The Christian Life 2, Collection of discourses · Discourse 1 (3 of 3)

The Christian Life 2 · Collection of discourses · Discourse 1 (3 of 3)

p. 87What then remains, that ſince our forſaking of Chriſt will ſo infallibly infer the Ruin of our Souls, we all return to, and cleave faſt to our Saviour in our Belief and Obedience: That we, who are fallen off from him into a Courſe of wilful Sin and Diſobedience, immediately return again by a deep and ſerious Repentance. For the Way in which we are walking leads directly to Deſtruction; every Step of it is a Deſcent into Hell, and next to the lowermoſt is the bottomleſs Pit, and for all we know, the very laſt Step we took brought us to the Brinks of the flaming Abyſs; and if it did, one Step further will ſet us beyond all Hope of Recovery. For in our ſinful Progreſs we are wading forwards in a ſhelving Pool, which the farther we go, the deeper it is, and ſo deeper and deeper till we come to the Bottom of it; ſo that at every p. 88Step we are in Danger of going beyond our Depth, and plunging our ſelves into in irrecoverable Ruin; for we know not how ſoon we may be ſnatched away in our Iniquities; and if it ſhould ſo happen, that after we have ſinned this Moment, we ſhould die the next, this will determine our everlaſting Fate, and ſink us into eternal Miſery.

Wherefore as we tender the ſafety of our precious Souls, let us ſpeedily forſake this dangerous Road in which Perdition way-lays, and Hell gapes to devour us every ſtep we go; and return unto our Lord in whom our ſafety lyes. As yet the Opportunity of Salvation is in our Hands, but before to morrow Morning it may ſlip away from between our Fingers, and vaniſh for ever, and we that are this day wallowing in our Sins, may before the next be roaring in Hell. So that while we defer and put off our Repentance from day to day, we do as it were caſt Lots for our Souls, and venture our everlaſting Hopes upon a Contingency, that is not in our Power to diſpoſe of. As yet the Gate of Mercy is open to us, and our bleſſed Lord ſtands ready with his Arms out-ſtretched to welcome and receive us; but for all we know if we enter not preſently, the Gate may be ſhut within a few Moments, and then though we knock and cry till our hearts ake, Lord, Lord open to us, we ſhall receive no other Anſwer, but Depart from me I know you not. O Good God, how are we beſotted then, that rather than begin our Repentance to day we will wilfully run the Hazard of being eternally miſerable before to morrow Morning! For if this ſhould be the Evening of our day of p. 89Tryal, as for all we know it may, our Life and Eternity depends upon what we are now doing; and therefore one would think it ſhould highly concern us wiſely to manage this laſt ſtake, the winning, or loſing whereof may prove our making or undoing. In pity therefore to our perſhing Souls let us return to our Saviour, before it be too late, before our Feet ſtumble on the dark Mountains, and we fall down into everlaſting Darkneſs. And being returned and re-united to him, let us have a Care we do not revolt again; for if we draw back we cancel our Repentance, and forfeit all its bleſed Fruits and Benefits; and unleſs we ſtedfaſtly perſevere and hold out to the end, all the Pains we have taken in our Chriſtian Courſe will be for ever loſt, and the Remembrance of it will only adminiſter to our future Miſery. For how will it vex us in the other World to conſider the Labour it coſt us to take Heaven by Storm? How vigorouſly we ſtrove to mount the Scaling Ladder, through how many Difficulties we had forced our way to that height of Vertue and Religion we were arrived to, and then when we are got as it were to the topmoſt Rounds, and had laid our Hands upon the Battlements of Heaven, juſt ready to leap in and take poſſeſſion of all its Joys; how baſely we let go our Hold, and ſo tumbled down from that ſtupendious height into the bottomleſs Abyſs of endleſs Miſery? Doubtleſs this Conſideration muſt neceſſarily ſting our woful Souls hereafter, and for ever inrage them againſt themſelves. Wherefore as we value the Safety of our precious Souls, let us, who by our wilful Rebellions have gone aſtray, return, and conſtantly adhere p. 90to our bleſſed Saviour. Alas, where can we be happier than in his Service, who impoſeth nothing on us but what contributes to our Welfare? Where can we be ſafer than in his Arms, and under his Protection, who hath the Command and Diſpoſal of all Events, and to whom all Power is given in Heaven and Earth? Where can we be placed more to our own Advantage than under his Guidance and Authority, who never permits any to ſerve him for nought, but hath engaged himſelf to recompence our Labour with a Crown of Glory that fades not away? And is it not ſtrange that after ſo many advantagious Invitations, we ſhould need to be ſcared to our Duty? that after our bleſſed Maſter hath enjoyned us ſuch a reaſonable, gnetle, and infinitely beneficial Service, he ſhould be forced to terrify us into it with the Flames of Hell?

IV. I proceed now to the Fourth Propoſition, That when the Soul is loſt, 'tis loſt irrecoverably; where the Greek word foreign, which we render Exchange, is uſed in the ſame ſenſe with foreign, which ſignifies a Price of Redemption, denoting that when once a Man hath ſold his Soul to Perdition, it is unredeemable, and that no Price will be accepted for its Ranſom and Deliverance; when a Man's Soul is in Hell under the wretched Bondage of a Damned Spirit, how little ſoever he regards it now, he would give all the World, if it were in his power, to be releaſed again; but if he had a thouſand Worlds it will not do, his bondage being ſuch as will admit no Ranſom. For theſe Words of our Saviour ſeem to p. 91have been a common Proverb of the Age he lived in, and that derived from thoſe words of the Devil in Job, All that a Man hath, will he give for his Life; that is, when a Man is dying, he would willingly part with all to redeem his Life, but all will not do. Which Proverb our Saviour adapts to his own Argument, in which he proceeds from temporal to eternal Life: If a Man would give ſo much for his temporal Life, what would he not give for his eternal one? But as our temporal Life is not to be redeemed, ſo neither is our eternal one when once it is loſt; for when once our Soul is loſt or abandoned to the State of the Damned, it is lost for ever, and there is no foreign, or Ranſom that will be accepted of by God for its Redemption thence. In the Proſecution of which Argument I ſhall endeavour theſe two things.

1. To ſhew you that if God be ſo determined he may, without any Injury either to his Juſtice or Goodneſs, detain loſt Souls in the Bondage of Hell for ever, and abſolutely refuſe to accept any Ranſom for them.

2. That he is actually determined ſo to do.

1. That if God be ſo determined, he may without any Injury either to his Juſtice or Goodneſs, detain lost Souls in the Bondage of Hell for ever, without accepting any Ranſom for them. And this I doubt not will plainly appear upon the due Conſideration of theſe following Propoſitions.

1ſt. That God being the Soveraign Being of the World, hath an unalienable Right to impoſe Laws upon all other Beings.

p. 922dly. That having this Right, he may juſtly inforce thoſe Laws with whatſoever Penalties he ſees neceſſary or convenient.

3dly. That when thoſe Laws he impoſes are for the good of his Subjects, it is not only Juſtice but Goodneſs in him to inforce them with the ſevereſt Penalty.

4thly. That the Penalty of eternal Bondage under Miſery, is the ſevereſt and moſt effectual Way to inforce thoſe beneficial Laws, and oblige us to the Obſervance of them.

5thly. That if God think good to inforce his Laws with this Penalty, he hath as much Right to exact it when we diſobey, as he had to threaten and impoſe it.

6thly. That his actual exacting of it can no more impeach his Goodneſs, than his threatning and denouncing it.

