them faithfully, will be sure to reap their fruit, cach in proportion to his improvement. And thus every one shall be happy to the height of his capacity; neither despising those below him, nor envying those above him. But, though we ought to dwell upon this most delightful and useful subject, in our thoughts, much more than we do, we must now turn our eyes from it to a very different view, set before us.

IV. That the souls and bodies of the wicked shall undergo everlasting punishment.

This, it must be owned, is not explicitly mentioned in the Creed. And God had rather, that we should be moved to obey him by love and hope of his favour, than by fear of his anger. But both motives are implied in this Article. For though life in Scripture more especially means happiness, yet, its original sense is only continuance in being, whether happy or miserable; and as the wicked are raised, and judged, in order to suffer what they have deserved, so they must live afterwards for the same purpose.

That disobedience to God can never end well, is the plainest truth in the world; for nothing is hid from his knowledge-nothing can escape his power: he is holy as well as good; besides, that goodness itself requires, the incorrigibly bad to be made example, for the sake of deterring others. Yet, lest, after all, they should promise themselves that he will spare them, he hath solemnly and repeatedly declared that he will not. In this world, however, many such come off, to all appearance, with impunity; committing much evil, and enjoying much good. And they who are punished, are often but slightly punished; and seldom according to the degree of their crimes; for the deliberate and artful sinners, who are the worst, usually fare best here below. As sure, therefore, as G. d is just and

true, another state remains, in which all this will be set right.

What sufferings, in particular, the divine justice will then inflict on unpardoned sinners, reason cannot determine; and Revelation hath given us only general and figurative descriptions of them; but such descriptions as are beyond all things terrible; and I shall lay them before you, not in my own words, but those of Holy Writ. The Judge of all shall say unto them, "Depart from me, ye "cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the "devil and his angels." There" they shall drink "of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured

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out, without mixture, into the cup of his indig"nation, and shall be tormented with fire and "brimstone; and the smoke of their torment as"cendeth up for ever and ever, and they have no "rest day nor night;"2 "their worm shall not "die, neither shall their fire be quenched.""

How severe soever these denunciations may appear to us, assuredly the threatenings of God will not be vain terrors. We are partial and incompetent judges of our own case; prone to flatter and deceive ourselves. But he knows exactly what sin deserves, and what the honour of his government requires; from his declarations, therefore, we are to learn our fate. "He hath set before us, life and "death; and whether we like, shall be given us."4 If, therefore, the latter be our wilful choice, in which we obstinately persist, what wonder if we are left to it? For sin and misery must and will be companions for ever. Not that, in any case, the anger of God shall prevail over his justice; but the degree of each person's condemnation shall be so exactly proportioned to that of his guilt, that when the eyes of sinners, which here they endeavour to

(1) Matt, xxv. 14.

(2) Rev. xiv. 10, 11. (3) Isa. Ixvi. 24. Mark ix. 44, 46, 48, (4) Ecclus, xv. 17..

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shut, are opened, as they shall be hereafter, to see what their deeds have merited; every mouth "shall be stopped," and "all flesh be silent be"fore the Lord."6 For, every circumstance, that can either aggravate or excuse, will be impartially weighed; and some be accordingly "beaten with "many stripes, and some with few."7 But what the lowest degree of the Almighty's final vengeance may amount to, God forbid we should, any of us, try; for whoever sins purposely, or carelessly, in hopes of a small punishment, will, for that very reason, deserve a heavier one.

Let us all, therefore, make the use that we ought, both of the terrors and the mercies of the Lord; awing ourselves by the former, from trangressing our duty, and encouraging ourselves by the latter to the utmost diligence in performing it; that so we may pass through life with comfort, meet death with cheerfulness, and, having faithfully served God in this world, be eternally and abundantly rewarded by him in the next.

LECTURE XVIII.

First Commandment.

THE whole duty of man consists in three points; renouncing what God hath forbidden us, believing what he hath taught us, and doing what he hath required of us; which, accordingly, are the things promised in our name at our baptism. The two former I have already explained to you. And, therefore, I proceed at present to the third.

Now the things, which God requires to be done, are of two sorts; either such as have been always

(5) Rom. iii. 19. (6) Zech. ii. 13. (7) Luke xii. 47.

the duty of all men; or such as are peculiarly the duty of Christians. And our Catechism very properly treats of the former sort first, comprehending them under those Ten Commandments, which were delivered by the Creator of the world, on Mount Sinai, in a most awful manner, as you may read in the 19th and 20th chapters of Exodus. For though, indeed, they were then given to the Jews particularly, yet the things contained in them are such, as all mankind from the beginning were bound to observe. And, therefore, even under the Mosaic dispensation, they, and the tables on which they were engraven, and the Ark in which they were put, were distinguished from the rest of God's ordinances by a peculiar regard, as containing the covenant of the Lord. And though the Mosaic dispensation be now at an end, yet, concerning these moral precepts of it, our Saviour declares, that one jot, or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from "the law, till all be fulfilled." Accordingly, we find both him and his Apostles, quoting these Ten Commandments, as matter of perpetual obligation to Christians, who are now, as the Jews were formerly, "the Israel of God."4

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Indeed, the whole New Testament, and especially the sermon of our blessed Lord on the Mount, instructs us to carry their obligation farther, that is, to more points, than either the Jews, a people of gross understanding, and carnal dispositions, commonly took into consideration; or their Prophets were commissioned distinctly to represent to them; the wisdom of God foreseeing that it would only increase their guilt; and further, indeed, than the words of the Commandments, if taken strictly,

(1) Decem sermones illi in tabulis nihil novum docent, sed quod obliteratum suerat admonent: Novation, de lib. Judaieis, c. 3. (2) Exod. xxxiv. 28, Deut. iv. 13. ix. 9, 11, 15. Josh. iii. 11. 1 Kings viii. 2. 21. 2 Chr. v. 10. vi. 11.

(3) Matt. v. 18.

(4) Gal. vi. 16.

express. But the reason is, that being visibly intended for a summary of human duty, they both may, and must, be understood by those who are capable of penetrating into the depth of their meaning, to imply more than they express. And, therefore, to comprehend their full extent, it will be requisite to observe the following rules: Where any sin is forbidden in them, the opposite duty is implicitly enjoined; and where any duty is enjoined, the opposite sin is implicitly forbidden. Where the highest degree of any thing evil is prohibited; whatever is faulty in the same kind, though in a lower degree, is, by consequence, prohibited. And where one instance of virtuous be haviour is commanded, every other that hath the same nature, and same reason for it, is understood to be commanded too. What we are expected to abstain from, we are expected to avoid, as far as we can, all temptations to it, and occasions of it; and what we are expected to practice, we are expected to use all fit means, that may better enable us to practice it. All that we are bound to do ourselves, we are bound, on fitting occasions, to exhort and assist others to do, when it belongs to them; and all that we are bound not to do, we are to tempt nobody else to do, but keep them back from it, as much as we have opportunity. The Ten Commandments, excepting two that required enlargement, are delivered in few words; which brief manner of speaking hath great majesty in it. But explaining them according to these rules, which are natural and rational in themselves, favoured by ancient Jewish writers,3 au

(3) Χρη δε μηδ' εκείνο αγνοείν, ότι οι ί λόγοι κεφαλαια νομων εισι, των εν είδει παρ όλην την νομοθεσιαν εν ταις ιεραίς Bichors avaɣggagerTwY. Philo de Decal. The Ten Com See Cozri, p. p. 107.

אמזת חתזה שרשיה mandments are

44. See also there