The soveraign and final happiness of man with the effectual means to obtain it by William Bates ...
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Title
The soveraign and final happiness of man with the effectual means to obtain it by William Bates ...
Author
Bates, William, 1625-1699.
Publication
London :: Printed by J.D. for Brabazon Aylmer ...,
1680.
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Subject terms
Happiness -- Early works to 1800.
Cite this Item
"The soveraign and final happiness of man with the effectual means to obtain it by William Bates ..." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A26808.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 3, 2024.
Pages
descriptionPage 231
CHAP. XII.
The Gospel threatens Hell to all that prefer
the Pleasures of Sin before Heaven.
How congruous and powerful a Motive
this is to work on carnal Men. The
Misery of an everlasting Hell repre∣sented.
4. COnsider, if Men choose the
Pleasures of Sin that are but
for a season, before Heaven, that infinite∣ly
exceeds this World, then an everlasting
Hell shall be their Portion. There is no
middle State in the next World, no to∣lerable
mediocrity, but two contrary
States, yet alike in this, that the Hap∣piness
and Misery are equally Infinite
and Eternal. And by the most wise
righteous Will of God, there is an inse∣parable
connexion between the Choice
and Actions of Men here, and their fu∣ture
Condition for ever. The equity
of this cannot be denied without re∣nouncing
the Light of Reason. For
when by a Chain of Consequences sin∣ful
Pleasures are linked with eternal Pu∣nishments
threatned in the Divine Law,
he that will enjoy those forbidden Plea∣sures,
descriptionPage 232
binds himself to suffer all the
pains annexed to them. And 'tis just
that those who err without Excuse,
should repent without Remedy. Now
the threatning of eternal Punishment is
the most proper Argument to work on
carnal secure Sinners.
1. Because they are more capable to
conceive of the Torments of Hell, than
the Joys of Heaven. Storms and Dark∣ness
are more easily drawn by a Pencil,
than a calm bright Day. Fire and
Brimstone are very painful to Sense, and
the imagination strongly represents its
vehemence in tormenting the Body, and
what an evil the uncessant remorse of
the guilty Conscience will be hereafter,
is in part understood by the secret ac∣cusations
and twinges of self-condem∣ning
Sinners here: but they are abso∣lutely
Strangers to the Joys of the Holy
Ghost, the Delights of the Soul in the
Contemplation and Love of God, the
peace and contentment of Conseience
in his Favour. They cannot without
Experience know how good the Lord
is, no more than see a taste. To dis∣course
to them of the Spiritual Pleasures
that flow from the divine Presence, of
the Happiness of the Saints that are be∣fore
descriptionPage 233
the Throne of God, and serve him
Day and Night in his Temple, is to speak
with the Tongue of an Angel unintel∣ligible
things. Their Affections and
Minds and Language are confined to
sensible things. The natural Man re∣ceives
not the things of the Spirits of God,
for they are foolishness to him, neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. There may be in a carnal
Person a conception of Heaven as a Re∣fuge
from Miseries, and some smother∣ing
confused thoughts of its Felicity, as
the Idea of Light and Colours in one
Blind from his Birth; but only the pure
in Heart can see God, as in the perfect
Vision of Glory in Heaven, so in the
imperfect reflection of it in the Go∣spel.
2. Carnal Men are more disposed to
be wrought upon by representing the
Torments of Hell, than the Joys of
Heaven. For we cannot love but what
is known, nor enjoy but what is loved.
And as the purification of the Heart
from vicious Affections, is the best
means to clear the Mind, so the illustra∣tion
of the Mind is very influential to
warn the Heart. The true concep∣tion
of Heaven in its amiable Excellen∣cies,
descriptionPage 234
would convey such a sweetness as
to change Hatred it self into Love; and
of this only prepared Souls are capable.
But those who are sunk into Sense are
without relish of spiritual Felicity, and
are either allured or terrified only with
that is pleasant or painful to Sense.
'Tis recorded as the unparallel'd Fol∣ly
of Nero, that when he was ready to
cut his own Throat to avoid the fury of
the Multitude, he broke forth into great
expressions of Sorrow what an excellent
Artist he died. 'Twas not the loss of
the Roman Empire that so much trou∣bled
him, as that so much skill in Mu∣sick
died with him. He valued himself
more as a Fidler than an Emperor.
