winding-sheet That this which is called death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Serm. de Fid. Leg Natur. Psal 49.14 shall cool the valour of all the hot-spurs in the world who in their life time could not put up an injury without a challenge That they shall roll in the dust who sometimes did wallow in pleasures like the swine in the mire when like sheep they are laid in the grave and death shall feed upon them And how few of the heirs of life do walk as if they were to pass to an inheritance but after death whilst some do either with persecuted Elijah or peevish Jonah seek after death exceedingly desirous of the penny but yet so delicate that they they are loth to work in the heat of the day Others of them though they have set their faces towards the new Jerusalem and are on their journey thither yet by the way they remember the flesh-pots of Egypt Num. 11.5 and their present enjoyments do make them the lesse active in the expectation of future felicity God is forced to cast wormwood upon the brests of the Creature that he may make them the more earnestly draw water out of the wells of Salvation Others of them conceive God may have honour by their lives and therefore they are loath they should be deprived of such an opportunity by their deaths For this cause possibly the Psalmist might say Psalm 102.24 O my God take me not away in the midst of my dayes And upright Hezekiah might beg for a reprieve after God had said unto him Thou shalt dye and not live All these though their intentions might plead an excuse yet their actions are not commendable Yet we know a found constitution is consistent with some qualmes and we ought to conclude that strength of grace is consistent with some weakness in this particular Gods people cease not to be men by becoming Christians as they are the former they may be afraid as the latter they do dare to dye Aaron upon Mount Hor can be stripped of his clothes Num. 20.18 and without repining go to bed Blessed Simeon wil depart in peace Luke 2.29 30. after his eyes have seen the Lords Salvation Act. 21.13 The holy Apostle is indifferent whether to live or dye but if it be for the name of the Lord Jesus he is ready not to be bound but to dye also Thus we see the Shepherd of Israel hath sheep as well as Lambs in his fold men of riper years as well as babes in Christianity Such as dare encounter the King of terrors as well as such who are afraid at his presence Vide Bullinger in 1 Thess 4.8 Morteâ—n mali vitant sancti in vitant quibus non tam vitae hujus interitus quam aeternae interitus est Heidfel Sphis Theo Phil. c. 38. p. 908. But all believers have this happinesse though few live in the comfort of it that death to them is but a sleep the grave an hiding place both a resting from their labours their passage from this vale of misery is but an entrance into their Masters joy This notwithstanding is not sufficient for a Christian to know that though he die yet his life is hid with Christ in God He must so dye that God may be glorified by his death the which that every one of us may do we must prepare our selves for so great a change The which preparation consists in three things 1. Dying unto sin 2. Living unto righteousness 3. Mortification to the world A word to each of these First Dying unto sin * The sting of death is sin 2 Cor. 15.56 he then that dyeth unto sin destroyeth death And frequent reflections upon death would prove an excellent meanes hereunto But oh how hard is it though we have daily Spectacles of others mortality to live under convictions of our owne we should live more in heaven if we did believe we were to die and so to goe from hence This would season our discourse lives and check the exorbitancy of our rising lusts to consider it is appointed for all men once to die and consequently alleviate the feare of death For that which maketh death terrible to a considerative mind is not so much the pain which is felt in the separation of soul body for I doubt not but men undergo more sharp agonies as to fense in a fit of the stone 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost expos Psal 116. or gout or such acute diseases then at the moment of their dissolution nor is it altogether that natural abhorrency of an annihilation or destruction of being which maketh death formidable but that which represents death sitting upon a pale horse as described Rev. 6.8 is conscience of sin and thereby obligation unto hell following after death but a beleever may use with a holy confidence what sometimes presuming Agag said 1 Sam. 15 32. Surely the bitternesse of death is past and with the blessed Apostle may close his eies in peace with a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Rom. 8.83.39 I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers c. shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 