1. that God being the Sovereign Being of the World, hath an unalienable Right to impoſe Laws upon all other Beings. For he being the greateſt and moſt powerful Being, can himſelf be ſubject to no other Law but only that of his own Nature; and his Power being infinite and unconfined as well as his Wiſdom, Juſtice, and Goodneſs, doth ſufficiently warrant him to do whatſoever is conſiſtent with them. For to be ſure a Being of infinite Power and Greatneſs, can have no Superiour, but muſt be neceſſarily exalted above all other Authorities by this incommunicable Prerogative of his Nature; and being raiſed above all Authorities, he muſt have Authority above all, and his eſſential Dominion having no other Law to bound it, but only that of his own Nature, he muſt neceſſarily have p. 93a Right to command whatſoever is conſiſtent with his Wiſdom, Juſtice, and Goodneſs. His Will therefore being by the infinite Pre-eminence of his Power and Greatneſs ſupreme, all other Wills are obliged to bow before, and proſtrate themſelves to its Sovereign Authority; and there is no Law whatſoever but he may juſtly impoſe upon them, provided it be not repugnant to that ſupreme Law that is founded in his own Nature. This therefore being premiſed, that God hath a Right as he is the Sovereign Being to give Laws to all other Beings; it hence follows,

2dly. That he may juſtly inforce thoſe Laws with whatſoever Penalties he ſees neceſſary or convenient. For Laws without penalties are rather Petitions than Commands; and unleſs they carry force enough with them to over-aw the subject, and make themſelves obeyed, they want the formal Sanction and Obligation of a Law. To have a Power therefore of impoſing Penalties muſt neceſſarily be inſeparable from the Power of making Laws, becauſe they are the Penalties that make the Laws to oblige, that give them Power to command, and inforce them with an awful Authority. And as the Power of giving Laws ſuppoſes the Power of impoſing Penalties, ſo it ſuppoſes a Power of impoſing ſuch Penalties as may be ſufficient to incline and aw the Subject into Obedience, againſt all Reaſons to the contrary. For unleſs the Penalty be great enough to outweigh all other Conſiderations, the Law which it inforces will be extreamly defective in Point of Obligation, and leave the Subject as much reaſon to diſobey as to obey. God therefore being by his own natural p. 94Right the Supreme Lawgiver of the World, muſt be ſuppoſed to have an equal Right of inforcing his Laws with ſuch Penalties as in his own infinite Wiſdom he ſhall think neceſſary to oblige his Greatures to obey him; and there is no Penalty can be too rigorous or ſevere which is neceſſary to inable his Laws to oblige and command us. Wherefore according as he ſees his Subjects more or leſs tempted, or inclined to diſobey him, ſo will he need greater or leſs Penalties to oblige us to Obedience; and therefore foreſeeing what a ſtrong Propenſity to Evil there would be in our Nature, and with what importunate Temptations this would be excited and wrought upon, he could not but foreſee that the ſevereſt Penalties would be neceſſary to back and inforce his Laws, and being neceſſary for that end, he muſt needs have a Right to impoſe them, how ſevere ſoever they might be; nor is this ſeverity leſs good than it is juſt; conſidering.

3dly. That when thoſe Laws he impoſes are for the good of his Subjects, it is not only an Act of Juſtice in him to impoſe them with the ſevereſt Penalties, but of Goodneſs. And this is really the Caſe as to thoſe Laws which God hath impoſed upon us; for the Matter of them all is ſomething tending to our good, ſomething or other that is perfective of our Natures, and conducive to our Happineſs; and being ſo, the greater the Penalty is which they are backt and inforced with, the greater Demonſtration it is of God's Care and Zeal for our Happineſs. For the End of Penalty is to oblige us to Obedience; and when all Obedience is for our good, the more ſtrictly he obliges p. 95us to it, the more he befriends us. When a diſtracted Man is endeavouring to miſchief and deſtroy himſelf, it is Kingneſs to bind him though it be with Chains of Iron. When therefore God found us ſo prone to injure our ſelves by wicked and miſchievous Actions, it was Mercy to bind our Hands with his Threatnings of Puniſhment; and the ſtronger his Bands are, the more they expreſs his Kindneſs; becauſe the more they oblige us to be kind to our ſelves, and true to our own Intereſt. And certainly for God to lay us under the ſtrongeſt Obligations to be happy, is ſo far from being a Blemiſh to his Goodneſs, that it is a moſt glorious Expreſſion of it; but if we will be ſo obſtinate as to run into the mouth of thoſe Threatnings which he hath levelled againſt us to ſcare us into Happineſs, it is juſt with him to diſcharge them upon us, and make us feel the Eſſects of our Folly and Madneſs. Since therefore the Reaſon of the Penalty wherewith God hath inforced his Laws, is to oblige us to be happy; and ſince the greater it is, the more force it muſt have to oblige us, it hence neceſſarily follows, that though it be not only a great, but an eternal one; yet it is not at all inconſiſtent with his Goodneſs; eſpecially if we conſider,

4thly. That the Penalty of eternal Miſery, as it is the ſevereſt, ſo it is the moſt effectual to inforce thoſe beneficial Laws which God hath impoſed on us, and to oblige us to the Obſervance of them. For to deter us from Sin, who are ſo vehemently prone to it, it was very requiſite that the Penalty denounced againſt it, ſhould not only be great as to the Degree, but endleſs alſo as to the p. 96Duration of it; that ſo it might cut us off from all pretence of Preſumption, and leave us no ground of Incouragement to be wicked. For we are exceeding apt to ſlight and undervalue thoſe Evils which are propoſed to deter us from the Goods which we vehemently deſire, eſpecially when theſe Goods are preſent and ſenſible, and thoſe Evils future and inviſible. For thus we conclude, the Good that is before us we may injoy a great while; and, which is very conſiderable, we may preſently enter upon the Poſſeſſion of it; but as for the Evil that is conſequent to it, it may be a long while before it befalls us; and when it doth, there is this Comfort, that it will at laſt have an end; and therefore let what will follow, let us ever ſeize the preſent Good, and make the beſt uſe we can of it; and as for the future Evil, whenever it happens, the Proſpect of its End, though it be never ſo remote, will enable us to bear it more chearfully. For ten Years preſent Pleaſure vehemently deſired, will far more effectually perſuade us, than a future Miſery of double the Duration; and therefore if the future Penalty denounced againſt our Sin were finite and temporary, it would not be ſufficient to ballance thoſe preſent Pleaſures with which we are continually importuned and ſolicited; for the Penalty being propoſed to deter us from Pleaſures which we dearly love, we are upon that account inclined to make as light of it as may be, and to flatter our ſelves with the ſofteſt and eaſieſt Repreſentations of it; ſo that to be ſure if there were any one comfortable Circumſtance in it, our Thoughts would preſently inſiſt upon that, and urge it as a Reaſon why we ſhould p. 97not be afraid of it. So that if the Penalty of our Sin had in it but the Circumſtance of being finite, to be ſure when ever it controuled our vicious Deſires, we ſhould ſtill make this a Pretence to deſpiſe it; Well, let it be never ſo terrible, it will have an end. Wherefore to inable it to terrify us effectually, it was requiſite that it ſhould not only be great, but endleſs; that it being ſtripped of all tolerable Circumſtances, we might be able to find nothing in it to qualify the Terror of it. But now it being not only great but eternal, the Threat of it, which, like a Cloud, hangs lowering over us, hath no bright ſide to divert our Thoughts from the Blackneſs and Horror of it; ſo that whenever we think of it, and weigh it in the Ballance with our Sins, we muſt reſolve to forſake them, or chuſe to be deſperate. Since therefore an eternal penalty was ſo neceſſary to inforce God's Law; and ſince his Law is for our good, it is plain that his ſo inforcing it can blemiſh neither his Juſtice nor Goodneſs. Wherefore though we ſhould ſmart for ever for our Diſobedience hereafter, we can have no juſt Reaſon to complain, of God; eſpecially conſidering,