Thus carnal Men with a folly infinitely
more prodigious, when Death is near,
are not so much affected with the loss
of the Crown of Glory, and the King∣dom
of Heaven, as with their leaving
the present World and its Vanities. This
makes Death intolerably bitter. Till
the Love of God inflames and purifies
the Heart, the fruition of his Glory is
not esteemed nor desired. A Seraphim
sent from the Presence of God with a
flaming Coal from the Altar, toucht
the Lips of the Holy Prophet, and his
descriptionPage 235
Heart was presently melted into a com∣pliance
with the Divine Will. But if
a Rebel Angel, that burns with another
Fire than of Divine Love, were dis∣patcht
from Hell, with a Coal from that
Altar, where so many Victims are offer∣ed
to divine Justice as there are damned
Souls, and touch'd obdurate unreformed
Sinners, that they might have a lively
sence what it is to burn for ever; this
were the most congruous and effectual
way to reclaim them. Like stubborn
Metals they are only made pliant by
the Fire.
Indeed the fear of Hell though raised
to the highest degrees, is not sufficient
to convert a Sinner thorowly to God.
For that Religion that is the meer effect
of Fear, will be according to the nature
of its Principle, with resistance and
trouble, wavering and inconstant when
the violence of the fear is lessen'd.
Whereas that which is from the inclina∣tion
of Love and the hope of a desired
Good, is fully voluntary and perseve∣ring.
As a Scholar that applies himself
to Learning by the constraint of Fear,
his Study is uneasy, and whilst he is
reading, his Fancy transports him to o∣ther
things, and when his task is finisht,
descriptionPage 236
he presently runs to Play. But a Lover
of Learning with Diligence and Delight
is intent in his Studies, and though in∣gaged
in other Affairs, yet his Thoughts
are still conversant about Learning. In
short, the fear of Hell may be only a
natural Affection, that recoils from what
is tormenting to the Body, and is con∣sistent
with the Love of Sin; but the
hope of Heaven as 'tis revealed in the
Scripture, is a spiritual Affection, and
always joined with the hatred of Sin.
Now the great design of the Gospel
is by the fear of Hell, as a powerful
preparative, to make way for the love
of Heaven. If carnal indulgent Sinners
are not roused by a quick apprehension
of Hell, they will securely enjoy their
pernicious Pleasures, and grow old in
Sin, and at last die impenitent. No of∣fers
of Mercy will prevail, till they are
storm'd by the Terrors of the Lord. But
when the fear of eternal Misery has
made a breach, divine Grace victorious∣ly
enters and takes Possession. The
convinced and contrite Sinner most
humbly and willingly embraces the pre∣cious
Promises, wherein not only Par∣don
and Indemnity is offered, but the
richest favour, the advancing him into
descriptionPage 237
a State of Eternal Glory. Thus the sweet∣est
Hopes succeed tormenting Fears,
and the Obedience which before had a
mixture of involuntary flows from the
intire consent of the Soul, with filial
Freedom.
Before the particular Description of
the pains of the Damned, I shall ob∣serve
in General, That the full repre∣sentation
of Hell is beyond all human
Expression, nay our most fearful
Thoughts cannot equal the Horror of
it.Who knows the Power of thine An∣ger?
What are the prepared Plagues
by infinite Justice and Almighty Wrath
for obstinate Sinners? It is impossible
for the most guilty and trembling Con∣science
to inlarge its sad apprehensions
according to the degrees of that Misery.
The Lord will shew forth his Wrath,and
make his Power known in the Vessels fitted
for Destruction. None can tell what God
can do, and what Man shall suffer, when
made capable to endure such Torments
for ever, as now would presently con∣sume
him. As the Glory of Heaven cannot
be fully understood till enjoyed, so the
Torments of Hell cannot be comprehen∣ded
till felt. But we may have some disco∣very
of those unknown Terrors, by the
following Considerations.
descriptionPage 238
1. The Wisdom of God requires that
the Punishment threatned in his Law,
as it must so be firmly decreed, that all ob∣stinate
Rebels shall of necessity undergo
it, so it must incomparably exceed all
temporal Evils, to which Men may be
exposed for their Obedience to the di∣vine
Commands. Otherwise the threat∣ning
would not be an effectual restraint
from Sin. For the propinquity of an
Evil makes a strange impression on the
Mind, and present Fear makes a Person
sollicitous to avoid the incursion of a
danger ready to seize on him, without
forecasting to prevent an evil look'd on
at a distance. Therefore that the san∣ction
of the divine Law may preserve
the Precepts inviolable, that there may
be a continual reverence of it, and a
fixed resolution in the Heart of Men not
to transgress, the penaly threatned must
be in its own nature so terrible, that
the fear of it may conquer the appre∣hension
of all present Evils, that can be
inflicted to force us to Sin. As on the
other side, to confirm our purpose to
please God in all things, the Reward
of Obedience must be of infallible assu∣rance,
that all and only those who serve
him faithfully shall enjoy in the future
descriptionPage 239
State, and so excellent, that all the al∣lurements
of the World, may in compa∣rison
with it, be of no consideration to
divert us from our Duty. They com∣mand
the Heart, and have its most pre∣vailing
Respects, from whom is expe∣cted
the most desireable Good, and
feared the most terrible Evils. There∣fore
our Saviour warns his Disciples,
Fear not them that can kill the Body,
(make that part die that is mortal) but
fear him that after he has killed, has power
to cast into Hell, yea I say unto you, fear
him. All the exquisite Tortures, that
the most cruel contriving and power∣ful
malice of wicked Men can inflict, is
so much less than the Wrath to come,
that avoid the one and venture on the
other, is more brutish Stupidity, than
that of the Horse or Mule, that starts at
the shadow of a Bush, and springs over
a Precipice.
