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What Is the Glory and Name of God? | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to the Reform Thinking podcast.
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I am your host and sitting across from me today is our
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resident theology expert. We are really glad you're
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joining. Us.
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Yes, Hello everyone, it is. It is great to be here.
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We have a lot to cover today. We sure do.
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So I want you, the listener, to think about something right off
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the bat. You probably sang the phrase
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glory to God maybe two or three times last Sunday.
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Oh. Easily.
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Right. You read it in the Psalms, you
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hear it in prayers, and it echoes through, well, almost
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every piece of Christian liturgy you ever encounter.
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It happens all the time. It is ubiquitous, yeah.
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But imagine if someone handed you a blank piece of paper and a
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pen right in the middle of a church service.
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Like they they stopped the music and said, write down a strict,
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precise, biblical definition of what that specific phrase
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actually means. What would you put on that
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paper? That would be a terrifying
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moment for most people, I think. Absolutely.
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Because for most of us, if we are being completely honest, we
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have a vague sort of fuzzy idea floating around in our heads.
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We know it has to do with God being great, right?
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Right. Yeah, we know it is a very good
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thing. We know we are supposed to give
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it to him. Yes, but the specific contours
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of the definition are, well, they are entirely blurry.
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So today we are doing a deep dive into a brilliant
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theological text by Jonathan Edwards.
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The goal is to sharpen that definition until it cuts.
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And we're going to apply a Strict Reformed Westminster
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Confession lens to his linguistic analysis.
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Spot on. We're looking at what the Bible
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means when it talks about the glory of God and the name of
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God. So how do we tackle this?
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Well, we have a very clear, logical progression for this
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deep dive, drawn straight from the text Edwards provided.
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Think about it like tracing a ray of sunlight back to its
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source. OK, I like that visual.
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And then, you know, watching where that light lands.
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So we will start by analyzing the Hebrew roots of the word
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glory. We will look at how it
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originally describes a reality entirely internal to God.
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Meaning something that exists inside of him.
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Yes, specifically physical weight and infinite abundance.
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Then we will track how that immense internal reality refuses
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to stay hidden. It emanates outward in the form
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of shining light. And that light is something
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specific, right? Yes, Edwards proves it is the
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actual communication of God's grace to creatures.
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After that, we will look at how that emanation is received by
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the creature. Through knowledge and praise, I
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assume. You got it.
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Knowledge, high esteem, and joyful praise.
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And finally, we will link this entire structural concept to the
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biblical phrase the name of God. OK, that makes sense.
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Yeah. Proving from the text that name
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and glory signify the very same reality in Scripture.
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Wow. OK, let us start right at the
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core, looking at this concept of internal weight, because Edwards
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takes a street to the Hebrew language in the Old Testament to
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ground this fuzzy concept into something incredibly concrete.
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It really does. When you look at the original
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linguistics, you realize very quickly that the ancient writers
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were not thinking about abstract floating concepts, they were
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thinking about physical properties.
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So what does the text show us about the root of this word we
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all think we understand? The linguistic reality Edwards
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highlights is absolutely fascinating.
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The Hebrew root verb, or the adjective it derives from,
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literally signifies to be heavy, to make heavy, or to be weighty.
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Wait, like actual pounds and oz? Yes, physical gravity.
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So the primary signification of glory in the Hebrew mind is
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literal physical heaviness, density, and greatness.
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Edwards provides several specific examples from the whole
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testament to demonstrate this literal physical meaning before
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he even gets to the theological application.
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I love when he does that, building the case from the
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ground up. Right.
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For instance, he cites Proverbs chapter 27, verse 3.
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That text talks about the heaviness of a stone or the
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weight of sand. He also references Second Samuel
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chapter 14 verse 26, which is kind of a funny text.
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Oh, is that the one about Absalom?
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Yes. It discusses the physical weight
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of Absalom's hair. When Absalom cut his hair, he
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weighed it and it possessed a significant physical mass.
