Category Archives: Preaching of Jonathan Edwards

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Edwards On Grace: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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So many images of God’s grace reflect a worship posture.

Reading Jonathan Edwards’s earliest sermons yields some quotes that may serve you well as you prepare to preach and teach this week.

In his sermon, Glorious Grace, based on Zechariah 4:7 (“…Grace, grace to it!”), Edwards urges his congregants:

“When you praise him in prayer, let it not be with coldness and indifferency; when you praise him in your closet, let your whole soul be active therein; when you praise him in singing, don’t barely make a noise, without any stirring of affection in the heart, without any internal melody [sic].” (p. 399)

What a tragic thought: someone in church singing without any internal melody!

I often half joke to our faith-family that we’re Bible Church people so we know a great deal about God but don’t feel much. Edwards would say to me,

“Consider that great part of your happiness in heaven, to all eternity, will consist in this: in praising of God, for his free and glorious grace in redeeming you; and if you would spend more time about it on earth, you would find this world would be much more of a heaven to you than it is.” (p. 399).

One of the things Edwards helps me do is try to find ways to help my congregants celebrate the grace of God with their whole being.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you urge the same, maybe with a little help from JE.

Randal

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Preaching the Goodness of God: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Edwards says, “If you find God…you will find all good.”

In Kimnach’s volume 10, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, he includes, “Fragment: On Seeking” (p. 377). It contains a helpful theological insight on the character of God.

The second thing he lists when considering what a person finds when they find God is:

“beside [finding a Savior, and an everlasting sure defense from all evil] you will find all good; you will not only be freed from all evil, but be brought to the possession of all good” (p. 383).

As I’ve noted before in Edwards’s writings, he often motivates from a positive perspective. The negative side of things, we’re all too familiar with and often use in our preaching and teaching. It’s the positive that Edwards continues to teach me.

For instance, as I urge myself and my faith-family to fight hard against temptation, it’s good to remind ourselves that temptation is strong because what it offers sounds so good.

How good it is to know that having God means having all that is ultimately good! Edwards calls this kind of good: “real, solid good” (p. 383).

Then, Edwards describes God as the Source of all good:

“God is an infinite, self-sufficient, all-sufficient, essential, overflowing good: he is the source of all good.” (p. 383)

I found it interesting that Edwards combined familiar attributes with God to define His goodness.

I am picking up from Edwards that the more I can help people realize just how good God is, the more they are apt to trust Him and not trust other charlatan peddlers of good.

So, as you head into Holy Week, may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we remind our listeners that finding God, they have not only been freed from all evil, but brought into the possession of all good. What more could we ask for?!

Randal

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Preaching “God’s Excellencies”: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Psalm 89:6 “For who in the heaven can be compared not the Lord…?”

I don’t read Edwards’s sermons because of his exegesis. I read him because of his theology. And the depth of his thinking. And his ability to relate theology to his hearers.

But back to his theology.

In his sermon, God’s Excellencies, Edwards’s theological thinking takes center stage.

First, Edwards spends minutes on how God is infinitely greater than all His creatures. In the middle of many, “…he is’s” he writes,

“he is infinitely happy and he will be infinitely happy.” (p. 419)

Edwards links this to God’s ability to do what he pleases. That includes, of course, that

“Poor nothing creature(s) can do nothing towards controlling of [Him]; they, with all their power conjoined…can’t deprive Jehovah of any of these things….as he was…so he is now and so he will be…happiness uninterrupted…” (p. 419)

And the heart of the discussion about God’s excellencies occurs in the sermon in his third point where Edwards reasons from God creating all excellent things:

“he has made all things that are excellent, and therefore must have given them their excellency, and so must have all that excellency in himself, or else could not have given it.” (p. 420)

Edwards tells his listeners to look at everything that is considered beautiful in creation and it finds its origin in the excellencies of God.

And Edwards understands that he is just scratching the surface in his attempt to capture God’s excellencies:

“All that we can say is but clouds and darkness to the reality….[and all preachers will love this next part] How much too little is the space of one sermon…” (p. 424)

For sure. But with what little space we have on a given Sunday morning, whenever we preach about God, Edwards’s keen insights will help us continue our privileged work so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Practical Theology Indeed! What I’m Learning from Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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“…we are not made for an earthly happiness” (J. Edwards)
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

I am reading Jonathan Edwards’s earliest sermons so I can hear someone else preach to me. He is also the consummate pastor-theologian so he’s a great role model for me in that area. He has the God-given ability to analyze Scripture to death while still remaining intensely practical for his 18th century New England congregants.

There. That should be enough rationale for why I choose to read Edwards.

The quote underneath the picture is from Edwards’s sermon, Nakedness of Job. His application falls under the heading, Improvement. I. Use of Infor….Second.

“Hence we learn that we are not made for an earthly happiness. God certainly never made man for that sort of happiness which he cannot hold; he was never made for that happiness which, almost as soon as enjoyed, flies from us and leaves us disappointed.”

And I would add, “…or grieving.”

