Wrath Turned Love

Jonathan Edwards, "In the Hands of an Angry God" is a sermon that illuminates the sheer power of God and how we as "natural men are held in the hand of God over the pit of hell". Billy Graham's version of this sermon is still chilling in the sense that the words are meant to put the fear of God into a person to scare them straight; but Graham portrays God as merciful right from the begginning, and Edwards makes the audience feel as if it is their privledge to be in the midst of God. "By the mere pleasure of God, I mean his sovereign pleasure", is how Edwards begins his sermon explaining the verse, "there foot shall slide in due time. Deut 32:35" Graham begins his sermon explaining the same verse using the word mercy instead of pleasure. I believe that since this sermon was so powerful, and the way Graham screams the words to his audience, he wanted to make sure that the mercy of God was underlined so when he spoke about "Unconverted Men walk over the Pit of Hell on a rotten Covering, and there are innumerable Places in this Covering so weak that they won't bear their Weight, and these Places are not seen...and the only thing that keeps them from falling into hell right now is the thin thread of God Almighty’s mercy", people still felt safe because God's Mercy had already been underlined. Making sure the audience knew God was a merciful one made people know that no matter how harsh or blunt the words that came out of Grahams mouth were, God would always be there to forgive the sinners and take them as his own.
Jesus Christ is not a focus in Edwards sermon, however, the way to be saved and avoid the "Firey pits of hell" in Grahams sermon is to "let Jesus in, right now where you sit. [So] You can make certain that you are ready to meet the Lord God". In Grahams closing he says that although we are all held over the pits of hell we can all be saved because "God loves you with an everlasting love". Edwards explains too that one can be saved by Christ but he says it in such a way that is filled with fear, "now awake and fly from the wrath to come". This basically says God is still and always will be angry, so become awake and escape the wrath.
A sermon like this could be used today for audiences who take God and the Devil seriously, who believe that God's mercy will save them from the depths of hell, and those who believe that gods dangling of the mortal over the fiery pits are a metaphor for every day temptations, sins and struggles. Harry S. Stout argued that the instilling the fear of God in today's times could be taken as a form of entertainment like the movie The Exorcist. I believe people who value the power of God and the Devil could absolutely find The Exorcist based on fact more than fiction, it all depends on who is listening and interpreting the story.
The early 18th century is absolutely related to Edwards sermon because of the serious harshness portrayed. In the 18th century Christianity was a more brutal religion in the sense that people who sinned could actually be put to death, the Salem Witch Trials are a good example of this. Later on in the 20th Century, God and Christianity were and still are a notable figure and religion in everday life but the literal punishment for sins are stripped away and God's message is turned toward love rather than wrath.