The Author

“The sun does not willingly shine upon you to give you light to serve sin and Satan…the air does not willingly serve you to breathe and maintain the flame of life in your vitals…” Using personification adds to the urgency the reader feels when reading the passage, which is another method to lead his readers into accepting Christ. The reader is swept away in these written words by the power they possess. The reader is pulled into this repetition, and is desperately looking for a way to escape what might happen if he does not accept God. By using these structures, he tugs at the right strings to convince his readers to accept God.

In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathon Edwards uses these rhetorical structures and devices to persuade his audience to come to know the Lord. ” The author attempts to scare his reader into accepting God with this effect. The sermon is connected with these words and thoughts and everything is entwined. He gives life to several inanimate objects, a method called personification. He also repeats the idea of what God’s wrath is like, to further persuade the reader into accepting God.

Diction, specific word choices, spices up the sermon and also helps the reader to feel the significance in what Edwards is trying to do with his writing.

Edwards repeats several statements in the address, such as “God’s hand” and “The wrath of God,” to emphasize his point and add organization to his writing. “…And the wrath of God would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power…” The power of these words is strong and the reader feels the same impact when reading the paper.