JONATHAN EDWARDS (1703-1758) was an American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and theologian of the 18th-century. Regarded as perhaps America's greatest and most original philosophical theologians, Edwards' works are broad in scope, rooted in Puritan heritage and the Westminster Confession of Faith. His role was significant in shaping the First Great Awakening. To this day the church has widely read his sermons and books, the greatest being his The History of Redemption.

This second volume of Sermons by Jonathan Edwards on the Matthean Parables contains a previously unpublished series of six sermons by Edwards on Jesus' parable of the Sower and the Seed, as found in Matthew 13:3-7. Edwards preached these sermons in 1740 immediately following the visit of George Whitefield to Edwards' church in Northampton, Massachusetts, in October of that year. Not only does this series have a historical significance for its place in the Great Awakening, but it contains important pronouncements on the preacher's craft and the hearer's responsibilities. These sermons have been placed in the context of Edwards' preaching style and method, and framed by historical considerations. Prepared from the original manuscripts by the staff of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, this series represents a significant addition to the available Edwards corpus that will be of interest to scholars, religious leaders, and general readers.