2. Living unto righteousnesse Mala more putâ—nda non est quâ—m bona vita praecesserit August de civit Dei lib. 1. cap. 11. A holy life will usher in a happy death This is that which doth also evidence our dying unto sin and will make us die more peaceably in our beds We find that they who lived most up amongst the heathens to the principles of morality were least afraid to die when those who lived the most rudely were most unwilling to leave the world Seneca or Cate when about to die seem exceeding ready when a wicked Nero whose conscience told him what his mouth did utter Sueton in vita Neronis Vivo deformiter ac turpiter doth depart the world with an Vsque adeone mori miserum est and encourageth himself to his own ruine with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It becometh not It becometh not thee O Nero to be so daunted go to encourage thy selfe Upright Hezekiah had not such cause to weep when the Prophet brought those tydings to him Isai 38.1 2 that he should dye and not live seeing he was so well prepared for death that he could appeal to God that he had walked before him in truth and with a perfect heart and done that which was good in his sigh David his father also a man after Gods own heart did thus prepare for death and after he had served his own generation by the wil of God fell asleep Act. 13 35. Thirdly Mortification to the world this will prepare us for the stroke of death Those things which are glewed together are not without much difficulty dis-united and when our affections are set upon earthly things we shall not willingly
and in it self Death is the separation of life from its subject Death is not only a cessation from action but a negation of existence for the soul may in a swooning fit cease to operate not to animate There may be a suspension of action where there is not a privation of its principle but death separateth the soul the fountaine of vital action from the body the subject thereof Secondly We will view death in what it is Accidentaliter ad aliud Accidentally and in reference to somthing without it self And that to 1 The Godly 2 The Wicked First To the Godly And so it is a rest from their labours 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Hom. 51. de Sanct. Mar. Boren Proâ—â—â—c Blessed are they that die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works follow them Rev. 14.13 They rest from 1 Sin 2 Sorrows Both which the holiest of men are exercised with and subject to whilst they live in the world they labour under the former in the latter whilst in this dying life But when they dye that which doth separate them from their bodies doth unite them closer unto God Their death is the Funeral of their sins the resurrection of their Graces that which doth unpinion them of mortality doth also translate them into the glorious liberty of the Sons of God So that Death is but a change to a holy Job Job 14.14 Act. 7.60 2 Cor. 5.10 a sleep to a blessed Steven a dissolution of the earthly house to a holy Paul whilst by it he accounteth not to be found naked but to be cloathed upon with his house which is from heaven to have mortality swallowed up of life and by the death of his body Rom. 7.24 to enjoy his wisht for deliverance from the body of death And this for the first Death to the godly is a rest from their sins 2. It is a rest from their sorrowes Josephs feet shal no longer be detained in the stocks neither shal he complain of the iron which entred into his soulâ— Nor any of the Saints and holy Martyrs shall at all complain of the incessant malice of their enemies Death shal give them a resting-place for in the grave the weary shall be at rest There the prisoners rest together they hear not the voice of the oppressor Job 3.17 18 And all this shall not be the effect of a Stoical apathy or stupefactive cessation from sense and motion But by an introduction into real joy That soul which was before glewed unto the body shal therefore be dissolved that it may be with Christ and that which whilst it was in the world was but at best a prisoner of hope shall then be set at libertie and have eternity wherein to expatiate in the enjoyment of those mansions of glory which God hath provided for such whom he shall account worthy to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vâ—ri Septu The righteous also are taken away from the evil to come Isai 57.1 and their graves are but beds wherein they rest in the evening of their dayes And thus you see that as to live is Christ so to die is gain to believers whilst by it they rest from sin and sorrow Our next work is to consider death in its reference to the Wicked And to them it is the beginning of evil the entry of their woe They are the men who have hope only in this life and therefore are of all men the most miserable That