shall be drawn from their present Impunity Escaping now scot-free we may conclude the greater certainty of a future reckoning They that will not turn to God we see that many of them are in Health at ease enjoy peace and plenty and Sentence against their evil works being not now executed and they hereupon being fully set to do Evil 't is reasonable to believe there will be and 't is very Righteous there should be a terrible Sentence of Condemnation and that Sentence put in Execution upon them in the other World. 4. They that will not turn to God at the Gospel call shall be turned into Hell for they slight the only Saviour Christ calls himself a Door so he has been from the beginning of the World so he will be to the End of it There is no Door through which Hell can be escaped but this Unconverted Sinners wil not come to Him that they may have Life Joh. 5. 42 therefore they are unavoidably Siezed by eternal Death Corruptible things as Silver and Gold they know how to value but the precious Blood of Christ is not prized and not being Sprinkled with the Blood of Christ our Passover who was Sacrificed for us the Destroyer has power over them and they fall into eternal Predition In the third place I am to vindicate the Righteousness of God in thus dealing with and eternally punishing them that will not turn to Him And here 1. Let the Majesty and greatness of God be consider'd against whom all Sin is committed How much greater a Crime is it to strike a Prince upon the Throne than to strike a Peasant How much is Sin gratned being committed against the Highest Majesty of all who is infinitely Superiour to all other Powers Psal 104. 1. O Lord my God thou art very great thou art Cloathed with Honour and with Majesty Psal 145. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable Sin is a Transgression of a Law enacted by the King of Heaven and is indeed a disowning of his Soveraign Authority as if he had no right to rule the Sinner Think of the infinite distance between the God who is offended and Man that is the Offender and how much Sin offends for it disowns his Government and strikes at his very Being for the Sinner wishes there were no God to be subject to I say think of all this and you will perceive that Sin deserves everlasting Punishment The carnal Mind thinks Hell too much for a Sinner to feel because it measures God by it self and thinks too little of the Glorious Jehovah 2. Sinners can never by all that they suffer themselves satisfie for their Iniquities therefore their punishment in Hell is justly endless No meer Creature can make satisfaction for Sin. If Christ the Mediatour had not been over all God blessed for ever by his Death and all his Sufferings he would never have made Peace His God-head put a real and infinite value upon the price he paid and made it sufficient for our Redemption The Damned in Hell cannot satisfie the Justice of God for their Transgressions therefore they justly are kept eternal Prisoners there It is above five Thousand Years ago that the Evil Angels were cast down to Hell by the punishment they have undergone have they made any Satisfaction for their offences No no still they have continued in their Enmity and deserved more punishment And from Satans utter alienation from God and all goodness we may infer that Hell is not a place to mend any but Sin is hight'ned those that were had on Earth become worse in Hell and are unalterably confirm'd in Evil. 3. The punishment of Sin in Hell is justly Eternal because Sin is insatiable Suppose a Sinner could live in this World to Eternity there is corruption enough in his Nature to make him an Offender of God unto Eternity If he were an everlasting Liver upon Earth he would be an everlasting Transgressour If the Carnal Heart would but speak out that would be its Language I would desire no other no greater happiness than that I might live here for ever that I might Sin here for ever This insatiable Nature of Sin this inclination and desire of the Sinner is known to the Heart-searcher therefore the punishment he inflicts is very Righteous tho 't is everlasting 4. For the Vindication of the Righteousness of God take notice what has been offered unto Sinners and rejected Christ is offered his justifying Righteousness his unsearchable Riches all his Fulness all the Benefits which he has purchased at so dear a Price and yet the offer is made light of How much is contemn'd when Christ is Contemn'd and how much of Sin is there in the Contempt The blessed God in the Glorious Gospel does call to Sinners to turn to him and what does he offer His own all-sufficient-self I my self am yours if you will turn to me and become sincerely mine I will be a God to you all my attributes shall be for you I will be your Shield and your exceeding great Reward and your Portion for ever Now for a Sinner to