own punishment and a great part of the Bodies too forasmuch as so far as Apprehension goes the Soul will be quicker at that Work than the Body The Body will have its punishment to lye mostly in feeling but the Soul in feeling and apprehending both True the Body by the help of the Soul will see too but the Soul will see yet abundantly further And good reason that the Soul should bear part of the punishment of the Body because it was through its allurements that the Body yielded to help the Soul to Sin the Devil presented Sin the Soul took it by the Body and now Devil and Soul and Body and all must be lost cast away that is damned in Hell for Sin but the Soul must be the Burden-bearer Object But you may say doth not this give incouragement to Sinners to give way to the Body to be in alâ— its members loose and vain and wicked as Instruments to Sin Answer No Forasmuch as the Body shall also have his share in punishment for though I have said the Soul shall have more punishment than the Body yet I have not said That the Body shall at all be eased by that no the Body will have its due and for the better making out of my Answer further consider of these following particulars 1. The Body will be the Vessel to hold a tormented Soul in this will be something therefore Man damned Man is called a Vessel of Wrath a Vessel and that in both Body and Soul The Soul receiveth Wrath into its self and the Body holdeth that Soul that has thus received and is tormented with this Wrath of God Now the Body being a Vessel to hold this Soul that is thus possessed with the Wrath of God must needs it self be afflicted and tormented with that torment because of its union with the Body therefore the Holy Ghost saith His Flesh upon him shall have pain and his Soul within him shall mourn Both shall have their torment and misery for that both joyned hand in hand in sin the Soul to bring it to the Birth and the Body to midwife it into the World therefore it saith again with reference to the Body Let the Curse come into his Bowels like Water and like Oyl into his Bones Let it be to him as a Garment which covereth him and as a Girdle c. The Body then will be tormented as well as the Soul by being a Vessel to hold that Soul in that is now possessed and distressed with the unspeakable wrath and indignation of the Almighty God and this will be a great deal if you consider 2. That the Body as a Body will by reason of its union with the Soul be as sensible and so as capable in its kind to receive correction and torment as ever nay I think more for if the quickness of the Soul giveth quickness of sense to the Body as in some case at least I am apt to think it doth then forasmuch as the Soul will now be most quick most sharp in Apprehension so the Body by reason of union and sympathy with the Soul will be most quick and most sharp as to Sense Indeed if the Body should not receive and retain sense yea all its Senses by reason of its being a Vessel to hold the Soul the torment of the Soul could not as torment be ministred to the Body no more than the Fire tormented 〈◊〉 King of Babylon's furnace or than the King Moab's Lime-kiln was afflicted because the King Elom's Bones were burnt to Lime therein Bâ—t 〈◊〉 the Body has received again its senses now thereâ—â—â—â—e it must yea it cannot chuse but must feel that â—rath of God that is let out yea poured out like â—ods of Water into the Soul Remember also that besides what the Body reâ—â—â—veth from the Soul by reason of its union and symâ—â—thy therewith there is a punishment and instruâ—ents of punishment though I will not pretend to 〈◊〉 you exactly what it is prepared for the Body â—r its joyning with the Soul in Sin therewith to be â—inished a Punishment I say that shall fall immeâ—ately upon the Body and that such an one as will â—ost fitly suit with the Nature of the Body as wrath â—nd guilt do most fitly suit the Nature of the Soul 3. Add to these the durable condition that the â—ody in this state is now in with the Soul Time â—as when the Soul dyed and the Body lived and â—hat the Soul was tormented while the Body slept â—nd rested in the Dust but now these things are past â—or at the Day of Judgment as I said these two shall 〈◊〉 â—e-united and that which once did separate them 〈◊〉 dstroyed then of necessity they must abide together â—nd as together abide the Punishment prepared for â—hem and this will greaten the Torment of the Body Death was once the Wages of Sin and a grievous Curse but might the Damned meet with it in Hell they would count it a Mercy because it would separate Soul and Body and not only so but take away all sense from the Body and make it incapable of suffering torment yea I will add and by that means give the Soul some ease for without doubt as the Torments of the Soul extend themselves to the 〈◊〉 so the Torments of the Body extend themselves the Soul nor can it be otherwise because of 〈◊〉 and sympathy But death natural death shall destroyed and there shall be no more natural deaâ—â— no not in Hell And now it shall happen to Men it hath done in less and inferior Judgments 〈◊〉 shall seek death and desire to dye and death shall not found by them Thus therefore they must abide togâ—â—ther death that used to separate them asunder now slain 1. Because it was an enmy in keepiâ—â— Christ's Body in the Grave And 2. because Friend to carnal Men in that though it was a Punisâ—â—ment in it self yet while it lasted and had dominiâ—â— over the Body of the Wicked it hindred them 〈◊〉 that great and just judgment which for Sin was 〈◊〉 unto them and this is the third Discovery of thâ— manner and way of punishing of the Body But 4. There will then be such things to be seen anâ— heard which the Eye and the Ear to say no morâ— than has been said of the sense of feeling will 〈◊〉 and hear that will greatly aggravate the Punishâ—ment of the Body in Hell For though the Eye 〈◊〉 the Window and the Ear a Door for the Soul to look out at and also to receive in by yet whatever goâ—eth in at the Ear or the Eye leaves influence upoâ— the Body whether it be that which the Soul delighteth in or that which the Soul abhorreth for as the Eye affecteth the Heart or Soul so the Eye and Ear by hearing and beholding both oft-times afflict the Body Wâ—en I heard my bâ—â—y trembled rottenness entred into my bones Now I say as the Body after
