Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God

Sermon on Deut. 32:35: "...their foot shall slide in due time".

(The following sermon was delivered in Back Free Church on Sunday 12 January 2003.)

As I mentioned on New Year's Day, the year 2003 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Edwards, the great theologian and pastor of New England. It is my intention to commemorate this anniversary this year, and one of the ways I want to do that is by devoting one Sunday evening each month to preaching on a text of some significance in Edwards' life, work and ministry.

One of the movements associated with Edwards was the Great Awakening, a powerful movement of the Spirit of God. During the Great Awakening, which Edwards himself described as a 'glorious work of God', many churches throughout New England were revived, and many lives were transformed through the preaching of the Gospel. During this period, George Whitefield, the noted English evangelist, preached in the United States, and Jonathan Edwards himself was asked to preach in many different places throughout the colony.

In July 1741, Jonathan Edwards visited Enfield, Connecticut, where his friend, Eleazar Wheelock, pastored a congregation. Wheelock had recently visited Edwards' congregation in Northampton, and perhaps the arrangement for Jonathan Edwards to come to Enfield was made then (although another tradition holds that Edwards was not, in fact, scheduled to preach in Enfield, and simply stood in for another preacher). At any rate, Edwards found himself in Enfield, a town which had not, prior to this, been touched by the Great Awakening. So barren was the place spiritually, that on the Saturday evening before Edwards was due to preach, a group of Christians met together to pray that the Spirit of God would bless the ministry the following day.

Edwards preached a sermon which he had recently preached at home in Northampton, on a text from Deuteronomy 32:35, "Their foot shall slide in due time". It was subsequently published as "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", and has probably become the most famous -- some would say infamous -- sermon in the United States. For some people, who do not share Edwards' outlook, the sermon shows Edwards at his worst. These are people who are willing to acknowledge his stature as a philosopher and as a thinker, but for whom the worst thing about him was his Reformed and Puritan theology. For Edwards to preach about Hell is, they argue, to see him at his worst.

Yet a strange thing happened while Edwards preached, reading for the most part from his manuscript. So powerful was the communication of the Gospel message in Enfield on 8 July 1741 that his sermon was punctuated by crying and sobbing, by people audibly calling out 'What must I do to be saved?'. The Holy Spirit was working in the congregation, and the revival, which to that point had bypassed Enfield, now brought many to a conviction of their need of the Saviour. They confessed their sins to him, and sought the salvation that can only be found in him.

I want this evening to look at this great sermon which Edwards preached, and then to ask why he preached it at all.

The Sermon

Edwards began by pointing out that in Deuteronomy 32, the song of Moses, God is speaking to unbelieving Israel. Having been redeemed out of Egypt, Israel had strayed far from God: "he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation" (Deut 32:15). Instead of enjoying the blessing of God's covenant, Israel was exposed now to the threat of God's anger. Israel's foot would slide at any moment.

This threat, Edwards said, implies four things. First, it implies that Israel is exposed to destruction. By her sin she has forfeited the favour of God, and has instead become exposed to a great fall. Second, it implies that Israel is exposed to sudden destruction. We have recently had a spell of icy weather; you know how easy it is to slip on the ice and to have a bad fall. It can happen unexpectedly and suddenly. You don't plan to fall, but it still happens. That, according to this text, is what Israel was exposed to. Thirdly, it implies that Israel is capable of falling on her own. When you slip on the ice, you do not need anyone to push you over or knock you down. Your own weight drags you down. You fall alone. Fourthly, the only thing that was preventing Israel from falling immediately was the fact that it was not God's time. God's mercy and grace were preventing the calamity taking place. But the warning was that that restraint would not be there for ever.

These are the implications of the image Moses uses in this particular verse. Edwards used them to go on to describe the position of natural man, of man outside of Christ, surrounded as he is with all the blessings and benefits of Gospel preaching. "Nothing", argued Edwards, "keeps wicked people out of hell for a single moment except the mere pleasure of God." Just like unbelieving Israel, on the slippery slope of unbelief and sin, man outside of Jesus Christ is standing in a place where he is liable to fall at any moment. Only by the pleasure of God, by which Edwards means God's grace and longsuffering, are we prevented from falling into the eternal destruction which the Bible calls Hell. This is precisely the doctrine taught in the New Testament, especially when Peter says that "the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation" (2 Peter 3:15). It is precisely the fact that God exercises his patience towards us in longsuffering and mercy that means that we are not lost eternally right now.

