Metadata
Title
Gilbert Tennent sermons 73, "De Amore Christo" (On the love of Christ), 1745 and "De margarita pretii" (On the pearl of great price), 1747
Date
1745/1763
Digital Identifier
PHS.TennentSermons073
Description
Gilbert Tennent (1703-1764) was an Irish-American Presbyterian clergyman, and one of the leaders of the Great Awakening.
This manuscript contains two sermons. The first sermon, on the subject of Christ's love, begins with reference to 1 John 4:18, Ephesians 6:24, 1 Peter 1:8, and Canticles (Song of Solomon) 8:6-7. Translating the title of the second sermon is tricky; it looks like Tennent wrote "De smaragdine pretii," which translates to "On the emerald of great price," but it is likely he meant "De margarita pretii," which translates to "The pearl of great price." He begins this sermon with reference to Matthew 13:45-46, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
From dates noted in the manuscript, it looks like Tennant delivered these sermons in 1745, then delivered one or both of them again in 1747, 1748, 1755, and 1763.
This manuscript contains two sermons. The first sermon, on the subject of Christ's love, begins with reference to 1 John 4:18, Ephesians 6:24, 1 Peter 1:8, and Canticles (Song of Solomon) 8:6-7. Translating the title of the second sermon is tricky; it looks like Tennent wrote "De smaragdine pretii," which translates to "On the emerald of great price," but it is likely he meant "De margarita pretii," which translates to "The pearl of great price." He begins this sermon with reference to Matthew 13:45-46, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
From dates noted in the manuscript, it looks like Tennant delivered these sermons in 1745, then delivered one or both of them again in 1747, 1748, 1755, and 1763.
Subject
Place
Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Congregation
Second Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
Holding Institution
Presbyterian Historical Society
Extent
28 pages
Format (Digital)
tiff
Rights
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
Language
eng
Type
Text
Abstract
De Amore Christo (On love for Christ) and De Smaragdine [i.e., Margarita] (On the Pearl of Great Price) are two sermons about love and seeking for Christ: working earnestly and whole-heartedly toward loving Christ the mediator, and bending every effort to attain and maintain that love through earthly trials. Both sermons are deeply thought-out, full of descriptive and rich vocabulary and repetition of phrases to increase their impact.
Important in the first sermon is the topic of "complacency," not a negative as we understand it today, but as a human love's response to and need for the highest and eternal love attainable through Christ with his many attributes as example and helper, obeying our need of complete love, arriving at and able to appreciate a place fully good, of the best pleasure, maximum, sure, and everlasting. Of note is the Reverend's extended interpretation of the word "entertainment" in talking of Communion.
The second sermon revisits a topic discussed in Sermon 3, Matthew 13:45-46, the parable of the Pearl of Great Price. The earlier sermon imagined life as a merchant's voyage, proposing Christas our agent in far-off heaven; and the efforts humans must make to be included in the untiring work of Christ the Mediator and thus discover the pearl of great price. Sermon 73 presents legends about pearls, their powers, and the great value placed on them in the ancient world, interweaving these with elaborate and detailed lists of the precious qualities that Christ shares with pearls and the precious attributes and epithets he shares with God. An insert with a lengthier set of questions for self-examination is sewn in before the end.
Important in the first sermon is the topic of "complacency," not a negative as we understand it today, but as a human love's response to and need for the highest and eternal love attainable through Christ with his many attributes as example and helper, obeying our need of complete love, arriving at and able to appreciate a place fully good, of the best pleasure, maximum, sure, and everlasting. Of note is the Reverend's extended interpretation of the word "entertainment" in talking of Communion.
The second sermon revisits a topic discussed in Sermon 3, Matthew 13:45-46, the parable of the Pearl of Great Price. The earlier sermon imagined life as a merchant's voyage, proposing Christas our agent in far-off heaven; and the efforts humans must make to be included in the untiring work of Christ the Mediator and thus discover the pearl of great price. Sermon 73 presents legends about pearls, their powers, and the great value placed on them in the ancient world, interweaving these with elaborate and detailed lists of the precious qualities that Christ shares with pearls and the precious attributes and epithets he shares with God. An insert with a lengthier set of questions for self-examination is sewn in before the end.
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IIIF Manifest
https://www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images/iiif.cfm/PHS.TennentSermons073/manifest