5thly. That if God ſhall think good to inforce his Law with ſuch an eternal Penalty, he muſt be ſuppoſed to have as much Right to exact it upon our Diſobedience, as he had to threaten and impoſe it. For as Supremacy over all other Beings gives a Right to make Laws, and inforce them with Threatnings of Puniſhment; ſo when he hath actually impoſed Laws upon us, our Diſobedience to them gives a Right to inflict on us the Puniſhments which he threatned when he impoſed them. For p. 98in all legal Funiſhments the Right of Threatning them is founded on the Power of the Soveraign; but the Right of executing them in the Diſobedience of the Subject; and if the Penalty be ſuch, as that upon the Subjects Diſobedience the Sovereign cannot juſtly execute it, it was unjust for him to threaten it; for to threaten legally, is to claim a Right to puniſh upon Condition the Law be broken and violated; and that Soveraign who upon Condition of the Subjects Diſobedience, claims a Right to mcre Puniſhment than he can juſtly exact of him when he diſobeys, pretends to more Right than he really hath, and ſo by conſequence his Claim is unrightcous. If therefore by the Threat of his Law God may juſtly claim a Right to puniſh us for ever if we diſobey, then doubtleſs when we have actually diſobeyed, he may as juſtly exact it, and doth no more exceed his Right when he inflicts what he threatned, than he did when he threatned to inflict it. If he had Right to ſay, I will puniſh you for ever upon Condition you tranſgreſs my Laws, then upon our performing that Condition he muſt neceſſarily have Right to do as he ſaid. So that our tranſgreſſing his Law being a ſufficient Condition for him to found a rightful Claim to puniſh us eternally, by our doing this Condition we juſtly forfeit our ſelves to eternal Puniſhment, and by our own Act and Deed voluntarily reſign up our precious Souls to the juſt laſh of an everlaſting Vengeance; which as the Justice of God is no way obliged to ſuſpend, ſo neither is his Goodneſs, which now is our only Reſerve; conſidering.

p. 996thly. And laſtly, That God's exacting this eternal Penalty of us can no more impeach his Goodneſs than his threatning and denouncing it. That it is highly conſiſtent with his Goodneſs to threaten it, I have already proved; but if it were not alſo conſiſtent therewith to inflict it, to be ſure his own Wiſdom would never admit him to threaten it. For to what end ſhould he threaten to act contrary to the Goodneſs of his Nature? Either he muſt deſign to make us believe that he intends to act, or not; if the first, he muſt thereby deſign to abuſe, and miſrepreſent himſelf in the Opinion of his Creatures, to blemiſh the Reputation, and expoſe the Honour of his own infinite Goodneſs. But if he did not deſign to make us believe it, to what end ſhould he threaten it, ſince unleſs we believe it, it can no more affect us than the firing of a Gun that is charged with nothing but Powder, and was deſigned to make a noiſe only, but to do no Execution? So that if it be repugnant to God's Goodneſs to execute this Penalty, it muſt be repugnant to his Wiſdom to denounce it; but it being not only conſistent with, but an Expreſſion of his Goodneſs to denounce it, when he deſigns thereby to oblige us more firmly to our Duty, in which our everlaſting Happineſs is included, it may be no leſs an Expreſſion of the ſame Goodneſs to execute it upon us, when we by our obſtinate Perſiſtance in Sin have render'd our ſelves incapable of Mercy. For now there being no more good to be done upon us, it will be an Act of Goodneſs in God to puniſh us for ever, if thereby any good may be done to others by us; if by making us everlaſting Monuments of his juſt Indignation, he can everlaſtingly p. 100warn and ſecure others from thoſe deſperate Courſes that ruined us. For in this Caſe his puniſhing us for ever, may be an effectual means to do that good to others which he intended to do to us by threatning to puniſh us for ever, and they may take warning by our Puniſhment, though we would take none by his Threatning. And when by being obſtinately deaf to the Threat of eternal Perdition, which God denounced on purpoſe to oblige us to be happy, we have not only forfeited our ſelves to it, but have alſo ſinned our ſelves into an Incapacity of having any good done upon us; the only Uſe which the Divine goodneſs can make of us for the future, is to do good to others by us; which it can no otherwiſe do, but by making our everlasting Suffering an everlaſting Example for them to take warning by. For though there is no doubt but every virtuous Soul ſhall be hereafter ſo confirmed in its ſtate of Beatitude, as that it ſhall never fall from it, yet ſhall it be confirmed no otherwiſe than by the force of thoſe Reaſons and invincible Motives which ſhall then continually urge, and immoveably determine it unto that which is good: One of which Reaſons, as we may reaſonably ſuppoſe, will be their proſpect of the endleſs Miſeries of the Damned, which will be an everlaſting Monitor to them, and together with their own fenſe of the raviſhing Pleaſures of Goodneſs, will ſecure them for ever from falling. For if the Angels of Heaven took warning by the Fall and Ruin of their Apoſtate Brethren, as doubtleſs they did, and thereupon became more immovably confirmed in Innocence and Goodneſs; why may we not as well ſuppoſe, that one of p. 101thoſe Reaſons b which the Spirits of juſt Men are ſo immovably confirmed in their Heavenly State, is the ſad Example of the endleſs Miſeries of the Wicked? If therefore when God hath denounced eternal Miſery againſt us on purpoſe to threaten us into Happineſs, we will take no warning it is an Act of Goodneſs in him to inflict it upon us, ſince thereby he may ſo effectually contribute to the confirming of others in eternal Happineſs. For if we will not be wrought on by ſuch a dreadful Denunciation there is no good can be done upon us; and when we are paſt Recovery, and are forfeited by our own Obſtinacy into the hands of God's Vengeance, it will be an Act of Goodneſs in him ſo to diſpoſe of us as may be moſt for the good of others, and conſequently to diſpoſe of us to eternal Miſery, and by ſo doing to make uſe of us as Arguments to confirm and eſtabliſh othes in eternal Happineſs; that ſo our Sufferings may be to them what hs Threatnings were to us, Arguments to oblige us to be happy for ever. And ſo I have done with the Firſt Thing propos'd, which was to ſhew you that if God be ſo determined, he may, without any Injury either to his Juſtice or Goodneſs, retain loſt Souls in the Bondage of Hell for ever, and abſolutely refuſe to accept any Ranſom for them.

I now proceed to the Second Head of Diſcourſe, namely, to prove that God is actually determined ſo to do. And this I ſhall endeavour to demonſtrate by theſe three Reaſons.

1. Becauſe he hath already exacted a Ranſom for the Souls of Men, to which no other can p. 102be equivalent; from whence we may reaſonably infer, that if this be rejected he will accept no other.

2. Becauſe he hath expreſly declared himſelf to be thus determined.

3. Becauſe having thus declared himſelf, we muſt ſuppoſe that either he intended this Declaration only for a Scare-crow, or that he is determined to act accordingly.