turn a Deaf Ear to all this is such a Sin as does deserve the Eternal loss of what is offer'd and the feeling of everlasting Wrath is just since such infinite and everlasting Goodness has been despised I might also add that the Sinner is told of this Eternal Punishment before-hand therefore if his Lusts are so dear that he will venture to be Damned rather than part with them when those Lusts that War against his Soul have quite undone him and brought him down to Hell indeed he cannot charge God with Injustice but he must blame himself because when warned of Hell and Wrath he would not fear and Flee from it I come now to the Applacation I begin with some Inferences that may be drawn from the Doctrine 1. If Sinners that will not turn shall be brought down to Hell certainly Sin is another kind of thing than is commonly imagined Oh Sin how much art thou mistaken Thou art very little understood on Earth In Heaven thou art better understood by Saints and full glad they are they are quite rid of thee In Hell thou art better understood by Sinners and they must Groan for ever under the weight of thee O all of you Study Hell more if you would know Sin more fully Gods severity towards Man for Sin argues it a very vast Evil. I am perswaded that all the Men upon Earth that all the Saints and Angels in Heaven since they cannot comprehend the greatness and goodness of God neither can they comprehend all the Evil that is in Sin And if God alone does fully understand how Evil Sin is he alone is the competent Judge what Punishment is due to it O exceeding sinful Sin Rom. 7. 13. thou canst not be called by so bad a Name as thy own is 2. Learn from hence the Misery of unconverted Sinners Are there
a great difference between standing before the Judgment Seat and standing in Judgment the former implies being made to appear at the Tribunal the latter implies being Acquitted there The Psalmist tells us That the ungodly shall not stand in the Judgment nor Sinners in the Congregation of the Righteous Psal 1. 5. yet all of these shall be forced to appear at the Bar of God there they shall stand trembling expecting the terrible Sentence of Condemnation And Oh what a hideous Out-cry will the whole multitude of Wicked and Reprobate Ones make when without hope of Mercy they are adjudged to endless Misery Doct. The Doctrine I raise from the Words is this All shall be Judged by Christ at the great Day As certainly as you are all here so certainly at that day you shall appear at his Judgment Seat. Death is not more certain nay 't is not so certain as Judgment The Apostle tells us that all shall not Dye for some shall be Changed but even these that are changed though they scape the Grave they shall stand at the Tribunal and give account of themselves unto God. This Doctrine concerning Judgment was Preached early in the World we find 't was Published before the Flood of Noah as you may see Jude v. 14 15. where you have the summe of a Sermon but a very terrible one Preached by Enoch the seventh from Adam Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints to execute Judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all the hard speeches which ungodly Sinners have spoken against him Under the Mosaical Dispensation the Children of Israel heard the same Doctrine That great Prince and Preacher Solomon thus concludes his Book of Ecclesiastes having displayed the Creatures Vanity having taught Man his Interest and Duty To fear God and to keep his commandments he closes with these words Chap. 12. ult God will bring every work into Judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil And how plainly does the Apostle Paul speak to the same purpose 2 Cor. 5. 10 11. For we must all appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad knowing therefore the terrour of the Lord we perswade Men. In the handling of this Doctrine this is the Method I shall observe First I shall Discourse concerning Him that is to be the Judge Secondly I shall speak concerning the Persons that are to be judged Thirdly Concerning the things that shall be brought into Judgment Fourthly I shall demonstrate the Certainty of this Judgmont And then in the last Place make Application In the first Place I am to Discourse concerning the Judge and the Text plainly tells us that the Judge is Christ The Father I grant is said to judge 1 Pet. 1. 17. If ye call on the Father who without respect of persons judgeth according to every mans work pass the time of your sojourning here in fear Yet it is said in another place The Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgment to the Son Joh. 5. 