2. The Judgments of God executed
here, are light and tolerable in compa∣rison
of the punishment of Sinners in
the next Life. 1. Temporal Evils of all
kinds and degrees, as Pestilence, Fa∣mine,
War, are designed for the bring∣ing
of Men to a sight and sence of their
Sins, and are common to Good and Bad
descriptionPage 240
here. And if his anger be so terrible
when he chastises as a compassionate
Father, what is his fury when he pu∣nishes
as a severe Judg? If the corre∣cting
Remedies ordered by his Wisdom
and Love for the conversion of Sinners
be so sharp, what is the deadly revenge
of his irreconcileable Hatred?
2. The Miseries of the present State
are allayed with some enjoyments. None
are so universally afflicted, so desolate,
but something remains to sweeten the
sence of their Sufferings. Judgments
are tempered with Mercies. No Man
is tortur'd with all Diseases, nor forsa∣ken
of all Friends, nor utterly without
Comfort. And when the Affliction is
irremediable, yet if our grief produces
Sympathy in others, 'tis some ease to
the troubled Mind, and by that assi∣stance
the Burthen is made lighter. But
in Hell the Damned are surrounded with
Terrors, encompast with Flames, with∣out
any thing to refresh their Sorrows,
not a drop of Water to a Lake of Fire.
All that was esteemed Felicity here, is
totally withdrawn. Death puts a pe∣riod
to their Lives, and the Pleasures of
Sin for ever. For 'tis most just, that those
Objects which were abused by their
descriptionPage 241
Lusts, and alienated their Hearts from
their Duty and Felicity, should be taken
away. And which is extream Misery, in
their most pitiful State they are abso∣lutely
unpitied. Pity is the cheap and
universal Lenitive, not denied to the most
guilty in their Sufferings here: for the
Law of Nature instructs us to pity the
Man, when the Malefactor suffers. But
even this is not afforded to the Damned.
All their Agonies and Crys cannot in∣cline
the Compassion of God, and the
blessed Spirits in Heaven towards them:
for they are not compassionable Objects,
their Misery being the just effect of their
perverse obstinate Choice. And in
Hell all human tender Affections are
extinguisht for ever. Now 'tis the per∣fection
of Misery, the excess of desola∣tion
to be deprived of all good things
pleasing to our Desires, and to suffer
all Evils from which we have the deepest
aversation and abhorrence. As in Hea∣ven
all good is eminently comprised,
and nothing but Good, so in Hell all
Evil is in excessive degrees, and nothing
but Evil.
3. Temporal Evils are inflicted by
the mediation of second causes that are
of a limited power to hurt: but in the
descriptionPage 242
next World he more immediately tor∣ments
the Damned by his absolute Pow∣er.
The Apostle tells us, that the wick∣ed
are punished with everlasting Destructi∣on
from the presence of the Lord,and the
Glory of his Power. What is the lashing
with a few Rushes, to a blow given by the
hand of a Giant that strikes dead at once?
This comparison is below the Truth.
More particularly, the state of Mise∣ry
is set forth in Scripture by such re∣presentations
as may powerfully in∣struct
and terrifie even the most carnal
Men. Nothing is more intolerably
painful, then suffering the violence of
Fire inraged with Brimstone: and Hell
is described by a Lake of Fire and Brim∣stone,
wherein the Wicked are tor∣mented.
Whether the Fire be Materi∣al
or Metaphorical, the reality and in∣tenseness
of the Torment is signified by it.
descriptionPage 243
But the ordinary Fire, though mingled
with the most torturing Ingredients, is
not an adequate representation of it.
For that is prepared by Men, but the
Fire of Hell is prepared by the
Wrath of God for the Devil and his
Angels. The Divine Power is illustri∣ously
manifested in that terrible prepa∣ration:
So that, as some of the Fathers
express it, if one of the Damned
might pass from those Flames into the
fiercest Fires here, it were to exchange
a Torment for a Refreshment. The
Scripture speaks of the vehement heat
and fiery Thirst, and outer Darkness in
which the Damned suffer, to satisfy the
rights of Justice in the torment of those
Senses, for the Pleasure of which Men
wilfully broke the Laws of God.
