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Edwards the Exegete: Biblical Interpretation and Anglo-Protestant Culture on the Edge of the Enlightenment
Douglas Sweeney
Oxford University Press (2016). 391 pp.
Jonathan Edwards has long been recognized for his contribution to theology and the spiritual life in the Protestant Reformed church in America, but Douglas Sweeney suggests that his contribution to the exegesis of Scripture is just as significant a contribution, yet largely ignored. Edwards the Exegete is Sweeney’s attempt to introduce, explain, and even promote the exegetical presuppositions and practices of Jonathan Edwards. Sweeney divides the book into five parts (with two chapters each) that cover key aspects of Edwards’ exegetical presuppositions, principles, and practices. A brief summary of Sweeney’s description of the most significant aspects of Edwards’ exegesis is in order.
First, Edwards was driven and directed, according to Sweeney, by a robust doctrine of Scripture (ch. 2). Not only does this mean the Bible is to be taken more seriously than any other book, but also that the Bible should be interpreted according to itself primarily. In Edwards’ words, the Bible “is more sufficient for itself by far than any other book. Both the use and force of its own phrases is more fully learned from the Scriptures themselves, and also the customs and state of things on which interpretation mainly depends” (p. 41). Edwards was even hesitant to rely on ancient background material—the “holy grail” of contemporary exegesis (p. 42), since it might misdirect the reading of a text that Scripture itself would direct elsewhere.
Second, because of the unique nature of Scripture, its two-canon form is not only significant but also harmoniously interrelated (ch. 3). As Sweeney explains regarding Edwards’ canonical perspective, “God designed the Word as a symphony, a single body of work with themes that do involve dissonance, crisis, and suspense, but resolve in glorious harmony for those who hear the end” (p. 57). This allowed Edwards to perform variations of a single theme in different parts of Scripture. Sweeney paints a beautiful picture of the canonically-expressed passion of Edwards: “He had a way of weaving canonical webs more quickly than the most industrious spider spins her craft” (p. 90). Edwards’ canonical exegesis forced him not to limit the meaning of a particular text to the understanding of the historical author rather than the divine author. “If exponents of the canon kept themselves within the purview of the penmen of its parts, they would not perceive the harmony of the Old and New Testament” (p. 66). Though he never wrote one, Edwards’ was working from a “comprehensive biblical theology” (p. 74) in everything he did in Scripture.
Third, if the canonical form of Scripture is significant, so is its Christological focus (chs. 5 and 7). For Edwards, the “tragicomic story was the Bible’s main theme…, and Christ, the Messiah, was the Bible’s main subject” (p. 97). The Bible is overflowing with the gospel of Jesus Christ and “the overarching story of redemption in and through the secular world” (p. 138), and for this reason a proper reading of the Bible was Christological from start to finish. As Sweeney explains, with many of his contemporaries, “Edwards seemed to find Christ under every biblical rock, in every biblical nook and cranny—an obsession, many would say today, that carried him away” (p. 111). But in Sweeney’s view, Edwards was simply being consistent with the true subject matter of the Bible. For him, the entire canon “hangs together by the providence of God on the person and work of Christ” (p. 125).
Finally, Edwards, according to Sweeney, made the goal of his exegesis of Scripture Christian discipleship and human flourishing (ch. 9). Edwards the Exegete was first and foremost “a clergyman and teacher” (p. 188). Exegesis was not a disciplinary end in itself, but a path leading to theological formulation in doctrine and practice. Proof of this is how just under half—or forty percent, to be exact—of Edwards’ sermon manuscripts were spent on application (p. 194). For Edwards, the truth of Scripture is not simply known, it is lived out, “showing the goodness, truth, and beauty of the Bible in the world” (p. 201).
Sweeney has provided both the academy and the church with a rich introduction and explanation of the interpretive method of Jonathan Edwards. This exegetical biography, if it can be described that way, provides a beautiful portrait of an exegesis that is robustly biblical, Christological, canonical, and pastoral. It presents Edwards not as a scientist of the text but a shepherd of the church; and it models the kind of exegesis that is, or should be, comfortably at home in the church. This is not to deny or ignore the two-and-a-half centuries that separate the contemporary exegete from Edwards, but to exhort a rejuvenated exegesis that springs from an elevated doctrine of Scripture and the gospel. If nothing else, Sweeney has reminded the modern exegete, the pastor, that the exegetical task belongs first and foremost to the church, and that two centuries of the all-encompassing approach of the academy, with the “science-based” universities coming to life shortly after Edwards’ death, cannot deny or erase that the Bible is the church’s book. The Bible is not like any other book, and an appropriate exegetical method must align with its divine author and purpose. As Sweeney suggests, “to those who dare to hope that God is speaking in the Scriptures, Edwards may have something yet to offer that can help” (pp. 222–23).
Sweeney’s analysis of the major aspects of Edwards’ exegesis, combined with several key and often extended examples from his over 1,200 sermons or pages from notes, provides a rich resource for numerous academic disciplines—not only for both theological and biblical studies, but also for practical theology. As significant as this contribution is, however, it is more like a foray into an important topic that still require more workers and writers to explore fully Edwards’ massive exegetical sermons and notes. We might even describe this monograph as a reconnaissance mission that helps establish Edwards’ exegesis as important and necessary to continue exploring as the theology it produces. This is not to say that Sweeney failed in his task. It is to say, rather, that more work is needed, especially work that will engage with more specific aspects of contemporary exegesis in light of the exegesis of Edwards. Sweeney himself suggests as much in his closing sentence: “Time will tell, some expect, that the present-day renaissance of interest in theological exegesis of Scripture will enable us to make good on Edwards’ biblical writings, recovering his tools while avoiding his mistakes” (p. 223). The contemporary church does seem to be on a quest to reclaim a theological exegesis of the Word of God, and it would be foolish not to seek the wisdom of Edwards, a pastor theologian who offers the church “a learned and creative model of biblical exposition that is critical and edifying, historical and spiritual” (p. 223). Hopefully, like Edwards’ view of the goal of exegesis, Sweeney’s contribution is not an end in itself, but a forged path leading to more faithful and fruitful exegesis of the Bible.
Mickey Klink (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is the Senior Pastor of Hope Evangelical Free Church in Roscoe, IL. He is a Senior Fellow of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
