Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

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Images and analogies are key aspects in Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards. These images and analogies utilized throughout the sermon communicate several prominent themes to Edwards’ readers. In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, a sermon delivered by Jonathan Edwards to his congregations, which were full of intensely faithful puritans, Edwards preaches about the importance of God’s judgement and the effects of sin on the fate of sinners. He uses strong themes to convey to the Puritan way of life and appeal to the Puritans to persuade them to repent of their sins. Throughout his sermon, Edwards employs numerous images and analogies to communicate several essential themes to his audience: God’s power, salvation, and …show more content…
Edwards also employs an analogy to convey the theme of God’s power. He says, “you hang by a slender thread…nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you,” which compares the state of sinners in the hand of God to hanging by a thread (Bedford 353). Edwards intends to make the audience understand that they are only hanging on by a single thread that can be but at any moment and cause them to be condemned to hell. This again conveys the theme of God’s power because it shows how God has an immense amount of power in the fate of all people. Edwards uses these images and analogies to make the theme convey stronger to his audience. Another principle theme shown in the sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, is anger. God is portrayed as being angry in several parts of the sermon. Edwards mentions God’s wrath quite frequently, which indicates God being angry with sinners. He discusses how God feels angry with sinners because of their actions. He explains the wrath of God in detail in an attempt to make them want to stay out of the path of God’s wrath. For example, Edwards reassures sinners that “the wrath of God burns against them” (Bedford 349). Edwards uses clear analogies to reveal the theme of anger to his audience. A bow is used to represent the wrath of