The Reality OF Hell Punishments.

THE words belong to that aw­ful and awakening discourse of our Saviour, commonly called the parable of the rich man and Lazarus; tho' some don't so well approve of calling it a parable, for there is no si­militude used in it. It is rather a narrative or description of the different state of good [...] had men in the other world. To illus­ [...] this description, and make it the more [Page 2]solemn and affecting, two particular persons, whose circumstances were very different in this world, are supposed, and made the subjects of it. What is design'd to be re­presented in the whole, is true in fact; and there are many instances and examples of it, in this and in the other worlds. The wicked are, some of them, rich, great, and prosperous in this world; but extremely and everlastingly miserable in the next. The godly are, some of them, poor, afflict­ed, despised in this world, but infinitely and everlastingly happy in the other. This is the substance, scope, and end of this dis­course of our Saviour.

The words of our text are spoken of the wicked rich man. He died, as well as the poor beggar; for riches cannot deliver from death. And was buried, which is not obse [...]v'd of the other; had a pompous and costly funeral, sutable to his worldly [...]tate and degree. But his condition after death, was most wretched and miserable: In [...]el [...]e lift up his eyes being in torments. O sad end of a soft and delicate, a careless and stupid, a sensual and voluptuous life!

In hell ^*; in Hades, the state of the wic­ked dead, the region of damned spirits. He [Page 3]lift up his eyes: Not the eyes of his body, for that was buried in the grave; but the eyes of his mind. For (as says a judicious writer on the place, ^†) bodily members and sensible acts, are ascrib'd in scripture to separate souls, by way of allusion; as they are likewise many times ascrib'd to God himself, tho' he be a pure and perfect Spirit. The eyes of his mind, which were shut while he liv'd, were opened after death; his understanding and conscience were now awakened, and he was convinc'd of those things which he did not apprehend, or wou'd not believe before. Being in tor­ments: The pains of hell had now actu­ally got hold upon him; he felt such im­pressions of the wrath of God upon his soul, as were not to be match'd with the great­est bodily torments in this world.

The DOCTRINE I would now offer from these words is this, viz.

It is a most certain and awful truth, That there is a HELL, a place of misery and torment, in which the wicked shall be punish'd after this life.

[Page 4] Under this Doctrine I propose only these two things.

• 1. To give the proof and evi­dence that there is such a place and state of misery, as we call hell, for the punishment of wicked and unholy persons after this life.
• 2. To speak of the awful seasons or periods at which sinners pass into this place of punishment.

1. To give the proof and evidence that there is such a place and state of misery, as we call hell, for the punishment of the wicked and ungodly after this life.

This is indeed no pleasing subject for us to insist upon, but a necessary one for you to hear of, which we, who are put in trust with the gospel, must not baulk. A part of the counsel of God which we must not shun to declare to you, as we would be found faithful to your souls, and to our own, and to our master that sends us. Our LORD JESUS CHRIST frequently preach'd up­on this subject in the days of his ministry. How often and earnestly did he tell his hearets of the damnation of hell ^*, the fur­nace of fire into which the wicked shall be cast ^†, the place of darkness ^‖ where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth; of the worm [Page 5]that dies not, and the fire that shall never be quenched ^‡, the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels ^*? How many such passages might I gather up, and you easi­ly remember, from his sermons recorded in the holy gospels? And we shou'd learn of Him how to preach, and fulfil our ministry. Surely men need to hear of this now as much as then. Men have within them an evil heart of unbelief, that inclines them to question this truth. Satan endeavours to perswade them out of the belief of it, as he did our first parents. He said to the woman, Tho' ye do eat, ye shall not surely die, Gen. iii. 4. So he says to sinners now, Tho' you do transgress you shall not be damn'd; ye shall not surely go to hell. He promises them impunity, and so makes them the servants of sin. Men had need therefore be con­firm'd in the belief of this truth now, lest their infidelity be cur'd by woful experience. Hell torments are not a melancholy fancy, no cunningly devised fable, nor empty threatning; but an awful truth, a dread­ful reality. For

1. This is a doctrine that does but agree with the majesty and authority of the great God as the king and judge of the world. [Page 6]The Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods. He is the king eternal, im­mortal, invisible; the blessed and the only potentate: The king of kings, and lord of lords; with whom is terrible majesty ^* Now the kings and princes of the earth you know, have not only their royal pala­ces for themselves, and for their nobles and attendants, but also their prisons, jails, and dungeons, into which they cast and secure criminals and malefactors, traitors and con­spirators. And this is needful to keep up the greatness and secure the honour of their government. And shall not the great king, whose name is dreadful ^†, have a place wherein to secure and punish those who are so hardy and insolent as to break his laws, and rebel against his authority? How wou'd his government be expos'd and weakn'd if it shou'd be otherwise? This wou'd encou­rage mutiny in heaven, and rebellion on earth. To what purpose would it be for him to call sinning angels and men to an account, if he had no where to punish them for their offences? Thus, 'tis but sutable to the divine majesty and authority that there shou'd be a hell for the punishment of the wicked.

[Page 7] 2. It is necessary for the maintaining and vindicating the divine justice and holiness. We know that the Lord is not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with him: The foolish shall not stand in his sight; for he hateth all the workers of ini­quity ^*. He is infinitely opposite in his na­ture, will, and works to all moral impurity. And as he has forbidden it in his law, jus­tice requires him to punish it according to its deserts. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right ^†; and therefore make a difference in his dispensations, between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not? This is not visibly done in the present world. Now wickedness seems to be conniv'd at, and sinners to be countenanc'd, rather than otherwise, by being indulg'd with outward ease, pomp, and prosperity, as was the rich man the text speaks of. This was an anci­ent difficulty, which the people of God ob­serv'd, and were ready to stumble at. Jer. xii. 1. Righteous art thou, O Lord! Yet let me talk of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Job xxi. 7—13. Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established [Page 8]in their sight with them, and their off-spring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.— They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They take the tim­brel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ: They spend their days in wealth —. The Psalmist was in the like anxiety, being press'd with the same temptation. Psal. lxxiii. Init. As for me my feet were almost gone, my steps had well-nigh slipt. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperi­ty of the wicked. For they are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men. — Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart can wish. — Be­hold these are the ungodly who prosper in the world, they increase in riches. But now that which eases the difficulty, and satisfactorily clears up the matter is, That the Lord knows h [...]w to reserve the unjust to future punish­ment ^*, whom he forbears for the present, or touches but lightly. The rod of God is not upon them now, because his fury is to" rest upon them hereafter. We are therefore bid to judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come ^†. And hence the day of wrath is call'd the day of the revelation of the righ­teous [Page 9]judgment of God ^‖. Thus the present impunity of the wicked, plainly refers us to a future punishment. Psalm xcii. 7. When the wicked spring as the grass, and all the workers of iniquity do flourish: it is that they shall be destroyed for ever.

3. CHRIST'S coming into the world, his suf­ferings and death, are a convincing argu­ment and proof that there is a hell. Why did He come into the world, but to save his people from this place of misery? "He did not come to save them from the lesser consequences of sin, such as the calamities of this present life, and bodily death; for to these they are still expos'd, tho' he is made redemption to them. It can't rea­sonably be tho't a design great eno' for the son of God to come from heaven to earth upon, and to lay down his life for, to save us only from bodily and temporal evils. Surely our Lord had not come from the highest heavens, but to save us from the low­est hell. The salvation of Christ is call'd a deliverance from the wrath to come, 1 Thes. 1.10. But (as one observes upon it) if that wrath be imaginary, so must our deli­verance from it be too ^*.

[Page 10] Moreover, They were the very pains of hell which our Lord suffered. Indeed, he did not lo­cally descend into hell, to suffer there a­mongst the damned ^†; nor did he suffer after the same manner as they do. No, these things were absolutely inconsistent with the holiness, purity, and dignity of his person. The sufferings of Christ and the sufferings of the damned, were therefore necessarily different in several circumstances of them. Nevertheless our Lord did suffer in his soul such pains, horror, agony, and terror, as were of the same nature and kind with the sufferings of hell ^‖; such as none ever suffer'd on this side hell, and carried in them the essence of the punishment of the second death. For the wrath of God due to the elect for their sins, was poured into his soul, and he bore the curse of the law in the full weight of it. Gal. iii. 13. How inconceivably great were his sufferings in the garden? In his agony there he was afraid, and amazed, and fell flat on the ground: He [Page 11]began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and said to those that were with him, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: And his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground ^*. And must not this arise from such a sense of the wrath of God, as is, for the substance of it, like that suffer'd in hell. He felt the same in the time of his crucifixion, when that bitter outcry was extorted from him, My God, my God, why hast thou sorsaken me ^†? The sufferings of Christ were answerable to the pains of hell, and therefore call'd such in scripture. For to Christ the son of David, of whom David was a type, we may apply those words of the Psalmist, Psalm xviii. 5. The sorrows of hell compassed me about. Psalm cxvi. 3. The sorrows of death compassed me about, the pains of hell gat hold upon me. Christ did not feel the sorrows of hell after death, but he felt them in his soul while he liv'd, before his death; the very same (as has been said) for kind and substance, tho' not after the same manner, and in the same circumstances.

[Page 12] Here now is another proof or demon­stration of this truth, That there is a hell for the wicked. If Christ did feel and suffer the very pains of hell, when he bore the wrath and curse of God due to the elect for their sins, then certainly there is a hell, a place provided and prepared, in which the wicked shall suffer his wrath and vengeance for ever. As our Lord was going to suffer and die, he turned himself to the company which followed him, and said, If they do these things in a green Tree, what shall be done in the dry? Luke xxiii. 31. As much as if he had said, "If God deliver me up to such suf­ferings as these, because I am made a sa­crifice for sin, what will he do with sinners themselves"? Truly from the bitter suf­ferings of Christ, we may justly infer what shou'd have been done to the whole race of mankind, if he had not interpos'd; and what shall be done to those who die in their sins, unsanctified and unpardoned. If God did this to the son of his love, when he found sin but imputed to him, what shall he do to the children of his wrath, whom he will find under the guilt and reigning power of sin? The apostle argues after this manner in another case, 1 Pet. iv. 17. If judgment begin at the house [Page 13]of God, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

4. Men have the intimations and pre­sages of this truth within themselves: Na­tural conscience bears witness to it. There are implanted in the minds of men by na­ture, apprehensions and expectations of a state of misery after this life, for them that do wickedly. The very heathen have had the apprehensions of it without the light of revelation ^*. It would take up too much time, and be not so fit for the holy sabbath, nor for a christian and po­pular audience, to mention what some of their Philosophers and Poets ^† have said of future punishments: Wherein tho' for want of scripture revelation their imagin­nations have been vain, yet they give e­vidence to the thing it self written in their consciences, about which the word of God doth inform us more fully and clearly.

[Page 14] They that are loth to believe this truth, and try to dispute themselves out of it, yet can't deliver themselves from the fears of it. An awakened conscience will suggest it, let sinners strive what they can to si­lence it. Doubtless they were the fears of this which caus'd Belshazzer the king to change his countenance, and his knees to smite [...]neagainst another, in the midst of his impious feast, when he saw the hand-writing on the wall. Dan. v. 5, 6. And this is what the Apostle calls a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, Heb. x. 27.

Nay, not only have all men the fears and apprehensions of a wrath to come, but some have had the very fore-tastes of it. The pains of hell have even gat hold up­on them in this world. The worm that never dies has began to bite them here. "Some have felt such a hell within them, [Page 15]as has been a plain indication of one be­fore them" ^‖

5. If there is a heaven for the good, doubtless there is a hell for the wicked. The belief of future rewards for good men, does necessarily dra [...] after it the be­lief of future punishments for the wicked. The arguments that prove the one, do e­qually prove the other also. So that if there be a heaven, a place of light, joy, and blessedness, where the godly are re­ceiv'd and comforted after this life, there is likewise a hell, a place of darkness, sor­row, and misery, into which the wicked are carried when they leave this world.

6. The scriptures of truth do plainly and clearly reveal this to us. Here is at last the proper proof of the thing. Other ar­guments are strongly presumptive, but this puts the matter out of doubt, renders the thing beyond all dispute true; and by this we are to regulate our faith. What­soever is reveal'd in the word of God, challenges the honour of being believ'd because it is there contain'd. Not to cre­dit what is there deliver'd, is to affront the divine veracity, and make God a liar.