death which in its intention is to put out the candle of a good mans life doth but snuff it and make it burne the brighter whilst their life of grace is consummate by being swallowed up in a never-ending life of Glory This shall cause the candle of the wicked to go out in a stench their Sun to set in a cloud their flattering day of prosperity to end in a dismal night of black eternal horror whilst by it they shall at once be separated from their bodies and from the presence of God in whose favour is life and from his right hand where are pleasures for evermore And thus I have answered this Question Quid sit What death is Secondly Quotuplex sit Of how many sorts it is And Death in its complexe notion represents it self under a threefold respect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Serm. 56. 1 Corporal 2 Spiritual 3 Eternal These three unnatural branches spring from one root to wit Sin The First is by sin The Second in sin The Third for sin The First is competent to both the Godly the wicked and hath been spoken to already Let us consider a little the second Spiritual Death and this also hatha double consideration 1. A Death in sin 2. A Death to sin The Apostle speaks of the former to the believing Colossians Col. 3.13 where he tells them that they being dead in sins and trespasses God hath quickned them together with Christ And thus the wicked are said to be dead whilst they live there being a separation between God the Author of Spiritual life and their souls the due subjects thereof by reason of their sins Psal 59.2 And this is the estate of every one of us until God saith unto us Live A Death to sin Secundum Spiritum â— mors est non credere vina quae câ—edebâ—t non jacere vana quae faciebat August Serm. 121. de Resurrect more And this is the estate of a lively Christian of one who is passed from death to life This is to be dead with Christ and is a testimony to him in whom it is that he shall live with him Rom. 6.8 This is not as the former the result of sin but the gift of God and of this death there is a twofold testimony First A death to the Law That is to say when we are brought by the threatnings in the Law to know that there is no salvation or life to be found by the Law but in Christ and this I doubt not to assert for the meaning of S. Paul Gal. 2.19 For I through the Law am dead to the Law that I might live unto God Secondly A dying to the World A deâ—pising all things therein or whatsoever it counteth admirable for the excellencie of the knowledg of Christ And thus to do is to be made conformable to the death of Christ Phil. 3.8 9 10. But I haste to passe over these which though fair fruit yet never grew on this tree profitable Doctrine but not arising from the present Text spoken to by transition rather then regular deduction from the subject I am upon I proceed to consider death in its third acception Eternal Death This is the in-let of Hell the sum of misery the second death which I suppose is not excluded yet not primarily intended in the words and hath power over none but such as have had
Prophets but respect to their own praise which put them upon that Religious shew yet Hypocritical action they persecuting the Lords anointed whilst they pretend to do his Prophets no harm yea to reverence their memory after death whom their Parents not onely hated but attempted to kill when alive Notwithstanding this we finde it the practice of the Saints to bewail the loss of their friends and decently to interre them Even the Father of the faithful Gen. 23.2 when Sarah is dead cometh to mourn and to weep and with no less care than love doth provide a Burial-place for her Thus when Jacob had yielded up the ghost the youngest Joseph shews the strongest love and fell upon his fathers face and wept upon him and kissed him and commandeth his servants the Physicians to embalm him Gen. 50.1 2. and made a mourning for his father ver 10. There was his natural affection as a Son yet but seven dayes there his moderation as a Christian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eus Eccles hist l. 1. c. 4. who had hopes of a Resurrection which the Egyptians not expecting were more extravagant in their sorrow and mourned for him seventy dayes We finde it also promised as a blessing to Abijah the Son of Jeroboam that all Israel should mourn for him and bury him which was performed as to him so to good Josiah whom the Prophet Jeremiah lamented for and all the singing-men and the singing-women spake of and that not for once but made it an Ordinance in Israel to this day composing Elegies upon him when-as wicked Jehoiakim 2 Chron. 