awakened. Though now preaching won't awaken them, and the death of others
won't awaken [them]; though seeing others awakened and converted won't much
affect them; though they can stand all that is to be heard and seen in a time of
general outpouring of the Spirit of God without being much moved: yet the time
will come when they will be awakened, and fear will take hold of them. They will
be afraid of the wrath of God. However senseless they are now, they will hereafter
be sensible of the awful greatness of God and that it is a fearful thing to fall into
his hands.
That they will be surprised by fear, Edwards says, implies "the greatness of their
ben't convinced that there is such place as hell, but they are afraid there is. They
ben't thoroughly awakened. But yet neither are they quite easy. They have at
times inward molestations from their consciences, but they have no such degree
of fear as to put upon any thorough endeavors for their escape. But hereafter they
will have fear enough--as much, and a great deal more, than they can stand
under. Their fear will be to the degree of horror. They shall be horribly afraid, and
terrors shall take hold on them as waters. . . . The stoutest of 'em all will then
melt with fear. Those who were of a sturdy spirit and, it may be, would scorn to
own themselves afraid of any man, and were ashamed to own themselves afraid of
the wrath of God, their hearts will become weak as water, as weak as the heart of
a little child. And the most reserved of them will not be able to hide his fears.
Their faces shall turn pale. They shall appear with fright and amazement in their
countenance. Every joint in them shall tremble, and all their bones shall shake;
their knees shall smite one against another. And they will not be able to avoid
crying out with fear and rending the air with the most dismal shrieks.
Their fear will be great but it also will come suddenly. "The sinners in Zion often