á1lsc.-XIII. THE PUNISHMENTS IN HELL. 819 speak concerning creatures, to affirm positively, that their existence shall be equal to that of the blessed God, especially . with regard > to the duration of their punish- ment; perhaps this sort of language, may carry in it something beyond what we are called to discourse about, at least in this mortal state, and therefore such compari- sons are more safely omitted. But I would remark here still, that these AiwveS or ages both of reward and punishment, which are pronounced concerning saints or sinners, do but begin in their perfec- tion at the end ofthis world ; and thence it follows, that they must enter far into the eternity. of God's existence yet to come : And the saints will be made happy, and the sinners will be punished for long ages after the end of this world, and all the Alcoves or ages of it. And though God, by his Spirit, has not been pleased to make this comparison expressly, nor assert our duration commen- surate with his own, yet he is pleased to express the du- ration of the punishment of sinners in the same common. language,and phrases, wherebyhe expresses his own du- ration, and the happiness of the saints ; and hereby he encourages us to express these. punishments by the same Common words in our language too, rather than venture to cut them short bya greek or hebrew criticism; without any divine warrant or necessity*. Now are there any sinners so void of understanding, of so daring and desperate a mind, as to venture their eternal all upon such a poor criticism of words ? Even upon supposition these terms in the greek and hebrew might signify any long duration short of eternity; yet there is a terrible hazard in confining them to this sense, since they denote a proper eternity,, when they describe the duration of the blessed God ; and I think we may add also, the duration of the happiness of the saints. Besides, let it be remembered, that the other expres- sions of scripture, which denote and pronounce the per- 4' The word aaib+, perpetual, is applied to the chains of devils; Jude verse 6. as well as to God ; Rom, i. 20. and however the word aim, and auuvss may be used for ages or periods in this world, yet aicayss TWv exLcev, or ages ofages, is never applied in all the New Testament to any thingbut God or Christ, or.the 'blessedness of saints, or the punishment of sinners ; and therefore we may well conclude, that all these four run into an eternity beyond all the supposed periods of thisAorld, and far beyond all our conceptions.
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