On July 30, 1776, General George Washington was burned in effigy by the British troops sent to quell the American War for Independence. But alongside him they torched the figure of one other: the Reverend John Witherspoon. A direct descendant of John Knox, Rev. Witherspoon was one of the most influential leaders in the colonial cause. Described as a “high a son of liberty as any man in America” by none other than John Adams, Witherspoon influence on the Founding Era was staggering.

Born in Scotland in 1723, Witherspoon came to America in 1768 to take the helm of the College of New Jersey (Princeton) where he would serve as president until 1794. When hostilities with Great Britain intensified, Witherspoon took to the pulpit in earnest. His May 17, 1776, sermon, “The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men,” is considered one of the most important orations during the war, and due to his influence, the phrase “with the firm reliance of Divine Providence” was incorporated into the Declaration of Independence, a document which Witherspoon personally signed.

Witherspoon played a leading role with the Continental Congress from 1776-1782, serving on more than 130 Committees during his five-year tenure. Whenever Congress saw fit to issue Thanksgiving proclamations or other appeals to the public consciousness, it was Witherspoon who was chosen to draft them.

Witherspoon’s close friendships with George Washington, Robert Morris, and others key colonial leaders left a decided mark on our rise to nationhood, yet it was his role as mentor that produced the most long-lasting effect on America’s development as an independent republic. Witherspoon daily spent personal time with his students at the College of New Jersey, and of the 478 young men who graduated during his twenty-six year term as president, more than 114 became ministers, 13 became state governors, 3 later presided as US Supreme Court judges, 20 served as US Senators and 33 as US Congressman; and one Vice-President and one President of the United States were personally mentored by him. Moreover, of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, 9 — one sixth — were College of New Jersey graduates, 6 of whom graduated while Witherspoon was president.

Now, Vision Forum is pleased to make available the Works of John Witherspoon, a 9-volume set which features the sermons, letters, and essays of this pre-eminent Founding Father along with a full-length biography of America’s great preacher and statesman.

This high-quality clothbound set spans 2,492 pages and includes Witherpoon’s political writings with all his extant Congressional work; his sermons, which were distinguished for their clear and judicious reasoning as he mingled profound remarks on human life while applying the divine truths of Scripture; and his “Lectures on Moral Philosophy and Lectures on Divinity.”

Pastors will benefit from such sermons as the “Ministerial Fidelity in Declaring the Whole Counsel of God” and “The Success of the Gospel Entirely of God.”

Families will benefit from his practical works such as his Letters on Education, where he outlines how parents ought care for their children’s souls and train them; his “Letters on Marriage”, where he counsels couples on how they should start and conduct a home; and his “Essay on Money,” wherein he discusses how one ought to steward their finances to please the Lord.

And lovers of liberty who seek to better grasp America’s rich foundation on godly principles will now be able to understand the influential worldview of a man who believed that religious and civil liberty are inseparable, as Witherspoon declared: “[T]here is not a single instance in history, in which civil liberty is lost, and religious liberty is preserved entire.”

Volumes include:

Vol I - An Essay on Justification and a Treatise on Regeneration
Vol II - Sermons on The Leading Truths of The Gospel, Forming A Connected System of These Truths
Vol III - Sermons on Doctorial and Practical Subjects for The People of God
Vol IV - Sermons to Instruct Ministers and Edify The Church of Christ
Vol V - Final Sermons and Warning About the Stage, Acting and Ecclesiastical Moderates
Vol VI - The History of a Corporation of Servants, Lectures on Moral Philosophy
Vol VII - Lectures on Divinity, Letters on Education and Marriage, Lectures on Eloquence
Vol VIII - An Essay on Money, Speeches in Congress with other writings, including a number of Letters
Vol IX - The Life of the Rev. John Witherspoon D.D., LL.D, by Ashbel Green.