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Selected Sermons of Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was an influential Congregational minister, often referred to as America's greatest theologian. Born in Conneticut to religious and well-educated parents (his father was a Congregational pastor), he initially studied at home (including Latin, Greek, and Hebrew), before graduating from Yale in 1720. He was well-read, and became familiar with the philosophical and scientific currents of the day (the writings of Newton, Locke, and Henry More). In 1727 he was ordained pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts, alongside his grandfather Solomon Stoddard, where he ministered until 1750. During this period Edwards' preaching, along with that of George Whitefield, became part of what is called the First Great Awakening. This is reflected in his powerful sermons from the 1730's and 40's. The later writings, many published after his death, show a more mature and deepened thought, touching with profound insight upon matters of theology, human psychology, and morality.

18 of Edwards' most familiar and influential sermons, a powerful testament to the First Great Awakening.

This is a selection of eighteen of Edwards' sermons, most of which were preached in the 1730's and early 1740's during the period of the so-called "Great Awakening", in which his parish of Northampton played a part. The preaching of Edwards, along with that of George Whitefield, was instrumental in the revivalism that took place - emphasizing doctrinal purity, personal holiness, and a great zeal for God.

    The sermons of this period are perhaps most signified by an emphasis on man's sinfulness and absolute dependence on God for justification and transformation of the heart. His theology - a mixture of Augustinian, Calvinistic, Platonic ideas - fired in the crucible of the Great Awakening, would only deepen and mature later in his life. However, these sermons, such as Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1741), A Divine and Supernatural Light (1734), and God Glorified in Man's Dependence (1731, the first work he published) remain in many ways unique and unparalleled.

Sermons

Edwards, Jonathan