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fticking faft about it. God had annexed a world of evils and mifchievous effects to Vice and Wickedness, by the original fettlement and fundamental conftitution of things; it was a difeafe to the Mind and a torment to the Conscience, and very often a disease to the Body and rottenness to the Bones, a wound to a Mans Credit and a blemish to his good Naine, and an enemy to all his Interefts, and to all his Happiness in this World. These plain and neceffary effects of Sin Mankind could not but obferve, as fo many bitter Fruits naturally growing out of it as from a proper Root, and like fo many plagues fent from Heaven fteeming out of this Pandora's box: And these Natural Punishments of Sin, and the other as Natural Goods and Rewards of Vertue, were the true fanction of the Law of Nature. But befides all thefe, there are a thousand times greater and more additional evils fuperadded to our Sins by Christianity, if we do not in time Repent of them; there are the positive and eternal evils of Sin in another World; for I can by no means call the Torments of Hell Natural, which

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which God has revealed to us by the Gofpel. How little thefe were known to the World before, I might fhow from the odd fancies of the wifeft Heathens about the tranfmigration of Souls, and the revolution of all things within fuch a period of years; and whatever guefs they had rather than belief of Punifhments for Sin in ano ther World, yet that they should be fo great as the Scripture how reprefents them, and that they fhould be Eternal, which is the moft dreadful part of them, this can only be known from the Revelation and Will of God, who may continue our being, and lengthen or fhorten our duration to what time he pleafes, and therefore as Chrift has brought Life and Immortality to light by the gospel, 2 Tim. 1. 16. fo in like manner he has brought Hell and Damnation, and revealed fuch in, tolerable and greater Punishments to Sin than the World knew before, as cannot but fright the moft daring Sinner, and make the fondeft Senfualift part with his Lufts, when he confiders that all their tempting charms, and enticing gayety, and momentany pleafures, fhall end in nothing but Hellish torments,

torments, unquenchable flames, and eternal howlings and gnafhings of teeth, which must be owned to be a thousand times greater than all the known, and visible, and Natural Evils of Sin.

SECT. IV.

Motives to Repentance from the Confideration of Hell,

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OW because this is the greatest determent from Sin imaginable, and confequently the greateft motive to Repentance that can poffibly be given; for nothing is fo ftrong and powerful upon moft Men as their fears, which is the quickest and strongeft Paffion in Humane Nature, and is apt to make a very great impreffion where nothing else will, and nothing can be fo much an object of our fear, as Hell and Eternal Mifery, which is the utmost and most dreadful Evil that can be either felt or imagined. I fhall particularly and largely offer and reprefent it to the Sinners thoughts, both as to its Nature, confifting in the greatest pains and torments of Body and

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and Mind, and in the most wretched and miferable ftate and condition, and as all this is Eternal and shall never have end Both which, if heartily believ'd and seriously confider'd, would have a mighty power and almoft irrefiftible force to bring Men off from their greatest Sins.

I. Then let us confider its Nature, as confifting of the greatest pains and torments both of Body and Mind, and in the most wretched and miferable ftate and condition. I fhall not attempt fully to defcribe, or draw a picture of this place of Torments, our imagi nation is to be help'd out with all the known inftances of Mifery, and so to form an Idea of that future, and unknown, and invifible one: It is certain it must be adapted to those two parts of which we confift, our Bodies and our Minds, and what are the proper Evils to either of those we very well know, fenfible Pain and great Anguish and Sorrow, and other tormenting Paffions, and these we must fuppofe in the highest degree to belong to Hellish Mifery; for as Heaven is the utmoft good our Natures

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can poffibly receive, and are capable of, fo Hell is the greatest evil, and as fuch is represented to us by that Revelation which affures us of it, attended with the moft fad and woful circumftances that can be imagined. I fhall offer the thoughts of it to the Sinner under fuch Ideas and Representations as are given of it by the Holy Ghost in Scripture. And

1. We must conceive a horrid, dark and difmal dungeon in fome deep cavern of the Earth, defigned for horrour, and fill'd with the blackness of darkness, and inhabited only by curfed Fiends, and frightful. Ghofts and Devils, into which the wretched Caitiff is to be thrown, bound hand and foot, and fo caft into outer darkness, Matth. 22. 13. and delivered into chains of darkness, 2 Pet. 2. 4. Darkness is the Natural image and fymbol of hor. rour and difconfolatenefs, as Light is of comfort and pleafantnefs; fo that the Scripture expreffes Happiness by the dwelling in light, as it does Misery by being caft into outer darkness, where there is not any beam of light, nor any the leaft glimpfe of joy and comfort, And thus to be fhut up for ever