22. How shall these Scriptures be reconciled The reconciliation is easie thus the Father judges because the Authority of Judging belongs to him because he does Consent unto the Sons Judgment and has ordained him to Judge the World in Righteousness the truth is the Father Judges all but 't is mediately by Jesus Christ And yet in another sense the Father judges not because Christ the Son the second Person in the Godhead alone was incarnate and manifested in the Flesh and He alone will visibly Judge the World at the great approaching Day These four things may be observed concerning Christ the Judge He is a Saviour to the uttermost He is the Only Saviour He is Lord of all And as such a Lord he will come with a most glorious Attendance 1. Christ the Judge is a Saviour to the uttermost and really at the Judgment-day he will compleat the Churches Salvation he began it here in this World and still is carrying it on but the last day will be the day in which he will put his last Hand to this Work and make it perfect Heb. 9. 28. Christ was once offered up to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to Salvation then Salvation shall be consummate the whole of it shall be wrought nothing of Sin or the sad effects of it shall remain nothing that shall cause the least frown in the Face of God to eternity Death will be swallowed up in Victory the whole Man will be glorious and immortal Christ will then have compleated his whole Design upon all his Saints and Members he will have made them as holy and happy as he did intend to make them he will indeed present his Church a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but it shall be all holy and its Beauty without the least blemish Eph. 5. 27. 2. Christ the Judge is the Only Saviour therefore those that are Condemn'd by Him 't is in vain for them to expect Salvation from any other Christ is the only Foundation-stone on which all that build shall stand other Builders are foolish and build upon the sand and what they build will fall and great will be the fall of it They that are not intersted in the Lord Jesus by Faith that are not Justified by his Blood who besides can save them from Wrath those whose Iniquities are not done away by his offering up of himself without spot to God there can be found no other Sacrifice for their sins but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery indignation that shall devour the Adversaries And how dreadful will it be to be Sentenced to Death and Damnation by the only Author of Salvation and Life they that by his Mouth shall be doom'd to eternal Destruction that Destruction will be made ten thousand times the sorer by eternal Desperation Alas what Hope can be left when the Lamb of God who alone can take away Sin shall be so full of Wrath as for ever reject and cast away the Sinner 3. Christ the Judge is Lord of all this is a truth that the Tongue of an Angel did Proclaim Luk. 2. 11. a truth that every Tongue should confess Phil. 2. 11. that every Heart ought to believe and which the most unbelieving and obstinate at last shall be made to know Christ hath on his Vesture and on his Thigh this Name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords Rev. 19. 16. He has all Power in his hand things in Heaven and Earth and under the Earth are subject to him Those that are wise do willingly how before him and they who will not bow he can easily break and dash them to
pieces A mighty Lord Christ is at whose Command Death shall deliver again all that for so many years he had imprisoned in the Grave he has indeed the Key of Death and Hell too Rev. 1. 18. both are under his Power at his Command also the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise the Elements shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and the works therein shall be burnt up There is no dealing with this Judge by way of resistance it concerns us all to be diligent that we may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless 2 Pet. 3. 10 14. 4. Christ the Judge will come with a most glorious Attendance How awakening to the World will the Voice of the Arch-Angel and the Trump of God be Christ will appear with a light far above the brightness of the Sun not a Member of his but shall shine like that glorious Luminary Mat. 13. 43. Then shall the righteous shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father And what a spectacle will all the Saints together be as so many millions of Suns shining at Once and their Lord in the heighth of Glory at the head of them He will be revealed also with his mighty Angels these excellent Spirits at his Command ministred unto his Members on Earth and they will wait upon the Head at the day of his appearing and his Kingdom There is much Work for the Angels to do at the Worlds end they are compared to Reapers that are safely to gather the Wheat and to bind the Tares in bundles for the fire Mat. 13. 