3. Consider the principal and immediate subject of this wrath of God; and, that is, the Soul.

And this adds much to the dreadfulness of it. The acutest torments, that the body is capable of, are but dull and flat things, in comparison of what the soul can feel. Now when God shall immediately, with his own hand, lash the soul, that refined and spiritual part of man, the principle of all life and sensation; and shall draw blood from it at every stripe; how intolerable may we conceive those pains and tortures to be! To shoot poisoned darts into a man's marrow, to rip up his bowels with a sword red hot; all this is as nothing to it. Think what it is, to have a drop of scalding oil or melted lead fall upon the apple of your eyes, that should make them boil and burn till they fall out of your heads such torment, nay infinitely more than such, is it, to have the burning wrath of God fall upon the soul. We find that spirits, which are infinitely inferior unto God, can make strange impressions upon the souls of men: and shall not the Great God, much more, who is the Father of Spirits ? yes: he can torture them by his essential wrath. And that God, who, as the prophet Nahum speaks, (ch. i. 5, 6.) can melt mountains, and make hills and rocks flow down at his presence, can melt the souls of the damned, like lumps of wax: for, in his displeasure, he doth sometimes do it to the best of men, even in this life: Ps. xxii. 14. My heart is melted like wax in the midst of my bowels.

4. The Dreadfulness of this Wrath of God may be demonstrated by this, that the punishment of the damned is reserved by God as his Last Work.

It is a work, which he will set himself about, when all the rest of his works are done. When he hath folded up the world, and laid it aside as a thing of no further use; then will God set himself to this great work, and pour out all the treasures of his wrath upon damned wretches: as if God would so wholly mind this business, that he would lay all other affairs aside, that he might be intent only upon this, having no other thing to interrupt him. Think, then, how full of dread and terror this must needs be, when God will, as it were, employ all his eternity about this; and have no other thing to take him off, from doing it with all his might.

God hath reserved two works, and but two, for the other world: one, is the Salvation of the Elect; and, the other is, the Damnation of Reprobates.

Now it is remarkable, that God's last works do always exceed his former. And, therefore, we find in the Creation of the World, God still proceeded on, from more imperfect kinds of creatures, to those, that were more perfect; until he had fully built and finished, yea carved and as it were painted this great house of the universe: and, then, he brings man into it, as his last work; as the crown, and perfection of the rest. So God likewise acted, in the manner of Revealing his Will unto mankind: first, he spake to them by dreams and visions; but, in the lust days, as the Apostle expresseth it, he hath spoken unto us by his Son. So, also, in the Dispensation of the Covenant of Grace and Exhibition of the Messiah: first, he was made known only by promise to the fathers; then, in types and obscure resemblances to the Jews: but, in the latter days, himself came and took upon him the form of a servant, and wrought out a complete redemption for us. So, usually, the last works of God are more complete, perfect and excellent than the former.

Now God's punishing-work is his last work; and, therefore, it shall exceed in greatness all that ever went before it. In his first work, the creation of the world, he demonstrated his infinite power, wisdom, and godhead; but, in the destruction of sinners, which is his last work, he will manifest more of power and wisdom, than he did in his creating them: and how fearful a destruction then must this needs be!

God hath variety of works, that he is carrying on in this world; and, if his glory doth not perfectly appear in one, he may manifest it in another. But, when he shall confine himself only to two, as he will in the world to come, the saving of the godly and the damning of the wicked, and this without any variety or change; certainly, then these shall be performed to the very utmost of what God can do; for, as he will save the saints to the very utmost; so, likewise, will he damn and destroy sinners to the very utmost,

5. Another Demonstration of the Dreadfulness of this Wrath shall be drawn from this consideration, that God will for ever inflict it for the Glorifying of his Power on the damned.

Rom. ix. 22. What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known: and, 2 Thess. 1. 9. They shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.

Now, certainly, if God will inflict eternal punishments upon

them to shew forth his power, their punishments must needs be infinitely great. For,

(1) All those works, wherein God shews forth his power, are great and stupendous.

Consider what power it was, for God to lay the beams of the world, and to erect so stately a fabric as heaven and earth. The Apostle therefore tells us, that by the creation of the world, is understood the eternal power of God: Rom. i. 20. When God shewed his power in creating, oh what a great and stupendous work did he produce! and, therefore, certainly, when God shall likewise shew his power in destroying, the punishments he will inflict will be wonderful and stupendous.

(2) Consider, God can easily destroy a creature without shewing any great power; or putting forth his almighty arm and strength to do it.

