Product Description

Widely recognized as a great theologian, an influential preacher and a prolific writer, Jonathan Edwards played a prominent role in helping to spark the spirit of revivalism known as the Great Awakening in the eighteenth-century America. Edwards' sermons, while intellectually engaging, were also accessible to the common people and often generated highly emotional responses. His foremost desire was to help people transform from mere believers in Christian doctrine to converted Christians who were moved to action by the principles of their belief.

This two-volume collection of Edwards' works features important sermons of the Great Awakening as well as Edwards' memoirs and other essays. First published in 1834, here is what makes this new edition of The Works of Jonathan Edwards the best available:

More readable. This edition has larger, more readable type than previous editions.

More complete. This edition contains all matter included in the first collected American edition, various original extracts from the diary and papers of Edwarads, several smaller pieces printed originally in a separate form, and a memoir by descendant Sereno E. Dwight.

For anyone interested in the roots of Christianity and revival in colonial America, The Works of Jonathan Edwards is a fundamental resource.

“Jonathan Edwards . . . was among the noblest and ablest Christians of his age, and can now be seen, two centuries after, as one of the greatest theologians ever given by God to his church. As a saint and scholar, evangelist and educationalist, pastor and teacher, missionary and metaphysician, he showed a grasp of the grandeur of God’s sovereignty and the glory of divine grace equaled only by men of the caliber of John Owen and John Calvin.”
—J. I. Packer

“Edwards is widely recognized as being probably the greatest American theologian. His writings, though sometimes difficult, are often inspiring. Full doctrinal agreement is not a prerequisite to profiting from this great man of God.”
—Christianity Today

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #943513 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1952 pages

About the Author
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) began his education at Yale College when he was thirteen years old. He served as pastor of the Congregational Church in Northampton, Massachusetts for over twenty years. His published sermons were widely circulated in America and England. He also served as a missionary to native Americans, and he was called to be president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton) just prior to his untimely death.

Customer Reviews

A note regarding the Works of Jonathan Edwards
This is not a review of The Works of Jonathan Edwards, which at any rate is simply outstanding and which nearly every person -- Christian and non-Christian, elder and young convert, apologist and truth seeker, scholar and layman -- would likely do well to read and digest, but rather a note for those interested in purchasing the currently listed, two-volume Hendrickson edition (ISBN 1-56563-085-8).

The Works of Jonathan Edwards is not the complete works of Jonathan Edwards. A couple of the other reviewers must have accidentally overlooked this fact, but it's understandable given the already immense size of the anthology. Nevertheless, all of Jonathan Edwards' most well-known religious works are indeed included: "Resolutions"; "Freedom of the Will"; "The End For Which God Created the World"; "The Nature of True Virtue"; "Religious Affections"; "Narrative of Surprising Conversions"; "Thoughts on the Revival of Religion in New England"; "A History of the Work of Redemption"; "The Life and Diary of David Brainerd"; and of course "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."

In addition, there are plenty of lesser known religious works from Edwards' youth to shortly before his death to occupy the interested reader in godly thought and reflection.

Regarding the various sermons and other writings that would complete the Edwards collection, but which are unfortunately not contained herein, for the most part these can be found online via a quick Google search (i.e., only Edwards' more obscure works are not to be found online, as far as I can tell).

Speaking of which, you can view the table of contents as well as the entire work itself online for free too at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, for instance, if you want to see for yourself what's specifically included in this collection before purchasing it. That said, although The Works of Jonathan Edwards is available for free online, in my opinion it is far more convenient to have the printed version, as I'm personally more comfortable reading with a book (whatever its size) in my lap than in front of a computer screen.

Of course, if you want the definitive edition, which would include all twenty-three volumes of Edwards' works published to date (including his non-religious works on varied topics such as John Locke, science, etc.), you will have to purchase Yale University's edition of the same name. But that will cost you an arm and a leg, plus there's a considerable amount of secular academic criticism, which you may or may not find helpful. For example, the Yale volume on "The Life and Diary of David Brainerd" compares Brainerd's original diary with Edwards' edited version of the diary, claiming in the process that Edwards edited it in such a way as to make Brainerd conform to a preconceived notion of "saintliness." However, if you're keen on purchasing the Yale edition, the best available price I've been able to find is at Solid Ground Christian Books, which by the way is an excellent bookstore.