41 42. The Son of Man shall send forth his Angels and they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity and shall cast them into a furnace of fire there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth The greatest Train of Nobility and Courtiers that attend at the Coronation of the highest Emperour on Earth are but a poor shew to an innumerable Company of Angels for all in Heaven will be with Christ at Judgment to do him honour who is indeed the Head of all Principality and Power Thus of the Judge In the second Place I am to speak of the Persons that are to be judged The Text takes in All therefore none shall be exempted and none in a vain and foolish imagination should exempt themselves It will be a general Assize at which all the Sons and Daughters of Adam shall appear 1. The highest and greatest of Men will be brought to Judgment Death makes bold with them as well as others and enters the stateliest Palaces the strongest Forts as well as the Cottages of the meanest The Rulers and Conquerors of the World that caused Terror in the land of the living yet they are made to bear the shame of their Weakness and Mortality they are brought down to the Pit their Swords are laid under their Heads their Hands being able to hold them no longer Ezek. 32. 27. And if Death is not afraid to seize them surely Christ will not be afraid to Judge them This mighty Lord regards not the persons of Princes nor the rich more than the poor Job 34. 19. I have said ye are Gods speaking to the great Ones of the World but ye shall dye like Men Psal 82. 7. Princes are greater Worms other Men are lesser but all must call Corruption Father and when they come to stand before Christs bar foregoing earthly Dignity will be insignificant all must stand upon even ground And truly those great Ones of the World that have abused their Power and by a bad example drawn many to Sin and to Hell after them their greatness will but Increase their Account and Misery 2. As the greatest so the Meanest must be brought to Judgment though there is never so vast a multitude God takes notice of them all now and none of them must think to ofcape in a crowd then The Apostle speaks plainly of Individuals Rom. 14. 12. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God Those that live most private and retired are under Gods continual Inspection they that are of the lowest rank and quality whom there are that disdain so much as to look upon yet God sees them The Sun shines upon a Mole-hill as well as upon a Mountain upon a Shrub as well as upon a Cedar upon a Fly as well as upon an Emperor and truly the All-seeing Eye of God beholds the low as well as the high and there is not any one of them all but shall be made to render an account of all his doings 3. Righteous Ones must stand before Christs Judgment-seat All his Members must appear before Him their Head but shall be dealt with after a different manner from others Grace and Love makes a difference now but how highly magnified will the Grace of Christ be in the difference it makes at that Day to find Mercy of the Lord in that day which the Apostle Prays Onesiphorus might find 2 Tim. 1. 18. when the greatest part of the World shall with a strong hand the Ear being deaf to all their cryes be turned into everlasting fire this is great Mercy indeed great as the Heaven is high above the Earth The Righteous shall appear but they shall be set at their Lords right hand to shew his peculiar Favour to them and they shall joyfully own what that Hand has done for them Christs Appearing will be glorious and so will be the appearing of his Saints then 't will be understood what 't is to be a Saint Col. 3. 4. When Christ who is our life shall appear than shall ye also appear with him in Glory A Question is here started by some Whether the Sins of the Righteous shall be then made known The Scripture plainly tells us That when the Sins of such come to be sought for there shall be none and that they shall not be found none of them shall be imputed or laid to their charge none shall be so discover'd in Judgment as to rise up in Judgment against them to Condemn them But since there will such a light shine at that day that will make all things manifest both good and evil suppose the Iniquities of the Righteous should be made known to the whole Creation such will be their Purity such will be their Blessedness and Joy that there will not be the least room for shame or sorrow at the discovery But when all the Sins that have been Forgiven and Purged shall be revealed others as well as themselves will be filled with Wonder at the Blood of Jesus and the powerful Grace of God. 4. As the Righteous so the Wicked must stand before Christs Bar they would fain not come thither but there is an irresistible Power to force them The Malefactor who is Condemned for Murther Rape or Treason would fain decline the Judges View he is Self-condemn'd and therefore fears the Judges Sentence but the Gaoler the
