1.
The narrator has an elevated tone. It is not a sermon that is supposed to reassure people, but one that is supposed to warn them of all the horrors that await them if they don’t convert to Christianity and follow God’s ways. He wants to inspire dread and fear in his readers/listeners, but also a desire to stop indulging in sinful behavior and alter their lives. At times, he directly addresses the public, making the ideas of the sermon that much more genuine and applicable.
2. (No question?)
3. “They were always exposed to Destruction, as one that stands or walks in slippery Places is always exposed to fall” – simile, or comparison between two actions, with the preposition “like” or “as”.
“What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose Rebuke the Earth trembles, and before whom the Rocks are thrown down?” – rhetorical question, one that doesn’t need to be answered, as the answer is obvious. In other words, we are nothing.
“The Sword of divine Justice” – metaphor, when something isn’t to be understood literally, as it represents something else. In this case, the Sword of divine Justice represents God’s wrath that may be cruel to sinners, but it serves his justice.
“The Pit is prepared, the Fire is made ready, the Furnace is now hot, ready to receive them, the Flames do now rage and glow” – visual and tactile imagery. He is talking about concepts of sin and punishment, but this imagery can make the audience almost see and feel the burning H.ell.
These elements might have had a terrifying effect on the audience. They make the text more persuasive, as it relies not only on an understanding of the message the author wants to convey, but also (and even more) on the dread and fear that all of us have as sinners.
4. The most important ideas are sin and punishment, repentance and redemption. All people are sinners, and none are exempt from God’s plan to punish the wicked and unconverted by sending them to the eternal fires of H.ell. As death may happen at any moment, we are to let go of our sins right now, and atone for them. We have to stop neglecting Christ. H.ell is not an abstract concept. It is real pain and suffering in flames and fire. Right now, on Earth, we get to feel only a sample of that suffering. God has an exclusive right and power to push us into H.ell whenever He wants, suddenly, without warning.
The Puritan value of piety is illustrated in the idea that we must humbly accept God’s will and judgment. “What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose Rebuke the Earth trembles, and before whom the Rocks are thrown down?” None of us has a guaranteed place in Heaven, but H.ell awaits us all.
The value of courage is illustrated in the fact that we should start using all our efforts to transform our wicked ways. We mustn’t wait any longer. We have to act now. “Now God stands ready to pity you; this is a Day of Mercy; you may cry now with some Encouragement of obtaining Mercy: but when once the Day of Mercy is past, your most lamentable and dolorous Cries and Shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God as to any Regard to your Welfare; God will have no other Use to put you to but only to suffer Misery (…)”
Industry means that we need to work hard on our own salvation. First, we need to accept Christ. Then, we need to follow God’s commandments and alter our lives to conform his will. “The bigger Part of those that heretofore have lived under the same Means of Grace, and are now dead, are undoubtedly gone to H.ell: and it was not because they were not as wise as those that are now alive: it was not because they did not lay out Matters as well for themselves to secure their own escape.” It means that wisdom is not enough for salvation. We need to work very hard towards earning salvation. Also, “And let every one that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over the Pit of H.ell, whether they be old Men and Women, or middle Aged, or young People, or little Children, now hearken to the loud Calls of God’s Word and Providence.” He urges people not to passively wait to be dam.ned or saved, but to act towards it.
5. Everybody is susceptible to God’s punishment, and it is not because of other people, but because of oneself and one’s own frailty and sins. The fact that we haven’t fallen yet is due to the fact that God’s time hasn’t come yet. God has the power to cast down all of us to h.ell at any given moment.
Unconverted people, that is people who are not Christians, are already on their way to h.ell.
People often think that H.ell exists, but they don’t belong there. It is mere flattery. In truth, only a few will be saved from the eternal dam.nation and suffering. There will be no excuses for us when the Day of Judgment comes.
The fact that some is here and now, reading or listening to this sermon, doesn’t mean that they won’t find themselves in H.ell tomorrow. Young people and children have reasons to fear and stop neglecting God, as much as old people.