prosundity to dive into the mysterious depths of Hell Hell is a place and state utterly unknown to any in this visible World excepting the Souls of Men nor shall any for ever be capable of understanding the Miseries thereof save Souls and fallen Angels Now I think as the Joys of Heaven stand not only in speculation or in beholding of Glory but in a sensible Enjoyment and unspeakable Pleasure which these Glories will yield to the Soul So the Torments of Hell will not stand in the present lashes and stroaks which by the Flames of eternal Fire God will scourge the Ungodly with but the Torments of Hell stand much if not in the greatest part of them in those deep thoughts and apprehensions which Souls in the next World will have of the Nature and Occasions of Sin of God and of separation from him of the Eternity of those Miseries and of the utter Impossibility of their help ease or deliverance for ever O damned Souls will have thoughts that will clash with Glory clash with Justice clash with Law clash with it self clash with Hell and with the everlastingness of Misery but the Point the Edge and the Poison of all these thoughts will still be gauling and dropping and spuing out their stings into the Sore grieved wounded and fretted place which is the Conscience though not the Conscience only For I may say of the Souls in Hell that they all over are but one wound one sore Miseries as well as mercies sharpen and make quick the Apprehensions of the Soul Behold Spira in his Book Cain in his Guilt and Saul with the Witch of Endor and you shall see Men ripened Men inlarged and greatned in their fancies imaginations and apprehensions though not about God and Heaven and Glory yet about their Loss their Misery and their Woe and their Hells 10. Nor doth their ability to bear if it be proper to say they bear those dolors which there for ever they shall endure a little demonstrate their greatness Everlasting burning devouring fire perpetual pains gnawing worms utter darkness and the ireful words face and strokes of divine and infinite Justice will not cannot make this Soul extinct as I said before I think it is not so proper to say the Soul that is damned for Sin doth bear these things as to say it doth ever sink under them and therefore their place of torment is called the bottomless Pit because they are ever sinking and shall never come there where they will find any stay Yet they live under wrath but yet only so as to be sensible of it as to smart and be in perpetual anguish by reason of the intollerableness of their burthen But doth not their thus living abiding and retaining a Being or what you will call it demonstrate the greatness and might of the Soul Alas Heaven and Earth are short of this greatness for these though under less judgment by far do fade and wax old like a Moth-eaten Garment and in their time will vanish away to nothing Also we see how quickly the Body when the Soul is under a fear of the rebukes of Justice How soon I say it wastes molders away and crimbleth into the Grave but the Soul is yet strong and abides sensible to be dealt withal for Sin by everlasting burnings 11. The Soul by God's Ordinance while this world lasts has a time appointed it to forsake and leave the Body to be turned again to the Dust as it was and this separation is made by death Therefore the Body must cease for a time to have sense or life or motion and a little thing brings it now into this state But in the next World the wicked shall partake of none of this for the Body and the Soul being at the Resurrection rejoyned this death that once did rend them asunder is for ever overcome and extinct so that these two which lived in Sin must for ever be yoked together in Hell Now there the Soul being joyned to the Body and death which before did separate them being utterly taken away the Soul retains not only its own being but also continueth the Body to be and to suffer sensibly the Pains of Hell without those decays that it uses to sustain And the Reason why this death shall then be taken away is because Justice in its bestowing its rewards for transgressions may not be interrupted but that Body and Soul as they lived and acted in sin together might be destroyed for sin in Hell together Destroyed I say but with such a Destruction which though it is everlasting will not put a Period to their sensible suffering the vengeance of eternal Fire This death therefore though that also be the Wages of Sin would now were it suffered to continue be an hindrance to the making known of the Wrath of God and also of the created Power and Might of the Soul 1. It would hinder the making known of the Wrath of God for it would take the Body out of the way and make it uncapable of sensible suffering for sin and so removing one of the Objects of Vengeance the