The tone changes drastically in the last paragraphs of the sermon "Sinners at the Hands of an Angry God." Why? What intent/function does this have?

There is
indeed a marked change of tone towards
the latter part of Edwards's sermon. Previously, Edwards
had subjected his
audience to a violent harangue full of hellfire and brimstone, scaring them

silly with lurid images of the fiery torments that await them if God has deemed them
as
unrepentant sinners.

But as well as scaring his
audience straight, Edwards
knows that his sermon must also offer some hope of
redemption. A skilled public speaker, Edwards
is acutely aware that the last
part of a speech is the one most likely to remain in the
audience's mind. So
in the last few paragraphs of "," he reminds his audience of God's

inexhaustible mercy. And it is because God is so loving, merciful, and compassionate
that it is
possible for sinners to turn their lives around and become
born-again.

In
the very last line of his sermon, Edwards
enjoins his congregation to "escape to the
mountain, lest you be consumed."
This puts the onus on his audience to...