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The word used there connects to this idea of glory as weight.
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That is such a bizarre but helpful detail.
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It really is. Edwards also points to Exodus
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chapter 19, verse 16. In that passage, the Latin
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Vulgate actually translates the Hebrew to describe a dense
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cloud, a highly thick, heavy cloud, descending on Mount
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Sinai. So the core idea is that glory
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denotes A literal physical mass. Yes, that is the root of the
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word. And then Edwards draws a
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brilliant contrast. He contrasts this physical idea
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of weight with its moral or spiritual opposite.
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Which would be lightness I assume.
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Precisely in the Hebrew idiom, to be light is to be worthless,
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without value or contemptible. He points to Judges Chapter 9,
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verse 4 where the text speaks of light persons.
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Meaning worthless or vain individuals.
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Right. Or consider the striking story
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of Belshazzar in Daniel chapter 5, verse 27.
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The writing on the wall declares that he is weighed in the
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balances and found light. Oh wow, I never connected that
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before. It is a profound, well, a
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massive realization. His moral vileness and lack of
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substance are exposed in the sight of God.
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To have glory is to have density.
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To lack glory is to be weightless and therefore
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entirely worthless. I love that you brought up the
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idea of literal mass, because this brings to mind a physical
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analogy that helps make sense of this for the listener.
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We can compare divine glory to physical gravity.
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OK, let us hear. Think about how gravity
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functions in the physical universe.
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An object with massive density, like say a supermassive star or
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a black hole. It creates an immense
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gravitational pull that bends the fabric of space-time and
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orders everything around it. That is very true.
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The heavier the object, the greater its gravitational
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influence. It anchors the whole system when
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we apply this physical property to God.
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His internal weight, His inherent Excellency, gives him
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absolute supreme worth. Everything else is pulled toward
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it. Yes, and everything else in the
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entire universe is light by comparison.
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God is the infinitely dense center of reality, and
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everything else orbits around his massive, weighty existence.
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That is a highly accurate way to visualize Edward's point.
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God's gravity is his internal reality.
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And this strictly aligns with our Reformed theology regarding
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God's absolute sovereignty and His total self-sufficiency.
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I mean, think about it. Before creation even existed,
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before there was a single Angel to sing his praises or a single
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star to emit light, God possessed infinite weight within
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himself. He did not need a universe to
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make him heavy. Spot on.
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He is entirely self-contained in his magnitude.
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His glory is not something we give him to increase his mass.
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His mass is an eternal independent reality.
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We do not add anything to. Him, right?
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But weight is a physical property related to gravity.
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Edwards does not stop there, does he?
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He also links this internal glory to a different kind of
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accumulation, specifically abundance and possessions.
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That is correct, and it flows perfectly from the concept of
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being heavy. Edwards details how internal
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glory is often described in Scripture as possessions,
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riches, or a great height of prosperity like.
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Having a lot of stuff. Yes.
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In the ancient Near East, wealth was not a digital number on a
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screen. Wealth consisted of heavy
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things, flocks, herds, gold, silver, green.
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To be wealthy was to be literally weighed down with
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goods. That paints a very clear
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picture. Edwards draws from numerous
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texts to establish this connection between heaviness and
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having an abundance of goods. In Genesis chapter 31 verse one,
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Jacob's sons complain that Jacob has taken away all that was
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their fathers, and the text says from their father's possessions
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he has gotten all this glory. So the flocks and herds are
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directly called glory. Yes, literally.
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In Esther chapter 5 verse 11, Haman is boasting to his
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friends, and the text specifically notes that he
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boasts about the glory of his riches.
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The heavyweight of his silver and gold.
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Exactly. Well, yes, that is the point.
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We see it again in Psalm 49, verses 16 and 17, which advises
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the reader not to be afraid. When a man is made rich, when
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the glory of his house is increased, because when he died
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he shall carry nothing away, his glory shall not descend after
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him. Because you cannot take heavy
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physical things into the grave. Right.