Confusion that a Redeemer does pronounce it 4. After the Judge has pass'd the Sentence Conscience will pronounce it over again and will be a Judge to the Wicked always condemning them Conscience will be filled with unspeakable remorse it will continually be upbraiding them with their madness and folly in keeping their Sins and losing their Souls and will ever be telling them that the Lords ways towards them are equal but their own ways according to which they are Judged have been unequal and full of Iniquity Ezek. 18. 29 30. The Conscience of Sinners will side with their Judge against them It will tell the most wretched among the Damned that they cannot complain of God or of the least injury he has done them all that they suffer they suffer justly and what they suffer they have brought upon themselves The horrible and perpetual remorse of Conscience will prove that the Worm never dies that does torment them 5. When Sinners come to be condemn'd at the last day how many things will rise up in judgment against them pray mind this and minding tremble and trembling turn to God this very instant Thousands of Mercies will come and as it were plead thus Lord we have been all abused we never met with any thing but abuses and never could lead these men to Repentance The Rods of Affliction will have a Voice against them too Lord we have stricken Sinners often we have made them Bleed and Groan and smart exceedingly for their Iniquities but could never make them leave off Sinning against Thee and against their own Souls How many Sermons will rise up in judgment against them because they either slept them away or if they were awake they suffer'd them to slip out of their Memories and never applyed them to their Hearts And as for us the Ministers of the Gospel our Testimony against them will be true and terrible Lord we lifted up our Voices like Trumpets we gave them the Watchmans Warning we told them of the Sword that was coming and that if they turned not from Sin it would surely slay them we wooed them to come to Jesus that under his Wing they might be secure but nothing would prevail their Ears were deaf their Hearts they hardened they would not be converted and made clean they would rush on in Sin still they would needs Dye and there was no helping it The Condemnation must needs be dreadful when so many things rise up against them that are condemned VSE IV. Of Consolation to the Saints I must speak to them in another strain Lift up your Heads and let your Hearts be filled with Joy all ye believing repenting humble holy heavenly-minded Ones for the Day of your Redemption draws nigh with an earnest expectation wait for it and Triumph at the Thoughts of your great and everlasting Jubilee You will indeed behold the greatest part of mankind turned into Hell but what Joy will it be to find your selves for ever safe and fully blessed A dark Shadow sets off a beautiful Picture The sight of the Rich man in Hell Flames must needs make Lazarus to find a greater sweetness in Abrahams Bosome Two Grounds of Consolation I shall propound to you and so conclude 1. He is to be your Judge that is your Husband and your Head. The very same whom you now find interceding for you in Prayer whom you see walking in the midst of the Golden Candlesticks and blessing his Ordinances to you The very same whom you have found pitying and healing your Wounds with his own Blood succouring you in your Temptations and telling you that you are the Beloved of his Soul And since he is to Judge you be comforted He will behold you with an aspect that is highly favourable His own Spouse whom he has ransomed with his own Life Christ will not turn into devouring Fire He will not take the Members of his own Body and throw them into everlasting Burnings Having Redeemed them by his Blood having renewed and Sanctified them by his Spirit having raised them up at the great day certainly he will receive them to himself and they shall be ever with the Lord 1 Thes 4. 17 18. wherefore be comforted with these words 2. You that are true Believers whose Faith purifies your Hearts and works by Love know that there is a Crown designed for you The Diadems that Monarchs have upon their Heads the Triple Crown of Him at Rome is but a Trifle to the Crown of life This Crown is purchased 't is promised 't is prepared and shortly you shall put it on and never put it off more How Splendid how Bright how Sparkling will that Crown be 'T is called a Crown of Life for Death shall be no more A Crown of Glory for the Saints shall be more than Conquerours and Triumphant over all Enemies and be advanced to the highest Honour and State whereof they are capable Finally 't is called a Crown of Righteousness 't is a Righteous thing with God to bestow it through Christ Jesus and perfect Righteousness and Purity will be a great part of the happiness of Saints in Glory This Crown the Apostle saw to his great encouragement and he would have all other Believers comforted with the same sight 2 Tim. 4. 