122 An Expojition ofthe epijlle "---,-,---- 1" ~ upon them: They were Children of Wrath by Nature at fi;!l; but they are ~ ten thouC1nd ttmes more the Clnldrcn of Hell, than they were at firlt. Every actual Sin makes them afrefh Children of Wrath by Nature, addeth to their na– "tural defilement, makes the tincture of that Dye deeper, makes them worfe the Children of the Devtl, and of Hell, than before ; as the expreffion is, SWat. 23. I 5· Therefore remember th,, that 1f you will go to Heaven, your !late mull be altered; you mull not only leek for the pardon of this Sin, and of that Sm, but your very !late mull be changed. It mull not be a phyfical change; you may have a hundred fucb changes, and yet commue m the !late of Nature !!ill : No, tt mull be a moral change; a change from being· a Child of Wrath, to a Chtld ofLtght; from bemg a Son ofPerduwn, to be a Son of Peace ; a change that floweth, and arguetl1 Union with Jefus Chrifl. Again, you fee, when he expreffeth the Mifery of Man by Nature in refpetl: of the Punifhment which he mull undergo for ever, he calls hi,;, a Child of Wratb : Whofe Wrath is it ? It is the Wrath of God. Hence obfe~ve this Obferv. 2. That the Wrath of God is that which is the hotte!l Torment and Punifh– mcnt in Hell. It is being punifhed from his power, and from his prefence; we are punifhed out of his prefence, and from his power: What power? The power of his Wrath. I will give you a Scripture or two, that you may under– fland it rightly ; for it is good to have Notions of Heav~n and Hell in a right manner, Rotll. 2. 7, 8. !11dzgnatzon and Wrath, .Trzbulatzon and Anguijb, upmt every Soul of Malt that doth evil. Tribulation and Anguifb, they are the effects; Indignation mzd Wratb, they are the caufe: And the Tribulation and Angnifh that the Souls have in Hell, it is the Indignation and Wrath of God, it is the Sparks of that Wrath falling upon their Sins. Therefore they are caUed, Vr.ffe!s of Wratb, Rom. 9· In Hell God !hews forth the Power of his Wrath. As the height and top of Heaven is, God immediatly enjoyed, in Mercy, and in Love; God is Love, and in Heaven all Attributes·appear in Love: So Hell is nothing elfe, but all Attributes appearing in Wrath; it is dwelling with ever– Jailing Bnrnings, as God is a confuming Fire. There is not Fire in Hell, what Torment foever it is; but a Torment there is, how elfe !hall the Devils be tor– mented? And this is the Wrath of God. Nothing can kill the Soul, but God. The Devil himfelf c:1.11 but kill the Body, if he could kill the Soul, he fhould be feared too; but, you know, we are bid not to fear the Dcv.il: But it is no Creature, no elementary Fire, can de!lroy the Soul, that is, bring the Soul to a l!ate of not being. It is only the Wrath of God, that is the greateil: Torment and Punifhment in Hell. Take a Man, that bath no outward Pain, or Mifery, or Affliction, or Crofs in his Eflate, let'but a drop of the Wrath of God from Heaven fall into that Man's Confcience, why that Man is in Hell. You may clearly fee what is Hell by that. Even ju!l as when God fills the Heart with Joy unfpeakable and glorious, it is the immediate participatio~ of himfe~f,. and it is the beginning of Heaven; you may know what Heaven IS by that, 1t IS the en– joyment of that: for I have more joy in that enjoyment, than if all the Saints and Angels were about me: So on the other fide, all thofe Impreffions of Wrath, which Judas and others had, are but the beginnings of Hell ; and in Hell Men are but thrown into that Sea of Wrath everla!lingly, whereof they fetl fome drops here. Hence thole that fin again!l the Holy-Ghofl, that fin wilfully, after they have received the knowledg of the Truth, it is laid of them, Heb. Io. 27. That there 1 ·wtaineth no n1orc Sacrifice for Sin, b11t a certain foarflll /oobjng for of 'judgment and fiery Indignation; that is, the Wrath of God workmg as Fire which '!ball devour the Adverfaries, !hall Iwallow them up, as :J(ebucbad– "'"';ar's Furnace did or as the Fire that did confume Nadab and Abihu; (it is an allufion unto the~, for they finned again!l_Mofe/s Law, which the comparifon there runs upon.) It is not an elementary Ftre, but fiery I~dtg;nauon, whereof they that fin againll the Holy-Ghofr receive an earne!l tn thiS Ltfe; for tt ts fatd, T/:ere rcmaineth 11othing, b11t a certain foarjitl lookjng for of Judgment: Now the
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