A Glimpse of Eternity, Chapter 7
CHAP. VII. Of Eternal Happineſs and Miſery without intermiſſion; and without mixture in Heaven or Hell.
4. ETernity is without any interm…ſſion: There is no intermitting in time; in the days of Joſhua, when the Sun and Moon ſtood ſtill; and ſome ſay, there was the like pauſe in the Stars; yet time did not ſtand, but poſted on its wonted courſe: in the daies of Hezekiah, when the Sun went backward ten degrees, yet time went on; the men then living, were not the younger for that retrograde motion: and if there be no intermiſſions in time, much leſs in eternity, and this undeniably followeth, upon what was before ſpoken; for if there be no ſucceſſion in eternity, but whatſoever good is enjoyed in Heaven, and whatſoever ſuffering is endured in Hell, be all at once it will thence follow, that there is no interruptions in the happineſs of the one, nor any intermiſſions in the puniſhment of the other.
1. There is no interruption in the happineſs enjoyed i… Heaven; and this adds not a little to the greatneſs o… it. The beſt enjoyments in this life, are often interrupted; yea, even the ſpiritual enjoyments of Believers; God is often as a ſtranger in the Land of their ſouls; and as a Wayfaring-man, who tarrieth but for a night; his viſitations are leſs frequent; and when they are, many times not laſting; the beſt of the Saints have experience of Gods acceſs and receſs: of his drawing near them, and his with-drawing from them. God ſometimes looks through the window, ſhews himſelf through the Lattice, ſhineth upon them with the light of his countenance; makes ſome of his glory and goodneſs paſs before them, ſo as at preſent they are able to ſay with the Church, The Lord is my Portion, ſaith my ſoul; but at other times, God hideth his face, withdraws his comforting preſence, ſo as at preſent they have no taſte of his goodneſs nor ſmell of the ſweet ſavour of his precious Oyntments, nor intimations of his love, nor illapſes of the light of his Countenance: they ſeek him, but cannot find him; they cry, and ſhout, yet he ſhutteth out their Prayer; they go to the Word to hear what God will ſpeak to them; hoping that God may create the fruit of the lips, peace; yet cannot hear one word of comfort: they follow God from Duty to Duty, from Ordinance to Ordinance; and yet God aſnwereth them neither by Prophets, nor by Dreames neither by Prayer, nor Word, nor Sacrament, ſo as they many times cry out, I have loſt God, the Comforter who ſhould relieve my ſoul is far off from me; or in the language of Sion, The Lord hath forſaken me, my God hath forgotten me. And as they have theſe ſad interruptions in their ſenſe and feeling of Gods love, ſo likewiſe in that joy and comfort which reſults from it; what they ſay of Apes and Monkies, that in the full of the Moon they are pleaſant and jocund, often skipping up and down, doing their apiſh tricks, but in the wane are dull and ſottiſh, not caring to ſtir: in like manner Believers, while the candle of God ſhineth upon their head, they are filled with joy, and that ſometimes beyond what they are well able to bear: as Eph…aim, who begged of God, Lord withdraw a while thy joyes from me, the weakneſs of this earthly veſſel is not able to hold ſo great joyes. And Severinus, that Indian Saint, being recovered out of a great ſickneſs, in which he found the glorious illapſes of God upon his ſoul, cryed out, Oh my God, do not …or pities ſake thus over-joy me, if I muſt have theſe con…olations, take me to Heaven, he that hath taſted of thy …weetneſs, muſt needs after live in bitternneſs! Whereas …n the other ſide, when God hides himſelf, and with…raws his preſence, there is no voice of joy heard in …eir tabernacles, nothing remaining of thoſe joyes …ey once had, but onelyonly a ſad remembrance that they …ce had them. Bernard on a time found himſelf …uch indiſpoſed, yet having ſtriven with himſelf, and …en with God in prayer, evidently found the viſita…ons of God, but this laſted but a while, therefore he …d of it, Oh bleſſed hour, but oh ſhort ſtay; Oh that it …d laſted longer; And Jeoffry of Peroun, being in …ourny with Bernard, one while was ſo filled with …, that he ſaid, he hoped he ſhould never be ſad more all … life; but this joy was ſoon gone, ſo as he then fear… he ſhould never be chearful more. But theſe ſad …erruptions which the beſt Saints are ſubject to here, …y ſhall be wholly free from when they are made …takers of that eternal hapineſs in Heaven; doth … chief happineſs of the Saints in heaven conſiſt in … enjoyment