35.25 as a curse upon him had no other Monument but the burial of an Ass drawn forth and cast beyond the gates of Jerusalem neither did any lament for him saying Jer. 22.18 19. Ah Lord or Ah his glory Not to multiply Examples let that of our Saviour be the last who was decently interr'd as for otehrs so this account Vid. Polan Syntag l. 6. c. 19. That we might be careful that our burials of the dead may be so comely that it may answer somewhat the hopes we have of a Resurrection unto life Fear of Superstition must not thrust us upon a certainty of Inhumanity the former is not to be allowed the latter must ever be avoided The Medium is A due respect to those after their deaths whom we have loved in their lives which will testifie to the world they liv'd desired whilst they die lamented We in the mean time moderating our grief with this Consideration It is appointed unto men once to die HEB. 9.27 But after this the Judgement II. Of JUDGEMENT HAving spoken of Death out of this place I now come to speak of what is after it to wit Judgement Although possibly by Judgement may be here meant the particular Judgement of every man to wit immediately after the separation of his Soul and Body by Death Yet where God hath not expresly set us bounds I suppose it is not necessary for us to confine our selves There being therefore no such necessity of that restriction I shall take my liberty to speak of the general Judgement at the end of the World In my ensuing Discourse I shall not attempt any Division in this intire Proposition but deduce this Doctrine Doct. That God hath appointed a Day in which he will Judge the World The express words of the Apostle Act. 17.31 I shall not heap up many Arguments either from Scripture or Reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost de Laz. Con 4. to prove the truth of this Proposition though upon due consideration many from both would crowd into my thoughts But I wave them for I suppose my self to speak to Christians who believe not to Infidels who may deny at least doubt of this truth But if I must needs prove it I will go no further than that usual expression of men to put an end to strife As God shall judge me The frequency of which in mens mouthes doth testifie to their faces that God hath appointed a day wherein to judge the world For the due understanding of which Truth let these particulars be considered 1 Judex The Judge 2 Judicandi The persons to be judged 3 Modus Judicii The manner of Judgement 4 Judicii Eventus The Event of the Judgement For the first we will consider who shall be the Judge We finde in Scripture this Title The Judge of the World attributed sometimes to God sometimes to Jesus Christ To God as Gen 18.23 Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right Eccles 3.17 I said in my heart God shall judge the righteous and the wicked But I suppose those and the like places may be understood of Gods Providential Exercise of Judgement in the World as being the Moderator and Governour thereof and not of the Vltimate and Definitive Sentence at the last Day Ideo antem cum diem Judicii Dci dicimus addimus ultimum vcl novissimum quia nunc judicat ab humani generis initio judicavit August de Cir. Dei lib. 20. c. 1. for thus the Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgement unto the Son Joh. 5.22 not but that the whole Trinity do exercise this Work for Opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa but in a more singular manner Christ as he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that upon these Accounts 1 As it is a part of his Regal Office 2 As he is iDELEGATUS DEI to this Work FIRST As it is a part of his Kingly Office to judge others to absolve the Innocent to condemn the Nocent this is a Kingly Work And that Christ hath Authority to do this is evident for in the day of his Inauguration when the Diadem of Glory was first set upon his head to wit after his Resurrection he tells us All Power is given unto him both in Heaven and in Earth He drunk of the Brook in the way and here he did lift up his head But in the last Day he shall much more be higher than his enemies when they who in their popular fury cried out We have no King but Caesar Videbunt ergo Judaei Deum hominem semper regnantem quem negande desperaverunt morientem Aug. de Sym. ad Catech. tract 4. c. 8. and would not have him to rule over them shall be brought before him and slain before his face They who would not kiss the Scepter of his Grace shall be bruised like a potters vessel by the iron Rod of his Justice Secondly As he is DELEGATUS DEI to this Work as God hath assigned substituted appointed him to or committed to him the Judgement of the World See Act. 17.31 He hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the World in Righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained And so Rom. 2.16 God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ Rom. 14.10 2. Cor. 3.10 And hence Gods Tribunal is called the Judgement-seat