But the Soul being the chief Sinner,
shall be the chief Mourner in those Re∣gions
of Sorrow. An Image of this we
have in the Agonies of Spirit, which
sometimes the Saints themselves are in
here, and which the most stubborn Sin∣ners
can neither resist nor endure. Job was
afflicted in that manner that he com∣plains,
The Arrows of the Almighty are
with me,the Poison whereof drinks up my
Spirit, the Terrors of God set themselves
descriptionPage 244
in Array against me. If a Spark of his
Displeasure falls on the guilty Consci∣ence,
it tears and blows up all, as a
Fire-ball cast into a Magazine. All the
Diversions in the World, Business,
Pleasures, Merry Conversation, Co∣medies
are as ineffectual to give free∣dom
from those Stings and Furies in
the Breast, as the sprinkling of Holy
Water is to expel a raging Divil from a
possest Person. Those who in their
Pride and Jollity, have despised serious
Religion, either as a fond Transport and
Extasy towards God, or a dull Melan∣choly
and Dejection about the Soul, or
an idle Scrupulosity about indifferent
things, yet when God has set their Sins
with all their killing circumstances in
order before their Eyes, how changed,
how confounded are they at that Ap∣parition?
How restless with the dread∣ful
expectation of the doom that attends
them! Belshazzer in the midst of his
Cups, and Herd of Concubines, by a
few Words written on the Wall, con∣taining
his Process and Judgment, was
so terrified by his guilty jealous Con∣science,
that his Joints were loosed,
Nature sunk under the apprehension.
Now all these troubles of Mind, are but
descriptionPage 245
the beginnings of Sorrows, but the
Smoak of the infernal Fornace, but ear∣nests
of that terrible Sum which divine
Justice will severely exact of the Wick∣ed
in Hell.
Indeed these Examples are rare, and
not regarded by the most, and by some
lookt on as the effects of Distraction;
but to convince the bold and careless
Sinners who never felt the stings of an
awakned Conscience, what extream
terrors seize upon the Wicked in the o∣ther
World, Consider,
1. The Apprehension shall be more
clear and enlarged than in the present
State. Now the Soul is opprest with a
weight of Clay, and in Drowsiness and
Obscurity. The great things of Eter∣nity
are of little force to convince the
Conscience, or perswade the Affections.
But then the Soul shall work with the
quickest activity. The Mind shall by
an irresistible Light take a full view
of all afflicting Objects. The most stu∣pid
and unconcerned Sinners shall then
see and feel their ruin'd State, what a
glorious Felicity they have lost, what a
Misery they are plunged into, without
any possibility of lessening it by false
Conceits, and receiving any relief by
descriptionPage 246
the error of Imagination.
2. The mournful Thoughts shall be
always fixt upon what is tormenting.
The Soul in conjunction with the Body
cannot always apply it self to one sort
of Objects. For the Ministry of the
sensible Faculties is requisite to its Ope∣rations.
And the Body must be suppor∣ted
by Eating and Drinking and Rest,
which interrupts troublesome Thoughts.
Besides the variety of Objects and Ac∣cidents
here avert the Mind sometimes
from what is afflicting. But the sepa∣rate
Soul is in no dependence on the
Body, and after their reunion, there
shall be no necessity of Food or Sleep,
or any other animal actions to support
it, but it shall be restored to a new ca∣pacity
for new torments, and preserved
in that miserable State by the power of
God. There will be nothing then to
divert the lost Soul from sad Reflecti∣ons
upon its Misery. There are no lu∣cid
intervals in Hell.
3. All the passionate Powers will
then be let loose at once upon the guil∣ty
Creature. And if there be no single
Passion so weak, but heightned, will
break the Spirit, and render Life so
miserable, that a Man will take Sanctu∣ary
descriptionPage 247
in the Grave to escape, how mise∣rable
is the Condition when the most
fierce and united Passions war against
the Soul? This is signified by the never
dying Worm that gnaws on the tenderest
parts, and of quickest sence. Shame,
Sorrow, Despair, Fury, Hatred and
Revenge are some of that Blood of Vi∣pers
that torment the Damned.
1. Shame is a Passion of which hu∣man
Nature is very sensible, and this in
the highest degree of Confusion shall
seize on the Wicked. For all the just
causes of Shame shall then meet. The
inward source of it is the consciousness
of Guilt, or Turpitude and Folly in the
Actions; and all these are the insepa∣rable
Adjuncts of Sin. The guilty Soul
by a piercing reflection upon its Crimes,
has a secret shame of its Degeneracy
and Unworthiness. The Passion is in∣creast,
when a discovery is made of vile
practices that defile and debase a Man,
expose to Contempt and Infamy, before
Persons of high Quality and eminent
Vertue, whom we admire and reve∣rence,
and whose esteem we value. To
be surprized in an unworthy Action by
such a Person, disorders the Blood, and
transfuses a Colour into the Face, to
descriptionPage 248
cover it with a Vail of Blushing. And
the more numerous the Spectators are,
the more the Disgrace is aggravated.
