The Drunkards Character, Section 119 – Section 120
§ 119.
FOr I consider,Their punishment. that both by Gods, and mans Law, next after inditement and conviction, followes sentence; and after sentence is past, comes execution; if a reprive, or pardon be not use out, in the …. Wherefore, as drunkards have seene their sinne laid open, so let them now hearken to their punishment▪
If there be any of these Antipodes to God and his Kingdome, who like Trees, have rooted both head and heart into the earth, and set heaven at their heeles, that have in this Treatise, as in a picture, taken a full view of his owne horrid and detestable condition, and with B…palus the Pain…e…, read the lively character of his odious and deformed demeanour; and after hee hath seene, as in a cleare glasse, the ugly face of his foule heart, with those spots and wrinkles, which otherwise hee could not have confest in himselfe, and further seene how miserably hee hath been deluded in his judgement, touching the religious; and shall notwithstanding resolve against yeelding, and presence the humouring of his soule, before the saveing of it, and shall thinke it a disparagement to repent him of his errors, and would rather obstinetely continue in them, then disclame them; so shutting his eyes, that hee may not see; and stopping hes eares, that hee may not heare; and hardening his heart, that he may not consider; presumptuously, as Pharaoh did; maliciously, as … did; desperately, as Ahab did; and blasphemously, as Iulian did; let him know this, that he shall surely perish. The reason of it, is taken out of the Proverbs, an Arrow drawne out of Salomen's sententions Quiver, read the words, and tremble, A man that hardneth his neck, when he is rebuked, shall suddenly be destroyed, and cannot be cured, Prov. 29. 1. yea, faith the Lord himselfe, Prov. 1. 24. 25. 26. because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out mine hand, and ye would not regard, but despised al my counsell; I will also laugh at your destraction, and mock when your feare commeth.
And of this we have sundry instances. The Sonnes of Ely would not harken unto, nor obey the voyce of their father, why? because (saith the Text) the Lord was determined to destroy them, 1 Samuel 2. 25. Their hearts must be hardened, that they may be destroyed. I know, (saith the Prophet to Amaziah) that God hat determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not obeyed my counsell, 2 Chr. 25. 16. 20.
O remember that there is a day of account, A description of the last judgement and of hell.a day of death, a day of judgement comming, wherein the Lord Iesus Christ shall bee revealed from heaven, with his mighty Angells, in flaming fire, to render vengeance unto them which obey not unto his Gospell, and to punish them, with everlasting perdition from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, 2. Thes. 1. 7, 8, 9. Iude 15. Wisdome 5. 1. to 10. at which time thou shalt heare him pronounce this fearefull doome, Depart from me ye cursed, Matth. 25. 41. which is an everlasting departure, not for a day, nor for yeares of dayes, nor for millions of yeares, but for eternity; and that from Christ to the damned, to the divells, to hell, without either end, or ease, or patience to endure it; at which time, within thee shall bee thine owne guilty conscience, more then a thousand witnesses, to accuse thee; the Divell, who now tempts thee to all thy wickednesse, shall on the one side, testifie with thy conscience against thee; and, on the other side, shall stand the holy Saints and Angels, approving Christ's justice, and detesting so filthy a creature; behinde thee, an hidious noyse of innumerable fellow damned reprobates; tarrying for thy company; before thee, all the world burning in a flaming fire; aboue thee, that irefull Judge of deserved vengeance, ready to pronounce the same sentence upon thee; beneath thee, the fiery and sulphureous mouth of the bottomlesse pit, gaping to receive thee; into which being cast, thou shalt ever bee falling downe, and never meet a bottome; and in it thou shalt ever lament, and none shall pitie thee; for thou shalt have no society but the Divell and his Angells; who being tormented themselves, shall have no other ease, but to wreak their fury in tormenting thee; thou shalt alwayes weep for paine of the fire, and yet gnash thy teeth in indignation, for the extremity of cold; thou shalt weep to think, that thy miseries are past remedy; to think, that to repent is to no purpose; thou shalt weep to thinke, how for the shadow of a few short pleasures (if they could bee called pleasures) thou hast incurred these sorrowes of eternall paines, which shall last to all eternity: thy conscience shall ever sting thee, like an Adder, when thou thinkest, how often Christ by his Preachers offered thee remission of sinnes, and the Kingdome of Heaven freely, if thou wouldest but believe and repent; and how easily thou mightest have obtained mercy in those dayes, how neere thou wast many times to have epented, and yet did dest suffer the divell and the world to keep thee still impenitent; and how the day of mercy is now past, and will never dawne againe, for thou shalt one day finde, that conscience is more then a thousand witnesses, and God more then a thousand consciences.
§ 120.
IF you will not believe mee, yet at least believe Pharaoh, The same further amplifiedwho in the rich mans scalding rtorments hath a Discite a me, learne of me; he can testifie, out of wofull experience, that if wee will not take warning by the word (that gentle warner) the next shall be harder; the third and fourth, harder then that; yea, as al the ten plagues did exceede one another, so the eleventh single, exceeds them all together: innumerable are the curses of God against finners, but the last is the worst, comprehending and transcending al the rest; the fearefullest plagues God still reserves for the upshot, all the former doe but make way for the last.
When the Dreame, and the Miracle, and the Prophet had done what they could upon Nebuchadnezzar; God calls forth his temporall judgements, and bids them see what they can doe; if they will not yet serve, he hath eternal ones, which will make them repent every veine of their hearts and soules, that they did not repent sooner.
Oh that I could give you but a glimpse of it, that you did but see it, to the end you might never feele it, that so you might be won, if not out of faith, yet out of feare; for certainly, this were the hopefullest meanes of prevention: for though diverse theeves have robd passengers, within sight of the Gallowes; yet if a sinner could see but one glimpse of hell, or bee suffered to looke one moment into that fiery Lake; hee would rather choose to dye tenne thousand deaths, then commit one sinne: and indeed, therefore are wee dissolute, because we doe not thinke what a judgement there is after our dissolution; because wee make it the least and last thing we thinke on; yea, it is death, wee think, to think upon death, and we cannot indure that dolefull bell, which summons us to judgement.
Something you have heard of it here, and in Section the 44. But, alasse! I may as well with a Cole paint out the Sunne in all his splendor, as with my pen, or tongue, expresse the joyes of Heaven (which they willingly part withall) or those torments of hell (which they strive to purchase) For as one said, that nothing but the eloquence of Tully could sufficiently set forth Tullie's eloquence: so none can expresse those everlasting torments, but hee that is from everlasting, to everlasting; and should either man, or Angell, goe about the worke, when (with that Philosopher) hee had taken a seven-nights time to consider of it, hee might aske a fortnight more, and at the fortnights end, a monethmonth more, and be at his wits end, at the worlds end, before he could make a satisfiing answer, otherthen his was, that the longer he thought of it, the more difficult he found it: alasse! the paine of the body, is but the body of paine; the anguish of the soule, is the soule of anguish.