260 THE WORLD TO COME. SECT. II.The fire which shall not be quenched. I pro- ceed now to consider, The second part of the description of hell in the nature of it, as it is represented by our Saviour, and that is, that the fire is never quenched. Fire signifies the medium or instrument of torture from without, which God has threatened to employ in the punishment of guilty creatures, even as the gnawing worm signifies their inward torment. Fire applied to the sensible and tender parts of the flesh, gives the sharpest pain of any thing that comes within our common notice, and it is used in scripture to signify the punishments of damned sinners, and the wrath of God in the world to come : And perhaps that text is the foundation of it Isa. xxx. 33. Tophet is ordained of old, he has made it deep and large, the pile thereof is fire and muck wood, and the breath If the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. 'T'his Tophet was a place in the valley of Hinnom, where children were wont to be burned in sacrifice to the idol Moloch ; and from these Hebrew words, hell in the New Testament is called Geenna, because of the burning torture and terrible shrieks of dying children in this valley of Hinnom. This description of hell by fire is used by our Saviour and his apostles, in their speeches and writings on this subject. Hell- fire is mentioned six times in six verses where my text lies ; the last sentence of judgment passed upon sinners, as it is repre- sented by our Saviour, is expressed in the same language; Matth. xxv. 41. Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire. The apostle Paul speaking of the return of Christ, 2 Thess. i. S asserts, that he shall appear in flaming fire, to take vengeance ert them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel: And in Rev. xiv. 10, 11. as well as in other parts of this book, the final punishment of sinners is represented by fire and brimstone, as the instruments of their torment. It is true indeed, spirits or beings which have no body can- not feel burning by material fire, unless they are united to some sort of material vehicles ; but that God will use material fire to punish obstinate and rebellious sinners hereafter at the resurrec- tion, is not improbable, though it is very hard to say with full assurance : Since the bodies of the wicked are to be raised again, it is not at all unlikely that their habitation shall be a place of fire, and their bodies may be made immortal to endure the smart and torture without consuming. Did not this God by his almighty power and mercy preserve the bodies of Shadrach, Meshed' and Abednego in the burning furnace of Nebuchadnez- zar, so that the fire had no power to consume or destroy them ? Dan. iii. 21 -27. And cannot his power do the same thing under the influence of his justice as well as of his mercy ? May they not be maintained for ever in their existence to endure the ap-
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