The Author

             In the sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathon Edwards creatively preaches, by using different rhetorical structures and devices throughout the short lecture, that his audience should come to know the Lord and be saved.
             Edwards begins his sermon with figurative language by using metaphors to describe God's wrath. "The wrath of God is like great waters that are damned for the present..." He intensifies this pattern by writing, "His wrath toward you burns like fire...it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath." The author attempts to scare his reader into accepting God with this effect. He gives life to several inanimate objects, a method called personification. "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.
             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. He also repeats the idea of what God's wrath is like, to further persuade the reader into accepting God. The sermon is connected with these words and thoughts and everything is entwined. 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.
             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. "...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 ...

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The Author. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 09:26, July 01, 2025, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/93940.html