414 Mcnunrmuurn ~urd defrfi"t~ ~~u~um quod cruc!tlf. I. Vfe. Efan3· l!· Vfe 2. -------·----- -· thing about thee but darkndfc, and horrour, and wailing, and yelling, wrin~ing of hands, and gnafhing of teeth for evermore? Good Lord, ·that for a fm 1 Ic of P\cafJnt Fk"furc, men· {] 1 ould run upon the rock of eternal vengeance! Come, ye that purfuc vanny, and fee here the frUit of fin at th1s harvefl: of Tares; Pleafims are but momen. tany, bm the pangs are eternal: Eternal? how long is that? Nay, here we arc filenced no Limncr can fct it forth, no Oratour can expreffc it; if all times that ever were and ever fhall be, ihould be put together, they would infinitely come fhort of this fiery ctermry; the latitude thereof 1s not to be meafured , neither by houres, nor d:qes, nor ruekJ, nor moneths, noryears, nor LuHra's:~ nor Olympiads, nor fndif!i:ms nor 'j"ubt!ecs, nt)r ttges, nor P_b.~o·s years, nor by the m_oftflorv motion; of the ~ighrh Jphear, tbo:tgh :dl thcfe JVere multtp!tcdby thoufands, or nJllltons, or thegreateft mulupiur, or man– b'Y Mtmbering that can be tmagmfd. Plainly in a word, count if you pleafe, ten hun– dred thonfand m1ll1ons of years, and add a thoufand myriads of ages to them and when all is done, multiply all ag~in by a thoufand, thoufand, thoufand of thoufand~ · and be– ing yet too fhorr, count all the thoughts, motions, mutations of men and Ang~ls; adde to them all the fands of the ~ea, piles on the Earth, Stars in the Heavens; and when all this is done,mu!ti ply 1!1 again by all the numbers,fquarcs, cubicks of Arithemtick · and yet all thefe arc fo far f110rt of eternity, that they neither touch end, nor middle, n~r the lea '1: part or parcel of it:What then is this which the damned fuffcr? eternalfire ? we had need to cry out,F;re.fire.ftre:Alas,towhat cnd?there is no help to cxtinguifhjire that mufr burn forever: Your lluckets may quench otherJires,not this;No fl!ilk nor vinegar can ex– tinguifh that wdde jz're: It is afire which no means can modcrate,no patience can endure, no time can for ever change, but in'it whofoever wofully lies, their flefh fh;tl] fry, their blood fhall boil, their hearts confume; yet they fhall never die, but dying live, and living die; death in life, life in death, miferablc ever. This is that confideration, which fhall bring all the damned Repropates to fhriek and haul cverlaftingly: were they perfwaded that after n,illions of years they fhould have one year ofpkafure, or after thoufands of millions they fhould have fomc end of torment, here would be a little hope; But this word Ever,] breaks their hearts afunder: this ever, ever, gives new life again to thofe infufferable forrowcs; and hence it is, that when all thofe millions of years arc done and gone, then (God knows) mufl: the wheels of their torments whirl about and about: Alas, the fire is durable, the heat continual, the fuel immortal, and fuel{ is the end ofTarcs,they mufl: burn without end: Bi"d rlxm m bundles to btsrn them. Lo here rhe fire of hell, which compared to ours on earrh, it differs inheat, in light, in fuel, in duraf!ce : Let your fouls work on thefe objeCts, that they never come nearer to thofe flames. · Who amonuji us wo11id dwell with devouring jire?Who amongjl11s wo11/d dwell with everlafl· ing burning~?·Bclovcd,as you tcnder'your fouls,& would efcape the flamcs,reform your lives whiles you have a little time. You hear it founded in Synagogues,_ and preached in Pulpits: \"hat found? but hMven or h<ii,JO)'CS or tormems,the one befallmg the good,and the otherthe jult end of the wicked. Do we believe the truth? and dare we com111it fin ' whofe reward is this fiery death ? upon due confideration, how is it that we lleep, or 'rcfl:, or take a minutes cafe? leffer dangers have befl:raught fome out of their wits, nay bereaved many of their lives; how is it then that we ~un head.long into this lire, yet never weigh whither we arc going, till we are dropmg mto the p1t, whence there IS no redemption! Look about you while it is called to day, or ot~crw1fe wo and alas that ever you were born ; be fure a time will come, when m1fcncs_ fhall march, Angels beat alarms, God found deftrudion, and the tents of h1s enem1es be all fct on fire, binde them ill bundles to burn I hem. Or yet, if comparifons can Prevail; fuppofe one of you fhould b~ taken, and brought along to the mouth of an hot fiery furnace ; then (companng fin wnh 1ts pun1fhment) might I qucfl:ion you, how much pleafure ~ould you ask to contmue there burnmg but one year? how tmtch (would you fry?) Jimly not for allthe pl,ajims and trcafi~rcs that all this world can afford yolt. How IS 1t then, that for a I.ttle fin, that ~ndur,es but a mo– ment fo many of you fo htt!e regard eternal pun1fhmcnt m hell-fire . If \1 e fh?uld but fee a little cbildc fall into the fire, and h1s very bowels burn out, how wouLi 1t gr~evc us and make our·very hearts bleed within us ? how much more then fhould 1t gneye y~u to fee, not a childe, but your own bodies and foules cafl: away for a momcntany un into the lake of fire, that never !hall be, quenched ? If a man fhould co,me amon~fl: us, and cry, Fire, Fire, thy l;10ufe is all onFire, thy corn, thy cartel, thy w1fe, thych!ld~:d
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