[Page 16] The scriptures are a sure word of prophe­cy. They have all the evidences that can reasonably be desir'd, that they are indeed from God. They have been confirm'd by numerous surprizing miracles; which were all well attested, being openly shewed in the sight of the world. And can it be suppos'd this divine seal wou'd be affix'd to a lie? Beside this outward attestation of miracles, the scripture has all internal tokens and characters of divinity. It car­ries in it such impressions of wisdom, holi­ness, majesty &c. as are nothing less than divine. It appears to us in a self-evidenc­ing light. They that look into it with a mind rightly dispos'd, must needs find a difference between this and all other books in the world. For what is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord God. Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord? And like the hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Jer. xxiii. 29, 30. The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the tho'ts and intents of the heart. In the reading and hearing of it, many have been convinced of all, and judg­ed of all, and had the secrets of their hearts made manifest; and so falling down on their [Page 17]face, have acknowledg'd, God is in it of a truth. Heb. iv. 12. 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25. ^*

In short, If the bible be not the word of God, then there is no divine revelati­on now in the world; no discovery at all of God's mind concerning our duty and happiness: And can it be suppos'd God has left the world wholly destitute of what it stands in so much need of? If therefore there are any who despise the sacred scriptures, who wou'd contradict and bear down the divine authority of these holy books, and laugh at those who regulate their faith, and govern their lives by them; as do some of the scoffers of these last days, affecting to be tho't fashionable, and to have more sense than the rest of mankind: There is just cause to fear their [Page 18] antipathy to the bible is such as that they will not read it at all; or if they do, that their lusts and prejudices darken their un­derstandings, and hinder them from re­ceiving the truth in the love of it: That they try to perswade themselves and o­thers that it is not true, only because they wou'd not have it to be so; for if it be, then wo, wo, wo, to such scepticks and unbelievers; whose peculiar and aggra­vated condemnation will be this, That light is come into the world, and they have loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil, John iii. 19.

But we know and are assured, that the scriptures are the word of God, and consequently the word of truth. And in them the curtain between this and the in­visible world, is a [...] it were drawn back, and we are shewn things that are to come hereafter. How plainly and abundantly do they tell us, that there is a place of everlasting misery and torment, in which the wicked shall have their portion assign'd them after this life. Both testaments are full of it. It is needless, and wou'd be almost endless, to turn you to the several texts that speak of this. Yea, they tell us of many who are already turned into this dreadful place, and are now actually suf­fering [Page 19]in it. So are the sinning angels. 2 Pet. ii. 4. God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and deli­vered them into chains of darkness, to be re­served unto judgment. So are the sinners of the old world: Their spirits are now in pri­son, which some time were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing ^*, [Page 20]1 Pet. iii. 19, 20. So also are the sinners of Sodom, Jude 7. ver. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them, giving themselves over to fornication, and going af­ter strange flesh, are set forth for an exam­ple, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. They were for their abominable and unna­tural wickedness consum'd out of the earth by fire from heaven, and are now suffering the vengeance of hell fire. To this place was committed the soul of the rich man the text speaks of. And thither went the soul of miserable Judas, when he had dispatch'd himself out of this world. Acts i. 25. From which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place, i. e. to hell, which was his place by divine appoint­ment, and his own demerit.

These things are enough to prove the Doctrine, and set it beyond all sober con­tradiction. A hell there is; and they that will not be convinc'd of it by such argu­ments [Page 21]as these, will have a dreadful con­viction of it at last by sense and feeling.

II. We come now to speak a little of the awful seasons or periods at which sin­ners pass into this place of punishment. These are two: At death, and after the general judgment.

1. The souls of the wicked go into the place of punishment at death. The scrip­ture gives us to apprehend a particular judgment to which the souls of all men go immediately after death. Heb. ix. 27. It is appointed for all men once to die, and after this the judgment; the latter follows upon or immediately after the former. When the dust returns to the dust as it was, the spirit goes to God who gave it, Eccl. xii. 7. It goes to him as a judge, to be by him determin'd to its eternal state. And this way looks that of the Apostle, Rom. xiv. 12. So then every one of us will give account of himself to God; every one singly and alone will do so, at the end of this life. Then a judgment passes upon every soul, previous to that which will be at the end of the world, tho' there is the same event as to both: For the particular judgment ‘at the end of this life, determines the soul to that happiness or misery, which [Page 22]the general judgment at the end of the world will determine soul and body to.’ There is therefore a first damnation, ante­cedent to the resurrection, and that treads upon the heels of death, which respects the soul only. This is represented to us in vision, Rev. vi. 8. And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him. The souls of such as die in their sins are adjudg'd to hell by God, and car­ried there by devils, as soon as they leave their bodies; and while their bodies lie in the grave, their souls are in torment there. This is plain from our text, and the whole narrative which it is a part of. The wicked rich man, was no sooner dead, but in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments: and cried out, I am tormented in this flame.

The reward of the righteous begins at the hour of death: so does the punish­ment of the wicked. It would be a favour indeed if sinners might have their punish­ment suspended till the resurrection, du­ring the long interval between their death and the judgment day: but it will not be so. When the souls of the wicked go to God at death, he delivers them to the tor­mentors, Mat. xviii. 34. And therefore we have the Psalmist praying and depre­cating, [Page 23]as in Psalm xxvi. 9. Gather not my soul with sinners.

2. After the resurrection they will be cast into it in their whole persons, body and soul united as they are now. When the trial of the great day is over, that sen­tence will be pronounced upon the wicked, Mat. xxv. 41. Depart ye cursed into ever­lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his an­gels. This sentence will be executed as soon as pass'd. The holy angels, those ministers of his that do his pleasure, being arm'd with power sufficient, shall be the executioners of it. Mat. xiii. 41, 42. — So shall it be in the end of the world. The son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniqui­ty; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. We are told what the issue of the last judgment wil be, in Rev. xx. 14. And death and hell (the wicked whose bo­dies were rais'd out of the grave, and whose spirits were fetch'd from the infernal re­gion) were cast (body and soul together) into the lake of fire which is the second death. So we read, Job xxi. 30. The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction; they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath: As [Page 24]malefactors are brought forth out of pri­son in order to their execution. Agreably our Saviour has forewarn'd us, Mat. x. 28. Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Upon this account damned spirits do now dread the judgment day, and think of it with horror. The devils do so; for then their misery and torment will be greater than now it is. Mat. viii. 29. And, doubtless, 'tis the same with damned souls: For tho' their misery is now inexpressibly great, yet not so great as it will be after the judgment day, when body and soul together shall be cast into hell, and they will suffer in their whole man. Hence the unjust are said to be reserved unto the day of judgment to be punished; because that will be the day of their compleat punish­ment. 2 Pet. ii. 9.

If now it should be ask'd by any, Where is the hell you have been discoursing of? And is the place of misery the same now that it will be after the day of judgment? I answer, This is what the scripture hath not clearly reveal'd; and it becomes us to beware of vain curiosities; of intruding into those things which we have not seen, as [Page 25]the Apostle's phrase is, Col. ii. 18. It concerns us but little to know now, whe­ther hell be in the air, or in the concave of the earth. It is enough that we know there is such a place; and it concerns us to spend our tho'ts, and time, and pains how to keep out of it, rather than to ex­ercise our selves with needless inquiries about it.

Let therefore the present discourse come to us upon the same errand, the rich man desir'd Lazarus might be sent upon to his brethren in his father's house, namely, to testify unto us lest we come into this place of torment. O let all of us be convinc'd of that now, which none of us will be able to doubt of hereafter. Let us take heed lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief. This is indeed a place to us now unseen; there is a vail between us and it. But hell is naked before God, and to him destruction hath no covering, Job xxvi. 6. And he cou'd have laid it open, and expos'd it to common view, if he had so pleas'd. But besides his sovereign plea­sure in this matter, it is easily apprehend­ed this would not be so sutable to our state of trial and probation in this world, where we are to walk by faith, and not by [Page 26]sight. Therefore by faith being warned of God, of things not seen as yet, let us be so mov'd with fear, as to prepare an ark to the saving of our souls. Let us make haste to CHRIST, and see that we are in him by a true faith; for there is no condemna­tion to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.

The Extremity OF Hell Punishments.

HOPE and fear are the most ac­tive passions of humane nature: And the blessed God having made us with them, deals with us according to our frame, and makes use of these affections, to bring us to himself, and keep us within the com­pass of our duty. He has therefore pro­pounded to them such objects, as when [Page 28]believ'd and duely consider'd, can't but powerfully move and excite them. To encourage and raise our hopes, he in his word propounds a reward infinitely great; and to awaken and alarm our fears, he threatens us with a punishment inconcei­vably dreadful: And that this threatning may be the more regarded, the infliction and execution thereof, in the full extent and extremity of it, is as certain as eter­nal truth can make it.

In the words of our text we are told, what will be the final portion of the wic­ked and ungodly in the other world; what will be the certain end and conse­quence of a life of irreligion and impiety persisted in. And this is told us by our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who is the faith­ful and true witness; who liveth, and was dead, and behold he is alive for evermore; and has in his own hand the keys of hell and of death ^†.

In this chapter we have Christ preach­ing the gospel of the kingdom, to great multitudes which were gathered together to hear him. He spake many things to them in parables; in a way of continued similitude or comparison, by which spiri­tual [Page 29]and eternal things, are describ'd in language borrow'd from the things of this life. Our text belongs to the parable of the tares. We have the parable it self from the 24th to the 30th verse. And the exposition which Christ gave of it to his disciples at their request, from the 37th to the 43d verse.

The drift of the parable, is to let us know the present and future state of the gospel church. At present there are in it a mixture of good and bad, who are to continue together to the end of the world. Then a separation will be made, and the place of their everlasting abode, will be as far distant as heaven is from hell.

The particulars of the application or reddition of the parable, as our Saviour gives them to us, are these. He that sows the good seed is the son of man, Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of the harvest. The field is the world, the visible church, scattered all the world over, and not confin'd to any particular nation. The good seed are the children of the kingdom, true saints, the godly and righteous, form'd and made such by the Spirit of Christ, scatter'd here and there like precious seed, the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified. The tares are the children of the wicked one, the [Page 30]devil, such as bear his image, and do his lusts; who makes men wicked and keeps them so; who takes unwearied pains, watcheth all opportunities, and lays hold on all advantages, to corrupt mens minds and manners, to propagate error and in­fidelity, wickedness and profaneness. Who is therefore said in the 25th verse, to sow these tares, while men slept; before the Lord's servants and labourers were ap­priz'd of it. The harvest is the end of the world, the great day of judgment, when time shall be no longer. The reapers are the angels, who shall be employ'd by Christ in the great day, as the ministers of his justice. And the fire into which the tares shall then be cast, is hell-torments The 40, 41, and 42. verses. As therefore the tares are gathered and burnt in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity: And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

The words of our text, are a very awful and moving description of the misery and torment, which the wicked are to undergo in the other world. The place in which they must have their abode, is call'd a [Page 31]furnace of fire: And what a horrible and frightful idea does this convey to the mind? Who can dwell with devouring fire? Nebuchadnezzar's burning fiery furnace, heated seven times, was but a faint image of it ^†. Into this dreadful place they are not barely sent or put, but cast, with force and violence, against their wills, not­withstanding their loud shrieks and crys, and the utmost resistance they are able to make. And the extremity of the tor­ments they are here to undergo, is set forth by the effects thereof, which are wailing and gnashing of teeth. These ac­tions are the effects of extreme intolera­ble pain and anguish, rage and horror; and are design'd to set forth the intense degree of the torment of the wicked in the coming world; especially of such as pe­rish from under the gospel, and go to hell out of the visible church. And as Joseph told Pharaoh his dream was doubled, be­cause the thing was establish'd by God, and God wou'd shortly bring it to pass, ( Gen. xli. 32.) so for the greater confir­mation of this awful truth, the words of our text are thrice doubled, repeated no less [Page 32]than six times by this evangelist Matthew in his gospel ^‖.