Think about your preaching and teaching and look at how often such insight comes into play. Think about all the times when we are urging our listeners to love God supremely on the one hand, or warning them about certain temptations on the other hand. In either case the reminder that God did not make us for earthly happiness alone, apart from being happy in Him, can be extremely helpful.

As we move through Scripture, we and our listeners need constant reminders that the things that make us happy on earth are not ultimate things. Exceptions might be serving and worshiping God including all kinds of disciple-making.

This is great incentive for me not to hold too tightly to the things that bring me great joy on earth.

As you share this kind of practical theology with your listeners, may God receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Preaching Reality: What I’m Learning from Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Read to Sharpen Your Theological Thinking
and Add Depth to Your Preaching

Every so often these blog posts dip back into the early preaching of Jonathan Edwards. My purpose for reading Edwards is twofold:

(1) Rarely do I get to have someone preach to me and I benefit from hearing God’s Word from the outside.

(2) Rarely am I disappointed by the depth of Edwards’s theological thinking that always lands at detailed application.

Today’s insights come from Edwards’s sermon, The Nakedness of God, from Job 1:21.

In the introduction to the sermon, Kimnach writes,

“…an even more urgent matter for him here and in later sermons is the…issue of human reality….the problem for men is not one of coming to terms with truth, but rather with reality” (p. 400).

In the sermon Edwards states,

“All the world knows the truth of this doctrine perfectly well [that when a person dies they lose all earthly treasures], but though they know, yet it don’t seem at all real to them; for certainly, if it seemed a real thing to them that, in a little time, they must certainly have no more to do with the world, they would act wholly otherwise than they do [emphasis added]” (p. 406).

The difference is subtle–the difference between talking truth and talking reality. But I find that it is a helpful distinction. My experience is that listeners have to think differently about accepting truth versus accepting reality.

Tomorrow as you begin praying and prepping for preaching, remember Edwards’s observation: your listeners probably believe the doctrine is true. Challenge them with respect to whether they think God’s Word is real. And, of course, we work hard all week with God’s help to develop a sermon that urges them to act as if they believe God’s Word to be real.

And may our Lord continue to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

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Edwards’s On God’s Grace: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Zechariah 4:7 “…crying, Grace, grace!”

In Edwards’s sermon, Glorious Grace, he treats “the mercy of God” and “the wonders of divine grace” as near synonyms.

There’s plenty of helpful analysis in the sermon, but what struck me was Edwards’s description of our plight or lowly position:

“…it was determined, by the strangely free and boundless grace of God, that this his own Son, should die that the offending worms might be freed…” (emphasis added).

I grew up singing, At The Cross, with the line: “…for such a worm as I.” Somewhere along the line it shifted to, “for sinners such as I.”

Still bad, mind you, but “worm” sounds worse.

I am currently reading Carl Trueman’s, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. He borrows a term from Canadian philosopher, Charles Taylor: “expressive individualism…[where] each of us finds our meaning by giving expression to our own feelings and desires.” (p. 46)

That is not the soil in which worms are found!

Reading Edwards, however, I’m reminded of how bad off I was without Christ. That alone magnifies the intensity of my praise for God’s grace and mercy on my life.

As Edward closes out his sermon, five times he repeats, “‘Tis you that…” or “’tis for you that…” No wonder he concludes with:

“When you praise him in prayer, let it not be with coldness and indifferency [you gotta love that word!]…when you praise him in singing, don’t barely make a noise, without any stirring of affection in the heart, without any internal melody. Surely, you have reason to shout, cry, ‘Grace, grace…!”

Like Edwards, our job is to preach the grace and mercy of God. His job is to create humans who know they’re worms in desperate need for His grace and who receive that grace so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Edwards’s Take on Slavery to Sin: What I’m Learning from Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Those Righteous-in-Christ Freed From Sin’s Slavery

I continue to read and study Jonathan Edwards’s earliest sermons as a way to feed my own soul and mind. He is making me a better theologian because of the depth of his thinking.

For instance, in the second recorded sermon in Kimnach’s volume 10, The Works of…, Edwards preaches from John 8:34 where Jesus says, “Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin.”

Now, if you’ve spent some time preaching and teaching God’s Word you’ve probably encountered the concept of slavery to sin. Maybe in Paul’s letters? I have, but I’ve also struggled to drill down deep enough to be able to sufficiently explain the extent of spiritual slavery to sin.

Edwards states,

“Other masters have only the outward actions and have no dominion over their thoughts and wills, but sin enslaves the very soul, so that he believes, wills, loves, nor thinks nothing but what sin allows of and commands….”

and…

“Sin commands him to think of the pleasantness, of the enjoyments, of his lusts, the sweetness of sensual pleasure, of worldly riches, prosperity and ease, and herein the sinner obeys this tyrannical master.” (p. 344)

Edwards begins by contrasting human slave owners to sin. Since sin works from the inside out, it controls beliefs, wills, affections, and all thinking.

That’s deep.

The second quote shows how temptation works in our lives. It is frightening to think about having no ability to disobey such a cruel master.

Of course, all that explaining is designed for one thing: deter us from sinning. Or, turn it positive: to encourage our praise for so great a redemption!

