Pneumatologia, a treatise of the soul of man wherein the divine original, excellent and immortal nature of the soul are opened, its love and inclination to the body, with the necessity of its separation from it, considered and improved, the existence, operations, and states of separated souls, both in Heaven and Hell, immediately after death, asserted, discussed, and variously applyed, divers knotty and difficult questions about departed souls, both philosophical, and theological, stated and determined, the invaluable preciousness of humane souls, and the various artifices of Satan (their professed enemy) to destroy them, discovered, and the great duty and interest of all men, seasonable and heartily to comply with the most great and gracious design of the Father, Son, and Spirit, for the salvation of their souls, argued and pressed / by John Flavel ...

The second way to Hell discovered.

II. A second way to Hell in which multitudes are found hastening to their own d••mnation, is the way of affected ig∣norance. The generality of people, even in a Land enlight∣ned with the Gospel, are found grosly ignorant of Christ, the true and only way to Heaven, and of Repentance and Faith, the only way to Christ; and thus the people perish for want of knowledge, Hosea 4.6. If the Tree of Knowledge had been hedg'd in from the common people, as it is in Popish Coun∣tries; and it had been criminal to find a Bible in our houses, there might have been some cloke and pretence for our igno∣rance; but to be stupidly ignorant of the most obvious, plain and necessary Truths, a•••• yet bred up among Bibles and Ministers, O how ominous a darkness is this, forbo∣ding the blackness of darkness for ever! For if the hiding of the Gospel from the hearts of men be a token to them that they are lost Souls, how much notional light soever they may have, much more must they be lost to all intents, from whose heads and hearts too it is judicially hidden. They

that know not God, are in the Catalogue of the damned, 2 Thess. 1.8. and if this be life eternal to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent, then this must be death eternal to be grosly and affectedly ignorant both of God the 〈◊〉〈◊〉, and Christ the Way, by the Rule of true Op∣position, Ioh. 17.3.

〈◊〉〈◊〉 over the several Countries in the professing World, go into the Families of Country-Farmers, day-labourers, and poor people, and except here and there a family or per∣son into whose heart God hath graciously shined, what bar∣barous, brutish ignorance overspreads them! They converse from morning to night with Beasts, though they have Souls which are fit Companions for Angels, and capable of sweet converse with God. The earth hath open'd her mouth, and swallowed up all their time, strength, thoughts, and Souls, as it did the bodies of Corah and his Company. They know the value of an House or Cow, but know not the worth of Christ, pardon, or their own Souls. They mind daily what work they have to do with their hands, but forget all they have to do upon their knees. Their whole care is to pay their Fine or Rent to their Landlord, but not a thought who shall pay their debts to God: They are so 〈◊〉〈◊〉om putting unnecessary business aside to make way for the ser∣vice of God, that Gods service is put aside as an unnecessary business to make way for the World: the world holds them fast till they are asleep, and will be sure to visit them assoon as their eyes are open, that there may be no vacancy or door of opportunity left open for a thought of their Souls, or a∣nother life to slip in. Or if at any time they think or speak of these matters, then the world, like Pharaoh when Israel spake of sacrificing, is sure to speak of more work.

And thus they live and die without knowledge: there is no key of knowledge (as it is fitly called, Luke 11.52.) to open the door of the Soul to Christ, he and his Ministers therefore must stand without, pity they may, but help they cannot till knowledge open the door. Satan is Ruler of the darkness of this world, Eph. 6.12. that is, of all blind and ignorant Souls. Ignorance is the chain with which he binds them fast to himself, and till that chain be knockt off by Divine illumination, they cannot be emancipated and

made free of Christs Kingdom, Acts 26.18. To turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. Ig∣norance indeed incapacitates a man to commit the unpardo∣nable sin; but what the near, whilst it disposes him to all other sins which damn as well as that? By ignorance it is that all the Essays of the Gospel for mens Salvation are fru∣strated; that naked assent is put in the place of saving Faith, Morality mistaken for Regeneration, a few dead Duties laid in the room of Christ and his Righteousness. Indeed it would fill a greater Book than this to shew the mischievous effects of ignorance, and how many ways it destroys the precious Souls of men; but seeing I can speak but little in this place to it, let me bar up this way to Hell, if it be pos∣sible, by a few serious Considerations.