1st. That God is determined to conclude loſt Souls under endleſs Miſery, and admit no Ranſom for them, appears from hence; becauſe he hath already exacted a Ranſom for them, to which no other can be equivalent; from whence we may reaſonably infer, that if this be rejected, he will accept no other. When by our first Apoſtacy from God, we ſtained the Innocence of our Natures, and forfeited our Lives to the just Vengeance of Heaven; ſo terribly was it then incenſed againſtus, that it would accept no meaner Ranſom for us than the precious Blood of the Son of God; for ſo St. Peter tells us, That we were not redeemed with corruptible things, as ſilver and gold; but with the prccious blood of Chriſt, as of a Lamb without blemiſh, and without ſpot, 1 Pet. 1.18, 19. And though this Ranſom was of ſuch a vaſt and incomparable Value, that all the Treaſures in Heaven and Earth are inſignificant. Trifles to it; yet was the Virtue of it to extend no further than to thoſe, who, by a lively Faith, and unfeigned Repentance, returned from their Rebellion to their Duty and Allegiance; which if we do not, but inſtead thereof obſtinately perſiſt in our Wickedneſs and Folly, we renounce all our Part and Intereſt in the Blood of our Saviour; p. 103and do ineffect declare, that upon ſuch Terms as thoſe we will not be beholding to him for our Ranſom; but that rather than accept of Redemption upon ſuch ungrateful Conditions, we will truſt to the Courteſy of the Vengeance of God, and abide the moſt fatal Effects of it. When therefore by perſiſting to the End in our Unbelief and Impenitence, we have finally rejected the Blood of Chriſt, and utterly extinguiſh'd all our Right and Title to it; what Pretence of Reaſon have we to hope, that God will ever accept of any other Ranſom for us? When to the Sins, by which we made the firſt Forfeiture of our Souls, we have added the rank and horrid Impiety of trampling on the Blood of the Son of God, and ſo are not only not Redeemed by it from the Vengeance to come, but are a thouſand times more deeply inthralled to it by reaſon of that additional Guilt we have contracted by ſquandring away the Price of our Redemption: With what Face can we expect, in the midſt of ſuch black Circumſtances, that God ſhould accept of any Exchange for our Souls? He that would not releaſe us from the Obligation of our firſt Guilts upon any leſs Conſideration than the Blood of his Son, what likelihood is there that any Conſideration ſhould move him to releaſe us after we have ſo prodigiouſly augmented our Guilt by rejecting his Blood, and finally renouncing all our Intereſt in it? Doubtleſs he that demanded ſo vaſt a Ranſom for us when our Guilt was ſo comparatively ſmall and inconſiderable, will account no Ranſom ſufficient when we have ſo tranſcendently inhanced and multiplied it. For if the Blood of Chriſt, which is of ſuch an unſpeakable value, can p. 104give us no Relief without our willing Acceptance of it upon the Terms it is propoſed to us, then when we have finally refuſed it on thoſe Terms, it muſt be ſomething that is more valuable than his Blood that muſt relieve us; ſomething that is ſufficient not only to Redeem us from thoſe Guilts which his Blood was a Ranſom for, but alſo to expiate the Guilt of our trampling on his Blood, which is the greatest and blackeſt of all. But ſince the Blood of Chriſt is incomparably the moſt precious Ranſom that Heaven and Earth could afford, what hope is there that whn this is rejected by us, God ſhould accept any other in exchane for our Souls?

2dly. That God is really determined to conclude lost Souls under endleſs Miſery, and admit no Ranſom for them, appears alſo from hence, Becauſe he hath expreſly declared himſelf to be ſo determined. For ſo our bleſſed Saviour, who was the great Meſſenger of his Will to the World, hath expreſly told us, that the final Sentence of the Wicked ſhall be to everlaſting Fire, Matth. 25.41. and that the Fate of obſtinate Sinners, whom he compares to Chaff, ſhall be to be burned up with unquenchable fire. But perhaps you may object, that theſe Texts only prove the Everlaſtingneſs of the Fire in which they ſhall ſuffer, and not their everlaſting Suffering in it; for this Fire perhaps may immediately conſume, and utterly deſtroy them, and render them inſenſible of Miſery for ever. To which I anſwer, That the contrary is moſt evident; for they are expreſly ſaid to live in this Fire, and to perform the Functions of living Beings in Miſery; to weep and wail, and gnaſh p. 105their teeth, Matth. 13.42. and in the Parable of Dives, he is ſaid to life up his eyes in Hell, being in torments, and to ſee Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his boſom; and to cry out to Abraham, Father Abraham have mercy on me, and ſend Lazarus, that he may dip the top of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame, Luke 16.23. — A plain Evidence that this Fire is to torment and not to conſume them. Well, but this you will ſav imports no more than their being tortured in hell for ſome period of Time, after which, it may be, they may ceaſe to be, and conſequently to be miſerable. To which I anſwer, That elſewhere it is expreſly aſſerted, that this Torture is to endure for ever; for theſe, ſaith our Saviour, ſpeaking of the Wicked, ſhall go away into everlaſting Puniſhment, Matth. 25.46. And how can their Puniſhment be everlaſting, unleſs we ſuppoſe them to ſubſiſt everlaſtingly in it? If you ſay it is everlaſting, only as it is an everlaſting Deſtruction, or Privation of their Being: I anſwer, That in other Places of Scripture it is expreſly aſſerted, that this everlaſting puniſhment is a poſitive thing; for it is ſaid to be a Worm that never dieth, Mark 9.44. that is, that to all Eternity lives and preys upon the wretched Sufferers; and more expreſly yet, Revel. 20.10. thoſe that are caſt into the lake of fire and brimstone, are ſaid to be tormented there day and night for ever and ever: Where the Greek word foreign doth plainly denote poſitive Torment, and referring peculiarly to a Rack, denotes the kind of this poſitive Torment to be ſuch as is not deſigned to put an end to our Lives, but to continue them with inexpreſſible p. 106Pains. For this we know is the proper Uſe and Deſign of a Rack; and accordingly upon this tormenting Rack of Hielliſh Puniſhment they are ſaid to have no reſt day nor night, Rev. 14.11. So that the eternal Miſery of loſt Souls is as fully and expreſly aſſerted in Scripture, as it could well have been, had it been expreſſed with a Deſign to leave no pretence of Exception for Gainſayers; and when a thing is as plainly aſſerted to be as it could well have been if it really were, either we muſt ſuppoſe the Thing to be, or elſe the Aſſertion to be fallacious. So that if we think that God's own Word doth truly ſignify his Determination, we muſt from hence be forced to conclude, that he is really determined to ſhut up loſt Souls in eternal Miſery, and admit no Ranſom for them.

3dly. And laſtly, This alſo appears, becauſe if after he hath thus declared himſelf, there were any Reaſon to think that he is not determined to act accordingly, that Reaſon would warrant us to believe that this Declaration was only intended for a Scare-crow, and conſequently to contemn and deſpiſe it. For againſt all that hath been ſaid, it may be (and is by ſome Men) objected, That God is not bound to do as he threatens; that when by our Diſobedience we have incurred the Penalty he threatens, he hath an undoubted Right indeed to inflict it upon us, and conſequently may, if he pleaſe, inflict it without any Wrong or Injuſtice; but then, if he pleaſe, he may diſpenſe with it too, either in the whole, or in part, as he ſees convenient. For the Puniſhment being only a Debt which the Sinner owes to him, he is p. 107no more obliged than other Creditors are to exact the utmoſt farthing of it; but may exact or remit the whole, or abate what part ſoever he pleaſes; and therefore it is to be hoped, that he being a merciful Creditor will not be ſo extreme and rigorous as to exact of us the utmoſt Puniſhment we owe him; but that when he hath made us ſmart a while for our Folly, he will either releaſe us into a more happy Condition, or put an end to our Beings and Miſeries together. To which I might anſwer, That when by our Sins we have forfeited our ſelves to the juſt Vengeance of God, it is infinite Mercy and Goodneſs to others, to puniſh us according to his Threatning; and therefore when we by our sins have render'd our ſelves incapable of his Mercy, that Mercy which now inclines him to do good to us, will then equally incline him to good to other, by the dreadful Example of our Puniſhment; and ſo he may be a very merciful Creditor, and notwithſtanding exact of us the utmoſt Farthing. But this I have already largely inſiſted on, and therefore, 2dly. I anſwer, That what God may do is not for us to determine when he may, or may not, and is obliged to neither; but when he hath expreſly denounced what he will do, we can have no Reaſon to hope that he will be better than his Word. For if after that he hath denounced, that if we perſiſt in our Sin he will puniſh us for ever for it, he ſhould have left us any juſt Reaſon to hope that eh will not, he would thereby have countermined himſelf, and baſſled the Deſign of his own Denunciation, which is to terrify his rebellious Creatures from their Sins, and to aw them into Obedience to his Laws. But how p. 108much Reaſon ſoever he hath given me to hope, that he will not be ſo ſevere to me as he threatens, ſo much Reaſon he muſt have given me not to be afraid of his Threatnings. If I had any juſt Reaſon to believe that he will be more merciful than to inflict what he denounces, it is an irrational thing for me to dread his Denunciations; for I know God will do as just Reaſon directs, and therefore I muſt conclude either my Reaſon to be falſe, or God's Denunciation to be a Scare-crow; for if there be any juſt Reaſon why his Mercy and Goodneſs ſhould interpoſe, and avert the Execution of his Threats from me, I ought not to be afraid of them, becauſe I am ſure he can do nothing that his Mercy and Goodneſs forbids: But if there be no Reaſon for ſuch an Interpoſure, I am unreaſonably preſumptuous to expect it. So that either my Expectation muſt be groundleſs, or my Fear of God's Threatnings irrational: And can it be imagined that the Wiſe God would ever go about to aw his Creatures into Obedience by threatning their Sin with ſuch Puniſhments as he knows they have just Reaſon not to be afradi of? Whatſoever therefore God may do, I am ſure if we go on in our Sins, we can have no Reaſon to hope that he will either not puniſh us at all, or leſs than he hath threatned; or conſequently, that he will abate us one moment of that eternal Miſery which he hath ſo plainly and expreſly denounced againſt us. What then remains, but that ſince when our Soul is loſt, it is loſt for ever, we now take all poſſible care to ſecure it while we may.

