In the 18th century, many people died at a much younger age than they do today. how might awareness of the fragility of life have affected people’s receptiveness to edwards’s sermon.

Edward's sermon warned people of what would happen to them after death if they did not repent and followed God's commandments. Therefore, the threat he was relying on was that of the afterlife.

In the eighteenth century, people died at a younger age than they do now. This means that death was more likely to be present in their minds as an immediate reality and a constant threat. This awareness of the fragility of life most likely made people more afraid of the afterlife, and in consequence, more receptive to Edward's sermon.