makes changes strange of things It life from death sweet from bitter brings Peace out of trouble out of darkness light Out of the Eater meet from grief delight What of it self did to destruction tend Grace makes it in salvation to end As for Christ's Cross be not at it offended For it can never be enough commended O! it 's a holy pleasant stately thing To be conform'd to him in suffering Remember oft his oft repeated word The Servant is not greater than his Lord It is enough and very fair that he Who 's a Disciple as his Master be Is thy condition mean canst thou not find Accommodation unto thy mind Hast thou no harboury no house nor hold To shelter thee from storms look and behold The First-begotten to the world brought in In an Out-house and not into the Inn. He unto whom the Angels worship paid Is in a Manger not a Cradle laid Foxes have holes and each fowl hath its nest Christ had not whereupon his head to rest Want'st thou wherewith to buy thy daily bread Some of their substance to him ministred Or art thou from thy Native Soil exil'd Christ driven was to Egypt when a child Art thou reproached Vile iniquities Were cast on him calumnies and lies Vile drunkenness sensual gluttony Collusion with Devils blasphemy Madness deceit and friendliness to vice And all that crafty malice could devise Was charg'd on him whom they proclaim'd abroad An Enemy to Coesar and to God. Do Friends turn Foes or do they faint and flee From thee in straits to Jesus turn thine eye His own Disciples did leave him alone They to their own were scattered and gone He was by Judas traiterously betrayed By Peter thrice most shamefully denied Art thou a Prisoner and hardly used Pursu'd to death and scornfully abused Christ as a Thief was apprehended bound As a mock-King in purple cloath'd and crown'd With pricking Thorns a Reed put in his hand As a mock-Scepter then they do command That he hood-wink't should tell who did him smite To shew at him as Prophet their despite They spit on him and scourge him cruelly And lead him out upon a Cross to die A lingring shameful painful cursed death On which he bore our sins and divine wrath These were the weights that did his soul distress His sweat was blood when bruised in this press The Cross as Christ hath left it we may say Is light Christ took its greatest weight away He wrath the bitterness of death drunk up And left no vengeance in his peoples cup For wrath and death he love and life puts in Which Marab's waters make more sweet than wine Take up his burden it is light and meet And drink his cup it healthful is and sweet To bear about the dying of sweet-Jesus Will not us kill but quicken strengthen ease us They 're highly honoured who suffer shame For Jesus sake and for his glorious Name Reproach for Christ is Riches much more great Than Egypt's Pleasures Treasures Honours State Shame for him honour is and loss is gain In death for him is life and ease in pain When all day long they 're killed for his sake Like sheep for slaughter burned at a stake They Conquerors and more than Conquerors prove Through him who them eternally doth love Turn thine eyes from the dark side of the Cross On which appears dishonour pain and loss And turn upon the lightsome side thine eye Where pleasure gain and glory thou maist see Christ's own Example will us best direct How of the Cross to take a right prospect The Son of man is glorified he said And God in him is also glorified If God in him thus glorified be God shall in him himself straight glorifie He Glory saw in being crucified He saw God by his suffering glorified He saw the heavenly glory to ensue Keep still this Triple Glory in thy view Sigh not then at the Cross as sad and sorry But shout in triumph Glory glory glory Live to God's Glory for his Glory die It is thy Glory God to glorifie If by thy death God glorified be Thou shalt in Glory live eternally They who with Christ do suffer with him reign And bearing palms eternal triumph sing If for the Name of Christ reproach'd thou be The Spirit of God and Glory rests on thee These momentary crosses which are light Work endless Glory of exceeding weight Yet go not from thy way to seek a cross Follow thy calling to God's way keep close That Cross which thy wise Lord for thee thinks meet Is in thy way in the great King 's High-street That thou must take it up or else go wrong Medling in what doth not to thee belong If in thy sufferings thou wouldst have delight See that thy call be clear the cause be right Take up thy Cross in Christ's Name and his strength That of thy race thou maist run all the length Pray to be strengthen'd by his glorious might To suffer with all patience and delight Tho thou wert burned yet if thou hast not Love burning will not profit thee a Jot Unto thy hungry Enemy give food Love those who hate thee vanquish ill with good And pray that those who do impoverish thee With the true riches may enriched