Sermons by Jonathan Edwards on the Matthean Parables, Volume 3: Fish out of Their Element (on the Parable of the Net)
Overview
The third volume contains a series of Edwards’ sermons on Jesus’ parable of the Net, as found in Matthew 13. Edwards preached these sermons in 1746, after the major phase of the Great Awakening had passed in New England. During these months Edwards was completing and publishing A Treatise concerning Religious Affections, his masterful statement on the signs of true grace. This volume is meaningful for its place in Edwards’ rich and evolving view of the nature of religious experience.
For the entire set of sermons, see Sermons by Jonathan Edwards on the Matthean Parables (3 vols.)
Key Features
- Presents sermons from a prominent American theologian
- Uses rich imagery from the well-known parables of Christ
- Offers applicable and insightful teaching
Top Highlights
“So then it is commonly so, when a sinner is converted and comforted, and comes to look back, those dealings of God with him that appeared most mysterious and dark in the time of it, now appear plain.” (Page 25)
“Fifth. Sinners are often seized by convictions in order to their3 conversion, when just before they were in the depths of security.” (Page 26)
“As a fish, contrary to the nature of all other animals, lives without breath, so [natural men live] without the influences of the Spirit of God.” (Page 23)
“First. Many have great external appearances of conversion that are not really converted.” (Page 33)
“As a fish constantly lives in the water, {so natural men constantly live in their sins” (Page 23)
Praise for the Print Edition
This volume is another contribution to the wonderful project of making the sermons of Edwards, previously virtually unknown, available for a general audience. Edwards’ reflections on the parable of the Net are especially revealing of one lesson he learned from the now-past awakenings—it was almost impossible to distinguish between the truly converted and the seemingly converted.
—George Marsden, author, A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards
It is well known that Edwards experimented with his sermon style, and this collection represents a rich and evocative stage in his work. The various introductions will ensure the reader is in . . . his or her element. This is a fascinating addition to the published works.
—Michael McClenahan, author, Jonathan Edwards and Justification by Faith
Often overlooked, Matthew’s Gospel is a resource the church can’t afford to neglect. We can be thankful then to the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale for publishing for the first time Edwards’ sermons on the parable of the Net. They provide a fine introduction to Edwards’ skills in preaching, and pithy summaries of his theological priorities. We find here the big ideas of the Religious Affections, but preached in direct and simple language.
—Rhys Bezzant, director, Jonathan Edwards Center, Australia
- Title: Fish out of Their Element (on the Parable of the Net)
- Author: Jonathan Edwards
- Series: Sermons by Jonathan Edwards on the Matthean Parables
- Volume: III
- Publishers: Cascade, The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University
- Print Publication Date: 2012
- Logos Release Date: 2016
- Pages: 102
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Jesus Christ › Parables; Bible. N.T. Matthew › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Preaching › United States--History--18th century
- ISBNs: 9781610977166, 9781498214551, 1610977165, 149821455X
- Resource ID: LLS:SRMNSJNTPRBLS03
- Resource Type: text.monograph.sermons
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:08:39Z
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.