According to Jonathan Edwards, what keeps sinners out of the fiery "pit of hell" in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"?

In his
fire-and-brimstone sermon, "the last Puritan," , declares that it is only the hand of
God that keeps sinners from falling into the fiery pit of hell.

The Reverend
Edwards asserts that God holds sinners over the pit of hell in much the same manner as a person
may hold a spider or some other repugnant insect over a fire. He tells his congregation that God
abhors the sinner:

....He looks upon you as worthy of
nothing else but to be cast into the fire...you are ten thousand times more abominable in His
eyes than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours...and yet it is nothing but
His hand that holds you from falling into the fire....

Further, Edwards informs his listeners that they could easily have
gone to hell the previous night, or even when they arose in the morning but for the hand of God.
In fact, he adds that there is no reason that God should not drop into hell these sinners who
sit listening to his sermon in the house of God.

"Sinners in the Hand of
an Angry God" is unquestionably Edwards's most famous sermon. As may be expected, this
sermon had a powerful effect upon his listeners, so much so that he had to ask his screaming and
swooning audience for quiet at several points in his delivery.