So although the Hendrickson publication is not substantively a complete Edwards collection, it is more than "close enough." Edwards was primarily a pastor and a theologian, and this is what is reflected in these volumes. In my view, then, given the price and content, this compilation of The Works of Jonathan Edwards is the best available edition for those primarily interested in Edwards as humble, faithful servant of Jesus Christ.

Also, about the text and binding. A single page is divided into two columns, so that when you open a volume, there will be a total of four columns facing you (since there are of course two pages to look at when a book is opened). I'm not sure what the font size is, but it can't be more than 10 point. Actually, I'd venture to guess it's even slightly smaller.

Regarding the binding, it is sturdy, but I have a feeling that it may not hold up well with constant reading. The binding is quite similar to other Hendrickson publications, if you're familiar with them (e.g., The Works of Josephus, ISBN 0-913573-86-8).

Finally, I highly suggest looking at The Works of Jonathan Edwards on the Hendrickson Publishers' website before purchasing it. In addition to the photo of the two volumes, you can download an Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf) file of a sample chapter to view (at least at the time of this review). Thus you can get an actual image of what I'm only feebly able to describe with words.

I sincerely hope this helps. And in reading these works, may you be led to study and understand the Bible more fully, since it is the Bible which Edwards himself wholly leaned on in his writings: for the believer, to know and love Him more deeply, and for the one with ears to hear, to come to know and love Him because He first loved you.

Update: The above comments were based upon the Hendrickson edition, but now that I've seen both the Hendrickson edition as well as the Banner of Truth edition I can likewise recommend purchasing the Banner of Truth edition. Although the content is identical, in my opinion the Banner of Truth edition's binding is more sturdy and of a higher quality. However, if you prefer the works with slightly bigger font (eh, then again, the font size is probably negligible), as well as perhaps a more colorful and attractive cover, then the Hendrickson edition might be better. You can find both the Hendrickson as well as the Banner of Truth editions (ISBNs 0-85151-216-X and 0-85151-217-8) at Monergism Books, another fine bookstore. (Personally, I prefer the Banner of Truth edition.)

Also, the following by Dr. David Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his lecture "Jonathan Edwards and the Crucial Importance of Revival" might prove useful to some:

The two volumes recently republished by the Banner of Truth Trust have often been regarded as the Complete Works, but they are not. A man published a book in the 1860's consisting of numerous other things which are not in these two volumes, and there are still more-sermons, letters, occasional remarks, miscellanies and so on. They are all going to be reprinted in the definitive [Yale] edition.

Nothing More Valuable to a Christian
This is perhaps the most valuable set of books you will ever buy as a Christian. Jonathan Edwards' breathtaking analysis of the things of God will sweep you off of your feet. I have come to this set of books time and time again for insight, profound reflection, and personal renewal. I would challenge you to read the works of Jonathan Edwards, especially if you are an Arminian. Edwards presents the absolute sovereignty of God with impeccable clarity, logic and argument. If read in faith, you will never be the same. Be sure to get this Banner of Truth set, as the Yale set is far too costly.

The Mount Everset of Theology!
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that he was "tempted, perhaps foolishly, to compare the Puritans to the Alps, Luther and Calvin to the Himalayas, and Jonathan Edwards to Mount Everest!" (The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors, p. 355). I concur. Nothing in my library holds such a storehouse of wealth, as do these two hefty tomes. Edwards was a brilliant theologian, a zealous evangelist, an astute philosopher, a warm hearted pastor, and an eye-witness (and one of the primary instruments causing) the first Great Awakening. If you want theology at its richest go to Edwards' "End for Which God Created the World." IF you want a passion for souls, read his "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." If you are interested in well-articulated philosophy at its finest, peruse "The Nature of True Virtue." If you want biography geared to cultivate godliness in your own heart, read "The Life of David Brainerd." If you want pastoral counsel concerning the state of your soul, you will find nothing better than "The Religious Affections." And if you want to know what a REAL revival looks like, study "A Narrative of Surprising Conversions." (And those works are less than half of what is in here!) If my house were burning, I would probably grab for these two books second only to the Bible. To get Edwards is to get theology. So get Edwards!