be That they who cause thee wander far abroad May from their wand'ring be reclaim'd to God. Those who from Earth pursue thee till thou die Endeavour to draw them to Heaven with thee Our blessed Lord when hanging on the tree Prayed for those who did him crucifie He to his Father for their pardon pray'd And did say for them all that could be said How far was Stephen from leaving of his death On those who ston'd him witness his last breath He kneel'd and cri'd this sin Lord do not lay To their charge Thus in love he slept away O lovely blessed sleep O sure 't will be A heavenly thing in love to live and die Love is the way to Heaven love is the flame In which the soul surmounts the starry frame This is the work and life of Saints above To love and loved be for God is love He 's light and love he freely doth impart Light to the mind and goodness to the heart With his resplendent Glory fill thine eye And in his goodness place thou all thy Joy. Come see and taste Come come and taste and see With goodness fill thy heart with light thine eye The Father Son and Spirit Persons three Who are in Essence one do call on thee To come from dolesome darkness unto light From ill to good from sorrow to delight From death to life from guilt to righteousness From the vile filth of sin to holiness From want to fullness from weights which thee load To rest and ease from Satan unto God From Hell to Heaven from lusts base drudgery To that high service God to glorifie Not that we can unto his Glory add For it is boundless He hath ever had And hath and shall have to
every man have naturally a Love of himself and desire to conserve his own ease then should he also have fear of peril whereby he is to fall into extream calamity This St. Bernard expresseth excellently according to his custom O man saith he if thou hast left all shame which appertaineth to so noble a creature as thou art if thou feelest no sorrow as carnal men do not yet lose not fear also which is found in very beasts We use to load an Ass and weary him out with Labour and he careth not because he is an Ass But if thou wouldest thrust him into fire or fling him into the ditch he would avoid it as much as he could for that he loveth life and feareth death Fear thou then and be not more insensible than a beast Fear Death fear Judgment fear Hell. This Fear is called the beginning of Wisdom and not shame and sorrow for that the Spirit of fear is more mighty to resist sin than the Spirit of shame or sorrow Wherefore it is said Remember the end and thou shalt never sin That is Remember the final punishments appointed for sin after this life III. First therefore to speak in General of the punishments reserved for the Life to come If the Scriptures did not declare in particular their greatness unto us That they are most severe dolorous and intolerable For first as God is a God in all his Works That is to say great wonderful and terrible so especially he sheweth the same in his punishments being called for that cause in Scripture a God of Justice as also a God of Revenge Wherefore seeing all his other Works are full of Majesty and exceeding our capacities we may likewise gather that his hand in punishment must be wonderful Also God himself teacheth us to reason in this manner when he saith And will ye not then fear me and tremble before my face which have put the sand as a stop unto the sea and have given the water a commandment never to pass no not when it is most troubled and the floods most outragious As if he should say If I am wonderful and do pass your imaginations in these works of the Sea and others which you see daily you have cause to fear me considering that my punishments are like to be correspondent to the same IV. Another conjecture of the great and severe Justice of God may be the consideration of his infinite and unspeakable Mercy the which as it is the very Nature of God and without end or measure as his Godhead is so is also his Justice and these two are the two arms as it were of God embracing and kissing the one the other as the Scripture saith Therefore as in a man of this world if we had the measure of one arm we might easily conjecture of the other so seeing the wonderful examples daily of God's infinite mercy towards them that repent we may imagine by the same his severe justice towards them whom he reserveth to punishment in the next life and whom for that cause he calleth in the Scriptures Vessels of his Fury or Vessels to shew his Fury upon V. A Third Reason to perswade us of the greatness of these punishments may be the marvellous patience and long-sufferings of God in this life As for example in that he suffereth divers men from one sin to another from one day to another from one year to another from one age to another to spend all I say in dishonour and despite of his Majesty adding offence to offence and refusing all perswasions allurements good inspirations