The Devil's Mousetrap approaches the thought of three colonial New England divines-Increase Mather, Jonathan Edwards, and Edward Taylor-from the perspective of literary theory. Author Linda Munk focuses on the background of these men's ideas and on the sources from which they drew, both directly and indirectly, in framing their theology. She notes that the language used in the pulpit by Mather, Edwards, and Taylor is full of allusions to the Bible and Apocrypha, to Puritan treatises, and to post-biblical exegesis, Jewish and Christian. Munk proceeds to elucidate many allusions that have, for the most part, proved to be unclear to contemporary readers, in order to provide essential insights into the construction of Puritan theology
The devil's mousetrap -- Jonathan Edwards and the Angel of the Lord : A history of the work of redemption -- The age of Messiah : Increase Mather and the conversion of the Jews -- Edward Taylor and the Feast of Tabernacles
