The Chief Interest of Man, Section 11
SECT. XI. The miſery of wicked Men after this life demonſtrated from Scriptures, from the ſufferings of Godly Men here in this World, from terrors of conſcience in good and bad, from the Devils trembling at the thoughts of it, which they have not ſo much reaſon for as Man. The puniſhment of loſſe with the aggravations of it. The puniſhment of ſenſe exquiſite, without allay or intermiſſion, without end.
I Shall now proceed to that other conſideration, which will make the happineſſe of Heaven much greater; yea which conſidered apart, doth much commend the excellency of Holineſſe, and clearly demonſtrate how much it is the intereſt of mankind to follow after it, damnum emergens is as much to be conſidered as lucrum ceſſans. We ſhould not only conſider the reward of Holineſſe, but the wages of ſin; if a ſinner could ceaſe to be, or might be annihilated when he dyes, or if there were any ſtate between Heaven and Hell, our plea would have leſs force: but there will be but two ranks of Men at the l…ſt judgment, whereof one ſhall go into eternal life, the other into everlaſting puniſhment. Mat. 25.46. Now I ſhall uſe the ſame method in conſidering this ſtate of ungodly men after the end of the World, which I followed in conſidering the ſtate of holy men. Firſt, giving ſome general demonſtrations of the miſery of it, then ſome particular reaſons why it will be ſo intollerable. As firſt, the Glory of Heaven may be imagined to be exceeding great by the preparations which God is ſaid to have made for it: ſo by the ſame Anthropopathy we may conceive of the miſery of Hell, God being ſaid to prepare the puniſhment of the damned. Mat. 25.41. It is ſaid indeed it is prepared for the Devil and his Angels, but wicked men ſhall be co-heirs with them of the ſame miſery. He is laying up his pile of Fire and Wood. Iſa. 30.33. and laying ſinners as ſtubble in the Sun to dry, that the eternal flames may prey more furiouſly upon them, Nahum 1.10. ſuffering them to fill up the meaſure of their iniquity, and ſo to treaſure up to themſelves wrath againſt the day of wrath, that they may be fit for deſtruction. Let us in the next place conſider what Godly men have ſuffered in this Life, read but the Marryrologies and ſee the dreadful torments that the Martyrs have ſuffered, enough to make one tremble at the reading of them; and if theſe things be done to the green tree, thoſe who are the objects of Gods love, and dear unto him as the apple of his eye, ſuch on whom he hath determined to ſhew the Riches of his mercy, what will be done to the dry with whom he is angry every day, and on whom he will ſhew the power of his wrath? if judgment begin at the houſe of God, what will be the end of thoſe that obey not the Goſpel? Further, let us conſider the terrors of Conſcience which Godly men have ſuffered in this World, when they have had lively apprehenſions of the diſpleaſure of God againſt them. If his rebukes have made them conſume as a moth, fretting a garment, if his frowns have diſtracted them and made them roar through the diſquietneſſe of their ſpirit; What will it be for his jealouſie to ſmoak and his wrath to burn like fire for ever? Again, let us conſider what horrors wicked men have felt in their conſciences in this life, which are but the foretaſts of that miſery which they ſhall endure for ever. Read but the ſtories of Vaninus, Spira, &c. who have dyed in deſpair, if ſuch drops of wrath let fall like ſcalding Lead upon the Soul, have ſo hideouſly amazed and terrified, ſurely it is dreadful and aſtoniſhing to be caſt into the lake that burns with fire and brimſtone for ever. And though there be many now can harden themſelves againſt God; and think by a ſtoical apathy to bear whatever God can inflict, yet ſome have found the beginnings of Hell in their Conſciences, worſe a thouſand times than all the torments which the cruelty of Tyrants, or incarnate furies could ever invent. And whereas ſome may think (with Spira) that the expectation of future miſery, is worſe than the ſuffering of it, it is a wide miſtake, for according as M…n feareth, ſo is his anger, Pſal. 90.11. ordinary calamities indeed are for the moſt part worſe feared than felt, but when a man hath raiſed his mind to the moſt dreadful and amazing apprehemions of the diſpleaſure of God, and the ſeverity of his vengeance, he cannot reach the vaſtneſſe of it, there is yet à plus ultra, ſomewhat further, as it is in our apprehenſions of the Glory and happineſſe of Heaven: and at the laſt day the great and mighty men of the World, who have ſet the judgements of God far above, out of their ſight, and ſcorned his threats, as a meer brutum fulmen, or a Mormo to fright Chrildren and ſuperſtitious fools, would be glad if they knew how, to run under the Rocks and Mountains to hide themſelves from