Those Four Old Godly People That Wrote Literature That Americans Find Inspirational Today

-Savannah and Benson-

Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan who created several works of poetry. She was born March 20, 1612 in Northampton, England. Her family was highly placed in society , because of this she was able to receive a good education. She was married at the age of sixteen to a man named Simon Bradstreet. She came to America in the year 1630 with her family and husband. Anne went on to have eight children and achieved a comfortable place in society. In her life Anne created some great works of poetry. These works include “My Dear and Loving Husband” and “Upon the Burning of our House.” These two poems are pieces of her life. For example, “Upon the Burning of our House” was based on the actual burning of her house. When their house burned down they were left homeless. On top of that Anne was suffering from tuberculosis and her health was deteriorating. She passed away on September 16, 1672.

Anne had a strong belief in eternal life. When her house burned down she wrote the poem “Upon the Burning of our House” to convey her feelings and her belief that everything would be alright. In one verse of the poem it states that she needs no more that what she has. She knows that when she dies there is more in store than what is here on earth. She goes on to say that all of her wealth and treasure lies above in Heaven with God. The exact verse is stated as:“Ther's wealth enough, I need no more;/ Farewell my Pelf, farewell my Store/ The world no longer let me Love,/My hope and Treasure lyes Above.” Anne shows that she knows there is more in store for her than what is here on earth. In another of Anne’s poems she talks about her husband and how their love is so great that it will last after they die. The name of this particular poem is “To my Dear and Loving Husband”. “Then while we live, in love let's so persever/ That when we live no more, we may live ever.” In this quote Anne is saying that they are so in love that after they die they may live and love for ever more. She is so in love with her husband that nothing could ever break their love for one another, and that they will love eternally.

*Stanza 9, Lines 3-4 of “Upon the Burning of our House”

*Stanza 3, Lines 3-4 of “To my Dear and Loving Husband”

“I, starting up, the light did spye,/ And to my God my heart did cry/. To strengthen me in my Distresse,/

and not to leave me succourless./ Then coming out beheld a space,/ the flame consume my dwelling place./And,

when I could no longer look,/ I blest his Name that gave and took,/ That layd my goods now in the dust:/ Yea so

it was, and so 'twas just./ It was his own: it was not mine/ Far be it that I should repine.” According to Anne

Bradstreet, God is a provider and a comforter. God is someone that people can turn to and be strengthened. In the quote above,

Bradstreet is calling out to God to give her the strength to find her way out of her burning house. She knows that God will provide

a way out for her and He will not leave her “succourless”, meaning that she will not be without help. Bradstreet then goes on to

praise God for getting her out of the house alive. She knew that God had delivered her from this time of trouble and she was

praising His name.

All of this goes to show that Bradstreet believes that God is a helper and provider in times of need. In her viewpoint, God

helps people and does not leave them. She believes that if you call upon the name of God that He will provide for and help you.

*Stanzas 2-3 of “Upon the Burning of our House”

Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan, a Puritan is a person who believes that they are put here on earth to bring God glory and

to do His will. Anne refers to God multiple times in her poetry. “Thou hast an house on high erect/ Fram'd by that mighty

Architect/ With glory richly furnished/ Stands permanent tho' this bee fled./ It's purchased, and paid for too/ By

him who hath enough to doe.” Here God is referred to as the mighty Architect. She refers to Him as the mighty architect,

because her house has just burned down and she knows that God has a house built for her in Heaven. It is here that she reveals

that she also believes in eternal life because she talks about a house built on “High Erect”, or Heaven. She believes that when she

dies she will go to heaven and spend her eternity with God.

“I, starting up, the light did spye/ And to my God my heart did cry./ To strengthen me in my Distresse,

/and not to leave me succourless.” Here Anne shows that she relies on God to get her out of trouble. She is

praying that God will deliver her from her trouble and that He will not leave her without help. In short, Anne

believes that God will provide for her in this life and for all of eternity as well.

*Stanza 8 and Stanza 2, lines 1-4 of “Upon the Burning of our House”

“Here stood that Trunk, and there that chest/ There lay that store I counted best/ My pleasant things in

ashes lye/ And them behold no more shall I./ Under thy roof no guest shall sitt,/Nor at thy Table eat a bitt./ No

pleasant tale shall 'ere be told,/Nor things recounted done of old./ No Candle 'ere shall shine in Thee,/ Nor

bridegroom's voice ere heard shall bee./ In silence ever shalt thou lye;/ Adieu, Adeiu; All's vanity.” In the excerpt

above Bradstreet is talking about her ruined house. She is expressing a deep grief at the loss of her house,

which is an example of human frailty. As a Puritan she is not supposed to long for worldly things. We see above

that she clearly misses her house. She is reminiscing about certain objects in her house and how no more

voices or people will ever be under the roof of her fallen house. Whereas, she should be thanking God for

letting her live and her house that lay in store for her in Heaven.