The DOCTRINE now from the words is this, The misery and unishment of ungodly sin­ners in the future world, will be EX­TREME and INTOLERABLE.

On the last sabbath I gave you a dis­course concerning the reality or certainty of hell punishments; endeavour'd to set before you the proof and evidence of this awful doctrine of our holy religion, That there is a hell, a place of misery, for the punishment of obstinate finners in the next world. This I did as a foundation for the discourses that were to follow. The great­ness and extremity of the misery of the damned in hell, is to be the subject of the present discourse. For if satan, the great enemy of man's happiness, can't prevail to make men think there is no hell, his next endeavour is to soften future punish­ments, and represent them with as little [Page 33]terror as may be. It shall therefore be my endeavour at this time, as God shall help, to represent them to you in their nature, weight and terror, from the holy scrip­tures, which are a sure word of prophecy, whose intimations I wou'd follow, and lay aside uncertain conjectures. And O! that we might all employ our most serious and attentive tho'ts to this important subject, and so mix the word with faith that it may savingly profit us! In speaking to this Doctrine, I shall take the following method.

• 1. To explain what I mean, and wou'd have you understand, when I say the pu­nishment of the damned in hell will be extreme and intolerable.
• 2. Offer some considerations from whence their punishment must be tho't to be ex­tremely great.
• 3. Inquire into the nature and kind of this punishment, from whence the great­ness and extremity of it will still further appear.

  And

• 4. Mention some heavy circumstances, which help to render their punishment so extreme and intolerable.

1. To explain what I mean, and wou'd have you understand, when I say the pu­nishment [Page 34]of the damned in hell will be extreme and intolerable. And by the pro­perties of extremity and intolerableness, which are inseparable from hell torments, I would be understood to mean the fol­lowing things.

• 1. That they far exceed all the most heavy afflictive evils of the present life and world.

  There are various kinds of evils and mi­series, which men suffer in this world, from the righteous hand and providence of God, as the fruit and punishment of sin. There are particularly many painful do­lorous distempers to which we are liable; burning fevers, corroding cancers, the tormenting gout, stone and strangury. How many miserables have we seen, who have been chastened with pain upon their bed, and the multitude of their bones with strong pain, so that their life has abhor­red bread, and their soul dainty meat: who have been full of tossings to and fro to the dawning of the day; saying in the evening, would God it were morning, and in the morning, would God it were even­ing! Who have like Job complain'd even of life, and expostulated, Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul? Which long for death, and it cometh not: Who would rejoice exceeding­ly [Page 35]and be glad to find the grave! Job iii. 20, 21. And many exquisue punishments have been invented for the torturing great and public offenders; such as burning in the fire, breaking upon the wheel, and boiling in oil or lead. But the torments in hell do far exceed any of these, or whatever other can be invented by the wit or malice of men. What the Apostle says of the glory of heaven, may as well and truly be said of the misery of hell, All the afflictions of the present time, ^† are not worthy to be compared therewith.

• 2. That they are s [...] great that the wretch­ed subjects of them cou'd not endure them, without being utterly consum'd, were they not upheld in being for this end by the mighty power of God.

  Gracious supports the damned in hell have none. God does not support them in their misery, as he does his children in this world, under the fatherly afflictions he lays upon them for their good; where­by they are kept from fainting in the day of adversity, and are enabled to bear his hand with meekness, patience and resig­nation; with a filial subjection to him the father of spirits. No; the damned in hell [Page 36]have no such supports as these; if they had, their punishment would not be so in­tolerable. They are only supported in being by a continu'd act of God's power. Without this support, the extremity of their misery wou'd be the extinction of their being. If this shou'd be withdrawn, the spirit wou'd fail before him, and the soul which he has made. The damned are said to be vessels of wrath fitted to destructi­on, in which God makes his power known, Rom. ix. 22. They are by the power of God rendred capable to bear such tor­ments, as would else utterly consume them, Once more,

• 3. That the greatness of them cannot be fully comprehended in tho't, nor express'd by words.

  After all the terrible representations made hereof in scripture, our most terrifi­ed tho'ts do not equal the horror and mi­sery. Here all tho'ts as well as words are swallow'd up. Psalm xc. 11. Who knows the power of thine anger? Alas! none does. It passes knowledge. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entred into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that hate him. If one shou'd a­rise from the dead, and come to us from the place of torments, he cou'd not in full [Page 37]declare and describe to us what a state of misery it is; because the torments thereof are unutterable. As the things of heaven are unutterable to mortal ears by a mortal tongue, (as one who had been caught up to the third heavens has told us ^†,) so are the things of hell, the wondrous plagues there prepared, the strange punishments there reserv'd for the workers of iniquity. Thus extremely and intolerably great are the punishments of hell.

  Yet will there be degrees of misery there. Tho' the punishment of all will be intoler­able, some will have a heavier punishment than others. Some will have the capacities of their souls more enlarg'd than others, to receive proportionable degrees of inflicted wrath. As the vessels of glory will be all full, tho' some by being larger than others, will hold more glory; so the vessels of wrath, will have as much inflicted on them as each of them can bear, yet some will have their capacities enlarg'd to bear more wrath than others. Mark xii. 40. These shall receive greater damnation.

II. I shall in the next place offer some brief considerations, which must needs lead [Page 38]us to think, the torments of hell are ex­tremely and intolerably great.

And

1. It is but reasonable the punishment of offenders shou'd be proportion'd, as to the de­gree of it, to the nature of their offenies.

This is an allow'd rule of equity among men. To apply this now to the present case. There is an infinite guilt in sin. An offence rises in proportion to the dignity of the person offended against. Now the majesty of God is truly infinite, against whom sin is committed; and consequent­ly the guilt of sin exceeds our tho'ts, is immense and infinite. O! what an intoler­able thing is it, that proud dust should fly in the face of his glorious maker, and de­ny his authority over him? What an in­sufferable provocation, that the reasona­ble creature, who is naturally and neces­sarily a subject, should despise the divine law and lawgiver! should boldly and in­solently say, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice? and hardily dare him to do his worst! Which is indeed the language of every sinner, as often as he sins know­ingly and wilfully. Thus, as the Apostle says, Sin ly [...]the commandment is exceeding [Page 39]sinful ^†. And what but an exceeding great punishment must then belong to it? Fools make a mock at sin ^‖, carnal minds allevi­ate it, but when weigh'd in the balances of the sanctuary, 'tis found so heavy, that the most weighty and intolerable punish­ment inflicted on sinners, cannot exceed the deserts of it.

2. The torments of hell are of God's own preparing for his enemies that rebel a­gainst him; and therefore must be suppos'd to be exceeding great.

It may well be expected the extremity of the punishment will be in proportion to the preparation that has been made for it. Now T [...]phet was ordain'd of old, Isai. xxx. 33. And hell fire is call'd fire prepar'd, Mat xxv. 41. prepared for the de [...]t' and his angels, and his children, even from the foundation of the world, as was the king­dom for the righteous. Prepared for them by God in the greatness of his wisdom and power. Hell's torments as well as heaven's glories, are the product of divine eternal counsels. As there is great prepa­ration made for the entertainment of the saints in the kingdom of glory, so is there also great preparation made for the punish­ment [Page 40]of the wicked in the place of misery. And surely the punishment must be ex­ceeding great which is thus prepared. The preparation shews the extremity.

3 The punishments of hell are also in­flicted by God in the greatness of his power and wrath; therefore they are extreme and intolerable.

Because none else can inflict punish­ments heavy eno', He will then deal with sinners Himself, take them into His own hands. And what a fearful thing must it be to fall into the hands of the living God? Temporal evils are inflicted by the media­tion of second causes, that are of a limited power to hurt: but in the next world God more immediately torments the damned by his own power. And who knows the power of his anger? Even according to his fear, so is his wrath, Psal. xc. II. God will shew his WRATH, and make his POWER known in the vessels of wrath, Rom. ix 22. In them, and upon them, God will shew to all the world, his punishing justice, his enmity to sin, and the strength of his in­flicting power. How great then must their sufferings be, which are design'd as a de­monstration of these things? Once more,

4. The punishment of the damned will be in a proportionable degree to the happiness of the blessed.

[Page 41] The scripture makes a direct opposition between these. Therefore as the saints in heaven will be infinitely happy and blessed, so the damned in hell will be infinitely wretched and miserable. As in heaven there is fulness of joy, happiness in perfec­tion, so in hell there is fulness of wo, mi­sery in perfection. For as for God, his work is perfect. These he has set the one over against the other.

III. We come to speak of the particu­lar nature and kinds of the punishment of the damned; by which the greatness and extremity thereof will further appear. And this punishment may be said to be of two kinds, that of loss, and that of sense. We have both these in that sentence to be pronounc'd on the wicked in the great day, Mat. XXV. 41. Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire.

1 It is a punishment of l [...]ss; which con­si [...]s in the privation of all that's good, comfortable and desireable; even of the chief, the highest, the most excellent and everlasting good. The loss not only of temporal good things, worldly enjoy­ments, which are comparatively small and inconsiderable things; but the loss of GOD, of CHRIST, of HEAVEN. O inconceivable [Page 42]loss! The loss of friends, of estate, of health, yea, of life it self is nothing to this. To the loss of that GOD in whose favour is life, and whose loving-kindness is better than life; who is the only ade­quate portion of our immortal souls, whose perfection and satisfaction consist in the clear and transforming vision of his glory! To the loss of CHRIST, the Saviour, the glorified JESUS, with whom to be, the Apostle counted far better than to conti­nue in this world; in whom we shall see God, and who is the very light of heaven: For the lamb is the light thereof ^†. And the loss of whom both ascertains and includes the loss of heaven, and all the felicities of that blessed world, all those great prepa­rations which God has made for the en­tertainment of his sons and daughters, who by him to be brought to glory. O infi­nite loss! What overwhelming sorrow must it bring those into who shall suffer it?

How deeply do some resent temporal losses; the loss of their estate and sub­stance, the loss of near and lov'd relatives, a consort, or a child? Many years some­times, do not wear out the impression of [Page 43]such losses. They that bear them, do as Jacob said he should for the suppos'd death of Joseph, go down to the grave mourning ^‖. This sorrow of the world works death, breaks the constitution, and bring on those diseases that end in death. And if the loss of creature comforts be so hard to bear, what will the loss of the blessed God be? And, as one speaks ^‡, If Cain, when banish'd from the society of the saints, wherein God was publickly worship'd, and graciously made himself known, cried out in anguish of soul, My punishment is greater than I can bear, put­ting the accent of grief here, And from thy face shall I be hid ^†; how intolerable will the final separation from his glorious and joyful presence be?

I know carnal and earthly minds, are not much affected now, with the conside­ration of this punishment of loss. If the loss of God, of Christ, and of Heaven, was all they were to suffer in the next world, they think it wou'd be no such great matter, they cou'd bear this well enough. But they'l have other apprehensions of this hereafter. The damned in hell will have a constant, quick, and lively apprehension [Page 44]of the happiness they have lost. Their understandings will be enlarg'd and assist­ed to take a prospect of it, on purpose to aggravate their grief. They will also see much of the happiness of the saints in the great day: They will see with what glo­rious bodies they are rais'd, how joyfully they are embrac'd by Christ, and what honours he puts upon them; see how they ascend smiling, triumphing, shining, with him their Lord into the highest heavens. This will give them a sensible conviction how great happiness they have lost, and this they will always remember to their greater vexation. Thus the punishment of hell, is a punishment of loss.

2. It is a punishment of sense. With the loss of the greatest good, will be join'd the suffering of the greatest evil. This part of their punishment is set forth to us in scrip­ture, by fire quicken'd and enrag'd with brimstone. Whether this be material or metaphorical, the intenseness or extremi­ty of their torment is signified thereby.

If it be material fire, as the scripture, in what it says of it, wou'd lead us to think; it is of a different nature from ours, and such as can act on a spiritual substance, such as devils and damned [Page 45]ghosts ^*. "It is a peculiar fire, for a pe­culiar terrible purpose. It is something which God has created and made by his infinitive power, to be his instrument to pu­nish and torment his rebellious creatures, to afflict the bodies and souls of wicked men, and even spirits which have no bodies".

