Thirdly, The consideration of hell, or the dreadful punishment of sin ; for this is the matter in this text. This is useful to think of hell that we may shun it. Presumption is a coward : Mat. iii. 7, 8, ' 0 gener- ation of vipers ! who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.' There is a forced repentance ; they that do not weep for their sins for a while here, shall there mourn for ever with a fruitless repentance. It is peace upon earth. What is hell ? (1.) There is ^cena damni, the punishment of loss ; a separation from the presence of God, and everlasting exile : • Depart from me, ye cursed,' Mat. xxv. 41 ; Luke xiii. 25, 26, * When once the master of the house is risen, and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us ; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know ye not whence ye are ; ' and ver. 28, * When ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you your- selves thrust out.' When God turned Adam out of paradise, it was sad, but then he clothed him, made him coats of skins. Adam was a rebellious child, and was turned out of doors, but God had a care of him, would not turn him out of doors without his garments, gave him the promise of the seed of the woman, hopes of a better paradise. This is the worst part of hell, to have a glimpse of God, the remembrance of which shall remain with them for ever, and then to be shut out
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370 SERMONS UPON LUKE XVI. 30, 31,
Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but not taste it ; as a prodigal reduced to rags goeth by the lands and houses he hath sold with a sad heart. (2.) The pcena sensus, the punishment of sense, the worm of conscience and the fire of God's wrath. The worm of conscience ; the sting of conscience when we think of our folly and imprudence. A man may run away from his conscience now by sleeping, reading, working, drinking, sportiug, as Cain built cities and Saul called for music ; but in hell there are no such diversions, not a thought free day nor night, but memoria lorceteritorum, the remembrance of what is past, slighted means, abused comforts, wasted time, and sensus prcesen- tium, a sense of what is present ; the understanding maketh heaven or hell ; and metus futurorum, a fear of what is to come for ever and ever. O blind fools ! that we did not think of these things aforehand. The pleasures of the world for a thousand years will not countervail one minute's torment. And then the fire shall never be quenched : Heb. X. 31, 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.' Do but make trial, and put your finger in the candle, and see how you can bear it : Isa. xxxiii. 14, ' Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire ? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings ? '
III. How to improve the scriptures to repentance.
1. Believe them as you would an oracle or one from the dead. Con- sider the authority and veracity of God. The authority of God : God commandeth men to repent ; charge the heart in the name of God, as it will answer to him another day. If God had bidden thee do some greater thing, wouldst not thou have done it ? Will you contradict your maker ? The veracity of God ; these things are true. If you had heard a voice from heaven, as Abraham, or had a vision, or a messenger sent out of the other world, you would believe. You would think him to have a very hard heart that is not warned by an oracle or frighted by an apparition. God himself hath spoken in his word, and is not he of credit ? You would fly in the face of him that should give you the lie, and will you give the lie to the God of truth ? We should be ashamed that the word, which is a greater and surer revelation than oracles or apparitions, should prevail no more with us, and that all those arts of grace which are used in the scriptures do not persuade us to obedience and amendment of life. There is more reason to persuade a rational man that the scriptures are true and worth the heeding, than to persuade him of the truth of any voice from heaven or message by one from the dead. There you are warned that if you are unbelieving, unholy, or uncharitable, you shall go to hell, and as Lot seemed to his sons-in-law ' as one that mocked,' Gen. xix. 14, so we are looked on as if we were in jest, and it were a matter of course to make one another sad by repeating of matters mournful and lamentable. If thou hadst seen a ghost this last night, or a devil had appeared to thee in man's shape, thou wouldst have been terrified ; and shall not the threatenings of the word startle thee ? So when you are spoken to concerning the joys of heaven, it should not seem wa-el \77po?, as an idle tale ; as it is said, Luke xxiv. 11, ' And their words seemed unto them as idle tales, and they believed them not.' The report of Christ's re surrection was an idle tale. If an angel had told you that within such a compass of years you should be in another world, he would have