundation of them, then these affections are not spiritual.
What he means is, what excites and thrills a person is the fact that God has spoken a special word to him, and is this thrilling fact of revelation that is the the foundation of his excitement. These are not spiritual, says Edwards. “Why?” I asked.
It may be so, that persons may have gracious affections going with Scriptures which come to their minds, and the Spirit of God may make use of those Scriptures to excite them; when it is some spiritual sense, taste or relish they have of the divine and excellent things contained in those Scriptures, that is the thing which excites their affections, and not the extraordinary and sudden manner of words being brought to their minds.
If you are somewhat confused like I can get, I sometimes find reading him aloud helps. :o) What he means is, a true act of grace in a person’s heart may be brought about by God bringing Scriptures to mind, but it is not the manner in which they are brought up; rather, it is the content the Scriptures contain. It is the objective, universal truth of the Scripture that is the foundation of their joy, not that they got a subjective “message” from God, ignoring the context and other obvious facts.
They are affected with the instruction they receive from the words, and the view of the glorious things of God or Christ, and things appertaining to them, that they contain and teach; and not because the words came suddenly, as though some person had spoken them to them, thence concluding that God did as it were immediately speak to them.
Powerful stuff. He goes on with a problem that existed in his day, and I believe exists now:
Persons oftentimes are exceedingly affected on this foundation; the words of some great and high promises of Scripture came suddenly to their minds, and they look upon the words as directed immediately by God to them, as though the words that moment proceeded out of the mouth of God as spoken to them: so that they take it as a voice from God, immediately revealing to them their happy circumstances, and promising such and such great things to them: and this it is that effects and elevates them. There is no near spiritual understanding of the divine things contained in the Scripture, or new spiritual sense of the glorious things taught in that part of the Bible going before their affection, and being the foundation of it. All the new understanding they have, or think they have, to be the foundation of their affection, is this: that the words are spoken to them, because they come so suddenly and extraordinarily. And so this affection is built wholly on the sand!
Another way of illustrating this is that you could pick up an encyclopedia, the complete works of Shakespeare, or any poetic book and read something that seems to apply directly to your situation. A girl who has recently experienced rejection from her lover might read, “Come, lady, die to live: this wedding-day perhaps is but prolong’d: have patience and endure,” and then be excited to hope that it will all work out. Anyone can conceive of this, it doesn’t take God to do this. This is the sand! The Bible and Shakespeare are treated as the same way.
[And so this affection is built wholly on the sand!] Because it is built on a conclusion for which they have no foundation. For, as has been shown, the sudden coming of the words to their minds, is no evidence that the bringing them to their minds in that manner was from God. And if it was true that God brought the words to their minds, and they certainly knew it, that would not be spiritual knowledge; it may be without any spiritual sense: Balaam might know that the words which God suggested to him, were indeed suggested to him by God, and yet have no spiritual knowledge.
Letting you breath. This is hard work, but it’s worth it.
So that these affections which are built on that notion, that texts of Scripture are sent immediately from God, are built on no spiritual foundation, and are vain and delusive. Persons who have their affections thus raised, if they should be inquired of, whether they have and new sense of the excellency of things contained in those Scriptures, would probably say, Yes, without hesitation: but it is true no otherwise than thus, that then they have taken up that notion, that the words are spoken immediately to them, that makes them seem sweet to them, and they own the things which these Scriptures say to them, for excellent things and wonderful things.
In other words, it could be pure coincidence (if there is such a thing) that someone reads a passage of Scripture and thinks it applies to them. I could be pondering whether I should pursue a relationship with someone, and just randomly open up my Bible, and lo and behold! it opens to Song of Solomon! Oh, it’s a good book! That must mean something!
As for instance supposing these were the words which were suddenly brought to their minds, Fear not, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom; they having confidently taken up a notion that the words were as it were immediately spoken from heaven to them, as an immediate revelation that God was their Father, and had given the kingdom to them, they are greatly affected by it, and the words seem sweet to them; and oh, they say, “they are excellent things that are contained in those words!” But the reason why the promise seems excellent to them, is only because they think it is made to them immediately; all the sense they have of any glory in them, is only from self- love, and from their own imagined interest in the words; not that they had any view or sense of the holy and glorious nature of the kingdom of heaven and the spiritual glory of that God who gives it, and of his excellent grace to sinful men, it offering and giving them this kingdom, of his own good pleasure preceding their imagined interest in these things, and their being affected by them, and being the foundation of their affection, and hope of an interest in them. On the contrary, they first imagine they are interested, and then are highly affected with that, and then can own these things to be excellent. So that the sudden and extraordinary way of the Scripture’s coming to their mind is plainly the first foundation of the whole; which is a clear evidence of the wretched delusion they are under.
Wow. How to conclude that?
I am being challenged by this book to take my Bible study more seriously, to plead with God to show me His glory more passionately, and to pursue a life of love which proves I have indeed been born of God. God’s words are in themselves beautiful, if only the eyes of our hearts would be opened.
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