From this introduction, Edwards went on to make ten points regarding the condition of man, and, in particular, the precarious position which natural man holds if he is without the covering of the Saviour's blood. These points were as follows:

These points are a damning indictment of the condition of fallen man. Let us hear Jonathan Edwards on some of these points.

* God has the power to cast sinners into Hell

* The wicked deserve to be cast into Hell

* Wicked men are already under the condemnation of God

* Unbelievers are presently the objects of God's wrath

* The devil stands ready to claim the wicked as his own the moment God allows

* The souls of the wicked are primed for Hell -- the root of the misery is there already

* There is no security for us in our apparent health and soundness of body

* There is no security for us in our efforts to prolong our lives

* All our efforts to keep us out of Hell will fail us if our trust is not in Christ

* God is not bound by any promise to keep the wicked out of Hell.

(1) Man's fall means that his soul-weight of sin leaves him exposed to the wrath of God and the eternal misery of Hell.

Edwards insists that "Sin is the ruin and misery of the soul. It is destructive in its nature, and if God should leave it without restraint, there would need nothing else to make the soul perfectly miserable. The corruption of the heart of man is immoderate and boundless in its fury. While wicked men live here, it is like fire pent up by God's restraints, whereas if it were let loose, it would set on fire the course of nature".

What is he doing here? He is simply reminding us of the weight that will drag us into a lost eternity. Just as a man who slips on the ice will be dragged down by his own weight, so the man who slips out of time into eternity will be dragged down into the abyss of Hell. In other words, in order to be eternally lost, a man need do nothing. To be saved, to go to Heaven, a man must be born again. But to be lost is easily done. It requires no additional effort, and no additional badness. The corruption of our nature is sufficient for us to be lost. Our souls are ruined by sin, and that is enough to leave us exposed to an eternity of outer darkness and estrangement from God. To use one of Edwards' illustrations, we are walking across the pit of hell on a rotten bridge.

(2) Man's condition is such that the appearance that all is well may prove deceptive.

We can so easily imagine that because everything is well with us now, it will be well with us forever. Listen to how Edwards puts it:

It is no security to wicked men for one moment, that there are no visible means of death at hand. It is no security to a natural man that he is now in health, and that he does not see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages shows this is no evidence that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step will not be into another world. The unseen, unthought of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noonday; the sharpest sight cannot discern them. God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending them to hell, that there is nothing to make it appear that God had need to be at the expense of a miracle, or go out of the ordinary course of his providence, to destroy any wicked man at any moment.

The reality is that our circumstances may change at any moment. We may examine ourselves and say that there are no apparent signs of ill-health or decline; the shadows of death are nowhere to be seen around us. And we may conclude that it will always be so. But Edwards is at pains to remind us, as the Bible is, that our present comforts are no guarantee of our eternal comforts. We are called to live in the knowledge that our feet may slide at any moment.

(3) Man's sin is such that only the grace of God prevents us from slipping out of a world of mercy and into a world of judgement.

Edwards makes this most sobering of all statements:

it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night, that you were suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.

Man is by nature so independent, so self-sufficient. In our folly we imagine that we will never fall. But only the hand of God prevents us from falling into the abyss. The wise man acknowledges that to be the case. The fool forgets what he owes to the sovereign, keeping grace of God.

These doctrines are hard, and to many they are unacceptable. But Edwards was in no doubt. He was not talking of those who had done really wicked things, or whose lives were much worse than others. He was speaking of, and speaking to, those who were actually before him:

There is reason to think that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity. We know not who they are, or in what seats they sit, or what thoughts they now have. It may be they are now at ease, and hear all these things without much disturbance, and are now flattering themselves that they are not the persons, promising themselves that they shall escape. If we knew that there was one person, and but one, in the whole congregation, that was to be the subject of this misery, what an awful thing would it be to think of! If we knew who it was, what an awful sight would it be to see such a person! How might all the rest of the congregation lift up a lamentable and bitter cry over him! But, alas! instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in hell! And it would be a wonder, if some that are now present should not be in hell in a very short time, even before this year is out.