the terrible Majeſty of their Judge, and (to allude to the words of S. Paul, 2 Cor. 10.11. Let ſuch think that as God is now in his word when he ſeems to be abſent from them, ſuch will he be alſo indeed, when he ſhall manifeſt his preſence and his righteous judgment. We begin to think meanly of all whom we can ſee through or go about, it is incomprehenſibleneſs that commands a veneration, & that we ſhall alwayes find in God both as to the Glory of his Grace, and as to the greatneſſe of his Power and wrath. Let us yet go a ſtep further, and conſider the apprehenſions which the Devils have of this condition, (for they and wicked men (as was before obſerved) are fellow heirs of the ſame miſery) and theſe tremble at the thoughts of it, that is, have dread full amazing apprehenſions at the expectation of it, the conſequent in that place being put for the antecedent, according to the uſual phraſeology of Scripture; they ſeem not to have ſo much reaſon to be troubled at the thoughts of it as men have, their ſins perhaps may have ſome aggravations, which the ſins of Men have not; yet, I think there is nothing can aggravate it ſo as the contempt of the Goſpel, which they are not guilty of. They had not a board after Shipwrack, whereon they might have ſaved themſelves, if it had not been their own fault. Again, they have no bodies to be tormented as we have, many cannot apprehend how the Soul ſhould be capable of any conſiderable torment, and they think they could laugh at any puniſhment that could be inflicted on the Soul, were it not for bodily ſufferings, which they have a clearer apprehonſion, and a more lively ſenſe of: but, beſides all that we are capable of ſuffering in our bodies, we are capable of ſuffering the ſame in our ſouls, which the Devils are ſaid to tremble at the belief of, but it is with us, as it is with little Children, who are pleaſed perhaps with the pomp of their Fathers or Mothers Funeral, and proud of their mourning Cloaths, but are not ſenſible of their own loſſe, when thoſe that are grown up to years of reaſon and judgement, wring their hands to think of what ſad conſequence ſuch a loſſe will be to them. And in this reſpect it is ſaid, Wiſdom arms miſery againſt it ſelf. We glory in that which is our ſhame, and the cauſe of our miſery, while the Devils tremble, who know what it is to loſe Heaven, (having been already in it) and know what Hell is, becauſe they have felt it, they certainly believe theſe things, having more underſtanding to apprehend the clear demonſtrations of the truth of them, they have their minds more fixed on theſe things which are the matter of their torment being more in act and leſſe in Power than we are. We know not now what it is to loſe God and Heaven, but we ſhall know when we ſhall ſee them, not to enj…y them, but to envy them. We are ready to fla…ter our ſelves into hopes, that theſe things may not be tr…e; or our thoughts are ordinarily diverted to other things. And the Devil keeps that out of our minds, which he knows not how to keep out of his own, leſt conſidaring well of it, we ſhould be induced thereby to believe, and ſo obtain ſalvation, Luke 8.14. For a concluſion of theſe general demonſtrations, I might add Chriſts importunate preſ…ing of Men to flee from the wrath to come, though through ſo many hardſhips and difficulties, which he calls them to: he wept over ſinners, and was grieved for the hardneſſe of their hearts, as ſometimes Jeremy was, or as Aidanus, a good man in this Nation, wept to think of the miſeries which were coming upon it. Sinners go on careleſly and ſecurely, like an Ox to the Slaughter or a fool to the correction of the ſtocks, but Chriſt paſſionately pleads with them, to divert them from their own wayes, knowing how little they conſider the miſery of thoſe devouring flames, which they are caſting themſelves into. Now for proving more particularly, that this miſery which ungodly men ſhall endure, is very ſad and dreadful. Firſt, we ſhall not only know (as I before intimated) the worth of that Glory which we have loſt, but we ſhall be convinced that we have loſt it through our own fault. Many think now to harden themſelves at the day of judgement againſt God, and impeach him of rigor and injuſtice, if he ſhould doom them to an Eternal Hell, but then when their Conſciences are awakened, they will own their guilt, and ſay as Judas, I have ſinned. Mat. 27.4. though he did nothing but by the determinate counſel and fore-knowledge of God, and that which Satan had put into his heart. John 13.2. Act. 2.23. And it will be an aggravation of Mens miſery, that they ſhould loſe Heaven through their own careleſſeneſſe, and exchange it for a trifle: ſhould a Man have a dear Wife dangerouſly ſick, and give her poyſon to kill her, inſtead of Phyſick to cure her, meerly through his own negligence, ſurely