Power of God's Wrath would be so far undiscovered 2. It would also hinder the Manifestation of the Power and Might of the Soul which is discovered much by its abiding to reâ—in its own being while the Wrath of God is grapâ—ng with it and more by its continuing to the Body 〈◊〉 sensible being with it self Death therefore must now be removed that the â—oul may be made the Object of Wrath without â—olestation or interruption That the Soul did I â—y yea that Soul and Body both might be so Death â—ould now be a Favour though once the Fruit of â—in and also the Wages thereof might it now be â—uffered to continue because it would case the Soul â—f some of its burthen For a tormented Body canâ—ot but be a burthen to a Spirit and so the wise Man â—nsmuates when he says The Spirit of a Man will â—stain his infirmity that is bear up under it but â—et so as that it feels it a Burthen We see that â—ecause of the Sympathy that is between Body and â—oul how one is burthened if the other be grieved A sick Body is a Burthen to the Soul and a wounded Spirit is a Burthen to the Body A wounded Spirit who â—an bear but death must not remove this burthen but the Soul must have the Body for a Burthen and the Body must have the Soul for a Burthen and both must have the Wrath of God for a Burthen O therefore here will be burthen upon burthen and all upon the Soul for the Soul will be the chief Seat of this burthen But thus much to shew you the Greatness of the Soul I shall now come to the second Thing which was propounded to be spoken to and that is to shew you what we are to understand by losing of the Soul or what the Loss of the Soul is What
ways and doings which is the terriblest Judgment under Heaven And this brings me to the third Thing the which I now will speak to 3. As the Soul receives detains entertains and willily worketh to bring Sin from the motion into act so it abhorreth to be controuled and taken off of this work My Soul loathed them says God and theâ—â— Soul also abhorred me My Soul loathed them because they were so bad and their Souls abhorred me because I am so good Sin then is the Cause of the Loss of the Soul because it hath set the Soul or rather because the Soul of love to sin hath set it self against God Wo unto their Souls for they have rewarded evil unto themselves That you may the better perceive that the Soul through sin has set it self against God I will propose and speak briefly to these two things I. The Law II. The Gospel 1. For the Law God has given it for a Rule of Life either as written in their Natures or as inserted in the Holy Scriptures I say for a Rule of Life to all the Children of Men but what have Men done or how have they carried it to this Law of their Creator let us see and that from the Mouth of God himself I. They have not hearkened unto my Law II. They have forsaken my Law III. They have forsaken me and not kept my Law IV. They have not walked in my Law nor in my Statutes V. Her Priests have violated my Law VI. And saith God I have written to him the great Thâ—ngs of my Law but they were counted as a strange Thing Now whence should all this disobedience arise â— not from the unreasonableness of the Commandment but from the Opposition that is lodged in the Soul against God and the Enmity that it entertains against goodness Hence the Apostle speaks of the Enmity and says That Men are enemies in their Minds their Souls as is manifest by wicked works This if Men went no further must needs be highly provoking to a just and holy God yea so highly offensive is it that to shew the heat of his anger he saith Indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every Soul of Man that doth evil and this is evil with a witness of the Jew first and also of the Gentile that doth evil that breaketh the Law for that evil he is crying out against now But 2. To speak of the Gospel and of the Carriage of sinful Souls towards God under that dispensation The Gospel is a Revelation of a sovereign Remedy provided by God through Christ for the Health and Salâ—ation of those that have made themselves objects of wrath by the Breach of the Law of Works This is manifest by all the Scripture But how doth the Soul carry it towards God when he offereth to deal with it under and by this dispensation of grace Why just as it carried it under the Law of Works they oppose they contradict they blaspheme and forbid that this Gospel be mentioned What higher affront or contempt can be offered to God and what greater disdain can be shewn against the Gospel Yet all this the poor Soul to its own wrong offereth against the way of its own salvation as it is said in the Word of Truth He that sinneth against me wrongs his own Soul all that hate me love death But further The Soul despiseth not the Gospel in that revelation of it only but the great and chief bringer thereof with the manner also of his bringing of it The Bringer the great Bringer of the Gospel is the good Lord Jesus Christ himself he came and preached Peace to them that the Law proclaimed War against he came and preached Peace to them that were far off and to them that were nigh And it is worth your observation to take notice how he came and that was and still is as he is set forth in the Word of the Gospel to wit First as making peace himself to God for us in and by the Blood of his Cross and then as bearing as set out by the Gospel the very Characters of his sufferings before our faces in every tender of the Gospel of his grace unto us And to touch a little upon the Dress in which by the Gospel Christ presenteth himself unto