374 God',s Wrath dreadful to Sinners. and hopes of obtainingMercy,this is far more eHgible: Forthe Chafiifemems of the Lord are full of Mercy; but the render Mercies ofthe wicked are cruel . BW: where all hopes of Mercy are excluded,a~ they are in Hell, cerr:;dn ly rhere it is il:din'icr:ly more dreadful to fall into theHands of a Sin-revengi ng-Goi:i than into the Hands of all the Creatures in Heaven, Eanh,or Hell it fClf. One ~ould have thought it had been terrible enough,if the Apoftle had faid, It is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of Droils; and fo indeed it were, if we confider t'ither their Power,or their Malice: They can eafily find outfuch tormenting Ingredients ana apply them to fuch render Parts,thatit would tranfcend the Patience of any Man quieti y to bear but w hac one Devil can inflict.Do we not often fee in theiUufions 0{ black and footy M elancholy, what firan.ge Fears and Terr~:m they can .~mprim up! on the fancy,whacHorror and Defpa1r they can work m the ConfcH~nce fo a:~ tOmake Men weary of their Lives, and many time.s perfwade them to d~ftto){ memfelves,only to know the worft of what they muft fuffer! And oil this he .can do out of his own Kingdom; what then can he do when he bath got Slnnefs ·ihtd bis own Dominions? What exad:Torrures can he inflict upon ehem there? Such indeed as we cannot tell what they are, and may it pleafe God we never maf: ,And yet the Devil is but a Fellow-creature; but wicked Men are to fall into the Hands, not of a Creature, but of the great Creator, into the Hands Of God himfelf, whofe Power is infinitely beyond the Devil's, fo that he is the Tormentor even of them. Think then with thy felf, 0 Sinntr,that ifGod fcourges and torments the very Devils, who yet do fo infufferably torment the damned ; how infinitely intolerable then is that Wrath which God himfelf ihall infliCl upon them ! Confider with thy felf, if thbu canft not bear thofe Pains and Torments which the Dt'Ciils inflict, and if the Dtvils cannot bear thofe Pains and Torments which God inflitl:s upon them; how w-ilt thou then, OSinner, he able to bear the immediate Wrath and Vengeance of the great God himfelf! Nay,let me go yet m~ch lower ; and fuppofe that God ihould make ufe ofcomfnon and ordinary C_reatures for the punifhment of wicked Men . who is there thatc9u!d bearthis? If God fhou!d only keep a Man living for ever in the midft of :i Furnace of grofs and earthly Fire, how dreadful would this be! If but a Spark of Fire fall upon any part of theBody,whatan acutePai.n wil!itcaufe! Much more if thy whole Man ihou!d be all over on a light Flame, and thou forever kept aJive to feel the piercing Torment of it. And yet what is our dull unatt:ive Fire in c:omparifon of that pure intelligent Fire, which lhall melt down the Damned like Wax, and lick up the very Spirits of their Souls? Or fuppofe God who knows the feveral Stings that are in all his Creatures, fhould take out of them ilie moft fharp Ingredients, and from them all make up a tonnenting Compofition; ifhe lhoutd take Poyfqnand Venom out ofone,and Fire and Scorching out ofanotlrer,and Smart and Stinging out of a third, and the Quincefi'ence ofBirternefs out of a fourth ; and by his infinite Skill,heighten all thefe to a preternatural Acrimony; and fhould apply this Compofition thus fatally mixed and blended together, unto any of us,what an intolerable Anguifh would it caufe? And ifCreatures can caufe fuel) Tortures, what a dreadful thing then is it to fall into the Hands of God himfelf? For when God conveys his Wrath to us by Creatures, it muft needs lofe infinitely in the Conveyance. When God takes up _one Creature to ftrike another, it is as if aGid'!ndliould take up a Stra1v to ftrike a Man; for though he be never fo ftrong, yet the Blow can be but weak, /becaufe oftbe weaknefs of the. Inftrument ; and yet alas how terrible are fuch weak Blows to us? What will_ it then be when God ihal! immediately crufh us by the unrebated ilrokes of his own Almighty Arm, and exprefs the Power of his Wrath, and che Glory of his Juftice and Severity in our eternal Deftrud:ion? And this is the fourth Demonjfration of the dreadfutnefS of Divine Vengeance. · <· Fifrhly, Confider thatthe Apoftle calls this Wrath, which the living God will inflitt upon Sinners, by the Name of Vengeance. Ve1Jgeance i1 mine, I will recom-· p_tnce U. Now Vengeance when it is whet and lharpned by Wrath, will enter aeep, and cut the Soul to the Quick. God acts a Twofold part in the punifh· .• ment of Sinners• ..· :r. Ftrfl, Of a Judge. In relation to which their Eternal Torments are fome-' r Tim. l ·· tirnes called Condemnation ·; fo we read of the Condtf.!J.'!tl tion Of fhe Dt'T.Iil; rh.at-' ~· :... "" as,
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