he would bury himſelf with her, when he ſhould ſee his own overſight, or ſhould he in a drunken fit ſtab his Children, certainly his firſt work after he ſhould come to himſelf again, would be to ſtab himſelf; but what are theſe to our ſouls, our darlings, our only ones Pſal. 22.10. which we wound worſe than the poor Lunatick man, that cut himſelf with ſtones: we ſhall come to our ſelves, and have far different apprehenſions of all things, as ſoon as our ſouls look out of theſe dark priſons of our bodies, and begin to ſee by the light of another World. A child that ſhould have the writings of a fair Eſtate, and ſell them for trifles, looking but upon the bulk of paper or parchment, not regarding the contents of them, and afterwards when he comes to be a Man, ſhould live in diſgrace and miſery, whiles he ſees another bear high in the World with his Eſtate, would bewail too late his own childiſh vanity; but what is this to our ſelling of our hopes of Heaven for the pleaſures of ſin, in the midſt of which the heart is ſorrowful, and the end of which is heavineſſe? regarding the Goſpel no more than a ſtory out of Pliny, looking on the Scriptures but as waſt papers, Cleopatra's prodigality in drinking a little Pearl at one draughtt was nothing to ours, we were never put to it as Liſymachus, to loſe a Kingdom, and ſubject our ſelves to perpetual ſlavery for a draught of water. Oh! with what indignation ſhall we reflect upon our own folly and madneſſe, when we ſhall have time and occaſion to ſettle theſe things in our hearts, we ſhall need no Devils to torment us, no fire to burn us, our own conſciences will continually ſcourge us, and we ſhall for ever be our own tormenters, when we ſhall be awakened to ſmite upon our thigh and ſay, what have I done? there will be yet a further puniſhment of ſenſe, the Scripture calls it Fire and Brimſtone, which if we underſtand literally, and in a proper ſenſe, we may eaſily imagine the dreadfulneſſe of ſuch a puniſhment, or at leaſt learn to underſtand it by holding our hand in a hot furnace but for one minute, and this is fire, which ſhall not ſuddenly devour or annthilate us (as ſome imagine) but prey eternally upon men, and never conſume them, otherwiſe the Devils, with whom (as I have obſerved) we ſhall ſhare in the ſame miſery would rather rejoyce, than tremble at the thoughts of the laſt judgement, if they ſhould then be preſently reduced to nothing. See more of this in Auſtin De civitate Dei. lib. 21. cap. 10. But if we underſtand this figuratively, or metaphorically, then certainly God hath choſen that which is the moſt exquiſite pain, which we can conceive of, to ſet forth ſomething elſe which we know not how otherwiſe to frame a notion of in our minds, and which doth as far exceed ſuch ſerſible things, as are uſed to expreſs it, as the Glory of Heaven doth exceed all that Glory which is borrowed from the Creatures to expreſs it to our weak imperfect underſtandings. Further, this puniſhment will be without any allay, in Hell there is pure darkneſs, there will not be a drop of water allowed to refreſh in thoſe raging flames, and company which ſome talk of, will but increaſe mens torment; and as there will be no allay, ſo no intermiſſion, no lucida intervalla, as there will be no night of Darkneſſe in Heaven, ſo there will be no night of reſt in Hell, and to compleat the miſery of that condition, there will be no end of it. Eternity will make their miſery perpetual, but the belief and conſideration of eternity will make it inſupportable, and ſwallow Men up in a hideous deſpair, they ſhall be like men t…ſed … the midſt of the S…, the Wa…es to…ing one after another, if he could ſee any land behind thoſe proud ſurges, there might be ſome hopes; but to ſee nothing but the vaſt Ocean, and the Waves ſwelling higher and higher, and raging againſt him like a Giant, this is that which amazeth him: and ſuch will the thoughts of Eternity be then to miſerable ſinners, when lifting up their heads to ſee if they can deſcry any end of their miſery, they ſhall ſee thouſands of Ages multiplying themſelves to infinity, and there will be no remedy left, but they muſt ſink down into an everlaſting deſpair; neither will time or ſuffering at all alleviate their miſery, as the Poet ſaith of thoſe, who by enduring poverty make it at length more eaſie to be born: as our multiplyed thoughts of the happineſſe of Heaven, will not cloy and weary, but increaſe our pleaſure and fruition; ſo will our thoughts of torment, more enrage thoſe eternal flames which ſhall burn within us, and make that burning ſurnace glow more and more, that as the duration of mens miſery draws it forth extenſively, ſo it will alſo aggravate it intenſively, till it come to that extremity, beyond which there can be imagined, no degrees to which it may be further heightened.