of God? look whatſoever way they may ſaid to enjoy him, the Scripture deſcribeth it to a continual, an uninterrupted enjoyment; is it by way preſence? they ſhall ever be with the Lord (b)1 Theſ. 4.17.. Is it …way of Viſion? what Chriſt ſaith of Angels, that … always behold the face of his Father (c)Mat 18.10., is as true of them; Is it by way of love? Love is ſtrong as death the coales thereof are as coales of fire (d)Cant. 8.6.; ſome read i… the coales of Juniper, which, they ſay, being raked up i… its own embers continueth glowing a whole year together, and therefore aptly expreſſeth the love of the Saints, which is continually burning upon the altar o… their hearts; Or, is this enjoyment by way of joy an… delight in God? In thy name they ſhall rejoyce all th… day (e)Pſal. 89.16.; and this adds not a little to the happineſs of th… Saints, which would be much abated, if there were any times, when they were ſecluded the preſence o… God: the like may be ſaid of whatſoever happineſ… there is in Heaven: which is therefore reſembled t… a River, where there is a conſtant ſucceſſion of waters, Thou ſhalt make them drink of the River of t… pleaſures (f)Pſalm. 36.89; ſometimes to a Fountain, which w… know is continually running, With thee is the Fountai… of Life; and the tree of life is ſaid to yield her frui… every month, to ſhew the un-interruptedneſs of thoſ… delights in Heaven.
2. On the other ſide there is no intermiſſions in the Eternal ſufferings of Hell, the worm is alwayes gnaw… ing, the fire continually burning, the ſmoak of the torment aſcendeth up for ever and ever, and they have … reſt, day, nor night. They are tormented day and nigh… for ever and ever (g)Rev. 14.11. & 20.10.; the wrath of God under whic… they lye is(h)Iſa. 30.33. compared to a ſtream of Brimſtone; … it is likened to Brimſtone to expreſs the fiercene… of it, ſo to a ſtream which is continually running, … ſet forth the continuance of it; and this much adde… to the greatneſs of their ſufferings. In the evils whic… befall men in this life there are frequent intermiſſions in the moſt violent Agues the paroxyſm laſts but fo… ſuch a time; Feavers in a few dayes come to thei… Criſis, and end either in the death or recovery of th… Patient; Thoſe tormenting diſeaſes, the Gout and …he Stone, in a ſhort time ſpend themſelves, and …hough they are ſeldom wholly cured, yet there are …ome times of eaſe; and were it ſo in the ſufferings …f hell, were there any reſting dayes in hell (as Pru…entius fancied) were it one day in a week (as ſome …odern Jews conceit, affirming, that when their …abbath begin…, the damned are led by an Angel to a …lace of reſt, and when their Sabbath endeth, they …re driven again to their place of torment,) or were … but one day in the year, as Prudentius would have …; that upon that day Chriſt roſe from the dead, …e flames of hell are le…s not, and the damned find one mitigations of their pain; if only thus, it were …me abatement of their miſery: but to lye continually …nguiſhing under the wrath of an incenſed God, …nd ſcorching in the flames of a tormenting Fire, …ithout any end, eaſe, relaxation, or any intermiſſion …f their ſufferings, this makes them the more grie…ous, and intolerable. Here when a man's mind is …er-whelmed with grief, or is oppreſſed with …in, ſleep many times gives him ſome mitigation; …erefore, the Poets call it a ſweet refreſhment in a …ſeaſe (i)morbi ſuave levamen.; on the other-ſide, when in extremity of …ief or pain, a man cannot ſleep many nights toge…er; when in his extremity he wiſheth that it were …ening, hoping that the night may eaſe him, and …s bed give him reſt; yet in this caſe, his eyes are …t waking, ſo as he is full of tumblings and toſſings … the dawning of the day; this is a great addition …his Miſery: as it was with Job, Who therefore deſi…d ſtrangling, and death, rather than life (k)Job 7.15.. Ravil…c, who murthered Henry the Fourth of France, a…ong other puniſhments, they would not ſuffer him … take any ſleep for ſeveral days and nights together, …t when he began to ſleep his keepers thruſt burning bodkins into his fleſh, to keep him waking; and this was ſo grievous to him, that though many exquiſite tortures were inflicted on him, yet he told his friends, nothing ſo much troubled him as want of ſleep, having not had one wink of reſt for ſix daies and nights together; but thus it is with thoſe wretched Miſcreants in Hell, they have no reſt day nor night (l)Rev. 14.11.they ſhall not be ſuffered to take one wink o… ſleep to all eternity.