or other means of friendship that his mercy can devise to offer for their amendment And what man in the world could suffer this Or what mortal heart can shew such patience But now if all this should not be requited with severity of punishment in the world to come upon the obstinate it might seem against the Law of Justice and Equity and one arm of God might seem longer than the other Saint Paul teacheth this Reason in his Epistle to the Romans Rom. 2. where he saith Dost thou not know that the benignity of God is used to bring to repentance And thou by thy hard and impenitent heart dost hoard up vengeance unto thy self in the day of wrath and appearance of God's just judgment which shall restore to every man according to his works He useth here the words of hoarding up of vengeance to signifie as a covetous man doth hoard up money to money daily to make his heap great so the unrepentant finner doth hoard up fin to fin and God on the contrary side hoardeth up vengeance to vengeance until his measure be full to restore in the measure against measure as the Prophet saith and to pay us home according to the multitude of our abominations This God meant when he said to Abraham that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full up Also in the Revelation unto St. John the Evangelist when he useth this conclusion of that book He that doth evil let him do more evil and he that liveth in filth let him yet become more filthy For behold I come quickly and my reward is with me to render to every one according to his deeds By which words God signifieth that his bearing and tolerating with sinners in this life is an Argument of his greater severity in the life to come which the Prophet David also declareth when talking of a careless sinner he saith The Lord shall scoff at him foreseeing that his day shall come This day no doubt is to be understood the day of account and punishment after this life For so doth God more at large declare himself in these words Ezek. 7th And thou Son of man this saith thy Lord God The end is come now I say the end is come upon thee And I will shew in thee my fury and will judge thee according to thy ways I will lay against thee all thine abominations and mine eye shall not spare thee neither will I take any mercy upon thee but I will put thy own ways upon thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. Behold afflictions cometh on the end is come the end I say is come it hath watched against thee and behold it is come the day of slaughter is at hand crushing is now come upon thee Shortly will I pour out my wrath upon thee and I will fill my fury in thee and I will judge thee according to thy ways and I will lay all thy wickedness upon thee mine eye shall not pity thee but I will lay thy way upon thee and thine abominations in the midst of thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord that striketh Hitherto is the speech of God himself VI. Seeing then now we understand in general that the punishments of God in the Life to come are most certain to be great and severe to all such as fall into them for which cause the Apostle
saith It is a fearful and horrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Let us consider somewhat in particular what manner of pains and punishments they shall be VII And first of all touching the place of punishment appointed for the Damned commonly called Hell. The Scripture in divers Languages useth divers Names but all tending to express the grievousness of punishment there suffered as in Latine it is called Infernum a place beneath or under ground as most of the Old Fathers do interpret But whether it be under ground or no most certain it is that it is a place most opposite to Heaven which is said to be above And this Name is used to signifie the miserable suppressing and hurling down of the damned to be trodden under the feet not only of God but of good men also for ever For so saith the Scripture Behold the day of the Lord cometh Mal. 4. burning like a furnace and proud and wicked men shall be as straw to that furnace and you that fear my name shall tread them down and they shall be as burnt ashes under the soles of your feet in that day And this shall be one of the greatest miseries that can happen to the proud and stout Potentates of the World to be thrown with such contempt down and to be trodden under feet of them whom they so much despised in this world VIII The Hebrew word which the Scripture useth for Hell is Seol which signifieth a great Ditch or Dungeon In which sense it is called in the Apocalyps The lake of the wrath of God And again A poole burning with fire and brimstone In Greek the Scripture useth Three words for the same place the first is Clades used in the Gospel which as Plutarch noteth signifieth a place where no light is the second is Zophoz in St. Peter which signifieth darkness it self in which sense it is also