Chap. 6.] SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 91 And would not the grave be accounted a paradise, com- pared with that place of torment which thou slightest ? Is it an intolerable thing to burn part of thy body byholding it in the fire ? What, then, will it be to suffer ten thousand times more for ever in hell ! The thought or mention of hell occasions disquiet in thy spirit ; and canst thou endure the torments themselves ? Why Both the rich man com- plain to Abraham of his torments in hell ? or thy dying companions lose their courage, and change their haughty language ? Why cannot these make as light of hell as thy- self ? Didst thou never see or speak with a man under de- spair? How uncomfortable was his talk! how burdensome his life ! Nothing he possessed did him good : he had no sweetness in meat or drink; the sight of friends troubled him ; he was weary of life, and fearful of death. If the misery of the damned can be endured, why cannot a man more easily endure these foretastes of hell ? What if thou shouldst see the devil appear to thee in some terrible shape ! Would not thy heart fail thee, and thy hair stand on an end ? And howwilt thou endure to live for ever, where thou shalt have no other company but devils and the damned, and shalt not only see them, but be tormented with them and by them ? Let me once more ask, if the wrath of God be so light, why did the Son of God himself make so great a matter of it ? It made him " sweat, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground." The Lord of life cried, " My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." And on the cross, " My God, my God, why hast thou for- saken me?" Surely if any one couldhave borne these suf- ferings easily, it would have been Jesus Christ. He had another measure of strength to bear it than thou hast. Wo to thee, sinner, for thy mad security ! Dost thou think to find that tolerable to thee, which was so heavy to Christ? Nay, the Son of God is cast into a bitter agony and bloody sweat, only under the curse of the law; and yet thou, feeble, foolish creature, makest nothing to bear also the curse of the Gospel, which requires a much sorer punish- ment. The good Lord bring thee to thy right mind by re- pentance, lest thou buy thy wit at too dear a rate ! And now, reader, I demand thy resolution.What use wilt thou make of all this ? Shall it be lost to thee ? or wilt thou consider it in good earnest? Thou hast cast away
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