Sermons: Title Page and Preface
SERMONS ON Various important
SUBJECTS. Being some of the Remains of t e late
Reverend and Learned
JONATHAN ED WARD3,
President of the Collige at New- Jersey.
B O S Printed and Sold by S.
Kneeland, in Queen-Street.
UCH luas the true charaSler of the pious
& learned author of the ensuing
SermoHSy as that the lovers religion,
of pure
and unaffeiied learning, -who
uuere intimately acquainted with him, andfree from
prejudice need nothing further to invite their attentive perusal of the following fieets, than only to he
informed that they were written by the late
SIDENT RDWARDS. The/e Sermons indeed appear under considerable dlfadvantages : 'The author composed them only to he preach' d to a congregation in a country- town, where
he ftatedly laboured in the work ofthegofpel minifirj.for a course ofyears, probably without theleaji deftgn, orfo much as even any diflant view of their
ever making an appearance, by way Jore the world.
of the press, he-
For this the candid will make a
jnerous allowance.
IF the author had publijhed them him/elf, or had revijed them near the clo/e of his I'tfe -with a view to their public
appearance, 'tis not at all likely they
luouldhave appeared as they do at prelent j hut the difference injome refpe8s at leajl, rnuft conjiderable.
have been
In Jeveral places, inlargements would
have been made ; various parts would have been hrightned with fiu7?iber
illustrations ;
the Jiile in
of infiances would have been
alter d, and
the drejs made more agreable,
And, in a wordy the
whole taken
have appear d in a
together, would
much more advantageous light more inftru ive ani entertaining.
This might have been reasonably expeded,from the author s mafierly and
diftinguiflied genius,
which
prompted him eagerly topurfue truth, even in hermojl Jecret recejjes,
E/pecially, if it be considered, that
the greater part of these Sermons werepennd more
than twenty years before his death,in which [pace of time, hevmde Jwift
gmazing advances
in divine
knowledgejn branches ahnofl mmberlefs. The Jame thing may
be injerrd from the authors manner :
Some Sermons
that he formerly publifjed received great enlargements under his lajl anii finijhtng hand;
and hovjev r engaging and entertaining they ujare in the delivery y they appear d much ampler from the
prefix than the pulpit.
Besides
'tis
the Jubje s
some unhappinejs
are not placed
thro
that
a mistake
natural
advantageous order ivhich was defignd.
Nevertheless under all their disadvantages, the Sermons 'tis apprehended will he well receivd by the candid intelligent christian reader :
perCon that
is poffejjed of a
j4nd that evsry
happy degree of found
judgment, andgsod taste, who shall ferioujly peruse them willfindthatjuflners and clearness of thought ; that natural i lively representation oj divine things ;
that vein ofpiety and /olid religion running through the whole ; that extenflve knowleJgejhat commands
ing pungency, in. a
andfpiritual favor, which may serve
measure to point out the author, and at thejame
time, to inftrub, entertain and quicken the reader.
The public may he assured that the Sermons ere faithfully copiedfrom the original manuscripts.
j4nd
where sentences or paragraphs were found unfinif)"
eJ as there ivere various such
Sermonsy
mark'd
with
injlances in moftof
a Jlroke of the pen
thus
-which the author used to supply
delivery,
the editor has net taken the liberty, to
compleat them,
in the
except an injlance or tvjo in the
Sermons upon the wisdom of Qo - vjhere the ivords
added,
carefully included in crotchets.
Wherever therefore, the reader finds such a Jlroke- he is hereby notified, that something is left unexfrefs'd, ivhich his own mind is to supply.
The date, at the beginning of the Sermons, marks the time when they were compofd and preacUd.
These Sermons being fomc vf (he remains of an eminent man of God, c friend to men, are heartily
recommended to the candid acceptance, and faithful improvement of all into whose hands they may fall ;
and to the
blessing
of him who is
ALL and IN
yfll, the great dl/poser of all events, who was pleased fgnally to diftinguif) his servant,
when
ving, with gifts and graces, and to crown his Itr
hours with unusual success. April 25.
The Editor- above all 6vil in the Work of Redemption.
Jesus
Christ gloriously exalted
i Cor.
For he must r ign till he hath "The la§i Enemy that
fut all Enmtes under hh Feet. Jhail be dejiroytd h Leath,
great
Joseph*s
Page
Temptation,
II, III.
gracious
Deliverance.
Gen. XXX ix. 12 And he left his Garment in her handy P* 24. and fled and got him out.