no part in the first Resurrection THIS is the dregs of the fury of the Lord the Cup of his sorest indignation which requireth eternity to drink it to the bottom This is the gnawing worm and unquenchable fire the sense whereof doth cause them on whom it is inflicted to meditate terror for ever THESE are the sparks which the wicked have kindled from the fire of their own lusts and wherein God will cause them to lye down in sorrow THIS is that Devouring fire who among us shall dwell with it Who among us shall dwell with these everlasting burnings Every one shal thus die for sin who is before dead in sin The next Question I am to resolve is Quare sit Wherefore it is which will be answered by inquiring Vnde sit Whence it is And there is a threefold rise of Death 1. Satan 2. Man 3. God The first by Temptation The second by Consent The third by Infliction 1. SATAN is the grand contriver of mans destruction and therefore is the Author of it not by a Physical but moral causality He is the Father of sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jam 1.15 Sin the parent of death He who is the Antient of daies tells us the Devil is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A murderer from the beginning And through mans cowardise in consenting to iniquity he who at the first did but usurp hath now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the power of death and is not to be overcome but by Christ who is stronger then he And blessed be God that the Author of Death is overcome by him who is the Prince of life Heb. 2.14 15. and the Author and finisher of that faith against which the gates of hel shal not prevail But 2. Man consenting This is another cause of death to prove this see that remarkable place Rom. 5.12 Hic enim duo concurrunt tentator et obtemperator Zeged loc◠commu As by one man sin entered into the world Death by sin so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned We were no sooner children of Adam but we were sons of Death Our first Father Adam we in him did eat of that apple the core whereof doth yet stick in our throats and will at length choak us one by one Sin is our own work death is the Wages of sin which brings me to the third cause God inflicting If man by his sin saith he will die God by his decree saith he shall die so that man shal have his will though it end in his woe If Adam will needs entaile an hereditary curse upon his posterity God will so ratifie it by his supreme Act in heaven that it shall never be cut off it shall be inevitable seeing he hath appointed for men once to die And thus we have the resolution of these three Questions I shall only answer an objection and so proceed to use Object But is this true It is appointed to men men indefinitely to all men to die What is the reason we read of some persons who did not of some who shall not taste of Death Answ I. Answer Particular exceptions destroy not the verity of general rules because some go out of the backdoor we doe not therefore cease to say that the gate is the ordinary way out of the house and because some hath not seen death or others shall not we need not cease to affirm It is appointed for men once to die for men are said to die either properly and really or by way of aequivalency when they ungergo a Change equal with death Thus did Enoch when he was translated Elijah when carried to heaven in a fiery Charriot and this shall they undergo who shall be found alive when Christ shal come to judgment The essence of Death or rather its nature not consisting in cinerefaction but as I have before affirmed in a separation of life from its subject which in Gods people is accompanied with a blessed dis-union of sin from their soul They are no longer subjects of sin when once vessels of eternal glory The next thing in order of method will be to make some inference from what hath been said and let me premise this it will be wisdom for us to look this King of Terror in the face and to consider whether we are able to encounter with him or no and what Nero did when he heard he was sentenced by the Senate as an enemy to the Publick Weale to be punished More majorum despairing to live he tried the points of the Ponyards wherewith he had resolved to dye to feel their sharpness before he sheathed them in his bowels So it would be wisdome in us by serious reflection upon our frailty to die daily that so the day of our death may not surprize us unawares Storms are most terrible when they surprize us suddenly and without a shelter Death will then be most unwelcome when it overtakes us unprepared or unresolved to grapple with it I shall now endeavor to apply this Doctrine If this be true That death is inevitable Vse 1 then let us live as such who are to die Because death is an evil to nature let us not hasten it because it is a necessary consequent of our sin Let us endeavour that though it separate our