God's.Wrath dreadful to Sinners. Eternal Turmtnts fhould aftonilh the Heart, and fink the Spirits of wicked Wretches; for though they were not tO be fo exceffively iharp as they are, yet the Eternity of them fhouldmake them altogetherincolerable. 'Fhere is no pain fo fmall but it would make usdefperace, Were we aifured it would never wear off, that we ,fhould never obtain any cafe or freedom from it. Whate\'Cr Pain we (uffer our encouragement unto Patience is, that thorcly it will be over: But now i~ Hdl t here ·~s no period fixe to their Tormem.t;, they are all eternal, and rhcrefore whatfoever they are.for the Meafure of rh~ m, yer are they unerly incolcr~ble for their Duration and Continuance. Couldft thou fhove away Millions of Years wirh a )Vilh, yet all this would avail nothing ; for there are as many Years in Eternity !IS ther¥ ate Moments, and as many Millions of Years as there are Years · that is,. it is'an infinite boundlefs Duration; and when theu haft !truck thy Th;ughts as depp into it as thou canfi, yet thou art but ac the top of che Hea_p, and it is ijill a w£ole Eternity to the bottom. ; Tbi,dij~ Confider alfo that che W,.tb and Vmgean<e of God is moll dreadful nqt pnly from the Eternal Duration thereof, butalfo from the exceffive Anguifh and Srn.art of thofe Tonnmts that he inflicts ; nothing that we have felt, or can feelj1.1 this prefenc Life, can come into any comparifon with them; and therefore the Ttxt calls it, .A falling into the Hands of God. · Here on Earth God's Hand dotli (qmetimes fall upon us, and it falls very heavy too, and lays upon us fore and weighty Burthens; but thefe are nothing to our falling into the Hands of God. There is as much difference between his Wrath' and Difpleafure falling upon us,and our falling upon it, as there is between our having a few drops of a Shqwer falling upon us, and our falling into a River, or into the Sea, and being over-whe1IlJed with rhc great Waters ,thereof; and yet how dreadful is :Pta1 0 3l· 4• it wh~en ~o.d's Hand only falls upon_ us! It was a fad Complaint of the P[almifl, Pfal.J8. 2 • T~at Gods Hand lay hea'Vy upon hJm. And, That Got!.r Hantl preft him fore. Grievous Burthens and fore Prefrures may be laid upon us by this Hand of God, and, that both as to outward Affi.id:ions, and inward Troubles. L Fj,JI, As to outwatd Afflictions. How dreadfully doch God llcetch out his Hand againfi fame, making wide and terrible Breaches upon them; fome in . their: Efiates, fame in their Relations, and fome in their bodily Health and Strepgth. Have you never been about the fick Beds of thofe !hac have roared through extremity of Pain, every Limb being upon the Rack, and God filling them with a Complication of loathfom, tormenting and incurable Difeafes? And yet all this is but only a falling of God's Hand upon them. ' : Suondly, As to inward Troubles: We fee how God cramps fame Mens Gonfi;iences, breaths Fire and Flames into their very Souls, and makes deep Wounds in their Spirits, forcing them thorow rhe excremiry . of Anguifh to cry out, thty art damn'J, they are damn'd; yea, fome have even wifht that they were in Hell, fuppofing thofe everlafiing Tqrments would not be more unfufferable than what they here felc. And indeed thefe inward Troubles are far more grievous than any outward can be. We hear Htman crying our, that becau[e of tht{t T trrours of the Lord, he waJ rtady to dit .from hil Touth up. I'CaJ. 88. And wbilft. ht {u./Jtrtd this Wrath of God, be was nun diftraCltJ with it. , And Ir. 1ob, whofe Patience is celebrated fOrbearing all his oucward Afflictions, Iofs of E;fiate, of Children, of Health, with an heroick Conftancy, (rou hnvt heard, fays Se. . 'Tames, cf the Patience cf Job) yet when God comes to touch his Spirit Job 6. 9· with his Wrath, then we hear of his Impatience, he curjtth the DaJ of hiJ Birth, qnd wiflm that God would deftroy him, that he would let loofe his Hand and cut him off. And wherefore are thefe paffionat~ ~equefts? Why, he cells us, '[he Arro,vl of the Almighty art 1vit~in me, the Poyfov whtreof rlrinktth up my Spirit: Tht TtrrorJ of, God do [et thtm]tl'VtJ in array againft mt. And therefore though he could patiently bear al!thoctherage of che Devil could doagainll him, when he coucht his Wealth, his Children; yea, when he touche his Body; yet his Patience could no longer hold out, when God came to touch his Soul and Confcience. And yet the greateft Terrors of Confcience, whetherintheChildren of God to their Reformation, or in the Wicked to their Defperarion, are but light and f~all touches of his Hand, in cornparifon with what fhall be cxprefi hereafter on the Damned in Hell. for, - ~Th
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