p. 109V. I proceed now to the Fifth and laſt Propoſition; That this irrecoverable Loſs of the Soul is of ſuch VAST and ƲNSPEAKABLE Moment, that the Gain of all the World is not ſufficient to compenſate it: What ſhall it profit a Man, if he ſhall gain the whole World, and loſe his own Soul? That is, It will not profit him at all; nay it will be ſo far from that, that it will turn to his unſpeakable Loſs and Diſadvantage: Though by renouncing his Profeſſion of my Doctrine, or his Obedience of my Laws, a Man were ſure to make himſelf Lord of all the World, and to poſſeſs and injoy it as long as he lived; yet if for ſo doing he ſhould afterwards loſe his Soul, as moſt certainly he will, he will find in the iſſue that he hath made a woful Bargain of it, and be forced to acknowledge himſelf a vaſt Loſer when he comes to ſuffer thoſe intollerable Damages which the loſs of a Soul implies. For the Proof of which, I ſhall run a Compariſon between the Gain and the Loſs, and therein endeavour to repreſent to you how much the Evil of this Loſs exceeds the Good of that Gain; and this I ſhall do in theſe following Particulars:

1ſt. The Good that is in the Gain is imaginary and fantaſtical; but the Evil that is in the Loſs is real and ſubſtantial.

2dly. The Good that is in the Gain is narrow and particular; but the Evil that is in the Loſs is large and univerſal.

3dly. The Good that is in the Gain is convertible into Evil; but the Evil that is in the Loſs is never to be improved into Good.

p. 1104thly. The Good that is in the Gain is mixt and ſophiſticated; but the Evil that is in the Loſs is pure and unmingled.

5thly. The Good that is in the Gain is full of Intermiſſions; but the Evil that is in the Loſs is continual.

6thly. The Good that is in the Gain is ſhort and tranſitory; but the Evil that is in the Loſs is eternal.

1ſt. The Good that is in the Gain is imaginary and fantaſtical; but the Evil that is in the Loſs is real and ſubſtantial. For whatſoever we gain of this Worlds Goods beyond what is neceſſary to ſerve the real Occaſions, and modest Conveniencies of this preſent Life, adminiſters to no other purpoſe but only to gratify an extravagant Fancy: For all the real Need that a Man hath of theſe worldly Goods, is only to maintain and provide for his Body; for his Soul hath no more need of them, than an Angel hath of Money to buy Victuals and Clothes with: And one would think ſo ſmall a thing as an humane Body is, could not need many things; and that a piece of animate Matter, ſome ſix foot long, might be very eaſily and cheaply provided for: And indeed ſo it would be if we could once forbear fancying its Needs to be greater than they are; but if we let looſe the Reigns to an ungoverned Fancy, That will ſo extend its Needs beyond the Capacities of its Nature, that all the World will be too little to content the extravagant Appetites of this little Clod of Earth. Lay but your Fancies aſide, and you will want no other Apparel but what is ſufficient to keep you warm, and clcan, and modeſt, and with this you may be p. 111very cheaply provided; but if you will reſolve to humour that capricious thing, you will want the Revenue of a Lordſhip to cover your Nakedneſs. Keep but your Fancies in order, and your Appetites will be contented with plain and wholſom Proviſions, and this a ſmall Income will furniſh you with; but if once you let looſe that roving Faculty, and ſuffer it to grow wanton and delicate, that will ſo ſtretch your Appetites, that the ſtores of all the four Elements will ſcarce be ſufficient to gratify their Luxuries. And ſo it is in all other things appertaining to the Body; whoſe Wants according to Natures Meaſures are ſmall, but according to Fancies are infinite. So that if a Man had all the World in his Poſſeſſion, yet all but that little little part of it that is either naturally neceſſary, or rationally convenient for his bodily Subſiſtence, would be good for nothing but to humour the Deſires of an extravagant Fancy; which are ſo far from being quenched, that they are but the more inflamed by Injoyment. If I had all the Wealth of Croeſus, the good Fortunes of Caeſar, and the Dominions of Alexander, what would it advantage me? I ſhould only have abundance of things that I have no real need of; things, that if I would my ſelf, I might eaſily be as happy without, as I can be with them. For would I but make my Nature and my Reaſon the meaſure of my Wants, I might always live next door to Satisfaction; and as for my Wants, they would be ſo light and portable, that I might eaſily take them, and carry them along with me, and lay them down almoſt whereſoever I pleaſed. Whereas if I permit my Fancy to grow wild and imaginative, I ſhall always find p. 112my Wants doubled with my Injoyments; and whereas when I had but five Pounds, I needed but five hundred; when I have five hundred, I ſhall need five thouſand; and ſo on till at laſt I need beyond all poſſibility of Satisfaction. Since therefore all that this World can do for me, beſides the ſupplying of a few modeſt Needs, which a very little of it will do, what a miſerable Loſer ſhall I be, if meerly to gratify my Fancy, I forfeit my Soul, and incur the real Miſeries of a woful Eternity in Purſuit of the fantaſtick Joys of a moment? If to purchaſe things which I ſhall never be the better for, which while I have not, I do not need, and which when I have I ſhall not enjoy; I ſhould not only ſquander away the moſt ſubſtantial Happineſs, but plunge my ſelf into a vaſts Abyſs of real and intolerable Miſeries: O good God, what a woful Bargain ſhall I have of it? For though the Pleaſure of our Sin doth always vaniſh on the Brink of Fruition, and like a golden Dream, concludes in a diſappointed Expectation; yet the Sting that is to follow it will produce in us not only a real, but an extreamly ſharp and dolorous Perception; ſo extreamly ſharp, that it will pierce our very Hearts, and cauſe us to roar out with Anguiſh for ever. And alas! what a poor Compenſation is it for a Man that muſt e're long be enduring the Tortures of a tedious Famine, to be entertain'd a few Moments with the Picture of a Feaſt, or the Story of Cleopatra's Banquet? Or what Man in his Wits would ever forfeit himſelf, for the mere Fancy of a Pleaſure, to the lingering Torments of a Rack? And yet, O wretched Sinner, thou acteſt a thouſand times more extravagantly; who, by thy unlawful p. 113Purſuits of the imaginary Pleaſures of this World, betrayeſt thy Soul to the bitter Torments of Hell.