souls from our bodies yet it seize not on us in such an estate which will separate both from God Because by Christ it is overcome and proves a friend to Grace by hasting its consummation in Glory let us not be afraid to encounter with it But alas how few of us make this improvement of the necessity of death How many by intemperance and disorder do dig their graves with their own teeth How many are there whose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whilest they are Somno vinoque sepulti before their passing-bell hath tolled and even whilest their bones are full of marrow Job 20 11. their souls are replete with the sins of their youth These are such who put far from them the evil day They consider not the daies of darknesse neither think of them any more then as the Prophane proverb is Their dying day Their inward thought is that not only their houses Psalm 49.11 but they shall abide for ever not considering there is a God in whose hands are their life breath and all their waies that their breath is in their nostrils and their life ere long may be as water spilton the ground that it will lay the greatest Prince leveld with the poorest Peasant Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas Regumque turres Hor at lib. 1. Od. 4. that Death regards not the scepter of a mortal Prince nor compassionates the sad estate of any nor will be bribed to give a release from natures bonds that the grizly hand of death will cover many a naked brest which formerly hath been the looking-glasse of lust and pride with a
it is our greatest happiness not at all to run upon the score especially when God hath told us certainly The Soul that sinneth shall die 2 Tim. 2.25 but hath left it at a peradventure whether or no he will give us Repentance to the acknowledgement of the Truth He therefore that exerciseth himself to keep his Conscience void of offence taketh the surest course to be one who 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Joh. 5.24 though he may appear before Gods Tribunal yet he shall not come into Condemnation It is through Faith we are saved but our Faith thus working by Love herein is made perfect 1 Ioh. 4.17 that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgement MAT. 25.46 And these shall go away into Everlasting Punishment but the Righteous into Life Eternal III. Of HELL I Have formerly spoken of Death and its consequent Judgement the which seeing it is terminated in a definitive Sentence of Absolution or Condemnation I have chosen these words wherein we have described the different estate of the Wicked and the Righteous after Judgement They shall go away into everlasting punishment but these into life eternal And because we judge of Contraries best Ideo autem hunc tenere ordinem malui ut postea disseram de faelicitate Sanctorum nec à divinis ordo iste abhorret eloquiis c. Aug. de Civit. Dei lib. 21. cap. 1. where they are opposed each to the other we know the pleasure of light by experiencing the terrors of darkness the worth of health by feeling the woe which is in sickness I shall endevour to represent to your thoughts the nature or estate of Hell that so we may with greater vehemency aspire by our thoughts and actions towards Heaven The subject then of my present Discourse is To Treat of Hell in the Suburbs whereof every Son of Adam is born and therein doth inhabit till being born again he becometh the Son of God and consequently an Heir of Eternal Glory In these words we have these parts FIRST The Persons which are two sorts expressed under these terms 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Wicked those on the left hand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Righteous on the right hand Secondly Their Places which are as different as their Persons The one shall go 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the former of which is Everlasting the latter Eternal I shall endevour to speak to both in their order Doct. The Proposition I observe from the first part is That the Portion of the Wicked is everlasting Punishment Or in the words of the Psalmist The Wicked shall be turned into Hell Psal 9.17 I suppose I need not multiply places to evince the truth of this Proposition if any man doubt of it let him consult his Conscience the secret rebukes whereof do sometimes anticipate Hell and give the sinner an earnest of that Sum of Misery the payment whereof never shall have end Let me ask such a sinner if he feel nòt that Worm crawling in his brest which shall never die If he is not sometimes even scorched in this life with some sparks of that unquenchable fire But I should be sorry to think my self speaking to any who are worse than the Devils who believe what I am about to speak and do tremble I therefore proceed to open this Abyss of Terror to bring to light the state of this