The saints everlasting rest, or, A treatise of the blessed state of the saints in their enjoyment of God in glory wherein is shewed its excellency and certainty, the misery of those that lose it, the way to attain it, and assurance of it, and how to live in the continual delightful forecasts of it and now published by Richard Baxter ...

* 1.1SECT. I.

HAving thus shewed you how great their Loss is who are shut out of Rest, and how it will be aggravated by those Additional losses which will accompany it: I should next here shew you the greatness of those Positive sufferings which will accompany this loss. But because I am to Treat of Rest rather then of Torment, I will not meddle with the Explication of the quality of those sufferings▪ but onely shew their greatness in some few brief discoveries, l••st the careless sinner, while he hears of no other punishment but that of loss, before mentioned, should think he can bear that well enough by his own resolvedness, and so flatter himself ••••hop•• of a tollerable hell. That there are, besides the loss of Happiness, such actuall sensible Torments for the damned, is a matter beyond all doubt, to him that doth not doubt of the truth of the Scripture;

and that they will be exceeding great, may appear by these Argu∣ments following.

First, From the principal Author of them, which is God him∣self: As it was no less then God whom the sinner had offended, so it is no less then God that will punish them for their offences. He hath prepared those torments for his Enemies; His continued Anger will still be devouring them; His Breath of Indignation will kindle the flames; His Wrath will be an intollerable burden to their souls. O, if it were but a creature that they had to do with, ••hey might better bear it, for the Penalty would be answerable to the Infirmity of him that should inflict it: A childe can give but an easie stroak, but the stroaks of a Gyant will be answerable to his strength: Wo to him that fals under the stroaks of the Al∣mighty! They shall feel to their sorrow, That it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God: It were nothing in com∣parison to this, if all the world were against them, or if the strength of all creatures were united in one to inflict their penalty. They had now rather venture upon the displeasure of God, then to displease a Landlord, a Master, a Friend, a Neighbour, or their own Flesh; but then they will wish a thousand times in vain, that they had lost the favor of all the world, and been hated of all men, so they had not lost the favor of God; for as there is no life like his Favor, so is there no death like his displeasure; O what a consum∣ing fire is his Wrath? If it be kindled here, and that but a little, how do we wither before it, as the grass that is cut down before the Sun? How soon doth our strength decay and turn to weakness? and our beauty to deformity? Churches are rooted up, Common∣wealths are overthrown, Kingdoms depopulated, Armies de∣stroyed, and who can stand before his wrath? Even the Heavens and the Earth will melt at his Presence, and when he speaks the word at his great Day of Accompt, they will be burnt up before him as a scrole in the fire. The flames do not so easily run through the dry Stubble, or consume the Houses where its violence hath prevailed, as the wrath of God will feed upon these wretches. O, they that could not bear a Prison, or a Gibbet, or Fire for Christ, no nor scarce a few scorns from the mouths of the ignorant, how will they now bear the devouring fire?

Notes

• * 1.1

  §. 1.