So, I continue to read Edwards and ask myself things like: “Why don’t I think like that? Keep thinking about why he thinks like that. And don’t forget to do all that so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Ask a Lot of Great Questions: What I’m learning from reading Jonathan Edwards’s earliest sermons

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If you want to keep your worshipers engaged during the sermon, then…

I can’t remember the source and it’s been years. But someone rated the best sermons and discovered that one thing that they shared in common was a noticeably greater number of questions than lesser rated sermons.

Jonathan Edwards’s sermon, Value of Salvation, could qualify for an effective sermon that effectively uses questions to keep listeners engaged.

In the Doctrine section, Edwards’s second particular is: “The whole world shall have an end with respect to every particular person at death…all worldly pleasure…come[s] to an end.” (p. 313 in Kimnach’s volume 10 of The Works of Jonathan Edwards)

After stating that particular doctrine, Edward bombards his listeners with seven straight questions. He leads off with, “To what advantage, then, will be bags of gold and silver?” (p. 313). Then, six more questions follow, often a variation of, “What good will it do him then that…?” (p. 314). The seventh and final question ends the second particular doctrine and comes directly from Luke’s parable in chapter 16 about the rich man who built more barns to store all his goods: “…then whose shall those things be…?”

Each question drives home the point of doctrine. And if you and I ask the right questions at the right time, we are forcing our worshipers to engage.

There’s a reason why the best sermons contain the most questions. Engaging preachers and teachers engage their listens with great questions.

Lord willing, tomorrow many of us will begin preparing for the fourth Advent Sunday of this year. As you write your orascript, think about the kinds of questions you can ask your listeners to force them to think along with you about the greatest gift of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And may our God receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) by our attempts to bring our listeners into heartfelt worship.

Randal

P.S. And one more thing, when you ask questions during the sermon, ask them in a way that lets them know you really expect an answer. I actually expect them to answer, but whether you do or not, it’s critical to ask the question so they know you want them to think with you.

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Learning the Goodness of God in Joining Happiness to our Duty: What I’m Learning from Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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What obeying God’s commands feels like unless we consider…

It still surprises me that Edwards’s first recorded sermon might be, Christian Happiness. That’s the last thing I expected out of such a serious Puritan!

What I now do expect from Edwards is rigorous theological thinking that urges me to love God supremely for all the right reasons.

Since God says in Isaiah 3:10 that it shall be well with the righteous person Edwards reasons, “They certainly are the wisest men that do those things that make most for their happiness.”

Makes perfect sense. When temptation strikes and I feel the pull toward unrighteousness, I am headed for unhappiness. Obedience to God–righteousness–seems very difficult. Edwards’s fourth inference is:

“Hence learn the great goodness of God in joining so great happiness to our duty” (p. 303, emphasis added).

It’s one thing to be motivated to right living by eternal happiness or it’s opposite, eternal torment. But Edwards says God has motivated us in a number of ways pertaining to this life now including…

“…but the thing required of us shall not only be easy but a pleasure and delight, even in the very doing of it. How much the goodness of God shines forth even in his commands!” (p. 304)

And, finally…

“All that he desires of us is that we would not be miserable, that we would [not] follow those courses which of themselves would end in misery, and that we would be happy” (p. 304).

Edwards has helped me see the importance of following God’s example of motivating obedience from the angle of our own happiness. And may our Lord use our efforts so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Thinking With Jonathan Edwards: What I’m Learning From Reading Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Jonathan Edwards certainly could have been called, The Thinker!

Quite often as I’m reading Jonathan Edwards’s sermons I come across the magnificent fruits of his capacity to think. Like this…

“…though they ben’t safe from those things that are in themselves evil, yet they are safe from the evil of those things” (Kimnach, vol. 10, p. 453, note 1).

The quote is from the sermon, Christian Safety, an exposition on Proverbs 29:25 “But whoso putteth trust in the Lord shall be safe.”

Our faith-family has heard this quote a few times in the past few years. I will probably mention it again tomorrow morning, Lord willing, because Psalm 48 highlights the protective power of God with all its imagery of citadels, fortresses, towers, and ramparts.

What I love about the quote is how succinctly and precisely Edwards stated what has been difficult for me to articulate. During COVID-19 times, think about how powerful this logic is. Though God’s children are not safe from the virus that is in itself evil, yet they are safe from the evil of that thing.

Last Sunday I tried my best in the pre-sermon–which, by the way, doesn’t technically count against my sermon time!–to ask the faith-family what they think about God being stronger than the virus. As expected, they got it. They said things like: God is strong enough to keep me from getting it, strong enough to get me through it, strong enough to take me home because of it. And if He chooses that route, He receives me unto Himself where we worship and await the new heavens and new earth.

“…though they ben’t safe from those things that are in themselves evil, yet they are safe from the evil of those things

In that sermon on Proverbs 29:25 Edwards said to his hearers:

“how happy it is to be so safe. Who would not get into that tower that will defend us from every evil thing?” (p. 462).

May God help us to think hard like Edwards did so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal