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Veronica Molina

Ms. Storer

English 3 Honors American Literature

September 4, 2019

Fearing an Angry God

Joseph Batzinger once said, “The wrath of God is a way of saying that I have been living

in a way that is contrary to the love that is God.” In Jonathan Edwards’s sermon, “Sinners at the

Hands of an Angry God,” he incorporates literary devices to warn those of God’s anger. Edwards

purpose is to instill fear in his audience of God’s wrath through the use of imagery, repetition

and metaphors.

Edwards makes use of imagery to communicate his message. For example, by using

imagery, Edwards describes hell as, “That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is

extended abroad under you” (Edwards 97). Here, Edwards is depicting hell and implying how

miserable it is. This imagery clearly gives his audience a visual experience of how one would be

in a world of fire and misery if one is without Christ. By giving the audience a visual of what

hell is like, it causes one to fear God’s wrath and change their ways, before it is too late. The use

of imagery is further used to communicate God’s power over an individual. For instance,

Edwards speaks with passion, “… if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and

swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf” (Edwards 98). Edwards describes how if

God ever gave up on an individual, then they would end up in hell. Again, Edwards creates a

clear image in the minds of his audience that if God ever abandoned one, they would fall into sin

and end up in the fiery pits of hell. Through this use of imagery, it emphasizes the power God
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has over our eternal fate, thus, causing the audience to fear him and reform. Edwards can also be

seen using repetition to convey his message.

Edwards message of God’s wrath is further enhanced through the use of repetition. For

example, at the beginning of Edwards’s sermon, he repeats, “the devil is waiting for them, hell is

gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them and

swallow them up” (Edwards 97). Edwards describes how the devil is waiting for a sinful

individual who has not made peace with God. The repetition of the phrase “for them…” refers to

sinners and helps communicate that if a sinner does not seek to reconcile with God, then no

refuge will be brought for them. This idea instills fear in the audience about God’s wrath,

causing them to want to appease God’s anger. Edwards proceeds to impart fear in his audience,

through this saying, “…nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing

that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment”

(Edwards 99). Once God has made judgement on one, there is nothing the individual can do to

get away from his anger. The constant repetition of the word “nothing…” emphasizes that the

audience does not have anywhere to turn, that they have no refuge. This highlights that good

works will not save one from eternal damnation, but rather through the grace of God, one can

minimize God’s wrath. Not only does Edwards use imagery and repetition, but also, metaphors

to communicate God’s wrath.

The various metaphors Edwards includes further inculcates fear in his audience about

God’s wrath. For instance, Edwards describes, “…your own care and prudence, and best

contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep

you out of hell, than a spider’s web would have to stop a falling rock” (Edwards 98). “The

spider’s web” is a metaphor that when an individual is out of Christ, no matter how hard one
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tries to stay righteous, one cannot do anything to keep them out of hell. This metaphor intensifies

the feeling of fear to the reader to seek grace and do everything to stay one with God, so that

they do not end up in hell. The use of metaphors is further incorporated in the next paragraph.

For example, Edwards says, “The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the

string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart” (Edwards 98). Here, Edwards is comparing

God’s wrath to a huntsman with a bow. This comparison shows that God is ready to assassinate

an underserving sinner, who continues to live a secular lifestyle. The comparison immediately

brings fear upon the reader, making them want to change their actions, so that they can appease

God. Ultimately, Edwards use of metaphors, imagery, and repetition all have a significant role in

conveying his message.

In the end, Edwards’s reflection of God’s almighty power and anger with humanity’s

sinners causes the audience to fear God and change their manners. Since Edwards incorporates

imagery to create specific experiences for the reader, repetition to create particular effects in his

sentences, and metaphors to compare unlike situations, it all helps in leaving the audience in fear.

Edwards’s revelation that God is angry and has the power to send an individual to eternal

damnation, leaves the reader questioning how they have lived their lives, and causes them to

seek forgiveness from God immediately.

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Works Cited

Edwards, Jonathan. “from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Glencoe American

Literature, by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm et al., Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009, pp. 97-99.