In the words of A.A. Hodge: "Dr. Shedd's Sermons to the Natural Man are, if not absolutely the best, yet of the very best doctrinal and spiritual sermons produced in this generation. We have known much of their power in convincing sinners, and in deepening, widening and exalting the experience of true Christians. Doctrinal preaching, though not in fashion, is the preaching that we need, and the preaching which always best vindicates itself when put to the test of practice. And of all the examples of doctrinal preaching in this generation, the sermons of Dr. Shedd excel in many particulars. He grasps the very heart and soul of the truth. He holds it in its entirety with uncompromising loyalty; he states it with wonderful clearness and accuracy, and illustrates and applies it with singular facility and grace of style."

"These Sermons to the Natural Man have the true ring. They are pervaded by a vivid and profound conviction of the reality of spiritual things and of the solemn conditions under which human beings are placed in this transitory life. They are designed to promote self-reflection to deepen that consciousness of sin, which exists in some degree even in men who are most absorbed in the pursuit of the world. One can hardly fail to be impressed, in reading these discourses, with the loftiness, the wide range and the impressiveness of religious truth." The New Englander and Yale Review