Compare And Contrast Jonathan Edwards And Upon The Burning Of Our House

A Burning Devotion to God People want something to look forward to after their lifetime. For the Puritans God is what they look forward to. To My Dear and Loving Husband by Anne Bradstreet, Upon the Burning of Our House by Anne Bradstreet, and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards perceive God in different ways. After analysing Bradstreet and Edward’s poems I have found many differences in their styles of writing and views of God, yet they lead to a common conclusion. Bradstreet has a less intense and more happy writing style and portrays God as someone to be praised and thankful for, while Edwards is way more intense in his writing style and portrays God as someone who should be feared while also praised and followed.

These two authors definitely have opposing views of God and the way they portray him. Yet they still seem to have a common concluding message to tell others. Bradstreet portrays God as someone to be praised and thankful for. She is very thankful to God that he gave her someone was amazing and awesome as her loving husband. She explains how she loves him with all of her heart and how he is truly a gift from God. She couldn’t have asked for a better husband and she knows God gave her such a loving husband because she is faithful and praises him for everything he does for her. She finds God to be someone to look up to. Bradstreet is grateful to have God in her life and to be able to know that God will always be there for her when she needs him. Edwards on the other hand, has diverse views. He portrays God as someone who should be feared while also praised and followed. Edwards says, “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….” (126). He makes it seem like God can take you out at any moment and send you to hell without another thought about it. This shows how intense he is and how he makes people fear God more than want to follow him. Bradstreet and Edwards have different views,

Edwards is way more intense he thinks that if you don’t have God in your life you are going to be dammed to hell. He is so serious about the fact that everyone needs to know and believe in God. Edwards says, “It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery” (128). He is saying that without God in your life you will be eternally tortured and unhappy. Bradstreet is much more happy and welcoming with her writing. She gives a sense that everything is going to be okay because God is there with her. She doesn’t let the devastation of her house along with all of her belongings burning to the ground disappoint her. She sees the bright side of it. She knows that she will have double what she had on earth in heaven. Bradstreet knows that God will take care of her and be there for her in this time of struggle. She is saying that even though she may not have everything she used to she will have all she needs and more in heaven. Bradstreet shares with her readers a sense of hope and comfort in the future. For this time period that was what the Puritans were about, knowing and believe that God will always be there for them. They knew and believed that God will always have their backs, will take care of them, and will reward them in heaven. This poem shows how Bradstreet knew