DISCOURSE XII. 265 thee to make thy distress too terrible for thee to bear. Besides, let it be remembered, that whatsoever tendencies toward piety, or appearances of goodness, might be found with thee in this world, all these will vanish and be lost, when once thy day of grace is finished, and all the means of grace and salvation are ended for ever. If thou hast refused the proposals of mercy, and continued in thy sins without repentance, and hast never accepted the salvation of Christ while it was offered, all the good that thou seemed to have shall be taken from thee; Mat. xxv. 29. or rather thy heart itself will grow more hard, thy will more obstinate against God, and every evil passion *ill rise and prevail, and make thee perhaps as very a devil as thy companions in guilt and misery. It is for those who would not part with their beloved sins, which were as dear as right- hands, or as right -eyes, that the never-dying worm and the unquenchable fire are prepared, as the context itself in- forms us in this place. And as the worm of conscience even for lesser sins, will gnaw thy heart with intense anguish, so the vengeance of divine fire will torment thee with exquisite pain, though thy pain and thy anguish shall not be equal to what greater criminals endure. But it is wise and kind in the blessed God to denounce the terrors and sanctions of his law in their utmost severity, to guard his law the better against every transgression, and to frighten and secure his creatures from sin and punishment. as Trifle not therefore, O sinner with the means of mercy, and venture not upon little sins, in hope of little misery, nor dare to continue in an impenitent state without God, without Christ and' his salvation, upon a foolish presumption that thy sins are but small, and thy punishment shall be less than others : For the least of those sorrows will he found greater than any mortal creature can bear, and therefore thou shalt be made im- mortal to suffer them. It is granted, there are many mansions in hell, as well as in heaven, but as the lowest mansion in heaven is happiness, so the easiest place in hell is misery. There is another Objection arises here, which it is necessary to give some answer to ; viz. If the punishments of hell are so intense and terrible between the worm of conscience, the fire of God's anger, and the ma- lice of evil spirits, surely it will work up human nature into ecstasy and madness ? it will take away all the regular exercise of our natural powers ; it will render us perhaps mere passive miserable beings, of keen sensations without reasoning. This is certain, that such and so various tortures would have that influence upon our natures at present, and why should it not hereafter ? And will the blessed God continue to punish creatures when their reason is lost ! What can such.punishments avail i
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