Revival and awakening

Jonathan Edwards

1703 to 1758 · Colonial America

Jonathan Edwards (1703 to 1758) was an American pastor, philosopher, and theologian, widely regarded as the greatest thinker of colonial America. A leader of the First Great Awakening, he is remembered for the sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, but his deeper theme was the beauty of God and the delight of the redeemed. Late in life he briefly led the college that became Princeton before dying of a smallpox inoculation.

Life and context

Edwards was born in East Windsor, Connecticut, in 1703, a child prodigy who went on to pastor the church at Northampton, Massachusetts. From 1734 his preaching helped spark a religious revival that spread into the First Great Awakening; his account A Faithful Narrative reported it. In 1741 he preached Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God at Enfield. Dismissed from Northampton in 1750 in a dispute over communion, he became a missionary to Native Americans at Stockbridge, where he wrote his greatest works. In 1758 he became president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton) and died soon after from a smallpox inoculation. Honesty requires noting that Edwards, like many colonial ministers, owned enslaved people, a fact his admirers do not excuse.

What he taught and wrote

Beyond the fiery Enfield sermon, Edwards’ lasting theme was the beauty and worth of God. In Religious Affections (1746) he argued that true faith is known not by excitement but by transformed loves and holy living. In Freedom of the Will (1754) and The End for Which God Created the World he thought deeply about God’s glory, and his personal Resolutions record a young man’s hunger to live wholly for God.

What his witness points us to

Edwards is often reduced to hellfire, but his heart was set on the sweetness of God. He points to a Christ so lovely that genuine faith shows itself in changed affections, delighting in God rather than merely fearing him.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Jonathan Edwards?

Jonathan Edwards (1703 to 1758) was a colonial American pastor, philosopher, and theologian, a leader of the First Great Awakening and often called the greatest thinker of early America.

What is 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God'?

It is Edwards's most famous sermon, preached in 1741 during the Great Awakening, warning of God's judgment. His wider work, however, focused on the beauty of God and the joy of the redeemed.

What was the Great Awakening?

The First Great Awakening was a widespread religious revival in the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, marked by fervent preaching and conversions. Edwards was one of its leading figures and chroniclers.