But if it be metaphorical, and the tor­ments of hell are only shadowed out to us by fire and brimstone, as the happiness of heaven is represented to us by feasting, eating bread, and drinking wine, &c.; [Page 46]then it will follow, that the torments of hell are unspeakably greater, than for one to be cast alive into a furnace or lake of fire. This is but a weak and faint repre­sentation of that; is but as painted fire to rea [...] fire.

It is but just and reasonable that sin­ners shou'd suffer, both in their bodies and in their souls. They sin in both. The body is not only the souls partner, but in­strument in sinning. And therefore shall be punish'd in all the parts, members, and senses of it; which have been all defiled with sin, and yielded as members of unrigh­teousness.

But the soul being the chief sinner in this world, shall be the chief sufferer in the o­ther. That shall suffer beyond what the body is capable of, from the immediate impressions of divine vindictive wrath. The essence of the punishment of hell lies in this, THE WRATH OF THE ETERNAL GOD, FILLING AN IMMORTAL SOUL, WHOSE FA­CULTIES ARE VASTLY INLARGED TO RECEIVE THE IMPRESSIONS OF THAT WRATH. What the most enraged fire is to the body, that, and more than that, is this to the soul. And as the body will be tormented in all its members, so will the soul in all its faculties.

[Page 47] The mind will have presented to it dreadful visions of horror. It will then have the most dismal apprehensions of the evil of sin, the holiness, justice, power, majesty and eternity of God. Then the vail of judicial blindness will be taken a­way, and the spirit of deep sleep which is now upon sinners will go off, and they will be powerfully convinc'd of those things, which here they did not appre­hend, or would not realise. Nor will they be able to take off their own tho'ts from those things which trouble and torment them.

The will remains, and strongly wishes for good, but finds none; can meet with nothing but what is evil, what it is averse from and contrary to.

The conscience will always be accusing and condemning, lashing and scourging, for sins committed, and duties neglected; for the many calls of God which have been refus'd, and the strivings of the Spi­rit which have been resisted.

The MEMORY will then be employ'd in recollecting what is past, for present dis­quiet. As old sins, so former mercies will then be bro't to remembrance, which were made an ill use of, and can never be en­joy'd more. So Jerusalem remembred in [Page 48]the days of her affliction and misery, all her pleasant things, which she had in the days of old, Lam. i. 7. And so Abraham said to the rich man, Remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things, Luke xvi. 25.

Finally, All the tormenting passions of the soul will then be mov'd and at work. The most confounding shame, overwhelm­ing sorrow, pining envy, violent fury, cru­el hatred, and sinking despair. All these tormenting passions will then be let loose upon the soul, and be to that, worse than so many gnawing worms upon the vital and most tender parts of the body. Thus the soul will be the seat and subject of the greatest suffering, and will be continu­ally its own tormentor.

Nor may any one think this is light and easy to be born; for great is the power of the mind to torture and torment. Yea, of all torments that of the mind is the worst. The spirit of a man can sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear? Prov. xviii. 4. Of the intolerable­ness of this there have been some unhap­py instances in this world. Judas whose anguish of spirit put him upon destroying himself. Spira and others, whose breath has smelt of the brimstone of hell fire, in [Page 49]their direful outcries, and blasphemous expressions. Yea, we have an image of this in the agonies of spirit, and troubles of conscience, which some of God's chil­dren have been in. Job was afflicted in such a manner, that he complains, The ar­rows of the almighty are within me, the poi­son whereof drinketh up my spirits. The ter­rors of God do set themselves in array against me ^† David's complaint is as bitter, Thine arrows stick fast in me, thy hand presseth me sore. I have rored by reason of the disquietness of my heart ^‖ And Heman seems to exceed, Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me; and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Lord, why castest thou off my soul, why hidest thou thy face from me? I am afflicted and ready to die: While I suffer thy terrors, I am dis­tracted. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me, thy terrors have cut me off, Psalm lxxxviii. 6, 7, 15, 16.

And above all, How great were the suf­ferings of CHRIST in his soul, in the day when the Lord laid on him the iniquities of his people, and the sense of his father's wrath due to them was let into his soul [...] [Page 34]He was sore amazed! His soul was ex­ceeding sorrowful! The agonies of his spirit threw him into a bloody sweat; forc'd thro' the pores of his blessed body, great drops of blood falling down to the ground! What great sufferings then, must we suppose the souls of sinners to be the subjects of [...]n the other world, when the almighty will render indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every SOUL of man that doth evil? Rom. ii. 9. Thus the punish­ment of the damned in both the kinds of it, that of sense, and that of loss, will be extreme and intolerable.

IV. We come now to mention some heavy circumstances which heighten their punishment, and help to render it ex­treme and intolerable. I might here mention,

• 1. That of the place. Than which no place can be more dismal and uncomfort­able. It is therefore call'd a prison, a pit, a fiery and smoaking furnace, a place of utter darkness, where there is blackness of darkness for ever.
• 2. The company. If they must suffer in such a place, may they not have some good company there, to minister to their support and relief? O no! their company [Page 51]will add to their misery. Devils and damned spirits will be very vexatious and uneasy companions to one another. For they are all extremely miserable and ex­tremely wicked both. They will suffer from the rage and madness of one another. And they will hear from each other no­thing but disquieting groans, piercing shrieks, and horrid blasphemies. David laments himself, Psa. cxx. 5. Wo is me that I sojourn in Mesech, and dwell in the tents of Kedar; a­mong a people rude and barbarous, hat­ful and hating. But how miserable must they be, who are everlastingly to dwell with such companions and associates as devils and damned spirits?
• 3. They will have nothing to refresh them under their sufferings. There will be none of the delights of sense, for the soul to di­vert the tho'ts of its own miseries with. All former pleasures are entirely past a­way. They'l meet with none of those ob­jects which pleas'd and gratify'd them here. They'l indeed carry their sensual lusts with them into the other world, but meet with no objects to satisfy the same. What is said of Babylon upon her fall, may be truly said of them in hell, Rev. xviii. 14. That all things which their souls lusted after are departed from them.
• [Page 52] 4. Their sufferings will have no intermissi­on nor abatement. This is a furnace in which the fire never goes out, nor so much as decays. They'l be so far from having a release, that they'l have no re­laxation. David's complaint will be more pathetically theirs, Day and night thy hand was heavy upon me ^†. They shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture, into the cup of his in­dignation; and be tormented with fire and brimstone, in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the lamb; and have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT, Rev. xiv. 11, 12.
• 5. The apprehension of others happiness will add to their misery. That the perception of the saints glory, will b [...] a great aggra­vation of sinners misery, our Lord has told us, Luke xiii. 28. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abra­ham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you your selves thrust out. They will not be able to bear it, that others are happy while they are miserable; that others are in the mansions of light and glory above, while they are in the regions of darkness and misery be­low. Psalm cxii. 10. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his [Page 53]teeth, and melt away. And what will ren­der this part of their misery more acute and afflictive, will be the consideration, That this very blessedness was once offer'd to them, as well as those who are now en­joying it; and they might have been in the present actual possession of it, if they had not been wanting to themselves; if they had not neglected and disobey'd the Saviour who wou'd have bro't them to it also.
• 6. They are without pity from any. Here in griefs that cannot be remedied, sympa­thy in others, and pity from them, is some small relief, and helps to asswage the troubled mind. Therefore Job says, To him that is afflicted, pity should be shewed ^†. But the damned in hell have not this least of comforts. In their most pitious state they are absolutely unpitied. The devils don't pity them: They are destitute of love, kindness, and pity, since their fall, and the loss of their original holiness; their tender mercies are cruelties. Their fellow-sufferers don't pity them; for all humane tender affections are lost in hell: The wicked there are hateful and hating one another. The holy angels, and the [Page 54] blessed spirits in heaven, don't pity them; for they are not the objects of pity, their misery being the effect of their own ob­stinate choice. The saints in heaven will not pity their nearest relations in hell. For they now know them no more after the flesh. The love which they once bare to them is now swallowed up in the love of God. Neither will the blessed God pity them. All their agonies and cries will not move his heart. His compassions now fail for everm [...]re, and he has in anger shut up his tender mercies ^‖.

  For we must know God's pity is not mov'd as ours is, naturally and necessarily. Others misery naturally moves our pity, whether we will or no. But God's pity and mercy are never mov'd without an act of his will. Therefore he says, I will not pity ^†. Instead of pitying them, He will laugh at their calamity, and mock when their fear cometh, Prov. i. 26.

  Once more,

• 7. As they are without pity from others, so they are without hope in themselves. Hope is the last refuge of men in trouble in this world, but it leaves sinners in hell. They are no sooner there, but they fall [Page 55]into total desparation. For when a wicked man dieth his expectation perisheth, Prov. xi. 7. Whatever tho'ts they pleas'd and deluded themselves with before, now they'l know the decree is irreversible, their state remediless: That as their tree fell, so it must lie for ever ^†. They will utterly despair of its ever being better with them th [...]n it is: Their present mise­ry is insupportable, and they will always fear more to come. And this is the very heighth of misery, to have nothing to hope, and much to fear! Psalm xlix. 19. They shall never see light.

  But the Eternity of hell punishments is to be the subject of our next discourse, and I wou'd not anticipate it here.—

  From what has been said in the present discourse concerning the Eternity of them, Let secure sinners, who are sleeping as upon the top of a mast; who are hang­ing by the slender thread of life, over the lake of fire and brimstone; be awakened and effectually excited to fly from the wrath to come, and to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling!—

  [Page 56] Let all serve to make sin formidable, Christ precious, and the gospel offer of sal­vation acceptable to every soul of us?—

  Let us think no care too much, no pains too great, to escape such extreme misery! Let this be our earnest and constant pray­er, LORD, Gather not my soul with sinners! However thou dealest with me in this world, let me, by thy mercy and grace, be deliver'd from condemnation in the next: that I may never know by experi­ence, what it is to dwell with devouring fire, and to inhabit everlasting burnings!

The Eternity OF Hell Punishments.

NEXT to there being no hell at all, the most acceptable doctrine to a sinner wou'd be, that the punishment of hell is temporary, and should sometime or other come to an end. This is what satan, that old deceiver, wou'd induce men to believe if he cou'd; and this is what the sinner wou'd fain flat­ter himself with the hopes of. If there­fore they can't rase such words as [Page 58] everlasting, for ever and ever, out of their bibles, they'l try what softning interpreta­tion can be put upon them; whether by some weak criticism of language, or trifling cavils of carnal reason, they can't overthrow a doctrine which gives them so much distur­bance in their sins, and puts such a block in the way of their unlawful pursuits.

The Eternity of the punishment of hell is what above any thing makes it so dread­ful. If men did once imagine it to be any thing short of an endless duration, their fear of it, and care to avoid it wou'd pro­portionably abate; the threatnings of God wou'd loose their force and terror; and when men heard the words of the curse, they would bless themselves in their hearts, saying, We shall have peace, tho' we walk the imagi­nation of our hearts ^†.

Lest therefore there should be any a­mong us, flattering themselves with such delusive and destructive hopes, thro' the subtilty of satan, the slight of men, or the efficacy of natural unbelief, I purpose now, by divine help, to discourse to you of the eternity of the torments of hell, as I have before of the reality and extremity of them. And as an introduction to this [Page 59]discourse, I have taken the words now read unto you, And the smoke of their tor­ment ascendeth up for ever and ever.

From the 6. ver. of this chapter, we are told of three angels, or messengers, sent from heaven, to give notice of the fall of Baby­lon, and of those things that were antece­dent and consequent to that great event.

The first angel was sent on an errand previous to it; and that was to preach the gospel, the everlasting gospel to them that dwell on the earth: that so men might be bro't to fear God, and give glory to him; because the hour of his judgment was come, verse 6, 7.