And if Derision be joined with the Ig∣nominy,
it causes extream Displeasure.
O the universal Confusion, the over∣powring
amazement that will seise on
Sinners in the great day of Discovery,
when all the Works of Darkness, all
their base Sensualities shall be revealed
before God Angels and Saints? When
all the covers of Shame shall be taken
off, the excuses and denials, to extenu∣ate
or conceal their Sins shall vanish, and
their Breasts be transparent to the Eyes
of all: How will they be ashamed of
their foul and permanent Deformity in
the Light of that glorious Presence?
How will they be astonisht to appear in
all their Pollutions before that bright
and immense Theatre? How will they
be confounded to stand in all their Guilt
before that sublime and severe Tribu∣nal?
How will they endure the up∣braidings
for all the Sins which they
have so wickedly committed, and the
derision for the punishment they so de∣servedly
suffer? The holy Judg will
laugh at their Calamity, and mock when
their fear comes. The Righteous also
descriptionPage 249
shall see, and shall laugh at them, Lo
these are the Men that made not God
their Portion, but perishing Vanities,
that prefer'd sweet Folly before severe
Wisdom. The Devils will reproach
them for that scornful advantage they
had over them, that as Children are
seduc'd for things of Lustre to part with
real Treasures, so they were easily per∣suaded
for the Trifles of Time to ex∣change
Eternal Happiness. Whither
will they cause their Shame to go? Those
black Sinners that here never change
colour for their Filthiness, that hardned
by custom in Sin, are impenetrable to
Shame, as the brute Beasts that are abso∣lutely
destitute of reason, nay that have
not only overcome all tenderness, but
glory in their Shame, shall glow at the
manifestation of their sordid Lusts, their
vile Servilities, and be covered with
Confusion, and the sence of it shall be
revived in their Minds for ever.
2. To open Shame is joined the
greatest inward Sorrow. This Passion
when violent penetrates the Soul in all
its Faculties, and fastens it to the af∣flicting
Object. When it dwells in the
Bosom, it gives an easy entrance to
what ever cherishes and increases it,
descriptionPage 250
and rejects what might asswage and
lessen the sence of the Evil. The most
pleasant things do not excite desire or
joy, but exasperate Grief. Like those
Animals that convert the best nourish∣ment
into their own Poison; so deep
Sorrow receives mournful impressions
from all things, and turns the sweetest
Comforts of Life into Wormwood and
Gall. The causes of Sorrow are either
the loss of some valued Good, or the
sence of some present Evil. And the
Sorrow is more violent, as the Cause is
great in it self, and in the apprehensi∣on
and tenderness of the Sufferers.
Now both these Causes with all the
heavy Circumstances that can multiply
and aggravate Sorrow, meet in Hell
the Centre of Misery.
The loss is inconceivably great. If Cain
when banisht from the Society of the
Saints, where God was publickly wor∣shipt,
and by spiritual Revelations and
visible Apparitions, graciously made him∣self
known, cry'd out in anguish of Soul,
My punishment is greater than I can bear,
from thy Face shall I be hid, and I shall
be a Fugitive upon the Earth, how into∣lerable
will be the final separation from
his glorious and joyful Presence? 'Tis
descriptionPage 251
often seen how tenderly and impati∣ently
the human Spirit resents the loss
of a dear Relation. Jacob for the sup∣posed
Death of Joseph, was so overcome
with Grief, that when all his Sons and
Daughters rose up to comfort him, he re∣fused
to be comforted, and said, I will go
down to the Grave unto my Son mourning.
This is a Sin and a punishment. 'Tis
establisht by the righteous and un∣changeable
Decree of God, that every
inordinate Affection in Man should be
his own Tormentor. But if the loss of
a poor frail Creature for a short time be
so afflicting, how insupportable will be
the Sorrow, for the loss of an infinite
Eternal Good? It may be a carnal
Wretch may think comfortably of this
now, whilst he lives in Pleasures, but
in the next World he shall be totally
deprived of all things that please his vo∣luptuous
Senses, and shall understand
what a misery it is to lose the favour
and enjoyment of the blessed God.