7 8. I have fought a good Fight I have finished my Course I have kept the Faith henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give me at that Day and not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing MAT. 11. 23. Form. Part. And thou Capernaum which art exalted unto Heaven shalt be brought down to Hell Our Lord Jesus is called the Lamb of God who takes away the Sins of the World But in this Lamb there is Wrath and that Wrath is very terrible Oh the weight of the Mediatours Vengeance This Wrath is threatned against the impenitent and unbelievers who refuse to be Saved from their Sins resolving to live tho they Dye in them The Light of the Gospel being neglected highly aggravates the Works of Darkness makes them more inexcusable and a greater provocation None shall fare worse at the Day of Judgment than those that have had the longest and the clearest day of Grace but would not know in that their day the things which belonged to their Peace Thou Capernaum which are exalted unto Heaven shalt be brought down to Hell. These words which I have read do speak Christ's sorrow and his displeasure wherein you may take notice 1. Of the Persons with whom he is displeased Thou Capernaum the City is put for the Inhabitants of it 2. Here is the Reason of Christs displeasure they did not understand the great priviledge of being Exalted unto Heaven they did not improve the advantage they had of getting thither 3. Here is a Punishment threatned a sore evil and that is no less than Hell it self 4. Here is the manner specified of their going to Hell thou
shalt be brought down to Hell with a strong Hand with great Wrath and in one of the hottest and lowest Places there thou shalt lye for ever There are two Doctrines which I raise from the Words First Those that hear the Gospel are exalted unto Heaven Happy you if you understand your Priviledge which at this day you enjoy Secondly They who will not turn to God at the Gospel-call shall certainly be turned into Hell Thou Capernaum who art exalted unto Heaven shalt be brought down to Hell and if Christ says it shall be so most certainly it will be so The first of these I shall but just touch upon for it is the second that I principally purpose to Prosecute Doct. 1. The first Doctrine is this They that hear the Gospel are exalted unto Heaven The Gospel is an heavenly Calling Heb. 3. 1. it comes from Heaven and says to those that hear it Come up hither 1. Life and Immortality is brought to light by the Gospel 2 Tim. 1. 10. Here you have a Map of those happy Regions of Light and Love and Joy where there is nothing present that is burthensome where there is nothing wanting that is desirable 2. The Gospel plainly chalks out the way that leads to Life Christ is the way the truth and the life Joh. 14. 6. the true way to life indeed We have liberty to enter into the holiest of all by the blood of Jesus had it not been for his undertaking and performance of what he undertook there had been a flaming Sword at Heavens gate and no fallen Man could ever have entred there And as Christ in whom we are to believe is the way so is also Holiness Christ by his Blood has purchased the heavenly Inheritance and has bought the Saints themselves that are to be the Inheritors and 't is by his sanctifying Spirit by true Holiness that they are made meet for that Inheritance The pure in Heart and such will be likewise pure in Life are the blessed Ones that shall see God Mat. 5. 8. and who besides are desirous or fit to see the Lord 3. Heaven in the Gospel is offer'd 't is seriously freely offer'd unto All 't is offer'd to the meanest Persons 't is offer'd to the greatest Sinners and that without Money without Price 'T is indeed too good too great a thing for Man to purchase by any thing that he can give or do Those have very low thoughts of Heaven and very high thoughts of their own Works that think they can do enough to merit Heaven Eternal Life is the free Gift of God not deserved by Man and 't is given through Christ Rom. 6. 23. Had not Christ procured it fallen Men would all have been as certainly excluded as the fallen Angels Briefly to Apply this 1. Be thankful for the Gospel which makes the richest discovery that ever was made in this World the East the West-Indies cannot shew any thing comparable to a blessed Immortality the Jewels from the one the Gold from the other are contemptible when Heaven is named The Gospel tells you where is the true the tried Gold and of the Pearl which is of greatest price and concerning a Treasure in Heaven which neither moth nor rust doth corrupt nor can thieves break through and steal Mat. 6. 20. 