5. Eternity is without any mixture: There is nothing but happineſs in Heaven, nothing but Miſery i… Hell; Heaven is a place of pure Mercy, Hell of pure Juſtice; Joy and Triumph will be the portion o… the Saints in Heaven; and Miſery and Howlings the everlaſting portion of the damned in Hell; and tha… without any mixture of their contraries: See it in both the Branches.
(1.) The happineſs in Heaven is without any mixture: This world, as it is between Heaven and Hell i… place, ſo it is in participation; It partakes both o… the ſweetneſs of Heaven and the bitterneſs of Hell … Whiles Iſrael was in the wilderneſs the blackeſt nigh… had a pillar of Fire, and the brighteſt day the pilla… of a Cloud; things here, never go ſo ill with me… but they have ſome comforts afforded; nor ſo well but they groan under ſome kind of trouble: Go… hath ſet one over againſt the other (m)Eccleſ. 7.14.. When Diocleſian reſigned his Empire, he pretended this as the reaſon: As the Planet, which hath its exaltation in one ſign, hath likewiſe its counterpoiſe in another; ſ… if there were any thing that afforded him any content, it was accompanied with as much vexation; our ſilver is mixed with droſs; our wine with water Neither is it thus only in temporal, but in the Spiritual enjoyments of Believers; who are here, like the Nightingale, ſitting upon thorns; or the Halcyon upon the trembling waters. Doth the Chriſtian ſerve God? it is with fear; doth he rejoyce? it is with …rembling: doth he rejoyce in that Grace God hath given him? as Paul, Thanks be to God, through Jeſus Chriſt; yet he cannot but mourn under the remainders of Corruption, with the ſame Apoſtle: O wretched man that I am, who ſhall deliver me from this body of death? and when he compareth that little grace he hath, with that Original purity he loſt in Adam, he …annot but mourn; as the old men did(n)Ezra 3., who had …een the former Temple in its glory; is it matter of Encouragement to him, when his heart is enlarged in Gods ſervice? as it was to David, when he and the people offered willingly to the Lord (o)1 Chron. 29., Yet it is a matter of ſorrow that he is able to do God no better ſervice; his greateſt joy is not without ſome mixture; …he women after Chriſts Reſurrection, departed from …he Sepulchre with fear and great joy (p)Mat. 28.8., The Diſciples, walked in the fear of God, and the comforts of …he Holy Ghoſt; (q)Acts 9.31.Whereas in Heaven, there are …ll things that are deſirable, and rare, and precious, …ithout any mixture of contraries (r): There is per…ection without mixture of imperfectneſs, When that which is perfect is come, that which is imperfect ſhall …e done away: (s)1 Cor. 13.10.There is perfection of holineſs, without the leaſt ſinfulneſs; The ſin of Jacob ſhall be …ought, and there ſhall be none (t)Jer. 50.20.: Perfection of happineſs without any kind of miſery; there is joy without ſorrow; They ſhall obtain everlaſting joy, and gladneſs; and ſorrow and ſighing ſhall flee away (u)Iſa. 35.10.: Reſt without Labour, Bleſſed are the dead, which dye in the Lord; they reſt from their Labours (w)Rev. 14.13.: In ſum, there is life, without death attending it: Light, without darkneſs; peace, without trouble; eaſe, without pain: a full enjoyment of all deſirable good, and freedom f… all imaginable evil.