us while he offereth unto sinful Souls his peace by the Tenders thereof 1. He is set forth as born for us to save out Souls 2. He is set forth before us as bearing of our Sins for us and suffering God's Wrath for us 3. He is set forth before us as fulfilling the Law for us and as bringing of everlasting righteousness to us for our covering Again As to the manner of his working out the Salvation of Sinners for them that they might have Peace and Joy and Heaven and Glory for ever 1. He is set forth as sweating of Blood while he was in his Agony wrestling with the Thoughts of Death which he was to suffer for our Sins that he might save the Soul 2. He is set forth as crying weeping and mourning under the Lashes of Justice that he put himself under and was willing to bear for our Sins 3. He is set forth as betrayed apprehended condemned spit on scourged buffeted mocked crowned with Thorns crucified pierced with Nails and a Spear To save the Soul from being betrayed by the Devil and Sin to save it from being apprehended by Justice and condemned by the Law to save it from being spit on in a way of contempt by holiness To save it from being scourged with guilt of Sins as with Scorpions To save it from being continually buffeted by its own Conscience To save it from being mocked at by God To save it from being crowned with ignominy and shame for ever To save it from dying the second Death To save it from wounds and grief for ever Dost thou understand me sinful Soul He wrestled with Justice that thou mightest have rest he wept and mourned that thou mightest laugh and rejoyce he was beâ—rayed that thou mightest go free was apprehended that thou mightest escape he was condemned that thou mightest be justified and was killed that thou mightest live he wore a Crown of Thorns that thou mightest wear a Crown of Glory and was nailed to the Cross with his Arms wide open to shew with what freeness all his Merits shall be bestowed on the coming Soul and how heartily he will receive it into his bosom Further All this he did of meer good will and offereth the Benefit thereof unto thee freely yea he cometh unto thee in the Word of the Gospel with the Blood running down from his Head upon his Face with his Tears abiding upon his Cheeks with his holes as fresh in his hands and his feet and as with the Blood still bubling out of his side to pray thee to accept of the Benefit and to be reconciled to God thereby But that saith the
the Soul to judicial hardness and further blindness while he leaveth the Body to do his Office in the World yea and also when the day of death and dissolution is come the Body is spared while the Soul is tormented in unutterable torment in Hell And so I say it shall be spared and the Clods of the Valley shall be sweet unto it while the Soul mourneth in Hell for Sin 't is true at the Day of Judgment because that is the last and final Judgment of God on Men then the Body and Soul shall be re-united or joyned together again and shall then together partake of that recompence for their wickedness which is meet When I say The Body is spared and the Soul tormented I mean not that the Body is not then at death made to partake of the wages of Sin For the wages of Sin is death But I mean the Body partakes then but of temporal death which as to sense and feeling is sometimes over presently and then resteth in the Grave while the Soul is tormenting in Hell yea and why is Death suffered to slay the Body I dare say not chiefly for that the indignation of God most burneth against the Body but the Body being the House for the Soul in this World God even pulls down this Body that the Soul may be stript naked and being stript may be carried to Prison to the Place where damned Souls are there to suffer in the beginning of suffering that punishment that will be endless 2. Therefore the Soul must be the part most sorely punished because Justice must be distributed with equity God is a God of knowledge and judgment by him actions are weighed actions in order to Judgment Now by weighing of actions since he finds the Soul to have the deepest Hand in Sin and he says that he hath so of equity the Soul is to bear the burden of punishment Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right in his famous distributing oâ— Judgment He will not lay upon Man more thaâ— right that he should enter into judgment with God The Soul since deepest in Sin shall also be deepest in punishment Shall one Man sin said Moses anâ— wilt thou be wroth with all the Congregation He pleads here for equity in God's distributing of Judgment yea and so exact is God in the distribution thereof that he will not punish Heathens so as he will punish Jews wherefore he saith of the Jew first or chiefly and also to the Gentile yea in Hell he has prepared several degrees of punishment for the several sorts or degrees of offenders And some shall receive greater damnation And will it not be unmeet for us to think since God is so exact in all his doings that he will without his weights and measures give to Soul and Body as I may say carelesly not severally their punishments according to the desert and merit of each 3. The punishment of the Soul in Hell must needs to be sure as to degree differ from the punishment of the Body there When I say differ I mean must needs be greater whether the Body be punished with the same Fire with the Soul or Fire of another nature If it be punished with the same Fire yet not in the same way for the Fire of Guilt with the Apprehensions of indignation and wrath are most properly felt and apprehended