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The text demonstrates that anyone who possesses abundance
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is considered heavy, while the empty and destitute are
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considered light, and this application of glory to
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prosperity and a fullness of good continues right into the
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New Testament. Where do we see that?
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Edwards points to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, verse 17.
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That verse speaks of working out for us a far more exceeding and
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eternal weight of glory. The heaviness is explicitly tied
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to a fullness, a state of possessing all good things.
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Wait, I have to stop you there and push back on this a bit.
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OK, go ahead. We have a tension here that
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might confuse A listener. We read constant warnings in
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Scripture about wealth. Jesus warns about the
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deceitfulness of riches. Paul says the love of money is
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the root of all evil. Earthly wealth is frequently
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portrayed as a massive spiritual stumbling block.
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It is, yeah. Edwards even quotes Matthew
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chapter 4 verse 8. That is where Satan takes Jesus
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to a high mountain, shows him all the kingdoms of the world,
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and shows him the glory of them. The wealth and the massive scale
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of those kingdoms, yes. So how can the Holy Spirit use
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the language of material riches, earthly kingdoms, and the very
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things Satan uses as temptations to describe the pure holy
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concept of divine glory? How does Edwards square that?
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That is a vital objection. Edwards resolves it by focusing
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on the difference between a shadow and the true substance.
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A shadow and a substance. OK, unpack that.
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Edwards clarifies that the text uses these earthly examples of
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fullness to point to an infinitely greater perfect
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reality, God's total completeness.
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Earthly wealth is a corrupted, temporary shadow of true
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abundance. I see when a human seeks earthly
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wealth, they're trying to cure their own internal lightness or
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emptiness with temporary things. But when Scripture speaks of the
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riches of God's glory, it is communicating that God naturally
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lacks nothing. He does not need to gather
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flocks or gold to be full. Right.
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He possesses a pure fullness of good.
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In general, His Excellency consists in both greatness and
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beauty. Conjunctly earthly kingdoms and
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material riches, despite their fallen nature in human hands,
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are the best vocabulary. Human language has to express a
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state of being completely full. To possess all things and lack
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absolutely no good thing. Yes, God does not acquire
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wealth. He he has infinite abundance
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within himself. He is the source of all value.
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So the language of riches is redeemed to describe his total
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self-sufficiency. That makes perfect sense.
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The human desire for wealth is actually a twisted desire for
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the internal weight that only God possesses.
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We are light, so we try to pile up gold to make ourselves heavy,
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but God is already infinitely heavy.
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Precisely. But here is the turning point in
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Edwards's argument. Infinite density and such
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limitless abundance cannot remain hidden forever.
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It is too massive to stay concealed.
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Right by its very nature, such immense internal reality must
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radiate outward. The hidden fullness must become
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visible, and this moves us to Edwards is the second major
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definition of glory. This is where the concept shifts
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from a stationary object to an active force.
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The focus now moves from what is strictly internal to what is
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external. Glory is used in Scripture to
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express the exhibition, emanation, or communication of
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that internal reality. The shining fourth, yeah.
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The primary biblical metaphor for this hour communication is
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an effulgence or shining beams of light.
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We are moving from the hidden dense weight to the visible
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blinding brightness. It is a very visual shift.
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So what are the key texts Edwards uses to illustrate this
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specific emanation? Edwards lists several key texts
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to demonstrate the shining brightness, showing how the
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internal weight becomes a visible external reality.
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In Ezekiel chapter one, verse 28, the prophet describes a
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vision of God. Ezekiel has some of the most
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vivid visions. He says the appearance of the
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brightness roundabout was as the appearance of the likeness of
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the glory of the Lord. The brightness itself is the
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glory. Wow.
