Edwards’ Sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Essay

When first reading Jonathan Edwards sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry beau ideal, shocked readers how it started right in about the wrath of God and Hell. His diction and images create a tone of alarming immediacy answer now for your own good. The bow of Gods wrath is bent, the arrow ready to stuff the heart of a sinner. Edwards uses this frightening image to compare the power of God to the hoi polloi. His point is that he wants to twine sinners to repent. Edwards seems to feel a raspy tone is readed in this to get the point across that they need God to lead them out of the dreadful pit. Edwards word choices present a contradiction, saying that people who bind a relationship with God can still go to Hell because there is only Gods hand holding us up from Hell. The word obligation implies that the arrow could pierce a sinners heart right now, during his sermon. Also, everlasting destruction has a big impact, telling people that they can have life if they follow God, or be swallowed up by Hell.Edwards is didactic and harsh with the information he tries to convey to the congregation, scaring them he hopes, into salvation. He uses these tools to help the tone on the importance of cognize God and how peoples lives can be changed. He does this out of love, trying to tell them how it actually is and wanting them to choose the right way.This frightening, bullying tone is a far cry from the 21st blow sermons which emphasize Gods love for mankind as in the well known rime John 316.