Daniel Sorrell Professor Hyman English 231 15 September 2016 Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Johnathan Edwards was a unique Puritan who was known for his unmerciful style of preaching. He delivered many sermons, although he is mostly credited from a particular one, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. Throughout his sermon he uses analogies and two themes to display his point of view. These themes are: constant sinners will have a bad judgement from god, and that god can unleash his fury onto any sinners at any given moment. He also uses two analogies in his sermon; comparing humans to spiders being held over the pit of hell, and comparing god’s wrath to a bow and arrow ready to inflict the blood of sinners. One of the first themes …show more content…
They belong to him; he has their souls in his possession, and under his dominion. The Scripture represents them as his “goods” (Luke 11:21). The devils watch them, they are ever by them, at their right hand; they stand waiting for them, like greedy hungry lions that see their prey, and expect to have it, but are for the present kept back; if God should withdraw his hand, by which they are restrained, they would in one moment fly upon their poor souls. The old serpent is gaping for them; hell opens its mouth wide to receive them; and if God should permit it, they would be hastily swallowed up and lost …show more content…
They hear indeed that there are but few saved, and that the bigger part of men that have died heretofore are gone to hell; but each one imagines that he lays out matters better for his own escape than other have done: he don’t intend to come to that place of torment; he says within himself, that he intends to take care that shall be effectual, and to order matters so for himself as not to fail (Edwards).” One of the analogies used is where a sinner is compared to a helpless spider, being held over the fire pit of hell being absorbed by god’s wrath. Once you are in his grip, your fate is up to god to decide if you drop down into the dark fiery pit. “The god that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times so abominable in his eyes as the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince: and yet ‘tis nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment