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ney's End in the Way that he is in: If his Home be eastward, and he is going weftward, as long as he hopes he is right, he will go on; and as long as he goes on hoping, he goes farther amifs: When he defpairs of coming home, except he turn back, then he will return, and then he may hope. Juft fo it is, Sinner, with thy Soul: Thou art born out of the Way to Heaven, and haft proceeded many a Year; thou goeft on, and hopeft to be faved, because thou art not fo bad as many others. Except thou throwest away thofe Hopes, and fee that thou haft all this while been quite out of the Way to Heaven, thou wilt never return and be faved. There is nothing in the World more likely to keep thy Soul out of Heaven, than thy falfe Hopes of being faved, while thou art out of the Way to Salvation. See then how it will aggravate the Mifery of the Damned, that, with the Lofs of Heaven, they hall lofe all that Hope of it, which now fupports them.

$5. (3) They will lofe all that falfe Peace of Confeience which makes their prefent Life fo cafy. Who would think, that fees how quietly the Multitude of the Ungodly live, that they muft very shortly lie down in everlasting Flames? They are as free from the Fears of Hell as an obedient Believer; and for the moft Part have lefs Difquiet of Mind than thofe who fhall be faved. Happy Men, if this Peace would prove lafting! When they shall fay, Peace and Safety; then fudden Deftruction cometh upon them, as Travail upon a Woman with Child, and they fhall not escape (c). O cruel Peace, which ends in fuch a War! The Soul of every Man by Nature is Satan's Garrison; all is at Peace in fuch a Man till Chrift comes, and gives it terrible Alarms of Judgment and Hell, batters it with the Ordnance of his Threats and Terrors, forces

fc) Theff. v. 3.

forces it to yield to his mere Mercy, and take him, for the Governor; then doth he caft out Satan, overcome him, take from him all his Armour wherein he trufted, and divideth his Spoils (d), and then doth he eftablish a firm and lafting Peace. If therefore thou art yet in that firft Peace, never think it will endure: Can thy Soul have lafting Peace, in Enmity with Chrift? Can he have Peace against whom God proclaims War? I wish thee no greater Good, than that God break in upon thy carelefs Heart, and fhake thee out of thy falfe Peace, and make thee lie down. at the Feet of Chrift, and fay, Lord, what wouldft thou have me to do? and so receive from him a better and furer Peace, which will never be quite broken, but be the Beginning of thy everlafting Peace, and not perish in thy perishing, as the groundless Peace of the World will do.

§ 6. (4) They shall lofe all their carnal Mirth. They will themfelves fay of their Laughter, it is mad; and of their Mirth, what doth it(e)? It was but as the crackling of Thorns under a Pot (f). It made a Blaze for a while, but it was prefently gone, and returned no more. The Talk of Death and Judgment was irksome to them, because it damped their Mirth. They could not endure to think of their Sin and Danger, becaufe thefe Thoughts funk their Spirits. They knew not what it was to weep for Sin, or to humble themfelves under the mighty Hand of God. They could laugh away Sorrow, and fing away Cares, and drive away thofe melancholy Thoughts. To meditate, and pray, they fancied would be enough to make them miferable or run mad. Poor Souls! what a Mifery will that Life be, where you thall have nothing but Sorrow; intenfe Heart piercing, multiplied Sorrow; when you fhall neither have the Joys of F 3 Saints (d) Luke xi. 22, (e) Ecclefii. 2. (f) Ecclef. vii, o.

Saints, nor your own former Joys? Do you think there is one merry Heart in Hell; or one joyful Countenance, or jefting Tongue? You now cry, a little Mirth is worth a great deal of Sorrow. But, furely, a little godly Sorrow, which would have ended in eternal Joy, had been worth much more than all your foolish Mirth; for the End of fuch Mirth is Sorrow.