Our Saviour told the Jews, There shall
be weeping and gnashing of Teeth (the
Symptoms of extreme Sorrow) when ye
shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,
and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of
God, and you your selves thrust out. The
descriptionPage 252
sight of that blessed Company entring
into the sacred Mansions of Light, will
make the loss of Heaven infinitely more
discernable and terrible to the Wicked,
who shall be cast into outer Darkness,
and for ever be deprived of Communi∣on
with God and his Saints.
With the loss of the most excellent
Good, the suffering of the most afflicting
painful Evil is join'd. The Sentence is, De∣part
ye cursed into everlasting Fire. And if
an imaginary Sorrow conceived in the
Mind without a real external Cause, as
in Melancholly Persons, when gross
Vapours darken and corrupt the bright∣ness
and purity of the Spirits that are
requisite for its chearful Operations, is
often so oppressing that Nature sinks
under it, how insupportable will the
Sorrow of condemned Sinners be, un∣der
the impression and sence of God's
Almighty and avenging Hand, when it
shall fully appear how pure and holy he
is in his Anger for Sin, how just and
dreadful in punishing Sinners? It may
be the indulgent Sinner may lessen his
fear of Hell, by fancying the number of
Sufferers will asswage the sence of their
Misery. But this is a foolish mistake.
For the number of Sufferers shall be so
descriptionPage 253
far from affording any relief, that the
Misery is aggravated by the Company
and Communication of the Miserable.
Every one is surrounded with Sorrows,
and by the sights of Woe about him,
feels the universal Grief. The weeping
and wailing, the cries and dolorous ex∣pressions
of all the Damned, increases
the torment and vexation of every one.
As when the Wind conspires with the
Flame 'tis more fierce and spreading.
3. The Concomitant of Sorrow will
be Fury and Rage against themselves, as
the true causes of their Misery. For
God will make such a discovery of his
righteous Judgment, that not only the
Saints shall glorify his Justice in the
condemnation of the Wicked, but they
shall be so convinc'd of it, as not to be
able to charge their Judg with any de∣fect
of Mercy, or excess of Rigour in
his proceedings against them. As the
Man in the Parable of the Marriage-Feast,
when taxt for his presumptuous
intrusion without a Wedding Garment,
how camest thou in hither? was speech∣less:
so they will find no plea for their
Justification and Defence, but must re∣ceive
the eternal Doom with Silence
and Confusion. Then Conscience shall
descriptionPage 254
revive the bitter remembrance of all the
methods of divine Mercy for their Sal∣vation,
that were ineffectual by their
Contempt and Obstinacy. All the com∣passionate
calls of his Word, with the
holy Motions of the Spirit, were like
the sowing of Seed in the Stony Ground,
that took no root, and never came to
perfection. All his terrible Threatnings
were but as Thunder to the Deaf, or
Lightning to the Blind, that little affects
them: the bounty of his Providence
design'd to lead them to Repentance, had
the same effect, as the Showers of Hea∣ven
upon Briers and Thorns that makes
them grow the faster. And that a Mer∣cy
so ready to pardon, did not produce
in them a correspondent affection of
grateful obedient Love, but by the most
unworthy provocations they pluckt
down the Vengeance due to obstinate
Rebels, will so enrage the Damned a∣gainst
themselves, that they will be less
miserable by the Misery they suffer, than
by the conviction of their torn Minds,
that they were the sole Causes of it.
What Repentings will be kindled within
them, for the stupid neglect of the great
Salvation so dearly purchased, and
earnestly offered to them? What a fiery
descriptionPage 255
addition to their Torment, that when
God was so willing to save them, they
were so willful to be Damned. They
will never forgive themselves, that for
the short and mean Pleasures of Sense,
which if enjoyed a thousand years, can∣not
recompence the loss of Heaven, nor
requite the pains of Hell for an Hour,
they must be deprived of the one and
suffer the other for ever.
4. The Sorrow and Rage will be in∣creased
by Dispair: for when the
wretched Sinner sees the Evil is peremp∣tory,
and no Outlet of Hope, he aban∣dons
himself to the violence of Sorrow,
and by cruel Thoughts wounds the
Heart more, than the fiercest Furies in
Hell can. This Misery that flows from
dispair shall be more fully opened un∣der
the distinct consideration of the Eter∣nity
of Hell.
And as from Dispair the condemned
Creature turns Enemy to himself, so to
God. 'Tis said of the Worshippers of
the Image of the Beast, that they gnawed
their Tongues for Pain, and blasphemed
the God of Heaven because of their Pains.
The Torment and Blasphemies of those
impenitent Idolaters, are a representa∣tion
of the state of the Damned, where
descriptionPage 256
the just and dreadful Wrath of God up∣on
Men, and the impious Rage of Men
against God is in the highest degrees.
