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1726 Boston Book: Discourses on Death, Judgement, Heaven & Hell... by John Webb

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:900.00 USD Estimated At:1,800.00 - 2,000.00 USD
1726 Boston Book: Discourses on Death, Judgement, Heaven & Hell... by John Webb
Colonial America
Rare 1726 Colonial Boston Printed Book: “Practical Discourses on Death, Judgement, Heaven & Hell...” by John Webb,
1726-Dated, Hardcover Book fully titled: “Practical Discourses on Death, Judgement, Heaven & Hell. In twenty-four sermons. By John Webb, M.A. Pastor of a church in Boston. By John Webb (1687-1750), Date: MDCCXXVI. [1726], Boston, Fine.
This early Colonial Boston printing has its original contemporary sheep covered boards. The Book measures about 4.5” x 6.75” with 350 pages. Comprised of Twenty-Four Sermons by John Webb, M. A., Pastor of the New North Church of Boston. Full leather covers. Missing the title page and the first page of the dedication otherwise the book appears to be complete. With faults, yet a good copy in its original American binding. Covers and joints are worn with some splitting and chipping. Printed in “Boston in New-England : Printed by J. Draper for D. Henchman, and sold at his shop over against the Brick Meeting-House in Cornhill, MDCCXXVI. [1726].”

First collected edition of the sermons of the Reverend John Webb, pastor of the New North Church of Boston. Webb (1687-1750) was educated at Harvard College in 1708 and ordained in 1714. He was an early convert to the “New Lights” and became a leader of the revival religion churches in Boston. He was a colleague of Joseph Sewell, Thomas Prince, William Cooper, and he invited Whitfield to speak at the New North Church, where according to Arnold Dallimore's research, people crowded the church and "squeezed into pews" to hear him speak.

Over the three months following the appearance of Whitefield, Webb was approached by nearly one thousand people who feared for condition of their souls and asked for guidance toward salvation. In the introduction to this book of sermons, Webb discusses the light and the awakening that he has experienced and the clarity that it has brought to his understanding of Scripture. He mentions the success that he has had with his sermons and the acceptance of his word by parishioners but cautions that others, referring to Whitefield no doubt, have the lead the way and have delivered the "most excellent treatises" on the subjects of death, judgement, heaven and Hell.

These twenty-four sermons are a remarkable document which focuses on the most basic element of the revival movement, the condition of one's soul and path to salvation.

See: Evan, Charles. American Bibliography, 2823. Allibone, S. Austin. A Critical Dictionary of English Literature, II, p. 2620. Arnold A. Dallimore. George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival, 1970, I. p. 533; 536-7.