Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"
Short story by Jonathan Edwards
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, A Sermon Preached at Enfield, Connecticut, July 8th 1741."
Text available at Wikisource
Country	British Colonies
Language	English
Genre(s)	Sermon
Publication
Publication date	8 July 1741

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is a sermon written by the American theologian Jonathan Edwards, preached to his own congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts, to profound effect,^[1] and again on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut. The preaching of this sermon was the catalyst for the First Great Awakening.^[2] Like Edwards' other works, it combines vivid imagery of sinners' everlasting torment in the burning fires of Hell with observations of the world and citations of Biblical scripture. It is Edwards' most famous written work, and a fitting representation of his preaching style.^[3] It is widely studied by Christians and historians, providing a glimpse into the theology of the First Great Awakening of c. 1730–1755.

This was a highly influential sermon of the Great Awakening, emphasizing God's wrath upon unbelievers after death to a very real, horrific, and fiery Hell.^[4] The underlying point is that God has given humans a chance to confess their sins. It is the mere will of God, according to Edwards, that keeps wicked men from being overtaken by the devil and his demons and cast into the furnace of Hell – "like greedy hungry lions, that see their prey, and expect to have it, but are for the present kept back [by God's hand]." Mankind's own attempts to avoid falling into the "bottomless gulf" due to the overwhelming "weight and pressure towards hell" are insufficient as "a spider's web would have to stop a falling rock". This act of grace from God has given humans a chance to believe and trust in Christ.^[5] Edwards provides much varied and vivid imagery to illustrate this main theme throughout.