called of Job a dark land overwhelmed with deadly obscurity Also in the Gospel utter darkness The third Greek word is Tartaros used also by St. Peter which word being derived of the Verb Tarasso which signifieth to terrifie trouble and vex importeth an horrible confusion of Tormentors in that place even as Job saith of it There dwelleth no order but everlasting horror IX The Chaldee word which is also used in Hebrew and translated to the Greek is Gehenna first of all used by Christ for the place of them which are damned as St. Jerome noteth upon the Tenth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel And this word being compounded of Gee and Hinnom signifieth a Valley nigh to Jerusalem called the Valley Hinnom in which the old idolatrous Jews were wont to bury alive their own children in the honour of the Devil and to sound with Trumpets Timbrels and other loud Instruments whilst they were doing thereof that their childrens Voices might not be heard which place was afterwards used for the receit of all filthiness as Dung dead Carrions and the like And it is most probable that our Saviour used this word above all other for Hell thereby to signifie the miserable burning of Souls in that place the pitiful clamours and cries of the tormented the confused and barbarous noise of the tormentors together with the most loathsome filthiness of the place which is otherwise described in the Scripture by the Names of Addars Snakes Cockatrices Scorpions and other venemous creatures as shall be afterwards declared X. Having declared the Names of this place and thereby also in some part the Nature iâ— remaineth now that we confider what manner of pains men suffer there For consideration whereof we must note That as Heaven and Hell are contrary assigned to contrary persons for contrary causes so have they in all respects contrary properties conditions and effects in such sort as whatsoever is spoken of the Felicity of the one may serve to infer the contrary of the other as when St. Paul saith No eye hath seen nor ear heard nor heart conceived the Joys that God hath prepared for them that shall be saved we may infer that the pains of the damned must be as great again when the Scripture saith the felicity of them in Heaven is a perfect felicity containing omne bonum all goodness so that no one kind of pleasure can be imagined which they have not We must think on the contrary part that the misery of the damned must be also a perfect misery containing all afflictions that may be without wanting any So that as the happiness of the good is infinite and universal so also the calamity of the wicked is infinite and universal Now in this life all the miseries and pains which fall upon men are but particular and not universal As for Example We see one man pained in his Eyes another in his Back which particular pains notwithstanding sometimes are so extream as life is not able to resist them and a man would suffer them long for the gaining of many Worlds together But suppose a man were now tormented in all the parts of his body at once as in his Head his Eyes his Tongue his Teeth his Throat his Stomach his Belly his Back his Heart his Sides his Thighs and in all the Joints of his Body Besides suppose I say he were most cruelly tormented with extream pains in all these parts together without ease or intermission what thing could be more miserable than this What sight more lamentable If thou shouldest see a Dog lie so in the street so afflicted I know thou couldest not but take compassion upon him Well then consider what difference there is between abiding these pains for a Week or for all Eternity in suffering them upon a soft Bed or upon a burning Gridiron and boiling Furnace among a man's Friends comforting him or among the Furies of Hell whipping him Consider this I say gentle Reader and if thou wouldest take a great deal of labour rather than abide the one in this life be content to sustain a little pain rather than to incur the other in the life to come XI But to consider these things yet further not only all these parts of the body which have been instruments to sin shall be tormented together but also every-sense both external and internal for the same cause shall be afflicted with his particular torment contrary to the Object wherein it took most pleasure and delight in this World As for Example The Eyes were afflicted with the ugly and fearful fight of Devils the delicate Ears with the horrible noise of the damned Spirits the nice smell with poisoned stench of brimstone the dainty taste with most ravenous hunger and thirst and all the sensible parts of the body with burning fire Again the Imagination shall be tormented with the apprehension of pains present and to come the Memory with the remembrance of pleasures past the Understanding with consideration of the felicity lost and the misery now to come on O poor Christian what wilt