Man's natural Pfal
xciv.
mong
the r'eople
Blindness.
Underlfandye Brutijh a-
and ye Fools y when will ji be wtfe
SERMON
Men naturally God's Enemies. fbm-
For if when we were Enemies we were P» 04,
reconiilsd to God by the Death of his Son,
M O N XI, XII, XIIL XIV, XV, XVI,
The wisdom of Grxl as display'd in the Way of Salvation by Jcjus Chiilt, far fuperiour to the Wildom us the Angc:ls. JEph.
T o the Intent
iii.
thrt new unto the Princ'*
ahd Powers in b.aveniy laces might be known hy the Ctufch the n.a jjdd JVijdom of Cod. P. it)* .
polities
SERMON XVII. XVIII. The true Chriftici>*s Life, a J >urncy towards Heaven. HV b
rg, 14. And co- fessed that they were Str nget s
and: Hlgrms on theEarth. For ihey t at jay
luM hmgs
d chrc plainly that tl ey jcek a C uniry,
hy reason of the editor's distance from the press, the errors of it are various Some of which are pointeu oui in the :
ERRATA.
foljowing
(degrees
J.ber r.i'l'uWcs which may havs been OTCrlaok*'' nr.'.ied to the reader's candor.
Jesus Christ gloriolifly exabove all Evil, in the Work of Redemption.
alted
[Lecture Augufl 17383
For he rnufl
reiirny till
under his Feet. dejiroyed,
he hath put
all Etiemtef
Ths last Enemy that fiall he
Deaths
c' 95|(qHE Apodle In this Chapter Joes pi -t Jpj g io ticuiarfy oppose some among ths j.i 'f || 3 chrlflian Corinthians, who denied the
'&sKS # Refurredlion of the Dead, and much
Corinth with their Doflnne. Thqrc were two sorts of Persons in that Age, wi o were ?% cially great Oppofcrs of the Do rme of the Rciiir* re(5li()n one among the Jews, and the other a-r i the Heathen Thofe among the Jcva's were the Sj. ducees of whom vT#rc3d,Aas xxiii. 8 Forthesad* duces 5 say that there is no Rc/urre lion, neither Anoil }pr Spirit. And we have the same Account m other Piaceq, Thofe among the Heathen that were :
JK' USCHRT r fxauej,
the chief Ppp frrs of los(>phcr8.
Ser.
DoAriiie, were their Phi-
The n.'6irine of the Rcfiirrc£lion of ihc
DcaJ, wa? :i x confifhnt with their Fhilofophy: by the it was impc ftihlc iliat one who was
principles of vvhich
deprived <'f the Habit of Lire, flvmld ever receive it And there fore thev ridiculed theD ( frine when
again.
the - poftlc preached it among them at Ajiiens. f It prcbjbly was chiefly from thcfe latter that the Church at Corinth received (his Corruption,
the Philosophers,
and not the Sadducces. For Corinth was near toArhens, which was the Place of the chief Keibri of the Philcphersofall theCities of that learncdCountry of Greece, The Apoftic in opposing this Error, firfl incfls on and next rn the ChiiiVs Refurrcflion from the Dead Refurreftion of all the Saints at the end cf the AVorJd. And in the Verses next before the Text, fhcws how both are conncifled.or that one arises or follows fronfi the other. And then adds. Then ccmeth the End, 'when he /ball have delivered up the Kingdom to God even the Father, uhen he shall have put down alt Rule, ;
and all Authority,
For he must reign till Power, hf hath put all Enemies wider his Feet, The lajl E:it'y jy that //mil be de/l rayed is T>eath, 'Tis to my present Purpose to obfervc thcfe two Things in the Words of the Te>:t. as one Thin , I. H..RH is fornc»hing mentioned, tvherein appears the Glory of that Exaltation and Dominit)P, tbat Chrifl has as our Hcdecn cr, \\7.. that it litues in the Sulji ion of all Enemies under his Feet. It
not fiid
pcfi'ibly
becar.fe
rhofc
be put under his Feet, are not only his Enebiit nlio the Enemies of his Father, and of his mies 1 heir being under his Feet denotes their beiVoj|lc ing pcrfcfiiy vnnqu'flied and fubdiicd, and brought txcerd'mg low under h'm, and his bW g gioriou/Iy cxslrthat shall ;
cd over them. I A s xvit.
Ic fliali
be thus with refj'cjfl to God's,