Abstract
This book has three parts. In the introduction, the editors ‘present Edwards…just as the manuscripts are in the Yale archives…[to] give you Edwards in his own words’. The main part consists of the bulk of the commentary. The third part contains sermon explications.
The editors spent years listening to the lectures by the late John H. Gerstner, and took pains in assembling materials from the lifetime works of Edwards (1703–58). The materials are collected from his Blank Bible, Sermons and Discourses, Notes on Scripture, Miscellanies, Ecclesiastical, Ethical, Typological and Apocalyptic writings, Letters and Personal Writings, Writings on Trinity, Grace and Faith, and treatises such as Religious Affections, A History of the Work of Redemption, Freedom of the Will, and Original Sin. The materials have been rightly arranged logically rather than chronologically. For instance, Romans 5:12 contains an extract from Original Sin (1757), his last work, one extract each from Sermons and Discourses 1720–1723 and 1723–1729, and three extracts from his Blank Bible! However, this great diversity of sources does not seem to have affected the consistency of his thoughts and style.
The editors have prepared a meticulous index of terms, which greatly facilitate thematic search. However, the lack of scripture and author indices means that it takes historical theologians considerable effort to discover the authors who have influenced the thinking of Edwards. One finds such illustrious names as Grotius, Owen, and Locke, and discovers that Edwards was also familiar with Philip Doddridge (1702–1751) and Samuel Harries (1724–1795), his contemporaries, and Edward Taylor (1642–1729) and his grandfather Solomon Stoddard (1643–1729). The trans-Atlantic network enabled Edwards to keep abreast of latest developments in theology.
His tragic dismissal by his own congregation at Northampton in 1750 may help explain an intensely moving passage on Romans 15:32 (pp. 326) concerning the relationship between the pastor and the lock. His remark was written in 1743–1758. The passage on this verse has deep pastoral interest for pastors and practical theology.
As there are few commentaries available from the first half of eighteenth century, the publication of this unique compilation is a welcome event. It may even contribute to contemporary debate on fundamental doctrines such as justification by faith, original sin, and covenant theology, among others.