Description: This second volume of Sermons by Jonathan Edwards on the Matthean Parables contains a previously unpublished series of six sermons by Edwards on Jesus' parable of the Sower and the Seed, as found in Matthew 13:3-7. Edwards preached these sermons in 1740 immediately following the visit of George Whitefield to Edwards' church in Northampton, Massachusetts, in October of that year. Not only does this series have a historical significance for its place in the Great Awakening, but it contains important pronouncements on the preacher's craft and the hearer's responsibilities. These sermons have been placed in the context of Edwards' preaching style and method, and framed by historical considerations. Prepared from the original manuscripts by the staff of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, this series represents a significant addition to the available Edwards corpus that will be of interest to scholars, religious leaders, and general readers.
Brief description: Dr. Adriaan C. Neele is the Associate Editor and Director of the Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University, Research Scholar at Yale Divinity School, and Professor Extraordinary at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Review Quotes: ""Two preeminent figures of the Great Awakening--George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards--came together in Northampton, Massachusetts, in October 1740. In the following month, with Whitefield in mind, Edwards started to discuss the subject of preaching in a series of sermons. Expounding on the parable of the Sower, the sermons are reproduced here with the usual accuracy of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale."" --David William Bebbington, University of Stirling ""In the entire history of the church there have been few greater preachers than George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards. Here we meet both of them in conversation with each other at the height of the Great Awakening . . . Students of the Great Awakening will treasure this documentation of one of the great moments of American history. For students of homiletics, this could become an indispensible source on the art of great preaching."" --Stuart Piggin, Macquarie University