by the Soul and by the Body by vertue of its union with the Soul and so felt by the Body if not only yet I think mostly by way of sympathy with the Soul and the Cause we say is worse than the Disease and if the wrath of God and the Apprehensions of it as discharging it self for sin and the breach of the Law be that with which the Soul is punished as sure it is then the Body is punished by the Effects or by those Influences that the Soul in its torments has upon the Body by vertue of that great oneness and union that is between them But if there be a punishment prepared for the Body distinct in kind from that which is prepared for the Soul yet it must be a punishment inferior to that which is prepared for the Soul not that the Soul and Body shall be severed but being made of things distinct their punishments will be by that which is most suitable to each I say it must be inferior because nothing can be so hot so tormenting so intolerably unsupportable as the quickest Apprehensions of and the immediate sinking under that Guilt and Indignation that is proportionable to the Offence Should all the Wood and Brimstone and cumbustible matter on Earth be gathered together for the tormenting of one Body yet that cannot yield that torment to that which the sence of guilt and burning hot application of the mighty indignation of God will do to the Soul Yea suppose the Fire wherewith the Body is tormented in Hell should be seven times hotter than any of our Fire yea suppose it again to be seven times hotter than that which is seven times hotter than ours yet it must suppose it be but created fire be infinitely short as to tormenting operations of the unspeakable wrath of God when in the heat thereof he applyeth it to and doth punish the Soul for sin in Hell therewith So then whether the Body be tormented with the same Fire wherewith the Soul is tormented or whether the Fire be of another kind yet it is not possible that it should bear the same punishment as to degree because or for the causes that I have shewed Nor inded is it meet it should because the Body has not sinned so so grievously as the Soul has done and God proportioneth the punishment suitable to the Offence 4. With the Soul by its self are the most quick and suitable apprehensions of God and his wrath wherefore that must needs be made partaker of the sorest punishment in Hell 't is the Soul that now is most subtle at discerning and it is the Soul that will be so then Conscience Memory Understanding and Mind these will be the â—eat of torment since the Understanding will let Wrath immediately upon these from what it apprehends of that wrath Conscience will let in the Wrath of God immediately upon these from what it fearfully feels of that wrath the Memory will then as a Vessel receive and retain up to the brim of this Wrath even as it receiveth by the Understanding and Conscience the Cause of this Wrath and considers of the durableness of it So then the Soul is the seat and receiver of Wrath even as it was the receiver and seat of Sin here then is sin and wrath upon the Soul the Soul in the Body and so Soul and Body tormented in Hell-fire 5. The Soul will be most tormented because strongest the biggest Burden must lye upon the strongest Part especiâ—lly since also it is made capable of it by its sin The Soul must bear its
sore distress Oh! words are wanting thoughts are wanting imagination and fancy are poor things here Hell is another kind of place and state than any alive can think and since I am upon this subject I will here treat a little of Hell as the Scriptures will give me leave and the rather because I am upon a use of Terror and because Hell is the place of Torment 1. Hell is said to be beneath as Heaven is said to be above because as above signifieth the utmost joy triumph and felicity so beneath is a term most fit to describe the place of Hell by because of the utmost Opposition that is between these two Hell being the Place of the utmost Sorrow Despair and Misery there are the Underlings ever trampled under the Feet of God they are beneath below under 2. Hell is said to be darkness and Heaven is said to be light light to shew the pleasureableness and the desirableness of Heaven and darkness to shew the dolesome and wearisomness of Hell and how weary oh how weary and wearisomly as I may say will damned Souls turn themselves from side to side from place to place in Hell while swallowed up in the thickest Darkness and griped with the burning Thoughts of the endlesness of that most unutterable Misery 3. Men are said to go up to Heaven but they are said to go down to Hell up because of exaltation and because they must abound in Beauty and Glory that go to Heaven down because of those sad dejections that great deformity and vile contempt that sin hath brought them to that go to Hell 4. Heaven is called a Hill or Mount Hell is called a Pit or Hole Heaven a Mount the Mount Zion to shew how God has and will exalt them that loved him in the World Hell a Pit or Hole to shew how all the Ungodly shall be buried in the yawning Paunch and Belly of Hell as in a hollow Cave 5. Heaven 'T is said of Heaven the â— Heighth of Heaven and of Hell the bottomless Pit The heighth of Heaven to shew that the Exaltation of them that do ascend up thither is both perfect and unsearchable And Hell the bottomless Pit to shew that the downfal of them that descend in thither will never be at an end down down down they go and nothing but down down still 6. Heaven It is called the Paradise of God but Hell the burning Lake A Paradise to shew how