We see her turn from her frail ways in stanza eight; “Thou hast an house on high erect/ Fram'd by that

mighty Architect/, With glory richly furnished, / tands permanent tho' this bee fled./It's purchased, and paid for

too/ By him who hath enough to doe.” Now she is beginning to realize that God has more in store for her and

she should not fret about her loss.

*Stanza 5-6 and Stanza 8 of “Upon the Burning of our House”

Jonathan Edwards was a Puritan priest, philosopher, and theologian who is widely known for his teachings and sermons. Edwards was born on October 6, 1703. He was responsible for the “First Great Awakening”- periods in which large groups of people turned their lives over to God- and was known to have man works that described his view on the world. Jonathan Edwards lived to preach multiple sermons and leading many Great Awakenings, one of his most famous is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” He was the grandfather to the third vice president of the United States. Edwards died in 1758 due to smallpox.

Jonathan Edwards view on eternal life was, equally, split between mercy and punishment. Edwards perceived the afterlife to be decided by the congregation’s actions and decisions on Earth. Edwards told of how God had us hanging by a thread, with the threats of swords and bows and arrows, above a pit of Hell: ”So that, thus it is that natural men Hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked, his anger is as great towards them are held in the hand of God, over the pit of … The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked.”* Edwards conveys God’s extremist values by saying this. By doing so, he creates a huge impact and change in the minds and thoughts of the Congregation.

*Lines 27-51 in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Edwards depicts God as loving, but with a strong passion. Edwards does not hold back on the hateful side of God, however. ”They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of Hell. And the reason why they do not go down to Hell at each moment, is not because God, in whose power they are, is not then very angry with them; as angry as he is with many miserable creatures now tormented in Hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of his wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth; yea, doubtless, with many that are now in this congregation, who it may be are at ease, than he is with many of those who are now in the flames of Hell.” Edwards depiction of God has the obvious and typical “Angry Overlord” feel, which will inevitably convert the lost and sinning congregation to Jesus and the Almighty. This is Edward’s goal and it worked many times. God is shown as having so much hatred that he despises the living rather than the souls in Hell. The reason why is because we still have the option and choice to turn from our ways, and we’re not.

*Lines 4-11 in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

“O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath,a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in Hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment. . .and you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay.* “

Jonathan Edwards was a Puritan, which is a branch of religion based off of the praise and worship of Jesus and God. Puritans believe that they were delivered to Earth to spread the word and gospel of the Almighty. Puritans are a strong and wholeful branch of the religion and still has active members and believers today. Edwards was strong in his belief and faith and practiced preaching from an early age, alongside becoming a theologist, a philosopher, and a strong willed character that shaped what we know about Puritans today. He was also known to be the leader and starter of the Great Awakenings. Jonathan Edwards tell of his faith in his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Edwards truly believed that his was and is still almighty. Edwards shaped the religion into what is today.

Lines 66-74 in “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry

“We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by; thus easy is it for God when he pleases to cast his enemies down to Hell. . . .” shown in these lines, which open up the sermon, Edwards explains that humans are easily compared to worms in God’s eyes. This shows how weak we are compared to the almighty power of God. Edwards used phrases and actions to express just how true this is. Not only is God eternal and Almighty, he is the very uphold of our universe. Every action and decision he makes affects human life, because God is a god. Comparing him to a human is like, well, comparing a human to a worm.

*Lines 1-3 in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Cotton Mather was a puritan minister from New England. He was born on February 12, 1663 to Increase Mather and Maria Cotton. To say the least, Cotton was a very intelligent youth. He was added to the Boston Latin School hall of fame and he graduated from Harvard at the age of fifteen. With all of his accomplishments, he became an assistant pastor to his father at North Church in Boston. A few years later and Cotton was the full time pastor. Cotton went on to write four hundred and fifty pamphlets and books and soon became one of the most influential religious leaders in America. Some of Cottons major works include; Boston Ephermeris , The Biblia Americana, and the Magnalia Christi Americana. Cotton even had relations to the Salem Witch Trials. He was one of the people who influenced the construction of the court for the trials.Although, Cotton did not go to any of the trials himself.

