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The Puritan man must tread lightly and avoid sins in order to enter the good graces of God. Otherwise, the undeserving man will plunge by God’s own hand into the pits of hell. Mercy is not easy to come by and those sinners who are not embraced by the kingdom of Heaven will live in eternal, painful misery. Jonathan Edwards’ sermon was obviously not intended to encourage his congregation, but to frighten them into good, pure submission. He sears his point onto their brains by using extensive figurative language, including multiple gothic metaphors and similes. For example, Edwards repeatedly preaches about how each man walks on God’s thin hand, which is all that holds the man above the fiery lakes of Hell. If the man becomes or is a sinner, God releases the man into Hell, not because of His wrath, but because the man has chosen his own path by his sins. Edwards’ God seems, in fact, to be somewhat indifferent towards the fate of each human and only releases or embraces the man when his actions warrant it. God plays no part in the fate of men. “Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with gre