quiet harmless sweet and beautiful Heaven shall be to them that possess it as the Garden was at the beginning of the Creation Hell the burning Lake to allude to Sodom that since its destruction is turned into a stinking Lake and to shew that as their distress was unutterable and to the highest Amazement full of confusion and horror when that tempestuous Storm of Fire and Brimstone was rained from the Lord out of Heaven upon them so to the utmost degree shall it be with the Souls that are lost and cast into Hell 7. It is said that there are dwelling-houses or places in the Kingdom of Heaven and also that there are the Cells or the Chambers of Death in Hell There are Mansions or dwelling-places in Heaven to shew that every one of them that go thither might have his reward according to his work and that there is Hell and the lowest Hell and the Chambers of death in Hell to shew there are places and states in Hell too for Sinners to be imprisoned in according to their faults hence it is said of some These shall receive greater damnation and of others That it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the Judgment than for them c. The lowest Hell how many Hells there are above that or more tolerable tormenting places than the most exquisite Torments there God and they that are there know best but degrees without doubt there are and the term lowest shews the utmost and most exquisite destress so the Chambers of death the second death in Hell for so I think the Words should be understood Her House is the way k to Hell going down to the Chambers of death these are the Chambers that the Chambers in the Temple or that the dwelling-places in the House in Heaven is opposed to and this opposition shews that as there will be degrees of Glory in Heaven so there will of Torments in Hell aud there is all reason for it since the Punishment must be inflicted by God the infinitely just Why should a poor silly ignorant Man tho' damned be punished with the same degree of torment that he that has lived a thousand times worse shall be punished with It cannot be Justice will not admit it Guilt and the Quality of the Transgression will not admit it yea the tormentingâ—Fire of Hell it self will not admit it for if Hell-fire can kindle upon nothing but Sin and the Sinner for the sake of it and if Sin be as Oyl to that sire as the Holy Ghost seems to intimate saying Let it come into his Bowels like Water and like Oyl into his Bones then as the quantity of the Oyl is so will the fire burn and so will the flaming Flame ascend and the smoak of their Torment for ever and ever Suppose a piece of Timber a little bedaubed with Oyl and another that hath been soaking in it many a year which of these two think you would burn fiercest and whence would the flaming Flame ascend highest and make the most roaring noise Suppose two Vessels filled with Oyl one containing the quantity of a Pint the other containing the quantity of a Hoggs-head and suppose that in one place they were both set on fire yet so that they might not intermix flames nay though they did yet all would conclude that the most amazing roaring flame would be upon the biggest Vessel and-would be the effect of the greatest quantity of Oyl so it will be with the Wicked in Hell the lowest-Hell is for the biggest Sinners and theirs will be the greater Damnation and the more intolerable Torment though he that has least of this Oyl of Sin in his Bones and of the kindlings of Hell fire upon him will find he has Hell enough and will be weary enough thereof for still he must struggle with flames that are everlasting for Sin is such a thing that it can never be burned out of the Soul and Body of a damned Sinner But again having treated thus of Hell we will now speak a word or two of Sin for that is it upon which Hell-fire seizes and so on the Soul by that Sin it is the Sting of Hell the Sting of Death is Sin by Death in this place we must not understand that which is natural but that which is in Hell the second death even everlasting damnation for natural death the Saints die yea and also many Sinners without the least touch of a Sting from that but here
thy presence and thou hast taught in our streets What now Why he returns upon them his first answer the second time saying I tell you I know you not whence you are depart from me all ye workers of iniquity Then he concludes There shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God and your selves thrust out They come weeping and go weeping away They come to him weeping for they saw that he had conquered them but they departed weeping for they saw that he would damn them yet as we read in another place they were very loth to go from him by their reasoning and expostulating with him Lord when saw we thee an hungred or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister unto thee But all would not do here is no place for change of mind These shall go away into everlasting punishment but the Righteous into life eternal And now what would a Man give in exchange for his Soul so that as I said before all is too late they mourn too late they repent too late they pray too late and seek to make an exchange for their Soul too late Or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul Two or three things there may yet be gathered from these Words I mean as to the Desires of them that have lost their Souls to make for them an exchange What shall a Man give in exchange What shall what would yea what would not a Man if he had it give in exchange for his Soul 1. What would not a Man I mean a Man in