2. Let the Kingdom of Heaven suffer Violence and do you use an holy force to take it here you will meet with great opposition Heaven is that which occasions the envy of Hell because of its real and eternal Excellency and does very well deserve your labour Let the Treasure in Heaven cause your Hearts to be there strive to enter in at the strait gate hate every false way because it leads from Heaven and towards Destruction let the Hopes of a Crown of glory make you willing to bear the Cross look upon Sloth as most absurd when no less than Heaven will be given to them who shew their diligence in full assurance of hope unto the end Press still forward towards the mark you cannot run too fast for such a Prize But I shall stay on this no longer 'T is the second Doctrine that more largely I shall insist on Doct. 2. And that 's this Those that will not turn to God at the Call of the Gospel shall certainly be turned into Hell 2 Thes 1. 8 9. They that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power In the handling of this Doctrine I shall 1. Discourse concerning Hell what it is that you may the better understand it and understanding be afraid of it 2. I shall prove the Certainty of the Doctrine that Sinners who will not turn to God shall most surely be turned into Hell. 3. I shall Vindicate the Righteousness of God in thus dealing with and eternally Punishing them that will not turn to him 4. I shall conclude with the Vses and Application In the first Place I am to Discourse concerning Hell and to shew you what it is In Hell There is a Deprivation of good There is an Infliction of evil pain and torment There is an Eternity of both 1. In Hell there is a Deprivation of good All the temporal losses that have been sustained by all the Children of Men in this World are not comparable to the Poena Damni Punishment of loss which one Sinner in Hell shall undergoe Several things those in Hell are deprived of 1. They are deprived of all that Love and Grace and Mercy that is in God The Psalmist that knew by experience the excellency of God's Loving-kindness affirms 't is better than Life Psal 63. 3. His Mercys are tender and a multitude and sure to the Vessels of Mercy How were those fill'd with admiration and with a sense of their obligation Who in times past were not a People but were made the People of God who had not obtained Mercy but after did obtain Mercy 1 Pet. 2. 10. But alas thô God be Love it self 1 Joh. 4. 8. he hath no Love for them that are in Hell they lye under his Wrath and Hatred and both are unalterably sixt upon them Though the Lord does delight in shewing Mercy yet his Bowels do not at all stir or move towards the Damned though they lye in extreamest Woe and are continually weeping and wailing yet their Tears draw not forth his Compassions He has cast them off for ever and will be favourable no more he has forgotten to be gracious and in implacable but righteous Anger has shut up his tender Mercies 2. They that are in Hell are deprived of the beatifical Vision of God The door of Heaven they found shut against them when they said Lord Lord open to us and 't will never be opened They shall never be suffered to see him face to face but be always excluded from his Presence What Happiness is there in seeing God!
their Brother comes to remembrance with great anguish and trouble Gen. 42. 21 22. They said one to another We are verily guilty concerning our Brother in that we saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us and we would not hear therefore is this distress come upon us therefore behold also is his blood required Conscience does Comment upon Affliction and has its terrible glosses These blows are given thee for thy secret filthiness for thy intemperance for thy injustice for thy earthlimindedness for thy doing the Work of God Heartlesly and negligently Observe what Conscience now says for the Master Sin it takes special notice of 5. That is a Master Sin which when the Sinner is almost perswaded to be a Convert hinders him from being a Convert altogether That Jacob might have Corn he was contented that ten of his Sons should go and fetcht it but how loath was he to let Benjamin go When a Sinner is convinced of the necessity of Conversion he may consent to part with two or three or ten Sins but that which is most beloved he huggs still that Sin and he must never part When the Sould is ready to be espoused to Christ This Sin stands up and forbids the Banes. We read of a young man in the Gospel soberly inclined he saw the necessity of eternal Life and the value of it he comes to Jesus and says Good Master What shall I do that I may inherit eternal Life Our Lord tells him of the commands the young man is glad of this for as to the letter of the second-Table-precepts he had been a strict observer of them all from his Youth up At length our Lord who knew Love to the World was his Master Sin bids him to go and sell all that he had on Earth and follow him and he should have a more enduring and better Treasure in Heaven But his Love to the World hindred his Believing and Conversion he goes away very sorrowful for he was very rich Mat. 19. 