248 TEE WORLD TO COME. not, and the fire is not quenched ; in which description ive may read the nature of this punishment, and the perpetuity of it. First, We shall consider :the nature of this punishment, as it is represented by the metaphors which our Saviour uses; and if I were to'give the most natural and proper sense of this repro- tentation, I would say that our Saviour might borrow this figure of speech from these three considerations : 1. Worms and fire are fae two most general ways whereby the bodies of the dead-are destroyed ; for whether they are buried or not buried, worms devour those who by the custom of their country are not burned with fire : And perhaps he might refer to the words of Isaiah lxvi. 24. where the prophet seems to foretel the punishment of those who will not receive the gospel, when it shall be preached to all nations : They, says he, that is, the true Israel, the saints of God, or christians, they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the men who have transgressed against me, for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh. It is highly probable that this is only a metaphor referring to the punishment of the souls of obstinate unbelievers in hell, for it would- be but a very small punishment indeed, if only their dead bodies were devoured by worms or -fire, or rather no punishment at all besides a memorial of their sin. 2. Consider the gnawing of worms and the burning of fire are some of the most smart and severe torments that a living man can feel in the flesh ; therefore the vengeance of God, upon the souls of obstinate sinners, is set forth by it in our Saviour's discourse ; and it was probably well known amongst the Jews, as appears by some of the apocryphal writings : Judith xvi. 17. as Woe to the nation that rises up against my kindred ; the Lord almighty will take vengeance of them in the day of judgment, putting fire and worms in their flesh, and they shall feel them and weep for ever." And Eccles. vii. 16, 17. " Number not thyself among the multitude of sinners, but remember the wrath will not tarry long. Humble thy soul greatly, for the venge- ance of the ungodly is fire and worms." 3. Consider, whether. worms feed upon a living man or de- vour his dead botly, still they are such as are bred in his own flesh ; but fire is brought by other hands, and applied to the flesh : Even so this metaphor of a worm happily represents the inward torments, and the teazing and vexing passions which shall arise in the souls of those unhappy creatures, who are the just objects of this punishment ; and it is called their worm, that worn that belongs to them, and is bred within them by the foul vices and diseases of their souls : But the fire which shall never be quenched -refers rather to the pains and anguish which come frosts without, and that chiefly from the hand of God, the right-
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