person lying in the fetal position surrounded by hellfire

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

by Jonathan Edwards

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Which words in the sermon's title suggest the emotional focus of Edward's message?

Quick answer:

The words "sinners" and "angry" in the sermon's title emphasize the emotional focus of Edwards' message, highlighting divine wrath and the fate of the wicked. Edwards warns of God's righteous anger towards unrepentant sinners and the impending hellish torment. He stresses that only God's mercy prevents immediate damnation, using strong emotional appeal to provoke fear and repentance in his audience, underscoring themes of judgment and vengeance.

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From what I can see, the words "sinners" and "angry" suggest the emotional focus of Edward's message.

Edwards is focused on drawing attention to the inevitability of divine wrath and the fate that awaits the wicked. So, on one hand, we have divine anger, and on the other hand, we have wicked men who choose to ignore warnings to repent. Edwards wants to address what he considers the righteous, divine anger of an offended God and also the people he considers in danger of igniting that divine wrath.

To underline his point, Edwards asserts that God will not long tolerate the devices of wicked men. He maintains that "there is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment, out of Hell, but the mere pleasure of God." Edwards points out that the hands of men can't protect them against the hand of God: "There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into Hell at any moment. Men's hands can’t be strong when God rises up: The strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his Hands."

Edwards' sermon is a long one, and he uses extreme pathos to elicit an emotional reaction from his likely (cowering) audience. The words "wrath" and "fierceness" are used throughout his sermon. Edwards presents God as an instrument of judgment and vengeance. It is safe to say that the two words in the title ("sinners" and "anger") typify the two main themes in the sermon: God's wrath and the hellish torment that awaits wicked men.

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