21 22. His Riches were very unreasonably and excessively loved he cleaves to Mammon and leaves the only Saviour 6. That is a Master Sin which pretends most highly to consult the Sinners safety gain and pleasure To be safe to be advantaged and delighted are things very taking to Humane Nature pretences this way are prevalent but all Sins pretences are vain When our Lord commands that the right eye should be pluckt out the right hand cut off the meaning is not that Christianity binds us cruelly to dismember our selves Indeed the abuse of our members is severely forbidden but our members themselves are not to be parted with but employed after an holy manner That therefore which our Lord intends is this either that we should be as without an eye to behold vanity and tempting Objects as without an hand to work that which is evil Or that though Sin be naturally as dear to us as our right eye as seemingly necessary as our right hand yet we must part with it and not spare it to the hazard ruine of our selves for ever Mat. 5. 29 30. I might also add that Sinners are apt above all to wish that the Master Sin were no Sin at all And because the Law forbids it they hate the Law and the motions of their wicked Hearts towards it are more strong and violent And here is a notable difference between an unsanctified and a sanctified Heart The unsanctified Heart wishes that the Law were less Holy that Sins were no Sins but the Heart that is sanctified does not desire the Law were less strict and pure but that it self were more pure and more conformed unto a Law that is so good and excellent it does not desire a Liberty to commit Sin but that all the remaining Justings of the Flesh that way were more throughly mortified In the third place I am to produce the Reasons why this Master Sin ought especially to be abandoned 1. Because this is Gods Principal Enemy All Sin is against him but this is a special Provocation in the the eyes of his Holiness and Glory The Apostle tells us that Love is the greatest Grace and Christ himself says that Love is the first and great Commandment The Master Sin which is most beloved which takes away the affection of the Heart which God chiefly requires must needs provoke Him unto great Jealousie This is the Presumptuous Sin 't is greatly offensive for deservedly 't is called the great Transgression Psal 19. 13. 2. The Master Sin should be abandon'd because in a special manner it separates between God and the Soul that is guilty of it Sin has many bad effects but a worse can't be named than this Isa 59. 2. Your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear Let the Saints in Heaven speak what 't is to see the Face of God! Oh the evil that is in Sin which causes the Face of God to be hid from the Sinner Every Sin may be compared to a cloud but the Sin which does most easily beset us is the blackest the darkest cloud of all which does most totally deprive us of the Light of Gods Countenance 3. If the Master-Sin be not abandon'd no other Sin whatsoever can be truly repented of A man may indeed abstain from some Sins but he does not abstain from them as Sins and because they are displeasing to God because contrary to his will and because they hinder Communion with God if he did then certainly he would keep himself from the beloved Sin which is principally hateful to God and the grand obstruction of fellowship with Him. 4. The Master Sin should be abandon'd because this is so great a grief unto the Holy Spirit of God. How often does he tell the false Professour of his lying Tongue and the unjust Professour of his unrighteous dealing The good Spirit vouchsafes to strive with very wicked men and moves them to hate the Sin which they unreasonably Love to their own ruine But if Sin be loved still the Spirit is grieved and vexed And is it safe to grieve and vex the Sanctifier the Comforter No. Read what follows upon vexing the Spirit Isa 63. 10. But they rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit therefore he was turned to be their Enemy and he fought against them 5. The Master Sin should be abandon'd because 't is this chiefly that keeps the Lord Jesus our of the Throne Why do so many say in their Hearts we will not have Christ to Reign over us The reason is because they are resolved their fleshly and their wordly Lusts shall rule there still And if Christ rule not 't is in vain to expect he will save for he is the Author of Eternal Salvation unto them that obey him Heb. 5. 9. Nay as he will not save them that will not be subject to him so he has threatned to slay them As for those mine Enemies that would not