defart! O, who would not watch, with a thousand eyes, to escape everlasting burnings? 11. It is true, fome will not allow any fixed place to be affigned as a local hell-looking upon damnation to be rather a state than a place. That it is a ftate, I allow; yea, and a dreadful state too; yet creatures, let their quality be what it will, muft have a place, they must be fomewhere; and it is their flate which will make their place miferable, for, it seems, both will unite to render them miferable, as the state must add fuel to the torment, and keep its keen anguish alive. 12. IT is true, there are fome who feem firmly perfuaded that the Torments of Hell are not eternal; and suppose that either annihilation will put a period to their existence, or that devils, as well as loft fouls, will, in due time, be restored. My feelings would fubfcribe a hearty Amen to that doctrine, but for one thing, namely,-the Bible is flat againft it; for, the very fame expreffions which are made ufe of to defcribe the eternity of the bleffed, are made use of to defcribe the duration of the miferable, Many of them that fleep in the duft of the earth fhall awake, fome to EVERLASTING life, and fome to fhame and EVERLASTING Contempt *. The Hebrew word + is the fame in both clauses of the text, and must be understood in the fame extent, in the latter clause, as the former: fo, in the text, These shall go away into EVERLASTING punishment, and, it is added, but the righteous into life ETER-NAL. The Greek word is the fame in both claufes, and, to affign them different meanings, would be doing violence * Dan. xii. 2. violence, not only to grammar, but even to common fenfe, and would render all writing quite uncertain. Let no one be fo foolish, as to venture their everlasting welfare upon fo dangerous, fo unfcriptural an hypothefis, as that of the Torments of Hell ending. That promifes but very poor comfort, even in its most favourable afpe&t ; but is, in reality, a mof dangerous rock. Let no one trust to that, but rather give all diligence to make their calling and election fure; and thus, let Hell be as terrible as it may, they need not fear, who have fled for refage to the Hope fet before them. II. I Now come to enquire, who fhall be the wretched victims doomed to that dreadful place. As this is almost the subject of every Sermon, I need not be prolix. All having finned, therefore all adult perfons need repentance; this is exprefsly required of them. The Gospel meffage is-Repent, for the kingdom of beaven is at hand *. Except ye repent, ye shall likewife perisht. Repent, and be converted, that your fins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing fhall come from the prefence of the Lord t. For, at the times of ignorance, God winked; but now, hath commanded all men every where to repent §. But what is repentance? Not exchanging one fin for another, not impofing some aufterities upon one's self; not every pang of grief, or every fright a perfon may have of death, hell, or judgment. Solomon has justly defined repentance,→→ He that confeffeth and forfaketh his fin, fhall obtain mercy ||• Such E e 2 + Luke xiii. 3. Matth. iii. 2. Acts iii. 19. § Chap. xvii. 30. Prov. Such a one fees the malignity of fin; he fees how it difhonours God, hath crucified the Lord of Glory, done all the mischief which is in the world, and peopled the nethermoft hell. He feels how it has defiled his own foul, and filled his body with diseases of all forts, fo that his feh upon him hath pain, and his foul within him does mourn. Now, the impenitent muft neceffarily exclude himself from everlasting life; he does not hate his fin; he neither confeffeth nor forfaketh fin. He is held with the cords of finful pleasure, honour, or profit; he may change kis form, but ftill he regards iniquity in his heart, and, therefore, this muft he have at the hands of God, namely, To lie down in forrow. For the wages of fin is death ; death fpiritual-death temporal--and death eternal. 2. BUT without faith it is impoffible to please God; for be that cometh unto God must not only believe that he is, but that he is the reward.r of all fuch as diligently feek him. In the Old Testament the phrafe is, generally, trust. Trust in the Lord with all thy heart-they that trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which can never be moved. Thou wilt keep bim in perfect peace, whofe mind is ftayed upon the, becaufe be trufteth in thee. Many are the dreadful effects of unbelief; in the Old World, among the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, in the wilderness, we fee what havock is made. On the other hand, very excellent things are faid of faith, and great things have been done in confequence of believing. Whatever was done by the faints, from Abel to the coming of the Meffiah, all was done by faith. The great object of faith is, God manifest in the flesh being made a fin-offering for us, bearing our fins, carrying our forrows, and fuffering the juft for the unjuft, to bring ruined rebels to God. For this end he was lift up upon the Crofs, and is now lift up upon the Gospel pole, that whofoever believeth in him may not perish, but have eternal life. For this end he was given, given for our fins, given a ranfom for all, to be teftified in due time. He that believeth is paffed from death unto life, but he that believeth not fhall not fee life, but the wrath of God abideth on him for ever. He that believes, fets to his foul that God is true; but he that believeth not, hath made him a liar. But, then, obferve,Believing is not receiving a fet of notions, however true they may be, nor the turning from one party to another; for a man may af fume all forms, and adopt all fyftems, and yet be an unbeliever. Seeing, then, it is with the heart man believeth unto righteoufnefs, he must believe in order rightly to know what faith is, as a blind man must have his eyes opened that he may know what fight is. From hence, it is plain, the unbeliever muft go into everlafting punishment, where is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. 3. BUT without holiness no man can fee the Lord; and even that quality is obtained by faith, and must be fought for in every means of grace; it is neceffary, in the nature of things, that this should be fought for and obtained, in order to enjoy the happiness of just men made perfect. We fee, in things of common life, no man can take any pleasure in any art or science which he is ignorat of he maft have fome acquaintance with it: how much more ne ceffary is the acquaintance with divine things? Seeing the heart of man is naturally averse to every thing of the kind; for the carnal mind is enmity againft God, it is not fubject unto the law of God, nor, indeed, can be ; therefore if that carnality, that enmity, be not done away, there is no feeing the face of God with joy-no entering the New Jerufalem; for whatsoever defiles finds no accefs there: And, if fo, there is nothing but a fearful Icoking for of judgment and fiery indignation from the Lord. Let no man deceive himself: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor affeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God †. Therefore we must be washed, or we have no part in Chrift, no inheritance with the faints in light. For the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and forcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone ; which is the fecond death ‡. 4. Ir is no wonder that impenitent, unbelieving, unholy fouls fhould be unmerciful, hard-hearted, and unfeeling; and that our Lord fhould fay, I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat-I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink-a ftranger, and ye took me not in, &c. Inafmuch as ye did it not unto the leaft of these my brethren, ye did it not unto me. Wherever Religion has its proper influence upon the mind, it makes the churl liberal, it opens the heart, and that will open the hand-to help the indigent; and, where that is wanting, religion is wanting. Hence *Rev. xxii. 27. † 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. † Rev. xxi. 8. |