place of Darkness by considering it in these respects 1 Secundum Materiam According to its Matter 2 Secundum Modum Its Manner 3 Secundum Mensuram Its Degree 4 Secundum Durationem Its Duration I shall speak to Hell and the Torments thereof according to all these respects For the First When I speak of this Materia Gehennae my purpose is not problematically to dispute or positively to assert any Corporeal fire in that place of Torment Aquinas Suppl ad 3. partem Quest 97. Art 5. Bellarm. de Purgat lib. 2 cap. 11. Eligat quisque quod placet aut ignem tribuere corpori animo vermem hoc propriè illud topice c. August de Civ Dei l. 21. c. 9. Qui ignis cujusmodi in qua mundi vel rerum parte futurus sit hominem scire arbitror neminem Ibid. de Civit. Dei l. 20. c. 16. which some out of choice rather than with clearness have possibly undertaken But my design is to treat of that Materîa circa quam that object upon which these internal flames are conversant as also the Materia ex qua that Pabulum ignis the fewel and foment of those everlasting burnings And as to the first we are to know That Soul and Body conjoyn'd are the adequate objects of this eternal fury They have been partakers in sin and therefore shall be sharers in suffering though the Soul as it was the Principal and Ring-leader of this Rebellion against its Creator shall have the first and deepest taste of this Misery Look as the Body whilst in this life by reason of the corruption of the Soul was made an instrument thereof to act impiety so when they are in Hell the Soul shall be the Efficient of that vexation and anguish which shall seize upon the Body Even as we see here they do sympathize together and partake of the weal or woe of either in this life Though I deny not but God doth positively inflict his wrath on the Body as well as on the Soul as we shall hear further ere long But Secondly Let us see what is the Materia ex qua that which doth kindle and doth keep alive those coals of fire which are heaped upon the heads of the wicked and that is Sin This is that which was the Parent of Hellish sorrow which did dig that Bottomless Pit and doth daily inlarge the Mouth thereof We lost our Right to Happiness when we let go our Title to Holiness and ever since we have departed from God our steps have took hold of Hell which is the production of the Creature not at all the operation of the Creator and though he execute it as an act of his Justice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theoph. in Mat. 23.41 yet he approveth not of it when it comes in competition with his Mercy for As I live saith the Lord I desire not the death of a sinner but rather that he turn from his iniquity and live Ezek. 33.11 And thus much for the first Consideration of Hell and its Torments SECONDLY We are to consider it Secundum Modum according to the Manner of that estate And this will further descry the nature of these Torments the manner of which consisteth 1 In privation of Infinite Good 2 In position of Vnspeakable Misery The First is that Paena damni The Second that Paena sensus which those miserable Creatures do lie under First That Privation is part of the nature of Hell seems to have some ground
of glory hereafter both of them had their fruit unto holiness and the end of both shall be Eternal Life The Body without the Soul is incapable of the Soul without the Body is incomplete in this Eternal Happiness They were Commilitones in pugna they shall be Consortes in praemio It is styled Rom. 8.18 Putas qualis tunc erit splendor animarum quando solis claritatem habebit lux corporum Aug. Ser. 12. in verb. Apost 2 Cor. 5.10 1 Cor. 15. Glory revealed in us Not to speak then of the Soul which is the proximate Subject thereof and therefore shall excel that of the body Let us a little see what Scripture speaks concerning that whereof the Body shall be a partaker The Apostle describing to us the estate of the Body in the Resurrection thereof doth in some measure represent to us the estâ—te it shall for ever continue in The Body of a man considered in this present condition it is in is of little worth had it nota reference to an Eternity which is future It is corruptible dishonourable infirm natural but when it is raised again this corruptible doth put on incorruption that which was sown in dishonour is raised in glory that which was sown in weakness is raisedin power In a word that which was sown 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a natural body shall be raised 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a spiritual body So far then as these opposites excel each the other so far shall the estate of the Body which is future excel that which is at present But the same Apostle doth yet more lively delineate the future glory of the body So great shall the change thereof be Phil. 3.21 that