Jonathan Edwards: "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

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Jonathan Edwards was born in 1703 in Connecticut. He grew up being the grandchild of a very prominent religious figurehead, Reverend Solomon Stoddard of Northampton, Massachusetts. Edwards, being the only male in eleven children, was groomed to be the reverend’s “heir” (397). He wrote from an early age and was admitted to Yale when he was thirteen. Edwards continued writing, mainly religious works, throughout his life. These combined factors are all very influential in his writing. A piece of his work that I read that was greatly influenced by his personal beliefs, his education, and even some political factors of the time would be his sermon called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” It was written in 1741, and published later in that century. The sermon takes place in the small town of Enfield, Connecticut. It draws from his personal relationship with God, and his own interpretation of the Bible. The sermon also expresses a sense of individual responsibility for one’s connection with God, and not part of a group of people. This was a little different than previous views such as it is the group, as a whole, that controls the beliefs. The reaction from his audience also shows his exceptional writing skills; in a footnote, the editors of Norton Anthology explain that “Edwards read his sermon in a level voice with his sermon book in his left hand, and in spite of his calm ‘there was such a breathing of distress, and weeping, that the preacher was obliged to speak to the people and desire silence’…” (430).

In Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” The main idea of this sermon is that people must have their own belief in God like a , or they will fall into the damnation of hell, and that there is nothing stopping God from cutting the string holding every sinner over the fiery pit of doom. Sinner meaning anyone who does not truly believe in Christ. A quote that I found supports this idea is “there is hell’s wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of; there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up” (434). As long as one has the “pleasure” and holds the belief of God in its true form, then you can be saved from going to hell at any moment, whereas “sinners” do not know when they are to slip and fall into hell. According to Edwards, it seems that the only true belief in God is through the Puritan religion. He says that even though you may have “reformed your life in many things, and may have religious affections, and may keep up a [form] of religion in your families and closets…” (436). I interpreted this as saying that even though one practices a “form” of Christianity, one is still are not saved from hell because it is not the Puritan “form” of Christianity.

The purpose of this sermon was to make the congregation analyze their own lives and find that man is inherently evil, and even though we are all sinners, according to Edwards, there is still a way to keep oneself from falling into the pit of doom. It is to find an emotional connection with God and to really believe in the religion (440). In this persuasion, his language is full of metaphors. For example, Edwards portrays God’s wrath and patience as a taut bow and arrow, ready to fly at any moment (435). This brings back the point that a for a sinner they will never know when the arrow of God’s wrath will fly, striking them down for their evils. Edwards implies many times that people are wicked and should learn to reform their ways, even if their “sin” may just be not paying attention at church on Sundays. Edwards chose metaphors that the audience could easily visualize, such as that God is holding his people over a fiery pit, with devils waiting like hungry lions (432). Or that His wrath will come crashing down on the sinners like a tidal wave pouring through a floodgate (435). This is meant to cause the audience to fear for themselves and to take a step back and look at their own sins and relationship with God. This reading of Edwards sermon fits into the “first awakening” of the American colonial people.  He expresses the importance of an individual relationship with one’s religion. This sets the people on a track to the revolution, which stems from individuality.

Works Cited

Edwards, Jonathan. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Norton Anthology of American Literature, edited by Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Co., 2012, pp. 430-441.