On July 8, 1741, at the First Church of Christ in Enfield, Massachusetts (Enfield, Connecticut today), Jonathan Edwards delivered perhaps the most famous sermon in American history. For good or ill (mostly ill, in my opinion), Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God has been cast as the archetypal 18th century Puritan sermon, sometimes even only narrowly known by the infamous “spider passage.” Despite what the American educational system has done to this sermon, and by proxy to Edwards himself and the early American Puritans, Sinners, at least the occasion of its preaching at Enfield, is a fascinating work that ought to be studied.

One of the more interesting tidbits in the Sinners saga is that the church at Enfield was not the first congregation to hear this sermon. Edwards preached this sermon to his Northampton congregation in June 1741, though it was a bit different than the Enfield iteration, and did not get near the response that it did there. To my knowledge, the text of the earlier version is not available today, but it was described as being a bit milder and more pastoral than the later version.

Though not representative of Edwards’s vast sermonic corpus, Sinners is quite representative of a certain genre of sermon often referred to as “awakening sermons.” Traditional sermons in the 18th century, and even today, will comprise a handful of points related to a biblical passage or particular topic or theme. Awakening sermons, however, generally harped on one theme, illustrated and repeated as many times as the preacher felt necessary, in as many ways as he felt was necessary. So it is with Sinners. The rhetorical genius of Jonathan Edwards finds little better example than this sermon as he employs a barrage of metaphors and descriptions to describe the one idea of God’s fury toward the damned and the horror they will undergo if they die outside God’s grace. It’s hard to recognize this genius and the literary prowess of this sermon, however, because emotion often overcomes the reader and they cannot see past their horror or disgust at what they are reading. Of course this is the point of the awakening sermon! To be shaken and stirred from one’s present complacency to an understanding of their state in hopes of their turning toward God and Christ for solace and assurance.

Such was the response of the Enfield congregation. Rev. Stephen Williams of Longmeadow, Massachusetts recorded the events of that day in his diary:

went over to Enfd, where we met Dear Mr E- of N. H. – who preachd a most awakening Sermon from those words Deut – 32.35 – and before ye Sermon – was done there was a great moaning – & crying out throughout ye whole House – what shall I do to be Savd – oh I am going to Hell – oh what shall I do for a christ &c &c – so yt ye minister – was obligd to desist – shreiks & crys – were piercing & Amazing – - after Some time of waiting – the congregation were still So yt a prayr was made by Mr W – & after that we descendd from the pulpitt and discoursd – with the people – Some in one place & Some in another – and Amazing & Astonishing – ye powr – God was Seen – & Severall Souls were hopfully – wrought upon yt – night & oh ye cheerfullness & pleasntness of thier countenances – yt receivd comfort – oh yt God – wd strengthen & confirm &c we Sung an hymn & prayd & despersd – ye Assembly.

So great was the response to Edwards’s preaching of this sermon at Enfield, that he “was obligd to desist.” In other words, Edwards did not even get through the whole sermon because the shrieks and cries were so great that he simply could not continue. Edwards, to some degree, accomplished what he set out to do in Enfield, and this sermon continues to evoke similar responses, at least at the emotional level, when it is read today.

So Sinners is an important sermon, one worthy of great study, particularly for its literary quality. But it must be kept in context. It must be remembered that this sermon, and other awakening sermons of the period, had a specific end in being written and preached, and that they were not characteristic of the period either in Edwards’s preaching or in the preaching of much of New England. With all the heightened interest in Edwards studies today, it is my hope that we will finally come around to appreciating Sinners for what it is, which is marvelous, and eschew the mostly unfair treatment and scorn that it has received over the last 268 years, particularly in American high schools and colleges.

Filed under:
edwards's legacy, great awakening, sinners in the hands of an angry god