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OK in Isaiah chapter 6 verses one through 3, the prophet sees
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the Lord sitting upon a throne and the seraphim cry out that
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the whole earth is full of his glory.
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We see the exact same language in Lew chapter 2 verse 9.
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The Christian story. Yes, when the Angel appears to
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the shepherds in the field, the glory of the Lord shone round
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about them. Edwards also notes how the
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shining of Moses's face in Second Corinthians chapter 3,
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verse 7 is called the glory of his countenance.
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So the light hitting Moses and reflecting off him is called
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glory. Yes.
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In all these instances the internal weight becomes external
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visible light. The density becomes a radiance.
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I want to look closely at the specific wording in the New
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Testament because the vocabulary there makes this outward
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radiation incredibly vivid. Edwards points us to Hebrews
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chapter one verse 3 and 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, verses 4
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through 6. Those are crucial verses.
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In these passages, Christ is called the brightness of his
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glory in the image of God. Let us return to the physics
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analogy for a second. Think about the sun in the sky.
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The core of the Sun is incredibly dense, possessing
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massive gravity and unimaginable heat.
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Right, it is super heavy. Looking at the sun score
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directly is impossible. Its internal density would blind
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and consume you instantly. You cannot grasp its internal
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weight, you cannot touch it. But we experienced the reality
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of the sun through its emanating rays.
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The light and the heat. Yes, the light and heat that
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travel across space and touch the earth.
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Without those rays, the sun would be a hidden reality to us.
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Similarly, the Father's internal weight, His infinite abundance,
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is hidden from us. We could never approach it
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directly. No, we would be consumed, but it
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is made visible and experiential to us through the emanation of
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Christ. Christ is the shining brightness
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of that internal hidden density. He is the ray of light carrying
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the heat of the Father to us. The transition from the Old
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Testament to the New Testament illustrates your analogy
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perfectly. Edwards points us to the Old
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Testament, where the glory of God was often a visible physical
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effulgence. Like the pillar of fire?
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Yes, it was the pillar of cloud in the wilderness, or the
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blindingly bright cloud that filled the inner sanctuary of
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the Tabernacle. It was terrifying and
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unapproachable. The high priest could only go in
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once a year. Exactly and even then with smoke
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to cover his eyes, but then second Corinthians chapter 3
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verse 18 speaks of beholding as in a glass the glory of the
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Lord. And chapter 4, verse 6 says God
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has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
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the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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So we move from a physical cloud of blinding light to the very
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face of the Savior. That is a massive shift for you,
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the listener, to visualize. It is stunning.
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And this shining light is not just a visual spectacle designed
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to impress us. If I am standing in the sun, the
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light does not just look pretty. It warms my skin.
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It causes plants to grow. It actually communicates
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physical energy to the Earth. It does something active.
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According to Edward's text, the light of God's glory actually
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carries something tangible to the believer.
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It communicates God's character. This is where we reach the
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absolute heart of Reformed theology and Edward's argument.
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The word glory is used interchangeably with God's
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abundant goodness and grace. The light is the grace.
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Yes, Edwards proves this by comparing 2 specific verses in
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the book of Ephesians. In Ephesians chapter 3 verse 16,
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Paul prays that God would grant the believers strength according
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to the riches of his glory. OK, riches of his glory.
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But earlier in Ephesians chapter one, verse 7, Paul talks about
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redemption according to the riches of his grace.
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Edwards argues that these expressions are entirely
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equivalent. The glory is the grace.
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So when God is glorious, he is being gracious.
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Right. Edwards then works meticulously
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through Romans Chapter 9, verses 22 and 23.
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In these verses, Paul explains that God makes known two things,
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His great wrath on the vessels of wrath and His abundant grace
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on the vessels of mercy. Two very distinct actions.
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But Paul specifically calls this grace the riches of his glory.
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The act of showing mercy is the act of exhibiting glory.
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Furthermore, Edwards points to Moses in Exodus chapter 33,
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verse 18. What happens there?
