"Sinners at the Hands of an Angry God" Reading Check Flashcards
Name some words Edwards uses to describe Hell on the first page of the reading.
-“That world of misery”
-“That lake of burning brimstone”
-“Dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God”
Name the personification Edwards uses in the first page.
“Hell’s wide gaping mouth”
What does Edwards describe in the first paragraph?
The situation that every sinner (someone who is out of Christ/not in God’s grace) finds themselves in,
Dangling above Hell with the only thing keeping them up being God’s hand
What does “your wickedness” do, according to Edwards?
It makes you heavy as lead and you tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards Hell
According to Edwards, what are the things we’re busy with (the things we prioritize above becoming aware that God is the only thing keeping us from experiencing eternal damnation)?
We’re busy with “the good state of your bodily constitution, your care of your own life, and the means you use for your own presevation”
According to Edwards, are we aware that we are being kept out of Hell, much less that God is responsible for it?
No;
We find ourselves in said situations but we’re too busy with worldly concerns to even consider that God is the one behind it
According to John, what will “have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of Hell”?
“Your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and bext contrivance, and all your righteousness”
“Were it not for the sovereign pleasure of God,” what would happen/be present?
“The earth would not bear you one moment”;
“The world would spew you out”;
“There are black clouds of God’s wwrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder”;
“Stays his rought wind”
What simile does Edwards use to compare God’s wrath to?
“Like great waters that are dammed for the present”
What does Edwards mean by “the sovereign pleasure of God”?
“God’s supreme happiness”
What literary devices does Edwards use when he describes God’s wrath?
Simile, polysyndeton, hyperbole, and alliteration
Where is alliteration located in the reading?
“…and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God…forth with inconceivable fury”;
“…strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in Hell”
What is a common theme with the similes Edwards uses?
They all put the listener or reader in a dangerous situation
According to Edwards, who are at the hands of an angry God?
People who “never passed under a great change of heart”;
People who were not baptized but raised children “dead in sin” despite being unexperienced in light and life
According to Edwards, how does God look upon the people He lets hold his hand?
“Much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire”;
So pretty much, God hates you and wants nothing to do with you;
“You are ten thousand times more abominable in His eyes than the most hateful venemous serpent is in ours”
Can you save yourself at this very moment, where you are hanging from the hand of an angry God?
According to Edwards, no;
There is absolutely NOTHING you can do
According to Edwards, will God be merciless in His execution of you?
Somewhat;
He will not hold back, He will make sure justice is served, but that’s about it;
The sinner will “not suffer beyong what strict justice requires”
When the day of mercy pasts, will God still be merciful towards you?
According to Edwards, no;
You are but a mere vessel of wrath fitted to destruction
According to Edwards, what do his listeners mistakenly feel keeps them from falling into hell?
Their “prudence and care to preserve their own lives”
What allusion does Edwards make towards the end?
To Sodom;
Genesis 19:17 “Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed.”
Edwards states that the sinners can obtain salvation. How?
By taking advantage of the extraordinary opportunity before them;
Taking the open door of mercy before them;
More specifically, by letting their hearts be filled with love to Him who has loved them, and washed them from the sins in His own blood, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God
What does Edwards means when he refers to the people that have not been born again?
People who have not accepted Christ;
People who have a person relationship with Christ state that they were “born again”
