heart of the most ambitious lords or princes, as if they had been but beggars or brutes; so will their tormentors then as little pity their tenderness, or reverence their lordliness, when they shall be raised from their graves to their eternal doom. Those eyes which were wont to be delighted with curious sights, and to feed themselves upon beauteous and comely objects, must then see nothing but what shall amaze and terrify them; an angry, sin-revenging God above them, and those saints whom they scorned, enjoying the glory which they have lost; and about them will be only devils and damned souls; ah, then, how sadly will they look back and say, 'Are all the merry meetings, our feasts, our plays, our wanton toys, our games and revels, come to this?' Then those ears which were wont to be delighted with music, shall hear the shrieks and cries of their damned companions; children crying out against their parents, that gave them encouragement and example in evil, but did not teach them the fear of the Lord; husbands crying out upon their wives, and wives upon their husbands; masters and servants cursing each other; ministers and people, magistrates and subjects, charging their misery upon one another, for discouraging in duty, conniving in sin, and being silent or formal, when they should have plainly told one another of their misery, and forewarned them of this danger. Thus will soul and body be companions in calamity."

с

Sect. VII. 7. And the greater by far will their torments be, because they shall have no comfort left to help to mitigate them. In this life, when a minister foretold them of hell, or conscience began to trouble their peace, they had comforts enough at hand to relieve them; their carnal friends were all ready to speak comfort to them, and promise them that all should be well with them; but now they have not a word of

e Hanc denique carnis speciem, arcem animæ, etiam Dominus in sugillatione cogitationum taxat, 'Quid cogitatis in cordibus vestris nequam?' et Qui conspexerit mulierem ad concupiscendum,' &c. Adeo et sine opere et sine effectu, cogitatus carnis est actus; sed etsi in cerebro, vel in medio superciliorum discrimine, vel ubi philosophis placet, principalitas sensuum consecrata est, quod Hegemonicon appellatur, 'Caro erit omne animæ cogitatorium.' Nunquam anima sine carne est, quamdiu in carne est. Nihil non cum illa agit, sine qua non est. Quære adhuc an cogitatus quoque per carnem administrentur, qui per carnem dignoscuntur extrinsecus. Volutet aliquid anima; vultus operatur indicium. Facies intentionum omnium speculum est. Negent factorum societatem, cui negare non possunt cogitatorum. Et illi quidem delinquentias carnis enumerant, ergo peccatrix tenebitur sup'plicio. Tert.de Resurrect. Carnis, c. 15.

comfort either for others or themselves. Formerly they had their business, their company, their mirth, to drive away their fears; they could think away their sorrows, or play them away, or sleep them away, or at least, time did wear them away; but now all these remedies are vanished. They had a hard, a presumptuous and unbelieving heart, which was a wall to defend them against troubles of mind; but now their experience hath banished these, and left them naked to the fury of those flames. Yea, formerly Satan himself was their comforter, and would unsay all that the minister had said against them, as he did to our first mother: Hath God said, Ye shall not eat? ye shall not surely die.' So doth he now; Doth God tell you, that you shall lie in hell? It is no such matter; God is more merciful; he doth but tell you so, to fright you from sinning: who would lose his present pleasures, for the fear of that which he never saw? Or, if there be a hell, what need you to fear it? Are not you Christians, and shall you not be saved by Christ? Was not his blood shed for you? Ministers may tell you what they please; they delight to fright men, that they may be masters of their consciences, and therefore would make them believe that they shall all be damned, except they will fit themselves to their precise humour.' Thus, as the Spirit of Christ is the comforter of the saints, so Satan is the comforter of the wicked ; for he knows if he should now disquiet them, they would no longer serve him; or if fears or doubts should begin to trouble them, they would bethink themselves of their danger, and so escape it. Never was a thief more careful lest he should awake the people, when he is robbing the house, than Satan is careful not to awaken a sinner. And as a cut-purse will look you in the face, and hold you in a tale, that you may never suspect him, while he is picking your pockets; so will Satan labour to keep men from all doubts or jealousies, or sorrowful thoughts. But when the sinner is dead, and he hath his prey, and his stratagem hath had success, then he hath done flattering and comforting them. While the sight of sin and misery might have helped to save them, he took all the pains he could to hide it from their eyes; but when it is too late, and there is no hope left, he will make them see and feel to the utmost. Oh! which way will the forlorn sinner then look for comfort? They that drew him into the snare, and promised him safety, do now forsake him, and are forsaken themselves. His ancient comforts are taken from him, and the righteous God, whose forewarn

ings he made light of, will now made good his word against him to the least tittle.