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Moses asks God a direct question.
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He says, I beseech thee, show me thy glory.
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God answers that request by saying, I will make all my
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goodness pass before thee. Goodness equals glory.
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Yes, God's glory emanating outward is literally His
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goodness and grace being communicated to creatures.
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We need to slow down and carefully dissect the argument
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Edwards makes from John chapter 12 verses 23 through 32 because
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this is a crucial focal point for understanding the entire
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text. It is the lynchpin of his whole
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point here. In this passage Christ speaks of
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his impending suffering and death on the cross.
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He says the hour has come that the Son of Man should be
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glorified. He links the cross to glory.
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Yes, and then he immediately uses the illustration of a corn
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of wheat falling into the ground and dying.
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He says that if the wheat dies, it brings forth much fruit.
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So Christ's death is aimed at obtaining God's glory.
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The cross is the glorification. Which sounds backward to human
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logic. It does, but simultaneously.
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As the text explicitly states, the cross is aimed at the
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salvation of men, which is the much fruit.
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Edwards asserts that it is quite unnatural to view these as two
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distinct goals. That is the core paradox Edwards
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solves. Human logic wants to separate
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those two things. We think God has a primary goal
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to glorify himself and a secondary, distinct goal to save
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human beings. Right.
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Wait, yes. That is the split we make in our
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heads. We think God glorifying himself
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is 1 activity and God redeeming sinners is a completely separate
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activity. You put them in two different
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columns. But Edwards crushes that
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division. The salvation of man is the
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emanation of God's glory. This is a massive theological
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point for you, the listener, to grasp.
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God does not choose between glorifying Himself and saving
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his people. They are the same action.
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By redeeming vessels of mercy, His internal excellence radiates
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outward His glory, and the suits of His grace in man's salvation
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are so connected that the latter actually explains the former.
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How so? Well, think about the wheat
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seed. The glory of a seed is not
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staying perfectly preserved in a glass jar.
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The glory of a seed is the multitude of wheat that springs
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from it after it dies. The harvest is the glory of the
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seed. Yes, Christ's glory is the
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multitude of redeemed ones springing from His death.
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The emanation of God's internal weight is the act of salvation
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of sinners. That is a highly precise summary
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of Edwards exegesis of John 12. God's glory is not in
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competition with human salvation.
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Human salvation is the mechanism by which the internal weight
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becomes visible light. That is beautifully said.
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If God's internal reality is infinite goodness, the only way
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for that goodness to shine outward is to be good to
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someone. The grace given to the creature
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is the light rays of God's glory hitting the earth.
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So if God is emanating his grace and goodness like light, there
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must be eyes equipped to see that light.
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You would not have light shining in a universe with no optic
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nerves to process it. And emanation implies a
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receiver. Right, the light has to land on
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something. This brings us to the third
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aspect of Glory. Edwards identifies in the text
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the reception by the creature. Yes, the light must land
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somewhere. According to the text, the word
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glory implies the view or knowledge of God's Excellency.
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The exhibition of glory is strictly for the view of
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beholders. It is meant to be seen.
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As Edwards argues, light or brightness is a quality that has
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a direct relation to the sense of seeing.
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We see the luminary by its light.
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Without the sense of sight, the concept of visible brightness
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has no meaning. So a blind universe can't
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glorify God in this specific way.
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Correct. In Numbers chapter 14 verse 21,
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God says all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the
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Lord. Edwards examines the context of
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that verse and shows it means all inhabitants will see the
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manifestations of His perfect holiness and His hatred of sin.
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The knowledge will cover the earth.
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Yes, the filling of the earth with glory means the filling of
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the earth with the knowledge of God.
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So glory requires knowledge in the minds of creatures, but
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knowledge alone is insufficient. You cannot just be a walking
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encyclopedia of God's traits. Right.