The second angel follows the other, and proclaims the actual fall of Babylon, say­ing, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city; because she hath made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

A third angel follows the other two, and gives warning to all of that divine venge­ance, that tremendous punishment, which wou'd overtake all that obstinately adher'd to the antichristian interest, and persisted in their damning idolatries. They shou'd drink deep of the wine of the wrath of God, poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and be tormented with fire and [...]imstome, in the presence of the holy angels, [Page 60]and in the presence of the lamb, verse 10 [...] A very dreadful vengeance this! Inflict­ed by CHRIST himself on his enemies, his holy angels beholding it and approving it. And what gives weight and terror to the punishment it self is, the continuance and duration thereof. This is not for any term of time, but for ever and ever. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up ^† for ever and ever. Words expressive of an endless and interminable duration; as may be shewn by and by. And if the smoke of their torment ascends for ever and ever, then their persons must endure so long in their torment. This is what is call'd the second death, in 20th chapter 14th verse, and is to be the portion not of Idolaters only, but of all obstinate and impenitent sinners, of all that retain their pleasant and profitable sins, of all such as know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The point of DOCTRINE to be spoken to from the words is this, The torments of the damned in hell will be ETERNAL, and never never have an end.

[Page 61] Eternity is an amazing thing! O the vastness of an endless duration! Who can measure the length of it? While we strive to reach it, it is still further off from us! When we have set off as many thousands and millions of years, as numbers can reckon up, we are no nearer to an end, than before we began! Divines have stretch'd their wits to represent eternity, that apprehensions of it might be more su­table and affecting, but were never able to reach it.

Eternity does not waste at all as time does. There is not the less duration to come for all that is past. The damned in hell are not at all nearer an end of their punishment, for having lain long in it. It will never be nearer an expiration, than when they first went away into it. In a word, They will always have an eternity of torments to expect and endure.

This now is the very hell of hell; that which is most terrible in it. This is what men are most loth to believe concerning it; what they wou'd fain argue and dis­pute away the truth of, [...]nd therefore what we shall at this time endeavour the confirmation of.

[Page 62] For this end I propose to shew,

• 1. How plainly, strongly, and incontesta­bly this is reveal'd to, and taught us, in the word of God.
• 2. Why, or whence it is, that the torments of the damned are to be, and must be, nothing less than eternal. And.
• 3. How weak and insufficient the ob­jections, or rather cavils are, with which some wou'd oppose it.

1. To shew you how plainly, strongly, and incontestably, this truth is reveal'd to and taught us in the word of God.

And if the eternity of hell torments is a scripture doctrine, this is sufficient to con­vince those of the truth of it, who profess to regulate their faith by the bible. Now, as this is a most important doctrine, so God has been pleas'd to reveal and make it known in his inspired word, in such a manner, so plainly, clearly, and strongly, as one wou'd think shou'd leave no room for so much as doubting, much less denial.

Here

1. We find the words eternal, everlast­ing, for ever, for ever and ever, join'd with the torments of hell, the misery of the damned, thro'out the book of God. Isai. xxxiii. 14. The sinners in Zion are afraid, [Page 63]fearfulness hath surprized the hypocrites there­of: who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? who amongst us shall dwell with EVERLASTING BURNINGS? Dan. xii. 2. They that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and EVERLASTING CON­TEMPT. Mat. xxv. 41. Then shall be say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me ye cursed, into EVERLASTING FIRE. Verse 46. These shall go away into EVER­LASTING PUNISHMENT. 2. Thess. i. 7, 8, 9. When the Lord Jesus shall be re­vealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punish­ed with EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION from the presence of the Lord. 2 Pet. ii. 17. To whom is reserv'd the mist of darkness FOR EVER. Jude 7. verse, Suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE. Rev. xx. 10. And shall be tormented day and night FOR EVER AND EVER. And in the words of our text, The smoke of their torment ascendeth up FOR EVER AND EVER.

It is true, the words everlasting, and for ever, are sometimes used in scripture, as well as in common speech, for a duration [Page 64]that will have an end. But when they are so used, the sense is obvious, and the nature of the thing spoken of, sufficiently shews the meaning in which they are to be taken; and, which is of great weight, they commonly signifie too that the thing spoken of shall endure, as long as the sub­ject of it does endure. Thus for instance, when the hills are called everlasting hills, (Gen. xlix. 26.) every one readily appre­hends they are so called, because while o­ther things perish out of the world in a number of years, these will remain till this lower world it self, which they are so conspicuous a part of, will be dissolved. Thus also the priesthood entail'd upon Phi­neas's family, for his pious zeal in the matter of Zimri and Cosbi, is called ( Numb. xxv. 13.) an everlasting priesthood, because it shou'd continue to the period of the old testa­ment dispensation. So, when 'tis said the leprosy of Naaman should cleave to him, and his posterity for ever. (2 Kings v. 27.) the meaning is plainly this, That so long as any of his posterity remain'd, that evil dis­ease should cleave to them. After the same manner, when 'tis said, Eccles. i. 4. One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever; the sense is most obviously this, [Page 65]That the earth is to remain, till the seve­ral generations of men design'd by God to be born, are compleated. In such a way as this, the words everlasting, and for ever, are sometimes us'd for a duration that will have an end. But they can't be so understood when applied to, and join'd with future punishments: And this for the following weighty reasons.

• 1. The same words are us'd to express the everlasting misery of the wicked, as are us'd to express the everlasting happiness of the godly in the other world. Thus when 'tis said, in Mat. xxv. 46. These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal, one and the same word is us'd in the original. Our translation indeed gives two words of the same import, and of equal extent, everlast­ing and eternal. But the same word is us'd in the greek to signify the duration of the happiness of the one, and the pu­nishment of the other ^†. If therefore the happiness of the godly in the other world must be understood to be eternal, and their blessedness to be such as shall have no end, (which none deny) we must under­stand [Page 66]the same of the misery and punish­ment of the wicked. Both are spoken of exactly in the same manner, without any the least intimation of a difference in the duration of them. And which makes the matter clearer,
• 2. The happiness of the godly, and the misery of the wicked, are set in direct opposition one to another. These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. The direct op­position, between everlasting punishment and everlasting life, in these words of our Saviour, is a convincing argument they are to be understood in the same extent, for an absolute eternity.

  And which is still more,

• 3. The eternity of hell torments, is ex­press'd in the same words that are us'd to express the eternity of God himself. Thus when we read of the everlasting God ^*, in Rom. xvi. 26, the same word is us'd as when we read of everlasting fire, ever­lasting punishment, and everlasting de­struction, in the places that have been mention'd. And thus the phrase in our text us'd to express the eternity of hell torments, viz. for ever and ever, is us'd [Page 67]to express God's own eternity. Rev. v. 14. Him that liveth for ever and ever: and in other places. So that if God's own eter­nity can be prov'd from scripture, the e­ternity of hell torments is to be prov'd from it also. The eternity of both is spo­ken of just in the same manner; and there is as much scripture proof of this as there is of the other. And indeed the words for ever and ever, us'd in our text, and in other places respecting the tor­ments of hell, are us'd no where in the new testament, where they are to be under­stood of any thing less than an endless duration. I find them us'd eighteen or twenty times, and always importing an endless duration.

2. Every thing that relates to the torment of the damned, is in scripture said to be eternal. Thus God, the author of their punishment, is the eternal God, the everlast­ing Jehovah, who ever lives to punish. Hence it is said to be a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God ^†. The fire that torments them is everlasting fire, that never goes out, as the worm that gnaws them is said never to die. Which words are repeated three times by our Sa­viour, [Page 68]for their greater certainty, and more heedful observation. Mark ix. 44, 46, 48. WHERE THEIR WORM DI­ETH NOT, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. — WHERE THEIR WORM DIETH NOT, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. — WHERE THEIR WORM DIETH NOT, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. The chains that hold them in their torment are call'd everlasting chains, Jud. 6. ver. And, which is very considerable in the present argument, the judgment by which they are condemn'd to it, is call'd eternal judgment, Heb. vi. 2. Now, it cannot be call'd eter­nal judgment in respect of the continu­ance of administration, but only with a regard to the effect and issue of it. The act of judgment is not eternal, for the process will be over in time, tho' it may l [...]st long; but the result and conse­quences of it are eternal: It determines men's state unalterably and for ever. Thus, not only is the punishment of the damned said to be eternal, but every thing that re­lates and conduces to it, is said to be so also.

3. Agreable to all this, the scripture re­presents the condition of sinners in the o­ther world to be hopeless and desperate. [Page 69]Thus we are told, When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish, Prov. xi. 7. That the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and their hope be as the giving up of the ghost, Job x. 20. That they that go down to the pit can­not hope for God's truth, Isai. xxxv. 18. All which expressions, are to shew the sinners case and state in the other world to be desperate, and such as admits of no possi­bility of relief. For where any possibility is, hope will still abide and fasten upon it; and therefore if all hope be taken a­way, 'tis a plain sign there is not any ground to support and encourage it.

And hence 'tis that hell is call'd the place of outer and utter darkness, because the condition of those that are in it, is for ever hopeless and remediless; and they are without the most distant reserves of mercy. If there were any hope in hell, it wou'd not be the place of utter dark­ness. No, the hope that the torment of it wou'd ever come to an end, tho' thou­sands and millions of years off, wou'd let down a gleam of light into those dark regions; and be like the star light to the horrors of the night. But because there is nothing of this, therefore 'tis call'd the blackness of darkness for ever.

[Page 34] Thus we see, how plainly and strongly the doctrine of the eternity of hell tor­ments, is taught us in the word of God. The scripture speaks of the eternity of the punishment of the wicked in the other world, in words that import an endless duration, in the same manner that it speaks of the eternity of the happiness of heaven, yea of the eternity of God him­self. It speaks of every thing that re­lates to their punishment as being eternal. And agreable to this, it every where re­presents the condition of sinners in the other world, as hopeless and desperate. After this manner is this doctrine taught us in the holy scriptures; so plainly and fully, that words can't be found out to express it in a fuller or clearer manner.

II. The second thing propos'd was, to shew, why or whence it is, that the punish­ment of the damned is to be, and must be, nothing less than eternal. The resol­ving this into the reasons of it, will not only help to clear the righteousness of God in it, but be so many arguments fur­ther to evince the truth and certainty hereof.

This indeed might be resolved into the will and determination of God; and there [Page 71]is good reason why his creatures need look no further: For we are sure, whatever God wills and determines can't be unrea­sonable, unjust or unholy, but must per­fectly agree with the excellencies and per­fections of his nature, however it may appear to our depraved reason. Yet we have several things to offer as reasons of the doctrine, and for the shewing how fit­ting, agreable, and just it is, for God to punish sin and sinners everlastingly.

1. A less punishment wou'd not be a su­table sanction to the divine law.

Where a law is not guarded and en­forc'd by sutable sanctions, the wisdom o [...] power of the lawgiver may be call'd in question. The sanctions must be suted to the nature and capacity of the subject for whom the law is design'd. Now, as man is an immortal creature, a creature made and design'd by God for an endless life, 'tis certainly most fit and sutable for him, to be ruled by a law that promises an immo [...]tal reward, and threatens an endless punish­ment. Otherwise the law wou'd not be fram'd agreable to the nature of the sub­ject, who will not be fully rul'd by any lower means, than the hopes and fears of everlasting things.

[Page 72] Indeed, we find by sad observation and experience, that these are not always suffi­cient to keep men within the compass of their duty, and to restrain them from sin. For the sake of some momentany pleasure or profit, or for the fear of some present temporal detriment and inconvenience, men will every day break God's law, and thereby hazard the loss of eternal good, and incur the enduring everlasting evils. This makes it plain that such a sanction is no more than is needed. If it was any thing lower, and the punishment threat­ned was but temporary and limited, how much more bold wou'd sinners be in trans­gressing the divine law? And might they not then with some reason too, lay the fault upon the lawgiver, for being so de­fective as not to enforce his law with a sutable penalty?

2. A less punishment wou'd not be pro­portionable to the guilt of sin.

There is an infinite guilt in sin: it of­fends against an infinite majesty; it vio­lates those infinite obligations we are un­der to subjection and obedience to him, and reflects an infinite dishonour to his laws and government: Therefore an in­finite punishment does but come up to the [Page 73]demerit of it. A punishment infinite in duration, because an infinite weight of wrath at once, cannot be born by a finite creature.

And if any think a temporary punishment may suffice for it, this is because they have light tho'ts of sin, and don't see how exceeding sinful it is. If nothing but the blood of the son of God, which was the blood of God, inasmuch as He was God and man in one person; and which was a satisfaction infinite in value, the dignity of his person giving such a merit to his sufferings: If, I say, nothing less than His blood, cou'd procure a pardon for be­lieving repenting sinners; what less punishment than eternal, can reasonably be suppos'd, to be inflicted upon sinners that are finally impenitent and unbeliev­ing, and so cut themselves off from the benefit of his satisfaction?

