upon the Epiftle of J A M B s. thofe anxious and t pierci?z,~ cares, wherewith covetous men cum- t 1 rim.6 9 , her their lives, ar.d eat out the vigor of their own fpirirs; bur wirh lie de probability : They come much nearer ro rhe fcope of the A– pofHewho-inrerprec this, eating M fire, of the means and ~au(e of their ruine. 'fis ufual in Scripture to compare the 'Wrttth o£ God to .fire,whether exprdfed by temporlll judgmcnts,or eternal tormcnt.r; feeP[.d.z1.9. 1[ai30·27• l[fli.3I.11. Yourbreathaofircfha!Ue– vouryou: So Mar/z9 44• Their Worm fball not dye,and their fire jludl not be quenched. Now the e:feds of wrath are alfo afcnbed to the meritorious Caufe of ir; for what wrath is faid to do, that fin is faid to do; as in the places cited, and here, the ru(l Jhlilll eat M fire; that is, fllall hafien the wrath of God,which !hall burn as fire, either in your temporal or eternal rume. Poffibly here may be fome latent allufion to the manner of Jeru{a!ems ruine, in which many thoufands perilhed by fire, which was a pledg of the general J udg– menr. Obferve hence, I. That the matter ofour fin {ball in Hell become the matttr of oh[erv 11 t.-I. our punifhment. The rufl of hoarded treafmes is not only \\'it;;efi, but executioner ; a! it bath eaten out tne fllver, fo it !hall eat your fldh, and gnaw upon your Confcicnces. When you are burning in · Hell Rames, reflections upon the ruft will be fad and horrible: The vexation and anger at your pafi folly will heighten your prefent fnf· ~ H 1 ferings. Con(cience and a fen le of the wrath of God are a great 6 ~Afl ou~ .e 1 part of u that fire which burneth Souls ; and the ourward pains are d~ ~i:i~at;~~i much increafed by remembering the pafi circumHances of fin; x the lib.l.Lcap. 4 , revenging image and reprefentation of them always runneth in the x _Effim~itur thoughts, and their ll£h is eaten, but not confurned. Oh confider ~obu ,,/mx. of it,. the rufi that ea:erh ?Ut the money,_is but aI?ledg of thofe de- ~~;~: ~f:~~:t:e~ vourmg torments: Tw11l be fad to thmk hereafter, that fo much "m tj}i pmr.,;t~ money as you hoarded up, fo much fire you l<ept in your Chdl:s to tit, . your own eternal ruine. 'I is a parr of Heavens happinefs to k_noJ-P M \\ 7 e art: lz.nown ; thatis, to look back upon the circumflancc_s of our pafi lives, and to fee what we \vere inabled to do by the care and help of grace: And fb 'cis a part ot Hells torment to review the palfages of a finful life, and with horror and _ a defpairing rcmorfe to look back 1;1pon the known evidences and circmnfiances of the1r- own guilt ; their prefent delights prove their fumre tor• ments. ·" : •.Obferveagain-,Th~mifery of(ovetoufnefs here ~md hereafter; 0bfcrv. 2.~ . , Xxx. 3 ne~
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