An Army of Devils is horribly broke in upon the place which is the Center, and after a sort, the First-born of our English Settlements: and the Houses of the Good People there are fill'd with the doleful Shrieks of their Children and Servants, Tormented by Invisible Hands, with Tortures altogether preternatural. After the Mischiefs there Endeavoured, and since in part Conquered, the terrible Plague, of Evil Angels, hath made its Progress into some other places, where other Persons have been in like manner Diabolically handled. These our poor Afflicted Neighbours, quickly after they become Infected and Infested with these Dæmons, arrive to a Capacity of Discerning those which they conceive the Shapes of their Troublers; and notwithstanding the Great and Just Suspicion, that the Dæmons might Impose the Shapes of Innocent Persons in their Spectral Exhibitions upon the Sufferers, (which may perhaps prove no small part of the Witch-Plot in the issue) yet many of the Persons thus Represented, being Examined, several of them have been Convicted of a very Damnable Witchcraft: yea, more than One Twenty have Confessed, that they have Signed unto a Book, which the Devil show'd them, and Engaged in his Hellish Design of Bewitching, and Ruining our Land. We know not, at least I know not, how far the Delusions of Satan may be Interwoven into some Circumstances of the Confessions; but one would think, all the Rules of Understanding Humane Affairs are at an end, if after so many most Voluntary Harmonious Confessions, made by Intelligent Persons of all Ages, in sundry Towns, at several Times, we must not Believe the main strokes wherein those Confessions all agree: especially when we have a thousand preternatural Things every day before our eyes, wherein the Confessors do acknowledge their Concernment, and give Demonstration of their being so Concerned. If the Devils now can strike the minds of men with any Poisons of so fine a Composition and Operation, that Scores of Innocent People shall Unite, in Confessions of a Crime, which we see actually committed, it is a thing prodigious, beyond the Wonders of the former Ages, and it threatens no less than a sort of a Dissolution upon the World. Now, by these Confessions 'tis Agreed, That the Devil has made a dreadful Knot of Witches in the Country, and by the help of Witches has dreadfully increased that Knot: That these Witches have driven a Trade of Commissioning their Confederate Spirits, to do all sorts of Mischiefs to the Neighbours, whereupon there have ensued such Mischievous consequences upon the Bodies and Estates of the Neighbourhood, as could not otherwise be accounted for: yea, That at prodigious Witch-Meetings, the Wretches have proceeded so far, as to Concert and Consult the Methods of Rooting out the Christian Religion from this Country, and setting up instead of it, perhaps a more gross Diabolesm, than ever the World saw before. And yet it will be a thing little short of Miracle, if in so spread a Business as this, the Devil should not get in some of his Juggles, to confound the Discovery of all the rest.

Page 15 & 16

Based on the information found in Cotton Mather’s “The Wonders of the Invisible World””, I can conclude that Cotton is like Jonathan Edwards. Their viewpoints are somewhat the same. Both men believe that people who do not turn to God are going to Hell. However, these two men expressed their beliefs in different extremities. Mather chose to show his belief by describing how people were agreeing to work for the Devil and to root out all Christian religion. “More than One Twenty have Confessed, that they have Signed unto a Book, which the Devil show'd them, and Engaged in his Hellish Design of Bewitching, and Ruining our Land…...That at prodigious Witch-Meetings, the Wretches have proceeded so far, as to Concert and Consult the Methods of Rooting out the Christian Religion from this Country, and setting up instead of it, perhaps a more gross Diabolism, than ever the World saw before.” We see in these quotes from “The Wonders of the Invisible World” that Mather believes that the Devil is basically recruiting people to eliminate the Christian faith. He believes that Satan is at work in the world and that people who choose to follow him will be eternally damned.

This realization in Mathers work leads me to believe that he is like Edwards because they both believe that people who are not born again will be sent straight to Hell. In Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, we see that he is using everything he can to make his congregation realize their fate if they are not reborn. “And the reason they do not go down to Hell at each moment, is not because God, in whose power they are, is not then very angry with them; as angry as he is with many miserable creatures now tormented in Hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of his wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with numbers that are now on earth; yea doubtless, with many that are now in this congregation, who it may be are at ease, than he is with many of those who are now in the flames of Hell…. So that, thus it is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of Hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it.” We see in this quote from Edwards that he believes that anyone who is not saved will be sent straight to Hell. Edwards talks about being reborn, meaning that any unsaved soul will face the same fate as the people that work for Satan. Both Mather and Edwards are Puritan, which means that they believe a lot of the same teachings. Both men believe that to ascend to Heaven you must be reborn and you cannot work for Satan.