2dly. The Good that is in the Gain of this World is narrow and particular, but the Evil that is in the Loſs of a Soul is large and univerſal. 'Tis but a Part of our ſelves, and that the worſt Part too, that this World's Goods can benefit and advantage; they can only clothe our Bodies more ſplendidly, and feed them more deliciouſly, and furniſh them with more Plenty of outward Accommodations; but alas for the Soul, they are as inſignificant to her, as Muſical Sounds are to the Eye of the Body, or magnificent Shews to the Ear: They cannot improve the meanest Faculty about her, nor make her in any reſpect either the better or the wiſer. And as for the Body it ſelf, wherein all their Lines do center, there are a thouſand Caſes in which they are perfectly uſeleſs; for they cannot give Health to it in any Sickneſs, for Eaſe in any Pain; they cannot recover a lost Senſe, nor reſtore a withered Limb, nor rectify a deformed Feature; nor is it in their Power to reprieve it from the Grave one moment beyond the natural Period of its Mortality. So extreamly narrow are theſe worldly Goods which we are ſo greedy of, that they can extend their Benefits no farther than the Body; nay, and even to that they are vaſtly inadequate, there being a thouſand bodily Neceſſities whereunto they cannot extend themſelves. So that if to purchaſe theſe we expoſe our ſelves to eternal Perdition, we ſhall have in compariſon but a drop of Good to compenſate our ſelves for an Ocean of Miſery. For the Miſery of Hell is as vast and extenſive as our Capacity of Suffering, and hath in it an appropriate Torment p. 114for every ſenſible Part of our Natures. It racks the wretched Soul in every Faculty, and fills up all its Capacities of Miſery with Anguiſh and Vexation: It afflicts its Mind with horrid Apprehenſions, wounds and gaſhes its Conſcience with diſmal Reflections; it feſters its Will with black and venomous Paſſions, and ſtarves its Deſires with everlaſting Famine. And as it leaves no part of the Soul untormented, but covers it over from Head to Foot with Wounds, and Bruiſes, and putrifying Sores; ſo when the Body at the Reſurrection is reunited to it, the Miſery of Hell will extend to this alſo; for then it will have ſuperadded to its Spiritual Plagues the moſt exquiſite Inſtrument of Corporeal Torment, viz. the dark, and noiſom, and ſcorching Flames of a burning World, which will ſeize upon the Bodies of Reprobate Sinners, they being ſinally abandoned to them by the last and final Sentence, and ſtick cloſe to, and burn through them for ever. And their Bodies being thus wrapped and clothed in flaming Sulphur, muſt needs be exquiſitely vexed in every Part and Member, and feel as many Torments as they have Senſes to indure them. Thus the Miſeries of Hell, you ſee, are far more extenſive than the Goods of this World; for whereas theſe extend only to our Bodies, and can relieve them but in a few of their Neceſſities, thoſe over-ſpread both the Body and Soul, and are both co-eternal and co-equal with their utmoſt Capacities of Suffering: So that when by our unlawful Purſuits of the Goods of this World we forfeit our ſelves to eternal Perdition, we plunge our whole Nature into intolerable Miſery for the Eaſe and the Pleaſure of one particular Part. Now would any p. 115Man in his Wits, do you think, eat Rats-bane for no other Reaſon, but only becauſe it is ſweet? Would he to pleaſe his liquoriſh Palate diffuſe a tormenting Poiſon over all his Parts and Members? Or would he think the Pleaſure of one ſweet Guſt a ſufficient Compenſation for all the ſucceeding Spaſms and Convulſions? Surely no; none but a Mad-man could ever admit of ſuch an Extravagance. And yet, O wretched Sinner! thou art far more wild and extravagant; for a particular Good thou throweſt thy ſelf headlong into an univerſal Miſery; and to gratify thy Body in a few little things doſt utterly ruin both thy Body and Soul. To pleaſe thy ſelf in one part, thou puniſheſt thy ſelf in all; and for the gratifying one Senſe, deriveſt a tormenting Venom over all the Senſes of thy Nature; and ſo in fine, wilt have nothing but the Pleaſure of a Taſte or a Touch to compenſate thee for all the Agonies and Torments that thy Body and Soul together are able to ſuſtain. And what a poor Compenſation this is, I leave you to judg.

3dly. The Good that is in the Gain of this World is convertible into Evil; but the Evil that is in the Loſs of a Soul is never to be improved into Good. When we are arrived to the Poſſeſſion of thoſe outward Goods which at preſent we do ſo greedily graſp after, it is a very uncertain thing whether they will prove Goods to us or no; whether, even as to this Life, we ſhall be the better or the worſe for them. For it is very often ſeen that theſe worldly Goods prove the worst of Plagues to thoſe that are the Owners of them, and that thoſe things which we account the Bleſſings of this Life, do prove the Curſes and Miſeries of it. When by a p. 116thouſand Lies, Flatteries, and Circumventions, a Man hath raiſed himſelf up to that pinacle of Preferment which his Ambition aſpired to, how often hath that Height proved the Occaſion of his Fall, by expoſing him to thoſe Storms of Envy and Miſfortune which would have blown over his Head, had he ſat quietly below, and been contented to injoy himſelf in a more private Fortune? And ſo when by an infinite number of Rapines, and Oppreſſions, Frauds, and diſhoneſt Compliances, a Man hath amaſſed together a vast deal of Wealth, how often hath that proved the Occaſion of his Undoing? Sometimes by expoſing him to the rapacious Covetouſneſs of others, but moſt commonly to the ill Effects of his own extravagant Luxuries. For uſually when Frand is the Procurer of Wealth, Wealth is the Baud of Luxury; this being the best Expedient to drown the Cry of the Guilt of our Diſhoneſty. And then by that time Luxury hath produced its natural Effects, it commonly leaves the wealthy Poſſeſſor in a far worſe Condition than Poverty; it leaves him ſo rackt with the Gout or the Stone, ſo over-whelmed with Catarrhs or Dropſies, that the miſerable Man would be heartily contented to part with all his Wealth for Eaſe, and to return to Poverty ſo he might but return to the Health of an honest Plough-man; whereas would he have contented himſelf with the honest Acqueſt of a moderate Fortune, he need have wanted nothing but Temptations to Luxury, and Proviſions for tormenting Diſeaſes. So that in ſhort, whilſt we are purſuing this World's Goods, we know not what our Game will be till we have ſeiſed on it; peradventure inſtead of Veniſon we p. 117are hunting a Serpent, which, when we have caught, will ſting and invenom us, and prove a Plague inſtead of a Satisfaction. And is it not extravagant Madneſs then for Men to run themſelves into all thoſe Miſeries, which everlaſting Ruin and Perdition implies, for the ſake of ſuch uncertain Goods, which when they are poſſeſſed of, for all they know, may do them a thouſand times more Miſchief than Good? For as for thoſe future Miſeries, which by our ſinful Purſuits of theſe preſent Goods we incur, they are all ſuch abſolute and eſſential Evils, that there is not one drop of Good to be extracted out of them; for as they are eternal they are of an unalterable Nature, and the ſame inſupportable Plagues they were yeſterday, they will continue to be to day, and for ever, Indeed if we were to out-live them, they might be accidentally advantagious to us; they might diſcipline our Natures for an Happineſs to come, and ſerve as ſo many Toils to our future Pleaſures; and when they are paſt, the Remembrance of them, like bitter Sauce, might give a Reliſh to our Joys, and render them more grateful and delicious: But we being to indure 'em for ever, there is nothing Good can ſucceed them, no poſſible Advantage can be derived from them; for in Miſeries that have no End, there can be nothing but Miſery. And is it not very ſtrange then, that Men ſhould forfeit their Souls to ſuch unalterable Miſeries, for ſuch Goods as may be Plagues to them? when for all they know there may be ſuch a Train of Miſchiefs at the heels of theſe Pleaſures, and Proſits, and Honours they are ſo greedy of, as may outweigh all the good of them, and render them a p. 118dear Penny-worth, though they had never pawned their Souls for them. And if it ſo prove, as it is very probable it may, then their Bargain is worſe than if they had pawned their Souls for nothing; becauſe they have incurred one Miſery only to ſeiſe upon another, and have waded through a temporal to come at an eternal one.

