FREE ESSAY ON JONATHAN EDWARDS

JONATHAN EDWARDS

The Puritan man must tread lightly and avoid sins in order to enter the good graces of
God. Otherwise, the undeserving man will plunge by God's own hand into the pits of hell.
Mercy is not easy to come by and those sinners who are not embraced by the kingdom of
Heaven will live in eternal, painful misery. Jonathan Edwards' sermon was obviously not
intended to encourage his congregation, but to frighten them into good, pure submission.
He sears his point onto their brains by using extensive figurative language, including
multiple gothic metaphors and similes. For example, Edwards repeatedly preaches about how
each man walks on God's thin hand, which is all that holds the man above the fiery lakes
of Hell. If the man becomes or is a sinner, God releases the man into Hell, not because
of His wrath, but because the man has chosen his own path by his sins. Edwards' God
seems, in fact, to be somewhat indifferent towards the fate of each human and only
releases or embraces the man when his actions warrant it. God plays no part in the fate
of men. "Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with
great weight and pressure towards Hell." Edwards implies that no matter how righteous or
healthy a man is, wickedness counts for more in the eyes of an angry God. Each
transgression adds weight to the sinner's shoulders, and when God releases the man to
Hell's fiery depths, his good qualities weaken under the burden of the sins and can no
longer hold him out of the pits of Hell. Edwards compares the fragility of a man's
righteousness and the weight of his sins to a spider's web trying to hold up a heavy
rock. Both are futile attempts that will only end in the rock's fast descent to the
earth. Whatever the situation, no man wants to suffer the wrath of God. According to
Edwards, "the wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present," rising
higher and higher until they are released and flow slowly over. As the water continues to
flow, it becomes stronger and more powerful to the point where it overcomes the lives of
men. However, until evil and wickedness surface in Puritan society, His vengeance remains
trapped behind His hand, rising and gathering, much like the guilt of sinners. If God
decides to release His floodgate, all dishonorable men will be swallowed by wrath and
descend to fire and brimstone. Edwards reiterates that his God acts on whim, sometime
merciful, sometimes cruel and pitiless. In fact, Edwards says, "it is nothing but His
mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting
destruction." Not only do Edwards' uses of figurative language contribute to the black
mood of his sermon, they enhance it. His sermon was meant to instill terror in the hearts
of his congregation, and as he spoke of Hell, brimstone, and a merciless God, his
audience could probably see the dark clouds of guilt above their heads. Edwards was a
powerful, persuasive speaker, and each dark metaphor created fear that was great enough
to convince his audience never stray off of the path to the gates of Heaven. The Puritans
seemed to be greatly concerned with guilt and an entrance to Heaven, so Edwards stressed
that mercy is hard to come by from a God who sees his creations only as worthless insects
who are easily dropped into eternal misery. Most importantly, when the day of judgement
actually arrives, many sinners will be left behind, or, as Edwards described it, dropped
from the hand of God into Hell. In conclusion, the Puritans had a very thin line to walk
between righteousness and wickedness, and it was necessary to tread on the line very
lightly. Barely moving onto the evil side of this moral line could plunge a man into
shame, possibly getting him shunned from both his village and the gates of Heaven.
Jonathan Edwards knew exactly how to herd his frightened congregation onto the pure side
of the imaginary line entirely through the use of black, horrific, figurative language.
The terrified people had no desire to anger the new, angry God that Edwards spoke of, and
so they bent to their pastor's will, hoping to keep themselves in the safety of God's
hand, just above Hellfire. However, Edwards still chose to end his sermon on a negative,
lasting note, reminding his audience, "the wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly
hanging over a great part of this congregation."