Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Group

Topic: Need to know the meaning

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kerileigh

What does the mean?  There are black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads.

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This famous Sermon came as part of the "Great Awakening" in Enfield, CT.  The community at Enfield was a particularly difficult group, resisting the call to conversion.  Edwards used direct appeal to emotions to attempt to reawaken the their religious fervor.    The gist of the speech is that God, who is VERY dissatisfied with this particular congregation (hence the "black clouds of God's wrath")  holds each of the congregants over the flames of hell,  suspended by a thread (think of a spider held over a fire) and the only thing that kept them from being cast into hell is his will, pure and simple.  Nothing they have done can keep them from the flames; only His will kept them alive for even another instant.  But there is no guarantee that they will not be dropped into the flames at any given moment should God so decide.  The sermon is known for the vivid imagery that it employed and it is reported that it was particulary effective, with reports of weeping and hysteria in the pews.

For more information see http://www.enotes.com/sinners-hands-an-angry-god-salem/sinners-hands-an-angry-god.

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