Sighs from Hell, Commentary · Verse 26
Vers. 26.
And besides all this, between us and you, there is a great Gulf fixed, so that they which would go from hence to you cannot, neither can they come to us, that would come from thence.
THese words are still part of that Answer, that the Souls in Hell shall have for all their Sobbings, Sighing …grievous Cries, Tears and Desires, that they have, to be released out of those intollerable pains they feel, and are perplexed with. And O, methinks the words at the first view, if rightly considered, are enough to make any hard-hearted sinner in the World to fall down dead. The verse I last spake to was, and is a very terrible one, and aggravates the Torments of poor sinners wonderfully. Where he saith, Remember, that thou in thy life time hadst thy good things, and Lazarus his Evill things, &c. I say, these words are very terrible to those poor Souls that die out of Christ. But these latter words do much more hold out their sorrow. They were spoken, as to the present condition then upon the sinner: These do not onelyonly back the former, but do yet further aggravate their misery, holding forth that which will be more intollerable: The former Verse is enough to smite any sinner into a swound, but this to make him fall down dead. Where he saith, And besides all this: There is still something to aggravate thy misery yet far more abundantly; I shall briefly speak to the words, as they have relation to the Terrour spoken of in the verses before. As if he had said, Thou thinkest thy present state unsupportable, it makes thee sob and sigh, it makes thee to rue the time that ever thou wert born: Now thou findest the want of Mercy; now thou wouldst leap at the least dram of it; now thou feelest what it is to slight the Tenders of the Grace of God; now it makes thee to sob, sigh, and roar exceedingly, for the anguish that thou art in. But besides all this, I have other Things to tell thee of, that will break thine heart indeed. Thou art now deprived of a Being in the World; Thou art deprived of hearing the Gospel, the Devil hath been too hard for thee, and hath made thee miss of Heaven: Thou art now in Hell among an innumerable Company of Devils, and all thy sins beset thee round; Thou art all over wrapped in flames, and canst not have one drop of water to give thee any ease; Thou cryest in vain, for nothing will be granted; Thou seest the Saints in Heaven, which is no small trouble to thy Damned Soul; Thou seest, that neither God nor Christ takes any care to ease thee, or to speak any comfort unto thee. But besides all this, There thou art, and there thou art like to lie, never think of any ease, never look for any comfort; Repentance now will do thee no good, the Time is past, and can never be called again; look what thou hast now, thou must have for ever.
'Tis true, I speak enough before to break thine heart asunder, But besides all this, there lye and swim in flame for ever: these words, Besides all this, are terrible words indeed. I will give you the scope of them in a similitude. Set case you should take a man, and tye him to a stake, and with red hot pincers, pinch off his flesh by little pieces for two or three years together, and at last, when the poor man cryes out for ease and help, the tormentors answer, Nay, but besides all this, you must be handled worse.
We will serve you thus these 20. years together, and after that we will fill your mangled body full of scalding lead, or run you through with a red hot spit, would not this be lamentable? yet this is but a flea-biting to the sorrows of these that go to hell; for if a man were served so, there would ere it were long be an end of him. But he that goes to Hell shall suffer ten thousand times worse torments then these, and yet shall never be quite dead under them. There they shall be ever whining, pining, weeping, mourning, ever tormented without ease, and yet never dissolved into nothing; if the biggest devil in hell might pull thee all to peices, and rend thee small as dust, and dissolve thee into nothing, thou wouldest count this a mercy. But here thou mayest lye and fry, scorch and broil, and burn for ever. For ever, that is a long while, and yet it must be so long. Depart from me, saith Christ, into everlasting fire, into the fire that burns for ever, prepared for the devils and his Angels, Mat. 25. 41. Oh, thou that wert loath to foul thy foot if it were but dirty, or did but rain; thou that wert loath to come out of the Chimney corner if the wind did but blow a little cold; and wert loath to go half a mile, yea, half a furlong to hear the Word of God, if it were but a little dark; thou that wert loath to leave a few vain companions to edify thy Soul; thou shalt have fire enough, thou shalt have night enough, and evil company enough, thy belly full if thou miss of Jesus Christ; and besides all this, thou shalt have them for ever and for ever.