Pages 15 & 16 of “The Wonders of the Invisible World.”

Lines 5 - 11 and 37 - 38 of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Michael Wigglesworth, son of Edward Wigglesworth and Ester Middlebrook, was born on October 18, 1631. Wigglesworth was known to have been a complex and unstable person. He didn’t have a belief in God, due to his feeling of inferiority and thinking he wasn’t worthy to acknowledge him. Wigglesworth kept diaries that told of his confused mindset and why he felt like a lesser human being. Wigglesworth also believed that since he was susceptible to falling back to the sinful ways of man, it further distanced him from religion. Despite his space from the religion, he still acknowledged that God was a being, just simply unworthy of being praised by him. Wigglesworth’s most popular work of literature is called The Day of Doom or a Poetical Description of the Great and Last Judgement, which tells of the oncoming rapture and God’s final judgement on his people.

1) Still was the night, Serene and Bright, when all Men sleeping lay; Calm was the season, and carnal reason thought so 'twould last for ay. 5) Soul, take thine ease, let sorrow cease, much good thou hast in store: This was their Song, their Cups among, the Evening before.

9) Wallowing in all kind of sin, vile wretches lay secure: The best of men had scarcely then their Lamps kept in good ure. 13) Virgins unwise, who through disguise amongst the best were number'd, Had clos'd their eyes; yea, and the wise through sloth and frailty slumber'd.

17) Like as of old, when Men grow bold Gods' threatnings to contemn, Who stopt their Ear, and would not hear, when Mercy warned them: 21) But took their course, without remorse till God began to powre Destruction the World upon in a tempestuous showre.

25) They put away the evil day, And drown'd their care and fears, Till drown'd were they, and swept away by vengeance unawares: 29) So at the last, whilst Men sleep fast in their security, Surpriz'd they are in such a snare as cometh suddenly.

From the information and the text I’ve read, I can say that Michael Wigglesworth and Jonathan Edwards are the most alike. Both of the men had strong beliefs and extreme ways of expressing them. Wigglesworth sounds exactly like Edwards did in his book the Day of Doom. Both Edwards and Wigglesworth used the words wretched and vile to describe sinners in the eyes of God. In stanza two, lines thirteen through 15, Wigglesworth tells that virgins impure went with what they wanted to do rather than follow God’s path. Similarly, Edwards described humans to be blunt with their ways and did what they wished. Edwards and Wigglesworth obviously had similar views, but they were different as a person. Jonathan was a priest and Michael was a philosopher. Jonathan studied to become better at religion, while Michael only studied it to learn about religions.

Works Cited

Title Slide;

"Theology Network - Doctrine of God - The Wrath of God as an Aspect of the Love of God." Theology Network - Doctrine of God - The Wrath of God as an Aspect of the Love of God. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

Anne Bradstreet;

"Anne Bradstreet." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

"American Dream." : Anne Bradstreet (1612. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

""To My Dear and Loving Husband" - Sophomore English." "To My Dear and Loving Husband" - Sophomore English. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014

""Upon the Burning of Our House - July 10th, 1666" - Sophomore English.""Upon the Burning of Our House - July 10th, 1666" - Sophomore English. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014

"The Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village." The Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

Jonathan Edward;

"Jonathan Edwards (theologian)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

"Jonathan Edwards Biography." Inspirational Christians. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014

"ONLINE LIT TEXT- Sinners.pdf - Google Drive." ONLINE LIT TEXT- Sinners.pdf - Google Drive. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

"Pilgrims, Puritans, and the Ideology That Is Their American Legacy." The Berkeley Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

Cotton Mather;

“Cotton Mather." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

"The Spurgeon Archive." The Spurgeon Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

"Redirect Notice." Redirect Notice. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

The Wonders of the Invisible World. N.p., n.d. Web.<http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28513/28513-h/28513-h.htm#Page_3>.

Michael Wigglesworth;

"Michael Wigglesworth." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

"Vanity of Vanities by Michael Wigglesworth (1662)." Calvinist Poets. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

“The Day of Doom Stanzas 1-25. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2014.

"Mezzo Cammin: An Online Journal of Formalist Poetry by Women - Featured Artist." Mezzo Cammin: An Online Journal of Formalist Poetry by Women - Featured Artist. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

The End!