Describe how Edwards's tone changes at the end of the sermon. (100 words)

At the end of his sermon, Edwards shifts his tone from one solely warning to one that also contains a promise.

Edwards's tone changes from something threatening and frightening to something fair and comforting.

Explanation:

Edwards could literally scare an audience, but he also had a much nicer side. We have a glimpse of this quality of pastoral care in a letter of advice that Edwards wrote that summer. Deborah Hathaway, an 18-year-old converted to the Suffield revival, had turned to Edwards for advice. So he offered a list of guidelines for young Christians. At one time this letter was perhaps more widely known than "Sinners," since in the years before the American Civil War it was printed in large numbers as a booklet titled "Counsel to Young Converts." In the letter, Edwards stressed the importance of humility and not being discouraged. Edwards's tone in the letter offers a striking contrast to "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." The triune God is not only the frightfully just judge, but also the lovable Christ whose hands are gentle. "In all his course," Edwards urged, "walk with God and follow Christ as a small, fragile and dependent child, grasping the hand of Christ, keeping his eyes on the marks of wounds on his side and in his hands, whence comes the blood that purifies you from your sin."