the Condition that is by the Text supposed some Men are and will be in give in exchange to have another Man's Vertues instead of their own Vices Let me dye the death of the Righteous Let my Soul be in the state of the Soul of the Righteous that is with reference to his vertues when I dye and let my last end be like his 'T is a sport now to some to taunt and squib and deride at other Men's Vertues but the Day is coming when their minds will be changed and when they shall be made to count those that have done those righteous actions and duties which they have scoffed at the only blessed Men. Yea they shall wish their Soul in the blessed Possession of those Graces and Vertues that those whom they hated were accompanied with and would if they had it give a whole World for this change but it will not now do it is now too late what then shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul and this is more than intimated in that 25 th of Matthew named before for yoâ— find by that Text how loth they were or will be to be counted for unrighteous People Lord say they when did we see thee an hungred or a thirst naked or sick and did not minister unto thee Now they are not willing to be of the Number of the Wicked though heretofore the ways of the Righteous were an abomination to them But alas they are before a just God a just Judge a Judge that will give every one according to their ways therefore Woe to the Soul of the Wicked now It shall go ill with him for the reward of his hands shall be given him thus therefore he is lockt up as to this he cannot now change his vices for vertues nor put himself or his Soul in the stead of the Soul of the saved so that it still and will for ever abide a question unresolved Or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul I do not doubt but that a Man's state may be such in this World that if he had it he would give thousands of Gold to be as innocent and guiltless in the Judgment of the Law of the Land as is the state of such or such heartily wishing that himself was not that he that he is how much more then will Men wish thus when they stand ready to receive the â—ast their eternal judgment But what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul 2. As they would for the Salvation of their Souls be glad to change away their Vices for the Vertues their Sins for the good Deeds of others so what would they not give to change places now or to remove from where now they are into Paradise into Abraham's Bosom But neither shall this be admitted the Râ—ghteous must have their inheritance to themselves Neither said Abraham can they pass to us that would come from thence neither can they dwell in Heaven that would come from Hell They then that have lost or shall lose their Souls are bound to their place as well as to their sins When Judas went to Hell he went to his home to his own place and when the Righteous go hence they also go home to their House to their own place for the Kingdom of Heaven is prepared for them Between Heaven and Hell there is a great gulf fixed that is a strong passage there is a great gulf fixed What this gulf is and how impossible they that shall lose their Souls will know to their woe because it is fixed there where it is on purpose to keep them in their tormenting place so that they that would pass from Hell to Heaven cannot But I say Would they not change places would they not have a more comfortable House and Home for their Souls Yes verily the Text supposes it and the sixteenth of Luke affirms it Yea and could they purchase for their Soul a Habitation among the Righteous would they not Yes they would give all the World for such a Change What shall what shall not a Man if he had it if it would answer his design give in exchange for his Soul 3. As the Damned would change their own Vices for Vertues and the Place where they are for that into which they shall not come so What would they give for a change of condition Yea if an absolute change may not be obtained yet what would they give for the least degree of mitigation of that torment which now they know will without any intermission be and that for ever and ever Tribulation and anguish indignation and wrath the gnawing Worm and everlasting destruction from the Presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his Power cannot be born but with great horror and grief no marvel then if these poor Creatures would for ease for their Souls be glad to change their Conditions Change with whom with an Angel with a Saint Ay with a Dog or a Toad for they mourn not they weep not nor do they bear indignation of wrath they are as if they had not been only the sinful Soul abides in its Sins in the Place designed for lost Soul and in the Condition that Wrath and Indignation for Sin and Transgression hath decreed them to abide for