Sect. VIII. 8. But the great aggravation of this misery will be its eternity. That when a thousand millions of ages are past, their torments are as fresh to begin as at the first day. If there were any hope of an end, it would ease them to foresee it; but when it must be for ever so, that thought is intolerable: much more will the misery itself be. They were never weary of sinning, nor ever would have been, if they had lived eternally upon earth, and now God will not be weary of plaguing them.. They never heartily repented of their sin, and God will never repent him of their suffering. They broke the laws of the eternal God, and therefore shall suffer eternal punishment. They knew it was an everlasting kingdom which they refused when it was offered them, and therefore what wonder if they be everlastingly shut out of it; it was their immortal souls that were guilty of the trespass, and therefore must immortally suffer the pains. Oh, now, what happy men would they think themselves, if they might have lain still in their graves, or continued dust, or suffered no worse than the gnawing of those worms! Oh! that they might but there lie down again; what a mercy now would it be to die; and how will they call and cry out for it, 'O death, whither art thou now gone? Now come and cut off this doleful life! Oh! that these pains would break my heart, and end my being! Oh! that I might once die at last le Oh! that I never had a being!' These groans will the thoughts of eternity wring from their hearts. They were wont to think the sermon long, and prayer long; how long then will they think these endless torments? What difference is there betwixt the length of their pleasures and of their pains? The one continued but a moment, but the other endureth through all

4 Horrendo modo fit miseris mors sine morte, finis sine fine, defectus sine defectu; quia mors semper vivit, et finis semper incipit, et defectus deficere nescit. Mors perimit et non extinguit; dolor cruciat, sed nullatenus pavorem fugat; flamma comburit, sed nequaquam tenebras excutit.-Greg. Moral. lib. ix. I approve not learned Parker's judgment about the desert of eternal suffering, as arising from the eternity or perpetuity of sinning, which he taketh from Scotus and Mirandula, lib. iv. de Descensu, pp. 164, 165.

* Quando istinc excessum fuerit, nullus jam pœnitentiæ locus est, nullus satisfactionis effectus: hic vita aut amittitur aut tenetur hic saluti æternæ cultu Dei, et fructu fidei providetur.-Cypr. ad Demetrian. lib. xxii. p. 331. Ubi hic purgatorium pontificiorum? Eterna autem et sine fine sunt à Deo bona, propter hoc et amissio eorum æterna et sine fine est.-Iren. adv, Hæreş. lib. i. p. (mihi) 610,

eternity. Oh! that sinners would lay this thought to heart! Remember how time is almost gone. Thou art standing all this while at the door of eternity; and death is waiting to open the door, and put thee in. Go sleep out but a few more nights, and stir up and down on earth a few more days, and then thy nights and days shall end; thy thoughts and cares, and displeasures, and all shall be devoured by eternity; thou must enter upon the state which shall never be changed. As the joys of heaven are beyond our conceiving, so also are the pains of hell. Everlasting torment is inconceivable torment.

Sect. IX. Object. But I know if it be a sensual unbeliever that readeth all this, he will cast it by with disdain, and say, 'I will never believe that God will thus torment his creatures. What, to delight in their torture! And that for everlasting! and all this for the faults of a short time; it is incredible. How can this stand with the infiniteness of his mercy? I would not thus torment the worst enemy that I have in the world, and yet my mercifulness is nothing to God's. These are but threats to awe men; I will not believe them.