3. The truth of God is now concern'd to make the punishment of the damned eternal.

For what we read in scripture of eter­nal punishments, are not threatnings only, (and if they were, it is certainly most a­greable to the divine perfections they [Page 74]shou'd be fully executed; ^† for it is un­becoming the great Governor of the world to affix penalties to his laws, which he never intends to execute;) but they are open declarations of God's purpose and re­solution, plain predictions of matters of fact, solemn assurances of what shall certainly come to pass, in the accomplishment and execution of which the divine veracity is concern'd.

That none may perswade and flatter themselves, that the judge will in the great day be more favourable than the threatning of the law, He who is to be the judge has told us, that the wicked shall not only be sentenced to everlasting fire, but that the sentence shall be execu­ted. Mat. xxv. 46. THESE SHALL GO AWAY INTO EVERLASTING PU­NISHMENT. This is no other than a strong and positive affirmation: an ex­press declaration of God's invariable de­cree, will, and purpose. Christ, the faith­ful and t [...]ue witness, has told us this, as ‘directly and positively, as he hath any thing else relating to the last judgment, [Page 75]or concerning any other fact of his gos­pel; and we have as little reason to suspect he has a reserved meaning in this particu­lar, as in any other whatsoever.’ So that the truth of God in his word, obliges him to make the punishment of the wicked eter­nal. For God is not a man, that he should lie; nor the son of man, that he should re­pent: hath He said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Numb. xxiii. 19.

4. The punishment of the damned in hell must be eternal, that so the justice of God may have its everlasting display.

Every divine attribute is to shine forth with an eternal lustre; for they are all dear and glorious to him, one as well as another. His wisdom, power, and goodness, will be eternally manifested in the things which he has made in the upper world. His grace and mercy will for ever be ad­mir'd and magnified in the salvation of a remnant of lost sinners, who will then be made vessels of glory. His justice, that must take place, and act its part, in ren­dring to sinning angels and men accord­ing to their works, in the due and pro­portionable punishment of their offences, and that is in their suffering the venge­ance of eternal fire. The glory of this [Page 76]attribute cannot endure for ever, if there are not some to be the everlasting monu­ments of it.

5. The damned in hell are, and for ever will be, utterly unqualified for the divine fa­vour; therefore their punishment will be endless and everlasting.

They are filthy still, unholy still, impe­nitent still; their hearts are as full of en­mity to God, hatred of holiness, and love to sin as ever. Their punishment works no change in their nature or will. "They have abundant conviction indeed, but no true conversion. They are full of sorrow, but not godly sorrow. In all their bitter wailings their is no holy mourning". They grieve for their own misery, but not for God's dishonour. If a new life was grant­ed them, it wou'd be fill'd up with new sins and provocations. Nay, they keep on sinning still. As Amon in his affliction, so they in their misery, trespass more and more. We have a true representation of the condition and temper of the damned, in what we read of the antichristian idola­ters, the worshipers of the beast, Rev. xvi. 9, 10. They were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power ever these plagues, and they repented not to give him glory! They gnawed their [Page 77]tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and sores, and repented not to give him glory. Thus soul "in the fire of hell are not melted, bu [...] rather hardned. And from hence it appears that they are the proper objects o [...] divine revenging justice for ever and ever [...] They are for ever unqualified for the di­vine favour, and therefore must neve [...] have it extended to them.

III. We proceed to the third thing propos'd, To shew how weak and insufficien [...] the objections, or rather cavils, are, wit [...] which some wou'd weaken this truth.

It need not surprise or stumble any, that this truth, how plainly soever it is re­veal'd in the scriptures, should be denied by some: This does not at all weaken its credit, or bring it under any suspicion with wise and considering persons. For which of the truths of the gospel has not been struck at? Satan has a spight against them all, and has in the several ages of the church spirited some to oppose them all in their turns. They have all of them stood a trial. And that they are preserv'd to this day, and still own'd and profess'd in the church of God, is a mark of their divinity, an evi­dence that they indeed came from heaven. In the days of the Apostles, there were [Page 78]those who erred concerning the truth, even in such an important point as that of the resurrection, to the endangering the faith of many, and the overthrowing the faith of some; their words did cat as doth a canker, as the Apostle Paul says of them, in his second epistle to Timothy, ii. 17, 18. And in his first epistle, chap. i. 6, 7. He speaks of some others, who had swerv'd from the faith, and turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law, but understanding not what they said, nor whereof they affirm. And in another place he tells us, that evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse; which was one thing that wou'd make the last days, which are now come upon us, so perilous: Upon this account he gives this needful advice to Timothy, Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, 2 Tim. iii. 14.

Having given this general remark, I shall now suggest something, by way of ans­wer to the most plausible cavils or objec­tions, that any bring against this truth. And these are taken from the justice and righteousness of God; from the love, good­ness and mercy of God; from the grace and glory of God; or from the redemption [Page 79]of Christ, which some will have to be uni­versal.

1. Some take an objection against this truth, from the justice and righteousness of God; and wou'd represent it as inconsis­tent herewith, for God to punish the tran­sient sins of men in this mortal life, with eternal torments in another.

In answer to whom it may be said, We are but very incompetent judges of what agrees with the justice of God, and what does not. That may well eno' agree with this, and other the perfections of God, which we can scarcely apprehend to do so.

But especially are weincompetent judges in the present case, concerning the desert of sin; and this on two accounts. We are both blind and partial. We are blind and ignorant, and don't fully know the desert of sin; nor can we, unless we fully knew the majesty and greatness of that God it offends against, the reason and ho­liness of that law which it violates, the excellency of that image of God which it defaceth, the preciousness of that blood which it tramples under foot, and counts an unholy thing, and the worth of that soul which it despiseth and destroyeth. And we are as partial as we are blind; be­cause [Page 80]we our selves are concerned in it. And as reasonable is it for an offender and criminal, to judge the law and the proceedings of the judge, as for sinners to determine what is just and righteous for God to do in the punishment of sin. But then, tho' the act be transient and tem­porary, the injury and offence is objec­tively infinite, (as has been already ob­serv'd) and such as the offence is must the demerit be. A permanent guilt may also be contracted by a transient act. "And, as one has well observ'd, no go­vernment in the world ever tho't it a rule to be observ'd in punishing, as required by equity and justice, that the pain and pe­nalty inflicted, shou'd last no longer than that space of time which the crime took up in the commission of it. Therefore some have been put to death from whence they can never be restor'd, and some have been banish'd or imprison'd for a long time, perhaps during life, in punish­ment of crimes which were committed in a very small space of time, and yet no in­justice imputed to the law or judges".

But that which fully clears the justice and righteousness of God here is, That the sinner has but his own option and choice, tho' he suffer everlasting punishments.

[Page 81] To use here the words of Mr. Baxter, ‘Life and death, says he, felicity and mi­sery, are set before us in the scriptures: Felicity is annex'd to obedience, misery to disobedience; and God tells us, that accordingly he will judge and execute; and he offereth every man his choice. He therefore that after this doth chuse the sin which misery is annex'd to, doth chuse the misery and refuse the happi­ness. And therefore it is no wrong to cast him into misery, tho' everlasting, as long as he hath nothing but what he chose (in the causes of it) and loses nothing but what he rejected, and that with wilful obstinacy to the very last.’ Thus he. And this is but agreable to what God himself says, Prov. i. 24, —31. Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolati­on, and your destruction cometh as a whirl­wind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then they shall call upon me, but I will not answer, they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. For that they bated knowledge, and did not chuse the fear [Page 82]of the Lord. They would none of my coun­sel; they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

2. Some will argue against this truth from the goodness and mercy of God, as if these cou'd not let any of his creatures be everlastingly miserable.

To this it may be replied, Tho' God is good and merciful, infi­nitely good and merciful, yet his goodness and mercy don't work naturally and ne­cessarily, as these seem to suppose they do. There must always be an act of his will, for the exercise of his goodness and mercy. God is a free agent, tho' a good and merciful being. He has establish'd the order in which these attributes shall be exercis'd, which he will not depart from: And he has a sovereign right to chuse the objects thereof. Agreably he has said, I WILL HAVE MERCY, ON WHOM I WILL HAVE MERCY, Exod. xxxiii. 19. And of some he has said, I WILL NOT PITY THEM.

The goodness and mercy of God will be exercis'd on the proper objects of it; but the damned in hell are not the proper objects thereof, and therefore his mercy may be withheld from them, and he re­main [Page 83]merciful all the while. It is a very just tho't I have met with, "Such things as are naturally capable of the divine good­ness, may be legally uncapable of it. And this is the case of condemned sinners in another life. As creatures in misery they are naturally capable of receiving the di­vine goodness and mercy, but as obstinate impenitent sinners, they are legally and ju­dicially uncapable to receive them.

We read 'tis true, That mercy rejoiceth against judgment, James ii. 13. A text which these sort of persons make much use of against the truth we are upon; fondly imagining from thence that final­ly mercy alone will be display'd and swallow up all in its own embraces. There will indeed be some who shall be instan­ces of the triumph of mercy, being pre­par'd and qualified to receive it; in these mercy will rejoice against judgment. But that there shall be no monuments of jus­tice, as these wou'd carry it, this is far from the meaning of the text: And in­deed the verse out of which it is taken confutes them, and such an interpretati­on: For the former part of the verse speaks of some who SHALL HAVE JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY.

[Page 84] 3. Some oppose this truth on pretence of advancing the glory of God's grace: This they say wou'd be mightily display'd, in the final recovery of the whole apostate race, from their sin and misery into a state of salva­tion. To this let me say,

That God certainly best knows in what way his grace will be most gloriously dis­play'd, & it becomes us to leave this to infi­nite wisdom, & spare our own contrivances and projections. But after all, this wou'd lessen and eclipse, and not greaten and mag­nify the grace of God, as is pretended. For it is justly observ'd, "That the display of the glory of divine grace, does not consist so much in the extent of favour to a greater number of persons, as it does in its being free and undeserv'd, and also special and distinguishing, and therefore laying the highest obligation on such as are concerned in it; which is the most known and proper sense of the word grace. Surely the everlasting punishment of some for their sins, will render the grace of God to others, to the saved rem­nant, the more glorious, and give a migh­ty lustre to it. So the rejection of the Jews, did mightily set off the grace of God in the reception of the Gentiles. Rom. xi. 22. Behold the goodness and severity of God; towards them severity, but towards [Page 85]thee goodness. Agreably, the discriminating grace of God in Christ, will be the sub­ject of the song of the redeemed for ever, and be sounded with the highest notes of praise. The new song, which will never wax old, is sung by them to the Lamb, as having redeemed them to God, OUT OF every kindred, and people, and nation, Rev. 5.9. They herein consider themselves as the objects of distinguishing love and grace, redeem'd from among the rest of mankind; and how cou'd they do this, if all the rest of mankind were sav'd, or were to be sav'd as well as they? And this brings me to consider a fourth objecti­on or argument against the truth we are asserting and vindicating.

4. And this is taken from the work of redemption, which some will have to be of an universal extent in the design of it, so as that the whole apostate race of man­kind shall finally have the benefit of it; yea, and the very devils ^† too: For [Page 86]which end, they fancy the offers of salva­tion by Christ, will be made to devils and condemned sinners in hell, which they will embrace, and so obtain deliverance. A most wild absurdity, that has no foun­dation in scripture nor reason; the reci­ting of which one wou'd think sufficient to explode it: Yet there is some occasion to return a direct answer to it. I shall therefore now inquire into these two things, 1. Whether Christ died for all men, and not only for all men, but for the very devils? Whether God design'd the salva­tion of all mankind, and of the fallen an­gels, by the death of Christ; and this shall finally be accomplish'd in consequence hereof? And 2. Whether there are any offers of salvation by Christ, made to de­vils and condemned sinners in the place of punishment?

1. Whether Christ died for all men, and for the devils also? There are two different ranks or orders of fallen creatures concerned in this question, and so we shall consider them distinctly.

