í08 THE WORLD TO COME. all his ways, though man vainly murmur against him, and raise these noisy and feeble remonstrances against his judgments. The counsel of the Lord shall stand, and he will do all, his plea - sure; Rom. iii. 4. in the eternal manifestations of, his justice as well as his grace. If there be any supposed inconsistency or cloud of difficulty remaining on his conduct, he will clear it up to the satisfaction of every rational mind one day, and will bring the conscience of every condemned sinner to acknow- ledge the equity of his proceedings : The whole creation shall then justify the final sentence of judgment on all the sons of men. I cannot finish this awful argument better than the apostle finishes the same sort of subject in the ninth and eleventh chap- ters to the Romans. O man, who art thou that repliest against God? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, bath endured with much long. suffering the vessels of wrath who have fitted themselves for destruction ? And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he bath afore prepared unto glory ? chapter ix. 20, 22, 23. 0 the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge, the justice and goodness of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out? For of him, and through him, and to him, aréttäll things, to whom be glory for ever and ever;" chapter xi. 3s ,3Ó. AMEN. SECT. M.Reflections on the Eternity of Punishment in Hell. As we have before drawn various inferences from the nature of those punishments that are prepared for sinners in the world to come, so there are other inferences and terrible reflections 'which may be derived from the duration or perpetuity of the tor- ments of hell. Reflection I. " What unspeakable anguish and torture doth this one circumstance add to every pain and sorrow of damned creatures, that it is everlasting and has no end ?" What un- known twinges in the conscience loth this thought give to the gnawing of the cruel worm, viz. that it is a worm that never dies? What inconceivable force and sting of torment does this add to the fire of God's indignation in hell, that it is a fire which shall never be quenched? When one year of torment and sorrow is ended, or one thousand years are come to their period, the case of sinners is still much the same, the vengeance remains still as heavy as ever, and seems as far off from its end. This dreadful price, which the justice of God demands for the reparation of our offences against his law and his authority, is a price which creatures can never pay, for it is infinite ; and therefore when a
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