[2.] On the other hand; In the eternity of Hells p… niſhment, there is all that is evil, without the leaſt mixture of any thing that is good, The ſame ſhall drink … the wine of the wrath of God, that is poured out witho… mixture (x)Rev. 14.10.; That Cup of wrath that is ſaid to be f… of mixture(y)Pſal. 75.8.: that is, full of all the woful ingredien… that can be put into it; is here ſaid to be without mi… ture: that is, without the mixture of any thing tha… might alleviate their Torments. I ſhall onelyonly inſtan… in three Particulars:
[1.] Without any mixture of Mercy: Here man… times God corrects with Judgment, not in Wrat… (z)Jer. 1… laſt.or if in Wrath; yet in Wrath he remembreth Me… cy (a)Hab. 3.2., But there, is all wrath without any mercy; in the Sacrifice of Jealouſie (b)Num. 5.15., God ordereth, th… there ſhould be no Oyl, or Frankincenſe put to it, b… cauſe it was an offering of Jealouſie; an offering o… memorial, to bring iniquity to remembrance: in li… manner, in Hell, there is no oyl of mercy to lenifie the ſufferings: no Incenſe of prayer, to appeaſe Go… Wrath; he that made them, will not have mercy … them; he that formed them, will ſhew them no … vour; the day of Grace and Mercy is then paſt: t… door of mercy is for ever ſhut up againſt them: W… once the Maſter of the houſe is riſen, and hath ſhut the do… and ye begin to knock at the door, ſaying: Lord, Lor… open to us; He ſhall anſwer, and ſay, I know you … whence you are (c)Luk. 13.1…: When God hath ſhut up the do… of Grace, and Mercy, as he doth in Hell: thoug… they beg, and cry for mercy, they ſhall receive no … ther anſwer than a peremptory denial: the fooli… Virgins deferred to get oyl into their Lamps till was too late; and when they went to buy, the Brid… groom came, and the door was ſhut, and when they begged, Lord, Lord, open to us, he anſwered, verily I ſay unto you, I know you not; *Mat. 25.10,and what will a poor …reature ſay or do in this dreadful excluſion? Have you ever ſeen a priſoner at the Bar, with what importunate out-cries he begs mercy, and with what de…ection and deſpair he goeth away when he cannot ob…ain it; think then what horror, canfuſion, and Everlaſting deſpair ſhall ſurprize the Souls of thoſe loſt undone creatures, who find themſelves drenched in a ſea of wrath and vengeance, and cannot hope to have …o much as one chord of mercy thrown out to them, …nd that is another addition to their miſery; it is not onelyonly without any mixture of Mercy at preſent: But
[2.] Without any hope of mixture for the future. In this life though men be under great troubles, they are …eldom without hope: the Prophet Daniel heard the …oice of an Holy One crying, Hew down the tree and …eſtroy it, yet leave the ſtump of the roots in the Earth, …nd thus it is uſually with men in this life, ſaith Am…roſe; though the tree be cut down, and the branches …opt off, all they have taken from them, yet ſome of …he root is left, their hope is not quite cut off; as …ong as there is life, there is hope, to him that is …oyned to the living there is hope, †Eccleſ. 9.4.And this is ſome …upport to men in their preſent troubles: but in hell …oth root and branch, and all hope are quite cut off. Bede obſerveth, that God hath made three places, and …n each of them hath placed two things: in Heaven …e hath placed Verity and Eternity; on Earth, Curio…ity and Repentance; in Hell, Miſery and Deſpair: and …s Hell is the proper place of deſpair, ſo this deſpair is …ithout the leaſt mixture of hope; what hope hath the hy…ocrite, when God taketh away his ſoul? *Job 27.8.the Hypo…rite of all other wicked men is uſually moſt confident, making no queſtion, and thinking much that any other ſhould queſtion his title to Heaven: but whe… the hypocrite ſhall be turned into hell, with all the peop… that forget God, all his hopes will be quickly confuted what hope hath the hypocrite when God taketh awa… his Soul? could a man ſpeak with ſuch a Son of confidence after he hath been ſome time in hell and ask him, whether he were as confident a… before? Oh, what a ſad and doleful anſwer would he return, how would he befool himſelf, and cry out againſt his former