What a solemn thought that is! To think that in our congregations, and communities, and churches, and families there are some who will one day be exposed to the wrath of God in the reality of Hell! It hardly bears thinking about.

Yet Edwards knew that only those who are sick will realise their need of the doctor. He knew that men must be presented with the ultimate issue of sin, death, judgement and Hell, in order to see their need of Christ. For many in today's evangelical church, Jesus has become a life-enhancer, an improvement to our living. We emphasise that being born again is important (as it surely is) in order to get Christ into us. But the important thing is for us to get into Christ! He is the one sure place where souls can be safe. For that reason, Jonathan Edwards did not leave his congregation with the illustration of them being like a spider dangling over a fire, ready to fall into the eternal flames of a lost eternity. No; he concluded with a presentation of the mercy of God in Christ:

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity: a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands calling, and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners, [and] a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north, and south. Many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.

Here is the reason why the doctrine is so important -- because it highlights for us the glory of the Saviour in whom we may put our trust. The wrath of God is infinite as it is eternal. But the door of hope is opened for us in Christ. Shall we watch others come in at that door of grace, and not enter it ourselves?

The Effect

Some might accuse Edwards of frightening people into the kingdom of God. They might accuse him of preaching dark, depressing sermons. But that is not what happened in Enfield. We have the diary of Stephen Williams, who was present when JONATHAN EDWARDS preached his famous sermon. This is what Williams says:

We went over to Enf[ield]- where we met dear Mr E[dwards]- of N[orth]-H[ampton] who preachd a most awakening sermon from these words -- Deut. 32:35 and before sermon was done -- there was a great moaning and crying out through ye whole House -- What Shall I do to be savd -- oh I am going to Hell -- Oh what shall I do for Christ &c. So yt ye minister was obliged to desist -- ye shrieks & crys were piercing & Amazing -- after Some time of waiting the Congregation were Still so yt a prayer was made by Mr. W. & after that we descend from the pulpitt and discoursd with the people -- Some in one place and Some in another -- and Amazing and Astonishing ye power God was seen -- & Several Souls were hopefully wrought upon yt night, & oh ye cheerfulness and pleasantness of their countenances yt receivd comfort -- oh yt God wd strengthen and confirm -- we sung an hymn & prayd & dismissd ye Assembly.

Far from being depressed, the people came to discover a cheerfulness and a peace which they had not known before; a peace that comes from knowing that we are no longer walking that rotten bridge, and no longer standing in a place where we might slide at any moment. It comes from having the security of knowing that Christ is our Lord and Saviour, and that all we need in life, death and eternity, we have in the finished work of Calvary's cross.

WHY DID EDWARDS PREACH THIS SERMON?

Edwards preached on the topic of Hell for three reasons.

(1) He found the doctrine in his Bible. He found it in the Old Testament as in the New. He found it in the Psalms, in the prophets, in the Gospels and in the teaching of the apostles. He found it in the words of Christ, who spoke more of Hell than he did of Heaven. And Edwards preached the doctrine because he knew that ultimate issues are not decided in the light of the world's philosophy, but in the light of the final revelation which is given us in Scripture. Edwards wanted simply to convey to men the message of the Word of God.

(2) He loved the souls of his people. Edwards knew that it is no mark of love to deceive. If the souls of his hearers were in danger of being lost, Edwards wished to do what he could to rescue them.

(3) He knew that Christ alone is the way to God. Edwards took Jesus seriously when he said that NO-ONE can come to God except through Him. The teaching of Jesus Christ closes every other avenue of hope, and removes every other ground of security. There can be no place of safety for us except the finished work of Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection are the hope of fallen man.

May we all heed Edwards' warning, and walk the way of truth, trusting alone to Jesus Christ! If we do not have him, we have nothing. In Christ there is security and there is salvation. But outside of him, our feet are in a slippery place, ready to slide at any moment. Are we in the hands of an angry God? Or are we sheltering under the cross, where Jesus bore that anger away?

For the reality is that the only place of salvation is where Jesus placed himself in the hands of this angry God, in order to reconcile sinners to himself. Tonight we are either exposed to wrath, or covered in the day of wrath. Do we have Christ as the Saviour of our souls?

© Iain D. Campbell 2003