748 Chap, 26. An ExpofLion upon the Boom o; OB. Verf.6. much more Both hell deftroy all that comes thither. And; looke as the grave is to the body now, a def$royerconforming, fo hell is to the foule now, and will be to foule said body after the rear.. redion, n dejiroyer tormenting. The loving kindneffe of God fhallnot bedeclared in Hell, nor any faithfulneffe ofhis in de- firu&ioti, unleffe it be hisfaithfulneffe (according to what is thre.arned in the Word) to de:kroy. The Apottle Peter faith, (a Eph: 3. t 9 20.) that Chrif by the Spirit,went andpreached to the Spirits inprifon, which f-metitne were difobedientsrben once the longfo lfering of Godmailed in the dayes ofN,ah, &c. It is true, that l.,hrift by the Spirit iu the minitlery of Noah, did preach to thole Spirits who weredifobcdient in the time when N,ah prea ched & were in prifon (or in hei) in the time when Peter wrote; But Chrift did not preach by his Spirit in the minitiery of 2iah, or anyother way to Spirits who were in prifon (or inhei) while he preached to them. There are no Sermons in hei,nor any falva- tion there. The loving kindnefTe of God is aboundantly declared onearth, but it (hall not be declared in hel; As there is nothing felt in hei but deftru&ion,fo there is no falvation offered to thole who are in hel. There's teares enow and mourning enough in hei, but there is not the Seatt godly furrow in bel, which only worker b Augiff 1iß,z.r. repentance to falvatiun, not to be repentedof (2 Cor. 7, i o.) One de Civ: des, of the ancients bath reported the opinion of fume in his time,w ho cap, 17, thought, that,.though there bedeftru &ion in hel, yet rot eternal debru&ion, but that tanners fbould be pun;(hed, tome a lefTe, others a longer time, and that at left all (hail be freed ; and yet (faith he)Origenwas more merciful in this poynt then rhefe men; forhe held that the Devil himfelfe (hould be faved at latl Of this opinion I (h +11 fay no more in this place,then this one rhng which he there Paid ; Theft men war be f;ernd to erre by fo mtrc:3 the more feulely & agairfl the right words E f CÇod fo march the more perverfe_ ly, bjhuw much they feeone to thenofelves to judge more ire»cfedly. for indeed the juflice ofGod in puai(hing finners is as much above the kale of mans thoughts, as his mercies in pardonir g them are; let not finners flatter thrmfelves in a hopeof falvation when they are in hei, who havenegle &ed falvarion while they were on the earth. For as the Apottle faith (Hrb. 2. 3.) HowAd we efcape (that is, how (hail we efcape falling into hel)ifwe neglcF° (7 groat Privation; fo I may fay, how thall any efcape by ge ting out of hell,
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