O thou that dost spend whole nights in carding and dicing, in rio…ing and wantonness, thou that countest it a brave thing to swear as fast as the bravest, to spend with the greatest spend-thrift in the Countrey: thou that lovest to sin in a corner when no body sees thee! O thou that for by-ends dost carry on an hypocrites profession, because thou wouldest be counted some body among the children of God, but art an enemy to the things of Christ in thine heart; thou that dost satisfy thy self, either with sins, or a bare profession of godliness; thy soul will fall into extream torment, and anguish, so soon as ever thou dost depart this world, and there thou shalt be weeping and gnawing thy teeth. Matth. 8. 11, 12. And besides all this, thou art like never to have any ease or remedy, never look for any deliverance, thou shal… dye in thy sins, and be tormented as many years as there are stars in the firmament, or sands on the sea-shore; and besides all this, thou must abide it for ever.
And besides all this, Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they c…me to us that would come from thence. There is a great gulf fixed.] You will say, what is that? Answ. It is a nice question, therefore, first seek thou, rather to enter in at the straight gate, than curiously to enquire what this gulf is.
But 2dly, If thou wouldest needs know, if thou do fall short of heaven, thou wilt find it this: namely, The everlasting Decree of God; that is, There is a Decree gone forth from God, That those who fall short of heaven in this world, God is resolved they shall never enjoy it in the world to come. And thou wilt find this gulf so deep, that thou shalt never be able to wade through it as long as eternity lasts. As Christ saith, Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him, lest he hale thee to the Judg, and the Judg deliver thee to the Officer, and thou be cast into Prison▪ I tell thee, thou shalt in no wise come out thence (there is the gulf) the Decree; thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing, or very last mite, Luke 12. 58, 59. These words therefore, there is a great gulf fixed, I do understand to be the everlasting Decree of God: God hath Decreed, That those who go to Heaven, shall never go from thence again into a worse place; and also those that go to hell, and would come out, they shall not come out thence again. And friend, this is such a gulf, so fixed by him that cannot lye, that thou wilt find it so which way soever thou goest, whether it be to Heaven or Hell. Here therefore thou seest how secure God will make those who dye in the Faith; God will keep them in Heaven, but those that dye in their sins, God will throw them to Hell, and keep them there; so that they that would go from Heaven to Hell, cannot, neither can they come from Hell, that would go to Heaven. Mark, he doth not say, they would not; for oh how fain would these who have lost their souls for a lust, for two pence, for a jug of Ale, for a Strumpet, for this World; come out of that hot scolding fiery Furnace of Gods eternal vengeance, if they might; but here is their misery, they that would come from you to us, that is, from Hell to Heaven, cannot. They must not, they shall not, they cannot, God hath Decreed it, and is resolved the contrary, here therefore lyes the misery not so much that they are in Hell, but there they must lye for ever and ever. Therefore if thy heart would at any time tempt thee to fin against God, cry out, no, for then I must go to Hell, and lye there for ever. If the Drunkards, Swearers, Lyars, and Hypocrites did but take this Doctrine soundly down, it would make them tremble when they think of sinning. But poor Souls, Now they will make a mock at sin, Prov. 14. 9. and play with it as a child doth play with a rattle; but the time is comming, that these rattles that now they play with, will make such a noise in their ears and Consciences, that they shall find, that if all the Devils in Hell were yelling at their heels, the noise would not be comparable to i…. Numb. 32. 23. Friend, Thy sins, as so many Bloodhounds, will first hunt thee out, and then take thee, and bind thee, and hold thee down for ever, Prov. 5. 22. They will gripe thee and gnaw thee as if thou hadst a nest of poisonous Serpents in thy bowels, Job 20. 14. and this will not be for a time, but as I have said, for ever, for ever, for ever.