The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 17: Sermons and Discourses, 1730-1733

by Jonathan Edwards, Mark Valeri (Editor)

In his new role as pastor of the Northampton church, Jonathan Edwards turned his attention to the political, social, and economic activities of his congregation, shaping his preaching to the day-to-day occurrences in their lives. This volume contains eighteen sermons that Edwards composed in Northampton from the beginning of 1730 through mid-September 1733 -- such classics as God Glorified in Man's Dependence and A Divine and Supernatural Light, along with many previously unpublished works. The selections illuminate Edwards' development as a preacher and theologian. They also provide unique insights into the development of the themes that came to characterize his mature evangelical thinking: the viciousness of the unregenerate life, the importance of evangelical humiliation as a religious exercise, and the necessity of a radical conversion from worldliness to godliness.The prolific period encompassed by this volume, though outwardly quiet, was crucial to Edwards' maturation. Taking on the responsibilities of his calling -- working with his congregation, finding his voice as a town religious leader, exercising moral and spiritual guidance, consulting with other pastors, and most of all developing a mature preaching style -- Edwards came to see revival as the only solution to the social and moral ills of his time.

Genres: Theology

496 pages, Hardcover

First published July 11, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database named Jonathan Edwards.

Jonathan Edwards was the most eminent American philosopher-theologian of his time, and a key figure in what has come to be called the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s.

The only son in a family of eleven children, he entered Yale in September, 1716 when he was not yet thirteen and graduated four years later (1720) as valedictorian. He received his Masters three years later. As a youth, Edwards was unable to accept the Calvinist sovereignty of God. However, in 1721 he came to what he called a "delightful conviction" though meditation on 1 Timothy 1:17. From that point on, Edwards delighted in the sovereignty of God. Edwards later recognized this as his conversion to Christ.

In 1727 he was ordained minister at Northampton and assistant to his maternal grandfather, Solomon Stoddard. He was a student minister, not a visiting pastor, his rule being thirteen hours of study a day. In the same year, he married Sarah Pierpont, then age seventeen, daughter of Yale founder James Pierpont (1659–1714). In total, Jonathan and Sarah had eleven children.

Stoddard died on February 11th, 1729, leaving to his grandson the difficult task of the sole ministerial charge of one of the largest and wealthiest congregations in the colony. Throughout his time in Northampton his preaching brought remarkable religious revivals.

Yet, tensions flamed as Edwards would not continue his grandfather's practice of open communion. Stoddard believed that communion was a "converting ordinance." Surrounding congregations had been convinced of this, and as Edwards became more convinced that this was harmful, his public disagreement with the idea caused his dismissal in 1750.

Edwards then moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, then a frontier settlement, where he ministered to a small congregation and served as missionary to the Housatonic Indians. There, having more time for study and writing, he completed his celebrated work, The Freedom of the Will (1754).

Edwards was elected president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) in early 1758. He was a popular choice, for he had been a friend of the College since its inception. He died of fever at the age of fifty-four following experimental inoculation for smallpox and was buried in the President's Lot in the Princeton cemetery beside his son-in-law, Aaron Burr.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

These sermons of Jonathan Edwards are a real breath of fresh air. I read a lot of Edwards when I first became Reformed, but have neglected him ever since. The decision of Yale University Press to put their edition of his works online makes it easy to put that neglect right.