DISCOURSE XII. 287 And he may be set before us as an emblem of sinners, and their sufferings, under the wrath of God in hell, as in Rom. ix. 17, 18. Or perhaps as the wicked of this world when they die, have left evil and pernicious examples behind them, or have corrupted the morals of their neighbours by their enticements, or their commands, or by their wicked influence of any kind, so their punishment may be increased in proportion to the lasting effects of their vile example, or their vicious influences. And perhaps too, there are none among all the ranks of the damned, whose souls will be filled so high with the dread and horror of increas- ing woes, as lewd and profane writers, profane and immoral princes, or cruel persecutors of religion. Jeroboam, the king, not only sinned himself grievously, but who made Israel to sin, as the scripture frequently expresses it with an emphasis, by set- ting up the idolatry of calves in the land ; 1 Icings xiv. and xv. and xvi. His ghost stood fair for such an increase of torment from age to age, as his idolatry prevailed further in the land. And all the wanton poets and the vile persecutors, whether of heathen or of christian name, whose writings, whose example, or whose laws have conveyed and propagated their wickedness from age to age after their decease, will be some of these wretched expectants of new and increasing punishment. " Have a care, O ye witty and ye mighty sinners ! Have a care of setting vile temptations and bad examples before the men of your age ! Have a care of spreading the contagion of your vices around you by the softness and the force of your al- lurements ! llave a care of establishing iniquity by a law, and propagating loose and wicked opinions, or of encouraging per- secution for conscience -sake ! Take heed lest the cursed influ- ence of your crimes should descend from generation to gene - ration, among the living long after you are dead, and should call for new and sharper strokes from the punishing hand of the Almighty !" But suppose there were nothing else but the long dreadful view of the eternity of their present miseries, with an everlasting despair of ease or deliverance, this would add unspeakably to their torment. The constant sensation of what they feel now and the dread of what they must feel, is sufficient to make their wretchedness intolerable. If,all these springs of misery which I have already mention- ed are, and will be found in the souls of damned sinners, there is no need of more to make them exquisitely miserable. And yet since their bodies shall be raised from the dust, in order to be joined with their souls in punishment, as they were united in sin, why may we not suppose that the great God will create bodies for them of such an unhappy mould and contexture, as shall be VoL. vu. R
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