(1.) Let us inquire, Whether Christ di­ed for all men? The question is not whe­ther [Page 87]the death of Christ was sufficient to redeem the whole world of mankind, if it had been so intended and accepted by God; this is allow'd by all, and results from the infinite value of it ^*. But whether the salvation of the whole apostate race [Page 88]of mankind was design'd in the death of Christ, and shall finally be obtain'd in vir­tue thereof. Now the scripture, which reveals the mystery of our redemption by Christ, teaches us quite otherwise. They for whom Christ died, and to whom the benefits of his redemption are therefore to be applied, are spoken of as a select num­ber under distinguishing characters. They are call'd his church. Eph. v. 25. Christ loved the CHURCH, and gave himself for IT. Acts xx. 28. The CHURCH of God which he hath purchased wth his own blood. And surely the world and the church are not of equal extent. The church is a company, call'd out of the world, and is in it as a garden inclosed from the common fields, Cant. iv. 12. They are call'd his sheep, exclusive of the goats, John x. 15. I lay down my life for the sheep. And that these are a distinguish'd number, and that the fruits of the purchase of his death will be enjoy'd by none but these, appears from what he says to some in verse 26, Ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. They are called his seed, Isai. liii. 10. and his children, Heb. ii. 13. to distinguish them from the seed of the serpent, and the children of this world. In Tit. ii. 14, they are called a peculiar people. And in [Page 89]Rev. v. 19. they are said to be redeem'd by his blood, out of every nation and people; which necessarily supposes the rest of those nations and people, not to be equally re­deem'd with them. And these redeemed ones are stiled, the first fruits unto God and the Lamb, chap. xiv. 4. Which ap­pellation insinuates, that they were sepa­rated from the rest, as the first fruits, the first born under the law were, by God himself, who took them for his own por­tion. Numb. iii. 13. and viii. 16. In fine, Christ died for none that he did not in­terceed for; and he did not interceed for the world, but for those only who were given him by the father out of the world, to redeem and bring to glory. In this strain runs his intercessory prayer, in the xvii. chap. of John, made a little before he left the world, and which is a speci­men of what he ever lives to make with­in the vail. Father! Glorifie thy son, that thy son also may glorifie thee. As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast gi­ven him. — Thine they were, and thou gavest them me. — I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. — They are not of the world, — and for their [Page 90]sakes I sanctify my self. — Here in­tercession, which is of equal latitude with redemption, is limited to a certain num­ber, exclusive of the world.

Indeed, the objects of redemption are sometimes spoken of in scripture, in such universal terms as these, all men, the world, the whole world. It is needful therefore to inquire into the meaning, the true and genuine sense of those places, which seem to assert the universal redemption of the children of men; and whether diverse restrictions don't properly belong to them. Now, as to the term all, it is often us'd in scripture, as well as in common speech, when but a part, and sometimes by far the lesser part, of the subject spoken of, is intended. Of this it is easy to give many instances. Take these which follow; Mat. iii. 5, 6. Then went out to him, (i. e. John) Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him. Surely none will understand this of every individual person in those places, but of a considerable number only. It is said again, All men held John as a prophet, Mat. xxi. 26. "Whereas only a number did so; for the scribes and pharisees did not, and many others who hated and per­secuted him. We also read, John xxv [...]. [Page 91]that Jesus baptized, and all men came un­to him. "By which nothing more is meant, than that many among the Jews attended on his ministry, which were by far the smaller part of that nation.

And as to the term world, or the whole world, divers restrictions belong to it, and it has various acceptations in scripture. I shall not stay to give you them all. It is sufficient for our present purpose to say, that by the world, and the whole world, is frequently meant nothing more than all sorts of persons, without distinction of sex, nation, estate, quality, or condition.

Thus the pharisees said of Christ, John xii. 19, The world is gone after him, i. e. all sorts and degrees of persons. And sometimes it is to be understood of the Gentiles in distinction from the Jews. As, to give one instance, in Rom. xi. 12, the Apostle says, The fall of them, i. e. the Jews, is the riches of the world, i. e. the Gentiles; as is plain from the next words, which name the Gentiles in opposition to the Jews. This will help us to under­stand such places as that, in 1 John ii. 2, where 'tis said, Christ is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. By which the A­postle means nothing more, than that Christ [Page 92]was the propitiation, no [...] for their sins on­ly who were Jews, but for the sins of the believing Gentiles; or of all that should believe in Christ, of whatever nation, quali­ty, or condition in the world. And thus upon a due examination of those scrip­tures upon which some found the doctrine of universal redemption, and considera­tion of the various limitations to which they are subject, it will appear they are by no means sufficient for the purpose to which they are bro't. I can't, within my present limits, enter into a particular ex­amination of them all; nor is it needful; for what has been already said, may serve as an answer to many of them. But there are two or three, which I wou'd not pass over, because they are main texts with such as hold the doctrine of univer­sal redemption, in opposition to that which is special and particular.

One is that, in 1 Cor. xv. 22. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. And as parallel to this, they mention Rom. v. 18, where 'tis said, As by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righ­teousness of one, the free gift came upon all men to justification of life. From hence they argue, That the benefit by Christ is equal [Page 93]to the damage by Adam; that justificati­on and life by the second Adam, is as large and extensive as the condemnation and death by the first. And so it is, but not in their sense. The Apostle runs a parallel between the two Adams; and makes the first to be a figure, or type ^† of the other, of him that was to come. And they are alike in many respects. Thus, Adam is a common head, so is Christ. Hence, as Adam hath a natural seed, so has Christ a spiritual seed. And, as Adam ruin'd all his seed, so Christ has redeem'd all his. But here's the difference, (the not apprehending of which leads into the mistake) all the natural seed of Adam are not the spiritual seed of Christ; but a number selected out of the other. There is a disparity, as well as a parallel, between the two Adams. This the Apostle allows, saying, as in verse 15. But not as the of­fence, so also is the free gift, i. e. there is a difference between the communication of death by the first, and of life by the second Adam; and, among others, this is one, The gift of righteousness and life by the second Adam, does not extend to all the individuals that were ruin'd by [Page 94]the offence of the first. So that the com­parison is to be thus stated and explained, Christ as effectually conveys life to all his seed, as Adam did death to all his.

The other is that in Colos. i. 20. And, (having made peace by the blood of his cross) by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. This place is generally look'd upon to be of difficult interpretation, and has pretty much exer­cis'd annotators, and had various senses put upon it; and yet, if I may be allow'd with all humility to shew my opinion, it admits of a very plain and easy interpre­tation, and I am ready to wonder at the difficulty which has been made about it. To me the meaning is only this, "That all things which are reconcil'd to God, are so by Christ, which things so reconciled by him, are in heaven and in earth". For the term all is often used to signifie only those who are the objects of the thing done for them. As for instance, when 'tis said, (Psalm cxlv. 14.) The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that are bowed down. It can't be understood as if God rais'd up every in­dividual person in the world, that is bow­ed down by the weight of trouble and [Page 95]affliction; for some do sink under their burden: but the meaning is, that all who are rais'd up when bowed down, are so by God. Thus, when 'tis said God has reconciled all things to himself by Christ; the meaning is not that all things, all creatures that ever offended him, are ac­tually reconciled; but that all who are made partakers of this blessed privilege of reconciliation, are so by Christ, who made peace by the blood of his cross. And these things, these creatures so reconciled, are in heaven & in earth; one part of them the Apostle considers as being in heaven, and the other part of them on earth, in their way to it. So that he here means the whole company of redeemed sinners, who are elsewhere called the family in heaven, and in earth, Eph. iii. 15.

(2.) It may be inquired, Whether Christ died for the sinning angels, or devils; whether their redemption was at all intend­ed in his death? And there is nothing in scripture on which to found such an opi­nion, but the contrary. The Apostle speak­ing of Christ (Heb. ii. 16.) says, Verily, He took not on him the nature of angels: but he tock on him the seed of Abraham. Or, as the margin of some of our bibles reads it, He taketh not hold of angels, but of the seed [Page 96]Abraham he taketh hold. The angels fell, and he let them go, without putting out the arm of mercy to recover them; and suffers them to lie in their fall without hope or help. Christ never design'd to be the Saviour of fallen angels, and there­fore did not assume their nature. He is said to destroy satan by his death, but not to save him. The 14th verse of that chapter, That thro' death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. Satan knew that he shou'd have no benefit by Christ, and this was what made him so full of spight, rage and hor­ror when Christ came into the world. What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of God? Thou art come hither, not to save, but to torment us before the time, Mat. viii. 29. And therefore it is that he so opposes Christ's kingdom and interest in the world to this day.

2. The other thing to be inquir'd into is, Whether there are any offers of salvation made to the devils, and condemned sinners in the place of punishment? No, verily! They never had, nor never will have any such offer. The scripture speaks of the pre­sent day of life, as the day of grace and probation, as the accepted time and day [Page 97]of salvation ^† and supposes this to end at death. Isai. xxxviii. 18. The grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. As the gospel which we now have in our hands is the last dis­pensation, so the time of life which we now enjoy is the only season of grace. Yet some would fain have the gospel preach'd in hell, and try to make the scriptures say so. The places they bring for this pur­pose, are especially two.

One is that, in 1 Pet. iii. 18, 19, 20. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, (that he might bring us to God) being put to death in the flesh, but quickned by the spirit. By which [Spirit] also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing —. The meaning of which place is this, That Christ, before his own coming in the flesh, did send Noah, that preacher of righteousness, and by His Spirit enabled him to preach to the old world, who were disobedient, and for their diso­bedience, [Page 98]their bodies being drown'd by the flood, their spirits were sent to the prison of hell, after the long-suffering of God had waited on them, while the ark was building. In Noah's time, when they were preach'd to by the Spirit of Christ in his ministry, they were on earth, but in Peter's time, when he wrote of them, they were in hell, and therefore he calls them spirits in prison; and this preaching to them was while they were on earth, not after they were in hell. See Gen. vi. 3. and 2 Pet. ii. 5. compared with this place.

The other is that, in 1 Pet. iv. 6. For, for this cause was the gospel preached to them that are dead, that they might be judged ac­cording to men in the flesh, but live accord­ing to God in the spirit. If by the dead here are meant such as are naturally dead, by a dissolution of soul and body, it means the faithful of old, to whom the gospel was preach'd when alive on earth, but are now dead in Christ. The words can have no relation to the preaching of the gospel to any of the dead in Hades, in the separate state, for it is spoken of as a thing already past and over with them. The text says the gospel was, or hath been, not is, or shall be preached to them [Page 99]that are dead ^* But there is no necessity to understand the dead here spoken of, concerning such as are naturally dead, and gone out of this world, but rather of such as are spiritually dead while they live. Of the Gentiles of whom the Apostle is plainly speaking in the context. To these Gentiles who were alienated from the life of God, dead in trespasses & sins ^†, to these was the gospel preach'd, for two reasons menti­on'd 1. That they might be judg'd according to men in the flesh: might be judg'd, i. e. condemn'd and reprov'd; as men in the flesh ^‖, or as natural men, i. e. for their former sinful fleshly life, when they wro't the will of the Gentiles, and liv'd in lasci­viousness, lusts, &c. as in the 3. verse. And 2. That they might live according to God in the spirit; might forsake their old sins, and live a new and spiritual life.

[Page 100] But if these interpretations shou'd not give us the true and genuine meaning of these texts, it makes nothing at all for those who wou'd put such a perverse sense upon 'em as we are now opposing. For their's cannot be the true meaning, be­cause it is contrary to the whole current of scripture, and the analogy of faith. God has been pleas'd, for wise reasons, to leave some difficulties in the holy scrip­tures. There are in them as the Apostle observes, things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable, wrest, as they do also the other scriptures that are plainer, to their own destruction, 2. Pet. iii. 16. And it is sometimes much easier to say what is not, and cannot be the meaning, than what is. But for any to ground opinions of dangerous conse­quence, contrary to what the church of God, the pillar and ground of truth, has al­ways held, and against a multitude of o­ther texts, upon one or two dark and doubtful places, this, to say the least, shews great boldness and presumption. And how easy a matter is it for such as regard not the analogy of faith, nor the context of scripture, to prove in their way, even the wildest absurdities?