it shall be fashioned like unto the glorious body of the Lord Jesus Christ It is here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a vile body or which is worse a body of vileness Ante ortum sperma faetidum Gerhar Med. 34. in vita saccus stercorum post mortem cibus vermium This is the condition of all But Gods people are exceeding vile in the eyes of others and are yet more vile in their own eyes Oh but in that day when God doth make up his jewels he will remember them when he will cast aside many a glittering stone He will be glorified in them who were despised because of him he will despise those in whose account he was not precious the latter shall awake to shame and everlasting contempt but the former shall shine as the brightness of the firmament Dan. 12.2 3. as the stars for ever and ever And this for the first Secondly Let us consider it QVOAD MODVM according to the Manner of this Eternal Estate And so we shall finde it consists 1 In Remotione Malorum 2 In Exhibitone Bonorum In Removing what speaketh Misery in Conferring whatsoever is called Good I begin with the former because it is ever supposed at least effected by the latter First then the Removal of Misery doth ever accompany this estate of Happiness Now there are three great Miseries under which holy men groan in this life which they shall then be freed from 1 Sin 2 Temptations 3 Sorrow From all these the Saints shall then be released I will speak somewhat to them in their order First Sin This is the source of all our misery and when we are freed from it we shall be completely happy This is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sin that dwelleth in us Rom. 7.17 as the Apostle calls it And therefore before we lay down this tabernable of our body Quia peccavit ista natura quum peccare potuit largâ—ore gratia liberatur ut ad cam perducatur libertatem in qua peccare non possit sic enim erit inamissibilis voluntas pietatis aequitatis quomodo est faelicitatis August de Civ Dci l. 21. c. 30. it will not change its dwelling An imperious Tenant which will turn the Land-lord out of doors But this is our comfort it is a Tenant at will I mean at Gods will who by our death shall destroy it This because the nearest is therefore the greatest grief to a godly heart The sin of others also is matter of trouble to a pious Soul But in this estate of life righteous Lot shall no more be vexed in his Soul 1 Pet. 2.7 8. with the the ungodly deeds of the unclean Sodomites Ps 110.5 Holy David shall not sojourn in Meshech nor dwell in the tents of Kedar Or Jeremiah wish for a lodging-place of wayfaring-men in the wilderness that he might leave his people and go from them The choicest earthly contents are but a shadow or as a dream of the night to those heavenly delights where each faculty of the Soul shall be setled in its primitive perfection and each member of the Body become subservient to the end of its Creation The Glory of God and the Comfort of the whole The Law of the Members shall be extinguisht by the victorious strength of the law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus Those civil commotions in the minde of man shall cease and the blessed conquerors shal bear their Palms in their hands and cast their Crowns at the feet of him Rom. 11.15 with whom they shall also reign Secondly Temptations These are part of the misery of a holy man Nemo seeurus esse debet in hac vita quae totae tentatio nominatur Aug. Confes lib. 10. cap. 32. Whilst we are in this probation-state we cannot but be under a necessity of meeting with trials whilst on this side heaven we are in danger of falling by them Vide Aug. de civ Dci l. 19. c. 27. Strait is the gate which leadeth unto heaven and great yea many are the stumbling-blocks to hinder our entrance Narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and many are the snares which are laid to hinder our progress thither We open not our eyes but we are ready to behold vanity we hear not but the Devil is ready by corrupt communication to corrupt our manners we taste not but our wine is a mocker and our bread deceitful The Devil hath bribed our senses and they are become purveyors of the flesh Even where we think our selves most safe the Devil doth oft take us napping even in our harmless Recreations Latet anguis in herba Ipsum mundum per omnes hor as tentationibus plenum August de civ Dei l. 1. c. 27. and we are stung ere we are aware So that how true is that In many things we offend all Jam. 3.2 * Adde to all Temptations from the World such whom the Psalmist calls his †Vid. by th Prax. in Psal 5.9 Observers such who watch for their haltings and say as those of Jeremiah 20 10. Peradventure he will be enticed and we shall prevail against him and we shall take revenge on him And if such a mans foot slip they magnifie themselves against