is a Death that has a Sting to hurt to twinge and wound the Sinner with even then when it has the utmost Mastery of him And this is the Death that the saved are delivered from not that which is natural for that is the end of them as of others but the second Death the Death in Hell for that is the Portion of the Damned and it is from that that the Saints have a Promise of deliverance He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second Death And again Blessed and Holy is he that hath part in the first Resurrection on such the second Death hath no Power It is this death then that hath the Chambers to hold each damned Soul in and Sin is the twining winding biting poysoning Sting of this Death or of these Chambers of Hell for Sinners to be stricken stung and pierced with The Sting of Death is Sin Sin in the general of it is the Sting of Hell for there would be no such thing as Torment even there were it not that Sin is there with Sinners for as I have hinted already the Fire of Hell the Indignation and Wrath of God can fasten and kindle upon nothing but for or because of Sin sin then as sin is the Sting and the Hell of Hells of the lowest and upmost Hells Sin I say in the Nature of it simply as it is concluded both by God and the Damned to be a breach of his Holy Law so it is the sting of the second Death which is the Worm of Hell But then as Sin is such a Sting in it self so it is heightned sharpned and made more keen and sharp by those Circumstances that as concomitants attend it in every act for there is not a Sin at any time committed by Man but there is some circumstance or other attends it that makes it when charged home by God's Law bigger and sharper and more venom and poysonous to the Soul than if it could be committed without them and this is the Sting of the Hornet the great Sting I sinned without a Cause to please a base Lust to gratify the Devil here is the Sting Again I preferred Sin before Holiness Death before Life Hell before Heaven the Devil before God and Damnation before a Saviour here is the Sting Again I preferred moments before everlastings temporals before eternals to be racked and always slaying before the Life that is blessed and endless here is the Sting Also this I did against light against Convictions against Conscience against perswasion of Friends Ministers and the godly Lives which I beheld in others here is the Sting Also this I did against warnings forewarnings yea though I saw others fall before my face by the mighty Hand of God for committing of the same here is the Sting Sinners would I could perswade you to hear me out A Man cannot commit a Sin but by the Commission of it he doth by some circumstance or other sharpen the Sting of Hell and that to pierce himself through and through and through with many sorrows Also the Sting of Hell to some will be that the Damnation of others stand upon their score for that by imitating of them by being deluded by them perswaded by them drawn in by them they perish in Hell for ever and hence it is That these principal Sinners must dye all these deaths in themselves that those damned ones that they have drawn into Hell are also to bear in their own Souls for ever And this God threatned to the Prince of Tyrus that capital Sinner because by his pride power practice and policy he cast down others into the Pit therefore saith God to him They shall bring thee down to the Pit and thou shalt die the Deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the Seas And again Thou shalt die the Deaths of the Vncircumcised by the Hand of Strangers for I have spoken it saith the Lord God Ah! this will be the Sting of them of those that are principal chief and as I may call them the Captain and Ring-leading Sinners Vipers will come out of other Mens â—â—e and flames and settle upon seize upon and for â—ver abide upon their Consciences and this will be the â—ting of Hell the great Sting of Hell to them I will yet add to all this How will the fairness of â—â—me for Heaven even the Thoughts of that Sting â—hem when they come to Hell It will not be so much â—heir fall into the Pit as from whence they fell inâ—o it that will be to them the buzzing noise and â—â—arpned sting of the great and terrible Hornet How â—t thou fallen from Heaven O Lucifer there is the Sting thou that art exalted up to Heaven shalt â—â—e thrust down to Hell though thou hast made thy â—eâ—t among the Stars from thence will I fetch thee down there is a Sting To be pulled for and â—hrough love to some vain lust from the everlasting â—ates of Glory and caused to be swallowed up for 〈◊〉 in the Belly of Hell and made to lodge for ever in â—he dark some Chambers of death there is the pierâ—â—ing Sting But again as there is the Sting of Hell so there â—s the Strength of that Sting for a Sting though never so sharp or venom yet if it wanteth strength â—o force it to the designed Execution it doth but â—ittle hurt But this Sting has strength to cause it to pierce into the Soul The Sting of Death is Sin and the Strength of Sin is the Law here then is the â—trength of the Sting of Hell it is the Law in the perfect Penalty of it for without the Law Sin is dead Yea again he saith Where no Law is there is â—o Transgression The Law then followeth in the executive part of it the Soul into Hell and there strengthneth Sin that Sting in Hell to pierce by itâ— unutterable charging of it on the Conscience the Soul for ever and ever nor can the Soul justly murmur or repine at God or at his Law for that then thâ— sharply apprehensive Soul will well discern the justâ—â—ness righteousness reasonableness and goodness oâ— the Law and that nothing is done by the Law unto it but that which is just and equal This therefore will put great strength and force into Sin to sting the Soul and to strike it with the Lashes of a Scorpion Add yet to these the abiding Life of God the Judge and God of this Law will never die When Princes die the Law may be altered by the which at present Transgressors are bound in Chains But oh here is also that which will make this Sting so sharp and keen the God that executes it will never die It is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the living God FINIS a Ezek. 3. 18 19. b Luke 10. 62. c 2 Thes. 3 â— d Luke 16. 22 23. e Psal. 49. 8. f Prov. 23. 26. Mat. 15. 19.