For when the guilty Sufferers are so
weak, that they neither by Patience
can sustain their Torments, nor by
Strength resist the Power that inflicts
them; yet are wicked and stubborn;
they are irritated by their Misery, and
foam out Blasphemies against the righ∣teous
Judg. They hate God with a
direct Enmity, and are always under
his invincible tormenting Power. Ha∣tred
takes pleasure in Revenge, either
real or imaginary. The Damned
Wretches were they as Omnipotent to
Effect, as they are malicious to Desire,
would dethrone God, and destroy his
Being. But he is infinitely above the
transports of their Fury. All their
rancorous cursed imprecations, are re∣flexively
pernicious to themselves; like
Arrows shot up against the Sun, that
fall down upon their Heads that shot
them. Now what more inrages a stub∣born
malicious Spirit, than to be utterly
unable to reach and hurt an irreconcile∣able
Enemy, the object of its habitual
detestation? Briefly, as the blessed Spi∣rits
are in Heaven, and Heaven is in
descriptionPage 257
them, by those holy and joyful Affe∣ctions
that are always exercised in the
Divine Presence, so the Damned are in
Hell, and Hell is in them by those fierce
and miserable Passions that continually
prey upon them.
4. The Eternity of their Misery
makes it above all other Considerations
intollerable. Our Saviour repeats it
thrice in the space of a few Verses, to
terrify those who spare some favourite
Corruption, that in Hell their Worm dies
not, and the Fire is never quenched. God
will never reverse his Sentence, and
they shall never change their State.
How willingly would carnal Men raze
the Word Eternal out of the Scriptures,
but to their grief they find it joined
with the Felicity of Heaven, and the
Torments of Hell. The second Death
has all the terrible qualities of the first,
but not the ease and end it brings to
Misery. All the Tears of those forlorn
Wretches, shall never quench one spark
of the Fire. Where are the delicious
Fair, the Musick, the Purple, and all
the carnal Delights of the rich Man?
they are all changed into a contrary
state of Misery, and that state is fixt for
ever. From his vanishing Paradise he
descriptionPage 258
descended into an everlasting Hell. In
this the Vengeance of God is infinitely
more heavy than the most terrible exe∣cution
from Men. Human Justice and
Power can inflict but one Death (that
will be soon dispatcht) upon a Malefa∣ctor
worthy to suffer a hundred Deaths;
if he be condemned to the Fire, they
cannot make him live and die together,
to burn and not be consumed: But God
will so far support the Damned in their
Torments, that they shall always have
Strength to feel, though no Strength to
endure them. Those extream Torments
which would extinguish the present
Life in a Moment, shall be suffered for
ever. This Consideration infinitely
aggravates the Misery. For the lost
Soul rackt with the fearful Contem∣plation
of what it must suffer for ever,
feels as it were at once all the Evils that
shall torment it in its whole duration.
The perpetuity of the Misery is always
felt by prevision. This is as the cruel
breaking of the Bones upon the Wheel,
when the Soul is tormented by the fore∣sight
of Misery that without allays shall
continue in the circulation of Eternal
Ages. To make this more sensible, let
us consider, that pain makes the Mind
descriptionPage 259
observant of the passing of the hours.
In Pleasures, Time with a quick and
silent motion insensibly slides away: but
in Troubles the Hours are tedious, in vio∣lent
pains we reckon the minutes as long.
'Tis observable how passionately the affli∣cted
Psalmist complains,Will the Lord cast
off for ever? Will he be favourable no more?
Doth his Promise fail for evermore? Hath
he forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in
anger shut up his tender Mercies? In
what various pathetic forms does he ex∣press
the same Affection? Though he
had assurance that the gracious God
would not be always severe, yet his an∣guish
forc'd from him complaints as if
the moment of his Trouble were an E∣ternity.
But what strains of Sorrow
are among the Damned, who besides
the present sence of their Misery, have
always in their Thoughts the vast E∣ternity
wherein they must suffer it?
When three terrible Evils were pro∣pounded
to David's choice, pining Fa∣mine
for three years, or bloody War
for three Months, or devouring Pesti∣lence
for three days, he chose the short∣est,
though in it self the heaviest Evil.
Many sad Days must pass under the
other Judgments, where Death by an∣ticipation
descriptionPage 260
in such variety of Shapes
would be presented to the Mind, that
the lingring expectation of it would af∣flict
more than the sudden stroke:
whereas the fury of the Pestilence would
be soon over. But the Damned have
not this relief, but shall be tormented day
and night for ever and ever. How ear∣nestly
do they seek for Death, but cannot
find it? what a favour would they
esteem it to be annihilated? For cer∣tainly,
if when the Evils in the present
State are so multiplyed, that no Com∣fort
is left, or so violent that the affli∣cted
Person cannot enjoy them, and re∣fresh
his sorrowful Spirit, Death is cho∣sen
rather than Life, it cannot be ima∣gined
that in the future State where the
Misery is extream, and nothing remains
to allay it, that the Damned should be
in love with the unhappy good of sim∣ple
being, and not choose an absolute
extinction if it might be.