Answ. Wilt thou not believe? I do not wonder if thou be loth to believe so terrible tidings to thy soul, as these are; which if they were believed and apprehended, indeed, according to their weight, would set thee a trembling and roaring in the anguish of horror day and night. And I do as little wonder that the devil who ruleth thee, should be loth, if he can hinder it, to suffer thee to believe it. For if thou didst believe it, thou wouldst spare no cost or pains to escape it. But go to: If

f Credunt Judæi quod ex Israelitis solis tria genera mortuorum in die judicii sint resuscitanda, quorum unum futurum sit Israelitarum probissimorum : alterum improbissimorum et impiissimorum; tertium mediocrium, qui non minus bene quam male operati fuerint. Probos illos e vestigio ad vitam æternam inscriptum obsignatumque improbos autem in gehennam, sive ignem infernalem abjectum iri dicunt. Mediocres vero istos peccatores per spatium Chadaschim sive mensium tantummodo duodecim pro peccatis ipsorum in inferno torquebuntur; deinde corpora eorum consumentur, ventusque cineres eorum difflando dispergit subter plantas pedum justorum, &c.-Sic R. Bechar. Talmudo. Magno ut Buxtorf. Synag. Jud. 1. pp. 25-27. Ad hanc hæresin appropinquat doctrina papistarum. Non est vera vita nisi ubi fæliciter vivitur; nec vera incorruptio, nisi ubi salus nullo dolore corrumpitur. Ubi autem infelix non finitur, ut ita dicam, mors ipsa non moritur; et ubi dolor perpetuus non interimit, sed affligit, ipsa corruptio non sinitur.-Aug. Enchirid. c. 92. Nisi per indebitam misericordiam nemo liberatur et nisi per debitum judicium nemo damnatur.-Aug. Enchirid. c. 94. Vindictam divinam certò futuram super impios et recipiscere nolentes, obsignant quotidie tot exempla iræ Dei quæ nobis ante oculos ponuntur.-Pol. in Ezek 11. p. 191,

thou wilt read on, either thou shalt believe it before thou stirrest, or prove thyself an infidel or pagan. Tell me then, dost thou believe Scripture to be the word of God? If thou do not, thou art no more a Christian than thy horse is, or than a Turk is. For what ground have we besides Scripture to believe that Jesus Christ did come into the world, or die for man? If thou believe not these, I have nothing here to do with thee, but refer thee to the second part of this book, where I have proved Scripture to be the word of God. But if thou do believe this to be so, and yet dost not believe that the same Scripture is true, thou art far worse than either infidel or pagan. For the vilest pagan durst hardly charge their idol-gods to be liars: and darest thou give the lie to the God-of heaven; and accuse him of speaking that which shall not come to pass; and that in such absolute threats, and plain expressions? But if thou darest not stand to this, but dost believe Scripture both to be the word of God, and to be true, then I shall presently convince thee of the truth of these eternal torments; wilt thou believe if a prophet should tell it thee? Why read it then in the greatest prophets, Moses, David, and Isaiah. (Deut. xxxii. 22; Psal. xi. 6, and ix. 17; Isai. xxx. 33.) Or wilt thou believe one that was more than a prophet? Why, hear then what John Baptist, saith, (Matt. iii. 10; Luke iii. 17.) Or wilt thou believe if an apostle should tell thee? Why, hear what one saith, where he calls it the "vengeance of eternal fire; and the blackness of darkness for ever." (Jude 7, 13.) Or what if thou have it from an apostle that had been wrapt up in revelations into the third heaven, and seen things unutterable, wilt thou believe then? Why take it then from Paul, "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." (2 Thess. i. 7-9.) And "that they all might be damned, who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thess. ii. 12.) So Rom. ii. 5-7. Or wilt thou believe it from the beloved apostle, who was so taken up in revelations, and saw it, as it were, in his visions? Why see then Rev. xx. 10, 15. They are said there to be "cast into the lake of fire, and tormented day and night for ever." So Rev. xxi. 8; so 2 Pet. ii. 17. Or wilt thou believe it from the mouth of Christ himself the Judge? Why read it then: As therefore