"Therefore, let anyone who does not now know Christ awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let everyone fly out of Sodom!! Run for your lives! Don’t look back! Escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed!" - Jonathan Edwards
So ends the most well-known sermon preached in the history of the United States. It was on July 8, 1741, that Jonathan Edwards delivered his now famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," in Enfield, Connecticut.
The sermon is known for its part in The Great Awakening. Because of its “hellfire and brimstone” tone, many think Jonathan Edwards was a screamer in the pulpit. He was not. His Puritanism wanted to eliminate any show of emotion in the speaker in order for the words of the sermon alone to do the speaking, applied to the listener by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, he delivered the sermon in a monotone.
In the final section of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards shows his theological argument throughout scripture and biblical history. He invoked stories and examples throughout the whole Bible to make his point. Edwards ends the sermon with one final appeal, "Therefore let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come." According to Edwards, only by returning to Christ can one escape the stark fate he outlines.
Although the sermon has received criticism, Edwards' words have endured and are still read to this day. Edwards' sermon continues to be the leading example of a Great Awakening sermon and is still used in religious and academic studies.
Use this link to listen to a reenactment of this sermon.
The full text can be found here.