4thly. The Good that is in the Gain of this World, is mixed and ſophiſticated; but the Evil that is in the Loſs of a Soul is pure and unmingled. Should a Man ſell his Soul for never ſo great a ſhare of this World's Goods, he would find he had gotten but a very uneaſy Purchaſe; a Purchaſe as he can neither ſecure without a great deal of care, nor yet injoy without a great deal of Diſſatisfaction. For what we call ours, is really ours but for our Portion of Expence and Uſe; and all that is ours beyond this, is only the Title and the Care, and the Trouble of ſecuring and diſpenſing it; for let but your Servants walk into your Gardens of Pleaſure, and the Air ſhall fan them with as gentle Gales, the Flowers delight them with as fragrant Odours, and the Birds entertain them with as raviſhing Melodies. And in ſome ſenſe your meanest Servants injoy what you have with far more freedom than you; for your Poſſeſſions are like a great Harveſt, which many Labourers muſt bring in, and more muſt eat of; only you are the Center of all the Cares, and you they ſix on; but the Profits run out to all the Lines of your Circle, who uſually injoy their ſeveral ſhares with much more Peace and Quiet than you. You take the Pains to dig the Well, and undergo the Care of ſupplying and maintaning it; and when you have done, you can p. 119drink no more of it than the meanest Slave about you; but what you drink can't be ſo ſweet and pure, becauſe it is daſhed with many more Cares and Diſturbances. For conſidering the infinite Hazards theſe worldly Goods are expoſed to, they muſt needs carry with them abundance of Cares and Diſquietudes; ſo that when you are poſſeſſed of them, you only graſp a Bundle of gilded Thorns, which while they pleaſe your Eyes, will prick your Hearts, and continually diſeaſe you in the Injoyment of them. And then for the Injoyment it ſelf, conſidered abſtractedly from thoſe Cares that ſurround it, alas it is ſuch as rather creates Deſire than Satisfaction; for though at a diſtance theſe Terreſtrial Goods do promiſe us fair; and raiſe in us vast and boundleſs Hopes; yet ſtill when we approach nearer to them, we find our ſelves miſerably deceived. And then our Injoyment falling ſo vaſtly ſhort of our Expectation, al thoſe ſwelling Hopes that flattered and tolled us on, fall flat immediately under the Diſappointments of Fruition; and accordingly our Deſires miſſing their promiſed Satisfactions, grow more outragious and violent. And thus our Injoyments, as they are compaſſed with Vexations, ſo are they mingled with reſtleſs Diſcontents, as being all too little for our vast Deſires; which are therefore rather inraged than ſatisfied with them. What infinite Loſers therefore muſt thoſe Men be, who to compaſs thoſe ſophiſticated Goods which have ſo many Evils intermixed with them, forfeit their Souls to everlaſting Perdition? which is ſo vast and ſo intenſe an Evil, as will admit no degree of Good to be intermingled with it; a Miſery ſo pure and unallayed, p. 120as that it totally excludes all Communication with Happineſs, and will not admit the least Hope of Eaſe or Refreſhment. For what Eaſe can we hope for in the everlaſting Burnings? What Refreſhment can we expect in the unquenchable Lake of Fire and Brimſtone? Doubtleſs we may as ſoon hope to find a Cordial in the Sting of a Scorpion, or ſprightly Nextar in a Neſt of Waſps, as one degree of Eaſe or Comfort in Hell. There is not a Gleam of Light in all that Region of Darkneſs, not a Drop of Sweet in all that vast Ocean of Gall and Wormwood; but it is all Miſery, ſharp and exquiſite Miſery, without the least Mixture of Eaſe, or Hope of Mitigation. Can we then be ſo ſtupid as to imagine the injoying this World's Goods, which are all ſuch Compoſitions of Good and Evil, worth the enduring ſuch pure and abſtracted Miſeries for ever? Would you for the Pleaſure of an intemperate Draught that will quickly end in a Qualm or an Headach, be contented to indure the Torment of being impaled? Or provided you might ſpend this Night in your laſcivious Injoyment, which after a few Moments will conclude in Shame and Remorſe, would you be willing to roar upon the Rack all the Might after? doubtleſs you would not. And yet, God knows, theſe Plcaſures are not comparably ſo diſproportionate to thoſe Pains, as the Pleaſures of this World are to the Pains of Eternity. How then is it poſſible that ſuch Batterſweets as the theſe are, Sweets that are chequered with ſo many Cares, and allayed with ſo many Diſcontents, and Diſappointments, ſhould be ſufficient to countervail thoſe intolerable Miſeries which the Loſs of our Souls implies?

p. 1215thly. The Good that is in the Gain of this World is full of Intermiſſions; but the Evil that is in the Loſs of a Soul is continual. If I were Lord of all the World, I ſhould never be able to live in a conſtant Injoyment of it. For ſuch wretched Counterfeits are all the Pleaſures of Senſe, that they will not indure the Teſt of a long Fruition; for at the beſt they are but Frolicks of Delight that never ſerze us but when we are turned up to them in Moods and Fits, and all the Complacencies we have in them are nothing but the little Starts of our Appetite, which, as ſoon as it hath done craving, grows a meary of them, and ſo injoys and loaths them by Turns; for they can dwell no longer upon the Appetite than while the Neceſſities of Nature do continue; and every freſh Morſel after the Hunger is ſatisfied, is but a new Labour to a tired Digeſtion, and ſo inſtead of being a Pleaſure becomes an Oppreſſion. So that it is but a very little while that the Pleaſure of any outward Injoyment continues; for till it hath pleaſed us it is not a Pleaſure, and when it hath, it ceaſes to be ſo; and ſo it dies as ſoon as it is born, and its Nativity is only a Prelude to its Funeral. Thus all our Injoyments are ſtinted by our Appetites, which are naturally incapable of a continued Fruition. But then beſides this, our Injoyments are liable to a thouſand other Interruptions, which are are not in our power to prevent or avoid; for whether we will or no, we muſt be ſome times out of Humour, and then all the Pleaſures in the World are moſt tedious Impertinencies; and ſome times we muſt ſleep, and then we are inſenſible of them; and ſometimes be ſick, and then they are as taſtleſs as p. 122a Cork; and ſometimes be griped with guilty Thoughts, and ill-aboding Reflections, and then, inſtead of Pleaſures, they are our Horrors and Vexations. Thus our Injoyment, like an Ague, is full of Intermiſſions; now we are pleaſed, and anon we are diſpleaſed, and immediately after the hot Fit is over, the cold One returns; and thus it would be if we had all the World in our Poſſeſſion. And indeed the Intervals of our Injoyment of theſe Terreſtrial Goods are uſually longer than the Injoyment it ſelf, and the hot Fits of our Pleaſure and Fruition are generally ſooner over, than thoſe cold Ones of Diſpleaſure and Diſſatisfaction that ſucceed them. So that if I could command all the Goods in the World, they would be ſo far from yielding me a continued Happineſs, that in all Probability the Interruptions of my Happineſs would take up a greater Part of my Life than the Injoyment of it; and perhaps for every one moment of Fruition, I ſhould ſpend two either in Pain, or in Non-perception of Pleaſure. How then is it poſſible that ſuch a broken and diſcontinued Happineſs as this ſhould ever make us amends for thoſe Miſeries that are included in the Loſs of our Souls? For to loſs our Souls is to be miſerable without any Interruption, to be eternally grieved and tortured without any Intervals of Eaſe or Refreſhment. For the State of Perdition is a continual Torment ſpun out into an endleſs Duration, wherein there are no Days of Rest, nor Nights of Sleep, nor intermeditae Pauſes of Eaſe; where the Fire never ceaſes burning, nor the Worm gnawing, but Wo ſucceeds Wo without Intermiſſion, and Miſeries, like the nimble Minutes of Time, follow Miſeries, p. 123and tread cloſe upon one anothers Heels. Hence, Rev. 20.10. thoſe that aee caſt into this Lake of Perdition, are ſaid to be tormented day and night for ever; which plainly implies that their Miſeries are all but one uninterrupted Torment, or continued Succeſſion of dolorous Perceptions for ever. And if ſo, O bleſſed God, what a poor Compenſation for it are the broken Joys of this World? For if the Miſery of Hell were to laſt no longer than the Happineſs of this World, yet if for one Week's Happineſs here I were to indure another Week's Miſery there, I ſhould have a miſerable Bargain of it; becauſe the Happineſs being ſo interrupted, and the Miſery ſo continued, I muſt in the ſame ſpace undergo at leaſt double the Miſery that I injoyed Happineſs. And what Man would be contented to live all the next Week in a Cauldron of boyling Oyl, wherein he knows he ſhall be continually tormented, provided he may ſpend this Week in an uninterrupted Injoyment of the moſt grateful Luxuries, which he knows he muſt be as often and as long inſenſible as he can be ſenſible of?