If any one should be so foolish to think
that custom will render that State more
tolerable, he may find a terrible confutati∣on
of his vain Fancy. Indeed continuance
under light Evils, may arm the Mind with
patience to bear them, but in great ex∣tremities
it makes the Evil more pon∣derous
descriptionPage 261
and intolerable. He that is tor∣tured
with the Stone, or on the Rack,
the longer the Torture continues, the
less able he is to sustain it. In short, as
the Joy of Heaven is infinitely more ra∣vishing,
that the Blessed are without
fear of losing it; so the Misery of Hell
is proportionably tormenting, that the
Damned are absolutely destitute of hopes
of a release. O 'tis a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God, who
lives for ever, and can punish for ever.
Now the serious Consideration of this
Misery, is the most proper and power∣ful
means to awaken indulgent Sinners,
and make them resolved to cut off the
right hand, and pluck out the right Eye, to
part with the dearest Lusts rather than
be exposed to it. According to the
judgment of Sense, would any one in his
Wits choose the enjoyment of the most
intense and exquisite Pleasures for a
Year, and afterwards be content to burn
in a Fornace for a Day, much less to
enjoy them for a Day, and to burn for
a Year? what stupid Beasts are they
who for momentary Delights incur the
Fiery and Eternal Indignation of God?
Do we provoke the Lord to Jealousy? are
we stronger than he? Try but the Fin∣ger
descriptionPage 262
with the Flame of a Candle, or
touch but a hot Coal; you will soon
discover your weakness. But alas, how
hardly are Men induc't to exercise their
Minds on this terrible Object. He thinks
least of Hell, who has most reason to
consider it: so unwilling is the carnal
Heart to have represented to it the evil
to come. Yet this is the first Motive
that compels Sinners to change their
course, and turn from Sin to Holiness,
from the Creatures to God. The Joys
of Heaven being Spiritual and Divine
(as was before observed) have no attra∣ctive
influence upon their Affections,
would never convert and reform any,
but the torment of Fire being most evi∣dent
and vehement to Sense, is strongly
represented by the Imagination, and af∣fects
carnal Men. How many abound
with vicious obstinate habits, that by
solemn and believing thoughts of the
unquenchable Fire, have felt the Mira∣cle
upon the three Children in the For∣nace,
renewed in themselves, their
strong Cords burnt asunder, and all
their Powers restored to the freedom
of Duty, the blessed liberty of Obedi∣ence.
The Truth is, if God had not
formed Hell for the Punishment of Sin,
descriptionPage 263
and only prepared the Celestial King∣dom
for the Reward of Holiness, the
blessed Angels would be the sole Posses∣sors
of it, and Heaven would be as emp∣ty
of human Souls as 'tis full of Glory:
so foolishly and violently is the corrupt
nature of Man drawn by what is plea∣sing
to Sense, though with the certain
loss of the most precious and eternal
good things in the Divine Treasury.
But the belief that within a little time
nothing will remain of their sinful Plea∣sures,
but the never dying Worm, and ever
living Flames, makes them considera∣tive
of their imminent danger, and as it
were by necessity to seek the Kingdom
of Heaven, as a secondary Object to es∣cape
from Hell. As the vertue of the
Load-stone when encompast and arm'd
with Iron, is increast, and draws a far
greater weight than when 'tis single, thus
the attractives of Heaven are more pow∣erful
to move our obdurate Hearts, when
enforc'd from the terrors of Hell. In this
respect, the fear of the Lord is the begin∣ning
of Wisdom, of the active and best
Wisdom, that directs us in the way to
Blessedness.
Indeed it is difficult to conceive how a material Fire can act on a spiritual Sub∣stance. But 'tis unreasonable to determine that it is im∣possible. For if we consider what pain is, it is as con∣ceiveable how pure Spirits are capable of it, as Spirits in Conjunction with Bodies. The human Soul in its Nature is Spiritu∣al as the Angels, yet has a painful sence of Fire or other afflicting Evils incumbent on the Sences. The Body meerly feels not pain, but it passes through the Body to the Soul. If the Soul by a strong diver∣sion of Thoughts apply it self to an Object, the Body is insensible of pain, as is evident in some Diseases; and that in the heat of Battel, deep Wounds are not felt. And as God by a natural Constitution has orde∣red, that the Body so touch'd and moved, excites a painful Sense in the Soul, he may have ordained that the Devils shall feel the im∣pressions of Material Fire, in the places to which they shall be confin'd.