preſumption and credulity, the greater his hopes were before, the greater now will be hi… confuſion: Hope deferred makes the heart faint, ſaith Salomon: much more, hope fruſtrated. When Aha… ſuerus asked Haman, What ſhall be done to the man who… the King delighteh to honour? he preſuming that himſelf was moſt likely to be the man, nameth the higheſt honours that could fall within the compaſs of hi… thoughts: but when he ſaw that himſelf was laid aſide and this honour done to Mordecai his great enemy think what a dump this was to him; and accordingly you read, how he went home to his houſe, an… told his wife and friends what had befallen him. A man who hath a ſuit at Law, and is before-hand co… fident he ſhall have the day: if when the time come he finds himſelf caſt, this maketh his grief ſo muc… greater, by how much his confidence was greater before: and for him that was confident of Heaven, t… be doomed to Hell: for him that made no queſtion of finding mercy, now on the ſudden to find himſelf paſt all hopes of mercy, this is that which will double his damnation, and make his condition far more miſerable. It is ſaid of the hypocrite, that his hope ſhall be cut off, and his truſt be as a Spiders web: *Job 8.14.the Spider ſpends much time, and taketh much pains in the weaving of her web; ſome ſay, every morning before ſhe looks out for her prey, ſhe firſt mend…s he… broken web, which ſhe induſtriouſly ſpins out of her own bowels, when all on the ſudden by the ſweep of a beeſome, or ſome other way, her labour is ſpoiled, her web broken down, and perhaps her ſelf killed in her own web; thus the hypocrite takes much pains to nouriſh in himſelf a vain deluded hope; he prayeth, readeth, heareth, faſteth, and in regard of outward performances ſeemeth to outſtrip the devouteſt Chriſtian; if the Believer with Cuſhi runs he like Ahim…az will outrun him; for thus the Meteor, for the time, maketh a greater blaze than the fixed ſtar; the Drone hath a greater body, ſeemeth a more beautiful creature than the Bee, flies oftner, and with a greater noiſe, and humming in and out of the Hive: the dead body is greater and longer than the ſame body when alive; and thus the hypocrite in regard of outward profeſſion and performance of Duties, ſeems to go beyond the true Nathaniel: by which means he doth not only deceive others, but himſelf alſo, concluding, he is as ſure of heaven, as if he had one foot there already; but no ſooner doth death cut aſunder the thred of his life, but it cuts off all his hopes, leaving him in a hopeleſs, helpleſs, and remedileſs condition. The eyes of the wicked ſhall fail, and his hope ſhall be as the giveing up of the ghoſt [h]Job 11.20.: as the compariſon holds in ſome other reſpects, ſo in this: at the giving up the Ghoſt, when the ſoul quits this earthly tabernacle, it never returneth again to live here with it in this world; ſo when the hope of a wicked man departs at death; it taketh an everlaſting farewell of the ſoul, and is ſwallowed up in desperation.
[3.] Without any mixture of pity: to him that is afflicted, pity ſhould be ſhewn from his friend [i]Job 6.14., And uſually we do pity men in their miſery, even Malefactors in their juſtly deſerved executions: but this ſhall not the damned find.
1. They ſhall have no pity from God, he that mad… them, will ſhew them no pity; nay, ſo far is God from pitying them, that their puniſhment is an eaſe to him (k)Iſa. 1.24.I will eaſe me of my adverſaries: it is his deſire to puniſh them; It is in my deſire that I ſhould chaſtiſe them: (l)Hoſ. 10.10.it is a comfort to him; I will cauſe my fury to reſt upon them, and I will be comforted (m)Ezek. 5.13.; it is a rejoycing to him; I will rejoyce over you to deſtroy you, and bring you to nought (n)Deut. 28.63., Once more, it is a matter o… laughter to him: I will laugh at their deſtruction (o)Prov. 1.26.: what God ſpeaks with laughing, Do thou read with trembling: Woe, and a thouſand woes to that man whoſe deſtruction is a matter of laughter to Almighty God! What can be more ſad and dreadful… than when the God of mercy ſhall ſo far abandon al… pity, as to laugh at the deſtruction of his own creatures?
