The Quiet Man
The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.
Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
The man standing in the pulpit wore his black ministerial robes, puritan-style white clerical collar, and lace drop “preaching” bands. His face was narrow and his light hair was receding. He displayed a dignified, serious manner as he read the manuscript of his sermon—twenty-five pages when later typeset and published. Most of the city of Enfield, Connecticut, that July in 1741 had come out to hear him. He kept his eyes fixed on the words of his sermon. He stayed behind the pulpit as if he had grown roots. From time to time, he paused to let the congregation settle, many of whom were weeping, groaning, moaning, and agonizing over their sin.
Jonathan Edwards, pastor of the Church of Christ in Northampton, had come to deliver a message, a message designed to call the descendants of settlers who had fled England to establish religious communities back to faith. The offspring of those settlers had wandered, something that concerned the faithful church leaders. At the time Edwards took the Enfield pulpit, the Great Awakening—a widespread spiritual revival—had been spreading for twenty years (1720–1740).
Edwards’ sermon is considered the most famous in American history. Spiritual revival continued to roll through the colonies, and Edwards was one of the men who stoked the fires.
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is chilling even when just read from the page. Edward described the plight of the sinner with such firmness and directness that listeners were shaken to the marrow. Yet he didn’t rant, he didn’t prance around, he didn’t use theatrics, didn’t point fingers—he just read with conviction and it was enough. Although often portrayed as a hellfire and brimstone preacher, Edwards was anything but. He was always calm, scholarly, and dignified in his manner. Still, he pulled no punches. He told the congregation that God was under no obligation to save anyone; that he had no binding agreement to keep anyone from hell. He described their plight as standing on a decaying floor with the fires of hell below, as God bending the bow and pointing an arrow of judgment at the heart, as God holding a person over fiery hell like someone holding a spider over an open flame.
The sermon starts slow and is based on seven words from Deuteronomy 32:35: “Their foot shall slide in due time” (KJV). The first part of the sermon is almost academic in tone. Then Edwards makes it personal, and everything changes. His direct but emotionless reading drove men to tears.
Precocious Preacher to Be
Often those who deliver such sermons are considered intellectual weaklings who rely on emotionalism rather than content. Such a description could never be applied to Edwards. He was an intellectual’s intellectual. He started his studies at Yale at age thirteen and graduated four years later. He then continued his studies, earning a master’s degree in theology. He also favored philosophy and, later in life, found the writings of physicist Isaac Newton fascinating. Many historians have dubbed Edwards as America’s greatest theologian. His written works are tours de force of theological thinking.
As a young man he wrestled with his spirituality and came to an understanding of faith. He created for himself a list of seventy resolutions that he reviewed weekly throughout his life.
Resolution #5: Resolved, never lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
Resolution #6: Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
Resolution #10: Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.1
He was a man of great personal discipline. He rose every morning at 4:00 and spent thirteen hours a day in study (and somehow still made time for his family, which included eleven children).
Ministry
Edwards’ grandfather was Solomon Stoddard, an influential pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts. After his theological training, Edwards, in 1727, joined him as associate pastor. Stoddard died in 1729, leaving Edwards as the sole minister of the congregation of two hundred families.
More and more people in New England were moving away from the church or living a diluted faith. This grieved Edwards and he prayed for a “harvest,” meaning a spiritual revival. His prayers were answered in 1734, when revival swept through his church. “The Spirit of God began extraordinarily to set in. The town seemed to be full of the presence of God. It never was so full of love, so full of joy, and yet so full of distress, as it was then.”2
Like many leaders in the Great Awakening, Edwards delivered guest sermons at other churches. Of course, there were critics who accused him of pandering to emotion and fear. Edwards was not comfortable with public outbursts of emotion, but he acknowledged such responses were part of the Holy Spirit’s work in the congregation. Academic that he was, he wrote a book on the subject: A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections.
Despite all the good he did and his dedication to the Northampton church, they came to a parting of ways. Edwards wanted to limit communion to those who had had a salvation experience. This was a different practice from that of his grandfather Solomon Stoddard. The church was unwilling to change, and Edwards had to vacate the pulpit. This, however, was not the end of his ministry. For several years he served as a missionary pastor to Native Americans and continued his writing, including a treatise called Freedom of Will, which dealt with divine sovereignty.
In 1758, he became president of Princeton University (College of New Jersey). His tenure was cut short when he died after receiving a smallpox vaccination. He was only fifty-five.
The Great Awakening was not the work of a single individual, but Jonathan Edwards was one of the driving forces behind its success. Although best remembered for his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” he should also be remembered for his contributions to faith in America and his keen theological mind.