A History of the Work of Redemption (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 9 | WJE)

by Jonathan Edwards

Publisher:

Yale University Press

, 1989

Overview

In 1739 Jonathan Edwards preached a series of thirty sermons in his church at Northampton, Massachusetts—sermons based on one scriptural passage: Isaiah 51:8. Apparently Edwards later intended to develop this discourse into a major treatise construing God’s redemption of the world as the most basic doctrine of theology. Unfortunately, he died before he could undertake this project. The sermon series, however, was later transcribed and then published in Edinburgh in 1774. There were numerous editions in Britain and the United States, and it was enormously influential in popular evangelical circles of the nineteenth century. This edition presents a modern, authoritative text that firmly establishes the place of Work of Redemption in the literary and historical tradition of puritan New England.

The text is based upon a new transcription of the original preaching booklets in which Edwards wrote out his sermons. In this sense, it restores an earlier and more authentic, if less polished, version of the work than the one that was edited and issued after Edwards’ death. As a critical edition it presents Edwards’ Redemption Discourse for the modern reader with appropriate annotations and references.

Contents

Top Highlights

“God’s righteousness or covenant mercy is the root of which his salvation is the fruit.” (Page 115)

“The Work of Redemption is a work that God carries on from the fall of man to the end of the world].” (Page 116)

“I. That [from] the fall of man till the incarnation of Christ God was doing those things that were preparatory to Christ’s coming and working out redemption and were forerunners and earnests of it.” (Page 128)

“But here is no mercy exercised towards fallen man but through a mediator; if God had not in mercy restrained Satan he would have immediately seized his prey. Christ began to do the part of an intercessor for man as soon as he fell. There is no mercy exercised towards man⁸ but what is obtained through Christ’s intercession.” (Page 130)

“The Work of Redemption is not an eternal work, that is, it is not a work always a-doing and never accomplished. But the fruits of this work are eternal fruits.” (Page 119)

Product Details

• Title: A History of the Work of Redemption
• Author: Jonathan Edwards
• Series: The Works of Jonathan Edwards
• Volume: 9
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Print Publication Date: 1989
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Redemption › Early works to 1800
• ISBNs: 9780300041552, 0300041551
• Resource ID: LLS:EDWARDS09
• Resource Type: text.monograph.collected-work
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:37:11Z

About Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) is considered one of America’s greatest theologians. While attending Yale College, he encountered the same Calvinism that had influenced his own Puritan upbringing.

Three years after Edwards was ordained as a minister, the First Great Awakening began in his church, which prompted Edwards to study conversion and revival within the context of Calvinism. During the revival, Edwards preached his most famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” and penned many of his most popular works, including Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, and Life and Diary of the Rev. David Brainerd.

In 1757, Edwards reluctantly became president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton University), where he hoped to complete two major works—an expansion of his treatise on the history of redemption and a study of the harmony of the Old and New Testaments. The Works of Jonathan Edwards (26 vols.) is a massive collection containing five decades’ worth of study and scholarship on and from Edwards.