in the world, Eph. ii. For that servant who knoweth his master's will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with more stripes than he that knoweth it not, Luke xii.

But no people upon earth have cause to expect and dread a more severe sentence than wicked Christians, who make profession of knowing God, and believing in Jesus Christ, who nevertheless deny him by their works, and trample under foot the riches of his grace. How can it be otherwise? For such as have heard the gospel preached, who have seen Jesus Christ as it were crucified before their eyes, and yet have made no advantage of all this, ought to be punished in another manner, than the bare auditors of Moses, that never saw the Messias, but afar off, and in the shadows of the ceremonial law. Take notice of these divine expressions of St. Paul to the Hebrews, "He that despised Moses's law, died without mercy under two or three witnesses; of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord; and again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Therefore when St. Paul speaks of such as obey not the gospel, he saith, That they shall be punished with eternal punishments from the presence of God, and from the glory of his power. And our Saviour teacheth us, that such as reject so great salvation, shall be punished more grievously than the most abominable sinners, unto whom it was never revealed. Therefore when he

sends forth his apostles to preach, he tells them, "Whosoever shall not receive you, and hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet: Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land

of

of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city." Likewise when he reproaches the incredulity and impenitency of the cities that were not converted by the preaching of his gospel, and the glory of his miracles, he tells them, Matt. xi. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which have been done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day; but I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee."

The great Judge of the world shall place at his left hand all wicked souls which have lived without any fear of God, and without expressing charity to the members of his mystical body; and shall pronounce to them this dreadful sentence, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited me not: Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." But the faithful, who have witnessed their faith by a good and holy life, and by works of charity and mercy, he will place at his right hand, and, in the presence of God and all his holy angels, he shall say unto them, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye

visited

visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me: Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

There be some that make this question, What sign shall precede immediately, or accompany the coming of Christ in the world?-Our Saviour hath given occasion to this demand; for when he speaks of the things that are to happen about the time of his glorious appearance, he saith, "That the sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give light, the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken, and then shall appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man."

Some imagine that this sign of the Son of Man is the sign of the cross, which will be visible in the air. This opinion in itself is harmless; but in regard that it hath no founda- ' tion in holy scripture, I am not to insist upon it. Others believe that it shall be the fire with which Jesus Christ shall burn the earth, dissolve the elements, and punish unbelievers. This conceit is grounded upon St. Paul's words to the Thessalonians, 2 Thess. i. "It is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." Others conceive, that the sign of this Son of Man is nothing else but the body of Jesus Christ, bearing and discovering the print of the nails in his hands and feet, and the wound of the spear in his side. This they gather from these words, in Rev. i. "Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him." There be others yet that take it in another sense, and believe that there shall be no particular sign; but that we must understand by this

sign of the Son of Man, all those things which declare the end of the world, and the coming of Jesus Christ to judge the quick and the dead. If we take the words in this sense, there will be an excellent allusion to that which is commonly practised when kings and princes make their public entry into great cities; for their coming in is proclaimed by the sound of a trumpet, and by the attendants of majesty, a train and pomp that usually accompanies it. In the same manner, the glorious coming of Jesus Christ shall be known by the sound of the archangel's trumpet, and by the signs and wonderful alterations which shall suddenly happen in the heavens. This last opinion is very likely, and the former is not contrary to the analogy of faith.

Therefore in matters indifferent, not plainly decided by the word of God, we leave to every pious soul a liberty to choose that which it likes best.

Some inquire farther, if the souls of the damned go down into hell immediately after their egress out of the body, and are tormented in an unquenchable fire, whereof the heat never lessens, as the Christian religion teacheth, and as we may understand by the parable of the rich glutton; doth it not follow, that these wretches are already judged? How is it then, that the Son of God will judge them again at the last day, and send them to an everlasting burning prepared for the devil and his angels?—I answer, First, That it is no absurdity to say, that one sentence shall be pronounced twice; for men are wont to read the sentence of doom to the prisoner, before he is taken out of prison; afterwards the same sentence is published in the audience of the people, at the time of execution. Likewise when the souls of the wicked depart out of their wretched bodies, God pronounceth to them the sentence of death; but when Jesus Christ shall sit upon the throne of his glory, he shall publish the same sentence

before

before all the men of the world, and all the angels of heaven. Besides, that sentence was never declared but to the soul; but then it shall be declared to both soul and body, and both together shall be sent to the everlasting burning, from whence. they never shall be released. From hence, therefore, Christians, you may understand, that there are three degrees of punishment or torments to the wicked; for in this life they have a worm that gnaws their bowels and heart, and a kind of hell, where they suffer unspeakable torments. At that time their bodies are senseless in their graves, as the bodies of the righteous; but at this last-and dreadful day of judgment, as the graves shall restore all the dead bodies, hell, which is the place designed for the torments of the damned, shall give up all the souls that are tormented in its flames; and these cursed souls shall be sent back to their miserable bodies, to suffer the pangs of an eternal death, Rev. xx. Thus they shall be cast body and soul into the bottomless pit, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. At that time the beast, the false prophet, and all the enemies of God and of his church, shall be cast alive into the lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death, Rev. xx. 10, 14. And when all these offenders shall be executed, the executioners themselves shall be punished for their crimes; when the damned shall be cast into eternal tortures, the devils and infernal furies shall be sent after them; as it is said, "The devil, who seduced the nations, shall be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever," Rev. xx. 10. What a dreadful sight will it be to look upon all those roaring lions, those furious dragons, in their rage vomiting forth fire and flames! What a joyful spectacle shall this be to the children of God, to look upon these infernal devils, bound fast with those chains which they shall never be able to break, and shut up in the bottomless pit, out of which they never shall be released!