If he only withdraw his power, by which he upholds all things in their beings, we should quickly fall all abroad into nothing: so easy is it for God to destroy the well-being of all his creatures. But, if God will express the greatness and infiniteness of his power in destroying sinners, whom yet he can destroy without putting forth his power, yea only by withdrawing and withholding it; oh how fearful must this destruction needs be! Alas, we are crushed before the moth; and must needs perish, if God do but suspend the influence of his power from us: how dreadfully then will he destroy, when he shall lay forth his infinite power to do it, who can easily do it without power!

And thus I have laid down some Demonstrations of the Dreadfulness of the Wrath and Vengeance of God; five of them drawn from the Words of the Text, and five drawn from Other Considerations.

III. I shall now shut up, with two or three words of APPLICATION.

i. BE PERSUADED TO BELIEVE, THAT THERE IS SUCH A DREADFUL WRATH TO COME.

I know well, you all profess that you believe, that, as there are inconceivable rewards of glory reserved in heaven for the saints, so there are inexhaustible treasures of wrath reserved and laid up in hell for all ungodly and impenitent sinners: but,

oh, how few are there, that do really and cordially believe these things! Men's own lives may be evident convictions to themselves, of their atheism and infidelity: for all that dissoluteness, which we see abroad in the world, proceeds much from hence, that men are not persuaded that these dreadful terrors of the Lord, which have now been set before us, are any thing but an honest artifice. They look upon them, as things only invented, to scare the world into good order, and to awe men into some compass of civility and honesty : they think all those tremendous threatenings, that God hath denounced in his Law, to be things intended rather to fright men, than to do execution upon them. And, whereas one of the most effectual motives to piety and a holy life, is, to be persuaded of the terrors of the Lord; these are not yet persuaded, that there are any such terrors. But, assure yourselves, these are not the extravagant dreams of melancholy fancies, nor the politic impostures of men that design to amuse the world with frightful stories; but they are sad and serious truths such, as, however you may now slight and contemn them, yet shall you be woefully convinced of by your own experience; when, after a few years, or possibly a few days, you shall be sunk down into that place of torment, that gulph and abyss of misery, where the Great God shall for ever express the art and the power of his vengeance, in your everlasting destruction.

ii. This speaks ABUNDANCE OF COMFORT TO ALL THOSE, WHOSE SINS ARE PARDONED, AND WHO ARE DELIVERED FROM THE WRATH TO COME.

Look what spring-tides of joy would rise in the heart of a poor condemned malefactor, who every moment expects the stroke of justice to cut him off, to have a pardon interpose and rescue him from death; such, yea far greater, should be thy joy, who art freed merely by a gracious pardon, from a condemnation infinitely greater and worse than death itself. When we look into hell, and consider the wrath that the damned there lie under, oh, to behold them there restlessly rolling to and fro in chains and flames; to hear them exclaim against their own folly and madness, and to curse themselves and their associates as the causes of their heavy and doleful torments; how should we rejoice, that, though we have been guilty of many great and heinous sins, and have ten thousand times deserved hell and everlasting burnings, yet our good and gracious God hath freely

pardoned us our debts, and freed us from the same merited punishments.

iii. This also should EXCITE US TO MAGNIFY THE LOVE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TOWARDS US.

Who, though he knew what the dreadful wrath of God was, how sore and heavy it would lie upon his soul: yet, such was his infinite compassion towards us, that he willingly submitted himself to be in our stead; took upon him our nature, that he might take upon hin our guilt; and first made himself wretched, that he might be made accursed. He drank off the whole bitter cup of his Father's wrath, at one bitter draught; received the whole sting of death into his body, at once; fell and died under the revenges of divine justice, only that we might be delivered from the wrath that we had deserved, but could not bear. O Christian, let thy heart be enlarged with great love and thankfulness to thy Blessed Redeemer: and, as he thought nothing too much to suffer for thee, return him this expression of thy thankfulness, to think nothing too much nor too hard to do or suffer for him.

iv. YOU, THAT GO ON IN SIN, CONSIDER WHAT A GOD YOU HAVE

TO DEAL WITHAL.

You have not to do with creatures, but with God himself. And do you not fear that uncreated fire, that will wrap you up in flames of his essential wrath, and burn you for ever? Consider that dreadful expostulation, that God makes, Ezek. xxii. 14. Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee, saith the Lord? The very weakness of God is stronger than man. God can breathe, he can look a man to death: Job iv. 9. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance: Ps. lxxx. 16. Oh, then, tremble to think what a load of wrath his heavy hand can lay upon thee: that hand, which spans the heavens; and, in the hollow of which, he holds the sea: Isa. xl. 12. What punishment will this great hand of God, in which his great strength lies, inflict, when it shall fall upon thee in the full power of its might! And tell me now, O Sinner, wouldst thou willingly fall into the hands of this God, who is thus able to crush thee to pieces, yea to nothing? Oh, how shall any of us then dare, who are but