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creases their mifery, and gives a keener life to the worm that never dies. And a clearer sense of the goodness which is for ever lost, must aggravate the mifery into which they are plunged, and must blacken the despair, under which the loft foul must labour to all eternity.

7. BUT the torments of the Damned are not mere negatives; they are not mere privations of all that is good and amiable; but are often described under the most dreadful images, as to its pofitive ftate. Fire is generally fet forth as the horrid engine of torture. Such is the history of the rich man ; he is faid to call for Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool his tongue; for he was tormented in that flame *. Indeed, the Prophets fpoke of this long before the New Teftament was written; hence the Pfalmift says,-Upon the wicked God fhall rain fnares, fire and brimftone, and an horrible tempeft: this shall be the portion of their cup. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger; the Lord fhall fwallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them ‡. And again,-The finners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath furprized the hypocrites: Who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? Who shall dwell with everlasting burnings? || Indeed, I might have mentioned that striking saying, (Deut. xxxiii. 14.)-A fire is kindled in mine anger, and fball burn unto the loweft hell. Yes, when he takes his fan in his hand, he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire**. So the tares are to be bound up in bundles

* Luke xvi. 24. || Ifa. xxxiii. 14.

+ Pf. xi. 6.

** Matth. iii. 12.

Ibid cxxi. 8.

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to be burnt *. Such shall be caft into a furnace of fire: there fhall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth t. So the fentence will run at the Laft Day,-Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels ‡. Likewife that faying which our Lord quotes from Isaiah the fixty-fixth, v. 24. fo frequently, in one Chapter three times running,-Where their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched. The fame awful image is made use of in the Revelations; where, fpeaking of the wicked, it is faid, They fail be tormented with fire and brimftone in the prefence of the angels of God, and in the prefence of the Lamb || And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life, was caft into the lake of fire §.-All this is inconceivably dreadful, but, I fear, not more dreadful than true; and if it is objected that it cannot be material fire, I ask, who can prove that? And fuppofing it should not be material fire, we may affure ourselves that fome thing, equally dreadful, is intended thereby; and, whatever it is, our wifeft way is to escape the fhocking experience. Perhaps the terrible description, in Milton, may be something more than a poetical flight:

"A dungeon-horrible on all fides round

As one great furnace, flam'd; yet, from these flames,
No light, but, rather darkness visible,

Serv'd only to discover fights of woe.

Regions of forrow! doleful shades! where peace
And reft can never dwell-Hope never comes-

That comes to all; but Torture without end

Still urges, and a fiery deluge fed

With ever-burning fulphur unconfum'd.-P. L. B. 1.

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8. THE next pofitive description is, that of the worm which never dies, fo often quoted by our Lord from the above cited paffage (La. Ixvi. 24.) and the repetition of the plea by fo infallible a Commentator, gives an awful reality to the fame. That worm is, generally, thought to be the finner's confcience, which, like a hungry, devouring worm, must be gnawing the finner to all eternity. Confcience feems to be, the teftimony and fecret judgment of the foul, which approves, or difapproves, of all is actions or thoughts, tempers or defigns, however fecretly they may have been tranfacted; and though that confcience is, through the Fall, in many inftances, become dreadfully erroneous, yet the Spirit of God has put a faithful mirror before it; which, by reafon of hurry, trade, pleasure, or folly, has often been but little attended unto, and, therefore, confcience has been often lulled afleep; but now it will be thoroughly awake, and will never cease upbraiding the poor condemned finner to all eternity and that is what is meant by the worm not dying. It will charge the finner with all his fecret and open crimes, and fet them in dreadful array before him; many of which, perhaps, he had forgotten; but this terrible remembrancer will have them all in its black regifter-a horrid lift, indeed! and whofe teftimony muft be valid. It will accufe the finner with all his omiffions and neglects; the time, the grace, the opportunities which have been neglected; the calls and reproofs from the word of God, from the minifters of Chrift, or from books, or providence; yea, dreams, or vifions, which may have been permitted for the purpose of awakening, and bringing

bringing them unto God. O, this will be a speaking worm, and dreadful will be its language! The Lord help us to hearken to its voice, even now, while it may

be useful unto us!

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9. NEXT to this horrid tormentor, very probable, will be the dreadful company, more especially fuch as have been companions and abettors of each other's crimes in this world for, however agreeable their company may have been in iniquity, it will be far from being acceptable now, when mutual accufations and recriminations must for ever take place. Whether they have been partakers of each other's fins, or promoters of them here, they will be dreadful company for each other in the bottomlefs pit. And if there are degrees of punishment, as, undoubtedly, there are,what muft theirs be who have been the betrayers and inciters of unfufpecting youth, whether into the science of thievery, or uncleanness ?Confider this, ye that glory in your impure and shameful conquefts over poor, ignorant females! as you are engaged in doing the Devil's great work, expect to share proportionably in the tempter's reward. I fhall not here enter into any oratorical speeches, accufations, or recriminations, of what we may fuppofe to pafs among the Damned; I rather choose that your own meditation may supply that. How far the fallen angels may be the inftruments of tormenting, is quite uncertain; but, it is very likely, it may be a part of their hellish employment, though, very probable, the plaguing of others may be the tormenting of themfelves; yet being entirely delivered up to a fatanical and hellish nature, that must be their only element; and, if we may call any thing a fatisfaction

in

in Hell, that must be their fatisfaction to all eternity. O, lay these things deeply to heart!

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10. VARIOUS are the conjectures concerning the place of this never-ending torment. Some have fixed it in the centre of the earth, which is fuppofed to be all fire to a very large extent. In this they seem to agree with many of the ancient Poets, as that was a part of the Heathen mythology. But there is little probability in that conceit, feeing the earth will be burnt up, and, after its fiery purgation, will, in all probability, be reftored to what it was before it became a chaos, or, more glorious, and fo become a bleffed habitation of the righteous to all eternity. It has been thought, the world on fire will be the fmoking refidence of miferable fouls, and that the burning will be kept perpetual ;-that is not likely, for the reasons already affigned. Some affign the Sun this dreadful office, of being the eternal tormentor of devils and loft fouls their reafons are many, and striking, and carry an air of probability with them, and prove, as far as the nature of the thing will admit, the reali y of the fame. If fo, the fun will lofe all its cheering and animating qualities, and be turned into darkness, (as our Lord expreffes himself) and then become the dark and dreadful prisen of the Damned, ages without end. How difmal the idea! Should that dreadful globe of fire become the horrid habitation of fuch as are capable of feeling its tormenting fury-a globe of fire above an hundred times larger than this earth on which we live! Surely one may fay, Hell hath enlarged itfelf; or that Tophet, which is prepared f old, is made large and deep! Dreadful region-burning

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