The Wartime Sermons Of Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards is known as one of the most respected thinkers in American history and presided over the Great Awakening, one of the formative colonial events. What many don't realize is Edwards lived during a time of widespread conflict, which eventually touched the people of Northampton personally. Through these collected sermons, many of which are unpublished, Edwards sought to instruct, train, and comfort his congregation during a precarious season in provincial life. These sermons demonstrate the scope of Edwards's greatness: a global thinker intimately connected to the British Empire as well as shepherd of the Northampton flock. The first part of this collection presents the sermons Edwards preached while the theater of war centered on the continent and the Caribbean. During this phase, Edwards's sermons leveraged martial language to promote the burgeoning revivals. In 1744, war was transplanted to the colonies in which the Northampton congregation personally participated. After a short hiatus of international conflict, warfare spread throughout the colonies. While he served a frontier mission, Edwards prepared his Indian congregation for yet another season of war. These sermons present Edwards as theologian, historian, philosopher, but most importantly, as pastor.

Today, Jonathan Edwards is primarily remembered as a gifted and influential theologian. But in eighteenth-century America, his preaching resounded from pulpits throughout New England, sparking the flame of revival that became known as the first "Great Awakening." As the fame of this Puritan pastor and preacher of revival spread far and wide, his sermons galvanized those who heard them into reexamining their lives and faith. This book is a fine sampling from this reknowned preacher. Each sermon is a brilliant and personal invitation to know God through both our intellect and our affections-- compelling us to open our hearts to the sweet love and joy available to us in our life in Christ. - back of book

A must read for anyone studying Sovereign Election! Jonathan Edwards was both a gentile teacher as well as a brilliant theologian. Anyone sitting on the fence with this doctrine will find God's Sovereignty in the Salvation of Men to be a persuasive read. Much of the theology in this sermon follows the doctrinal positions of the Westminster Confession of Faith (search Amazon for "Westminster Confession of Faith with Proof Texts" for more information).

SERMONS: I. God Glorified in Man's Dependence (1731) II. The Reality of Spiritual Light (1733) III. Ruth's Resolution (1735) IV. The Many Mansions (1737) V. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1741) VI. A Strong Rod Broken and Withered (1748) VII. Farewell Sermon (1750)

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" combines vivid imagery of Hell with observations of the world and citations of the scripture. It is Edwards' most famous written work, is a fitting representation of his preaching style, and is widely studied by Christians and historians, providing a glimpse into the theology of the Great Awakening of c. 1730–1755. The sermon emphasizes the belief that Hell is a real place. Edwards hoped that the imagery and language of his sermon would awaken audiences to the horrific reality that he believed awaited them should they continue without calling on Christ to be saved. The underlying point is that God has given humanity a chance to confess their sins. Edwards says that it is the mere will of God that keeps wicked men from the depths of Hell. This act of restraint has given humanity a chance to mend their ways and return to Christ.

This title includes 7 sermons, including "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is a sermon written by British Colonial Christian theologian Jonathan Edwards, preached to his own congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts, to unknown effect, and again on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut. Like Edwards' other works, it combines vivid imagery of Hell with observations of the world and citations of the scripture. It is Edwards' most famous written work, is a fitting representation of his preaching style, and is widely studied by Christians and historians, providing a glimpse into the theology of the First Great Awakening of c. 1730-1755.

From the Introduction: "The following sermons have never, to the knowledge of the present writer, appeared in print before this time. They appear here as part of this writer's ongoing interest in the writings and influence of Jonathan Edwards, after having successfully pursued Doctoral studies on Edwards, at both the University of Aberdeen, Scotland and at Yale University, USA. The manuscripts that these transcriptions are taken from, are part of the wonderful manuscript collection of Edwards's Papers, housed at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University. There has been no principle of selection involved in which sermons appear here from the many I am currently working on, except that the intention has been to give a broad range of examples of sermons that Edwards preached, both at Northampton and Stockbridge. As a consequence, there are examples from both the Old and New Testaments; there are brief sermons, together with examples of longer manuscripts and even sermons that have multiple parts; and there are examples of evangelistic and doctrinal sermons too."