6thly. And laſtly, The Good that is in the Gain of this World is fading and tranſitory; but the Evil that is in the Loſs of the Soul is eternal. For ſo impotent are all this World's Goods, that they cannot inſure us of oue moment's Injoyment of them. it may be as ſoon as ever we have filled our Bags and Barns with the Wages of our Iniquity, and have a plentiful Proviſion for many Years Eaſe and Luxury, we may be ſnatched away upon the very Brinks of Injoyment, and hurried into a woful Eternity, there to conſume thoſe Years in Miſery and Torment, p. 124which we promiſed to ſpend in Pleaſure and Voluptuouſneſs. This you know was the Caſe of the rich Epicure in the Goſpel; how did the jolly Wretch congratulate and applaud himſelf in the golden Purchaſe of his Frauds and Oppreſſions? How did he vaunt of his own Prudence, and good Conduct, and ſtrut and ſwell with munificent Conceits of the happy Condition he was now arrived to, when all of a ſudden his unprepared Soul was ſurprized with a Summons to Eternity? And then how blank did the Fool look upon the fatal News, that that Night muſt put an End to all his Hopes and Pleaſures, and deprive him of all thoſe future Injoyments with which he had promiſed to recompence all his paſt Toils and Labours? With what Regret and Reluctancy was he dragg'd from the dear Purchaſe of his Sweat and Sin? and in what Agonies of Horror did he groan out his wretched Spirit, when inſtead of injoying the Goods he had laid up for many Years, he felt himſelf ſinking into a woful Eternity, and lie weltring there in unquenchable Flames, whilſt he hoped to have been wallowing here in Eaſe and Voluptuouſneſs? But ſuppoſe we ſhould injoy the many Years Eaſe which this vainglorious Fool was diſappointed of; alas thoſe Years will quickly expire, and Threeſcore and ten, or Fourſcore at moſt, is the utmoſt Period we can hope to arrive to; but then from thence commences an Eternity of Miſery which Millions of Millions of Ages can neither ſhrink nor exhauſt, and compared with the longeſt Life of Pleaſure hath not the Proportion of one ſingle moment. So that if in Exchange for our Souls we could purchaſe a Leaſe of Life as long as Methuſelah's, and a Leaſe of Happineſs p. 125parallel to that Life, yet in the Concluſion we ſhould find it a moſt woful Bargain; becauſe when both theſe Leaſes are expired, as they muſt at laſt though it be long firſt, we muſt remove into a State of intolerable Miſery, whoſe Duration will be always equally becauſe it will be always infinitely diſtant from a Period; and when we are there, all that long Train of Happineſs that is paſt will ſeem but a Minute's Dream in Compariſon of that Eternity of Miſery that is to come. But O good God, when for thirty or forty Years Pleaſure upon Earth, I have ſuffered a thouſand Years Torment in Hell, and after that have endleſs Thouſands of Thouſands more to ſuffer, how dearly ſhall I rue my own Folly and Madneſs, that for the ſake of a few Moments Pleaſure have run my ſelf headlong into ſuch an endleſs Miſery! Conſider therefore, O my Soul! within a little while all theſe outward Goods which I have purchaſed by my Sin, will ſignify no more to me than if they had never been, and all their alluring Reliſhes will be gone and forgotten for ever; but then for Ten thouſand Millions of Ages after I ſhall be feeling the Smart, and enduring the Stings of them. When all my ill-gotten Wealth is ſhrunk into a Winding-ſheet, and my vaſt Poſſeſſions into ſix foot of Earth, and I have none of its Pomps or Pleaſures left either to go along with, or to follow after me, then will the Guilt of all ſtick cloſe to me, and raiſe a Cry on me as high as the Tribunal of God; a Cry that will draw down an everlaſting Vengeance on my Head, and ring Peals of Thunder in my Conſcience for ever. Lord! what a poor Amends then is the momentary Injoyments of the Goods of this World to me, and that after a few p. 126Years muſt paſs into another, and there languiſh away a long Eternity under the intolerable Anguiſh of a damned Spirit.

And thus you ſee, upon a juſt Survey of the Gains of this world, and the Loſs of a Soul, how infinitely ſhort the Happineſs of the one is to make us any tolerable Compenſation for the Miſeries of the other. And if the Gain of all the World be too little to countervail this Loſs, what miſerable Loſers are the Generality of Men that forfeit their Souls upon a far leſs valuable Conſideration? For no Man was ever yet, or is ever like to be ſo proſperous in his Sin, as to gain the whole World by it; that is a Scramble in which Millions are ingaged, and of which every one will be catching a Share. But, alas, for the Generality, the Purchaſe of Mens Sin is ſo ſmall and inconſiderable, that it is ſcarce a valuable Conſideration for the Soul of a Rat. For what doth the common Swearer get by all his ſenſleſs and impertinent Oaths, which are capable of ſerving no other Purpoſe but only to ſtop the Gaps of his Speech, or to man his Rage, that he may rave, and play the Fool a little more genteely? What doth the Drunkard gain by all his Intemperances, but only a ſhort Fit of frantick Mirth, and extravagant Jollity, which, after a few Hours, ends in a ſleepleſs Night, a ſick, and uneaſy Stomach, and a ſottiſh Confuſion over all his Senſes? What doth the envious and malicious Man get by all his ſtudied Miſchiefs and Revenges? When he hath pluck'd out his Enemy's Eye, he cannot put it into his own Head, nor can he increaſe the Stock of his own Happineſs by diminiſhing his Adverſaries. p. 127When he hath made another the worſe, he is never the better for it; nor do his Injuries grow leſs by being retaliated: So that he vexes and diſquiets himſelf to no purpoſe, but to make his Enemy bleed; he keeps his own Wound green, and conſequently multiplies Evils in vain, and proſecutes Miſchief only for Miſchief's ſake. I confeſs there are ſome Vices that are not altogether ſo unprofitable as theſe; in ſome Vices there is a Proſpect of worldly Gain and Greatneſs, in others of ſenſitive Pleaſure and Delight; but alas, when after a few days Injoyment of thoſe Gains and Pleaſures, I am called away from them, and tranſported into a woful Eternity, there to expiate the Guilts of them with thoſe ſharp and everlaſting Torments I ſhall be made to endure, how ſhall I be aſtoniſhed at my own deſperate Folly to think what a mad Bargain I have made? what an Happineſs I have ſold to purchaſe thoſe Gains? what a Miſery I have incurred to graſp and injoy thoſe Pleaſures? O! now what would I give for a Goal-delivery from Hell, or but for the leaſt Mitigation of my Agonies and Torments! If I had all the Wealth that I purchaſed by my Sin, and ten thouſand times more, how willingly would I part with it to bribe my Flames, and corrupt my Tormentors? O! now I ſhall wiſh a thouſand and a thouſand times that I had rather choſen to famiſh for want of Bread, than to injoy thoſe accurſed Profits and Pleaſures that were the Fruits and Wages of mine Iniquities; but now alas it will be too late to Repent. As yet we have the Opportunity to retrieve our own Folly, and to revoke and cancel this our deſperate Bargain, and p. 128by our ſerious Repentance and hearty Renunciation of the Temptations of this World, we may releaſe our ſelves from our Covenant with Death, and Agreement with Hell. But if we out-ſtay our Opportunity a few Moments longer, till Death hath put an end to it, the fatal Bargain will be ſealed paſt all Revocation.