[Page 101] To conclude this head, The scripture gives us to understand, that when Christ shall appear in the great day of judgment, his church will be perfected, his mystical bo­dy fill'd up with all the members that are to be added to it; the number of his elect compleated; and so be presented to his father in such words as these, Behold, here I am, and the children which thou hast given me: and not one will be missing of all the sons and daughters he was to bring to glory. See Eph. iv. 12, 13. chap. v. 27. Heb. ii. 13. And John xvii. 24. Then his mediatorial kingdom, which was given him by the father for the good of the elect, and in order to the bringing them to glo­ry, shall be deliver'd up, the end and design of it being fully answer'd, in the salvation of his people, and destructi­on of his enemies. 1 Cor. xv. 24. And the process of this day being ended, and those who had the sentence of condemna­tion pass'd upon them, being gone into e­verlasting punishment; and those who had pronounc'd upon them the sentence of life, having entred into the kingdom pre­par'd for them, and gone in with the bridegroom to the marriage, THE DOOR WILL BE SHUT; as to secure those that are within, so to seclude those that are [Page 102]without. Mat. xxv. 10. And how doth all this agree with new offers, and a se­cond trial?

Thus I have finish'd the doctrinal part of these discourses, in which I have stu­died plainness and brevity. It remains to make a short improvement of them,

• 1. By way of inference and instruction.
• 2. By way of counsel and advice.

First USE, by way of inference and in­struction.

1. How great and terrible a God is He with whom we have to do! Who is able to punish with an everlasting destruction, to destroy both soul and body in hell for ever! Surely this God is great and greatly to be feared. As his favour is to be valued more than life, so his displeasure is to be dreaded more than death. With God is terrible majesty, and this a guilty world will find e're long. Stand in awe there­fore, and sin not. Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.

2. How great an evil must sin be! Hell is the just demerit of sin. It is sin that [Page 103]has dug the pit of hell, and fill'd it with fire and brimstone; that turns souls into it, and keeps them in it for ever and ever. It must then it self be a dreadful evil, of a most vile and accursed nature. Since the punishment of sinners in the next life will be extreme and eternal, sin is certainly another kind of thing, than is commonly imagined. O! You that have light tho'ts of sin, look into the place of torments, the bottomless pit; behold the treasures of wrath that are there prepar'd to punish the workers of it; hearken to the groans and cries of those who are there reaping the fruit of their doings: And then say what is to be tho't of sin. We must look into hell to know what sin is: And even then we shan't fully know what an evil it is. For it may be truly said of sin, it is deeper than hell, what canst thou know?

3. We learn what it is that makes death so formidable a thing. It is this, That to the wicked, such as die in their sins, hell follows after it. The sting of death is said to be sin, (1 Cor. xv. 56.) because sin binds over to a punishment after death. If death was not to most men an intro­duction to future endless misery, but only an extinction of their present being, it [Page 104]wou'd not be the king of terrors. 'Tis the second death which gives the sting and terror to the first. It is not this I am afraid of, said a condemn'd criminal with whom I went to the place of execution, as he look'd up upon the gallows; it is not this I am afraid of, but the wrath of God after death.

4. We may infer the wisdom of serious religion, and the folly of an irreligious course of life. By serious religion I mean, the denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and the living soberly, righteously, and god­ly in the present world; which is the ex­cellent description of a course of piety, given us in Tit. ii. 12; and which in­cludes in it, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, repentance towards God, and new obedience. This is the course which leads from the place of everlasting misery, to the oppo­site place of endless joy and happiness, and is therefore the way of wisdom; the way which the wise walk in, and by walking in which they shew that they have a good understanding; according to that of Solomon, Prov. xv. 24. The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath. On the other hand, an irreligious course, a vain, sensual, ungod­ly life, leads directly down to this place [Page 105]of misery. This is the broad way which as certainly leads to destruction, as the narrow way leads to life. They that live after the flesh shall die eternally. And are the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season, of so much worth, that for them we shou'd dwell in everlasting burnings? This is folly in its exaltation! Folly heightn'd into a frenzy! Eccles. ix. 3. Madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

5. With what thankfulness shou'd we admire and adore the divine patience, for­bearance, and long-suffering towards us, in that we have not been turned into hell long before now! We may all subscribe to that, Psalm ciii. 8. The Lord is slow to anger. and verse 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us ac­cording to our iniquities. We are all of us the children of wrath by nature, and have made our selves seven-fold more so than we were before. How oft have we pro­vok'd him to cut us off in the multitude of our transgressions? But he has stay'd his hand—. And this when he has made quick work with others. — O! what a lesson of thankfulness does this teach us? And how careful shou'd we be not to turn his grace into wantonness? [Page 106]How thankful wou'd a damned person be, if God shou'd free him from the mi­sery he is now in, and place him in the same condition with us now; and shou'd we be less thankful that we are not bro't into the same condition which they are now in?

6. How thankful shou'd we be for the holy scriptures, wherein we are told of this place of everlasting misery, and warn'd not to come into it? This is a place to us now unseen, it lies out of our sight. But life and immortality are bro't to light by the gospel. Herein is the wrath of God reveal'd from heaven against all ungodli­ness, and unrighteousness of men: And this with a compassionate design that we may be stirred up to flee from the wrath to come. The light of nature affords some intimations of this, but the gospel clearly reveals it, so that the matter is no longer doubtful, and they that go into it will be without excuse. Great is their advan­tage to escape hell, who have the oracles of God committed to them. Luke xvi. 27, 28, 29. Then said he, I pray thee there­fore father, that thou wouldest send him to my fathers house: For I have five brethren; that he may testifie unto them, lest they also come into this place of t [...]rment. Abraham [Page 107]saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. The scrip­tures are sufficient to keep men out of hell. How thankful then shou'd we be who enjoy them, when God has not gi­ven them to every people? We shou'd search, believe, and practise them; shou'd take heed to them as to a light that shineth in a dark place; shou'd take them for a light to our feet, and a lamp unto our path, that so we may depart from the snares of death, and our steps may not take hold on hell. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace shall be on them, and mercy, as upon the Israel of God, Gala [...]. vi. 16.

7. How happy are they who are in a par­doned justified state? Such are more than once pronounc'd blessed by the psalmist, Psalm xxxii. 1, 2. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is cover­ed. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. This is the blessed­ness of a pardoned man, he shall be fav'd from hell, he shall never come under con­demnation in the other world. For there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, Rom. viii. 1. A pardon bars up the door of the bottomless pit, so that he who has it shall never be cast down [Page 108]into that. The pardoned soul may sing, as in Psalm lxxxvi. 12, 13. I will praise thee, O Lord my God with all my heart: and I will glorifie thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me; and thou hast de­livered my soul from the lowest hell. How thankful then shou'd they be, who have a good hope thro' grace, that they are in a pardoned state? And how earnest and dili­gent shou'd we all be in seeking after this blessedness? Once more here,

8. How great are the obligations of believ­ers unto JESUS CHRIST? For his blood is what has quenched the fire of hell, which was burning against them. They are deli­ver'd from wrath thro' him, by his being made of God redemption to them. What reason then has the believer to say, "Blessed be God for Jesus Christ! Thanks be unto God for the unspeakable gift of his son! To use here the apt words of another, ‘The glorious sun of righteousness having put out this fire, ought certainly to be the more pleasant to those whom he is risen upon, and who have experienc'd the benefit of healing in his wings: There being not one saint in heaven, or in earth, but what may truly say, All this misery had been my everlasting lot a­m [...]ng the w [...]rst of sinners, if the eternal s [...]n of God had not been made sin and a curse for me.’

[Page 109] Second USE, by way of counsel and advice.

1. Let us be firmly perswaded of these awful truths, and admit no suggestion tend­ing to shake our belief of them. It is an age of infidelity, in which temptations of this kind do abound; all had need therefore be upon their guard, especially those who are young. Take the doctrine of future punishments as it is reveal'd in the word of God, and be stablish'd in the faith of it as ye have been taught. The eternity of them is what men are most apt to quarrel with. But, I think, eno' has been said, to convince and satisfie any one that be­lieves the word of God, and has not learnt to wrangle away the plainest truths. And such as will not believe God speaking in his word, neither would they believe if he shou'd send an angel from heaven to them. For his word might as well be question'd. An angel can speak but the word of God; and if an angel was to bring any other gospel, you are not to receive it, but to hold him accursed. Gal. i. 8.

The denial of the eternity of the pu­nishment of the wicked, is indeed subver­sive of practical religion. It takes off from men the highest restraint, and opens a door to all licentiousness. It takes away [Page 110]that fear in which we shou'd pass the time of our sojourning in this world, and with which we shou'd be working out our own salvation. It tends to make men despise the present offers, and refuse the present calls of the gospel; and to be careless of the things of their peace in this the day of them. They that give into it then, do err concerning the truth in a very dan­gerous point. The doctrines of the gospel are all of them according to godliness, tend­ing to promote that. Whatever doctrine is manifestly otherwise, carries with it an evident mark of its falseness, and proves it self that it can never be of God, and is therefore to be rejected with abhorrence, and such as would propagate it to be a­voided. 1 Tim. vi. 3, 4, 5. If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to whole­some words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words —: From such withdraw thy self.

2. Let us often remember them, and have them much in our tho'ts. Let the belief of these things produce frequent serious consi­deration upon them. The believing realizing consideration of the punishments of hell, if [Page 111]we sometimes set our selves to it, might, by the blessing of the spirit of [...], have ve­ry good effects. It would help to disco­ver the deceitfulness of sin, and to weak­en the force of temptations: It might serve to awaken us out of carnal security, and to quicken us in the working out our own salvation. Indeed, the love of God is the acceptable principle; and is what should restrain us from sin, and constrain us to duty. Yet we may, and have need to call in and improve the consideration of the torments of hell. This motive the sinner usually feels the force of at his first conversion, in the beginning of a re­ligious life; and it is of use to us thro' the whole of our christian course, even when we come to act, in the main, from a high­er and better principle. Job was a man of singular piety, yet was restrain'd from sin, by this principle: For destruction from God was a terror to me, chap. xxxi. 23. They that hope for God's salvation, shou'd yet fear his destruction. "Adam in inno­cency was aw'd with a threatning.

3. Let it be the great concern, and most serious endeavour of us all, to escape the pu­nishments of hell. For this end they are set before us in the word of God. Know­ing therefore the terror of the Lord, let us be [Page 112]perswaded to break of our sins by righte­ousness, and to turn out of the broad way that leads to destruction! — Let us cry earnestly to God for mercy, and sue out a pardon at the throne of grace! — Let us flie to the Lord Jesus Christ, and take sanctuary in him by faith! For there is no door of escape open for a guil­ty sinner, but in and thro' Christ; and in him there is a wide and effectual door open­ed, to one that is flying from the wrath to come. O for a Christ, or we are undone for ever! O for that believing covenant­ing act to make him ours!

And let us do all this speedily and without delay; and not put off the prac­tising the counsels of God to the last ex­tremities, lest we bewail our folly to no purpose, as multitudes are now doing, in a miserable eternity. The door is open to day, but it may be shut to morrow; and being once shut, it is shut for ever. Wherefore as the HOLY GHOST saith, To day while it is called to day, harden not your hearts.

Our blessed Saviour after he had warn­ed his hearers of the wrath to come, and thereupon exhorted them to bring forth fruits meet for repentance, enforces all with this solemn declaration, wherein he lets them know what terms they stood upon, and what continual danger they were in, [Page 113] The ax is now laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire, Mat. iii. 10. Professors in the visible church, are trees in God's vineyard, from whom he expects good fruit, fruits meet for repentance, the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God. If they fail his just expectations concerning them, are barren and ungodly, bringing forth no fruit, or which is worse bad fruit, wild grapes, the grapes of Sodom, and the clusters of Go­morrow, their ruin is inevitable, and is speedily coming on. They may every moment expect justice will strike the fatal blow, cut them down as unworthy to stand any longer in the vineyard, and cast them as dry stubble into the unquenchable fire of divine wrath. Take therefore the aw­ful admonition, Jer. xiii. 16. Give glory to the Lord your God before he cause darkness, and before your fect stumble on the dark moun­tains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.