Selected Sermons of Jonathan EdwardsEdwards, Jonathan
Religion
Selected Sermons of Jonathan Edwards
Edwards, Jonathan
Congregational churches -- Sermons; Edwards, Jonathan, 1703-1758; Sermons, American
If Christ should now appear to any one as he did on the mount at his
transfiguration; or if he should appear to the world in the glory that he
now appears in in heaven as he will do at the day of judgment; without
doubt, the glory and majesty that he would appear in, would be such as
would satisfy every one that he was a divine person, and that religion was
true: and it would be a most reasonable and well grounded conviction too.
And why may there not be that stamp of divinity or divine glory on the
word of God, on the scheme and doctrine of the gospel, that may be in
like manner distinguishing and as rationally convincing, provided it be
but seen! 'Tis rational to suppose that when God speaks to the world,
there should be something in his word or speech vastly different from
men's word. Supposing that God never had spoken to the world, but we had
noticed that he was about to do it; that he was about to reveal himself
from heaven and speak to us immediately himself, in divine speeches or
discourses, as it were from his own mouth, or that he should give us a
book of his own inditing: after what manner should we expect that he would
speak? Would it not be rational to suppose that his speech would be
exceeding different from men's speech, that he should speak like a God;
that is, that there should be such an excellency and sublimity in his
speech or word, such a stamp of wisdom, holiness, majesty and other divine
perfections, that the word of men, yea of the wisest of men, should appear
mean and base in comparison of it? Doubtless it would be thought rational
to expect this, and unreasonable to think otherwise. When a wise man
speaks in the exercise of his wisdom, there is something in every thing he
says that is very distinguishable from the talk of a little child. So,
without doubt, and much more, is the speech of God (if there be any such
thing as the speech of God) to be distinguished from that of the wisest of
men; agreeable to Jer. xxiii. 28, 29. God having there been reproving the
false prophets that prophesied in his name and pretended that what they
spake was his word, when indeed it was their own word, says, "The prophet
that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him
speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.
Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that
breaketh the rock in pieces?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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