2. No pity from the Angels or Saints. Dives begged but one drop of water to cool his tongue: Alas, what were one drop of water againſt a whole furnace of fire? but this he cannot obtain, not ſo much as one drop of cooling water againſt a whole ſtream of ſcalding Brimſtone; then he begs to have one ſent from the dead to preach to his Brethren, but is denyed by Abraham in that alſo; he begs it again, and is denyed again: and this will be a further addition to the miſery of thoſe loſt forlorn creatures. There was at Iſenacus a Play(q)Mel. Adam in vit. Gobelini. or Enterlude acted before Frederick the Prince of that place, in which was repreſented the five wiſe, and five fooliſh Virgins: the wiſe Virgins were preſented to be the Virgin Mary, and four other Virgins ſainted by the Papiſts; the fooliſh Virgins come, and entreat them to give them of their oyl: that is, as the Actor preſented it, to intercede to God for them, that they might …e admitted into the Marriage-Chamber, into Heaven; …ut the wiſe Virgins peremptorily denyed them, and bid them go, and buy for themſelves. They beg again, and are denyed again: they knock, and weep, and importune with miſerable out-cries, but all in vain; which the Prince ſeeing, was ſo aſtoniſhed, that he preſently fell into a grievous ſickneſs, crying out, To what end is Chriſtian Faith, if neith r Mary, n…r any other Saint, can be intreated to intercede for them that ſue to them? To what purpoſe are thoſe merits, and good works ſo much cryed up amongſt us? And this apprehenſion that they ſhould beg ſo importunately, and yet be denyed, did ſo ſeize upon him, that he ſell forthwith into a fit of the Apoplexy, of which he dyed within four dayes after. If he was thus aſtoniſhed to fee this but acted in a Play: how terrible will it be when this and much more ſhall be done in deed, and good earneſt? if he were thus troubled to ſee others denyed, when it concerned not himſelf; how ſadly will this be reſented when poor creatures ſhall find themſelves thus dealt with? when the Saints in Heaven ſhall be ſo far from pitying them, that they ſhall rejoyce in their deſtruction; The Lord ſhall deſtroy thee for ever: the righteous alſo ſhall ſee this, and fear, and ſhall laugh him to ſcorn; The righteous ſhall rejoyce when he ſeeth the vengeance: *Pſal. 52.5. and 58.10.here it is a matter of lamentation to good men, to ſee deſperate ſinners running headlong upon their own damnation, and wofully embruing their hands in the blood of their own ſouls. Lots righteous ſoul was vexed with the filthy converſation of the Sodomites: Jeremiahs ſoul wept in ſecret for the pride of the Jewes, and wiſhed that he had in the Wilderneſs a place of wayfaring men, to leave his people, becauſe they were all Adulterers and Adultereſſes: but when God at the laſt day ſhall clear his Juſtice in the juſt condemnation of ungodly men, they ſhall not onelyonly approve of the equity of Gods proceedings: but according to the forenamed Texts, it will be a matter o… rejoycing to them.
3. They ſhall have no pity from the Devils, and their fellow-damned Companions: but on the contrary, thoſe who now tempt and draw them to ſin, will then inſult in their torments, They ſhall be an abhorring to all fleſh.*Iſa. 66.24.
4. They ſhall not ſo much as pity themſelves: the Scripture Speaketh, of weeping, wailing, and gnaſhing of teeth: heavy chear, (ſaith Latimer) where weeping and wailing is ſerved-up for the firſt courſe, and gnaſhing of teeth, cometh in for the ſecond! but thus it will bee in Hell, as they ſhall weep, and wail for their miſery; ſo they ſhall gnaſh their teeth, at their own folly, and ſhall be filled with ſuch a helliſh rage againſt themſelves, that they will never ceaſe to vex and torment themſelves.