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It also requires praise. Edwards defines praise very
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specifically. He says it is high esteem and
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the expression of it in words and actions.
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He shows that glory and praise are equivalent expressions in
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Scripture. They mean the same thing in
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practice. They do.
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Psalm 50 verse 23 says Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.
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The offering of praise is the act of glorifying.
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In Isaiah chapter 42 verse 8, God says My glory, I will not
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give unto another, nor my praise to graven images.
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Giving praise is giving glory. The text also makes a direct,
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undeniable connection between glory and joy.
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This is something we often miss in our rigid theological
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frameworks. Edwards points out that glory
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implies joy in God. It is a required emotional
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response. Rejoicing in His perfections is
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an actual required component of His glory.
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He quotes Psalm 33, verse one, which says, Rejoice in the Lord,
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O ye righteous, for praise is coming for the upright.
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We see that all through the songs.
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He knows how often we read of singing praise in the Bible.
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Singing is commonly an expression of joy.
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It is an overflow of the heart's delight.
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The Bible frequently calls this making a joyful noise.
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You cannot force that kind of joy, right?
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And I want to bring this directly to your daily life as a
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listener. When you think about theology,
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it is easy to view it as a dry academic exercise where we
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simply recite facts about God's infinite weight, density and
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attributes. We treat it like a textbook.
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We do, but according to Edwards's text, gratitude,
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delight, and love for God's benefits to us are actual
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components of God being glorified.
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If you know all the facts about God's weight, but you do not
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possess A joyful high esteem for Him in your heart, you are not
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glorifying Him. Glorifying God requires the
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affections. That is the necessary conclusion
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of the light analogy. Think about it.
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If the sun shines on a rock, the rock gets warm, but it does not
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know it is warm, and it does not feel gratitude for the warmth.
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But God did not create rocks to be the primary receivers of His
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glory. He created rational beings with
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affections. Humans with hearts and minds.
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When the light of God's grace hits a redeemed human heart, the
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correct physical and spiritual reaction is joy, singing, and
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high esteem. The light bounces off the
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believer and reflects back to God in the form of praise.
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Let us review the logical progression we have covered so
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far. Because the structure Edwards
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build is so tight, we started with God's internal weight, His
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infinite density, self-sufficiency and abundance.
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The heavy core. Yes, we then saw that this
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internal reality refuses to stay hidden.
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It emanates outward as shining light, which is actually the
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communication of His saving grace and goodness to sinners.
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The. Light rays.
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Then that emanating grace lands on the creature and is received
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with knowledge, high esteem and joyful praise.
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Now I want to look at the final section of Edwards text.
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This is where he ties it all together.
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How does the biblical phrase the name of the Lord fit into this
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strict structural progression we've just outlined?
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Edwards takes all the linguistic work he just did on the word
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glory and applies it directly to the word name.
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He establishes that the name of God and the glory of God signify
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the very same thing in Scripture.
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So they are synonyms. He uses a specific term for
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this. He calls them equipolent.
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This means the 2 words have equal value and equal force.
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In their biblical usage, they are interchangeable.
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Did you give an example from the text?
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The clearest proof of this is returning once again to Moses in
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Exodus chapter 33. Moses says, I beseech thee, show
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me lay glory. God grants the request, but
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notice his verbal response. He says, I will proclaim the
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name of the Lord before thee. Oh wow, Moses asks for glory and
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God gives him the name. Exactly that is spot on.
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The manifestation of His glory is the precise proclamation of
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His name, Edwards notes. That name implies manifestation,
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publication, and reputation. Even humans use it that.
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Way we do, we see this even in human language.
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In Genesis Chapter 11, verse 4, the builders of the Tower of
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Babel say, let us make us a name.
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They want a reputation. They want their internal
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abilities published outward for all to see.
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They want their own glory. Right, the name of God is
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equivalent to His praise and honor as seen in Deuteronomy
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chapter 26 verse 19 and Zephaniah chapter 3 verse 20.