$7. (5) They fall also lofe all their fenfual Delights. That which they esteemed their chief Good, their Heaven, their God, must they lofe, as well as God himself. What a Fall will the proud ambitious Man have from the Top of his Honours? As his Duft and Bones will not be known from the Duft and Bones of the poorest Beggar; so neither will his Soul be honoured or favoured more than theirs. What a Number of the Great, Noble, and Learned, will be thut out of the Prefence of Chrift? They fhall not find their magnificent Buildings, foft Beds, and easy Couches. They fhall not view their curious Gardens, their pleafant Meadows, and plenteous Harvests. Their Tables will not be fo furnished, nor attended. The rich Man is there no more cloathed in Purple and fine Linen, nor fareth fumptuously every Day. There is no expecting the Admiration of Beholders. They fhall fpend their Time in Sadness, and not in Sports and Paftimes. What an Alteration will they then find? The Heat of their Luft will be then abated. How will it even cut them to the Heart to look each other in the Face? What an Interview will there then be, curfing the Day that ever they faw one another? O that Sinners would now remember, and fay! Will thefe Delights accompany us into "the other World? Will not the Remembrance of "them be then our Torment? Shall we then take "this Partnership in Vice for true Friendship? Why

fhould

"should we fell fuch lafting, incomprehenfible Joys " for a Taste of feeming Pleasure? Come, as we "have finned together, let us pray together, that "God would pardon us; and let us help one another "toward Heaven, inftead of helping to deceive and destroy each other." O that Men knew but what they defire, when they would fo fain have all Things fuited to the Defires of the Flesh! It is but to defire their Temptations to be increased, and their Snares frengthened.

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$ 8. (II) As the Lofs of the Saint's Reft will be aggravated by lofing the Enjoyments of Time, it will be much more fo by fuffering the Torments of Hell. The exceeding greatnefs of fuch Torments may appear by confidering,- -the principal Author of them, which is God himself; the Place or State of Torment;that thefe Torments are the Fruit of divine Vengeance; -that the Almighty takes Pleafure in them; that Satan and Sinners themselves fhall be God's Executioners;

that thefe Torments fhall be univerfal,-without Mitigation, and without End.

$9 (1) The principal Author of Hell Torments is God himjelf. As it was no less than God whom the Sinner had offended, fo it is no lefs than God who will punish them for their Offences. He hath prepared thofe 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 intolerable Burthen to their Souls. If it were but a Creature they had to do with, they might better bear it. Woe to him that falls under the Strokes of the Almighty! It is a fearful Thing to fall into the Hands of the living God (g). It were nothing in Comparifon to this, if all the World were against them, or if the Strength of all Creatures were united in one F 4

(g) Heb. x. 31.

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to inflict their Penalty. They had now rather venture to difpleafe GOD than difplease a Landlord, a Cuftomer, a Master, a Friend, a Neighbour, or their own Flesh; but then they will with a thousand Times in vain, that they had been hated of all the World, rather than have loft the Favour of God. What a confuming Fire is his Wrath? If it be kindled here but a little, how do we wither like the Grass? How foon doth our Strength decay, and turn to Weakness, and our Beauty to Deformity? The Flames do not fo eafily run through the dry Stubble, as the Wrath of God will confume thefe Wretches. They that could not bear a Prifon, or a Gibbet, or Fire, for Chrift, nor fcarce a few Scoffs, how will they now bear the devouring Flames of divine Wrath?

$10. (2) The Place or State of Torment is purposely ordained to glorify the Justice of God. When God would glorify his Power, he made the Worlds. The comely Order of all his Creatures, declareth his Wifdom. His Providence is fhewn, in fuftaining all Things. When a Spark of his Wrath kindles upon the Earth, the whole World, except only eight Perfons, are drowned; Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, are burnt with Fire from Heaven; the Sea fhuts her Mouth upon fome; the Earth opens and fwallows up others; the Peftilence deftroys by thoufands. What a ftanding Witnefs of the Wrath of God, is the prefent deplorable State of the Jews! Yet the glorifying the Mercy and Juftice of God, is intended moft eminently for the Life to come.

God will then glorify his Mercy in a Way that is now beyond the Comprehenfion of the Saints that muft enjoy it; fo alfo will he manifeft his Justice to be indeed the Juftice of God. The everlasting Flames of Hell will not be thought too hot for the Rebellious; and when they have there burned through Millions

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