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Edwards also points out that the expression of God's goodness is
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especially called His name in Exodus chapter 34.
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When he hides Moses in the Cliff of the rock.
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Yes, when the Lord passes by Moses and proclaims the Lord,
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the Lord God, gracious and merciful, long-suffering and
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abundant in goodness and truth, the Name is the spoken catalog
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of His gracious attributes. I want to look at the physical
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dwelling places mentioned in the text because the geography
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Edwards points out proves the equivalence of these terms.
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He looks at the pillar of Cloud, the Tabernacle and the temple.
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The literal locations of God's presence.
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Right. God promises in Exodus chapter
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29 verse 43 that the Tabernacle will be sanctified by His glory.
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So the Tabernacle is the House of glory, but then in
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Deuteronomy chapter 12 verse 11, God says he will choose a place
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to cause his name to dwell there.
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He uses the 2 terms for the same building.
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Yes, throughout the Old Testament, the temple is called
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the dwelling place of God's name.
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Furthermore, the mercy seat in the temple, the very lid of the
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Ark of the Covenant where the blood was sprinkled, is called
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the throne of His glory in Jeremiah chapter 14, verse 21.
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Which is an amazing visual. Edwards links this directly to
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the throne of God's name. The name and the glory dwell in
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the exact same physical location, representing the exact
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same divine reality. You cannot separate them.
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Let us synthesize this and apply it to something you the
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listeners say all the time. Think about the Lord's Prayer.
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When you pray hallowed be thy name, you are not just asking
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for people to use God's title respectfully.
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It is not just about avoiding bad words.
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You are not just asking people to stop cursing based on
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everything Edwards is laid out, we are actually praying for the
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full manifestation of God's dense, weighty internal
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excellence to radiate outward in saving grace.
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That changes the whole prayer. It does.
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We are praying that His internal weight radiates outward so that
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it might be clearly seen, known, and joyfully praised by
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creatures. Hallowing His name is asking God
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to complete the cycle of internal weight becoming outward
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light, resulting in joyful praise.
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To summarize Edwards's argument concisely, we have 3 core
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definitions of glory that function as a single mechanism.
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First, it is the internal weight, gravity, and infinite
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abundance of God's own perfect being.
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The hidden core second. It is the shining effulgence or
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emanation of that internal reality which takes the specific
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form of communicating His grace and goodness to humanity.
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The visible rays of light. And 3rd, it is the creatures
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reception of that emanation through knowledge, high esteem
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and joyful praise. And finally, we see that the
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biblical concept of the name of God encompasses this exact same
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threefold reality. This ties perfectly back to our
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theological foundation in the Westminster Confession.
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The confession states that man's chief and is to glorify God and
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enjoy him forever. A classic statement.
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Before reading Edwards, you might look at that sentence and
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think it lists 2 separate activities on a checklist.
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Activity 1. Glorify God by working hard and
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obeying the rules. Activity 2.
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Enjoy God as a separate emotional benefit.
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People read it that way all the time.
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But based on the strict logic of Edward's text, glorifying God
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and enjoying Him are not 2 separate activities.
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Our joy in His emanating grace is the actual reflection of His
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glory. You cannot glorify Him without
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enjoying the grace He radiates. Joy is the required reflection
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I. Want to leave you with a final
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thought to Mull over. It builds on the strict logic we
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have walked through today. OK, let us hear it.
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If God's glory is literally defined as the outward radiation
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of his internal grace and goodness, then consider what
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happens when a person is saved. Every single time you see a
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Sinner redeemed, are you seeing an ordinary, everyday religious
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event, or are you actually witnessing the blinding, heavy,
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eternal weight of God himself touching the earth?
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That puts salvation in a totally different category.
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It makes it cosmic. Thank you for giving us your
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time today. Keep thinking, keep reading, and
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keep pursuing the heavy, glorious realities of Scripture.